A FEW CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

This was our fourth Christmas in Haiti. Haitian friends often assume that we will return to the States for Christmas. That WOULD be great - we would all enjoy seeing family and Melissa and the kids would enjoy seeing snow (No, not me) - but our family budget simply won't allow for it. For the next best thing, these last two years we have pooled funds (thanks, Grandmas!) that would otherwise be spent on physical presents and put them towards a few days away in the Dominican Republic. We all enjoy the sand, the buffets, the endless caramel cappuccinos and having someone else wash all the dishes. 

But we're always back home here in Vaudreuil by Christmas Day because we wouldn't want to miss celebrating the birth of Christ in our adopted home. We've developed a few traditions over the past few years. A few are carryovers from when the kids were small and living in the States, but most have sprung up spontaneously since we moved to Haiti.

We learned early on that cake is considered a very special treat here, so we take a bit of time on Christmas Eve to bake a few cakes to take to some special friends. These last two years, Sarah has worked hard to design the cakes, then Melissa bakes them and I decorate them. 

This year, Sarah put her friend Kristina to the designing task as well:



The finished designs:

The finished cakes:

The following isn't an established tradition because it is hit-or-miss, but this year a man brought a bucket of crabs to our front door for sale. I bought five and then remembered how much work they prove to be. The local crabs have the toughest, thickest shells you've ever seen.

I did remember to build a fire outside to cook the crabs - keeping the smell out of the house for everyone's benefit. I worked alone on shelling those crabs through our entire Christmas Eve showing of It's a Wonderful Life (a tradition from before Haiti). I think I'll wait a year before I buy crabs again.

On Christmas morning, it is a must to get a picture in front of the tree before any presents are opened.

Like I said, our Dominican Republic trip was our big family present, but there were plentiful stocking stuffers and a few boxes for the kids to open, thanks to Grandmas and friends and visiting teams. (Special thanks for what you sent, Kooikers and Millers!) Also, several of our kids have recently gotten into the admirable habit of shopping for special little gifts for each other over the summertime and sneaking them into our Haiti-bound suitcases in August. 

And in accordance with recent tradition, Melissa and I got each other ... nothing.  HOWEVER we did recently buy ourselves a new mattress from some missionary friends who were leaving the field and we have enjoyed more restful sleep ever since. (Thanks, Mokmas!)

Another recent Christmas Day tradition: a trip to the orphanage to play the role of Santa Claus. This year we had the privilege of delivering to each child a drawstring bag embroidered with his or her name, courtesy of our friend Kellie in Indiana and a bunch of her friends. 

We felt a little guilty receiving hugs that rightly belonged to folks back in Indiana.

Here's the tireless director of the Potter's House:

After leaving the orphanage, we headed to deliver our first cake - to Ma Louis, our incredibly hard-working friend who shops the market for us once a week and cooks our dinner twice a week. We couldn't keep everything together without her help.

We also delivered two cakes on the mountainside - one to Johnny's family and one to Ruysdael's. And we were back in time to put finishing touches on Christmas dinner before Rose and David and their two boys arrived. Dinner with this family has also become one of our most cherished traditions of the holiday. 

What a beautiful family!

One last tradition we started years ago and it's not on any particular spot on the holiday calendar: making gingerbread houses. And no, they're not from scratch - we're not pinterest fanatics, afterall. Just straight out of the store-bought kit. This year our friend Dixie in Iowa made sure the kids were supplied for this activity. 

As we prepare to head back to school this week, we are thankful for a restful and productive Christmas break. We hope your holidays were joy-filled and that 2017 brings lots of love, joy and blessings to you and your family.

Thanks again for your support in keeping us here in Haiti! God bless you!