This was our last Christmas in Toronto and it was very bittersweet. We just love so many things about this city. Friends, our church, the school, our house . . . it is going to be really difficult to leave this place. So we tried to make the most of the holiday. This past weekend we enjoyed the "Carols by Candlelight" service at The Peoples Church and an afternoon at the movie theater (Tyler & Scott saw The Hobbit / Alex, Hannah and I opted for Rise of the Guardians). We spent Christmas Eve watching The Nativity Story (our annual tradition). We also each open one gift on Christmas Eve - it is always pajamas. We do this every year mostly so that everyone will have clean pajamas that fit for the Christmas morning photos!
Christmas morning was delightful. We had no place to go so it was a very relaxing day. Here is a small glimpse into our day . . .
I have now officially trained my dog to pose for photos!
Our Christmas Pajamas consisted of matching Feeken University shirts. Yes, we are total dorks!!
O Christmas Tree . . . with the help of a special camera filter!
Same tree - no magic photo equipment. (And I won't miss the hideous curtains in our house when we move. Yuk!)
Hannah got Tajin in her stocking. This would not make most people happy but for a girl who spent her formative years in Mexico, it was a Christmas miracle.
Tyler & Alex pooled their resources to purchase a Paris picture from Ikea for Hannah. She is obsessed with Paris and is attempting to decorate her room with everything and anything Paris.
Tyler wanted a Keurig for Christmas. He is happy.
Tyler and Hannah bought Alex a Skylanders Giants game. He was THRILLED!
A gift for Tyler from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He can't wait to get his license!
I am so in love with my new boots. I am taking the rest of my shoes to Goodwill.
Almost everyone now knows that Tyler, Alexander and Scott performed in a musical version of A Christmas Carol on December 7, 8, and 9. I have not written about the play until now partly because I have just been so emotional about the whole thing. I also have been very busy!
Tryouts for the production were in JUNE. They began practicing in SEPTEMBER. So in many ways, the production has completely and totally monopolized our lives the past four months. The boys practiced every Tuesday night from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and most Saturdays. When they were not at "formal" rehearsals, they were practicing their lines at home. We listened to the CD in our car. We read The Christmas Carol. We watched three different movie versions. The list goes on and on. The truth is that all five of us have almost the entire work memorized.
The play, which was put on by our church, was truly something special. I'm amazed how many people came together and used their God given talents to tell Dickens' amazing story. From the costume designers to the set builders to the actors to the musicians, everyone was amazingly professional. There were five separate performances, with approximately 1700 people at each performance. Tickets to the show cost $15. All profits went to Save The Mothers, an organization working to reduce mother/infant mortality rates in Africa. For the boys, it was truly an experience they will never forget. I can't begin to express how proud I was of all three of them.
The other highlight of the experience was that the daughter of dear Foreign Service friends, named Emily, was able to attend the show. Emily has a rare, neuro-degenerative disease called MLD. It is truly a miracle that she was able to come to the play . . . and it meant the WORLD to us. I still get teary-eyed when I think about everything that had to happen for her to attend.
Several people have asked for a dvd copy of the play . . . that is probably not going to be possible (due to copyright issues). I do, however, have a few video clips that might be of interest to some of you.
The first is a news clip that ran on Toronto local news the week prior to the show:
The following are 4 different scenes that feature the Cratchit Family:
I wish I could post all the photos I have from the play . . . but I will attempt to be a minimalist and only post my favorite 10 photos. Some were taken by me and others were taken by a professional photographer. I sincerely wish each and everyone of you could have been at the show. One of my favorite aspects of Foreign Service life is that we are constantly in situations where we get to try different things, meet new people, and to just experience life. Without question, being involved with this production will be one of the highlights of our time in Toronto!
I think the fact that today is 12-12-12 is pretty cool. While driving home today, I realized that I would never again see a day in which the month, day and year were the same. There won't be a 13-13-13, 14-14-14, or 20-20-20. I have never been one to consider dates significant, but it would have been really convenient to be born today or get married today. It would be fun to say "12-12-12" every time someone asked when you were born or when you got married. Since I've done both, there is nothing left (except the obvious but I would prefer a random day in 2062 for that).
So, I spent my day at the Etobicoke Olympium which has to be one of the coolest swimming pools (and by far the largest) that I have ever been to. I was there for a high school swim meet. Tyler, along with the rest of the NTCS swim team, was one of several swimmers competing. Tyler did great! He swam "personal bests" in the breast stroke and freestyle, earning a 4th place finish in the breast stroke. Way to go, Tyler!
I also discovered how much FUN iMovie can be! I've never used it before!! So, below is not only a quick recap of the swim meet (for those of you who didn't see the need to fly to Toronto for a 1 minute race) but my first iMovie project!
Just think. Years from now, I will always remember that I made my first iMovie on 12-12-12!!
UPDATE: Something else really awesome happened today! Scott got a Superior Honor Award from the U.S. Department of State today!!!! So proud of my man!
Okay, yes, that is a totally lame title for a blog post but hey, it was a great month! It was also a BUSY month which is why I have not updated this blog for ages. Here are the highlights!
Hannah's volleyball team took 1st Place at the ACSI Volleyball Tournament. It was a great day that ended in tears of joys - literally - from many of the players!
We once again watched the Santa Claus Parade from atop of the U.S. Consulate. It is not the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade . . . but it is still pretty cool. And watching it from the roof of the Consulate so beats arriving at the break of dawn to line up on the street!
Good friends from our time in Mexico visited us for Thanksgiving. We were so THANKFUL for this time together. They are headed to an assignment in Nairobi so we don't know when we will get to see them again.
Two years ago, my friend Carin gave me the idea to walk down Toronto's iconic Yonge Street. Yonge Street was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at 1,178 miles. The street is home to high rise buildings, small flower shops, beautiful parks and the subway line. The photo opportunities are endless!
Today, I walked it!! I didn't walk all 1,178 miles . . . but I did walk 8.53 miles of it! I started at the Yonge-Sheppard Subway stop and walked to the shores of Lake Ontario. I then turned around and walked part way back. In total, I walked 14.43 miles. This adventure took about 5 hours (including the 30 minutes I spent in Eaton Centre grabbing a bite to eat).
Here is the thing . . . I REALLY wanted to do this walk. Not because I thought that I couldn't do it. I knew I could physically do it. I just wasn't sure that I would do it. I can get so wrapped up with the day-to-day aspects of life. I'm always running kids here and there, cleaning this and that, doing laundry, or working. I always have a list of 20 things that need to be done. I love being a wife and mother. I wouldn't trade my life for the world but I wanted to take a day to do something that was just for me. Selfish? Maybe. But I'm glad that I did it.
