Faithie's new outfit!Auntie Esther comes to town and spoils us all with her generous and kind spirit! Thank you Auntie for being all around sweet! Auntie Esther is so much loved by all of our kids, but especially by our Bella, Bella sobbing when Auntie had to leave, as it will be many months before we see her next (Bella cries every time Auntie Esther and Auntie Beinta leave)
Bella's new outfit!
Mommy and daddy posing for a rare picture without our 3 precious jewels!
Our 3 clowning around ... Matteus was not feeling photogenic!
Jesus is the Reason for the Season ...December is a fun and special time at our house! As soon as Thanksgiving is over the Christmas decorations come up! With lots of Holiday traditions, from riding the Christmas train at Stanley Park with our closest friends the Meiers and the Glups, to having lamb dinner with rice pudding with the Hansen-Murdock clan, to decorating sugar cookies with the Quine-Bowen clan ... there is always soooo much to look forward to!
We just had our small group Christmas party last night - how fun - and how blessed we are through all of the people in our small group!
Hitting the mall for last minute Christmas shopping is a dark reminder though of the unjust differences that exist in our country, and our world! It is always such a reminder that I have SOOOO much and that SOOOO many in our town, country, and world have SOOOO little! It makes me that much more thankful and it makes me want to live that much more simply! Millions of people in the world live without adequate food, not even having one meal a day! That is such a grusome fact and reality, one which is hard for me to comprehend! This reality then also always brings us to the fact that there are 140 million orphans in the world, who right now are living a life without much hope, who right now are living a life with SOOOO little!
Just this week a little 2 year old orphan boy died in of China's orphanages. He was on the same waiting list as our new little guy is on!
Just about 2 weeks ago a little 1 year old orphan died in one of Ghana's orphanages. He was the little guy who we thought "might" be ours! We were praying for him every day!
Jesus is the reason for the Season, as I get older I wonder if my Christmas celebrations really show this to be true! At times I want to take my family out to a cabin in the woods for the whole month of December, with the hopes that some time in solitude without all the worldly and consumer distractions, would result in Jesus truly being my reason for the Season!
We as a family celebrate Jesus' birth this Christmas Season! We are beyond words thankful that God choose to send His son to be born miracelously to earth to be born a King, a King born in a manger! We are thankful that God trusted His own Son to Mary and Joseph, to be adopted by and loved and raised by them! Christmas is our reason not only for the Season, but for living!
More Christmas pics to come!
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