A Constantini Christmas

Well, we've successfully survived another Christmas. This one was Thomas's first as a not-quite-pastor, and I have to admit it was a bit stressful. Unlike churches I've gone to in the past, our church here has both a Christmas Eve and a Christmas morning service. The festivities began, consequently, on Christmas Eve. This was also the first time Thomas wore his new robe, which you can see here:

Rest assured that he also preaches very well without a robe, but that's how things are done here. And, when in Rome... We were very pleased that there was a pretty good turnout including a number of people who are not regular Sunday church-goers and Thomas's parents! The next morning, Thomas was off to do his pastorly duties again, and Alina and I went to help get Christmas lunch ready. Somehow, despite being one-handed, my mother-in-law (along with Thomas's grandma) managed to do everything pretty much without me. My contribution consisted mainly of playing with Alina.

When Thomas got there, we had round one of presents:

followed by a very good, very large, 5-course lunch, followed by a well-deserved nap. Around 6:00pm, we returned home to our still-package-laden Christmas tree

for round two of presents.

Yesterday actually marked the end of an era at our house. Up until yesterday, Alina owned no battery-operated toys. No electronic beeps, no annoying, repetitive music, no flashing lights. Well, that's all over now. I have to admit, though, that she LOVES her hot pink, baby phone.

For those of you who might be fearing that the festivities have interfered with Alina's musical education, here's proof that this is not the case:

For Mommy's practicing, however, it's a different story.