Christmas holidays, fun and celebrations.

December has been a rather icy month. As you can see from this photo of 'Harry' he is covered with frost. Warming him up in the mornings was quite a challenge, especially as there was also ice on the inside of the windows as well (he has a small leaking problem). We decided that 'Tabitha' had to move out of the carport so that 'Harry', being the older one, could be protected from the elements.

On the 12th December the Boy's Brigade had a lovely Carol service which we all enjoyed very much, especially as they sang some of the favourite new ones, like 'Come and join the Celebration'.
Daniel's KS1 (key stage 1 is about the same as primary school level) Christmas Celebration also went well. Daniel was narrator number 17. He'd learnt his words off by heart and said them confidently without error. We were very proud of him.

It has become tradition in our family for the boys to go out and get a tree, so for the past 3 years Edwin and Daniel go out and choose a real Christmas tree which they bring home. This year they went out in Harry and brought home a tree. But....was it going to fit in the mini?

Yes!!! It does! Great excitement and jubilation.

Then, once in, it is up to Daniel and I to decorate it. We had great fun as you can see.

The day after school closed for Christmas, we decided to go and see Santa at the Nene Valley Railway. Waiting in the queue was great fun, especially with a clown entertaining you.

At last we reached the entrance... It was beautiful inside.

And Father Christmas was very friendly. After a short ride in the train with a snack of a chocolate bar washed down with juice for Daniel while Edwin and I enjoyed mince pies and coffee, my boys explored the station and just about each and every engine. As per usual, they were in their element! You'd never guess that we visit steam trains as often as we do!

20th December, the Sunday before Christmas, the Sunday School lead most of the service which is always great fun. Once again Daniel read his part beautifully.

Some creative fun is always essential during the holiday break.

On Christmas Eve we shared our Christmas meal with a friend, Sheila (a minister in our area). Unfortunately we were enjoying ourselves so much that we forgot to take any photographs. Anyway, I'll try and tell you all about it so that you can try and picture it for yoursleves. Our table was laid out with a gold and blue theme - gold table cloth with blue place mats (with gold and turqoise green patterns on), blue serviettes and turqoise plates, blue and gold candles. On the menu was:

Appletizer/mango with Sprite

Steamed Salmon with watercress and lemon butter

Honey and mustard roast gammon

Vegetable filo tart

Honey glazed parsnips

Brussel sprouts

Scan bran trifle served with Ice-cream

Cheese and biscuits

Coffee served with dinner mints

It all worked out wonderfully and we had a great time. Then it was time for Sheila to go home and prepare for her Christmas Eve service, so it was bed-time for Daniel who, as you can imagine, was very worked up and could hardly wait for the next day to arrive.

Thankfully he was soon asleep and we were able to prepare before Edwin was off to his service - peace and quiet, how long will it last?

Christmas morning....really exciting! Daniel was first downstairs and could not stop yelping with excitement. God continues to bless us in abundance in so many ways.

The next few days were spent exploring and playing games.

Slimy swamp is great fun. We had fun trying to see how high we could make this tower without it falling.

And when mom is on the phone to South Africa, it's great fun to empty the chest of all the games and puzzles and then climb in.... it is difficult for her to stop you!

Roller Hockey camp was wonderful. Daniel and his friend, Jack, were the youngest. They really enjoyed themselves.

We hope that your year was as busy and as fun as ours was, that you feel you have achieved lots and that God has blessed you in abundance through everything.

And may He continue to bless you in 2009!