At long last, here are some photos from our recent holiday…

My favorite part was Christmas Eve, both the experience and the preparation for it. Luminarias or farolitos are a tradition in our town. They are fun to make, lovely to look at, and provide a bit of magic to the whole neighborhood on Christmas Eve. Mia had a great time making luminarias with Papa, and then had a long nap. We actually had to wake her up so we could make it to the next event! Everyone in our little corner of the ‘hood gets all decked out with lumarias on Christmas Eve day. Then at dusk we all go out and light them, then we all get together in our mini-park and sing Christmas Carols! Mia loved singing in the park with all our neighbors and flashlights and luminarias everywhere!

After our caroling extravaganza, we headed over to some friends’ for their annual open house. Their neighborhood is walking distance from us, but their ‘hood is FAMOUS for their luminarias: indeed, there is not a single house without them. At our house, we do one every four feet; in their ‘hood, they do one every foot! Year after year, the lovely glow is so inviting that hundreds of cars drive through to observe the ethereal and ephemeral view. It was such delightful company that we ended up staying there quite late, and still had to tear the little one away.

Finally, she went to sleep and then we stayed up LATE doing that “Christmas-Eve parent thing” of wrapping presents, placing them under the tree, and assembling some of the gifts. We (Aaron and I) were up until almost 2 AM! (FYI, it’s quite alright to laugh at my remedial bow skills…it was paper mache or no bow at all. And Mia didn’t complain at all.)

Then, of course, was Christmas morning…

It was a pretty exciting event. Mia enjoyed it very much, and so did we. Thanks to all of you who are part of our lives: just by doing that, you contribute to our well being and growth as individuals and as a family. We appreciate all the gifts you share, in the precise way that you chose to share them.

Hope you all had a good holiday, too!