Christmas and Birthdays

Since our last blog we have had two birthdays in our family.  Gabrielle turned the big 3-0 and Mylee turned a big 7!  For Gabrielle's birthday a couple ladies here in Puebla helped Aaron throw a small surprise party the night before her birthday so that she wouldn't expect it.  She was very surprised!  Among our missionary friends, who feel a lot like family, we were able to celebrate Mylee's birthday as well.  She chose to have hers at Peter Piper Pizza, which is a little like Chuck-E-Cheese.  It was a great time to be had by all!  We also added a few Christmas pictures that we just realized we hadn't gotten off the camera.  Enjoy!

Christmas and Birthdays

Parrot Park and New Year's Eve

Parrot Park and New Year's Eve

Because the girls were out of school for Christmas break we decided to visit the parrot park once again to visit some of our favorite animals.  We took some pics of our favorites and then took a little lunch break about halfway through.  It was a great family day for all.  

Our New Year's Eve was great fun with other families here in Puebla.  We had fun with sparklers and dominoes well into the night.  It was a great night of fellowship and we were blessed to have been able to spend it with friends.  Enjoy the pics!

The Month of December

Medical project, Christmas program, Christmas Eve

We started our month off with the Medical Project in two of the neighborhoods we have been working in.  We made quite a few contacts from that day that have led to ministry opportunities since then.
Evie came down with croup a couple weeks ago and had to stay home from school for a week to get over it.  But because of her absence she was unable to take part in the Christmas program at her school which was really sad for her.  However, Mylee was able to participate and I took a couple short videos of her performances.
Our cell group had a Birthday party for Aaron on Saturday the 18th.  It was a great time of fellowship for everyone!
Christmas is celebrated a little different here in Mexico.  The nationals begin on Christmas Eve around 11pm with dinner and continue on into the night ending with breakfast.  Then they take Christmas day to rest and recoup.  Our friends knew we had plans the next day and couldn't come at 11pm so they invited us to eat at 8pm the typical Christmas food they had prepared all that day.  We had spaghetti with a white sauce and pieces of deli ham mixed in, fruit salad, cooked pork with a spicy barbecue-like sauce on it, chipotle peppers stuffed with goat cheese, and BIG shrimp with heads and all!  It was all very good and we were proud of the girls for trying a little bit of everything.  We left around 10pm to give them time with their family and so we could prepare for the next day.  Another difference is they don't give presents until the 6th of January when the Wise Men's visit to baby Jesus bearing gifts is celebrated.
On Christmas day we were able to share the day with other families that live here in the same city.  We started with lunch at 1:30 and ended our day with games leaving around 10.  We also played the White Elephant game with Aaron winning a twin blow-up mattress and Gabrielle a CD case.  It was a great day for all.
Also included in the pictures is Evie's scraped up nose when she tripped on the concrete at school.  PTL it wasn't broken!  There are also pictures of the girls dressing up as the different characters of the Nativity as we talked about it over 3 days.  We had to get creative with this one, using only what we had around the house.  I will post pictures soon of our Christmas day festivities!  Enjoy.

Trip to Tehuacan

A few weeks ago we were able to take a trip to Tehuacan which is the city where we will be moving to next year. Aaron had visited the city before for the regional convention meeting. But this was the first peek Gabrielle and the girls were able to get. The main reason for the trip took place in a nearby village with another family building what is called a bio-digester. The main purpose for this contraption is for goat farmers to put to use the manure they collect and turn it into gas to cook with in their home. This will be very helpful to use in our new position in other villages around Mexico. In the link below are a few pictures from this trip plus a few extra at the end. Enjoy!

Tehuacan