It's CHRISTMAS!!!

This Christmas was the first time we celebrated all on our own. Last year we celebrated Christmas Eve with the other american families- but this year it worked out that everyone was on their own. We invited the sister missionaries and our friend Nathan over for dinner and our Christmas Eve program. We read the Christmas story in the bible, watched the video and thought about the gifts we gave the Savior. We each wrote on a note card the gifts we promise to give the Savior next year for Christmas.  This year was also the first time the kids 'drew names' and picked out and bought gifts for each other. 

We have quasi adopted Nathan in our family. He comes over at least once a week and Ryan helps him with homework and he gladly eats any American food I put in front of him. He lost his headphones, so Ryan gave him a new pair for Christmas. 

Christmas morning! It was a tradition in Ryans' family that all the kids had to line up youngest to oldest in the hall before they were allowed to go in the living room to see all the gifts. The tradition lives. 

Since Christmas was on Sunday this year, the kids only got to open the gifts from Santa before church. 

And stockings, of course. 

Clark was SUPER excited to get the box set of Harry Potter books

JR asked Santa for a "skyscraper" hot wheels track. Santa was a little nervous about finding one in Italy, but lucky he's magic and always delivers. 

Charly has been obsessed with My Little Ponies and was super excited that Santa brought her the big ones she asked for. 

After taking 20 pictures before church- this was as good as it gets.

Kate was super surprised when she got an iPod for Christmas from Ryan and I. We put it in the box Ryan's iPhone 7 came in- so at first she thought we gave her a phone. HA! In your dreams girl!!

Both Charly and JR got new costumes

JR's skyscraper track

This is Kate's new permanent position

And now that Christmas is over we can eat the gingerbread house!!

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

The month of December is always busy with end of semester projects, activities, Christmas shopping etc, so sometimes it is hard to make the time to do the traditional things that make it "feel" like Christmas. One thing that I love to do and that is always a priority for me- is to make a gingerbread house. When I was growing up,  my siblings and I would make our own gingerbread houses out of graham cracker. When Ryan and I got married, I found a recipe to make my own gingerbread house made out of gingerbread. The tradition has changed a little, but for me, the feeling of Christmas remains.  

Ryan and I like to joke that I am the architect and he is the builder. He always teases me for faulty building material, ie; corners that are not exactly 90 degrees, or walls of varying thickness. And I tease him that if he was a good builder he would make it come together perfectly. Which he does. Every year.

Then we give each of the kids a side to decorate. Here in Italy, it has been harder to find the right candy for decoration- as I can't just pick up a package of candy canes or Christmas colored M&M's. But I beg my friends who work at the Embassy to pick me up Christmas candy, and buy any kind of candy we can find in red or green.

I always love to see our finished project. And I love to display it in the house until Christmas- and then of course eat it after Christmas!

One of the other events leading up to Christmas was the Christmas concerts at school. I don't know why I don't have any pictures of Clark, Kate and Charly in the elementary school concert, but here's JR in his preschool concert. Obviously this wasn't his best day- as I don't have one picture with him smiling and he got in trouble for poking the girl Virginia, sitting next to him.

It has been fun for us to have a sense of family with the other families that are here to help build the temple. This is JR with his best friend Rhett and then all the kids together on the last day of school before break. 

We also had a Christmas party together the week before Christmas. After the dinner all the kids dressed up and acted out the nativity story. We all sang Christmas carols together and had a fun night together. 

As part of my calling as 1st counselor in the Relief Society presidency, I helped with our ward Christmas party. The sisters met once a week the whole month to make Christmas decor for their homes. Then as part of the program, a few of the couple missionaries did a dance to Christmas music.

"Charity Never Faileth"

Veronica and Eleonora

Guercios, Thackers and Thomases

The few days before Christmas break the teachers and staff at our school sang Christmas carols before school in the court yard. It was touching to me, I guess because that is a part of Christmas we don't experience here. No caroling in a nursing home. No ward hayride caroling to neighbors. I guess I just missed the american way of celebrating Christmas. Not that I don't love and appreciate this culture that I get to be a part of here, but it was so nice to get a taste of home. The older I get, the more I long for that "feeling" of Christmas. And I know it will never feel like it did as a kid- I do love when I get to experience a few moments where it feels like Christmas. 

Salerno/Caserta

December 8th is an Italian holiday to celebrate the "Immaculate conception" - but Italians use this holiday to officially start the Christmas Season. Since Ryan had the day off, we decided to make a weekend of it and headed down south to Salerno.  Salerno is a cute beachfront town, near the Amalfi Coast, but in the winter it turns into the city of lights. We thought it would be fun to get into the Christmas spirit by going to see all the lights. Its hard to see in the pictures, but all the "streets" ( they are more like walking paths) in the downtown area had lights between the buildings. In the town square there was a HUGE lighted Christmas tree and in one of the bigger piazzas there was a huge canopy of lights. They also had the "Central Park" decorated with lights from scenes of Disney movies. Since we went on the holiday- it was packed with people, but still lots of fun!                                                                                    

Whale from Pinocchio

Tick toc Croc

The Jolly Roger

The huge Christmas tree in downtown

Lighted streets

On our way home from Salerno- we stopped in Caserta to see the castle there. If you look carefully- you'll notice that this is where they filmed Queen Amidala's palace in the Star Wars movie.  The castle was enormous and absolutely beautiful. 

I dont know why- but I love to see the old beds

There were the most amazing chandeliers all throughout the castle

 Outside the castle there was this very long garden that had pools of water that came from a waterfall from the mountain way in the back. I think its about a mile from the castle to the end. And yes we walked all the way there and back. They did have bike rentals, however since Charly and JR are too small to ride a regular kid bike, and al of their 'family bikes' were broken- we got to walk the whole way.  But it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the walk together!