Changes...

In case any of you have been wondering why I haven't posted for a while, its because my mom has asked me to change my blog. Because I share so many pictures and names and stories about our friends and family, I have decided to make my blog private.

I will send invitations to those who I know read this blog regularly. If you have been reading my blog and want to continue to read about Ayana and Moses, please leave a comment, or send me an email, and I will be happy to send you an invitation so that you will be able to access it.

**Only those who I send invitations to will be able to read my blog; you must sign in with your username and password in order to access the blog.**

I hope those who want to will still be reading up about my gorgeous little brother and sister from Ethiopia (and of course my brother and sister from Canada too :D), because I know that they will certainly be having many more adventures! :)

Hooray...

Thank-you so much to everyone who might have been praying for Moses since yesterday. He's doing so much better today, and his fever is almost completely gone. He was much happier all day, and back to his normal, goofy self. He started to feel a bit worse towards the evening, but nothing compared to how he was yesterday. Now he has just more of a cold and a bit of a cough left. We're so thankful! :)

At last.. the Wiebe Family Christmas!

Sorry it took so long, but I've been pretty busy this week. But now I finally have some time to sit down and update my blogs!

Our Christmas was awesome, although to me it felt slightly rushed. Not Christmas itself, but beforehand. We had school until the Friday right before Christmas, and all my teachers were giving us tests and projects that week, so there was hardly any time for shopping. As terrible as this sounds, I didn't even get my sister's present until Christmas Eve morning!

But by Christmas Eve we were finally ready (after decorating our tree on the 23rd! We've never done it that late before!) to relax and celebrate Christmas.

Here are a few pictures of decorating our tree. Moses and Ayana loved it, and Ayana definitely remembered it from last year.. even Moses remembered not to touch it! We had almost no problems at all with them wanting to touch the tree, which was great.

Christmas Even was lots of fun. During the day we went up to Grouse Mountain, where they have "Christmas on the Peak"; ice skating, Santa's workshop, carolers, and real reindeer all help to set the mood. There was tons of snow, and Ayana and Moses had lots of fun sliding down the snow wherever and whenever they could.

In the evening we have several traditions, which include my mom doing the Christmas story with felt characters that she made when I was born (so cute.. Ayana and Moses loved it!); my dad reading a story, which is different every year; opening our stockings (yes, we do that on Christmas Eve!); and watching a movie.

This year we watched (after Ayana and Moses were in bed) the Nativity Story. I'd seen it before, but it was cool watching it on Christmas Eve! Its a really good movie, and they made it well; it really shows what Mary and Joseph must have gone through, with Mary pregnant and then traveling to Bethlehem. It gives the Christmas Story a new twist, making it seem more real almost. I'd definitely recomend it. :)

Waiting for the gondola




On the way up

The skating pond




Josh got skates from his friend, and was very excited to try them out!


Sliding down the snow!



Meeting Prancer


Prancer and Vixen











This was how Moses decided to rebel.. anything he didn't feel like doing, no problem; he would just lie down in the snow. That sure showed us!

Our stockings, ready and waiting!

Doing the felt story.


My dad reading a christmas story.



Ayana's new pjs and robe!

When Christmas morning finally came, Ayana was so excited! She totally remembered it all from last year, and couldn't wait to go downstairs to see all the presents under the tree. Moses was excited too, but mostly because he could tell that everybody else was.

They both really enjoyed getting their new toys, although they did get a bit overwhelmed. Moses even started backing away, saying "No more presents!" It was so cute, and definitely the first time I've ever heard a kid say that! For the rest of the day we just hung out, played games, watched movies etc.

We did go to my aunt's house for a couple of hours to see my aunt and uncle, and my Oma, who stayed with them over Christmas. Fortunately, they live right across the street, so it was no big deal to get ready and go see them! :) Oh, and it started snowing in the afternoon, so we even had a (semi) white christmas!

Opening her first present!



Moses getting his FurReal kitten


Ayana's FurReal kitten


A beautiful ballerina!



Josh making us french toast for breakfast.. he's actually really good at it!

And now skipping ahead to dinner....

This was his own special creation.. a fork on your head is way better than a silly old paper hat!




Snow!



Our New Years was good too, although Moses and Ayana didn't have much part in it. They went to bed at around 8:45 (which is pretty late for them!) so they missed out on welcoming in the new year. They still had a good time though.

Our friends came over like they do every year, and we had a little party with them. Its fun, but Megan and I never get quite as much enjoyment out of it as my parents, Josh, Ayana and Moses do. Their kids are all 10 and under, so there's not really anyone for us to hang out with.

We went to our friends' house (we're both best friends with another pair of sisters, which makes it easy to get together :P) for a couple hours, and came back in time for midnight (my mom wanted us home at the actual count down part). I'm glad we did though, because it was fun to be with family as we began a new year.

Watching a movie

The girls!

Welcoming in the new year..


So now, I come to the end of my "catching up" post, and I just have one more thing to write about. Moses has been kind of sick for a couple of days, but last night he suddenly developed an extremely high fever (40.2) and was shaking and coughing like crazy. His fever has gone down to 39.1 today, but my mom took him to the doctor this morning, where they said he most likely has either bronchitis, or pneumonia. He has to go back to the doctors on Monday, and they said if his temperature goes back to 40 or above, to take him straight to the hospital. He's extremely listless today, and all he wants to do is sit with someone, and watch his Wiggles movies. Please pray that he'll recover soon, and will be back to his happy, fun-loving self as quickly as possible!

Poor baby.. all he wanted to do was lie down, or sit with someone, and watch movie, or sleep. :(