M&M Christmas

It was a fun and somewhat quiet Christmas this year. A little sad being away from our family and all the usual busy events. But I know in the future I'll want this quiet Christmas back! We felt so blessed however to be together as a family when many we know are seperated serving in Iraq and other places.

M&M loved all their new gifts and were probably a little overwhelmed with it all. Andrew had to work Christmas Eve but we had some family time when he came home. M&M wore these cute little "long-john" PJ's for Christmas...so adorable!



M&M were able to open all the gifts they received in the mail from family and friends, on Christmas Eve. So many thoughtful gifts...thank you everyone!

There was too much going on and they were quite wound-up so taking pictures was a chore. It's always hard to get a picture with both of them and even harder with all the new packages under the tree! But we tried anyway...the one below is as close as we got. At least they're both looking at the camera. Can you tell they're teething?!

I took the picture below, right before Andrew and I went to bed. All the fun surprises that awaited them in the morning!

Christmas morning was fun and they were excited when they saw all the toys. We got some great (and quite lengthy) video that we sent to the Grandparents, of the gift opening extravaganza! They needed lots of help opening gifts and would get stuck on one toy they liked and didn't think it was necessary to open anything else. Michael saw that push car and I don't think he let loose of it all day! Mary Ellen loved it too but she had to get past Michael to get a turn.

The darling outfits they wore on Christmas was a generous birthday gift from our good friends Pinto and Aly. We wanted to wait for a special day so they could wear them for the first time. They looked so cute in them. Thanks y'all!!

Mary Ellen loved her colorful beaded necklace and big Pooh ball. She kept that necklace on all day. There's a matching bracelet that she carries around in her hand where ever she goes!

Thought this was such a sweet picture of Mary Ellen and Andrew! Just that he wore that goofy elf hat cracks me up...anything to make Mary Ellen smile!

The most fun they had all day was when we put Mary Ellen in the seat of the push car and Michael pushed her around the house. He didn't need help either...he did it on his own. He really is very strong! This is probably my favorite picture of the day!

I just had to add this last pictue of Mary Ellen from Christmas night. Again with the necklace and her little green tutu that Dee gave her. So cute...this was another favorite that she'll wear until we take it off. She leaves a trail of tiny glitter from the tutu wherever she goes :-)

It was a fun Christmas and they received more than their share of fun new toys. Thank you all so much for how generous you are with our children. We love you!

Merry Christmas To All!

Merry Christmas from Bahrain 2008

We have had a wonderful year full of blessings! 2008 began with Cece in Florida with her Mother, Andrew here in Bahrain and Michael and Mary Ellen just 3 months old. Cece and the babies were finally able to join Andrew in Bahrain after Easter. What an exhausting and eventful trip over it was! A 22 hour plane ride with twins and a 15 year old cocker spaniel, but we all made it. The babies did great on the plane and slept most of the time. Prissy got “lost” in Dubai and arrived the next day, but we made it! It took a few weeks for Michael and Mary Ellen to get back on their schedule but they adjusted surprisingly well and we were thrilled to all be together!

The summer was HOT and HUMID! We spent most of it inside, at the pool, or at the mall. We live in a nice neighborhood that has beautiful pools and parks. There are lots of other Americans here and we feel fortunate to have made many friends. We were sad to lose Prissy in September but are thankful to have had her for so many wonderful years.

Michael and Mary Ellen turned one in September and we had a big celebration including a visit from Dee (Cece’s Mother). How wonderful for her to make the long journey to come visit!
Andrew continues to fly F16’s with the Bahraini Air Force. He feels fortunate to have had this experience. We are looking forward to the new things God has in store for our family in the upcoming year. For more about our adventures stay tuned to this blog!

As always we hope this finds you in good health and uplifted spirits. We are thankful for our immense blessings this year and will be joyfully celebrating the birth of our Savior. Every moment now seen through our children’s eyes seems even more precious.

Love,
The Thornes
Andrew, Cece, Michael and Mary Ellen



But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Luke 2:10-12

Breakfast With Santa

It was a beautiful, cool, and sunny Friday for "Breakfast with Santa". The US Ambassador and his wife hosted it at the Ambassador's residence. It is a beautiful and grand home and very well guarded! They are gracious hosts and it was nice to see some Embassy friends that we don't get to see regularly.

We were able to take a family picture in front of the Ambassador's Christmas tree when we first arrived.

We had a nice breakfast and enjoyed the art work at the residence. M&M loved playing with their juice bottles and crawling around on the marble floors. Who needs fancy toys!

Waiting for Santa!

Of course the big event was Santa! Each child got a little gift from him and were able to sit on his lap for pictures and a chat. OK, so M&M don't chat yet, and actually I don't think they had any idea where they were sitting for the first few minutes. Then Mary Ellen looked up at Santa's face and it was all over with!

In Mary Ellen's defense, it was WAY past nap time and she just isn't a happy camper without sleep. And to think it was Michael I was concerned about! He is usually our sensitive one, but he took it all in stride!

All-in-all it was a fun (and exhausting) day! The first of many visits with Santa I'm sure!

Twin Love

I received such great response from this video on my Facebook page that I decided to add it to the blog. Several people suggested that I submit it to the America's Funniest Home Videos show, so I'm working on that.

The video is pretty self-explanatory. Mary Ellen loves jumping in the Johnny-Jump-Up and Michael is trying to make her laugh. Of course, he gets rewarded by a couple bonks on the head, which doesn't seem to faze him in the slightest. Michael is usually the one who is more aggressive, so it's sort of funny to see Mary Ellen exert a little power in the relationship! I do have to be careful when she really gets going in the jumper, because she can hurt him. But they are just so much fun to watch together! They share a definate love for each other that makes us so happy!

LOCK 'N LOAD

OK, those of you that don't know R. Lee "Gunny" Ermey, I'll run down a few credits for you. He is probably best known for Full Metal Jacket but we've also enjoyed him in Saving Silverman, Switchback, Dead Man Walking, Seven, and Leaving Las Vegas. But he has done so much more. He was a Marine drill instructor and a Vietnam vet who started out acting about 25 years ago when he was offered the role in Full Metal Jacket. He now has a History Channel show called Mail Call and Lock 'n Load. Those of you that know Andrew know what a history buff he is, particularly military history, so Gunny is a favorite in our house! He's also the spokesperson for Glock and we own three (this tidbit is Andrew's contribution to the blog)!

Anyway, he was at the Navy Base last weekend so we thought we'd make it a family outing! We had to wait in line for about an hour. Needless-to-say, this was the day we forgot to load the stroller so we had to hold M&M the entire time, ugh!

Here is Andrew and Michael in line waiting to see Gunny. Now as I've mentioned before, twins are attention magnets. This time it attracted Gunny's crew...sound man and camera man. They asked if they could do an interview and get some video of M&M. So who knows where that will end up! We did say "You're watching Gunny TV.com" into the camera. So don't know if this will be for the History channel or Gunny's website. But it was fun and the sound guy just loved M&M, especially Michael who kept grabbing at the sound boom.

The sound guy was nice enough to take some pictures when we were talking with Gunny. M&M just kept satring at him. And Gunny seemed taken with Michael. The last picture is the best...Gunny laughing at Michael grabbing the sound boom! Fun experience and it's so great for Gunny to visit the troops (he said he makes 4 trip a year to the Middle East) most of whom are single and here without family.

His new show Lock n' Load is on the History Channel and he just started working on Toy Story 3. He has been the voice of "Army Sarge" for all the Toy Story movies.

By the Gulf

Since Andrew has had off a few days for the Muslim Eid holiday, we took advantage of our time together. After our visit with "Gunny" at the Navy Base (there will be a future blog about that fun experience) we drove to the water to let M&M look at everything. Now the history of the name of the Gulf here is interesting to me. I've always known it as the Persian Gulf as most Westerners do. But in the Arab world it is emphatically known as the Arabian Gulf. Principally because most of the Middle East considers themselves Arab except Iran...who are Persian. So you can see why most here would think of it as the Arabian Gulf instead. The water is beautiful but the shore very rocky. Unfortunately there is lots of trash along the shore which detracts from how beautiful the view is. Of course "the Gulf" in my heart will always be the Gulf of Mexico...THE most beautiful place on Earth! All these pictures are of Andrew and M&M. I was the photographer.

Christmas Trees and Camels

The Navy Base here had a beautiful tree lighting ceremony this weekend. They had Santa, camel rides, and lots of fun stuff going on to kick off the Christmas season here. There is another big Muslim holiday this time of year so Christmas is pretty much isolated to the Navy Base and certain sections of some stores. It is like a sigh of relief to walk onto the Navy base and get some of that Christmas atmosphere that I crave. The Muslim Eid holiday is also a big celebration for them and they decorate public areas with lots of lights, so I just pretend they're Christmas lights!

Michael and Mary Ellen loved to look at all the decorated trees and lights. They also really loved being that close to the camel!

The poor camel must have been 100 years old. I think it took him 5 minutes to actually lay down like this. But isn't he cool looking? I love all the woven carpets and fringe they have on him.

This was as close as we got to getting M&M to actually look at the camera. Do you blame them? They had the sparkling Christmas tree on one side and the camel on the other!

We found every Christmas tree they had up! M&M just loved looking at them. They're chewing on the candy canes Santa gave them. Yes, I said SANTA! I was a little nervous how they would react to him, especially Michael who tends to be our sensitive one. But it didn't seem to faze them in the slightest! M&M were in the stroller and Santa and Mrs. Claus were walking around handing out candy canes. They took the candy cane and started chewing.

Next week we have "Breakfast with Santa" at the Ambassador's residence, so we'll see how they are when they actually sit on his lap!

Walking, Walking, and More Walking

Remember my wish a couple of posts back for Mary Ellen to start using the walker like Michael? Granted! We took this video a few days after Thanksgiving. We put the Christmas tree up earlier that day and had been playing Christmas music all day so excuse the blaring Pavarotti in the background. Don't go thinking we're too "high brow", it was a compilation Christmas CD. Elvis Presley and Alabama are on the same CD!

Isn't she a complete doll?! She's always smiling and so proud of herself. We have to direct her path a bit where Michael has finally figured out how to get himself out of some corners.

Now if that wasn't enough, the next day....Michael took a few steps on his own!!!!! I was so excited I started yelling and scared everyone to death. He was pushing the walker and wanted to go over to the desk and just started off like it wasn't a thing. Then he realized wait, I can't walk on my own and he just plopped down. Since then he'll take a few steps between Andrew and I on his own. Andrew keeps threatening me not to encourage him to walk while he's at work...he doesn't want to miss it! We need to work on getting it on video or at least a picture.

We're coming up on some big transitions soon and it all just makes me sad and proud at the same time! After Christmas, no more bottles and no more pacifiers....I'll let y'all know how that goes.

Thanksgiving Day

It was a fun and quiet Thanksgiving this year. And as always, it's fun to see M&M experience new things. We were able to use the "prayer plates" they got for their birthday for the first time. I think they really enjoyed sitting at the table eating with us and they surprisingly liked most of the new food. Their favorite was cranberry sauce and lime jello salad! They ate some turkey and some mashed potatoes but didn't seem to like corn casserole, which is odd considering they love corn. It always seems to be about the texture. I bet we'll find that over the next couple of days, we have tons of leftovers, they learn to love it too.

They were finally able to wear these cute matching brown corduroy outfits they got when they were born. They are 9 month size and a little short on Michael but luckily still fit.



We had our friend Chris over who is here without his family and M&M loved watching and entertaining him. I think they just love having a new person to look at. I know they probably get tired of just seeing us!
All-in-all it was a fun Thanksgiving! Eventhough we are far away from home, we were able to estabished some traditions of our own and appreciate being together. We are thankful for our family, new magical experiences and especially M&M. Now we can't wait to see Christmas through their eyes!

Thankful Thanksgiving Crafts

I'm a stealer of ideas this week. But as Andrew says, "There aren't many more original ideas left out there". So I'm doing my part to pass on the good ones. I follow several Blogs of our friends and it is such a fun way to keep up with everyone but also a wealth of ideas.

I stole the Thankful Jar idea from my friend Ginger. When reading her Blog it reminded me of an email that floated around recently about a man that dies and goes to heaven. When he gets there an angel is showing him around and they go to one room that is bustling with activity. The angel explains that it's the "prayer request room". There are dozens of angels taking calls, and emails and filing thousands of correspondence. All prayer requests, needs, and wants sent up to God. They walk down the hall to another room where one angel sits at a desk doing nothing but twiddling his thumbs. The angel then explains to the man how this is the "thankful room" where all the thanks come in for God. This image has stuck with me. I remember all those days and nights fervently sending up prayers to God asking for things, big things. And now I look back and see how he's given them all to me or worked them out even better than I could imagine. How much of my time with God is spent thanking Him for all these blessings? I am committed each day to praise our Father for the wealth of blessings He has given us. So the Thankful Jar sounded like a great idea to me. We are in the midst of another transition that finds us on our knees once again and I don't want to forget the "thanks". The directions are simple...write down what we're thankful for and then every once-in-a-while go read them. Puts the focus back where it should be very quickly. And reminds us that God has taken care of us in the past and will continue to...that's what He does.

Our friend Laura, who is also a blogger, recommended a blog started by a former preschool teacher who is now home with her son. The blog is http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/ . It is full of crafts, songs, books and educational ideas to do with your little ones. Wonderful site that takes advantage of all her experience working with preschoolers for so long. The next few ideas come from her.

The first, are juice box crayons. If you're a regular reader of the M&M Report you'll remember my frustration at the first "masterpieces" that M&M tried to do. Well I thought that these big chunky crayons might make it easier. Fun to do and easier for little hands to manipulate. The directions for these are here http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/search?q=juice+box+crayons. OK, so they still tried to eat them. Oh well!

I also tried the muffin tin crayons with the left over colors. She explains the process here http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2008/02/readers-corner-try-this-at-home.html. This was even easier and is a great idea if you have a bunch of little pieces of used up crayons.

So the final craft idea is the Handprint paper plate turkeys which is a variation of her idea here http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2008/11/turkey-take-two.html. I just used M&M's handprints for the tail feathers instead.

All in all it was a successful craft time and now we have Thanksgiving centerpieces. Hope everyone has a THANKFUL THANKSGIVING from Andrew, Cece, Michael and Mary Ellen!

Cruising

Michael has really gotten the hang of the shopping-cart-walker lately. Once we get him started he will cruise around the house several times until he gets stuck or is distracted by something else. Funny to watch those little legs walking!

Poor Mary Ellen she just crawls along after him! Now if we can only get her doing the same thing. She has improved so much the last several weeks though. She used to be so tentative standing up and would often get stuck standing by the coffee table scared to get down. I think this was thanks to the fall early on when she hit her chin on the coffee table and her teeth cut into the underside of her tongue. Lots of blood and one freaked out Mama! But now she will pull up on anything and pop down whenever she wants. But they both just aren't ready to let go! I'm so proud of both of them, though.

The next task is to try and get Mary Ellen talking on video. We call it "Mary Ellenese". Who knows what she's saying, but let me tell you, it is something important to her!

Our Prayer!

Though the election didn't have the result that we prayed for we are certain that God is in control. He is bigger than one man, one party, or one ideology. The truth lies with Him and His will most certainly will be done. Therefore let's move ahead with prayer, believing that even this, He will bless!

Our Prayer!

Heavenly Father, You are the real foundation of nations, raising them up to serve and care for the people dwelling in their boundaries. I thank You for making us citizens of this land of freedom and unlimited opportunity---which are the result of it's Christian beliefs. Send forth Your Spirit to this country and make it a source of wisdom and strength, order and integrity throughout the world.

Thank you Lord for President Bush's strong leadership and resolve through one of our country's most difficult periods of time. Thank you for giving us this Godly man who consistently sought Your will and guidance, through great personal sacrifice and public vilification. Bless President and Mrs. Bush as they celebrate their 31st anniversary this week, thank you God for the excellent example of their marriage which has remained strong in spite of the tremendous pressure of living in the public eye. Lord give them many years of joy and blessings as they transition into the next phase of their lives.

Please be with President-Elect Obama that he will be awed before You God, with the responsibility he has to seek Your face as he prepares to lead the nation. Lord let Your will penetrate every aspect of his plans and actions the next 4 years. Help us to humble ourselves before you and pray for his protection and strength to lead our great nation where You would have it go. Also be with Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin, that they will have God’s grace as they return to their former responsibilities.

As the brave men and women of our military continue to serve the causes of freedom and liberty with faithfulness, Lord give them strength and support from America. Lord God cover them with Your powerful protection. Be close to each one as they carry out their duties, and we pray for those working closely in difficult and dangerous circumstances to have the unction of God’s grace as they serve.

Amen!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Andrew, known around here as Daddy, turned 37 yesterday! He actually had most of the day off so we were able to spend some quality time together as a family. It was a fun relaxing day! Andrew slept in and had a nice breakfast, made by his dutiful wife. He woke up to M&M clad in their finest Clemson-wear in honor of his birthday, which made him very happy. He then enjoyed playing with M&M until he left for a little business at the Embassy. We celebrated last night with presents and a special dinner.

Andrew opening his card from M&M

Showing M&M the special picture of them we made in their Clemson shirts.

Checking out his new DVD's.

M&M loved chewing on the cards. I swear in Mary Ellen's mind she is really reading it. I mean she uses her finger to follow and babbles away like she's reading!

Last night she also did something else for the first time. She loves to follow around after Michael. She will go wherever he goes. She has always had such an intense love for him, even when most of the time he ignores her. But last night she was leading. She'd crawl a few steps then sit and turn around and say "wi bul" (for all you SLP's I wish I could write it phonetically). She did it enough times for Andrew and I to look at each other and say almost in unison..."she's saying 'Michael'!" She did it a bunch more times last night and would always look at him like, "come on 'wi bul'!" Such a sweet little gift for Daddy :-)

Andrew also got a homemade lasagna and brownies, his favorite, for dinner and we all agreed it was a fun day. Now, I'm not the "older woman" anymore and for 8 months at least we're the same age!

Happy Birthday Andrew!