Christ is born! Praise Him!
Christmas is by far my favorite holiday. What a joyous event to celebrate, the birth of our Jesus, the Savior born in the manger, oh how I wish I was one of the shepherds to be there when the angel appeared to tell them great news. What an honor for them to be one of the first ones to meet Jesus Christ, the Only Son, I have goose bumps as I write this.
This year we have received the best gift, a living soul, our daughter Isabella. I have never imagined the love that is this huge, it is indescribable. Thank you dear Lord for gifting her to us!
I don’t know if anyone else notices but it seems to me that during this wonderful season of celebration, people are more angry, rude and simply cruel especially on the road and in stores. Somehow it has become a race to get the best gift, sign 50 or so cards, cook the best meal and ect. We get so caught up in all the busyness that we forget the main purpose, the celebration of Christ. As I read the story to Bella from her little Bible and she tried to bite the book, it brought a smile to my face, it was written so simple and wonderful for kids to understand and to rejoice. I believe she liked the story, because she moved on to biting other books and left the Bible alone 😉
This year Christmas was a little hectic or at least it seemed that way. We started our celebration on Christmas Eve at our home with my (Helen’s) parents, Oleg and Lilya joining us for a special dinner. The next morning we opened our stockings at home and went over to my parent’s house where we had a great fellowship, food and presents. Bella got spoiled as always with many wonderful gifts, especially her first bicycle, what a surprise it was J Thank you Papa and Nana for such a generous gift! On the 26th we drove to Fresno to spend time with Barry’s family, including his brother Del, sister Lily and their babies that he sees about once or twice a year. It was a wonderful time of reconnecting and most of all getting to know Bella’s little cousins who are just as cute as they get. It’s hard to believe that they are all within 6 months apart, they will have a lot of fun playing together as they grow up. It was so wonderful to finally meet Ava, Lily’s and TJ’s baby girl, what a little cutie she is J All in all it was precious time with both families. Below you can see all the fun that took place. Enjoy!
