My day started early, since Libby and I were on breakfast this morning. We made pancakes, bacon, and fruit salad, which everyone quickly ate before getting ready for church!
Yesterday, we’d been asked to prepare 3 songs for worship and a skit, so that’s how the Christmas sermon started. Ashlyn, Abby, and Aubrey led worship, and we all participated in the skit on the birth of Jesus.
After church, we took group pictures, and I started baking my dish for dinner! Each cooking pair (the way we’d decided to organize who cooked on which day for as long as we were here) contributed one dish, and I’d decided to bake Angel Biscuits!
Converting all measurements from metric to imperial made things a little complicated, but thanks to my trusty converter app, everything turned out delicious! It took a long time, because I made a big batch without a big pan to cook them on, but I used the time to hang out with Abby and plan the rest of my Christmas!
We’d been invited to a pool party during church, but since I was baking and it was brutally hot out (How many people can say that on Christmas?), I opted to stay behind. Abby also stayed back, and we watched The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe in the coolness of our room.
By the time we’d finished, everyone had come back and started making their Christmas dishes. We had salad, sausage, green bean casserole, Mac ‘n cheese, mashed potatoes, and biscuits for dinner, along with cookies, Oreo balls, and cake for dessert.
We talked of family Christmas traditions as we ate, and when we’d finished, I called my family. It was so sweet to see them all together, and while I was a little sad not to be there, it didn’t feel as heartbreaking as I’d expected it to. I couldn’t stay on the phone for too long, because we had a gift exchange to participate in!
We’d decided to do a White Elephant exchange (except with good gifts, and not terrible ones), so we all drew numbers and let the gift giving begin! It was hilarious to watch people open good gifts, and immediately start begging people not to steal it!
When it was all over with, I ended up with a chocolate bar, a bag of M&Ms, and a small puzzle. After a little hanging out, I went to bed. It was after 10:00, and I was exhausted!
It was a sweet day, and while I definitely don’t want to miss the next family Christmas, it was good to experience something different! After all, you can’t really know what something means to you, until you have to take a break from it.
Sounds like your day was a good one. It was so nice to FaceTime with you yesterday and actually talk to you and hear your voice.
Two thumbs up on the Angel Biscuits (and the measurement conversion). Those are yummy. We all miss you and we are so proud of you and your accomplishments. God be with you as your adventures continue.
I couldn’t wait to hear about your day! It was so, so good to see you yesterday! Family doesn’t feel the same without you here. I’m so grateful to hear that it wasn’t as hard as you thought, being away from home 🥰 we miss you but we are so, so proud of you and all the ways God is growing and shaping you! Love you, my sweet Sofia!
If you ever get the chance to see for KING+COUNTRY’s Little Drummer Boy Christmas movie (aka live concert recording), they do a bit in the middle talking about the differences between Christmas in Australia and in the northern hemisphere that you would now appreciate experientially 🙂
Merry Christmas Sof! Thanks for sharing about your fun filled day! We head up to MI in a couple day’s. It will be so different without you there. But I am so happy that you seem to be continuing to thrive! Love and miss you🩵
Angel biscuits! I make those, though it has been a while since I did..
I was so glad we got to connect on Christmas day! It definitely felt weird without you being home. I was very happy to read you didn’t want to be away next year😆
Sounds like you had a fulfilling Christmas celebration even though it was a different kind of celebration for you! I have never heard of angel biscuits! Is that something you learned from home or something new on your trip? I am interested in hearing more about what they are!
Continual blessings on you Sofia!!