Gigi's Christmas

We enjoyed our Christmas celebration and Gigi did also. She's adapted well to spending a few days in an apartment. Why wouldn't she? She's just as spoiled as the children! I don't have much to say as I believe that pictures tell her Christmas day story.

Yeah, baby! She scored some turkey from the table!! ( We never feed her from the table...Merry Christmas Gigi!)


Yia-Yia made her a sweater and Thia outfitted her with a shiny bow.

Here's what she thought of the bow.

I'll be back soon.

Wishing you all peace & love this holiday season!

Merry Christmas!

Here's a picture that my sister sent me. My nephew is wrapped snugly in his fleece blanket gazing out at the snow. It's a perfect representation of what I miss...my family and a cold, snowy Christmas in Wisconsin. I think that it's the perfect picture for my holiday message.

So, wherever you are and whatever your weather is like, I want to wish each and everyone of you a Merry Christmas!

Kalikantzeri

In Greece, kalikantzeri are goblins that appear from the earth during the 12 days of Christmas. They're known to engage in mischievous behavior during this time. Honestly, I didn't know anything about "kalikantzerakia" until this year when our children came home and excitedly told us that they'd perform as the goblins during their school Christmas program this year.

The little kalikantzerakia causing trouble!

The lights were low and the costumes and the background were glowing.

Both of my goblins tossing confetti simultaneously.

They had a great time performing with their friends and the program was adorable!

Kozani in December

The center of Kozani lit up for the holidays.

My heart is broken.

Last week our koumbaro, friend and Godfather to Alexandra passed away. He was only 35 years old. So, for the last week I've been with my koumbara and her family.

It was early Thursday morning. I was getting the kids ready for school and the phone rang. All that I can say is that it was the phone call that we all dread.

It's been a long week.

Time seems to be standing still.

He had symptoms, but never had them checked. I suppose that's because he was only 35 he probably didn't think that they were that serious, we'll never know.

My sweet koumbara is torn and needs support so we're doing whatever we can to help her.

I haven't had the time or the appetite for blogging as I'm sure that you all understand.

I took some time to check my email Wednesday, for the first time in a week and found a nice surprise. My friend Phivos sent me a link to one of his more recent posts. His post is titled
"Peace on Earth-Children of the World". He kindly included our children in the post and it was a sweet and welcome surprise. If you have a chance please take a moment to check out the post and his amazing blog.

Thank you Phivos. :)

Thessaloniki, turkey & tree...

So I mentioned that I don't like to let more than a week lapse between posts and then 2 weeks slide by...

The main reason?

My laptop crashed. I was out of commission for a few days.

Now that everything is working again I'll share some pictures from last week...


Wednesday

We went into the city to take care some things and Alexandra loved visiting the pigeons.


Before leaving, we enjoyed coffee at Starbucks while Alexandra indulged in a giant cookie.
That evening, we listened to an amazing woman speak about working with children in Africa.

Thursday

Thanksgiving!!! I hope that all of you that celebrated had a nice one! Although it was a regular weekday I still made a turkey & some fixings. I didn't go overboard though. This year's Thanksgiving was much nicer since I had myself together and shopped earlier. I bought the turkey a few months ago so all that I had to do is remember to take it out of the freezer on time.

The kids helped by helping mash the potatoes and also setting the table. It's not a formal setting by any means but we love our Fiestaware. My friends Beth & Linda turned me on to it years ago. I think of them each time I use any of it, which is daily. Thanks you two!



Kosta's plate-turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn and stuffing.

Saturday

We put up our Christmas tree.

That's last week! This week has been a sick week. Iza & Foti came down with a nasty virus and have been home from school since Tuesday. Actually, Iza went to school today. Foti will more than likely go back tomorrow. Iza is excited to go to school tomorrow because she'll be bringing a cake and treats in order to celebrate her name day, which is Saturday. Her middle name is "Victoria"-a version of my mother-in-law's name-"Niki"- which is what we celebrate. She's been announcing it to everyone a week. So, I hope that she enjoys herself tomorrow.