So on Christmas morning, we had a nice cuddle in our bed, all four of us. We do that most mornings, especially on weekends. And that's ALWAYS nice!!!
Then, we had some breakfast and then we went to open the presents from our dear family and friends who are further away.
That was very special and it brought tears to my eyes to think of all the love that was wrapped up in those parcels! Thank you!
The parcel from Sanders family in New Zealand. Liesl, Jason and cousins Joshua and Jesse
I clearly remember Josephine saying "WOOOOWWW!!" here!
Ooooh yes, a Pappa's gotta do what a Pappa has gotta do. Tx L,J,J,J!
the little Elf family and Pappa Rudolf!
and now Josephine has the sparkling, shiny red nose!
And, now Evie. They just had to try it!!
Evie elf
And now...a parcel from Gwan and Gwamps in London!! Thank you G&G!!
Josephine doing the honours with the scissors
oooh, delight! A DVD and CD, etc, etc, etc!!! Thank you!!!
Some fun glasses from G&G for us to try on! And this is...Professor Pappa
and...professor Jozie
and our little professor Evie
And now for a present from dear dear UK friends, Emma, Aaron, Isabella (Josephine's playmate) and baby Katie
Emma: she LOVES these princess pjs! Good choice!!! She has worn them 3 days in a row also during the day the minute we come home. I tell you!
Some Scottish "Walker" shortbread biscuits....all the way from UK. Tx E,A,I,K!
and....off Evie goes in her princess PJs which we put on over her other pjs that morning. It fits perfectly! Tx again!
And then, we packed a bag, and went to the school grounds where Josephine could practise on her bicycle for a bit and burn off some energy. From there, we went to Shonan beach again. It's in a town called Eonishima and is about 20km from us. We had Saturday (not Christmas) traffic and it took a little longer than hoped. When we got there, we were glad we packed in warm jackets. The wind!! It was icy cold! 10dC, but nevertheless biting! We rode along the beach front. I pushed Evie in her tricycle while Michael tended to Josephine's enthusiastic cycling. He had to run. But fortunately she was quite good at her braking too when it came to crossings or so every now and then. But the wind was howling. Waves were messy from the onshore wind and the sand was stinging us even in our faces. We took shelter in an "Italian" restaurant. We ordered some pizzas. I can't remember all that was on the menu, but it was ...different. Not the Italian we know. So Michael ended up with a pizza with lettuce leaves and some funny other bits on top and then melted cheese going over it. Looked worse than it tasted though. Not bad.
We spent about 2-3 hours at Shonan and then went home. Kids slept in the car on the way home, which was necessary and good. When we got home, I finished preparing our Christmas dinner. We were supposed to have it for lunch, but decided spontaneously to go to Shonan instead. So we had turkey and veggies and the whole tutti. And my dear friend, Emma, from England even sent us crackers for the table (can't get them here) and the kids (Josephine especially) LOVED that!!! We had a gooooood time. Candelight dinner. Josephine and Evie's eyes were shining. They were so impressed and Josephine declared that she could eat turkey every day.
We then tinkered on the piano, sang, played, skyped with Gwandparents. Was a lovely family time which we relished. Turned out to be a lovely Christmas.
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son. That whosoever believes in Him may have eternal life."
