First of all, we hope you all had a blessed Christmas with your family and friends! Thank you for your many notes and emails which reminded us that we are not forgotten back in the cold home country. It seems like many of you must have experienced a white Christmas, as each time we opened cbc, cnn or fox news on our computer, we were shocked to see the amount of snow on the ground.
We really enjoyed our Christmas here in NZ. Thanks to wonderful friends from the church and community, we were kept too busy to pine for the smell of burning wood fireplaces, the taste of cold, President's Choice candy-cane icecream, the feel of itchy wool scarves around our necks, and the sight of adorable neices and nephews singing their hearts out in the Christmas Church program.
Actually, those thoughts did manage to cross our minds for a few moments, but not for long, as we were quickly distracted by new Christmas senses- sizzling, barbecued meat, warm sun rays and fresh raspberries just off the vine.
I'll start from the beginning- Christmas Eve. Sam, Leah and I enjoyed a relaxed family night together. We went for a stroll, which later turned into more of an adventure at the local park. I've mentioned it before, but I will now post pictures to prove that this park is a one-of-a-kind.
After some time swinging in the setting sun, we made our way back home to light the candles, seep the tea and set out our Christmas goodies. Together, we read from Luke 2 and discussed the wonder of Jesus' birth and His great love shown to sinners through this. After our time of devotions, one of our lively and lovely neighbours, Margaret, stopped by our cottage. She came to drop off a few gifts for us- mango body butter for Leah, home-made peanut butter for Sam and a photography book of the Wairarapa (region where we live) for me. She is such a spunky woman and we love chatting to her across the fence and over all the sheep inbetween. She stayed for tea with us, and we delved into debates about the NZ prison system and political issues- might not sound too "Christmasy" to you, but if you have ever been at one of our Procee gatherings, you would immediately recognize how festive these discussions actually are- especially when you put Uncle Richard, Uncle David and Uncle Peter together and then get someone to mention "gun-control"! The frequency and volume of their voices immediately goes up. They are very educational moments, however, especially for those who sit by quietly listening.
Shortly after Margaret left, we also gave each other some personal gifts. We tried to keep them practical and small, as we wanted to focus our giving on more important areas this year. Sam and I were both so touched by Leah's gifts. On her own, she found time to buy us items that were meaningful and from her heart: I received a set of wooden spoons (when she first arrived, she quickly noticed this was a need in my kitchen) and lovely candle jars, as she knows I'm obsessed with candles. Sam and Leah had been working on a puzzle a while back, and, knowing how much Sam enjoys them, she bought him a really cool "surprise" puzzle- you don't know what the picture is until you put it all together.
But to us, the most special part of the night was reading her homemade card, lovingly designed just for us. The cover reads: "The real happiness of life is knowing that we are loved". Inside was a special note for us, much better than all the wooden spoons and candles in the entire universe.
We ended the night by watching an old episode of "Road to Avonlea", and I was brought back into memoryland, visions of Amy Vlietstra and I spellbound by the character Felicity dirtying Sarah's expensive, lacey blue dress. My heart warmed at the sight of Alec King and his soft replies to his rather EMO wife. I'm sure many of my tea parties with Amy were a product of the influence of "Road to Avonlea" and "Anne of Green Gables"!
Oh dear, I've only finished Christmas Eve!
Christmas Day was a beautifully warm and sunny day. Sam treated us gals by preparing crepes for breakfast. We topped each crepe with fluffy whipping cream and fresh raspberry sauce...Mmmm!
At church, we were reminded of the great sacrifice in Jesus' birth. It was a wonderful message, telling us again of how deep the Father's love is. One part of the sermon that really impacted me was when the pastor mentioned that we often think of Jesus' birth as cute, cuddly and romantic. However it is actually a picture of Jesus in "chains- under the bondage of the law and living a death sentence", so that He could save His people from their sins. Once again, it brought home how He humbled Himself so deeply, and yet how we are often so unfaithful despite this great sacrifice. What a patient and merciful God we serve!
Our afternoon consisted of a Christmas lunch with some friends, Rosalie and Mike. They prepared a lavish turkey dinner, complete with cranberry sauce and stuffing! An intense volleyball game followed, hopefully helping our bodies burn off the extra Pavlova, homemade chocolate icecream and sherry cake! Our afternoon with them ended in a game of Pictionary- always a laugh!
We then moved on to our dear friends, Martijn and Stephanie-the ones that also made us a lovely Thanksgiving dinner! They are so incredibly hospitable and we really click with them. They must have spent hours preparing everything and they should be confident that not one of their guests was disappointed. We enjoyed fresh salads, ham, burgers, sausages and many dessert treats. At the end of the evening, we even managed to have a campfire and roast some marshmallows over it. I've attached some pictures of the evening and a few of their two oldest children, Bethany and Malachi, who call us "Mr. and Mrs. Overall"!
When we arrived home, I happened to notice a candy-cane hanging from one of my tea-cups. A few minutes later, I found one hanging from my kitchen curtains. After glancing around the house I found quite a few more in random areas, and soon realized that Leah had left us another little surprise gift!
I was going to write about many other events that have occurred in the last few weeks, but I will save them for my next post. I will try to write another one within the next few days.
We love you and miss you all. Here are a few pictures to end the post.
