Since Rafe is in Afghanistan, we went to Camp Lejeune to spend Christmas with some dear friends and their two boys. We wanted to be a part of a full, noisy household on Christmas, and it has been wonderful. As my mom commented, "For a house with four kids in it, it sure has been nice and quiet". The kids were noisy, but the well behaved, fun kind of noisy and not the screaming, fighting kind of noisy.
As luck would have it, we were only going to stay for a few short days and come back. I had some big plans for getting the house ready for the New Year, and some goals I wanted to prepare for both mentally and physically. That will have to wait for something far more important - my friend is having her 3rd child via Csection and she's pretty high risk. Her mom won't be with her until next Monday, so I am staying to help until then. Mom went back with the van and Olivia so she could continue with her therapies, and I am taking one of their vehicles back to PI with Amelia on Sunday.
If you are reading this and we had tentative playdates lined up, I am so sorry. I left my contact book at home. Amelia was looking forward to spending time with all her little friends from school and the base. She's still having fun here (even got to make a snowman).
Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Hallelujah Singers
We spent today at home - Amelia's cold is worse, but Olivia seems to be holding her own. So far no fevers, so I'm hoping it's just a simple cold. Olivia is faintly rasping a bit when she breathes; and if it gets worse tomorrow I'll take her in to the doctor to check for RSV. She had her RSV shot at the beginning of the month so I'm hoping she'll be ok.
This evening everyone seemed to be feeling better, so we headed out to a free concert by the Hallelujah Singers held in a small church in downtown Bluffton. I've been pretty proud of myself for finding so many wonderful free things to do during the holidays this year with the girls. The church itself was beautiful - enormous stained glass windows blazing with light. Coming upon it reminded me of a picture postcard of an old fashioned church in the snow, with the beautiful stained glass colors illuminating the night.
The church was packed, and it wasn't a large one. The singers were maybe 2-3 feet away from the pews. Mom and Olivia were able to sit toward the front; I sat a little further back with Amelia. From that vantage point, I could see Olivia literally vibrate with excitement when the music started. She seems to have a particular affinity for live music and does the same thing when she hears the praise and worship music at church. She was standing on Mom's lap, with Mom holding her up - I swear it looked like she was dancing! She was waving her arms around to the beat and bouncing up and down with a big grin on her face. She does the same thing when she is really excited. She would get a bit tired, collapse and snuggle for a bit; then pop back up again when the beat picked up. She really likes the Gullah beat the best; just like she really loved the marches the Parris Island Brass Band played.
Amelia had a bit rougher time. She is usually good at these sort of things, but this month we've been to 3 events where she lost some self control about halfway through. I think we're up just a bit too late and it's hard for her to hold it together. But all in all, I love taking them places. This in particular was something she probably won't ever get a chance to see again. They travel all over the world and the musical style and storytelling are unique to this area. The Gullah accent itself is very rhythmic - when the Gullah Geechee speak, it often sounds like they are singing when they are talking.
Here is some more about the Hallelujah Singers:
Smalls developed and refined a series of concerts to define the Gullah culture and the "Sea Island sound." Her goal was to preserve the melodies and storytelling technique of the South Carolina Sea Islands. Interwoven with music and narration, the singers present miniature dramatizations of some of the unique personages, rituals, and ceremonies that played an important part in shaping the Gullah culture. Among the Hallelujah Singer's repetoire are traditional plantation songs dating back to the 1600s. The group consists of five singers and two musicians, playing strings and conga drums. They have recorded three CDs. The first, "Gullah - Songs of Hope, Faith and Freedom," produced in 1997, features plantation melodies and spiritual songs. In 1998, "Joy - A Gullah Christmas" was released, and finally, in 1999, the latest CD "Gullah - Carry Me Home" was produced; it is the first to be nationally distributed. Performing at youth recreation, community, and senior citizens centers around the country, participating in various music festivals, and providing educational outreach for students in South Carolina and Georgia, the group has earned a number of awards, including the South Carolina Folk Heritage Advocacy Award, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Community Service Award, and the South Carolina Humanitarian Award. The Hallelujah Singers have performed in concert worldwide, and have appeared in television documentaries and the motion picture Forrest Gump. They have also performed for the United States Congress, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and South Carolina legislators. In the fall of 2000, the group will give a concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
This evening everyone seemed to be feeling better, so we headed out to a free concert by the Hallelujah Singers held in a small church in downtown Bluffton. I've been pretty proud of myself for finding so many wonderful free things to do during the holidays this year with the girls. The church itself was beautiful - enormous stained glass windows blazing with light. Coming upon it reminded me of a picture postcard of an old fashioned church in the snow, with the beautiful stained glass colors illuminating the night.
The church was packed, and it wasn't a large one. The singers were maybe 2-3 feet away from the pews. Mom and Olivia were able to sit toward the front; I sat a little further back with Amelia. From that vantage point, I could see Olivia literally vibrate with excitement when the music started. She seems to have a particular affinity for live music and does the same thing when she hears the praise and worship music at church. She was standing on Mom's lap, with Mom holding her up - I swear it looked like she was dancing! She was waving her arms around to the beat and bouncing up and down with a big grin on her face. She does the same thing when she is really excited. She would get a bit tired, collapse and snuggle for a bit; then pop back up again when the beat picked up. She really likes the Gullah beat the best; just like she really loved the marches the Parris Island Brass Band played.
Amelia had a bit rougher time. She is usually good at these sort of things, but this month we've been to 3 events where she lost some self control about halfway through. I think we're up just a bit too late and it's hard for her to hold it together. But all in all, I love taking them places. This in particular was something she probably won't ever get a chance to see again. They travel all over the world and the musical style and storytelling are unique to this area. The Gullah accent itself is very rhythmic - when the Gullah Geechee speak, it often sounds like they are singing when they are talking.
Here is some more about the Hallelujah Singers:
The Hallelujah Singers
A vocal group from Beaufort, founded 10 years ago by Marlena Smalls, the Hallelujah Singers seek to preserve through music the Gullah heritage, rooted in West African traditions and language, and brought by the slaves to the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia. The Gullah language is Creole blend of West African and European dialects, developed in the isolated plantations of the coastal South. Most of the Gullah vocabulary is of English origin, but grammar and pronunciation come from a number of West African languages, such as Ewe, Madinka, Igbo, Twi and Yoruba. The slaves' knowledge of rice cultivation, a crop that had been grown in the West African region since 1500, made them desirable to the plantation owners of the South Carolina Low Country where rice had become a staple crop. The plantation owners, seeking the comforts of their city homes, often left the day-to-day operation of the plantations to the overseer or foreman, causing these isolated plantations to be much less influenced by Euro-American culture and allowing them to retain their "African-ness.Smalls developed and refined a series of concerts to define the Gullah culture and the "Sea Island sound." Her goal was to preserve the melodies and storytelling technique of the South Carolina Sea Islands. Interwoven with music and narration, the singers present miniature dramatizations of some of the unique personages, rituals, and ceremonies that played an important part in shaping the Gullah culture. Among the Hallelujah Singer's repetoire are traditional plantation songs dating back to the 1600s. The group consists of five singers and two musicians, playing strings and conga drums. They have recorded three CDs. The first, "Gullah - Songs of Hope, Faith and Freedom," produced in 1997, features plantation melodies and spiritual songs. In 1998, "Joy - A Gullah Christmas" was released, and finally, in 1999, the latest CD "Gullah - Carry Me Home" was produced; it is the first to be nationally distributed. Performing at youth recreation, community, and senior citizens centers around the country, participating in various music festivals, and providing educational outreach for students in South Carolina and Georgia, the group has earned a number of awards, including the South Carolina Folk Heritage Advocacy Award, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Community Service Award, and the South Carolina Humanitarian Award. The Hallelujah Singers have performed in concert worldwide, and have appeared in television documentaries and the motion picture Forrest Gump. They have also performed for the United States Congress, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and South Carolina legislators. In the fall of 2000, the group will give a concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Battalion Christmas Party 2
So much personality!
Playing with Grandma
Livie loves faces -better watch out for your nose.
Look at that curly hair!
I love my big sister!
We say Livie is SO nosy - she always wants to know what is going on!
You can't tell in this picture very well, but Olivia is grinning at herself
because she's reaching for Amelia's hair bow.
Amelia looks like such a young lady; growing way too fast for me.
My mom, my best friend!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
A simple day at home...
I'm trying to post a bit more because Rafe has slightly easier access to the blog now than he did. Someday I hope he might be able to write a few words on here also!
Today was the first day back to school for Amelia. One of her first questions to me every day is, "What do we do today, momma?" No matter what is going on that day, I always tell her in my "it's going to be so much fun!" voice. This morning it was, "When you come home from school, we're going to do some cutting work and then eat dinner and go to bed!!!" She was so excited - "yayy, mommy!". I love her great attitude.
We worked on an advent project that was my mom's idea. I had wanted to get all fancy and have daily things planned out on a little calendar that we would open each day and do. Maybe someday, but this is all I can handle for now. And it is turning out even better than I imagined! I'm not sure what the end result will look like, but for now we are working on an advent calendar we are making ourselves a bit each day. While we do this, we talk a little bit about the birth of Jesus and the meaning of Christmas. Nothing too heavy. It's been a fun, low key way to get in the Christmas spirit. We talked about St Nicholas and his good deeds and persecution last night in the bath and tonight we laid out stockings on the church bench in the hallway. Tomorrow will be the first day she ever really gets the excitement of having a full stocking.
Olivia was a little pistol today. She pulled herself up in her crib for the first time ever, and wants to stand when you try to get her to sit on the floor. She keeps trying to pull herself to stand when you hold her hands. She loves to yap after hours of not making a sound - loud!
All done! She did a great job cutting it herself.
Now she's marking numbers on the tree where buttons will go.
Livie right after pulling herself up in the crib.
Today was the first day back to school for Amelia. One of her first questions to me every day is, "What do we do today, momma?" No matter what is going on that day, I always tell her in my "it's going to be so much fun!" voice. This morning it was, "When you come home from school, we're going to do some cutting work and then eat dinner and go to bed!!!" She was so excited - "yayy, mommy!". I love her great attitude.
We worked on an advent project that was my mom's idea. I had wanted to get all fancy and have daily things planned out on a little calendar that we would open each day and do. Maybe someday, but this is all I can handle for now. And it is turning out even better than I imagined! I'm not sure what the end result will look like, but for now we are working on an advent calendar we are making ourselves a bit each day. While we do this, we talk a little bit about the birth of Jesus and the meaning of Christmas. Nothing too heavy. It's been a fun, low key way to get in the Christmas spirit. We talked about St Nicholas and his good deeds and persecution last night in the bath and tonight we laid out stockings on the church bench in the hallway. Tomorrow will be the first day she ever really gets the excitement of having a full stocking.
Olivia was a little pistol today. She pulled herself up in her crib for the first time ever, and wants to stand when you try to get her to sit on the floor. She keeps trying to pull herself to stand when you hold her hands. She loves to yap after hours of not making a sound - loud!
Amelia cutting out the tree Mommy drew
So serious!
All done! She did a great job cutting it herself.
Now she's marking numbers on the tree where buttons will go.
Livie right after pulling herself up in the crib. Looks like it's time to lower the bed!
Monday, December 6, 2010
My beautiful girls!
It was hard to get a good picture that captured the warm colors and was still sharp. Olivia loves the Christmas tree.
We joke around that Livie is VERY nosy. She has to always see what is going on around her. It's so cute! The contrast between this year and last year is enormous.
Still enthralled.
Isn't this face so cute!??!
Amelia wanted her picture taken in this chair as we were leaving.
We joke around that Livie is VERY nosy. She has to always see what is going on around her. It's so cute! The contrast between this year and last year is enormous.
Still enthralled.
Isn't this face so cute!??!
Amelia wanted her picture taken in this chair as we were leaving.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Christmas Parade
Amelia's school had a float in the parade, so she was able to ride on her first float ever! The kids behaved great considering they had to sit on the float for about 45 minutes before it even started. About the time the Parade took off, several kids needed to go to the bathroom after waiting all that time! I felt for them.
Love the creative reindeer antlers made from Palm trees!
My Christmas Elf
All the way to Kansas City, Mia kept telling me how much her best friend Logan missed her.
I think the feeling was mutual!
He is absolutely the sweetest, most wonderful boy! Their friendship is so innocent; they love doing stuff together. On Wednesdays, his mom picks them up from school and they head to the library for a while before going to Karate class. It's better than the days they spent pouring sand on each other's heads. You'd think they hadn't seen each other in years instead of just two weeks.
A view of some of the gorgeous houses we went past in downtown Beaufort.
We had just enough time after the parade to have dinner and bath. I was watching a friend's child so we are going to start our St Nick's traditions tomorrow night. The joy of being four... sometimes if I'm running behind the day something starts is a bit flexible!! She will never know :)
My Christmas Elf
All the way to Kansas City, Mia kept telling me how much her best friend Logan missed her.
I think the feeling was mutual!
He is absolutely the sweetest, most wonderful boy! Their friendship is so innocent; they love doing stuff together. On Wednesdays, his mom picks them up from school and they head to the library for a while before going to Karate class. It's better than the days they spent pouring sand on each other's heads. You'd think they hadn't seen each other in years instead of just two weeks.
A view of some of the gorgeous houses we went past in downtown Beaufort.
And a not too shabby fur coat, either!
We had just enough time after the parade to have dinner and bath. I was watching a friend's child so we are going to start our St Nick's traditions tomorrow night. The joy of being four... sometimes if I'm running behind the day something starts is a bit flexible!! She will never know :)
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