Christmas 2015 Joulu

Christmas 2015. Mei Mei's first Christmas! What a privilege and honor to watch her wonder and joy. What a privilege and honor to be her family. To be parents to Mei Mei, Little Miss, Mr T, Mr A, Missy and Mr D. My heart is full.



We decorated our second day in Maine.



And did our cleaning and baking on Monday and Tuesday. Grandma and Grandpa arrived on Tuesday to celebrate with us, and brought enough food to feed an army (and amazingly it is all gone now, pretty much). On Wednesday we cooked some of the food, and prepped as much as we could.



There was no snow when we arrived in Maine, but it snowed a little on my birthday. Mei Mei loved snow! Until she got cold. But hot chocolate made everything better:)

Oh, and the bump on her head? She took a long dive down church steps head first. So thankful for guardian angels!



Our happy girlie! Five months with us on the 27th!




We really enjoyed having Grandma and Grandpa with us this Christmas. No playing in the snow with them, but we had some nice muddy walks:)



We celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve. In the morning we have rice porridge with an almond, and our big meal early in the afternoon. Mr A read from Luke 2 this year. With Mei Mei in mind, we opened presents before church, and after the candlelight service she soon went to bed.

Despite catching her crying in the picture above, she really had a wonderful day. We all did.



Mei Mei loved her Duplo-legos, but her favorite toy was this wooden pounding toy. Grandma was so smart to stick it in a box (after the balls went everywhere).



And on Christmas morning there were little things to find in the stockings, too.



After Christmas our temperatures started dropping.



And as I type this, it has been snowing all day.



With the wind from the lake we have hunkered down inside, working, playing games, getting math done (Mr A!), reading and writing blog posts.



We hope your Christmas was full of joy. As we posted on our facebook page, the to-do list may never be completely accomplished, the stress levels often high, sleep sorely lacking, yet the main thing is remembering Jesus - the One who fills our empty places, the One who brings hope to a dark world. The One who loves. No matter what. The One who fills us with Joy. No matter what the circumstances are. Celebrate Him! Invite Him to come and fill your life.

We were created to be complete in Jesus.

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Hyvää joulua ja joulunaikaa täältä Mainestä ihan jokaiselle lukijalle! Toivottavasti joulussasi on ollut iloa - olivat olosuhteesi mitkä tahansa. Jeesuksen syntymän ihme - Jumala ihmiseksi pelastaakseen sinut ja minut, täyttää ne kaikki tyhjät paikat sydämissämme, kunhan vaan otamme Hänet vastaan.

Me vietimme joulua Kapteenin vanhempien kanssa aattona, ja nautimme joulupäivän hiljaisuudesta. Kun tulimme Maineen, täällä ei ollut lunta, mutta sitä satoi ensin syntymäpäivänäni, ja uudestaan tällä viikolla. Tänäänkin koko päivän. Mei Mei rakasti lumessa leikkimistä, kunnes tuli kylmä, mutta kuuma kaakao teki kaiken paremmaksi taas:)

Oli hienoa kokea ensimmäinen joulu Mei Mein kanssa. Kaikki oli niin ihanaa ja ihmeellistä pienen silmissä:)

Florida Fall/Syksyä Floridassa

While fall might not be as spectacular in Florida as it is in New England, we so have enjoyed the cooler temperatures, and different fall festivities. We visited a pumpkin patch one morning with other homeschool families.




Some of us attended a Trunk or Treat festival at a local church this week. We had a fun time with friends and dressing up. Mei Mei always loves going out, and celebrates with enthusiasm. She loves to wave 'hi' to people, and she loves music and dancing.



The Captain took a quick trip to Maine, and returned with the Mothership - we hope to go on some smaller adventures soon. As soon the Captain arrived, Mr T and Mr D did go on a new adventure, the two of them flew to Kentucky for few a days!

For a family that usually goes where the wind blows, it sure has been an adjustment to live by the calendar....!! It's only for a season, right???




School fills up a big part of our days. The little girls love going to the library, and big kids often do, too, especially Mr D.

 

What would be fall without pies? We have made apple and pumpkin pies so far (Mr A took the picture above, and I just love having one of the boys half way into the freezer in it, haha!)

So far Mei Mei has not been a big fan of the pies, but she sure loves the ice cream that often gets served along the pie.




Even princesses make sure to take good care of their teeth! Earlier in October Little Miss got braces, and this week Missy had to have oral surgery to expose a stubborn tooth that wouldn't come down on its' own.

Mei Mei goes in for her palate repair surgery later this month, too, and Mr T needs wisdom teeth surgery, but he is going to wait a bit, since he isn't in pain at the moment.




While our foliage here in Florida may not be as brilliant as up north, going to the beach in October and November is pretty awesome:) No complaints!!!

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Kaikenlaista syystouhua on ollut ilmassa täällä Floridassa. Ruska ei tietenkään ole niin upea täällä, mutta onneksi ilmat alkavat viilentyä jonkin verran, ja ulkona on ollut kiva olla. Yksi iso paikallinen kirkko järjesti monenlaista syystapahtumaa lapsille: kävimme 'kurpitsapellolla' muiden kotikoululaisten kanssa, ja naamiaistapahtumassa myös.

Koulua käymme ahkerasti, ja lempipaikkoja vierailla viikottain ovat kirjasto ja merenranta - tätä ihanaa Floridan syksy-ja talvielämistä, kun saa mennä rannalle koska vain!

Tämä syksy on ollut oikea hampaiden syksy meille. Pikkuneiti sai raudat lokakuussa, ja perjantaina Missylle tehtiin operaatiota, kun yksi rautahampaista ei suostunut laskeutumaan itsekseen. Nyt marraskuussa on tulossa Mei Mein leikkaus myös, ja vielä Mr T:kin tarvitsisi viisaudenhampaiden poistoa, mutta sen jätämme vähän myöhemmälle.

Kapteeni kävi hakemassa Mothership-asuntoauton Mainestä, ja kun hän tuli kotiin, Mr T ja Mr D suuntasivat Kentuckyyn, tarkasti pitää elää kalenterin kanssa täällä, mutta eiköhän meidän villi ja vapaa arkemme joku päivä tule takaisin taas... :-)

A Simple and Healthy Granola Bar Recipe

It has been a while since we've shared a favorite recipe.




We are always on the look-out for easy, simple and healthy recipes that don't have any refined sugars. We usually bake with honey, and occasionally use agave, coconut sugar or xylitol with our treats.




We discovered a granola bar recipe that used almond butter, and tweaked it to our taste.




It has been such a hit! Whenever we make a pan of it, they disappear within hours. They are so easy to make Little Miss can do them, and even Mei Mei can help:)

Although Mama does like to help with the hot oven part.

The girls can help with clean-up, too:)




The Mothership Adventures Simple Granola Bars

3/4 cups of honey
1 cup of crunchy peanut butter
3 cups of oats
1/2 cup of pecans (or other nuts)
1/2 cup of raisins

Heat honey and peanut butter on the stove on low heat until well mixed and soft. Pour mixture over oats, raisins and nuts and mix well. Grease a 9x9 pan, and bake 15 minutes in 350F. Cool and enjoy!

Mamma Mia!

Our Simple Pizza Dough
(Feeds the Mothership Crew +)

2 packages of active dry yeast
2 teaspoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of salt
2 cups of warm water
4 tablespoons of olive oil
5 cups of flour (or a tad more, if flour is flying)