The Rest of Christmas...and a Brief Mention of New Years!

We had some good ole southern style shrimp-n-grits for Christmas Eve dinner.

Quite possibly a new tradition in our house. We all love shrimp, and we all love grits!

Now that I've figured out how to make grits with daliya (some Indian stone ground corn meal), we make them the rich, creamy way my shrimp-n-grits recipe calls for.....every time! Goodness, and I LOVE when I figure out good recipes and substitutes so that we ask for less missed things from the US. And, it's SO cheap here!!! So, mark grits off the list, family and friends!

Our close friend Amy came, and I got this picture off her blog.

We were able to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with Amy, and it was such a fun blessing. She is so, so, so like our family, and I loved that she was with us for so much of Christmas! Check out her blogpost on Christmas. I love you, sweet sister!!!

A few random cute pictures of this little boy...just because he's cute!

Before putting the kids to bed, we tried some candy cane punch from Pinterest,

and it was a fun treat...different, but fun.

with their punch

Don't you love that Parks backed into the picture saying, "eeeeeeeeezzzzzz" without us even asking!

He always want to be with us all!

Then, we woke up on Christmas morning to a house ready for celebrating our Savior's birth.

It was quiet for only a brief little while.


There were also some wonderful words printed in our city's paper!!!

It was actually a great article, and we were so happily surprised with it!

Then the fun times began!!!

Breakfast casserole followed by birthday cake!!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

We even let this little one have some in spite of his milk issues.

We prayed he'd be fine....and he was!

Then time for stockings and gifts...

Badminton was a hit with the kids. All of our neighborhood kids play, so this is a fun way to let our kids practice at home and play with their friends. It was played daily until we came to the capital!

We also did some skyping and chatting with our families and friends between both of the days. Some opening of gifts with family, but no pictures because we were too busy chatting with them!!!

Well, we did take this silly picture of the boys with weird teeth from Jacob and Christina!

And, their wild dinosaur and king cobra shirts from Gigi and Grandy.

We went to the Radisson for Christmas lunch. We love this hotel and just walking in is a blessing! The lunch buffet is incredible always, but it was even better on Christmas day! They even had turkey and gravy and dressing (from where, I don't know)...but I stuck with my regulars of salads, hummus and chips, sushi and a few entrees. A little bit of a lot of wonderful things!!!

That is a nativity right behind Amy--awesome!

Quite the gingerbread village display!

The dessert bar is always so enticing and yummy!

A highlight of mine was when two of our neighbor families that aren't Christians came to us bringing gifts and cards and wishing us a Merry Christmas (we had already shared a little about the holiday when we delivered cookies a few weeks prior). I love that our relationships with our neighbors are getting stronger and stronger! One of the families asked us all about the holiday and all of our decorations. The kids actually got to share the Christmas story with them--retelling them the story they had memorized from our advent calendar. We also shared through our Jesse Tree how all of the world was waiting on the Savior since creation. They seemed quite interested, so we sent Bibles home with them, telling them passages to read. That was definitely my highlight!

They boys trying on the gift Sarala received from our neighbor. One day they will be embarrassed, right?!!!

Many, many months ago, our friend, Wint, aka "Uncle Wint" to our kids, told Jackson he was getting him a sword for Christmas. His son, Elijah that is much older has some that Jackson admires when we've been at their house. We'll kids just don't forget! We actually had the knife at our house for over 3 months. Well, Christmas night, after putting the kids in bed, Jackson came back downstairs and asked us about the knife he was supposed to get from Uncle Wint on Christmas. We had forgotten...but of course, he hadn't. Gray pulled it out and made that little boy's night!

Just a couple of days after Christmas, we got together with our team and celebrated some more!

It was quite fun that Christmas was a few days long!!!!

Singing and worshipping up on the roof

We just LOVE this family! Aren't their smiles amazing!!!!

Obviously, we all had a blast playing the white elephant gift exchange!

Just a few days after Christmas, we hiked up our favorite little mountain (totally only a hill). We pretended this was our annual Gainor New Year's hike Gray's family always takes.

Our New Year was soooooooooooo quiet this year. My hubby was feeling pretty sick and went to bed around 10pm, and I rang in the New Year giving him a kiss on the head while staying up myself. It's usually totally the other way around! Our kiddos were fast asleep.

We spent a couple of days packing and cleaning and organizing. Then, we flew to the capital to wait on our precious baby's arrival, and I'm just about caught up!!!!

Our Home During Advent!

I love Christmas so much and love it more and more every year. I love that God sent His Son, Immanuel--God with us, to live among us a perfect life and to then take our sins away on the cross. Christmastime is truly my most favorite season of all--this Jesus--God Incarnate! If you have the book by JI Packer, Knowing God, I highly recommend reading the chapter on God Incarnate. It's been special to me for a few years to read at Christmastime. Here's another time I posted about it that has a quote if you'd like to check it out.

I've come to love creating traditions in our family--the ones that point to HIM!!! In our season of life with our young kids, my two favorite traditions right now remain our advent calendar and our Little People Nativity Set. They are well-treasured and remembered year after year. Check this post out for more info and good pictures of them. Here are pictures of them in our home this year:

This year, we have added another tradition. A Jesse Tree. I've wanted to do a Jesse Tree for the LONGEST time. I've wanted to do this since I first heard of the idea in 2003 and then watching some of our friends, the Kulps, in 2004 read through theirs!!! Then, year after year, I just didn't have it together...and lots of excuses, but always said I wanted to do it with my kids! I remember shopping in Slovakia both years there to see if I could create and make ornaments (but last minute) myself since we had our first child (then second) already. Then there was transition in 2007 and 2008--a move in the middle of Christmas. 2009--homeless and moving all around and packing for India. 2010--first Christmas in India...wait--actually we spent Christmas in Thailand!! So, here we are...2011. Our first Christmas in India. And, I did it! A Jesse Tree--8 years later! I'm giddy to do it--for me, and of course for our whole family.

There are so many devotions out there. Here are some of my favorites as I've looked through and saved some. We're have this devotional and are using it. This is awesome--It's an exchange one that I think would be SO MUCH FUN--love it! Here are some other ones that I like here and here--a few that I bookmarked long before pinterest was the thing! This book is my favorite. However, it's sold out, but there are adult devotions online that I think are great. Also, here is another good book. I love Monica's tree made with Tinker Toys. And, here are some online coloring pages if you want to print them for more discussion. I know that is a lot on Jesse Trees--I told you I've wanted to do it for a while...and in all my time of not doing them, I was still researching and looking (usually after I should've started that tradition I wanted, but didn't make time for)! All the links help me as we're likely to change it up over the years for our family needs. This year, we're using the devotional we have by Ann Voskamp (above link)--I do love her writing. However, with younger kids, we are using our own language and explanations to tie the stories and point to Jesus-even The Jesus Storybook Bible readings of the stories do that well.

Our Jesse Tree:
Since the picture, we've had our gardener plant it for us, and we've added the other daily ornaments.

On Nov 29th, we purchased that little tree, a real one that we'll use every year, and we read our first story that evening. We also had a fun breakfast that morning--with some special friends. Then, I had the ornaments ready to go--simple printables (the bulk of my decorating and creating these days). Just after a few days, the kids are already relating these early Bible stories to the One the world has waited for since the fall--merely the 3rd chapter in the Bible!

To very briefly describe it, a Jesse Tree ties in stories from creation to Christ and points to Jesus--the one the Bible is pointing to and waiting for throughout history. So, as we wait for Christmas, we read through the Bible--all the stories that are pointing to the One the world was waiting for to bring salvation.

Speaking of tying in Jesus' ancestry throughout the Bible--

We've also had fun with this song this year on Jesus' ancestors...

who knew that "Matthew's Begats" could be so much fun!

Gray played this song to help explain our "Jesse" Tree. Since we have a close friend here named Jesse, it was a little funny (and a little silly) in the beginning when we were calling our tree Jesse--so, with some explaining, Gray remembered this song and the kids cracked up that it was a "Christmas Song." But, now they love it!

If there are any of you out there that might just be pondering or starting to think of a tradition to add that brings Christ into your Christmas and gives you a focus on Him. Here is a weekly devotional--for 5 weeks. It's online and free--and you can print it (I know...me and my printables). There are two--one you can do personally and one also do it as a family. Nevermind that you might start out "behind." Never too late to focus on Christ! I'm doing this personally.

Here are some other decorations around our house:

My friend Christy--you know...the one I'm always linking to, telling you to look at her awesome pictures and posts. :)

She MADE this wreath for me! I LOVE IT!!! LOVE IT! It was a baby shower gift.

Let me take this time to tell you about that awesome night. The ladies on my team surprised me with a wonderful ladies night out--great dinner, encouraging verses and precious intentional, spoken words that I will remember, and some practical gifts--mostly for mom. ;) It was in the name of Baby #5--but what do you need with your 5th baby--I'm a mad keeper and saver of things and hand me downs, so we need nothing for this baby. But, I loved that they took the opportunity to love on me and shower me in "the name of Baby #5." I was surprised and shocked! It was awesome!

Well, Christy made this wreath, and gave me all the things I need to make it pink or blue after our baby #5 arrives. I love that I get to use it for Christmas too!!!

And, it just wouldn't be right if I didn't link to her. ;) So, you have to check out her post when she first made her own after getting the idea on Pinterest. She went on a wild hunt for creative supplies and made this wreath. It is a bit of a challenge to decorate and create here, but it's so rewarding and fun when you make something with your own hands and from creative, difficult lengths. I love this and love that it will be part of our Christmas for years to come! Thank you so much, Christy!!!

Here's a nativity we got from Thailand last year.

Gotta love the contextualized Mary in a "tube-top"...and who is that guy on the left with the pointy hat?

And...must mention the printables in those frames...from Pinterest, of course!

These two specifically came from here and here.

Our Indian Nativity from Varanasi that sweet friends gave us last year!

It's on our table and topic of discussion everyday.

Very funny discussions--

like when the shepherd falls over--asleep--because he's tired of homeschool

or funny reasons given why the other shepherd has the biggest surprise look on his face

or when a wise man awkwardly tries to pick up and hold baby jesus (with gift in hand too)

or when they put someone else in Jesus' bed

I think it's especially funny because they giggle so much and go on and on. Love it!

My Slovak Nativity that I got for my birthday in 2006.

I'll always remember that sweet gift and huge surprise!

These stars are pretty "traditional" here in India. Christians have them for Christmas time, and Hindus have them during Diwali.

I love them and was happy to get one to hang above our table this year.

I loved, loved, loved having a Christmas tree in my room growing up (thanks, Mom), so I'm delighted that we can have one in our kids' room now. It's our smaller one we bought last year. They decorated it and have made most of the ornaments themselves (more on that later). The little white angels were on my tree growing up--they glow in the dark. We just can't leave those lights on all night long--remember how things are "a little unstable" here?!!!

And, a little quote and word of encouragement/prayer from me (I sheepishly hope it to be):

I pray for all of you, my precious family, my sweet friends, my acquaintances, readers I don't know in real life, and any stoppers-by, that you will love Christmas, focus on Christ, and truly discover and share the meaning to others around you--all over the world!

Fight to keep Jesus in Christmas--see this post that Christmas means war!

Whenever Christmas begins to burden, it’s a sign that I’ve taken on something of the world and not of Christ. Any weight in Christmas has to be of this world.

That quote is from Ann Voskamp's blog, aholyexperice.com, a post on how Christmas can be weightless. I pray especially for you believers and Christ followers that you will not be burdened by this wonderful time of the year. But that you will marvel at the one that came to make our burdens light. Take on Christ--the one that came and not all the wrong things!!! Read Ann's post--her words are much more eloquent than mine.

And, now, we enjoy these wonderful days of advent...these days that we wait to officially celebrate our Savior, the long-awaited one...the One that has already come!

Praise Him this Christmas! Enjoy Him this Christmas! Love Him Greatly this Christmas!!!

Pumpkin Party and Diwali

Diwali is a HUGE holiday here in India--with a night filled with fireworks and action. We decided to have a fall, pumpkin party on Diwali so we could also enjoy the fireworks on the roof and the culture outside. It was a fun evening!

Our pumpkin patch.

Gray found a veggie walla that would bring some pumpkins from the village. They were great!

Christy had the idea of a "pumpkin patch" picture.

So glad we did it!

Cutie-pa-tootie!

While we were picking pumpkins, our neighbor was decorating her house for the evening!

Sarala asked to help, so of course she did!

We had such yummy snack foods--veggie pizzas, caramel popcorn, corndogs, tomato pie, and caramel apples.

Jackson helping with the caramel

And his work brought great treats!

Everyone getting some carving going!

I love that Parks is "that guy" cheesing in the background of the photo!

Paul carving a pumpkin while Sam sits on his legs to get a good view.

Sarala and I made a little one. This was her second one!

The cute non-carvers.

Her first finished one

Teamwork and give a Ra, Ra, Ra for Rocket (Little Einsteins--you see it?)

A finished shot

We went to watch the fireworks, and we had some sparklers left over from July 4th.

They had a little trouble sparkling. ;) But brought smiles, nonetheless.

The loud popping made a little boy a little scared...and gave mama some sweet snuggles.

If I ever need some snuggles, I just need either firecrackers or our pressure cooker! Works every time!

After hanging out on the roof, we walked around the neighborhood and got in the midst of our neighbors hanging out, blowing up crackers and bombs--you can't imagine the craziness right on the street in front of powerlines and right at people. It's awesome! I met two other ladies that worked in SC of all places for a few months. They even have visited Charleston! Such a small world--right in my neighborhood in this city! We saw some rangolis--the designs in powder. I liked this peacock. It was a fun night for sure!

And, as always, here are some more links that you might enjoy.

More from the pumpkin party here and here.

A few fun posts about Diwali in our city here and here.

You need to especially see the decorated cows especially here.

Another friend does a great job of explaining it here.