a blessed Christmas

Raul and I had a really great first Christmas in the US. After a busy week of baking and making all kinds of fun Christmasy goodies, I was ready for the actual holiday :) I only have this one photo because all the others were downloaded directly to facebook, then I deleted them :p so you have to go to facebook to see them.


For Christmas Eve, Brandon, Amber, and Amber's parents (who had come up from Arkansas) came to the house for dinner, a trip to Marion's Christmas walkway, and Christmas stockings.

Raul was the first-timer, so he had to experience the humiliation :) He actually loves it and has worn it quite a bit since Thursday night...says it's really warm. You can't see the whole effect, but it has dog ears, antlers, and a santa hat...the whole package ;)

For Christmas day, we headed to Brandon and Amber's place for Christmas lunch and opening gifts. After lunch, Raul and I went with Mom and Dad to see "Nine"...our second movie since being home (saw "The Blindside" the weekend before, really good movie).

After spending 9 months working on Raul's visa and praying it would all come through in time for us to be home for the holidays...the Father provided a way. And we are so incredibly thankful!