Celebration and Too Much Pudding!

Christmas seemed to come and go in the blink of an eye. Feels like yesterday that I was sharing my feelings on what Christmas means. Nevertheless, my festive season was simply amazing.

It all started on Friday, December 23^rd. My dad, brother and I got in the car with the boot filled with food parcels and a few items we were throwing out after a huge kitchen clean-out the week before. We drove down to Dora’s Ark, a children’s home in Roodepoort, with the intention of dropping off the boot-load for the children and ‘parents’ of the home. Only when we arrived the doors were all locked and it looked as if nobody was home. After knocking on the doors and there was no answer, we started to drive away. Just then my brother saw the door open and one of the ‘mothers’ checking to see who was there. We made a quick u-turn, and pulled up in front of the home. The ‘mother’ was so pleased to see us (my dad is a regular visitor to the home), and welcomed us and our parcels with open arms. It turns out all the children were still sleeping, so unfortunately we didn’t get to see them. Although, just talking to one of the mothers who cares for these children, it opened my eyes to just how blessed I am  to have all that I do. These kids basically have nothing but the home and donations. At the moment they are in desperate need of a bigger house and more beds as they continue to take in more and more children with nowhere else to go. The adults looking after the children do it out of the goodness of their own hearts and receive nothing in return. I have huge respect for them. Sometimes we can all get caught up in our own lives, money and petty problems without thinking about those who don’t even have a mattress on which to sleep. It was truly a humbling experience and the perfect way to experience the miracle of Christmas.

The Christmas celebrations began on Saturday 24^th with a family Braai at my Aunt and Uncle’s house. There was plenty of food, fun and laughter. Presents were handed out to those who weren’t joining us on Christmas day and the kids just loved ripping up the paper wrappings. Even though I didn’t do any unwrapping, simply watching the joy of my family receiving gifts was a blessing to me.

After the fun of our Christmas eve celebrations, we headed off to church for a dress rehearsal before our annual Christingle service for the kids. I really had great fun playing Mary in this year’s play. Although, I don’t think I’m ever going to stop hearing the jokes or being teased about it. Father Errol sure thought it was fantastic though. It gave me a feeling of satisfaction to do something so special for the kids of our church. I went home with a happy heart to eat, clean myself up, and have a quick nap before heading back to the church for Midnight Mass. The church was packed as we all shared in the miracle of Christ’s birth and wished one another a Merry Christmas. We arrived back home just before 1:30am and only just awake as we made our way to bed.

Little Michael and the girls: Me, Izabella, Daisy and Julianne.

The cast of the 2011 Christingle + Clergy & Church staff

While deep in sleep, with strange dreams going on in my head, I hear the sound of music travel down the passage. I glance at the clock: 6:45... “REALLY??” Next thing I know, my mom is trying to wake me up, and I’m thinking: “Are they seriously trying to wake me up before 7am?” Anyway, I got up and made my way to the lounge to find a camera pointing in my face and coffee on the table. The lack of sleep was all worth it in the end. Again, I ended up watching everyone else open their presents, and enjoyed it more seeing their reactions, than I enjoyed opening my own presents. My mom says it’s what happens when you get older. But like I said before in my “It’s Christmas Time” post, the holiday is all about sharing Christ’s love. The love represented by a gift, rather than the gift itself. I wish I could have frozen that moment because it was the perfect example Christ’s love being shared.

The rest of the day was shared with the big family all seated around the big lunch table, jokes, laughter and way too much food than my stomach could handle. And MORE presents! The weather was glorious and I ended up lying down on a chair cushion outside on the stoop. I felt like I had a food baby (more pregnant Mary jokes) after a huge bowl of puddings (there were 6 different kinds). While I was on the ground, my cousin, David decided he wanted the cushion under my head and while messing around I managed to smack my head pretty hard on the tiles. I’m pretty sure I can still feel the pain in the back of my head today. It all made for a good laugh in the end. All in all, the day was fabulous and I ended up in bed at 9:30pm completely worn out.

I finally woke up at 8am, with not a care about the time. I picked up my book and enjoyed lying in for the first time in a really long time. I was surprised to discover that my mom had done the same and we eventually crawled out of bed in time to have Christmas cake for breakfast at tea-time. We had Christmas lunch again (and we STILL have leftovers), and the parents have now passed out on their bed for a lazy afternoon. Meanwhile, I’m enjoying the new music I got for Christmas (Lady Antebellum and Scotty McCreery) while writing. I think I’ll pick up that book again for the rest of the afternoon and enjoy a lazy Monday- for a change!

My Mom's fabulous table setting

My little Family

My Big Family at the table

Blessings for the Festive Season,

In Christ’s Love

<3 Nicole_Kayley