our Sunday morning Christmas party

We are crazy blessed by a great Sunday morning group.  Five families that faithfully gather .... what a gift!  [and we are looking to add two new families in the spring which will make our group even cozier]

We frequently order in or go out for lunch afterwards, but for this past Sunday we decided to cook brunch.  Yum.  Our family hosted the month of December ...

Before lunch we adults enjoyed a pretty awesome rendition of the Christmas story.

and then the kids did their present exchange.  this is becoming a fun tradition and a sweet way to start enjoying the gift-opening before Christmas day!

Then it was on to the food - yum!  I somehow missed adult pictures (children are just so beautiful, that's my excuse!)

When you live far from family, well, friends become family-like.  The kids in these pictures are as close to cousins as you can get without sharing blood.

And Aubrey Claire - who lived with our friends the entire fall semester and returned to the States on Monday morning.  She blessed the socks off our family and many others.  Aubrey Claire babysat for us and my kids adore her.  We miss her already.