To find out what we'll be up to for Christmas, head on over to my wordpress site...hope you have a very ¡Feliz Navidad! and a Happy New Year!
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
First Christmas in Puebla
We weren't sure what to expect our first Christmas in Puebla, but God blessed us with a very special experience with our friends Juan Carlos and Monica. We've spent a bit of time with our new friends in the last month and have enjoyed getting to know them.
Just about when we'd decided we'd be spending our first Christmas here alone (and without an oven! yikes.), Juan Carlos and Monica dropped by our house one night last week to invite us to eat Christmas dinner with them. We were thrilled (and not just because they were planning to have turkey...honest)! Christmas is about spending time with family and friends...with no family close, spending it with friends like Juan Carlos and Monica is just as special for us.
In Mexico, Christmas is celebrated on the 24th and Christmas dinner is usually eaten sometime during the evening, usually late. So we spent Saturday preparing the food for dinner that night...I made Venezuelan pan de jamón (ham bread) and Grandma Ople's Applie Pie (you can go here to see pictures of the process).
Once the food was ready, we went to their church for a Christmas Eve service. It was kinda hard to leave all that yummy food behind for a while, but we consoled ourselves with a little snack and the anticipation of the feast to come.
Finally, we headed back home and it was time to eat! And being that we are in Mexico, of course we had to have some rajas (jalapeño strips, carrots and onion in vinegar sauce) to accompany our meal!
After supper, all the kids went out to light their giant sparklers, apparently also a Christmas tradition in Mexico. We bought ours at a stoplight on our way to church and saw many people selling them at each intersection we went through.
After a brisk round of Manzanas Con Manzanas (Apples to Apples in Spanish!), we came home...it was 1:30 a.m. by the time we got everyone to bed. Then Miguel and I had to finish wrapping presents and preparing the stockings, so it was even later (or was that earlier?) by the time we got to sleep.
Naturally, the kids were wide awake by 7 a.m. ready to open their presents! Miguel refused to come down until at least 8:30, however, so I retold the Christmas story while we waited. Finally, he came down and our gift-giving began. We like to open the presents slowly, taking our time to enjoy each gift and this year, we had each gift-giver say something meaningful to the gift-receiver. At first it was a bit awkward for the kids, but by the end, they were enjoying it!
We tried to go to church on Sunday, but didn't last very long since the kids were falling asleep in their seats...so we came on home and rested for most of the afternoon. Then we went back to Juan Carlos and Monica's house and had round two with the leftovers!
God is good to give us what we desire...fun and fellowship during our first Christmas here in Puebla.
Juan Carlos, Monica, Carlos and Alonso
Just about when we'd decided we'd be spending our first Christmas here alone (and without an oven! yikes.), Juan Carlos and Monica dropped by our house one night last week to invite us to eat Christmas dinner with them. We were thrilled (and not just because they were planning to have turkey...honest)! Christmas is about spending time with family and friends...with no family close, spending it with friends like Juan Carlos and Monica is just as special for us.
In Mexico, Christmas is celebrated on the 24th and Christmas dinner is usually eaten sometime during the evening, usually late. So we spent Saturday preparing the food for dinner that night...I made Venezuelan pan de jamón (ham bread) and Grandma Ople's Applie Pie (you can go here to see pictures of the process).
Pan de jamón
Monica and I with the pies.
Once the food was ready, we went to their church for a Christmas Eve service. It was kinda hard to leave all that yummy food behind for a while, but we consoled ourselves with a little snack and the anticipation of the feast to come.
Finally, we headed back home and it was time to eat! And being that we are in Mexico, of course we had to have some rajas (jalapeño strips, carrots and onion in vinegar sauce) to accompany our meal!
After supper, all the kids went out to light their giant sparklers, apparently also a Christmas tradition in Mexico. We bought ours at a stoplight on our way to church and saw many people selling them at each intersection we went through.
After a brisk round of Manzanas Con Manzanas (Apples to Apples in Spanish!), we came home...it was 1:30 a.m. by the time we got everyone to bed. Then Miguel and I had to finish wrapping presents and preparing the stockings, so it was even later (or was that earlier?) by the time we got to sleep.
Naturally, the kids were wide awake by 7 a.m. ready to open their presents! Miguel refused to come down until at least 8:30, however, so I retold the Christmas story while we waited. Finally, he came down and our gift-giving began. We like to open the presents slowly, taking our time to enjoy each gift and this year, we had each gift-giver say something meaningful to the gift-receiver. At first it was a bit awkward for the kids, but by the end, they were enjoying it!
The kids with their stockings.
I made the kids some pillows...they loved them!
Miguel gave me a new cooking pot and I gave him some headphones, which he started using right away!
Love those Razorback pjs, Miguel!
We tried to go to church on Sunday, but didn't last very long since the kids were falling asleep in their seats...so we came on home and rested for most of the afternoon. Then we went back to Juan Carlos and Monica's house and had round two with the leftovers!
God is good to give us what we desire...fun and fellowship during our first Christmas here in Puebla.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
I Found the Stocking!
One of our favorite family traditions is the Hide-the-Stocking game...here are our rules:
1. The game is played throughout the Christmas season
2. The stocking must be hidden in the hallway or living room/dining room/kitchen area
3. Part of the stocking must be visible
4. Whoever finds the stocking gets to hide it in a different place
Here are some of the hiding places so far this year...
1. The game is played throughout the Christmas season
2. The stocking must be hidden in the hallway or living room/dining room/kitchen area
3. Part of the stocking must be visible
4. Whoever finds the stocking gets to hide it in a different place
Here are some of the hiding places so far this year...
Yes, our retirement fund...and the stocking
is about all that you will find in that particular fund!
is about all that you will find in that particular fund!
Of course, I found the stocking
there pretty quickly!
there pretty quickly!
in the tree...
behind the manger scene...
It's fun to be sneaky!
Christmas with the Friendly Beasts
In spite of not having a music teacher this year at our MK school, the elementary teachers were able to put together a short Christmas program featuring "The Friendly Beasts" (at least I think that's what it was called...). Everyone worked very hard and we all enjoyed their presentation. It just hardly seems like Christmas without a school Christmas program, so I am glad they made the effort!
Jkaile checking out Baby Jesus before the show...
I helped with the refreshments and ended up
wearing the exact same shade of green as Anita and
Deanna AND the napkins! Too funny!
wearing the exact same shade of green as Anita and
Deanna AND the napkins! Too funny!
The entire Kindergarten class were sheep...
Micah (in the orange) was one of the Kings...his belt
is made out of my curtain tie-backs! lol
is made out of my curtain tie-backs! lol
Gracia was a brown horse...
Micah and a friend after the program...
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Variation on Snowstorm
Last year, I had fun making a snowstorm to hang on the back of our front door. This year, however, I decided to use some of the paper leftover from the craft boxes to make colored garlands for my kitchen window. I will probably still make the white garlands for the door, though. I only have a couple of strands up so far...this would be so much easier if I had paper punches, but I don't, so at this point, I'm cutting out all these circles by hand!
I put some smaller circles on top
of larger circles to give dimension...I folded
the smaller circles and only glued the middle
crease to the larger circle for a 'butterfly' effect.
of larger circles to give dimension...I folded
the smaller circles and only glued the middle
crease to the larger circle for a 'butterfly' effect.
Some of the paper had some words and designs,
which worked well for the Christmas theme...
I also made some that are sort of a ball
shape out of four different circles...I have
instructions below.
which worked well for the Christmas theme...
I also made some that are sort of a ball
shape out of four different circles...I have
instructions below.
Here are some of the colors I have so far...
this is scrapbooking paper, but you could also
use magazines, old calendars, wrapping paper,
construction paper or
even make your own decorated paper.
I use two circles per 'ornament' on the garlands,
so that they look pretty from either side.
this is scrapbooking paper, but you could also
use magazines, old calendars, wrapping paper,
construction paper or
even make your own decorated paper.
I use two circles per 'ornament' on the garlands,
so that they look pretty from either side.
For the 'ball' ornament, I took four circles,
and folded each of them in half.
Then I glued three of the folded circles together,
leaving the one side open
to glue in the string (or fishing line, in this case).
A glue stick would probably be better to use than
school glue, but it's all I have at the moment...the
garlands can be made with string, ribbon, dental floss,
fishing line, etc.
leaving the one side open
to glue in the string (or fishing line, in this case).
A glue stick would probably be better to use than
school glue, but it's all I have at the moment...the
garlands can be made with string, ribbon, dental floss,
fishing line, etc.
Then, I glued in the fourth piece to complete the ball.
I think I might have the kids make some of
these as ornaments for our
Christmas tree, too!
I think I might have the kids make some of
these as ornaments for our
Christmas tree, too!
My little helper!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Wiwichu
The following must be read with a Spanish accent.
We had gotten such a laugh about this over Christmas,
but then forgot to take pictures.
I was so please to see another Pepsi
with the Christmas label on it so I could capture it!
I am really not sure what a "wiwichu" is...
but at least it's good for a laugh...or two.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Trying a New Recipe
There is a Christmas dinner at church tonight and I was asked to bring a guisado, a meat dish. I had the lady explain exactly what was meant by "guisado" since it can mean different things in different countries. She explained that it could be anything from sliced turkey to roast beef to meat sauteed with onions and tomatoes...so, pretty much any meat dish that could be served on its own alongside the other food (something like spaghetti sauce wouldn't work). Other people were to bring other parts of the meal, like vegetable dishes, salads, and desserts.
Since I only found out about the dinner last night (we've had a crazy week with school Christmas parties/programs and the church programs/rehearsals and Miguel had forgotten to inform me!), it didn't give me much time to think about what to take. So I peeked in my freezer to see what the options were...thank goodness I went shopping yesterday! I had two packages of "falda de res" (literally "beef skirt"-flank steak, I believe), which would have made a good shredded beef dish, some ground beef, and a medium-sized pork roast. I decided to go with the pork since it's a traditional Christmas meat here. So I got that out to thaw while I looked up recipes online. Almost all of my recipe books and recipe cards got left in Venezuela...but you can find just about anything online! Allrecipes is one of my favorite places to look.
Unfortunately, we forgot to bring our crockpot home from the Spanish study office where we'd used it to heat tamales for the Christmas party last Tuesday, so it was either stovetop or oven...amazingly, the first recipe I came to caught my eye as it called for pork, pineapple, and craisins, all of which I had today! :) I adapted the recipe for the oven instead of the crockpot and substituted fresh pineapple for the canned.
Here is what I did...first I let the pork thaw a bit and then I rubbed it with salt, freshly ground pepper, garlic powder, thyme, and rosemary. Then I seared it in a little oil and put it in the oven. While that was heating up, I added the pineapple chunks and chopped craisins to the pan I'd seared the pork in, adding about 1/3? cup of brown sugar and maybe a cup of water. I let that simmer until the pineapple was cooked, maybe 1/2 an hour or so?
When the pineapple was done, I took the roast out of the oven and turned it over, covering it with about half of the pineapple mixture. I covered the whole thing with foil and put it back in the oven for a while (can you tell I'm a bit foggy about the time? When it comes to times and measurements, I'm not exactly precise...LOL! I can't even tell you the temperature because the oven only has numbers from 1 to 5! I put it on 3, in case that helps). Anyway, I estimate that the time in the oven was somewhere around an hour, total, plus about 10 more minutes at the end where I turned the pork one more time, added the rest of the pineapple mixture, and put it back in the oven uncovered.
I have to tell you that the whole time it was baking, the house smelled SO GOOD! After I took it out of the oven and Miguel and I tasted a bit, he said, "Don't take it!" :) We couldn't resist tasting just a wee bit more...but there was still enough to send to the dinner (I was asked to send enough for 10 people). Ironically, Micah got sick this afternoon and I have a terrific headache/migraine, so Miguel went on his own with Gracia and Jojo. Oh well, I am thinking that I might fix this same dish for Christmas dinner, it would be SO good over mashed potatoes or even with roasted potatoes...hmmm...now there's a thought!
Since I only found out about the dinner last night (we've had a crazy week with school Christmas parties/programs and the church programs/rehearsals and Miguel had forgotten to inform me!), it didn't give me much time to think about what to take. So I peeked in my freezer to see what the options were...thank goodness I went shopping yesterday! I had two packages of "falda de res" (literally "beef skirt"-flank steak, I believe), which would have made a good shredded beef dish, some ground beef, and a medium-sized pork roast. I decided to go with the pork since it's a traditional Christmas meat here. So I got that out to thaw while I looked up recipes online. Almost all of my recipe books and recipe cards got left in Venezuela...but you can find just about anything online! Allrecipes is one of my favorite places to look.
Unfortunately, we forgot to bring our crockpot home from the Spanish study office where we'd used it to heat tamales for the Christmas party last Tuesday, so it was either stovetop or oven...amazingly, the first recipe I came to caught my eye as it called for pork, pineapple, and craisins, all of which I had today! :) I adapted the recipe for the oven instead of the crockpot and substituted fresh pineapple for the canned.
Here is what I did...first I let the pork thaw a bit and then I rubbed it with salt, freshly ground pepper, garlic powder, thyme, and rosemary. Then I seared it in a little oil and put it in the oven. While that was heating up, I added the pineapple chunks and chopped craisins to the pan I'd seared the pork in, adding about 1/3? cup of brown sugar and maybe a cup of water. I let that simmer until the pineapple was cooked, maybe 1/2 an hour or so?
When the pineapple was done, I took the roast out of the oven and turned it over, covering it with about half of the pineapple mixture. I covered the whole thing with foil and put it back in the oven for a while (can you tell I'm a bit foggy about the time? When it comes to times and measurements, I'm not exactly precise...LOL! I can't even tell you the temperature because the oven only has numbers from 1 to 5! I put it on 3, in case that helps). Anyway, I estimate that the time in the oven was somewhere around an hour, total, plus about 10 more minutes at the end where I turned the pork one more time, added the rest of the pineapple mixture, and put it back in the oven uncovered.
I have to tell you that the whole time it was baking, the house smelled SO GOOD! After I took it out of the oven and Miguel and I tasted a bit, he said, "Don't take it!" :) We couldn't resist tasting just a wee bit more...but there was still enough to send to the dinner (I was asked to send enough for 10 people). Ironically, Micah got sick this afternoon and I have a terrific headache/migraine, so Miguel went on his own with Gracia and Jojo. Oh well, I am thinking that I might fix this same dish for Christmas dinner, it would be SO good over mashed potatoes or even with roasted potatoes...hmmm...now there's a thought!
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Holiday Fun
A couple of weeks ago, my friend Tasha gave me her leftover fall miniature squashes/gourds. As I thought about what to do with them, it ocurred to me that it would be very funny to "recycle" them for Christmas and give them right back! And it was! We got some good laughs about this yesterday as she unwrapped each one. I forgot to take "before" pictures, but here are some of the end result (minus a green spotted one that I hadn't quite finished...similar to the red-spotted one). I think they turned out pretty cute!
My favorite one, I think...
Second favorite? It was hard to choose...
I've got some other projects that I'm working on that shall have to remain secrets until after Christmas so as not to ruin any surprises...so much fun! :) Last night I found a video on how to make little boxes, which are perfect for some of my creations.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Christmas is coming!
I love Christmas! I love the Christmas story...Joseph and Mary, the angels and the shepherds, Baby Jesus, the Wise Men...I love the colors and the bows and the lights...and the presents, of course! And it's fun to pass on traditions to my kids. Every year is a little bit different for us since we're usually either in a different house or even a different country! Since we're new to Mexico, our Christmas decorations are slim, but we're getting creative and making do...we're pretty happy with the results. I am going shopping tomorrow to pick up some more things, but this is what we have so far...
I also added a couple of strips of colorful wrapping paper
We borrowed this door ornament from a friend at church.
Miguel even repainted the door! The bow
made it look pretty shabby...
The kids and I have been hard at work making paper snowflakes!
We are hanging them in the windows
and on the front door.
Along with the snowflakes, we have lights in the big front windows...
I also added a couple of strips of colorful wrapping paper
to the top and bottom of the glass...looks festive!
I set up a small table with a green tablecloth for
the presents and the manger scene...the kids have already spent
quite a bit of time rearranging it to their satisfaction.
Good thing it's kid-friendly!
Our diminuitive Christmas tree...it came complete with lights and
ornaments already attached! They are all kid-friendly and
since they are attached, Jkaile can't get them off.
He can, of course, pull the whole tree over, which
he's already done several times.
But no worries, I just stand it back up!
I highly recommend it for families with small children! LOL!
I set up a small table with a green tablecloth for
the presents and the manger scene...the kids have already spent
quite a bit of time rearranging it to their satisfaction.
Good thing it's kid-friendly!
Our diminuitive Christmas tree...it came complete with lights and
ornaments already attached! They are all kid-friendly and
since they are attached, Jkaile can't get them off.
He can, of course, pull the whole tree over, which
he's already done several times.
But no worries, I just stand it back up!
I highly recommend it for families with small children! LOL!
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