No...it's glory to God in the highest, Daddy

Our beloved friends, the Coursons, with Mom last night at the Christmas Eve party at our house. Frances is signing "Merry Christmas," but I caught her mid-sign. Frances and Kris work with the deaf.
Our friends Masha and Ira (short for Irina) with Mom last night. Momma was a busy girl.
My precious friend, Frances, and I give Momma a big smooch. I think Momma had a pretty good time. It was kind of loud, but she usually likes a big crowd.

All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. Psalm 25:10

While most of you who read this are just settling in to sleep for the evening, let me officially wish you a very Merry Christmas from Moscow. с рождеством из москве! We had about 20 people in the apartment last night for a Christmas Eve party, and we thought we might sleep in, but John-John is up already and wanting to wake the house, so this will be brief. As you may or may not know, my Daddy and nephew are here visiting for Christmas. I think they've had a pretty good time, and they've certainly gotten a good feel for Russia. It's always interesting to have someone come in from the States, because it gives us a chance to see our world through different eyes. When my sister came in February, her reaction (and rightly so) was to how hard our world is. We walk most places, even with access to the car, because of traffic. Everything is expensive. People are often what we would perceive as rude. My Daddy's reaction has been to how good our life here is. Our friends, our growing command of the language, our ability to do so much here...what a difference almost a year makes! Both are reacting to our reality as we see it, and since February, our reality has changed so much. We are out of full-time language (we'll never be out of language completely, no matter how long we live here), our kids are in school thanks to the generous donations of many kind people who love us, Marc has transitioned into his "real" job, which he adores, we have close friends...life has drastically changed for us. And not that we are paragons of keeping God's covenants and His testimonies as it says in the verse above, but I do believe that all of His paths for us are lovingkindness and mercy as we seek His face and His will for our lives. If you'd asked me a year ago, I would have been very doubtful about our ability to stay on the field, and I would have been right. In our own power, we could not have lasted here. In our own power, Teri's death alone would have knocked us off the field. But He is sovereign and merciful, and the longer we are here, the more I begin to have an inkling of how much He loves us. More than I can imagine. More than I can comprehend. Enough to wrap Himself in flesh and become one of us. It is the greatest story ever told. Last year, we didn't have a single Russian friend beyond our language teacher. This year, we have been inundated with Christmas wishes from Russian friends whom we love deeply. That isn't us. That's Him. He's at work. He is Emmanuel. He is God with us. I am so thankful.

Oh, the title of this entry. Last night, Marc was reading the Christmas story from The Message, and when he got to the part about the angels, John John jumped up and ran over to look at the Bible and said, "No, Daddy....it's glory to God in the highest. You're reading it wrong." I know I'm his Mommy, but you have to admit that's pretty cute. It was a good night. It was, for the most part, a room full of people far away from home, but happy to spend Christmas Eve with each other. Well, he's "quietly and nicely" waking up his sisters, so I'd better run. Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you recognize the many blessings of a loving Father who loved you enough to send His only son, and that everyone in your house is as excited about Christmas as everyone in my house. Blessings to you and yours--and Merry Christmas!

His,
Kellye