Christmas

We had a nice Christmas. I wasn't sure how I would feel emotionally, with this being my first Christmas to not see my family. While I did miss them in different ways and at different times, we did have a wonderful time here. We were blessed with a visit from both of John's sisters, our brother in law, and our niece. We had gone out to Colorado to visit them in August and this time they came to see us for Christmas. It is nice to be closer to family that we have been really far away from previously and haven't been able to see as often. I am excited to be able to be a part of my niece's life as she grows up instead of just seeing photos!

Before they came out, the kids took part in their first Christmas musical! I was so excited to have them participate. The boys all had lines and Hannah was an angel in the nativity scene. They did a great job learning their lines and music. I could totally hear them singing out and was able to pick their voices out from among the other children. Just as I suspected he would, Nathanael was singing out harmonies instead of singing the melody line that was on the practice cd. He is definitely gifted musically and picking out harmonies on his own is the latest way he is displaying that. He's definitely better at it than his mama is.

Hannah the Angel with her friend Lily (who was Mary)

We didn't get to any special light displays this year, mostly because the ones I know about are at least 35 minutes away and also because it's so stinkin' cold here. We are preferring to stay indoors as much as possible. We did miss our previously annual trip to go see the National Christmas Tree in DC, however. I got to join the worship team for worship a couple times and also for the Christmas service they had. It was nice to be able to worship with them. I cannot commit to the team at this point in my life, but I am thankful to be able to participate occasionally.

The arrival of our CO family members was greatly anticipated. We were happy to have them with us for several days. We enjoyed talking, laughing, eating, watching White Christmas, singing, praying, and shooting with them (that last one was a dad's only event). We especially enjoyed playing with our niece, who is 8 months old. It was her first Christmas. She is an easy going, delightful little girl. We got to see her hit a few milestones while she was here, so that was special. She loved playing in our Jumperoo. On Christmas Eve, we all attended John's grandparent's church together. That night, my kids built a gingerbread nativity scene with Aunt Rachel and mommy. I was really pleased with how it turned out. It was pretty tasty too. Previously, we had bought kits and made trains or houses. But when we became dairy and gluten free that had to stop. This year, I found a recipe for making DF/GF gingerbread from scratch and it came out wonderfully. I ordered dye free, organic candy from that place I mentioned in my previous post and I let them decorate the nativity with that. It wasn't anything elegant looking, as I allowed them to do whatever they wanted to, but I was really happy with how it turned out and with the knowledge that we could resume this tradition in a way that won't bring harm to anyone's nervous or digestive system.

Aunt Rachel and the kids get to work decorating

The dads put it together for us

Voila! Like I said, I let them do whatever they wanted to. I still thought it was cute.

The back

My sister in laws helped me prepare Christmas dinner and there were 21 people here for dinner, including John's aunt, uncle, cousin, grandparents, and a family from our church that we are friends with. It was a tight fit, but we made it work and people seemed to enjoy themselves. I got lots of complements on dinner.

The kids with John's grandparents (their only remaining great grandparents).
Oh the mischief on my daughter's face!!

Lydia tried her hand at opening gifts.

And then did exactly what Luke did on his first Christmas...yummy paper!

She loved our Jumperoo

One thing that I really cherished this year, was the opportunity to minister in song with Ruth and Rachel at my church this past Sunday. Ruth played the piano and Rachel and I sang together. We had a sweet time of prayer together the night before that I also enjoyed. (Sorry, no video for you.) I also enjoyed times of sharing spiritual insight and things we are learning about God. It's so nice to be able to have times like. They all left Monday morning and I had to console the kids. They are always sad when it's time for goodbyes. But we will look forward to seeing them again sometime in 2015, Lord willing.