Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas, everyone, from the Constantini household! Since we can't share it moment-by-moment with you all, here are some of the highlights:

First, starting off a couple of days before Christmas, here was our Advent wreath as it appeared at our dinner table. Why are the lights off? Well, partially to show off the candles, partially to remind us of the darkness people walked in before the birth of Jesus, and partially because our 2 fluorescent lights in our kitchen went out. Unfortunately, since the electricity in our house is kind of outdated, those particular kinds of light bulbs are a bit hard to come by. The hardware store expected to get some in a shipment last Thursday. (They didn't.) Maybe they'll have some next week sometime. Meanwhile, we stole the bulb out of the bathroom so now at least we have some light in the kitchen. And Thomas's desk light now illumines our bathroom.

Moving right along, we had a Christmas Eve service last evening it was well-attended (between 30 and 40 people). The preacher and the violinist were excellent, and the little girl who sat in the back with her grandparents absolutely adorable! After the service, one of the deacons of our church slept at our house so he could go to his sister's in Niort today without having to make the 2-hour drive back home twice. Here he is with Alina on Christmas morning.

And here's the movie star herself:

And with her new kitchenette set.

After the fun and festivities at our house, we went to Thomas's grandma's to have Christmas lunch with her and Thomas's parents. Here is Alina opening one of her (many ) presents she received there. Obviously, opening a package requires a certain amount of concentration:

Here is the table all set and Alina making the goofy face she made every time I asker her to smile today:

If you recall our post from last Christmas, Christmas lunch at the Constantini's is a 5-course affaire. I actually skipped out on 2 of those courses this year, as they revolved around foods not recommanded for pregnant women. But never fear, I still got plenty to eat! Here is Alina enjoying her cheese course:

And here was the last course, a cake made by our local baker:

We hope that everyone's Christmas was merry and filled with joy!