So, today is Christmas eve. I was, of course, woken up by the neighbors who live right above us with their loud stomping and constant yelling, but I looked past that with ease and began to work away in the flat. The floors needed to be swept and mopped before we could start anything. I was in the middle of mopping and there was a knock at the door. Melanie signed for the package and yells, "It's for you!" I immediately ask, "Who's it from?" And, she replies, "Bobby Cooper." Hooray! My package that I didn't think I'd receive until after Christmas came on Christmas eve! It was from my Aunt Carol and Uncle Bobby who live in Canyon, Texas!
On with opening the package to find several wrapped gifts that I immediately placed underneath the tree, smiled, and continued mopping until I finally finished. I moved the sofa and the two chairs around to where we could place the top mattresses of our beds beneath a tent we would be building for tonight. Every Christmas, the tradition is to build a huge tent for Hadley, Marcee, Landon, and I to sleep under. And, because I can't be home for the holidays, Melanie and I decided to build one in our living room! We won't be sleeping on the floor, which is a good thing since it's a wood floor. Pretty uncomfortable! Well, it's finally up and taped up pretty well. (Don't worry, pictures will be coming soon!)
To conclude our day, we'll be enjoying veggies with ranch dip and a pizza! We're excited about Christmas and honestly can't believe it's here. It hasn't really hit us yet that it's actually Christmas. It really seems like it's going to be another day except a day with gifts, haha. It could be a really big blessing for the two of us that we don't really realize that we're missing out on family time back home. Otherwise, we'd be two crying girls.
It's been a really huge blessing being here in Scotland. I still can't believe I'm here and I fall in love with it more and more everyday. Melanie and I have received gifts from the elderly off of the ShopMobility bus, some ShopMobility staff, and members of the church as well. We've been really blessed to have a Christmas home away from home and to be so welcomed by everyone. We'll be having Christmas tomorrow with the Phillips' family. They go to church with us and have a son, Robert. He's 16 and in my previous newsletter, I mentioned him and how he was baptized sometime in August. Anyways, they are a fantastic family and have opened their home up to our team, which is another 4 mouths to feed. I'm looking forward to that time with them.
I will also be Skyping my family tomorrow night (afternoon, Texas time). All the family will be there and I'm really looking forward to that! I can't wait to see them again! I was able to chat with them over Thanksgiving and it was really neat to be able to see everyone. Not everyone was there, but they will be this time and I'm overly excited about it!
That's all I have for now... until next time,
Love to you all!
P.S. -- thanks to everyone who have mailed us Christmas cards, Christmas gifts, and for your endless prayers, love, and care. Just know that I love you all very much and you will all be missed during Christmas and New Years!
