Merry CHRISTmas.

Christmas day has come and gone without much fanfare. We started our day with mass and came home to open our gifts.

We are incredibly grateful for grandparents and siblings who went the extra mile to send us gifts. The children absolutely loved the presents and spent HOURS playing, pretty much from 11.30am to 4pm, barely stopping for lunch. We got our littlest a sunhat and some snacks and she was happy as, sitting there munching yoghurt drops watching everyone else around her. 

These kept us cool in the sweltering heat. Our big girl wasn't too pleased. 

It has been a quiet Christmas with lots of togetherness. I missed the festive spirit and family gatherings in Singapore a little bit. At the same time, we have also been able to bring Christ back into CHRISTmas more fully this year. The daily Jesse Tree reflections during Advent traced a path through salvation history and led us to the manger, putting the Nativity scene into powerful context. As the world becomes more and more secular, it feels all the more important to bring Christmas back to what the season really is about. 

We had a birthday cake for baby Jesus and spent the evening playing "Poop Bingo" (thanks to Jon and family) and "Potion Explosion" (thanks to my brothers)

It seems an appropriate time to share a recent development in our front yard. This project has been a year in the making. From digging up the shrubs, levelling out the ground, planting grass...it has involved lots of waiting, waiting and waiting. Finally, though, this is here. The three older children each picked out an element they wanted on our set. 

Before:

After:

We have a strong neighbourhood community, so this a space that is open to our friends to come and play, too. We love it so far and it has been well-used over the past four days that we've had it. I can see our young ones playing on this for years and years to come.