Christmas Celebration
Last night we celebrated Christmas since it was our last night with Carole Landess, who will be returning to the states on Christmas morning after spending 12 years serving in Egypt. We came up with the best Christmas meal we could think of—Pizza Hut and cola. Oh, yeah! And for dessert we ate Carole’s pumpkin bars, Eric’s date balls, and Jennifer’s chocolate covered pretzels and strawberries. Yum yum yum!
Oh, the fun didn’t stop there! After seeing the gingerbread house at the Marriott a few weeks ago, Teri and I decided it would be fun to make one ourselves. So, we baked some gingerbread, only after going to three different stores to be the ingredients, as well as the pharmacy to pick up a suspicious bag of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). After the baking was done and the gingerbread had cooled, Teri strategically cut out pieces to make our home. What we came up with was a slightly lopsided house that more or less resembled a church, especially after we added a cross on the front door. Due to the lack of fun candy materials in Egypt, we had to make do with a few sweet items to spice up the home. We made a dog with Twizzler bits, a snowman with gummy lizards, frosting, and M&Ms, and a bush and tree with chocolate covered strawberries. (Yes, you must use your imagination.) We even had a rose patch and an ice rink with two ice skaters skating in a figure 8! (Yeah, we know it is winter, but again, use your imagination.) Unfortunately, not everyone has good imagination, because Jen thought our ice skaters were fire hydrants and Carole thought our rose bushes were parking posts for the gingerbread church. Hmmm...looks like some people have grown up too fast!
As we decorated our lovely home/church, Jay and Stephen lent their musical talents on the piano and guitar so we could sing a number of Christmas Carols. Ah, nothing better than men playing music, singing along, and praising God. This led into our Secret Santa gift exchange. Eric and Jennifer wore Mrs. Claus hats with two white-haired pigtails to symbolize their function as the elves who brought the presents to each person. I absolutely love Secret Santa time—it’s such a fun surprise! I bought art supplies for Jason, and Jay bought me a beautiful scarf and a surgical mask to keep the pollution out of my nose and mouth (kinda). Perfect! We had two special presents. One was from the group to Eric; shampoo and conditioner to encourage him to shower. J The other present was a scrapbook for Carole, and she loved it! We were able to get in contact with a number of people from her past, and she was so shocked and excited! What fun it is to give people the “perfect gift.” Speaking of incredible gifts, Carole bought us cartouche necklaces with our hieroglyphic names engraved in silver and gold—Wow!
The night ended with the destruction of our gingerbread and chowing down on the frosting and gingerbread. It was a great night full of friend, fun, and sugar!
Oh, the fun didn’t stop there! After seeing the gingerbread house at the Marriott a few weeks ago, Teri and I decided it would be fun to make one ourselves. So, we baked some gingerbread, only after going to three different stores to be the ingredients, as well as the pharmacy to pick up a suspicious bag of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). After the baking was done and the gingerbread had cooled, Teri strategically cut out pieces to make our home. What we came up with was a slightly lopsided house that more or less resembled a church, especially after we added a cross on the front door. Due to the lack of fun candy materials in Egypt, we had to make do with a few sweet items to spice up the home. We made a dog with Twizzler bits, a snowman with gummy lizards, frosting, and M&Ms, and a bush and tree with chocolate covered strawberries. (Yes, you must use your imagination.) We even had a rose patch and an ice rink with two ice skaters skating in a figure 8! (Yeah, we know it is winter, but again, use your imagination.) Unfortunately, not everyone has good imagination, because Jen thought our ice skaters were fire hydrants and Carole thought our rose bushes were parking posts for the gingerbread church. Hmmm...looks like some people have grown up too fast!
As we decorated our lovely home/church, Jay and Stephen lent their musical talents on the piano and guitar so we could sing a number of Christmas Carols. Ah, nothing better than men playing music, singing along, and praising God. This led into our Secret Santa gift exchange. Eric and Jennifer wore Mrs. Claus hats with two white-haired pigtails to symbolize their function as the elves who brought the presents to each person. I absolutely love Secret Santa time—it’s such a fun surprise! I bought art supplies for Jason, and Jay bought me a beautiful scarf and a surgical mask to keep the pollution out of my nose and mouth (kinda). Perfect! We had two special presents. One was from the group to Eric; shampoo and conditioner to encourage him to shower. J The other present was a scrapbook for Carole, and she loved it! We were able to get in contact with a number of people from her past, and she was so shocked and excited! What fun it is to give people the “perfect gift.” Speaking of incredible gifts, Carole bought us cartouche necklaces with our hieroglyphic names engraved in silver and gold—Wow!
The night ended with the destruction of our gingerbread and chowing down on the frosting and gingerbread. It was a great night full of friend, fun, and sugar!
posted by Sarah @ 7:29 PM
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