I felt creative this week, and the continual Christmas countdown reminders (they start September 1st here) got me in a decorating mood. So this is our new table cloth for the season (or at least until the ruffles get spilled on too badly). Simple colored snowflake cutouts with glitter on white.

We also tackled making a table-top Christmas tree with coat hangers and plastic bags.... I'll let you imagine how until it reaches a presentable state :o)

It was Grace's turn for a celebration this evening. A spur-of-the-moment swim on the rooftop after supper turned into a swimming lesson. Jasmin soon remembered how it was done, and worked on keeping her head up this time. Grace, with some encouragement (and "forgetting" the life jackets at home), did finally swim on her own across the jacuzzi pool. She was so proud of herself! We are too - more so that she faced her fears and went for it than the actual swim, which we knew she could do really.
Donuts AND an icecream (Mommy and Daddy's that ended up getting shared among the 4 of us!) marked her accomplishment.

Unexpected Celebration

Coming home from church this morning we learned that the rooftop pool is finally open. So we packed a quick picnic for lunch and headed out. We had the whole rooftop to ourselves (perhaps because it was an overcast and almost rainy day).

There is a "big pool" that is actually deeper than Mommy, and it seems to really invite you to swim with it's dark blue tiling, and a jacuzzi-type pool of normal temperature that has a few not too powerful jets. The girls preferred the jacuzzi as they could stand on the bench.


Jasmin has been almost swimming for awhile now, so we thought to try get her over the hump and swimming on her own. It didn't take many back and forth pushes between Mommy and Daddy across the pool before she was doing it on her own. Then there was no stopping her!
Back and forth she went, launching herself with complete abandon and no fear - even the long way across the pool! Up she'd come, chest heaving and eyes wide, hardly taking time to catch her breath before launching herself into the water again. When we could finally get her out, she was so tired!We went home, showered and dress, and went down to the little corner store to celebrate with ice cream. Then we came home for a much needed nap. Next week is Grace's turn?

Two stories...

Just before we went on holiday, we suspected that our bank card had been compromised. When we came back we were sure of it. So we met with the bank and set about to change our cards etc. Waiting those few days to get our new cards, we caught yet another transaction on our statement that we didn't recognize. So we decided to hold off activating our new cards and watch our account for a few more days. Even though we could not draw any cash, we thought it no problem as we had some checks to cash that could tide us over. Only it took us longer than we expected to weave our way through the unknowns of being a foreigner trying to cash a check...
By the time we managed to get cash to go grocery shopping, the fridge was pretty lean. In fact, it had less in it than when we purposely tried to empty it before our holiday! Those last few meals were... interesting :) I finally learned how to make congee - after a fashion as we didn't have many of the usual ingredients. It was touching to see Daddy's enthusiasm for it as despite its unsimilarities to what he used to eat, it still reminded him of his childhood breakfasts.
Now we have our new cards our account seems safe, and our fridge is comfortably full. But we'll be using cash much more often from here on, I think. We still don't know if we get our money back.

A story Grace dictated to me this week (her words and grammar as much as I could get down - she didn't wait for me to write often!):
A long long time ago there was an egg lying in the grass. then the egg cracked. Out came an ugly duckling. It started walking in the driffles of long grass. Then the ugly duckling reached to a poor house with one woman, one husband, 8 girls, and 3 boys. When one boy saw the ugly duckling he said, "Mother! Look at that ugly duckling!"
The 8 year old girl said, "Father, that duckling looks ugly." The ugly duckling went away from that house. It reached to a farm.
The farmer telled all the animals, "I think a ghost is coming near this farm."
When it came nearer, the cow mooed, " I think it is an ugly duckling coming." Then, when the ugly duckling turned around and went to the right. Then he was going to a field where people were planting rice.
One who was putting in the seeds said, " Look something is coming. Maybe it is telling winter is coming."
The one who was making holes for the seeds yelled, "plant the rice quick! I think it will eat the rice!" When the ugly duckling heard all that he turned past the field to a graceful pond with nothing in it just right for him. The ugly duckling was a boy.
Suddenly when the ugly duckling stepped in and swam half way across, something came in and the ugly duckling didn't know what it was. Then he saw big snow flakes coming. This meant winter was coming. If he didn't find a place to stay he would freeze. Then, suddenly when he reached the end, a big snowflake flurried on him and he froze!
As soon as spring came his wing was sticking our like this. He said, "Oh! I didn't know that!" Then he did the other wing and flapped and flapped and flewed. He said, "Maybe I am a beautiful swan."

Last holiday pictures and random this week pictures and happenings:

One night and morning on holiday we had a good rain storm. The girls enjoyed the quietish morning inside at the kids' bookshelves.

Once the rain cleared, we had great fun with the windfall of flowers off the two frangipani trees. Such plain elegance in sight and smell a handful or two of these flowers are! So we decided that if we were to be flower fairies, this is the tree we would belong to. And tried to make some crowns for the fairy princesses.
We've been lent a new stroller to use as the two we brought with us have not survived the rough sidewalks and increasingly heavy passengers. Soon they will have to graduate to walking all the way, but right now Mommy is still happy to have a way to make sure where one kid is all the time when she's out and about with the two of them.
It is much sturdier than our own two, so hopefully it will last better. Jasmin likes the extra canopy so she can make her own little hideaway.

This last Sunday was missions Sunday at our church. They had a parade of flags held by members from different countries, making a very strong side point that the nations are right here in the Philippines. Each "delegate" spoke God's name over their country in a rousing declaration of God's glory to the nations.
Jasmin was in church with us, and kept asking me the rest of the service when the flags would wave again - it was the only thing she was interested in - but she still says church is better than Sunday School.

We're home and a few days back into work again. The journey home went fairly smoothly, except the last bit: we got off the bus in Ortigas, thinking it would be faster, but then we took over an hour waiting in line for a taxi, so maybe not. That wait was tough after a long afternoon of traveling for the girls. We were very glad to get home! Even though it was about 8 o' clock by then, they set too playing with EVERYTHING to say hello.

Yesterday was the girls' first day back at preschool. They were dressed and ready to go, hanging on the door handle a good 20 min before Mommy was ready to take them! And when we got in the gate, they left me with a delighted cry and took off for the door.

It is good to see that here is home enough for the girls, and indeed, Mommy and Daddy were quite happy to be "home." Thank you God. For a great holiday and a home to come back to.