Christmas in Christmas City

Natal means "Christmas" so it seems appropriate that I would tell you about what we did here in Christmas city over the holiday.  On Christmas eve we took the kids to Geraldo's house with a bag full of toys and a plate full of home made cookies.  Jonah and Andy chose some very nice toys from their room to share with four children who, otherwise, wouldn't get any toys for Christmas.

 They were very happy to receive us and to play with the kids for a while.  They were all headed out to sell popcorn in town for the rest of the day.Then we returned home to get ready for the Christmas party at our house.  It was the least stressful Christmas party I've ever thrown because several church members showed up early to prepare all the food.  We ate, played games, and exchanged gifts.  Normally, Brazilians eat Christmas dinner at midnight on Christmas eve but they were very respectful of the fact that we have small children, who would be looking for traces of Santa at sunrise, and left just after midnight.On Christmas morning, the kids opened their gifts and played with their toys as John and I sat and drank coffee in front of the fan, assembling and inserting batteries into each toy they unwrapped.Then we did something really fun.  We defrosted the freezer.  (I'm not being facetious.  You have to remember that it's extremely hot here at Christmas time.)  Defrosting the freezer meant having a snowball ball fight in the summer and it was fun.Then Santa brought John and me the best gift of all - peace and quiet.  This crew showed up to take our kids to the beach for the afternoon:

  It was a nice surprise and a very thoughtful present for the whole family.