Now that the conference is over, and Nancy has come and gone, it's finally time to really get into the Christmas spirit. Here's what's been going on...
1. AK's Christmas concert - I know I posted a video but I will find some time to post pictures as well. I still smile when I think of all the love and joy in the church that night. AK is blessed to attend Wee Care.
2. USA Risk Christmas party - we took a water taxi to Kaibo and had a wonderful dinner on the beach in the light of the full moon. Secret Santa gifts were thoughtful and funny, as always. Seeing we were at Kaibo, with just four other people on the beach with us, we let our hair down and danced up a storm. There were lots of drinks consumed that night... and I'm sure more than one sore head the next day! The night was also a beautiful one, the water was calm and it felt great to be on the boat with the wind running through my hair, and all I had to do was look up to see the beautiful full moon in the clear sky.
3. Parade of Lights - Camana Bay holds an event every year where boats are decorated with lights and then they parade by... this is the first time I've made it for the event and it was a lot of fun. There were a LOT of people at Camana Bay, and we managed to find a quieter spot at the very end of the dock to enjoy the Parade and the fireworks! Nancy took loads of photos so I will share some of the best ones. The best part of the night, for me, was watching the fireworks, seeing the palm trees illuminated by them, and the full moon in the midst of it all. What a beautiful night to be out.
4. Festival of Christmas Praise - First Baptist's choir held a Christmas concert celebrating "Emmanuel... God with us!". WOW. I knew what to expect as I had attended this concert last year, but they blew me away again. This choir is talented, and 2.5 hours flew by.
5. Christmas cards are arriving in the mail! Guess I'd better get mine out! Ha. They may reach you in time for Ukrainian Christmas. It was fun to go and get the cards made up yesterday, and to print other photos to send to family members.
6. Grocery shopping for charity... this has been such a humbling experience. Jenni and I went for lunch the other day and we were talking about the different Christmas things we wanted to do with the kiddies. One of us mentioned wanting to do a charity gift buy for a child in need, and it so happened that we could pop into the Discovery Center at Camana Bay to check out the charity drives. We both left with a bag to fill with groceries, and two wishes for gifts. We both struggled while we were at the Discovery Center, with the realization that so many children (and adults too) are in need at this time of the year, and year-round. Thankfully Jenni confessed that she was feeling emotional so I was able to confess I was near tears... I did my grocery shopping last night, using the list of recommended foods, and found the whole experience very profound and emotional. I worry sometimes about making ends meet for myself, but I am happy to let some of my extravagances go right now in order to serve someone else. This isn't saying much as I have such a small car, but right now my trunk is packed full of groceries to be dropped off at the Discovery Center. I filled the bag I was given, and bought three more to hold all the groceries. AK and I will go shopping on Friday after school for the two gifts for the girls... I picked a 4-month old baby and a 2.5-year old girl for us to buy for. I have ideas in mind, and I know AK may be too young to really understand but I hope she enjoys the experience as well.
7. Other Christmas activities - Jenni is doing a 12 days of Christmas with her family leading up to the big day. Unfortunately, I don't have AK for all those 12 days but I have taken Jenni's lead and am planning some fun things for next week. We will go see the Christmas lights, see a movie at Camana Bay, maybe make some cookies, go to church with the Huys on Christmas Eve... we have all sorts of great stuff on the list :) I am so grateful that I did the bulk of gift shopping earlier this year, and that within my group of friends, we did a draw for the kids' gifts, so that has really simplified things, giving us time to really enjoy the meaning of the season.
My plan is to buy all my ingredients for baking on Saturday and spend Sunday in the kitchen. Wish me luck! xo
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