it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas......

well, commercial Christmas anyway. As a family we try really hard to make Christmas what it is about. The birth of our Savior. The looking forward to the fulfillment of scripture in the person of Jesus. That is hard when you live in the land of Rudolph, Santa, and shopping! Admittedly it was much easier last year since we were among few that celebrated Christmas and we were able to share the true meaning with our friends and focus on it ourselves. As a family we had few distractions present this year. It also helps that there is no competing sales, mall decor, and Toys-R-Us circulars on our island. But last Christmas was really hard for us being away from family, friends, and the familiar and cultural traditions that made us "feel" like it was Christmas. Ironic because where we live in Africa is actually much closer to the conditions, weather, and culture that Jesus was born in the midst of. This year we are excited to be here with family to celebrate but also realize we need to define this time of year because it is too easy to let it be about stuff, stress, and busyness. We did tell Anni about the story of Santa and she knows it is not real in the way the Bible is real but she was still excited to go visit "the man dressed as Santa" and we would not deprive her of this American kid tradition (We are also determined for her not to be too weird :) The visit was a must since it was at Wheaton Drama, the local drama group that my mom is involved in and her good friend was also playing Mrs. Claus. So sporting an adorable dress a friend of Rhoda loaned us and new "sparkly princess shoes" that Bibi bought her we headed out for a kid outing to see Santa. She still is not a big Santa fan but caught on quickly...

Annikah did not want to sit on his lap but for a kid that lives in Africa she caught on quickly about the requesting gifts part :) On her list: a castle with a bath tub, an Ariel doll, and a glitter dress.
We also joined my grandparents at Winsor this past week for a performance by some local singers of Christmas carols. I think Jason, Anni, and I were the only people under 60 in the room but she had a blast listening to the songs and dancing to each one. She got many compliments on her moves!

interpretive dancing at Winsor

As far as Annikah was concerned the singers were singing to accompany her dance performance!

some comfort food cooking with Bibi makes it feel like Christmas is almost here!

And SNOW!!! I promised Anni she could wear the pink boots a friend loaned us when it snowed and as soon as she saw the centimeter of white this morning she insisted on sporting them. We went for a walk as a family to enjoy the lights and Annikah celebrated by walking through the snow trying to collect as much as possible on her boots.

more Christmas fabulousness to come.....