Christmas and random pics

Because we had two Filipina college students staying with us during their break, we decided to change up our Christmas tradition just a bit. Filipinos celebrate Noche Buena, with a meal at midnight as it turns into Christmas, along with fireworks and partying. So, we stayed up for the fireworks, that ended up being a no-show for most of our neighborhood. I guess recession has hit hard here as well. Then we ate around the table at midnight with our pancit, ham, fruit salad, spaghetti (some of Filipino Noche Buena favorites)...even though none of us were really hungry. We had snacked all evening long, and were more tired than hungry. And of course, we didn't do the partying part of Noche Buena. We are too old for that tradition!!! I'm glad that we had the chance to do Noche Buena this year, but next time....we will just skip the midnight meal, and stick to our own rituals for Christmas Eve. Too much work for something that wasn't all that. And who wants to go straight to bed with a full stomach anyways??

I did learn how to make pancit tho....so that is a plus!

Pictured below: enough pancit for a small army.

Christmas morning before gifts were attacked. We decided to do a small Christmas this year. When asking the boys what they want, their wish list was small. If your kids are like ours, they really don't need any more toys. It's ridiculous the amount of toys that they have that they don't play with, compared with all the kids here that have little.

Jess got a new bass guitar and amp to go with it. Now he can jam with his dad...




Jamin's been wanting rollerblades for a long time...

Jess with his new ps2 game...

We have a Monopoly King in our house....Jesse Murphy. We have enjoyed playing this as a family. Plus it is great for math skills and business management!

Jesse and dad jamming together. Video soon to follow...

Homeschool co-op party before Christmas.....making crafts.

Our co-op family minus one family....

While our college friends were with us, we took them all over Cebu to historic and scenic places. This is taken at the top of the mountain, overlooking a portion of Cebu and Mactan.

Fiesta time in the mountains

Flat Stanley visits Magellan's Cross

*Flat Stanley is a school project of our neice in Texas. As we were touring Cebu with Jamin, Jesse and the girls, Flat's was getting the tour also. For more information about Flat Stanley, please visit this website: http://www.flatstanleyproject.com/

Flat's with fiesta time at the Catholic church

Filipinos burning candles at the Catholic church in Cebu..

St. Nino idol worshipped at the church...

Flat Stanley and our guests visit Fort San Pedro in Cebu