Zev's brother, Deven and his wife, Lauren and their three kids, David, Will and Emily drove all the way down from upstate NY to spend Christmas with us!
We were blessed with lovely weather (especially for December; everyone is telling us that this has been an exceptionally warm winter and this Australian girl is not complaining!), except for yesterday when it rained, and were able to spend lots of quality family time together. Zev and I prayed over this visit, as we do for all visits with family and friends. I really do believe that being thankful for the families we have, around the world, and praying for them, makes a difference in the time you spend together.
It really was nice to have "one on one" time with them in the comfort of our house. We hung out at home a lot and did some fun things. The family arrived on Christmas Eve and after lunch, we went to our church for Christmas Eve service and came home to our neighborhood all beautifully lit with luminaries (tea candles in paper bags lined along each street). It looked so beautiful! Our service was lovely. It was nice to be reminded of the reason for the season. JESUS.
Zev climbed into the tree house on Christmas morning and fixed the flying fox (zip line) so the kids could zip down it. He even showed us how it was done....
The kids weren't super keen on the zip line though....I think it may have seemed a little too fast or too high. I love flying foxes and wanted to go on it but will have to wait until the baby is born. Christmas Day was spent lounging around at home and cooking up a storm. As you can see, Deven took the term "lounging around" very seriously...
In true Zev-style, Zev orchestrated a yummy and satisfying Christmas dinner, consisting of turkey (of course), a giant stuffed pork loin (yummy), mashed sweet potatoes, green beans with miso dressing (also very yummy), gravy, bread rolls, and pumpkin pie. We still have leftovers in the fridge.
Yesterday we had a boys day/ girls day where Lauren and I took Emily (who LOVES horses) to go watch "War Horse" and Zev took Deven and the boys shooting at the local gun range. It was actually a good day to do this since it rained yesterday. The family headed home this afternoon, via Philadelphia where they will go and visit Lauren's family. I just realized that I didn't take any frontal pictures of Deven, Lauren or myself. My belly is growing and I can feel our baby boy kicking (which is one of the most wonderful feelings in the world!) I must say that I like the low key Christmas approach; not too much fuss, but simple, family fun. I was a little concerned that the kids would get bored hanging around our house, but they were so well behaved and entertained themselves with reading, playing with their new toys, watching TV and just hanging out. I pray that our son will be a well behaved little boy :-) Prayer does work wonders...
I hope that you had a lovely Christmas. I do like having some quiet time now to catch up on work and update this blog. Sending you love and hugs wherever in the world you are! Oh and Happy New Year!
“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
Matthew 18: 19-20
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