Christmas Eve

Woke up with the kids, it was family day. The kids had a special breakfast with Daddy and played throughout the rest of the day. We wrapped presents most of the afternoon and prepared for the big day coming up.

A friend of ours invited us to eat a home-made pozole (Mexican soup dish) that she’s made. It’s a very traditional Christmas meal here in Mexico. Darren, the kids, Michelle and I went to their house for dinner and spent a few hours with them. We’ve been ministering to this family for some time now and we and the children have grown quite close to them. Sadly they have been the victims of violent crime, and this year Christmas is a sad and lonely time for them missing a loved one. We also wrapped a present for a child from another family also in the same circumstances who we have been ministering to. (–Gave it to her on Christmas day.)  

Christmas Eve-evening we continued our family tradition of having a visit from Jesus. “Jesus”, played by Sam Peck this year (Michelle, Buddy, and Darren have all had their turns in past Christmases) delivered fresh packages of pajamas to all the children and thanked them for being good this year, and especially at Christmastime. The kids loved their pajamas and looked great in them, as usual. They also got their stockings before heading to bed.

The grown-ups enjoyed some good food, snacks and drinks afterwards. Just as the traditional Christmas Eve movie (Love Actually) began to play, Darren and I hit the bed hard, tired from a very exhausting year.