The run up to Christmas

Hello! Happy Christmas! This will be the last blog before Christmas so I hope that you will all have a pleasant and meaningful Christmastime.

Our Christmas preparations have been ongoing all week. We have shopped and cooked a lot this week getting things sorted before Pam and Ken arrived. Pam and Ken arrived on Friday and we met them and were home in good time.

On Monday the girls had their hair cut and then we met up with Tim for lunch. The girls were having a bad day on Monday for some reason and I was glad to get them into bed on Monday night! They were fine the rest of the week!

Tim came home on Monday night bearing a large parcel that he had been sent. A few weeks ago he and a colleague had done some last minute work for Microsoft UK and, as a thank you, they had sent the pair of them an enormous Fortnum and Mason Hamper full of delicious and very expensive goodies! My mouth was open as we sat and opened all the things that were included and I was glad that Pam and Ken were coming to help us eat them all, particularly as it inculded things that Tim and I would not choose to eat (like glacee fruits!). The hamper included an enormous Christmas pudding and 2 two pound jars of marmalade! I had better start to like marmalade I think!

On Tuesday we did some of the shopping and then went to ballet and gym in hte afternoon. I was looking for some small Christmas cake decorations on Tuesday afternoon but they don't sell them here! I fancied a little tree and a father Christmas but they were not to be found! It is so funny what you can and can't buy here; self raising flour is known as a speciality flour which is bizarre to me!

On Wednesday we met up with Marie and her children at the bouncy place which was great fun and in the afternoon we met up with Amy and Elisabeth at the Bellevue Arts Museum who were holding a craft session - always popular with my girls! We had fun and it was good to catch up with them all before Christmas.

On Thursday it was Tim's last day at work and we saw Naomi's school friend and her brother and sister at their house for an hour in the morning, which was very nice. In the afternoon we did the food shopping and then went to a party for the families who work at the church in some way. It was a great time adn fun to be with a lovely crowd of people.

On Friday it was a day of clearing up and getting ready really for our visitors and then I finished off the capes that I had been making for the girls for Christmas. They look good if you don't look too closely! They are not well made! I don't suppose the girls will be too bothered!

Yesterday we spent the morning decorating the Christmas cake and then in the afternoon we went to Kirkland to look for a picture for Tim and I from Pam and Ken. We had no success though. We also went to a bookshop that advetised itself as having a walk through the faraway Tree into the Childrens section. IT was a complete load of rubbish and had  a branch painted on the side of the wall and over ahead! Naomi was very disappointed!

Today we went to church this morning adn were watching teh girls in a Christmas pageant, which they were very excited about. Naomi was very good and stood at the front and said all the words and remembered all the actions. Esther could also remember the words but she was very excited about being on stage adn was a bit bouncy! We then had lunch out and then came home; it has been very wet today and not condusive to going anywhere at all!

Silas is walking properly now and waddles along looking half drunk! He has also learnt how to use the water dispenser in the fridge and will now collect a pot and toddle to the dispenser and push it. IF we have forgotten to turn the dispenser off, water pours onto the floor but this doesn't seem to stop him! He was very excited about hte Christmas tree this morning at church and almost went to join the girls on the stage at one point!

The girls are very excited about Christmas and keep asking when it is; they are pleased they only have 2 days left to wait! Tim has been a bit under the weather the last few days and so we are hoping that he is fully better before Christmas.

Well, that is it for now, have a lovely Christmas and I will blog next week to tell you about ours.