Living here in Montana wouldn't be complete if you don't have snow pictures, lol! So finally we succumbed to having Caleb have his first snow experience right in our own backyard. He had a blast! Hubby was going to make some snow balls but it was too powdery and dry, so we're gonna have to save the snow man experience until next time. Despite being cold and bundled up that he can barely walk, lol, I thought he loves playing in the snow. We didn't have him out there for very long though because we were afraid of him getting sick but the pictures said it all. He enjoyed his first snow encounter.

It’s always a bad idea to start a diet program during the holidays. I mean with all the food, parties and stuff, one would definitely gain weight at these times. However, there are people who are disciplined enough not to pig out on holidays no matter how strong the temptation might be. Unfortunately, I am not one of them, lol! I was thinking of using those portion control plates for adults, but nah, I’ll just have to start my lose weight regimen next year. Hopefully I’ll have some progress this time around.

My 2-year old pumpkin was the busiest person in the house on Christmas Day. He had fun opening his presents from Santa and from Mama and Dede, of course. This little fella loves all kinds of choo-choo trains so we made sure we got that one covered. He got a nice Chuggington train set and oh boy we had to literally pull him off the toy so he could open more presents. He just loves the train set so much he wouldn't stop playing with it, lol! I thought the Thomas ride on toy that we got for him was great, too. Though for now, he just loves to push that thing and would not ride on it, lol, but I'm sure eventually he'll figure it out. As a parent, when you see your child beaming with happiness once he sees his present, I think that's the most amazing Christmas gift one would ever received, to  see their children happy.

Today went by so fast. It was my first snowy white Christmas and though I didn’t really go out to enjoy the snow, I find it relaxing looking out the window, watching the snow falls from the sky. It’s Christmas after all. I shared a simple Christmas dinner with hubby and Caleb. I thought Caleb had fun opening up all his presents. I did get a nice little present from Santa this year, a GPS. I can’t wait to use it when I get on the road soon. I wished I had gotten hubby some warm toasty coat. I’ve seen some fur coats for men that were on sale at the stores but I already know what to get him for Christmas so I guess I’ll just have to buy them some other time. I did get him some warm long sleeved shirts for work which I think is practical and functional as well. Although our Christmas celebration was simple, I am still grateful that I have a wonderful family and that we’re all safe and healthy this year. Hope you all have a wonderful holidays my friends!

In my 5 years of living here in the U.S., now is the first time that I have experienced a truly white Christmas. Taken on Christmas eve, this is the sight of our backyard covered with a thick blanket of snow. Pretty amazing! Great that I didn't wait on the last minute to do my shopping for Christmas though, because it would have been scary for me to get out on the road in this weather condition. Although, the city takes really good care of the major roads during a snowstorm, but I am a newbie when it comes to driving in the snow since we just moved from the south. So while it looks pretty out there, I'm not gonna get out and do stuff when it's snowing hard.

Ever since I got back from the Philippines, I have not really seen our yard, lol! I mean the yard is there all right, but you couldn’t see the grass or whatever that’s left of it. It’s all been covered with snow. It doesn’t snow everyday though, thank God. But since the temps are so low, the snow from few weeks ago are still there and now new stuff has been added. We had a snowy Christmas. I think it’s pretty, you know everything is covered in white. But I miss the summer season sometimes. It’s nice to think about swimming pools and just wearing shirts and not covered in bulky outfits when I go out. Although summer is like ages away, I am sure plenty of stores already offer discount pool parts. That’s the way they can have a good head start as far as market competition is concerned. I am actually excited for next year’s summer season since we just bought a house and we’ve never really had a real backyard back then. I was thinking of getting like a cool pool for Caleb or probably one of those nice jump and slide inflatable bouncers, lol! We’ll see, I’m sure Caleb would be delighted.

Who would give out flat screen TV sets these days as gifts? Well, my awesome father-in-law is one, and probably the only one in the circle of people that I have known who give gifts as pricey and extravagant as a TV set, lol! Surely, I'm such a lucky girl!

Hubby knew about it even before Thanksgiving that his Dad was going to give us a nice flat screen TV but he never mentioned it to me so I had the biggest shock of  my life when some guy came to the house and hauled this humongous TV set in our living room. I was like, Geez did you come to the right house? Because I'm sure we didn't order a TV recently. Hubby would mention it to me if we would have a big purchase like this but he didn't so I knew something was off. The guy looked at me funny and told me twice that it's my husband's name that was on the delivery receipt. So I thought Ok, alright, go ahead, let me sign that piece of paper and hubby and I were going to have a nice long talk later, lol!

When I glanced at the receipt, I saw his Dad's name on top and then a thought twinkled in my head. Could this be a gift? Oh my, if it is, then it's surely one of the most expensive gifts we have ever received, lol! As soon as the delivery guy was out of sight, I called hubby at work and he spilled the beans, lol! It was indeed a special gift from his Dad for us this Christmas, and that he knew about it sometime in November. Gosh I was so happy I couldn't say anything at first, lol! It was a perfect addition to our  new house. I couldn't thank my Father in law enough. He's such the sweetest and generous person I have known. We are so lucky!

It all just started as a hobby. Something fun to do when I first got here in the U.S. Little did I know that my interest on simple blogging made way for a better opportunity to write and get paid at the same time. Amazing, isn’t it? Companies like triangle direct media are blessings in the blogging world. The link between advertisers and bloggers. One of the most constant paid blogging sites that give opportunities to old and new bloggers alike. Now blogging has never been more fun and gratifying.

Now that we are about to leave for the U.S., my heart is filled with mixed emotions. I am excited, eager and happy to be with hubby after being away from him for the longest time since we got married. However,  my heart aches for my dear family because they will miss us, especially their grandson Caleb. But that's life I guess. I chose to be married to a foreigner and being away from my family was part of the package. Anyway, I did have a great time bonding with them for the past 3 months. All the great memories spent in those months will forever  be etched in my heart and memory. And I have good pictures to remind me of them when I get back. 

I'm grateful to have a husband as supportive and understanding as my Jeff. It wasn't easy for him to be away from us for a long time, yet he wanted Caleb to meet and bond with his grandparents even if it would sacrifice his own bonding time with his son. He had missed a lot of Caleb's developmental milestones so I know he would be pleasantly surprised to see how much Caleb has grown and developed in 3 months.

 

I'm sharing some photos of Caleb with his maternal grandparents. Going to miss my mama and papa and sister, but I am going to see you again in a few years time. That's something I look forward to.