And a Happy New Year! (she's back!)

Thank you all for praying!! I (Carrie) am indescribably grateful for good health again. Today was the first day I've been completely back to normal, and I'm blogging at 1 a.m. because hunger struck in the middle of a sound sleep. I haven't been hungry since Christmas Day, I don't think, so it's a blessing! I'm on my second big bowl of generic Raisin Bran.

Finally, some Christmas pictures! We've been having pretty severe computer issues, so that's a big reason for the delay. I had hoped to get them out right on Christmas.

Stocking joy! The kids didn't remember last year. Their first response to the empty stockings hung over the fireplace was to want to wear them. Isaac, of course, helped teach them differently. Thanks to Aunt Jenn for the stockings!!!

Tousled-hair Gracie is thrilled with her candy cane

Handsome Will showing off some candy

(We had to move Will over so he wouldn't get his items confused with David's or Gracie's.)

Sweet Seth eats a sweet See's lollipop from his Grandpa

Marcie sat so long and so quietly with her candy cane,
it was almost eery. She was just really happy!

Isaac's present (flown up by one of our airplanes from Target in Australia). Note David and Seth in the background, wearing reindeer antlers from Marmi. 

David is so happy with the empty box in the background. Red Robin balloon courtesy of Grandpadad. ;)
Marcie wore her beautiful red Christmas dress over her pajamas.

Like father, like son . . . David and Gavin building LEGO and loving it!!

The village near us that has been the hardest hit by the staple crop shortage (no sweet potatoes or yams or taro) showed their gratitude for the missionaries' gifts of food relief with this abundance of garden produce! Very little of what they brought is substantially caloric food (cucumbers, greens and tomatoes don't so much fill one up as provide vitamins, hence their need for rice or other starchy basics), but it still seemed strange to be taking food from the people who so desperately needed food a few days before. But this was a very Melanesian act, very much focused on reciprocity and giving something in return as a true "thank you." The neat thing is that the food relief (nearly 100 ten-kilogram bags of rice, with oil and salt to add in for fat and flavor) was delivered to them on Christmas Eve. God's timing, not ours! They came a few days later with this thank you heap of food and apologized for how "little" it was. (We still have some on our front porch!)

Reading to my kids, even the big one. He can't resist a silly rhyming song book either. :)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Seth, Marcie, Will, David, Gracie and the rest of us!