Merry Christmas to all! 


I am currently guarding the babies and the house, accompanied by a shotgun (Mom, don't freak out!), while Josh is taking the older kids to town to watch the midnight fireworks. 


We celebrated "fake Christmas", as the kids called it, with presents and such on the 14th of December (about 8 hours after we got home) before Dave and Deborah left the next day to visit their families in the States. So Josh and I are holding down the fort and trying to keep the Christmas spirit alive even though we kinda celebrated already. The kids are seriously enjoying staying up late, movies, popcorn, lots of Wii time, and just a general party atmosphere, mixed in with a few chores of course. Ha. 

Happy 13th Birthday, Jeamy!

And Jhostin wins the Saturday morning lottery pancake with a fabulous [random] guess!

Playing Wii with the Angelito, Vidalia, and Isai. This is not my forte. 

:) 

Lettuce salad snacks! No complaints here. 

Warm and sunny days here! 

Today we slept in as long as the babies/toddlers would allow us! We had a lazy breakfast, a lazy lunch, and a cross cultural Christmas eve supper(s) of tamales (thanks to Jose and his wife and family!) and pizza! 

Tomorrow, which is almost here, will probably consist of more sleeping in and relaxation! And possibly Skype calls with family! Fun! 


I would be lying to pretend we're not homesick at all, but in the same breath I am so privileged to be here and help make Christmas special for these children. To help give them their very own Christmas traditions; to help give them family. Words don't quite describe how special family truly is, and far, far too often we callously forget that. I could probably rant awhile about what family means to me and what I think family should look like and such, but since it's Christmas Eve...I'll spare you. :) 


Do you think Jesus was homesick during His time on Earth? 
That was random, I know. 


My prayer this Christmas is that my heart's focus would be Jesus. That in all my ways, He would be glorified. I get so busy that I forget. I think about the next meal and who needs to go to the potty next and how to refocus the toddlers away from the tree and how to make everyone sit quietly to watch a nice family movie and I just lose it. I get grinch-like. And I don't like grinches. 
I want Jesus to be everything. Every moment, every day. 
Not just at Christmas. 
But I'm thankful that the chaos and commotion of a house with 21 people, two cats, and a Christmas tree helps to nicely strip away my "perfect Christmas" ideals and reveals my desperate need for Jesus. 




We wish you all a blessed, Jesus-in-everything Christmas this year! 
And every day, for that matter. 

Goodnight. 
P.S. While the photos were uploading, the troops have returned from the fireworks! The big house can be spooky when one is all alone.