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Christmas and New Years are always holidays which are best celebrated with family. This year we had the added blessing of celebrating Christmas with both sides of our family. But perhaps the most rewarding part was Micah’s interaction with his grandparents and cousins. Whether it was running across the house screaming, marching, or playing hide-and-seek, the house-full of kids is definitely something that Micah will miss once we go back to the island.
We always make the most of our time home: lots of shopping, lots of eating out, and lots of memories with family. One of the Christmas presents we got this year was from Emily’s sister-in-law; it was a gift certificate to Applebee’s and a promise to watch Micah so that we could go out on a date! It was great. We had appetizers and dessert and went out to the movies.
On Christmas day we had Emily’s brother Skype in over the computer for opening presents, because he is deployed to go overseas with the US Military. Its just amazing what you can do with technology. Then the day after Christmas we got to have the traditional Flunker Family Fun Day with a short football game, but this year it was a smaller team.
During the days right after Christmas while the Flunker side of our family was still in Ohio, we went with Emily’s parents down to the Amish Country for some sightseeing and shopping. I got some
maple-candy for the first time (note: you should never eat more than 6 pieces at one time, it’ll make your hand shake!), my parents got a beautiful new painting, and we all got a great lunch.
The Pfeister house is forever a hustle and bustle with children and guests during Christmas and New Years. I’ve counted over 10 different families coming and going with 2 dogs, a bird, and some fish. It is the place to be for the holidays!
We got the chance to see a few of our friends while we were home. My old college roommate and one of our supporters, Pete and his family, stopped by. He was deployed overseas from this summer and it was great to see them again. They have 3 energetic kids and Micah had a fun time playing with them too.
The Sunday before we left we got the chance to speak to a portion of the church concerning the mission and our emphasis upon cross cultural involvement from our sending churches. The Mission’s Pastor met with us earlier in the week and was such an encouragement to once again hear him affirm their support of what we’re doing and their desire to stay involved and send teams down to the island.
We are so blessed to have our strong church connections, and its such an encouragement to see them again face to face. Its certainly something that we miss dearly when we’re overseas. Its the best reminder that there’s no place like home for the holidays.