Boyd Bear Tracks

We had a quiet Christmas. Many people from church went on vacation, so we didn't have any special meetings on Christmas. We won't have any for New Years' either.

I was surprised, but there were no parties around our house. It seems that people either went elsewhere to party, or they just went to bed. Who knows! I remember as a kid that everyone came out at midnight on the 24 and wished all the neighbors a Merry Christmas. Apparently that has changed (I guess it could depend on what neighborhood you live in). But anyway, here it was pretty quiet. We'll see what New Years' is like :-)!

I finally have started packing! I didn't get any packing done during kids' camp as planned, but at least now I've gotten all the boxes out. The upstairs is a mess of boxes and piles of things: to get rid of, to take to the States, to pack, and so on. It's a little dangerous if you try to get up and use the bathroom in the dark--you could trip over boxes or piles! :-)

We're still plugging away at school. The school day can get to be pretty long, which is tiring--sometimes we don't finish until late afternoon. At least the kids get several breaks during Marcos' feeding times and fussy times. :-)

Marcos is starting to be more alert. He has started smiling more, but usually only in the morning (maybe he's more rested at that time :-)). Lucas and Ellie are still enthralled by him. They love to be near him and watch him make faces or wiggle around. They constantly ask if they can hold him.

Ellie has decided that when she grows up she's going to "be an orphanage" :-). I told her she could be a director, but not "an orphanage". She had to make sure that if she were a director she would actually get to take care of the babies--which is what she really wants to do. It's really cute when she plays with her baby dolls and pretends that she's at an orphange. The other day she told me that she was the only worker and that she had like 10 babies! But, she said that was okay. :-) Apparently she could handle it!

Lucas is really progressing in his reading. Maybe soon I won't even have to read to him, he'll just do it on his own! Tonight he read "Sammy the Seal" all by himself--63 pages! He's quite the helper carrying the clean laundry upstairs and bringing down the dirty laundry. He loves to be a helper--especially if it shows off how strong he is! :-) Those baskets of laundry can be pretty heavy!