Merry Christmas!

OK, so it was like asking for a miracle on our street to try to get a good Christmas picture of all of us and

the girls, but at least we did get a couple in the end!

Carly was a sweet Mary in the Nativity at the Catholic Church's service on Christmas Eve.  Her only wish was that she could've said more than, "Shh, you'll wake the babe."  Last year everything was so new.  This year, I felt much more comfortable.  It was nice seeing so many people we knew and knowing the German Christmas songs better.  I was feeling pretty good about myself until someone asked me a question I couldn't understand.  When Myles translated, "They're asking if you feel integrated," I felt pretty silly.  Oh, well. 

Here's our Advent's "Circle" with all four candles lit and a very small sampling of the German Christmas cookies we received.  One neighbor made 12 different kinds and shared some of each of them with us!

After everyone was finally better from being sick, we had fun making some American cookies to share.  Here Macy's helping me roll some dough for snowballs, a cookie I remember making when I was a kid.  I also had fun substituting cranberries for raisins and adding orange sugar to our oatmeal raisin cookies to make them more festive.  Although, we did re-discover that Carly must be allergic to orange peels.

Carly found some cute gift ideas online and went to town!

 

We enjoyed acting out the Nativity at home multiple times, one of our favorite traditions.

 

The homemade gift surprises were definitely my favorite.

The girls are so creative and resourceful.  Other gifts included a homemade snow globe, a book with a make your own snowman kit, picture frame...

This is a sculpture Carly made with her class on a field trip to the art museum.

This year, we also enjoyed going to a big Christmas Market (unfortunately, I didn't have our camera with us) and Christmas caroling.  It is fun that we know our neighbors better.  One couple had a sled waiting for the girls when we came to visit.  Now, we're just praying for snow!