Well, it's officially here ready or not I guess. Christmas is a great time of year at our house. The kids still believe in Santa and that makes it magical. It's hard not to enjoy Christmas when the kids are so looking forward to it. This year Christmas is bitter sweet. We really miss the friends and family that we are used to sharing this special day with, but we are going to be celebrating it with some new ones that will make it special in it's own way. The kids? Well, they seem to see it the same way. Missing family this time of year is pretty hard for them and they are all old enough to know who's around, who's not and feel sad about it.
That's not to say they are not still enjoying this time, they very much are. We have a countdown calendar in the front yard that they take turns changing every night and it lights up with our Christmas lights. Inside we have a chalkboard one that Jacqueline has been working on since she's writing now. The thing everyone finds funny is that the big calendar in the kitchen is counting down to our vacation!! SWEET 9 more days!!
The house looks beautiful and we can't wait to see the faces of the girls on Christmas morning! We had our third annual Roig Family Christmas party last weekend. It was nice to have the people here who have become our friends since we moved here, those who have made it feel more like home and those who understand what it's like to be new to the area. We had a wonderful time and the girls got to meet some new kids and hand out little gifts we bought. The best one was the son of a guy who works with Adam, He is about 5 and we got him this little inexpensive spider man watch.... he flipped! Not so much of who it was but of what it was.. the fact that the time changed all by itself was too much for him... he almost walked into walls watching the watch! When it was time to leave we had to roll up his sleeve so he could still see the watch. It reminds you of the innocent and happy moments Christmas can bring to a small child.
The girls did not get to open gifts, which was hard for Jacqueline, but we try to teach them that giving is more important than anything else. Giving you do out of the heart and because you want to help others, or make them smile or makes them feel loved, not because you gain something. In the end she was happy that the little girl she gave her gift to LOVED her new Darby doll.
Besides, our kids...well they don't want for much! Yes, I can say that our kids are spoiled.... but, they are respectful and happy and loving and joyful!
One of the guys that Adam works for was at our party. He's a little older than Adam, in fact his kids are in their early 20's I think, though he doesn't see much of them with them out living their lives and all. Anyway, he has just taken to the girls. He made a trip to Ireland and England in Oct and brought the girls over some jewelry and candy from both of those places... (even I got some) awwwwe right? Well it is, but you have to envision David to truly understand how funny the scenes of the girls running up and hugging him, or Jacqueline falling asleep in his lap...or him singing with the girls is.... David, is a biker lol... He loves and lives to ride his Harley. He's a fluffy grizzly bear looking guy with a longer beard and loud voice and is around 6 feet tall or so... it's pretty comical to see him hangin' with the girls. The other guys at their job can not believe that David comes over and hangs out with us or that the drums and sings with the girls... well, for our party David bought a Karaoke machine so everyone could well.... pretend to sing! The girls had soooooooooooooo much fun with it....he left here! Yes, left a brand new, pretty nice karaoke machine here for the girls to play with, on the condition that they wake Adam up at least once singing really loud! He told Adam that he would barrow it from them when he wanted to use it. He left along with it the 4 discs he bought to go with it and told Makenzie where she could buy the "girls sing it" cd for it...
Then last night, a friend of ours who again, has no children came and picked me up so I could help her pick out gifts for the girls. Two weeks ago she picked up the girls for a slumber party and they reportedly made cookies and dinner and played games and watched movies and had cocoa and .... you get the idea. Fay and Brad just adore the girls and I think have just about convinced them they want kids...anyway, she picked me up and we were talking about the things the girls need... and I laughed. So, Fay is...well our only true southern friend. She was born and raised in the mountains of Carolina, has a heart of gold that is endless and very, very southern values. If you have it to give, you do so. Fay also is not very easily persuaded, well more like the words "no, it's okay you don't have to do that" do not make sense to her... sooooo off we go shopping, f or girl things, with a woman who doesn't have kids... soooooooooooooooooo everything was cute, and so little and we just have to get this! Okay, so we went over the things the girls were asking for that Santa did not bring them....Since Santa was on a budget this year due to his upcoming vacation, there was actually stuff on the list Santa did not buy. For Jacqueline it was this dog, all she's been talking about for like a month. It swims and walks and does some stuff. However, Santa already picked up her gift, so she was not getting this dog...so yes, Fay did and some coloring books and some glasses for Disney World. She picked up some cool things for Makenzie along with a new purse and glasses and some barbie clothes and ..... a pool for the barbie play house Lex is getting for Christmas. She had a blast and I was happy that she was getting so much out of giving to the girls. Oddly, it was hard for me to let her do it. Being on the receiving end of such wonderful gifts from so many of our friends has been very humbling. I guess it shows us how great the girls are, that so many people love them so much and want to do so much for them. It's often hard for us to get long stretches of time in with them cause so many people are wanting to pick them up for this, or take them to that or have them over... it's like the whole world has adopted them! And yes, they like all kids, enjoy getting gifts.
but for them, it's about who got it for them more than what it is.. My best friend in the world Sarah sent the girls some gifts... we have no idea what they are, but when we got the box and the girls realized who they were from...they lost it. Jumping around and laughing and couldn't wait to put them under the tree. They were so excited that Sarah and Nathan had not forgotten who they were since we moved away. I never heard, I wonder what it is or I can't wait to open it..it was "they're from Sarah and Nathan!!!!" So, we can't wait until Christmas so the kids can unwrap their toys that so many from all over the country have sent them to remind them they are thought about and loved!
My brother and his family will be down the day after Christmas and spend some time with us before we leave for our vacation. We are excited to get to spend some time with them before my brother leaves. Anytime we get to spend with the boys is fun and we look forward to it. We picked out some pretty cool gifts this year and Adam was thrilled to be able to buy boy toys lol.
We of course are getting ready for our trip. We are going to be going to Kennedy space center for a day with the girls before driving the hour over to Disney World. The girls are looking forward to this stop on our trip just as much as Disney. We are going to get to see some pretty neat things and Adam has always wanted to go, so it should be a pretty neat day for us there.
Then we are off to Disney for 10 magical day's with the girls. My aunt and her husband are driving down to meet us there and the kids are super excited that she will be there. Makenzie was heart broken that her fav ride at he park, Splash mountain will be closed while we are there... I mean truly heart broken, we told her while we were at the store and she stopped in mid step, mouth dropped open and she looked like someone just punched her... I had to keep walking so I wouldn't laugh. But, they girls have some great plans and Jacqueline has mapped out what rides we are riding first! It's going to be so great for them. There will be lots of pictures and we will keep everyone as updated as possible. We rented a condo while we are there since it was cheaper than getting a hotel for the 7 of us, but we don't know if there is Internet access yet or not. SO if you don't hear anything, we will be back on the 15th of Jan with our vacation pics and stories!
Makenzie is having her bday while we are there and we have special dinner reservations. Adams dad bought Makenzie a special made by Disney cake that will be delivered to our table after that dinner. It's vanilla, with vanilla custard and fresh strawberry filling and chocolate ganache topping. It will say Happy 9th birthday Makenzie and have flowers then pastel mickey shaped sprinkles.... I know! It should be great. Thanks to everyone who has sent her bday gifts so she can open them on her bday. I know that spending your bday in the park is a way cool thing to do, but she's nine and getting gifts for her big day is still a pretty big deal to her.
She has no idea I have them, so it will be a big surprise when we give them to her at dinner.
Okay... so who is Stanley? Well... he's a class project. It's a story about a boy who gets pancaked by a bulletin board and his parents mail him to visit family since he's...well flat now. It's the first "novel" the class is going to read and it will be while we are gone. Flat Stanley is to be mailed to various places in the country and the person receiving flat Stanley will send back to the school some info and souvenirs from his trip to where ever it was he went..well since we are going to be gone... we get to take flat Stanley with is to Disney world.
He is in fact a piece of paper.. mom colored him and dad gave him Mickey ears and he's coming on our trip. I hope he doesn't eat a lot. At any rate... some photos will be taken with Flat Stanley and he is going to keep a journal about the neat things he did with he Roig family while he was on vacation with them. So, you may see photos of us and flat Stanley running around Space center and Disney...were not crazy... we are just doing the class project so Makenzie can get A in geography! Over the next three days the girls will be doing 2 weeks worth of school work so we don't have to do it on vacation. We got a special "educational opportunity" clearance from the school so the girls absences will be marked excused, since we are taking them to the Space center and Epcot which has been deemed educational due to it's well...education about other countries, their cultures , foods and architecture. Oh, and Animal kingdom since it's a conservation site and has one of the most expansive collection of in captivity bred animals.. yay for education and fun all wrapped into one happy magical vacation!
So, Happy holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year from us to you!
love
The Roigs
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