whew, this is an old photo already! this is the birthday lunch we had for Brielle's birthday on Dec 31 at Le Cafe de la Gare.

The boys at the club. On Tuesday afternoons Judah's school usually has swimming lessons, which he may or may not attend based on Asher's sleep schedule since the ladies dont work Tuesday afternoons and if he's sleeping then i cant just bring Judah to the pool... anyway.. so this last Tuesday when i picked the kids up from school the teacher says to me something about swimming, and i said, 'yes, yes' i knew there was swimming and i would try to bring Judah that day... so we walked down to the Club with Asher, thinking that he would fall asleep en route, but he didnt, and then we swam for a while before the school was scheduled to come... and then they didnt come and didnt come... and then i realized that i had obviously not listened very well to what the teacher was saying. haha. he probably told me that there was no swimming that day but i just assumed he was nagging me to take my kid to swimming. Regardless, it was a nice time with the pool to ourselves. Judah is spending increasing amounts of time in the big pool and i suspect that the water wings are just a psychological thing for him by now. I reckon he's fully capable of swimming on his own, he just doesnt have the confidence yet to do it, nor to use the slide (you can see the slide in the background just to Judah's left). Here we are, above, having a little snack before we pack up and walk back home. (didnt i just feel so active that day! haha).

This last Saturday Josh, Judah and i went downtown to look for a shop called "Naza" where we went to suss out TV prices. We received some really nice gaming toys this last Christmas and now thought we could invest some of our Christmas money into a new TV that didnt have a smashed in upper right corner. ha.

It was nice to go out for lunch there without Asher keeping everyone on their toes. It felt quite relaxing with only one mature child around. haha.

When we got back from downtown we saw a chain gang of workers tilling under our front grass area by hand. The proprietor has hired a landscaper and apparently they plan to level the area (!), re-plant better grass (without weeds) and then once the grass starts growing they will purchase the gardeners (2) an electric lawn mower so they can stay on top of the grass mowing. ha. i'll believe that when i see it.

these are the aforementioned kitchen counter-tops. I did dishes today in my raised kitchen sink because it was that exciting. haha. You can see in the back corner behind me that we need some sort of corner counter/ shelving. I would love a corner trolley (like there is, with the microwave, but it's not long enough) that reached the length between the fridge and the wall, and then i would put the water filter up in the corner on a stand of some sort. Where it is now (see below) Asher loves to play with the spigot and we've got none to spare if it breaks.

We still plan to put the cupboard doors back once Josh has router-ed holes in them to allow the air to circulate so that the under counter area doesnt get all moldy like it did before. I think i mentioned that we're hoping the proprietor will send someone to finish up by replacing the window and cupboard door frames. then we'll paint the doors and window frames white (in real life they're kind of an old dirty beige, which looks terrible now with our brand new tiles).

i wanted to include some pictures of the less than stellar finishing job that the 'tile-guy' did. Apparently it usually takes him 2-4 days to complete tiling these kitchens, but "miraculously" he did my kitchen in one day! this was reportedly because he wasnt bogged down by constant criticism by those looking over his shoulder. it appears i would have benefited in being more critical while he was there! gah!

look at how much bigger a cut he made in that tile by the corner of the sink!

that corner will need some serious filing down or else it will be a health and safety hazard.

the corners, you might not be able to see, dont have very good top cement, and the holes will undoubtedly gather dust and bugs in them. ugh.

under the since there is some rough concrete which, if you accidentally drip - say - some schmont fat gravy while trying to scrape the leftovers into the garbage, it settles into the little holes in the concrete... blech. i'm hoping to also paint the floor of the cupboards with oil paint to sort of seal it a bit better.

the outlet up on the counter-top was a) chipped by the tile-ripper-outter, and b) apparently they forgot to re-install it back flush into the wall... it's impossible to just push it back in for reasons i havent yet determined. alas. BUT check out the new canisters i found at Shoprite to keep our oatmeal/porridge and flour and sugar and display on our lovely new counter-tops. woot!

I'm hoping that we'll be able to afford a new paint job in parts of our house in the near future. Anyone have any brilliant ideas of if i should go "wild" and paint the kitchen a colour other than white? and, what about a new curtain by the window. suggestions?

Our kitchen has been upgraded by the proprietor. Woot, woot! Not only is it nicer, newer, 'upper' (i suppose i could use 'higher'), cleaner, but it's also free-er! yes! We were thinking, after we had seen the new tiles in the other house, that we would shell out for our own new counter-tops since the proprietor seemed somewhat stingy at that time. But we waited until after Christmas and, voila, he decided to our house also!

We're also enjoying our new icecream maker that i ordered off the 220volt website and had it brought along with my parents. That first batch of vanilla bean icecream we had before my siblings left was probably some of the best ice cream we've ever eaten! Just now we've also made the 'fudgesicle ice cream' recipe one of our favourites, mostly because it's chocolaty and doesnt require cream, which costs ca. 18,000Ar/litre ($9!) If we ever get ourselves over the chinese 'grocery store' Horizon to see if there are any Oreos in country we'll also be making oreo icecream soon. Yum!! I'm also looking to try 'pumpkin spice' - mostly because it sounds strange, and peanut butter, once i've made my own peanut butter to make it with as there still isnt any in the shops since before December.

Two days ago in our stroll through the back garden Judah and i found a nest which had obviously fell from the pine trees above and had fortuitously landed face-up atop one of the bougainvillea bushes, thus safe from prowling fosas and stupid cats who like to come into our yard to use our sandbox. At first thinking it was merely a nest without birds i took it down to show Judah, only to find two baby birds therein. ack! Just this morning Irene came inside with Asher to show me his scraped toe, which he obtained while running after a baby bird in the front yard, too little to fly, but apparently having hopped/fallen out of a nest somewhere. We rescued the poor bird from his squishing little hands and put it up a bit higher in the bamboo poles stuck in the back garden... only to fall prey to starvation no doubt, since the little guy's mother wont be able to find it now. gah! What is it about the bio-chemistry of a woman that causes us to feel that surge of mother-instinct and want to help motherless children who are in dire straights? I've got no clue what to do for baby birds who stretch out their mouths for food and i've got nothing to feed them. I did search the dirt for some worms, but with no feeding success. I am a failure as a mother bird. Now i'm forced to sit here listening to their tiny peeps and dont really want to sit out on the deck to read my book because i cant stand the gnawing helpless feeling of doom.

I get the same feeling when i pass by collections of small children - some no more than infants - sitting, seemingly unattended, on the sidewalks downtown. We passed some kids New Year's Eve noon when we went with Geoff and Brielle to Le Cafe de le Gare to celebrate her birthday, stepping out from glitter and old age ritz onto dirty streets with dirtier children, what looked like a 4 year old watching over an infant lying on the sidewalk. ack! I could only assume - to calm my heightening blood pressure - that the parents were just over the street selling vegetables and had their eye on their children, who they had placed there to be in the shade rather than baking in the hot sun.

Meanwhile, my own children are plump and active with good health, well cared for by a collection of loving adults.

Periodically worked to the bone to earn their keep.

This last Sunday i found out that one of my ladies, Irene, had taken in a nephew of hers from the bush. Apparently his dad had left the family for another woman and the mother was unable to keep-well her two children. Besides that fact the little boy - Adrian - thought that Irene's husband was his dad and was tortured at the thought that he would leave him behind when Irene and husband Eli would leave back for Tana from visiting during Christmas vacation. He's almost 4 years old and struggles with a stutter, most likely brought on by stress, i think. Anyway, he was thrilled to play in the sandbox with Asher and all the big trucks yesterday. I chided her for being too shy to bring him to our Christmas party with the staff and their families because she was afraid to upset me (!?). She said she didnt bring him because she had rsvp'd that there were two coming to the party, before she knew of their third. Somehow i had a kid's present left over from the fete and had put it away - still wrapped - for some later birthday party or somesuch. Upon hearing of the new child i sent it home with her for him.

With stray birds and unattended children, with heart wrenching stories of kids not being allowed adoptions until they've lived at least 9 months in an orphanage meanwhile i'm reading Gordon Neufeld's book on parenting and imprinting at a young age, it settles my feathers somewhat to know that a sad little boy has found a new loving home.

in theory i despise facebook. but once again i resort to status updates as a blog entry because i'm too brain weary to do anything else.

Jocelyn R. Plett:

is exhausted! Asher was up all night with a start of a cold (and me too). i think i slept a total of 3 hours.

cant sleep just now because the tiling guy is bashing the kitchen counter-top tiles out.

is looking forward to a mostly brand new kitchen. woot, woot!

but hoping it wont take all week to finish it up.

was so stoked to read the 4th book in Margaret Whalen Turner's "The Theif" series, but thinks it's not nearly as good as the first three. (sorry for that spoiler for anyone else who wanted to read it).

has good intentions of a) eating rice, vegetables and fruit only this week and b) walking daily to the market to buy them.

asked my husband last night before bed where he saw himself in 10 years... only to have him answer that he had no idea... and that he hoped he'd be employed. haha. The question, unfortunately helped keep me up late into the night.

imagining myself at 50 with a teenager in house was a huge motivation toward not having planning anymore children.

thinks being re-stationed in the Congo or Afghanistan might be an effective weight loss plan. (Apparently i'm too comfortable and stree-free here and therefore have gained a significant amount of weight. alas.)

can smell malathion wafting in from my garden.

and Josh watched the first 2 episodes of Glee season... 2? 3? (the latest one) and decided it was a bit too... "current" and that we preferred the 80s music of last season.

is contemplating the dilemma of dressing a 30 year old body in clothes that dont look like their in 30-year-old-denial (aka 20 year old clothes that fit snug around a post-20-year-old-body) nor look too i've-given-style-up-as-a-lost-cause in favor of comfort/hiding less than lovely parts/thrift.

has a SUPER busy 1 year old who gets into everything, only likes playing with 'adult' things, "gabs" on the cell phone whenever he can get his hands on it, climbs up on everything, hates going to sleep, doesnt like cuddling either, and is exhibiting strong mulish characteristics when faced with any obstacle to his wishes.
 
should really go for that walk if i want to make it back in time to go out to pick up judah from school.

Our last house guests left just 2 hours ago*. Upon Josh's return from dropping them off at the airport he immediately began to clean up the garage again (he did it just pre-visitors and i suppose he felt as though it had need of another culling/sorting after it being the junk-dumping place of choice for the last month or so). We're both unashamedly thrilled to have our house back to ourselves and i am also sorting through things, moving furniture back to 'small-family' mode and putting the last vestiges of Christmas/holiday paraphernalia back in the closet.

Since the departure of our guests we are 6 pairs of underwear richer. Score! LOL. Although i did write a note to my siblings and parents to be sure to label their underwear pre-arrival it appears as though we werent as thorough as we could have been. Ah well. Their loss, our gain. haha.

The rains maybe have started up finally. It's been so dry in the last 2 months, much to the detriment of the rice fields i'm sure. We had downpours the last two nights, which have made everything hot and humid, bah. anyway, it's great for the garden and i love the sound of the rain hammering on the tin roof. They just replaced all our gutters with brand new ones and painted the soffits. Everything looks nice and new. They will begin with replacing my kitchen counter-top tiles on Monday - hurrah! (i'm hosting MAF guests twice this coming week... hopefully i can get something done in my kitchen when it's in a state of reno-chaos).

The rain hammering on the roof is also good for drowning out the wails of certain individuals who are now learning to sleep without bottles in their mouths. It was getting out of hand replenishing his bottles 4 times a night, so now that the grandparents are gone there is more opportunity to let him work it out on his own. So far i'm up 3-0 in the new sleep-war tournament. haha!

photos from Brielle's camera of the last 2 days before their departure.

Yesterday i took Brielle and Geoff to the jeweler once more to pick up some things they had ordered. WE've been there a LOT in the last month or so, much to my sisters-in-law's delight and my own. Brielle took some photos of our time there and Mme Tina also took us on a tour of her back garden and rice fields. It was a great tour for tourists to be sure! And we got to see how she cuts the stones and whanotall. it was pretty interesting.

this is Geoff, Brielle and Mme Tina the jeweler in her display room/shop.

Most Canadians, as i explained to Mme Tina, are used to buying jewelry ready-made at the store. One of the attractions for visitors here is the opportunity to visit a jeweler where you can purchase un-set stones that come from all over the country. Mme Tina is the aunt of one of our MAF staff and has proven herself to be trustworthy in her dealings. that is, we can trust that she wont sell us fake stones or give us ridiculous prices. She also does good work in setting them. So anyway, my mom, sisters in law and i visited her a few times to take a look at her wares, choose some stones and had them set into pendants, rings, etc. For what the stones/jewelry is worth in Canada the price here is quite a bit lower because of the proximity of the stone locations and the lower cost of labour.

This time around Brielle asked to see how they made the stones/jewelry. This is the machine they use to shape the stones by hand. This is a family run business and they do their work in the same 'compound' where they work and farm.

Tina told us that this was the more professional machine to cut the precious stones. It cost them 1,500$ approx. to purchase, which she indicated was an astronomical amount for them. She also indicated that since the political crisis she has lost many of her clients. It's a difficult time for her as it is for many Malagasy these days.

She took us on a tour of her land. It was full of fruit trees and vegetables. This fruit, which Geoff is putting his hand on to provide scale, is a fruit we didnt recognize and our hosts couldnt remember the french name for. Anyone know what it is?

Their rice fields.

their tortoise.

Brielle and Geoff (... and Brielle's glasses. ) in the backyard.

* portions of this blog are cut/pasted from an email to a friend, i confess.

We're now half the people in the house that we used to be. Eric and Lara left the night after my parents (which made for another late night for the rest of us, yawn!) and now we're down to the Pletts and Geoff&Brielle. It's therefore a lot less busy and hectic around here. The meals are a lot more simple, the grocery cart a lot less full, the itinerary quite a bit less packed. This week Judah and Josh are both back at school/work and routine will almost be back. I cant say i'm disappointed. 3.5 weeks of holidaying with 6 extra adults has taken its toll and i confess that i'm tired and ready for some quiet(er) time.

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Below is our year in review. A lot of little things that made for a quick but emotionally-draining year.

- January - Leaving Canada after an eight month furlough (for Judah and Jocelyn at least), packed up with all our Christmas-in-Canada schwag, things off our shopping list we'd made while still in Mada knowing we couldnt do without them , full financial support, and a 2 month old baby. Prepared to return to Mada for our second 4-year term in a place we already called home...

- only to return to Mada where everything was different: an almost entirely new MAF team to work with, the loss of our closest friends over the next 2-3 months... bah. you've read enough of that crappy season, so i wont say anything else.

-        -   Made Paska buns for Easter for the first time ever and they didn’t suck! We hosted an Easter gathering with friends.

      April 19, 2010 we celebrated our 4 year anniversary of our arrival in Madagascar.   Most of the rest of the world is not celebrating the volcanic ash that fell over Europe and surrounding area. Many tourists are stranded in Madagascar due to canceled flights back to Paris.

-          Found it amusing to periodically post photos of the boys at the same age in the same outfits with the same backdrop to see if readers could tell who was who. Their drastically different eye colours tends to be a dead giveaway.

-          Josh goes to South Africa for a week to complete his Check Pilot course.

-          Josh’s 32^nd birthday May 14 is celebrated at one of the new great restaurant/cafes on our side of town! (La Combava) There are a few nicer places popping up closer to us, which is super thrilling for those who don’t get out much.

-          Early May - There’s shooting downtown again – the political crisis in slow-simmer boils over now and again.

-          After a few months of come-and-go illness we seem to be getting stronger. Jocelyn gloats about domestic bliss: homemade teething biscuits and baby food, quilting, and pre-school craft projects. 

-          Josh and our SA friend Reinier play a weekly game of Cricket on Friday afternoons. Josh acquires a Cricket injury thereby ending his Cricket career.

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- June 26 Madagascar celebrates 50 years of independence. Rhonda and Matthew host a big Independence Day celebration at their house. Josh and Matthew had to give free airplane rides to children during the day…

-          We all go along with Josh on a trip to Fianarantsoa. 

-          Judah begins summer/winter holidays and we thus begin a ‘activity of the day’ campaign . We celebrate Canada day for the last time with the Slaubaughs (at least, in Madagascar), Josh’s favourite GAP pants are stolen off our laundry line in the back yard.

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- Hosted the new MAF pastoral couple who, in their last presentation, equipped us with tools to face the continuing transition we were facing.

- enjoyed another winter at the coast on Ile aux Nattes with great friends, going whale watching, playing in the sand and just "getting outta Dodge" as it were.

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-          July 28 – Mme Irene is robbed of all her household items. Indicative of the instability in the country.

- August 7 my baby brother got married. I was very sad to have missed the wedding and had wrestled for months previous about whether or not to fly back to Canada for the event.

- the trees and branches of the pine trees around our house finally came down!   Sunlight streams into our garden. Plants start to grow!! Plant grass in the front for the 4th time in our time here at this house which, by December, is lush and green for the first time ever!!

-          Asher starts weaning from mommy’s milk to formula milk.

-          Josh takes over Operations at the MAF Hangar.

- September 11 - our closest neighbours and friends in Madagascar leave after 6 years living and working here. They were the last of our closest 'family' to leave us for this year. 

-          September 11 Asher takes his first steps .

- God sends new friends for Jocelyn and Judah to bring heart-healing in a time when it feels like we're living in a new country where we know almost no one!

- Jocelyn begins Malagasy lessons 

-          - September 25 Jocelyn celebrates her 33rd birthday with a wonderful husband and great girlfriends!!

-         - October  Hosted our American friends for Canadian Thanksgiving. Made Pumpkin pie that was awesome!

-          Jocelyn attends (for the first time ever) the Madagascar Women’s Retreat at Lake Mantasoa. leaving boys behind with Josh. Woot, woot!

-          Nov 17 Madagascar has a referendum… which turns into a mini political coup just down the road/up the hill from our house.

-          November 22 Asher turns 1! 

-          December 3 Judah turns 5, but is sick that week so we postpone his party to after...

-          December 5 when his grandparents arrive to visit for the month. 

-          December continues on with the arrival of Jocelyn’s two brothers and their wives, visits to Andasibe and the rainforest, Ile aux Nattes on the east coast, a Hot Christmas on the deck and the eventual departure of family again.

-          New Years eve found us celebrating sister in law Brielle’s birthday and going to bed nice and early again. Yes!

-           

One of the things i appreciate about having guests from overseas is their new eyes to what we see every day and have grown accustomed to. The photos in this entry are taken from my middle brother Eric and and his wife Lara's photo files.

this is a public toilet at the rainforest.

New eyes is one reason why i would have loved to have had more blogging by our visitors of their observations of life in Madagascar not only for our readers' benefit, but for our own - that we might see anew the world around us with the eyes of a true foreigner. But i suppose our time together this last month was so hectic that none of us had the opportunity to sit quiet for a while and process what we were experiencing.

I'm starting to think, however, that we may have done such a good job hosting and sheltering our visitors from the 'real Madagascar' that they may have left thinking that this is paradise on earth and all we've ever mentioned to the negative about our experience living here is just due to weak character...

public transportation

I'm also trying to tell myself that their inability to experience 'real life' here (just as we no longer have the ability to experience 'real life' in Canada) shouldn't disqualify our experiences of challenge and difficulty. After all, visitors come for a short time, always with the knowledge that they are returning to their comfortable life back in Canada. Most people can endure something different for a short time if they know that they have an imminent out.

We did have a wonderful time together as a family and i enjoyed getting to know my new sisters-in-law better. These 3+ weeks we've spent together: eating meals together on a daily basis, sleeping in the same house, doing activities together, etc. have been the most intensive time we've spent together as a family since... well, i think since i moved out of the house to go to college in 1999!  I realized, however, that since that time we've all gone in very different directions and geography does strange things to relationships.

Uncle Eric and Asher at Ile aux Nattes

our ride in the bus back to the airport at Ste.Marie. Check out the mini-movie screen mounted on the rear view mirror. high society!! haha

I suppose after this idyllic family vacation we've had i've been left with the bittersweet knowledge that despite being where we know we should be and learning contentment for where God has brought us, we've sacrificed the close relationships with family that we would have had had we decided to settle in the small town we both grew up in. When the Word tells us that "those who [have] left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife^[a] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much" (Mt 19:29) it doesn't mention the challenges and inner conflict that this leaving will bring, or the differences in world view that this kind of separation will engender. Having family conversations over that divide is at times a discouraging and difficult thing. And yet, we are thankful for the knowledge that no matter what differences each of us has in our lives, we are bound together by blood and will forever be a family who loves and supports each other to the best of our abilities.

Monday noon we had the workers and their families over for a Christmas lunch and presents. Josh's family back home sent pressies for the children (minus some i forgot to mention, so i got a few more). I confess i was a bit nervous about having 20 Malagasy over on the deck for a big meal, but in the end it came together easily and we had a great time together eating, chatting, opening gifts, etc. My favourite part was at the end when they asked if they could pray for us and our family - it was an awesome feeling to stand all of us together on the deck and hear them all pray out loud together at the same time for us in Malagasy. We have been so fortunate with the workers that we have had in our home and i consider ourselves blessed by God to have the in our lives.

For those who care about such things, we made Italian Chicken Lentil Soup from the Betty Crocker cookbook. Made it in the slow-cooker the day before and then served it over rice. Josh also made a huge batch of home made mac&cheese which the Malagasy thought so novel and foreign. We had Spice Cake for dessert.

Josh and i served the plates, the adults sat out on the deck and the children out in the front garden on the grass. They were also very thrilled to have a movie on the big screen (we borrowed the MAF video projector) before and after the meal.

Despite the language barriers, we seemed to be able to communicate well among everyone.

Mme Pauline's grandchild Miora (mirror-ah) was the doll of the party, since Asher was sleeping the whole party. What a party pooper.

This is Solo (the gardener's) wife and her mother.

I got to be Mrs. Claus handing out all the toys.

Fanja's middle daughter Sarah. Some of the girls got My Little Pony's. I got magazine beaded necklaces for some, like the one i'm wearing. I also had two extra smaller shoulder bags which i gave to the oldest two girls.

The ladies each got a bag also. They've been watching me make them for the last 2 months, i wondered if they suspected that they were for them. I sneakily asked them in passing conversation what colours they prefered. Irene loves pink!

I dont ever know what to get men, so i came up with the idea of a can of nuts - since those cashews i got a few weeks ago were only 5,000Ar/Kg (2.50$) and i have many large tin cans with sealing lids from all the formula milk we bought for a few months.

the little boys got a Duplo set or a puzzle something or other that my Dad's secretary sent in a gift package for the students in Judah's school class. There was only one puzzle, so i took it out and saved it.

These children (above and below) are Mme Pauline's grandkids.

Solo's daughter.

Spice Cake. I bought myself a white cake stand at Shoprite that morning for the event.

Fanja, stuffing her new back with all her children's new toys.

After dessert chatting.

Irene and her husband Eli

Fanja and her family. Her daughters are Kezia (named after one of the later daugthers of Job), Sarah, and Rebbecca, and the 5 year old boy is Joshua. I'm sorry to say that i dont remember her husband's name because it's a long Malagasy one.

Solo's family. His wife's name is Jolanda, she works at the house of a friend of mine. I know one of the daughters names is Daniella, and the 5 year old boy is Simeon.

Mme Pauline. her oldest son (whose name i dont know) is married to the lady in the red shirt, her name is Hortense. I just arranged for her to be hired at the Canadian Flyers' house in the house formerly known as the Slaubaugh's. That's her 1.5 year old daughter Miora and the smallest boy down below, Rado. The other two children are Pauline's youngest two. They always look that dour whenever i see them. Shame. I always wonder if they always are so unhappy or only when their mom makes them come to visit the vazahas. ha.

The families were all very insistent that we pass on huge thank-yous to those who sent the gifts, toys, and Christmas day chickens. They blessed you vociferously.

My parents left late last night. We gamely stayed up until 10:30 trying to appear awake, and then read online that their plane was an hour late in departing, so they'd only need to be at the airport at midnight or sometime thereafter... gah! But i think my dad could see that we were all fading fast, so he kindly put us out of our misery and they went to the airport early so we could all go to bed. Bless his heart. We had a wonderful time with them here, my only complaint was that we were so busy with traveling and having everyone here at the same time that i didnt feel as though we got a lot of time with just my parents to chat. But i suppose living in their basement every other year gives us ample time to talk. The boys, of course, hugely enjoyed the lavished attention of their grandparents and Asher and i - at the very least - missed their presence early this morning when Asher was awake before everyone else. alas. Anyway, we wish them a good trip home, a lovely winter picnic on the bridge by the Notre Dame Cathedral and await their Paris photos with anticipation. Beware anyone who ventures to visit them in the next few weeks, they've got ALL of the photos from all our cameras to show. haha.

 

It's been a great day celebrating Christmas with the family out on the deck. A lovely breakfast followed by round one of presents... followed by meal prep and meal consumption, desert prep and desert consumption... and then lounging around digesting.

This (below) is a video from Judah's Christmas program... i dont think i've posted it yet.

One of Asher's favourite gifts was the Christmas card from Grandparents Plett: a musical card with a barking dog.

just a look around the after dinner table.

we decorated the tree (some more) on Christmas eve whilst drinking hot chocolate and eating Christmas goodies... and then after the baby went to bed we watched The Santa Clause.

Asher and Auntie Brielle

opening pressies

that's me. i posted it because my husband almost never takes photos of me, so this is a momentous occasion.

opening more presents.

here's Eric reading the card from Grampa Reimer. Thanks for the gifts Grampa and Grama Hilda!

this photo looks silly, but really, the gift made us chortle with glee and lick our lips

Judah got a lot of Spiderman stuff for Christmas.

and Josh got a special gift from Matthew S. haha. I wonder if his wife informed him of this.
the story is, at Rhonda and Matthew's departure garage sale i discovered these blue Jets sweatpants. I declared to Rhonda that not many people would recognize the true value of those sweats and she came up with the idea to gift them to Josh for Christmas from Matthew. ha. I thought it a hilarious idea myself. As you can see he was quite thrilled with them.

although we all agreed not to give gifts amongst the adults this year, i confessed that i had already bought some for my sisters in law before we made that decision... and i bought my mother a jewel encrusted bracelet while she was standing next to me at the jeweler - i ordered it in french and she was none the wiser. heehee.

we did gifts out on the deck, dragged the tree out also.

My parents bought Asher's Christmas gift last week at Shoprite. It was a Huge hit!! He's a teddy bear kinda guy.

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Another lovely Christmas day spent (after a lot of hours in the kitchen) enjoying Christmas luncheon on the deck. Our only complaint - which the Manitobans refused to complain about - was that it was too hot in the sun for those who werent under the shade canopy we rigged up with an old sheet to protect us from the sun. I will say, if i may, that by now i reckon i can pull off the organization of a Christmas day meal without much stress - everyone helped a lot and by 5:15pm we've only the desert dishes to do after stuffing ourselves like the proverbial turkey. On the menu this year was mostly traditional dishes - laid out festively on a not-as-traditional holiday table out on the deck:
-two large(ish) chickens bought via our house help lady's neighbour for 17,000Ar/pc (ca. 9$) which Josh and the guys BBQ'd, both with a home made rub, one impaled on beer can. They were moist and oh so delicious. Below: Geoff making the rub.

Josh and Geoff prepping the birds and the Bar-Bees

- two batches of stuffing baked in oven a la Jocelyne. As opposed to this last Thanksgiving, i used the right spice this time 'round and which called for much loud shouting of excitement from the cook when i smelled the 'right' smell when they came out of the oven.

(ok, i realize that in this photo i look like i've gained 40pounds... and that rumors may develop regarding more r.pletts on the way: just so we're all clear, i'm NOT pregnant!!)

- i will say here however that because we shipped off our two MAF issued ovens, the gas one whose oven didnt work and the electric one that was falling apart at the seams but which we used for the oven, to sell at the MAF garage sale this last week we did most of our Christmas meal baking in a new gas stove which caused no end of frustration. Note to future self: do not try learning to use a new oven the day before Christmas!
- two stellar salads: one with spinach from my back garden picked by Eric and Lara and put together by Brielle,

and the fruit salad composed by Brielle. Wowzers. it was stunning.

- and the table decorations/set up was done by Lara - also uber lovely!

- Mashed potatoes and gravy made by mom.
- the unending stream of dishes washed by dad and many others.

- Asher duty taken by all.
- the other unending stream of pressies, unwrapped by Judah intermittently throughout the day.
- pumpkin pie with praline topping and whipped cream made by me enjoyed with coffee and Amarula (a gift from G&B)

Josh carving the birds.

it was a pretty fantastic lunch, made better by all the hard work by everyone.

 

i was hoping to do a lot more of this during the week, but somehow with teething it didnt work out that way. shame.

this is the family photo we didnt choose for Christmas cards. too dark. but anyway, that's all of us.

one of the important agenda items for the guys during our time at ile aux nattes was going deep sea fishing. the day they wanted to go, however, dawned windy which meant we could all sleep in past 4:45am. but they got to go the next morning, the day of our departure. from all reports it was a great time and only a few people got sea sick. LOL.

Eric with his barracuda

geoffy with his... fish.

Josh told everyone that he had the prettiest fish... when it was alive.

Brielle with her fish. That thing she's wearing around her waist isnt a fanny pack, like i originally thought when i saw these photos. It's the holder for the butt of your fishing rod when you're trying to heave the big sucker into the boat.

 
 
while they were heaving fish/their guts on the boat and frying themselves in the merciless sun i was lolling about taking a last swim in the ocean. heavenly. it is truly amazing that we can vacation in such a lovely spot every two years or so.

Eric and Lara

here they are paying the bills at the end of our stay. see if you can spot the gangsta rolls they've each got in hand. haha.

on the pirogue ride back to the airstrip.