The end of Christmas

"The end of Christmas" sounds so dire, but we've had a really good Christmas season, and it's okay for it to come to an end. It wouldn't be special if it was all year long (and it's certainly felt like that as long as we've kept our house decorated in years past :-/).

So, on Christmas Eve, we went (courtesy of my and ML's Christmas gift money from my parents) to a Christian village outside of the capital to eat dinner and see the town Christmas tree and the decorated houses. I mentioned this in another post, but now I have a picture!


The tree in the town's main circle

The food was delicious (Lebanese, so a twist on the standard restaurant fare that we would get), the fellowship was sweet (we went with the family whom we've been working with since we came overseas 9+ years ago), and the lights were beautiful (both the tree and the decorated houses).

I mentioned most of our Christmas day but promised pictures. Seems like pretty much everyone was too busy having fun (and eating Mexican food and desserts) to take pictures, just like we were.

There were two cute ones of ZL in his Christmas gift from the G family...a giraffe costume.

Grumpy Giraffe


Happy Giraffe

Ever though there is no pictorial proof, trust us that we had a fun time. We all enjoyed our presents, and we even got to talk to DeeDah and GranJack (my parents) on the computer in the midst of it all.

Speaking of, we also got to Ina and Boba (ML's parents) the next day, and Saturday night we were able to see and say hi to all of GranJack's extended family, including Nanny, his mother, and Gabriela, his niece, for whom the purple dragon is named. They were gathered in Austin at my cousin's house (and had been at my brother's house, as well) for their Christmas celebrations. Since we were able to see and say hi to all of ML's extended family at Thanksgiving, we feel very, very blessed by the internet and webcams and the way they help us stay connected.

And now, I need a nap.