Our Day

How did your Christmas go? Was it all you expected? I was so happy to hear the kids say, “That was a really good Christmas.” Since it was just us, I didn’t really have any stress to do stuff ,except for the stress I put on myself. This was our first Christmas without anyone, and we were feeling homesick, so I didn’t want it to be lame. My family had sent some presents and that was wonderful. We did a fun game when it came time to open gifts. We had a die and each person would take turns rolling. If you rolled a 1-Tell something fun you did this year, then get a gift, 2- pick a gift for someone 3- pick a gift for you 4-pick a gift for you or someone else 5- pick a gift for you 6-Say something you like about someone and give them a gift. Well, we were playing this and it came to Cale’s turn. He just turned three and we were trying to explain it. He rolled a six and had to say something about Wyatt. So he was standing there with his present, really thinking of something to say and then he says, “Cereal.” And gives Wyatt a hug. Ha ha, I think he was referring to all the mornings that Wyatt gets him cereal, but it was funny. The kids brought Garth and I breakfast in bed yesterday. What a nice surprise!
We had a great video Skype call with my family and all the relatives that were at the house. It was so fun to see how the cousins are growing up , and the see the new soon-to-be member of our family as my other cousin just got engaged, and just listening to all of the normal family chatter that goes on when you all get together was comforting. After the call we opened presents and then had a yummy brunch. The kids all helped in the kitchen with the food so it was a lot of fun. Back home we always have a brunch for Christmas so I thought I would keep with the tradition. Later we tried to work on our gingerbread houses but the royal icing just would not harden. I don’t know if it was from the heat or all the humidity but the houses looked like they were hit by an earthquake. Oh, well. What can you do?
We played ping-pong, and Sequence and spoons and watched The 12 Dogs of Christmas. We had a special time reading the Christmas story out of Luke and talking about what Jesus means to each of us. I read the words from a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called This Baby. (The words are at the bottom.) It is a new way to imagine and look at Jesus. Wyatt thought it was cool to think of Jesus wrestling with his Dad. If you have time, look at the words.
Hope your holiday was joyful and fun, full of laughter, and happiness and family.
Love you all
Rachel


This Baby
Well, He cried when He was hungry,Did all the things that babies do;He rocked and He napped on His mother's lap,And He wiggled and giggled and cooed.There were the cheers when He took His first step,And the tears when He got His first teeth;Almost everything about this little babySeemed as natural as it could be.CHORUSBut this baby made the angels sing,And this baby made a new star shine in the sky.This baby had come to change the world.This baby was God's own son, this baby was like no other one.This baby was God with us, this baby was Jesus.And this baby grew into a young boy,Who learned to read and write and wrestle with dad;There was the climbin' of trees and the scrapin' of knees,And all the fun that a boy's born to have.He grew taller and some things started changing,Like His complexion and the sound of His voice;There was work to be done as a carpenter's sonAnd all the neighbors said He's such a fine boy.But this boy made the angels sing,And this boy made a new star shine in the sky.This boy had come to change the world.This boy was God's own son, this boy was like no other one.This boy was God with us. This boy became a man,And love made Him laugh and death made Him cry.With the life that He lived and the death that He died,He showed us heaven with His hands and His heart,'Cause this man was God's own son.This man was like no other one,Holy and human right from the start.(chorus)This baby was God with us, this baby, this baby was Jesus; this baby was Jesus, this baby was Jesus.