We have celebrated Christmas several times already having various parties and activities with friends and missionary family. We started the month with a trip to the Christmas tree farm to purchase a tree. Olivia wanted to wear her Santa's hat, Abby had just lost another tooth, and we were all excited to get our tree until... we saw that the prices for trees had doubled this year! The cost of the tree is still cheaper than what we would pay in the U.S., so we count it a blessing to still get a real tree. Guess it sort of makes up for the gas prices, right?
After our tree adventure, the kids received a gift early this year, their first pet. Sniffles, a.k.a. Galatea (a name given by the previous owners) joined our family as another missionary family heading to Chile could not take him with them. After a quick adjustment period, he is hopping all over our yard and seems to thoroughly enjoy all the space and greenery!
We also celebrated Christmas with our friends of Roca Viva Iglesia. We rented out the camp nearby and an inflatable for the kids while the ladies made a craft project. We all enjoyed the fellowship and food, including the Christmas cookies the kids made with me in the camp kitchen. Above, Abby, Miranda, and Sylvia are creaming the butter and sugar. Below are a couple of girls from our church that came to enjoy the day, as well as receive a small gift bag to celebrate the holiday with us.
A week later, we were celebrating Christmas with our ABWE missionary friends in our home once again. This year we had the children prepare food, decorate cookies, and make a small gift, all for their parents who arrived later on that afternoon. Below are the photos of Abby and Jordan Davoll working hard on their cookies, as well as the cookie "aftermath" as I call it!
Below are the girls showing off their sticky hands from making coconut balls and pigs-in-a-blanket. They worked hard learning Jingle Bells and Frosty the Snowman in both English and Spanish to present to the parents. The teens helped along side of the little ones, in addition to leading us in a time of caroling. It was a wonderful time with everyone and now we are looking forward to enjoying the next few days with our kids alone as we celebrate Christmas. We hope to help them focus in on the true meaning of Christmas in the midst of all this hustle and bustle - I am sure your month has been as busy, if not busier, than ours. May you spend the time worshipping Christ the Savior as you enjoy this last week of December!
