Thanksgiving through Christmas

Hello again! It's been tricky to find time to sit and write a post since November because so much has happened but we're making the time now because the year is almost through.

Mackenzie joined Mommy at the gym on morning.

And decided to get in on the action all on her own. So proud!

Playing their 'banana game' together.

And hiding in their pillow house!

We'll begin at Thanksgiving. We celebrated the day with about 7 other Embassy families, some with children and some without. There were 17 kids in total ranging in age from 10-13 months (Miss Finley herself). There were so many of us we had 4 turkeys! We contributed a green salad and 3 pies to the festivities. It was a nice time but we both admitted it wasn't as good as our first Thanksgiving in Paraguay so it was a little bit of a let down. At the end of the day, we rushed to get the kids to bed and Kiersten then turned around and taught a piano lesson. 

Behold the feast! And the carved turkeys.

The hosts hired a face painter for the kids.

We all gathered outside for dinner. Our kids were the only ones
who actually ate anything other than dessert.

Finley was a big fan of the food. She ate everything!

The following week, the Embassy Soccer Tournament ended. The women had a game on Monday and then their final match on Thursday to determine 3rd place. We were stoked going into the game and after playing together for a month we are starting to learn how to play on the tiny field, play together and play period (some of the team have never played soccer). And it payed off because WE WON! 5-3. Kiersten scored 4 of the 5 goals herself and didn't injure herself either (every game she's gone down for one reason or other in the last minutes of the game). There was an award ceremony and everyone who participated got medals and the teams were awarded trophies. It was so fun and successful there is talk of hosting another tournament in a few months.

Third place never felt so good!

Nice trophy!

Post Soccer Tournament Asado with the team.

On Friday of that week Mackenzie's school had their End of Year Performance. They even rented out a real theater for it. Every class did a dance routine complete with little costumes. Mackenzie's class were explorers. It was so sweet and she was so in to it (she's always been a dancer) that it brought tears to her mama's eyes.

Their morning rehearsal for the afternoon performance.

Swimming at the Embassy pool for the Santa Pancake Breakfast the following morning.

A fun and warm event. Christmas in Paraguay.

Finley had fun in the pool too!

Her last day of school was December 17 but the weekend before was her final Art Exhibit. It was a Saturday and they decorated the whole playground area, which they call "The Garden", with all the creations from the last month. Oh how we love this little school!

Her teachers; Guada (L) and Cami (R).

Planting her tree with Daddy from school.

We did a service project and Kiersten mostly watched the girls.

And Mackenzie unfortunately discovered a red ant hill with her hand.

Last day of school lunch and ice cream!

Her new favorite game: sitting in the car seat.

After those big events you'd think life settled down for us but no! As we were gearing up for Christmas we surprised ourselves, and our families, by deciding to come home for Christmas! We packed up all the gifts we'd bought and people had sent us and carted them back to America. Kiersten ran around for about 2 weeks preparing things and then made the 26 hour journey with the girls solo. Scott followed a few days later.

It's Christmas! Mackenzie "reading" A Christmas Carol.

Our foreign tree. It's more impressive with the lights on.

The delicious but poorly attended CLO Coffee Cookie Exchange.

Now this tree is impressive! It's at the fancy mall in Asuncion.

Scott was able to come all the way to the gate with us in Asuncion.
Mackenzie was not happy that Daddy wasn't coming.

Sharing the view from the window.

Playing in Sao Paulo.

Heavenly Father loves me! We were blessed with 4 sister missionaries on our flight
from Asuncion through to Atlanta. We bought them dinner at TGI Fridays in Sao Paulo.

And they helped entertain my little ones during our layover.

Props to this double stroller. It's big but easily maneuvered with one hand.

Watching our plane in Atalanta. Last leg!

It has been a wonderful experience. Surrounded by family and a chill in the air along with the childlike wonder of Christmas has been truly magical. We spend Christmas Eve and Day with the Hammonds and on Boxing Day went to Darren and Carey's for some Jackson time and a few more presents. 

Playing at the Mall while Daddy did some Christmas shopping.

Merry Christmas! 

Playing with cousin Ashlyn.

We went ice skating!

Enjoying some dinner at Uncle Darren's.

Scott and Kiersten were able to have one last date night on Friday before he headed home on Saturday evening. They went to the Alamo Drafthouse to see the new Star Wars movie and liked it quite a bit. The following day we ate lunch at Silver Diner in Reston with the Jackson clan then played at a park with the kids until Scott needed to go to the airport.

It's been a great time and Kiersten and the girls are staying through the New Year until January 20 so we'll be reunited in a few weeks. Until then, if you're in the area and want to meet up, let us know!

The Mackenzie Update:

• Finishing up her year in K2 she has grown and changed so much! She started the year as a toddler and has turned into a little kid!

  

  Side by side comparison. So big!

• She was a gem on the flights to America. She agreed to help Mommy with Finley as was good to her word. She played with Finley in Sao Paulo when they had their 6 hour layover and subsequent lost stroller search/re-enter the airport check-in/find the gate fiasco.

  

  Fell asleep at Grandma's shortly upon arrival.

• She has had a BLAST playing with her cousins. Coming home and seeing this bond is so special and makes it harder and harder to leave each time.

  

  Mackenzie's first day of Primary!

• Santa brought her a scooter for Christmas just like she asked! Mommy and M tried it out and she's getting the hang of it pretty quickly.
  

The Finley Report:

• She also handled the travel fairly well. She was exhausted being out of her routine but managed to get some sleep on the long flight to Atlanta. When we arrive at Grandma's house she slept for hours! 10 days later and we are pretty much back to a normal routine.
• Maybe it was the travel, or the constant teething, or a potential illness but she was extra clingy for the first week. She even took 5 minutes before warming up to Daddy when he arrived days later. We're hoping she makes friends with grandparents before we leave.
• She learned how to go down the stairs!
• Her second Christmas but really her first one aware. This year she was very interested in crawling around and on everything and ripping the paper and trying to eat it. Not so much interested on what was inside the paper.

We're sure more things have happened but for now this is our monthly wrap up. Stay tuned for our Annual Year in Review post and our "famous" Top Five! See you then!