Leaving the camera in the hands of boys!
Leaving the camera in the hands of the girls!
A Winter Wonderland!
Saturday all of my family except a sister who had in-laws in town, came for dinner. We had a great time and I didn't get pics again of dinner because I was having too much fun eating and visiting. Shane was suppose to email me on Saturday, so I kept checking my computer all day and night. Even other people were keeping an eye on it for me. Well, then someone yelled, "Hey Lisa, I think Shane is trying to Skype you". So I went running into the living room and there he was on the computer. We could see him but not hear him. He was Skyping as a trial run to make sure everything worked and to set up a time to Skype on Sunday. Well, after 45 minutes, Shane still couldn't get his mic to work and we finally got a call through to one of the 5 cell phones that were in the apartment. We were really hoping something good would happen on Sunday. So, I missed dessert, clean-up, and saying good-bye to a few because we were trying to get all that worked out. Thanks to my extended family who just took care of it all.
Christmas presents from G-Ma. Tony had to work, so he missed the family party. Shiloh got to web cam with Addy so everyone could see her.
Christmas morning on Sunday we began the day with waffles and the Missionaries. It was a great breakfast and visit. We also got to watch Scott, Shiloh, and Addy open presents from us via web cam. You gotta love technology! It was great. Addy was so cute!
Elder Simon from Kiribati (near the Marshal Islands and pronounced Kirabess) He said he did not know what a stocking was so the kids wanted to make him one and fill it. It was very cute. He also was able to call home and I got to hear his mother wish me a Merry Christmas in English which she was very proud of. Considering what their language sounds like, I was very proud of her too.
Elder Potter who calls Hawaii home, was able to Skype home. It was very sweet and made me anxious to talk to Shane. He also got a stocking from the kids.
After breakfast we went to church and had a really nice Sacrament Meeting. Then we came home expecting to hear from Shane at 3 and have to call him while he was on Skype because of the microphone problem and he Skyped at 2:30 with a mic! I can't describe the emotion of seeing him on the computer and hearing his voice. It was amazing. We all got to visit with him for about an hour. We even got on web cam with Shiloh on another computer and she got to see him and he got to see her and Addy and Scott. It was really fun. He thought Addy was so cute! His Portuguese is excellent and his English is fading. :) He looked awesome and sounded great. His companion was very sweet and you could tell he and Shane truly loved each other. He thanked me in broken English for the stocking I had sent him in Shane's Christmas package. It was very tender and sincere. I'm so glad they got it before Christmas. A little miracle there! Shane was so loving and sweet with us and funny and entertaining all at once. It was awesome. He couldn't believe how big the kids were and how good looking they were. He kept saying "you are all so good looking" which struck us all so funny. We pictured him seeing us as pale creatures! After saying good-bye, we tried to move on. Happily James' brother and his family were there to get us going. We had a fun evening with them and a friend from church that I work with in the nursery.
Opening Christmas PJs Sunday night. The excitement begins.
Christmas Eve traditions. You gotta love 'em!
Goodies for Santa
James waiting patiently for the kids to go to sleep
After mom and dad were done
Ready to hit the hay
Santa came! Even a day late, just for us. Who says you can't change Christmas - Hehehehe
Our Christmas morning on Monday. It was wonderful. We had such fun as a family and then we had a dear friend come to visit who use to be with us on many Christmas mornings in the past. She was Shane, Tony, and Cameron's 2nd grade teacher. It was a fabulous visit.
We are looking forward to New Year's with James' family. Hope you all had a merry Christmas and you have a happy New Year!