catch-up!

I was thinking that break was going to be a little more breaky.  I'm not sure why :)  

Break or not, it HAS held many sweet moments so far.  

A great women's breakfast, thanks to Melissa!  Fabulous wedding and reunion with so many friends.  The chance to preach in prison alongside some solid brothers and sisters.  Great time with friends, at our house and at theirs.  Chance to be reminded of many truths at Claudin's.  Some sweet time as a family that makes us realize how rare it is for the FOUR of us to have great time--down time--alone time--together.  

And last night, Lily and Sofie's first ever sleepover, which they ADORED.

However, Matt and I don't think these should be called "sleep" overs.  Just overs.

Adored.  Lily started crying 20 minutes after Sarah left because she missed her.  And then promptly fell asleep.  Finally :)

Sofie, of course, tagged along like a full-blown stalker, and the girls sweetly kept her right with them.  

Meanwhile, I got to baking (much thanks to Aunt Lori, Granny Smith, and dear Ana for beautiful boxes of baking goodies making it possible!) for our Christmas party tonight for Noel, Gertha, Micheline and their families!

Once again, don not be confused by the refusal to smile.  Everyone smiled until I got the camera out,a and then after the photo, made fun of Misheline for ALWAYS smiling.  She just can't help it.  It was such a blessing to have everyone for dinner and dessert and fun tonight...and even more to have them all in our lives!

After all these years, I have finally figured out which non-Haitian meals our Haitian family will eat and ENJOY, and I have never seen a group put down so many cupcakes and cookies :)  Don't know why I keep trying with Jello, red and green layers or not.  Ain't NOBODY like Jello down here.  Lily, Sofie and Woudens ate EVERYONES.

Watching all of our kids play together is always such a joy!

After spending all day cooking and cleaning and setting up, my fantastic Matt tore down and washed all the dishes...so grateful.  

Then, this huge and unexpected box of STEAKS arrived from Matt's family for our family Christmas gift!  How special is THAT?  We have NEVER had steaks in Haiti, and now we have some steaks, some chicken breasts, and even some sides...SO special, and no easy feat to pull off!  THANKS guys!!

 And this cutie is just such a cutie.

 So many of you have been asking what Christmas will look like for our little family this year, and I am so happy to say it will be barefoot, no matter what :)

Tomorrow is Lily's big school Christmas party, and then Saturday morning we pick up my sister, brother-in-law and father in Cap-Haitian and then cross the border to the Dominican.  We'll stay there for 2 full days (we are SO looking forward to getting away from cooking, dishes, and non-stop responsibilities, even if just for a few days!).  Then, we'll be back home Christmas Eve, host our community Christmas Eve party, enjoy Christmas here with my family...and now, we'll even eat a steak :)

So so thankful to have family coming, for YOU, dear friend, and to be a part of His reality.