Navidad

The magic of Christmas happened once again!!

Christmas morning we all woke up really late !!  The kids were sooo exhausted from the night before that even though they knew Santa was coming, they could not wake up any earlier!!

Santi woke up first at about 9AM and could not wait for Danny to start opening presents...since we heard snoring coming from Danny's room, we let Santi open his presents first.

He got just what he had been asking for:  New legos, more sparks for his scooter and more books from the Laura Ingalls series.

He set out to work on putting together his new lego police station while mami and papi cleaned the house. 

 I took advantage that he was so busy playing, that I started cleaning and rearranging things around the house.  House work has such a great effect on me, it helps me connect with our house fairies...:)

Two hours later, Daniel woke up and came running down stairs where we were all waiting for him.   Santiago helped him open his presents. 

 I have been recycling the same  fabric for a couple of years now and not only do I feel good about not wasting so much wrapping paper...it makes wrapping so much easier and it looks great!  Santa already knows that  and he uses the fabric we set out the night before for him.  Such a clever guy!

Daniel got more that what he was asking for.  He had only asked for a remote control helicopter, but Santa also brought him a flute and a skuut which he loves!!  Everytime he opened a present he would say: "oh...just what I wanted!!"

Overall, it was a very quite and peaceful day.  The kids played while we worked around the house.

Then in the late afternoon, we went to downtown to grab a bite and walked the main street and looked at lots of nativity scenes which were all beautiful and filled with light from the newborn Child!!

At our house too...the baby came down fron Heaven and was happily lying on the manger!  Daniel had left a couple of drawings for Him the night before and they magically disappeared on Christmas Day...we think He is really happy to have them now!

Nochebuena

 On Christmas Eve, we invited new friends we met not too long ago.  

Antonio works with Jose and he and his family just moved to Mexico a few weeks ago.  

They have 5 lovely children: Julia, Laura, Miguel, Sara and Lucas.  

Santi and Danny were very happy to have so many playmates at their house.

The whole day we were really busy with the preparations.  The turkey went in the oven early in the morning and Daniel helped a lot in the kitchen.  Washing dishes, cutting out beets for a delicious salad we made which is called "ensalada de nochebuena"  It has beets, oranges, tangerines and nuts.

I made a few apple pies since Jose had been asking for one for quite a while.  I made the crust for the first time and it came out really good!

The kids played all night long!

It gave us plenty of time to talk and get to know each other more.  They are a lovely couple and it was a pleasure having them. 

Santi loved the turkey and ate a whole leg!!

The joy of gift making

Every year we have been making a big effort in making 

home made gifts.    In my  opinion, they are more likely to come from the heart. 

 

When we sit down and think about that person and our love for them.   Magically, something really special from that relationship comes out .  

It warms our hearts as the gift makers and the recipient is able to feel that energy and love pouring out.

  

This year, for the kids's teachers, we decided to give them an angel made by me and the kids made rolled beeswax candles. 

 They worked so hard at every single step.  From the drawings on their christmas cards, choosing the right color candle for each teacher and finally packing them.

It was delightful to watch them work and also to see the teachers faces light up when they received the gifts.

 

We also made bean bags for their friends...lots of fun making them and playing in the rice!

I have never made soo many angels as this year and I have to say...it amazes me everytime I do it.  

It strenghtens my relationship with them and I have gotten to connect and create new imaginations with new ones that have been flying around here!!

pastorelas en el colegio de Santiago

We had the pleasure to attend two "pastorelas" at Santiago's school this year.  The first one, which is dedicated especially to the third graders was delightful!

The teachers were amazing and "maestra Marcela", Santiago's teacher played a very important role in it.  The play was about the story of Adam and Eve which talks to the third grade child's soul.

The second pastorela was the traditional one, about Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem .  Then the sheperds hear the angels asking them to come and meet the new King.  The shepperds always make the children laugh and both Daniel and Santiago talked about them for quite a while!

winter solstice

This is our first year celebrating Winter Solstice as a family.  In the past, I have celebrated this festival in a group of very special women back in California.

This year, I felt the need to celebrate, especially being a very special year where a lunar eclipse coincided with winter solstice.

We went outside after dinner and made a bonfire, kept a solemn but happy mood. 

It is the sun's birthday!  

For mother earth is a big celebration, the days will slowly be getting longer.   

For us, it is a god day to stop and consciously light our inner light, to allow it to shine brighter and brighter each day,

illuminating us and those around us.

Cuarta semana de adviento

The fourth light of advent is the light of you and I
Light of love of light
To give and understand

Now that we are so close to Christmas time, we get busier and busier with git making, preparing everything for the "big day" and making sure that we spend time with those we love dearly.
This year, although we are not close to our families, we have made sure that we spend time with those who have been so welcoming and loving towards us here in Mexico.   We are starting to feel like we have our clan, our "family" away from home here.
We invited them to a "colombian Posada" at our house and we all had a great time!

The kids loved spending time together, playing in the sandbox, swinging, cuddling with the bunnies, playing catch, etc...

Meanwhile, the mamis were busy making tamales...we all loved the experience of getting our hands in the masa and shaping them.  Now I feel more confident in how to make them and for sure will be doing it again in the future!!

When the tamales were done, then we set up the gingerbread houses for the kids to decorate.  They teamed up to decorate three houses and they all turned out beautiful!
Lots of fun for all of them big and little.

When it got dark, we started with the traditional "mexican posada"  we gathered a group to go inside the house and the rest of us stayed outside, with a candle in our hands, singing the beautiful mexican posada songs.  We went around the yard a couple of times and pretended to be knocking at different houses until at the end, they let us in and we came in to sit in front of the "pesebre" (nativity scene) to start the traditional colombian "novena".  We prayed and sang together, some songs from Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico and even "jingle bells".
Our hearts were filled with joy!!

After so much singing, we were hungry and thank God, the tamales were ready to eat and of course...delicious!!!

Then, with our tummies happy and full, we sat around the
bonfire and relaxed while the kids played around us.
The weather was perfect...on the cool side, but sitting by the fire made it ideal!  The night sky was incredible!!  Lots of stars and clear...not very common for Mexico City, we felt blessed!

Then at the end, we did a pinata for the kids, which is something very traditional in the mexican posadas.  The pinata was filled with fruits: tejocotes, pieces of sugar cane, tangerines, tiny apples and nuts.

Tercera semana de Adviento

The third light of Advent is the light of beasts
Light of hope that lives
in the greatest and the least

Advent time is also a time for me to keep my own traditions alive!!  We get busy the very first week with the decoration of our big Nativity scene, the way it was done at my house when I was little.

We collected old boxes for a while, the covered them with brown paper and on top of them we covered them with moss and rocks to create the village and the road that Mary and Joseph walked on their way to Bethlehem.

This year, I finally finished needle felting the figures for the Nativity set, Mary and Joseph walking to Bethlehem with the donkey.

The three wise man

the sheperd with his sheep

The angels bringing down the Christ Child

This Nativity scene is very special for us in Colombia because from December 16th until the 24th, we sit around it to pray to Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph and to sing "villancicos.  It is a wonderful tradition for us, and one I have the fondest memories from.  The songs and the prayers are intertwined which makes it more kid friendly and we get out our musical instruments...a very festive mood indeed!