We wish you a merry Christmas and a tamale-filled year!
We had blessed morning, enjoying a very slow (at times crazy) family Christmas. We even made some yummy "monkey bread" (so pretty i had to take a picture of it!)
We loved seeing our kids appreciate the "at your own pace" of the day. We watched them open gifts and were reminded how this sacred holiday season is more about our Savior's amazing birth than any gift we could receive.
We got to carry on a wonderful Cortez Family tradition on Christmas eve and made our very first homemade batch of tamales!!! Thanks to tons of help from the kids and some great advice from Nana and Grampy, they turned out AWESOME! :) Dan even made the chile from scratch!
We have also made some new traditions, like decorating a Jesse Tree (a cool way to take kids through the Bible following the line of David all the way to Jesus), having a birthday party for Jesus at a friend's house (complete with cupcake decorating), and learning some fun new Bible verse songs in Spanish sent to us from some dear friends that i used to live and work with in Mexico!
It's cold and drizzly outside, but in our cozy culver city home we are filled up warmly with the joy of Christ and the love He sent us from all of You!!! We love each card we receive, enjoying "seeing" each of you at this fun time of year.
We pray God's richest blessings be on you and yours as you soak up the wonderful family moments these sacred Christmas days bring.
peace to you,
christa for all
