Happy Christmas!
Christmas has come and gone and we’ve had a really lovely time as a family. Sadly we did get hit with a tummy bug (stomach flu for you Americans) on Christmas night. Mariah was the first to go down with it and then Aliyah got it on Saturday night. Peter and Joel and I went down with it yesterday so saw in the new year in a pretty horrible way. Thankfully, we are all recovering, but please pray that Hannah and Kaylah will either not get it or will get it soon, so we can be finished with this nasty bug. Some of us are also battling colds/coughs/ear infections that seem to be hanging on. Tis the Season, I guess! Please pray for good health for us so we can be strong to serve our Saviour this year. Anyway, with all that aside, we did have a nice Christmas in between the sickness. We played lots of games, had visits from Peter’s family, watched the Nativity Story movie and enjoyed lots of family time. Here are some photos from the Christmas season for you.
Hannah helping Kaylah put the star on top of the Christmas tree.
One of our favourite things to do at Christmas time is to enjoy our box of Christmas stories.
We all delighted in watching Kaylah enjoy Christmas this year. She loved the wooden nativity set, the tree, the stories and of course the presents and sweets too! She’s got our Christmas bears in this photo . . .
. . . they have magnetic noses so they can be romantic and kiss!
Opening stockings on Christmas morning in Dad and Mom’s bed . . .
Some lovely friends from our sending church in Oregon sent the kids money which we used to buy them scooters. They were so excited!
Joel dressed up like a “spy guy” with his camouflage backpack with nerf guns inside.
Sweet Kaylah is learning to ride her scooter!
Since it’s been a while since we’ve shared photos, here are a few non-Christmas ones.
Joel turned seven years old in November!
The Meadlings and the Searight kids did a Thanksgiving play for us. They did a great job!
Joel’s other role in the play was to be a Native American.
No, this costume wasn’t for the play!
Sometimes Kaylah gets into the dressing up act too!
A more feminine outfit this time!
Aliyah and Mariah played beautifully in their piano recital at the end of November.
One of Kaylah’s current passions is to put on other people’s shoes.
She still get lots of attention from her siblings who keep her entertained.
Who is that crazy girl?
Reading with Hannah . . .
. . . and with Joel .
Had to take a photo of this!
Joel asked tonight if we could have a mini-Christmas on the 25th of every month! But sadly, all good things must come to an end . . . and we’ll have to wait til next year. We definitely made lots of memories.
As we anticipate what God has for us in 2014, please pray that we would keep our eyes on Him. The past months have been challenging for us in many ways. Pray we can process things in our hearts in a godly way and that we will have the passion for the things God has given us to do this year. We are very excited that our new church start-up, Trinity Chippenham, will be starting to meet officially this Sunday. We will be having several months of “family time” while we get ourselves organised and established as a church before we open our doors to the community. There is much work to be done and we long for God to do his work in all our hearts. Cor Deo will also be starting it’s fourth full-time season on January 21st. Please pray for all the details to come together nicely.
