We started off our Christmas morning as we usually do, with breakfast (Huckleberry pancakes and syrup, sent from Grandma Stamp in Spokane, WA :)) and then the Nativity Story from Luke chapter 2. Krypto read it to us this year!
We then each picked a hymn to sing and as we sang the words to "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," and I explained the words to the kids, the phrase "God and sinners reconciled" stood out to me for the hundredth time. I love the Christmas story and what it means for us.
Do we do presents? Yes!
Do we have lots of friends over during this time? Yes!
Do we eat a lot of special foods! Yes!
Why, you ask, do we do it, when the focus of the season should be Christ's birth? We do it because we love each other and because we are celebrating the incredible love that the Lord had for us in that He sent His Son to die for our sins, so that we could be reconciled to Him, forever! Hallelujah!
This year, we had many presents show up! In fact, we got presents from a church in Nashville that we don't even know anyone at!!! They had sent some teams out here to Tanzania in the past couple of years and this year, they said that they wanted to bless all of the kids on the field. So, we were to ask our children what they wanted for Christmas, anything they wanted, and we couldn't tell them no....then pass on the list to the church. We did this in the September/October time frame. The church then bought the gifts and flew out with them in November for a trip and they were delivered to us. I was absolutely in amazement that people we had never met had chosen to bless us in such an amazing way. They gave unconditional love, expecting nothing in return. They just wanted to bless our children!
This giving of gifts for me was truly an example of Christ's love in action. God gave His Son to us, freely, we got the greatest gift we could think of or ask for, our salvation...that is an incredible kind of love...wouldn't you say?!
The newest Lego Idea book from the Stamps in Indiana.
A book for Krypto from the Stamps in Indiana.
Revolutionary War figures for the boys to play games with, also from Uncle Jon, Aunt Maria, and the cousins.
Some cute new outfits from Tony and Yvette.
Krypto got some of the new Vision Forum books from Tony and Yvette.
We actually had the kids wait to open some of their presents until Christmas evening. We had church in the morning at The Ocean and then had over a new family in town, just two weeks, that are heading to language school in Iringa, that didn't have a place to go for Christmas. They came home with us from church and spent the afternoon and evening with us. When they left, we had some Skype talks with family and friends, and then opened up the last of the gifts.
Here is Gwangi, opening his first gift from the church in Nashville, Cornerstone.
Here he is opening his second gift from them...he had asked for Lego Dino sets.
My boy, so absolutely thrilled and excited!
Lego Dino Headquarters, the largest Dino set there is! He is working on building it now :)
Sissi asked for an American Girl Doll, and just so we could be specific, I asked her "which one"...so, we went to the website and looked. As the website came up, the newest doll, Caroline, was on the main screen. She is from 1812 and we had just finished studying that time and the War of 1812 when we were sending out the email list to Cornerstone. It's amazing how much this doll looks like Sissi, two beautiful girls!
Isn't it also neat how this is the time period that Indy and I love (Napoleon and Austen) and that Krypto wrote his short story about earlier this school year. You can see his history paper and short story here - http://www.whateveristrueandnoble.blogspot.com/2012/12/kryptos-first-ever-published-history.html
Sissi and Caroline!
Sissi also asked for a few of the "What's in the Bible" series...so we now have up through #8...Thank you so much!
They were so kind and also sent an extra outfit for Caroline, the riding outfit with a beautiful dress and set of boots.
Here are Caroline's accessories, her hat, purse and spinning top. We read the first chapter of the Caroline book last night and the top and purse were already mentioned!
Krypto asked for some games...by this point, seeing his siblings get their gifts, he was so excited to open his packages!
He asked for EITHER Federation and Empires...OR...
Leviathans....they got him BOTH! Here he is just surprised and floored that he got BOTH of the games he asked for. As I'm writing this, he and Indy are over in the dining room reading rule books and getting ready for their first battle!
The back of the box.
Such a neat game of miniatures to play together!
My girl and her new baby doll, I'm now a grandma according to Sissi :)!
Reading the rules!
And, I just couldn't resist, here is Daddy, with his new Captain America headphones from Tony and Yvette! Love them!
Merry, Merry Christmas to you all. Remember His incredible blessing and gift from above, just as we recreate that love by giving gifts here on earth, one to another! Isaiah 9:6 and John 3:16
