Heather...

MY SISTER IS HERE!! MY SISTER IS HERE!!!

Heather is visiting me for Christmas! She arrived yesterday, and we were supposed to get back here last night. However, while she was waiting for her connecting flight in Dallas, about 10 minutes before they were supposed to board, her plane was declared "unfit to fly"!!!! So, they had to find a different plane, prep it, clean it, load it, etc. Then after they boarded the plane, they sat on it for quite a while waiting for permission to taxi and take off. Apparently, the winds were a little wacko, so they were using only one runway which meant all flights were taking off and landing from the same runway, which caused huge delays. In the end, she landed in Guadalajara about 3-4 hours after her original arrival time, but she landed safe and sound. Then we loaded into the taxi and headed to the bus station. However, all the buses had filled up until the last one which was to leave at 7 pm. However, it's a 4.5 hour trip to get back to Cofradia from Guadalajara, and no one was going to pick us up at midnight! So, we loaded back into a taxi and headed to La Carpa, which is the church I attended when I was living in Guadalajara. There we met up with my friend Erika and her family at their youth group Christmas party with the plan to stay with them and get on a bus early this morning.

The Christmas party was a ton of fun. There was a group of Americans visiting from Pensylvania, and of course all the youth from La Carpa. We ate tamales for dinner, and got to watch the youth group do their christmas gift exchange...everyone had to buy slippers for the person they picked. It was so fun to see all the different kinds of slippers they found! I think next year we should try something like that with our youth group gift exchange! There was worship and a short message, and then the pinata! So much fun. When it was all over, we headed to Erika's house and hit the sack around 11 pm. My poor sister didn't go to bed the night before her flight because she had to leave the house at 2 am to get to the airport by 4 am for her 6:30 am flight! So, she was totally wiped out! We slept quite well, and then this morning we loaded on a bus at 8 am.

The bus trip was uneventful, and we arrived here in Cofradia around 10:30, just as the worship was ending in the church service. Heather headed in for a nap, and I went straight to my seat in church. What a trip! After church, Sandy and Mily hung out for the afternoon to get some time to get to know Heather. We had a ton of fun! It was so great!!

While I was gone, I left Sandy in charge of the last youth drama rehearsal for the Christmas service on Tuesday, and the youth also had their gift exchange that night. Sandy and Mili were filling me in. Apparently the drama rehearsal didn't go very well at all, so we'll see how the drama goes in church on Tuesday. Of course, God has a track record for pulling amazing things out of that hat of his, so it won't surprise me if on Tuesday everyone shows up on time (for the first time!) with all their lines memorized (for the first time!) and everything goes off perfect! That's just the kind of God we serve!

I'm told the gift exchange went really well. When it was over, the youth leaders put on Superman Returns, and they watched about half the movie before Ian took them home. I'm told that ride was an interesting experience, but in the end everyone had fun and got home safe and sound! Thanks for driving, Ian!

Anyway, now Heather is here, and we have a busy week ahead of us, but it's going to be so fun, and I'm so excited to have family with me for Christmas for the first time in several years! Tonight, Heather unpacked and re-wrapped all the Christmas presents that people sent me. We put them under the tree, and I had so much fun opening them with her there taking pictures! They were all SO BEAUTIFUL and wonderful! I was so touched by the thought that obviously went into each and every gift! How precious they all are! Here are some highlights!

New PJs from Nana and Dick!

The ring my mom promised me! I picked the stone out when I was home this summer. She made the entire thing herself and by hand! I wish the picture was better, because you can't see the intricate metal work she did. There are silver leaves all around the setting! Beautiful!

Thomas Kinkaid coffee table book and calendar from my parents! They know I love his work! So exciting!

This necklace is made of rice pearls (I think), and it's the perfect color green! I love it! Thanks Alan & Susan!

This jewelry was from my step-mom. She is now working the jewelry counter at Penney's and I'm told she spent many hours finding just the right set for me. I love them! So beautiful, and the colors of my birthstone!

This snow globe has three penguins ice skating inside it. It's from my brother & sister-in-law and their 3 kids. Heather told me that when Courtney asked Logan (who's 5) what she should get Auntie for Christmas, he promptly replied "a snow globe". So she got me this one, and told my sister the three penguins represent the three kids: Logan (5), Caroline (3), and Allison (2). It's a favorite in my house!!

Tomorrow night, we'll get all the presents ready for our "Family Christmas" with the girls on Tuesday after church. I'm looking forward to all the stuff we're going to get to do this week. Keep checking back for reports!