MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Just a quick post to say Merry Christmas! It is Christmas afternoon here and both kids and Rees are napping. I took a power nap already and am enjoying some rare quiet, alone time. We had a wonderful morning together. We got Hannah up singing, "Joy to the World" and Little Doggie was quickly dancing with us :) We all sat on our bed and read the Christmas story and talked about how God gave us the best gift of all and how we are so fortunate to be able to give each other gifts too. We wanted to do a little more explaining as Hannah told me the other day that Jesus was here, that he was in the tree (we do have a Christmas tree) and that he was wearing red. A little confusion :) Does anyone have a suggestion for a children's book that tells the story of the real Santa Claus? Santa is almost non-existant here (which is fine by us, takes out a lot of the consumerism) but they do have New Years trees. I find myself amazed as I sit in the living room of our apartment in a country so far from my home country that I have a tree and a wreath (two actually). I didn't expect to have such things but what a blessing to create a bit of the ambiance of Christmas from home for our kids. We brought toys and crafts from home that we saved for Christmas and I found a few other cheap things here for the kiddos. I love these ages though because Hannah probably enjoyed the pipe cleaners and stickers we gave her more than anything and Emmett seems to like the little baby play gym I found here. Lots less wrapping paper to clean up but our hearts couldn't be more full. We feel so fortunate to be able to spend the day together and keep things simple. What a gift. Hoping that each of you have a very Merry Christmas and know that we love and miss you.