Although there are not many other Christian faculty at the UCI campus, we have been able to connect with a small group of Christian families here. We meet monthly to share prayer requests and discuss a topic relevant to the application of our faith in the academic community. While the parents meet, some overqualified babysitters care for the children. I think there are 16 kids among the seven families involved ranging in age from toddlers to high schoolers! It's a blessing for the parents and the kids!
On Sunday evening, we met altogether for a Christmas party. In addition to a fabulous Mexican fiesta, there were some amazingly beautiful Christmas cookies. I know I should have taken a picture, but I didn't have my camera and I still own a dumb phone. The kids took turns whacking a pinata and came home with plenty of candy. The highlight of the festivities was a White Elephant Gift Exchange. I actually missed out on this part because I left to put Matthew and Jonathan, who are apparently in nap-rebellion, to bed. We only brought two gifts for the exchange, since we weren't sure whether Mary and Maggie would enjoy it or not. Mary, the strategist, worked very hard to obtain this set of Christmas dishes, which were in high demand! The set consists of four dinner plates, four dessert plates, four bowls, and four mugs. Maggie did not work nearly as hard as Mary but is equally delighted with her gift, this Christmasy, twirly-whirly, glittery skirt. Maggie's gift also came with nearly 30 packages of German pudding! Thanks to Google Translate, we had the first package for dessert tonight!
They both look very pleased with their gifts.
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