Saturday, December 26, 2009

There is NEVER not enough room at our table

Merry Christmas to All

Christmas Eve:
The tradition of acting out the Nativity is alive and well. Will read Luke 2, while 3 sister missionaries and I took the parts of Mary, Joseph, the angel, and the shepherd. Sister Swenson, Sister Hughes, and Sister Maero were good sports about dressing up and reliving the Christmas story.





Christmas Day:
Guess who is coming to dinner! The number kept expanding until we were at 18 for a final count. Some were fashionably late and were not in the picture. The guests were a mix of missionaries, investigators, and members – American, Italian, Filipino and Peruvian culture. But the meal was good ol’ turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, and gravy with all the trimmings, including pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce. We felt pretty spoiled. Many family and friends made this possible. The Christmas dinner was our gift to the missionaries in our district.

It is amazing how these important relationships foster understanding, growth, and contentment for an absolutely wonderful Christmas 2009.
The puzzle was set up in one corner. The decorations consisted of a small Charley Brown Christmas tree,

a rose candle and ornaments on the table (with homemade peanut brittle on one side and caramel popcorn on the other),

a red poinsetta, a couple of gifts from members, and Buffana doing a fly by to make sure all was well. (Buffana is a good witch who is making sure everyone is good and receiving their gifts.)

The day also included visiting with many family members. It can’t get better than that.
Boxing Day:
A relaxing, sleep-in day, with Burt’s joining us in the evening for left-overs and games.

Other Christmas traditions in Italy include:
Santa climbing a ladder to get into the apartment building.

Lights outside for everyone to enjoy. There are not too many individual lights - more community lights.


We were blessed with balmy, Mediterranean weather. What a wonderful Christmas.