Christmas with 18

I have a proposition for a new reality show….”Christmas with 18!”  I praise the Lord for the Christmas season that He gave us this year!  It certainly beat last year when I was in bed for an entire month over Christmas and New Year’s with Hepatitis A!

This year I had a special desire for the kids to be able to purchase Christmas gifts for one another, but that desire required money!  God was so faithful in providing a special Christmas offering from a supporting church that allowed us to carry out this small adventure!  (Thank you McCord Rd. Christian Church family!) 

So, one evening we had a name draw where each child drew two names of their siblings for whom they were to buy a gift.  The next day, while Victor was on crusade, I set out to the dollar store about 30 minutes from Refuge Ranch with all 18 kids.  We divided up into teams and the kids set out to find the perfect gift for their siblings.  I could not have asked for a more wonderful day with them!  They took care of each other, hid from each other in the aisles so that the other person wouldn’t see the gifts that had been purchased for him or her and had great fun!  I gave them each a $100 peso bill ($10 U.S. dollars) to spend on gifts for their two chosen siblings and it was so rewarding to watch them use their math skills to make sure they didn’t spend more than their allotted amount.  They each went through the checkout line on their own!  By the time I got to the cashier she said:  “They left the mom until last!”  I think we gave those employees something to talk about over dinner that night!  We had a great lunch at KFC (the cheapest fast food for so manyJ) and headed home to wrap, wrap and wrap!  The kids wrapped their own gifts for one another and put them under the tree.  The excitement level was at a max!  It was breathtaking!

 Angie and David wrapping their sibling gift exchange gifts!

 Four year old Daniel with the gift for Lolis that he picked out and wrapped all by himself!

 

 Lolis working diligently on wrapping a gift for one of her siblings! Wow!

Eight year old Miguel on the way to the Christmas tree with the gifts he purchased for two of his siblings!  This was the first Christmas that he has truly celebrated!

 In our family, due to each of our child’s unique circumstances, days that are normally “happy” present a unique challenge:  Christmas, birthdays, Mother’s Day (grateful to having me as their mom, yet secretly wishing that it wouldn’t have been necessary for me to be their mom), etc.  So, to watch the kids allow themselves to laugh, give and receive was truly indescribable!  Praise the Lord!

I spent the entire week before Christmas wrapping gifts with each of the children.  They were thrilled to get a sneak peak at their siblings gifts!  On Christmas Eve day we had a great family dinner (the day for the traditional Christmas meal here in Mexico...and I didn’t even burn the ham!), then had some fun devotions with the Legend of the Candy Cane story and ended with our own fireworks! 

 Sparkler designs by the kids on Christmas eve!  Great fun!  (Our dog, Alpha, who normally is not allowed in the house, found his way in during the fireworks!  He hated them:-)

The Christmas tree and stockings ready to go on Christmas Eve!  (Oops, it was actually Christmas morning, I guess, because it was after midnight before everything was ready!)

Christmas morning came with a gorgeous sunrise, clear blue skies and….warmth!  For my first 7 years in Mexico I missed snow, but I have truly come to enjoy 75 degree Christmas days!  It only took us a little over 2 hours to open the Christmas presents….taking turns of course!  What a huge blessing!  Thank you Grandpa and Grandma Claassen, Great-Grandpa and Grandma Blom, Great-Grandma Claassen and Upper Deer Creek Church!  You gave our kids a blessed Christmas!  For six of our children this was their first Christmas!  It was not only their first Christmas with us, but literally the first Christmas they had ever celebrated, despite several of them being 11 years old!  Thank you, thank you and thank you!  

  Our Christmas present from the Lord, a gorgeous sunrise!  Thank you, Jesus, from whom all blessings do flow!

 After eight years of living in Mexico, I am finally starting to get used to the thermometer looking like this on Christmas morning!

Martita opening her new guitar!  Now how are you supposed to disguise this gift!  It was incredible to watch Martita enjoy Christmas!  Praise God!

 Two year old David got a new guitar too!  He LOVES to worship!  Watch out Michael W. Smith, David Zaragoza is on his way!

 The beautiful simplicity of Caleb, his favorite present were the plastic model animals!

 Our Christmas afternoon pinatas!  Great fun!

And now, a special Christmas gift for you!  A video of Joce playing the piano on Christmas morning before we opened presents!  She had asked for weeks if she could serenade us before our present opening ritual/adventure/tradition/chaos :-)  What a joy to be her mother!  

I encourage you to continue to scroll down the page and read Ashleigh Weis' blog from last week.  Although Ashleigh is no longer on staff, she visited our family near Christmastime in order to attend Adrian and Vero's wedding.  As a friend and fellow missionary with whom I shared life for two years, I so appreciate her perspective.  What I find so ironic, and encouraging, is that when she posted her blog I already had this blog written and waiting in the wings to post.  You will discover that we both share about our family's unique emotional situation during traditional celebrations - something that we both desire to see restored in these precious children's lives.  Well, each year, each celebration we get to see a little bit more of that restoration that has taken place.  God is soooo good and what a huge privilege, honor and joy to be a part of that restoration process day in and day out, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year as my precious children's mommy!  Thank you, Jesus!