Christmas in Crisis Mode

Christmas was kind of a blur this year - so much going on that I simply couldn't keep up this blog the way I wanted to. Here's a quick recap: I spent my spare time in December seeing friends and family, decorating the house and making jewelry and beaded snowflakes to give as Christmas gifts. It was great fun to involve Emmy this year in trimming the tree, setting up the nativity and decorating (and of course eating) gingerbread boys.

I will spare you the details, but something awful happened over the holiday that pretty much robbed us of any real sense of vacation - but the circumstances reinforced how very blessed we are in our family and friends, and we're deeply grateful for the many ways they've gone out of their way to help us through this difficult time. We're praying that God will turn this experience into something good, and draw us closer to Him in the bargain.

Emmy, on the other hand, missed out on much of the trauma and had a great Christmas. She loved the beautiful decorations, and enjoys playing with all of her many gifts - especially the hat and mittens she got from Gramps and Grandma Jean, her "very own kitchen" as she calls it (generously donated by prior owner Annika Kong) stocked with pots, pans utensils and food from Mommy and Daddy, and the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls Uncle Dave and Aunt Renee got her at FAO Schwartz in New York.

Please keep us in your prayers - our circumstances are likely to be challenging for quite some time to come.