Happy Birthday Miriam!

Last year we started a tradition that I would take Miriam out on her birthday for a special "Daddy Date".  This year was extra special because we were on a family vacation in Penang, Malaysia. 

 

I took her to Hard Rock Café Penang where they not only gave her a special birthday cake and had the entire restaurant sing her happy birthday, but they also gave us a commemorative Hard Rock photo.

 

This is Miriam blowing out the candle.  After the server left she quickly noted that she didn't like cake and would much prefer "Monkey Bread" :) !  Oh, Ms. Miriam, always so direct about what she wants!

Our dinner conversation was a delight that covered a wide range of topics.  What a delight to have such a daughter who is incredibly beautiful - inside and out!

After dinner we returned to the apartment we are staying at and a friend of ours took these professional grade photos that are an absolute treasure!

 

 

 

For this beautiful outfit we have both Nei Nei (Emily's Mom) and Christy Grandma (my mom) to thank.  Nei Nei helped Miriam pick out this special dress this summer and Christy Grandma helped pick out the high heels and the necklace.

 

 

Here is a close up of the high heels - this was her first time wearing high heels!

Christmas 2013: First Sunday of Advent

Continuing the holiday theme for the weekend, we kicked off our Christmas celebration on the First Sunday of Advent by setting up our Christmas tree.

The Kids enjoyed setting up the tree and eating popcorn.

Asa showing his University of Nebraska loyalties - a Husker Sweatshirt and Ornament - one of my favorites!

Miriam with of U of M (Minnesota) ornament; when I asked which team it was for she proudly announced - The Minnesota Tigers!  Uh, no....it is actually the gophers, honey.  Much sports education remains in our household!

In the end, everyone played a part in setting up the Christmas tree and had a blast.

Both of our girls have December birthdays, so a few years back Emily started the tradition of a "birthday tree".  The girls have collected their ornaments over the years and have a way to make their birthdays festive and special.

What a gift to have this family tradition of celebrating advent to help our hearts begin to celebrate Christ's birth!

Thanksgiving: Shanghai Style 2013

We had a blast celebrating Thanksgiving with friends here in Shanghai on Saturday.

The day started with our annual trip to Bubbah's Texas BBQ to pick up our smoked turkey.  The kids loved playing the golf video game while we waited.  Note the Nebraska Cornhusker's pennant flying proudly over their heads.  We love our Huskers - even if their regular season ended with a thud earlier today :(

The kids and I enjoyed cutting the turkey; Asa was so excited he decided to turn the green cutting board into a gong to announce the cutting of the turkey!

Once again Emily did an amazing job in preparing the side dishes and pies.  She managed to stuff her little "easy bake" oven to keep these dishes warm.

Once the dishes were laid out we had the beans, sweet potatoes and turkey all laid out over the cover of our stove top in the kitchen.

She also kept the mashed potatoes warm in the crock pot.  They had cream cheese in them and were amazing!

Emily and Miriam also did an amazing job of making pies - apple, peach and pumpkin; including my favorite pumpkin pie with a gluten free crust!

Before digging into the food Salome and her classmate had a blast playing.

They also had fun at their "little girls" table on the deck.

The older kids enjoyed eating with their tutors and friends at the big table in the middle of the living room.

The party ended with games and everyone putting a leaf on the "Thankful Tree" to list something they were thankful for.

Saturday Food and Fun

Today was not only beautiful weather wise, but a day filled with family fun and delicious food!

Our morning started with Danish Pancake Balls (Aebleskiver), which is a family Christmas tradition that Emily was so kind to make as a treat.  Miriam accidentally called them apple cider!  LOL!

Next Salome and I (Joab) went with one of her preschool classmates, Tong Tong, to a performance of Cinderella.  The girls had a blast!

It was pretty funny to see the "VIP" kids who got to go on stage before the performance.  Talk about organized chaos!

Later in the day we continued the Danish theme by going to "Andersen's Ice Cream after dinner.  It was fun to eat at a place that almost shares one of our family names - my mom's maiden name is Anderson.

Silas got into the ice cream action too.

On the way home we FINALLY found Miriam's favorite Chinese Sweet - Bing Tang Hu Lu.  It is traditionally a Beijing treat, so finding here in Shanghai is a challenge.  It is even harder to find when it is always sold by hawkers who travel throughout town trying to avoid the police.  Now that we found a seller I made sure to get his phone number so that next time we can call him and just go directly to him to get the treat!

As you can see from this "Wanted" Sign Miriam has been desperately looking for this candy for a long time!

What was most fun for me about finding the Bing Tan Hu Lu was the fact that I did it with all three of the big kids on our electric bike! What a fun Shanghai memory!

On a related note, here is a great video summarizing some of the most famous Shanghai Snacks.

ICS 5th Anniversary Celebration

For the second year in a row we were a part of the anniversary celebration for our church - International Church of Shanghai (ICS).  Like last year we continued the with the carnival and talent contest theme.

However, this year our family participated in the talent contest with a puppet show to the Journey song "Faithfully".  Here is the video of our family's puppet show.

Before the performance we took a family picture.

The kids enjoyed the games and candy from the carnival area of the celebration.

Miriam and Asa enjoyed the Angry Bird themed game

Asa loved the cotton candy

Silas had a blast on the bouncy castle

The girls loved getting their faces painted

We were also excited to see local charity organizations had booths at the fair - including a group selling cookies made by children from Huge Grace Orphanages, which cares for about 20 disabled orphans in suburban Shanghai.

Here is a copy of the brochure they handed out.  For those who live in China you can
order cookies and other goods to benefit the children at the orphanage through this website.  

Shanghai Halloween 2013

Our Halloween Celebration started by carving pumpkins after dinner the night before.

On Halloween we had the blessing of joining a neighborhood party.  This party was filled with amazing homemade treats - including our cups of worms, dirt and mud (AKA gummy worms, cookie crumbs and chocolate pudding) that are in the middle of the table.

Here is the family (less Silas) at the party.  Miriam was dressed up as a country girl, Salome was Snow White while Asa and I followed a Star Wars theme - he was Boba Fett and I was his dad, Jango Fett.

One of the games at the party was a new way of bobbing for apples.  Instead of bobbing in water it was Emily's great idea that we hang them from trees.  Miriam and Asa took second prize and had a blast!

 Here is another look at Boba and Jango - Asa did an amazing job of making both of the jet packs himself (with a lot of guidance from Mom and Dad).

Silas didn't make the party, but he did dress up as Batman and was super cute!

Happy Birthday Silas!

What a gift to have Silas Carl John Meyer in our family!  It is hard that one year ago we welcome this little guy into our family.  Today we celebrated his first birthday.

The day started with presents for breakfast...Silas was thrilled!

So was his big brother!

In the evening Silas had his first birthday cup cakes.

The cup cakes were shaped like mini-toilets.  Why toilets?  Mr. Silas loves to open up the toilet and turn it into a mini-splash station!

Here is a video of the birthday boy blowing out his candles - with a little help from his sibling.

Silas thought they tasted great and so did we!