Merry Christmas!

The week of Christmas was probably our most difficult week so far in Ecuador. We were a little more lonely, a little more homesick, Josh got his wallet stolen on the Ecovia bus while out Christmas shopping, Melanie was sick with a cold, then the flu, and Owen woke up with his first fever on Christmas morning.

We tried to make Christmas as special and memorable as we could though. We put up a little tree, hung stocking, put up a nativity display, put Christmas lights in the windows, wrapped presents under the tree, drank hot chocolate, and read Christmas stories. We had plans to do some service by volunteering at a local orphanage, but with being sick we weren't able to go. All these thing helped us get into the holiday spirit, but it was still hard being away from family. It was Melanie's first Christmas not spent in Arizona. There's just something special about waking up Christmas morning with family, eating Christmas breakfast with them, and sharing in the gift opening.

Christmas Eve was nice. We went down to the Swissotel where they had a special Christmas evening, including a giant tree, fake snow, a large nativity display, Santa and his elves, and a buffet dinner. The dinner was really yummy and we surely stuffed ourselves full!

Christmas morning we made a nice hot breakfast and read the Christmas story out of Luke 2. We took it slow in the morning since we weren't all feeling well, then we opened presents. Most of the presents were for Owen, of course. His big present from Santa was a walker! He seemed to really love it! Though his feet had a difficult time touching the ground. He really enjoys sitting up to play, and since he can't sit up on his own yet, this was the perfect thing for him. The rest of the day was spent lounging around and then talking to family on Skype.

It wasn't our most favorite Christmas to day, but it surely will be one of our most memorable Christmases! We are excited for next year when Owen will be a little bigger and can have more fun opening all the presents. :)