Merry Merry Christmas!
And joy all around the whole wide world!
I love you, and I hope the love of a perfect baby boy whose life began to overcome death is consuming your day.
This is the first Christmas in all of my 27 years that I have not been with my family. My original, all-the-time, thick-and-thin, all-the-way-around-the-world, Home people. I miss them with all of me, and I love them more than I can say. I'm posting now as I anxiously wait for everyone to arrive to Aunt Glo's house so we can all skype together!
I want to be with them, sitting right next to my cousin Carli to open presents and egging cousin JoJo on to beat last year's Christmas dance performance. I want to eat No-Bake cookies until I feel like throwing up. I want to watch little Ella and Mia squeal with delight upon every opened treasure, and I want to meet Baby Josiah when he makes his debut next week. I want to squeeze my NaNa and make a scene about her being THE BEST NANA IN THE WORLD! (She really is.) I want to throw a fit until I get my way and my sister agrees to come with me to Galveston Island instead of anywhere that involves fluorescent lighting.
Although I haven't always been the perfect candidate for being perfectly loved, they have filled me up with an undeniable, unending, unconditional love. I'm relishing in Christmas memories and the passion God gave me for family tonight. HE told me to love His Family - the Kingdom of God sized family - and they taught me how.
Today we celebrate Jesus coming to earth to teach us how.
And I'm celebrating a family who taught me how.
And that's how I spent this first ever Christmas Eve in Africa this year.
I am overwhelmed with joy tonight because I got to host a REAL Christmas celebration because HE came and because they taught me how.
Thank you family. And thank you for Family for Christmas.
I picked up Kevin and his family for Christmas, and was brimming with delight at having a cottage full of family. I had the privilege and joy of serving a hot meal to a family who hasn't had enough food this month and sending home enough leftovers for everyone to eat again. I got to lavish them with a kind of love they've never received before - Christmas gifts wrapped under the tree with their names on them! I bathed every child, rubbed lotions on their dry skin and dressed them in new outfits for a night out. We laughed and held each other the whole night while we watched a play about the Christmas story, starring another family from Ten Thousand Homes participate at a local church.
And joy all around the whole wide world!
I love you, and I hope the love of a perfect baby boy whose life began to overcome death is consuming your day.
This is the first Christmas in all of my 27 years that I have not been with my family. My original, all-the-time, thick-and-thin, all-the-way-around-the-world, Home people. I miss them with all of me, and I love them more than I can say. I'm posting now as I anxiously wait for everyone to arrive to Aunt Glo's house so we can all skype together!
I want to be with them, sitting right next to my cousin Carli to open presents and egging cousin JoJo on to beat last year's Christmas dance performance. I want to eat No-Bake cookies until I feel like throwing up. I want to watch little Ella and Mia squeal with delight upon every opened treasure, and I want to meet Baby Josiah when he makes his debut next week. I want to squeeze my NaNa and make a scene about her being THE BEST NANA IN THE WORLD! (She really is.) I want to throw a fit until I get my way and my sister agrees to come with me to Galveston Island instead of anywhere that involves fluorescent lighting.
Although I haven't always been the perfect candidate for being perfectly loved, they have filled me up with an undeniable, unending, unconditional love. I'm relishing in Christmas memories and the passion God gave me for family tonight. HE told me to love His Family - the Kingdom of God sized family - and they taught me how.
Today we celebrate Jesus coming to earth to teach us how.
And I'm celebrating a family who taught me how.
And that's how I spent this first ever Christmas Eve in Africa this year.
I am overwhelmed with joy tonight because I got to host a REAL Christmas celebration because HE came and because they taught me how.
Thank you family. And thank you for Family for Christmas.
I picked up Kevin and his family for Christmas, and was brimming with delight at having a cottage full of family. I had the privilege and joy of serving a hot meal to a family who hasn't had enough food this month and sending home enough leftovers for everyone to eat again. I got to lavish them with a kind of love they've never received before - Christmas gifts wrapped under the tree with their names on them! I bathed every child, rubbed lotions on their dry skin and dressed them in new outfits for a night out. We laughed and held each other the whole night while we watched a play about the Christmas story, starring another family from Ten Thousand Homes participate at a local church.
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| Happy mamas and sweet little Karabo. Right - Charity, Kevin, Given and Karabo's mama. Left - Nandi and Tommy's mama. |
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| Charity - 4 years old |
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| Right where I want to be for Christmas! |
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| A happy girl! |
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| LOOK! KEVIN'S SMILING!!!! |
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| What's Christmas without a family photo? Absolutely amazed by the smiles that have transformed the countenance of these perfect little angels. |
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| My new extended family |
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| Time for presents! |
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| I'm not going to get over this smile... it's so perfect. |
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| Or these Christmas toes! |
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| The mamas loved their new scarves! |
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| Our Christmas super-model. |
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| Bathtime for babies! Kevin and Given - 2 years |
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| Excitedly waiting on the Christmas play to start! |
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| What better way to end the night than a balloon drop!?! |
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| Happy little Given! |
Is Charity the same child that's in this picture that I took? http://www.imransomed.blogspot.com/2011/03/maybe-by-time-you-read-this-i-will-have.html
ReplyDeleteYES! that's her beautiful face!
ReplyDeleteOh MY! You don't know how her little face has haunted me since last March! This makes my heart sing!
ReplyDelete