Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Surprisingly, everything got done and I wasn't too stressed about much. I had a few moments though. :) Our program at work went very nicely. Room 104 represented! We sang Put One Foot in Front of the Other from my favorite Christmas movie. I taught the kids motions to go with it and they were the best by far again. The only spoiler was a certain someone who haunted the church and would not go away. My blood pressure rises to high sky levels every time.

The Christmas party was a lot of fun too. Lots of good food and laughter. I hear it got pretty crazy after I left per the usual. I started fighting something the next day and was under the weather for a couple of days. I stayed home on Monday and it was a good thing I did because the school called and had me pick up Finn. He had an earache. We took him to the dr. that night and he had an ear infection. He has now been on antibiotics for 10 days so he should be okay for our flight later on today.

On the Friday before Christmas we did a ton of running around. We had to sign our final contract on the house at 9:00 at Crocker Park. We will know by the end of January if the bank will accept the offer. If they do then we will have to be out by March 15th. It is very unsettling to know that we may have to do a fire drill evacuation and I have no idea where we will live. I am going to really have to go with the flow on this one or I will worry myself sick. After signing the contract we went to Trader Joe's and picked up a few things for the party, and the massage place to get Nana's gift. Then we went to Target and bought new shoes for Finn and Tali since we will be walking so much in Cuenca. Lunch at Wendy's and two stops at the bank to get our money for the trip. All in 1's, 5's and 10's. Such small bills looks like a pile of money. I have no idea yet how we will stash it all.

I had a 2:00 hair appointment after that. I got my hair cut and colored and Tali had a new feather put in. Then off to the dr. for Tali who has not stopped coughing for a month or so. When we took her to the dr. the first time he said she only had a cough and told her to drink honey. This time it turns out she has pnuemonia! Shit! So, now Tali is on an inhaler and antibiotics. Good thing we took her back in. She is still coughing this morning, but after using the inhaler it greatly decreases. I am worried about her breathing in the higher altitude.

After the dr. it was on to the vet for Scout. She has an ear infection too. Crap! All of my babies are feeling poopy. :( Then back to the pharmacist for Tali's drugs and over to the liquor store for holiday drinks. Wow! Quite a lot of running around. We didn't get home until very late. Mark, Finn and Patrick went to visit Grandma Franklin while all this was going on.

Christmas Eve was a lot of fun at Nana's. She invited the neighbors and we really enjoyed the meal and the company. The next morning it was back to Nana's after opening our gifts. Patrick and Erin had come over the night before and it was nice to have all of the kids under one roof. Finn and Tali were very happy with their gifts. Finn's favorite are his Legos for sure, and Tali's is her DSi. She just loves that camera as I knew she would.

My favorite gifts were the watch I got from Amanda and Chris, and the photo album my mom made for me chronicling my life from babyhood to adulthood. It is such a special gift. I started crying when I opened it and I couldn't stop. There are a lot of memories stored in that little book.

We came home around 12 and rested up before heading out to Ann's. I really enjoyed talking with the twins. We didn't stay long though, because we were so worn out.

Monday was the party at our house. I bought too much food as usual. Sorry Dad! It was great to see Kathy. She looks awesome and seems very happy. I miss talking to her. Around 10:00 Leo really started to feel awful. His stomach was bothering him and he couldn't stand up. Amanda and Chris ended up taking him to the emergency room just to make sure. They came home around 2, so I am assuming that he is okay. We were all asleep and I haven't talked to them yet.

Pretty soon I will start pulling things together. Dad is coming over at 3 to take us to the airport. Mark has to get to the bank and pick up a few things from Walmart still, but I think we are ready for the most part. I am both nervous and excited. For some reason I am worried about the language barrier and I don't know why. I have visited both Guatemala and China and didn't know the language so I dont' know why I am so freaked out this time. I think it is because this is going to be our home and I am hoping that I like it and that we fit in. I am also worried about the flight. Not a fan of the airplane, but I have to be strong for the kid's sakes since this will be their first flight.

I will post more once we get there. Bon voyage to us!