The story of Jesus’ birth is one of Nikki and Michael’s favourites in their Eager Reader Bible. Here Nikki reads the story aloud to her brother while he gives his doll, Holly, some numnums.

Merry Christmas!

Ah, the clump of ornaments on our tree. So festive!

Please pray for my sister, Erin , as she is six months pregnant and in hospital for severe nausea, dehydration, and contractions which have now been medicated and stopped. She is also awaiting test results for gestational diabetes since her uterus is measuring five weeks larger than what is expected at this stage in her pregnancy.

This morning Nikki opened her last two Christmas gifts. She had been a little too excited on Christmas day to make it through her entire pile of presents, so we saved a couple for… today, as it turns out.

First she unwrapped and put on her fuzzy Robeez booties . Then the real fun began: unwrapping the gift from her Aunt Erin and Uncle Patrick!

We had a terrific time with Mary, Pete , two-year-old Ally, and Mary’s parents, over Christmas this year. Fantastic food, conversation, and two cute little girls playing, made for a happy and memorable holiday. Many thanks to our friends for letting us join their family celebration this year!

Thanks to Brent for taking this photo of us before we took off for church this morning.

M E R R Y    C H R I S T M A S

I recently offered to update the website I created for my dad a few years ago. If you’re curious – or in need of a chemical engineer – have a look at the results . Huge props to Max for his assistance with multiple browser compatibility .

Today was a special day at Maadi Community Church for a number of reasons. It marked the second anniversary of the Africa Live worship service (we hold four services, all with the same sermon, but incredibly lively African worship at the fourth), so everyone who owned African dress wore it to commemorate the occasion. We even saw buses dropping off groups of people to join the celebration.

Pastor Larry opened the advent season sermon series with a message on hell. An unusual topic for the festive season, but an incredibly important reminder of just how much God saved us from by sending his Son to die for our sins.

Walking back home from church we saw our friends Alex and Irena, walking with their daughter Margarita. I had purchased some extra tickets to the Christmas pageant , and we invited them to join us on 9 December. We told them we’re trying to get as many of our friends with young children to come as possible so that Nikki won’t be the only little one there. We are excited that they plan to come along.