Christmas Morning

We had a truly special Christmas season this year with so many neat memories. As the kids grow we are finding it so neat to watch them begin to get some picture of the magnifitude of what we are celbrating--God with us! And as they have more experience and frame of reference to draw from they seem to be beginning to make connections between some of the fun and traditions and celebrations we associate with the Christmas season. I know they probably won't remember most of it. They probably won't remember making Christmas cards and picking out lollypops for the kids at a friend's orphanage...or the Christmas pagent that they absolutely refused to participate in but were thoroughly delighted to watch from a hard bench...They will likely forget the fun crafts they did at Christmas party with some other missionary kids...or the day that they helped us take some food to a widow in the church and how she pulled them into her arms and blessed them in a language they couldn't understand...or that they spent Christmas eve spent sipping cool mango smoothies and singing Christmas carols with their Daddy. They probably WON'T remember what each of the Advent candles represent next time around... But I think that they will have impressions...impressions about the joy of the season and about generosity and sacrifice and that this event that we celebrate--the birth of Jesus--is a pretty powerful and wonderful thing.

Of course it doesn't help that we don't have pictures for any of that. (smile)

We did, however, have a lot of fun taking pictures of the kids getting their own abundant blessings on Christmas morning...

Wesley doesn't wear clothes very often during this season...a diaper is about all she can tolerate with the heat. But of course we had to dress her up in her pretty Christmas dress for Christmas morning!

"Smile for the camera, swettie, cuz my grumpy baby is going back to bed!"

The boys were shocked and delighted to find that those funny little things we hung in the window actually had GIFTS in them on Christmas morning!

We had received several packages from family and friends in the States that the boys were super excited to open.

And after breakfast and a good nap, Wesley was ready to open HER gifts.

Wesley got her first baby doll for Christmas. She was a bit suspicious at first (seeing as how it was pretty life-like compared to the stuffed animals of her brothers that she was familiar with). After looking at it for a few moments, she grabbed it...and promtly took the "bottle" out of it's mouth for herself!! I'm guessing those nurturing insticts come later?