These Days

This is the final installment of my project to take pictures of the kids every week. I've done it for 2 years straight and it's been worthwhile and rewarding to see how much the kids have changed over that period. I want to continue doing this in 2018 but might change the frequency to monthly instead. I can't not take pictures! Week 49: December 4 - 10 Week 50: December 11 - 17 Week 51: December 18 - 24 Neil's last day at the school he's been attending since first grade. Week 52: December 25 - 31 Morning of the move to the new house.

We had a very simple Christmas celebration this year, our last one at the apartment. We had actually moved the Christmas tree to the new house but when it became apparent we won't be spending Christmas there, I asked Richard to bring it back.:) We were preoccupied with packing for the move during the holidays and had little time or energy left. So we kept it simple - went to church, made a gingerbread house with the kids and prepared/bought food for Christmas dinner. Ela enjoyed helping decorate the gingerbread house. She still talks about wanting to make one every so often, Playing with their Christmas gift - BB8. Simple Christmas dinner. After service at church.

A few pictures from Christmas dinner with Pinoy friends last December 17.

We've had snow days before but this is the most we've seen after 3+ years of living in Atlanta. It was over 6 inches and made the environment look so pristine and magical. We went out for a few minutes and managed to make a tiny snowman. We were not dressed warm enough to stay longer. It was a good experience. :) December 9, 2017

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta hosts an annual Christmas Parade for children. This was our first year to go and it was fun! We took the train and found a good spot a few minutes before the parade started. It had everything - marching bands, large inflatables, clowns, and characters kids are familiar with. Ela was excited to see some of the characters she knows. It was a last minute decision to go but I'm really glad we were able to see this. December 2, 2017

We had Thanksgiving dinner with Pinoy friends on November 23. There's quite a few of us in Atlanta now, thanks to a company that still supports relocation for key roles.:) We rarely get together as a big group so we also took the opportunity to celebrate upcoming birthdays.