Greetings!
I hope you have all had an amazing holiday so far, enjoying this amazing Christmas season! Our Decembers are usually very busy with performances and visiting friends and family. This year it was even busier since our Zio was completing some renovations on our sweet old home, and at times it was beyond crazy in a very fun way!
Our monthly Romans Bible study fellowship with our dear friend and teacher, Dr. Tony Costa. We studied Romans chapter 11 this month and learned much about the nation of Isreal and their relationship to the covenant, and how the Gentiles were grafted in. Great teaching as usual, thanks Dr. Costa!
Having fun in our new Christmas dresses
Ok, this picture needs much explanation! Our family has not had a Christmas tree for many years. The reasons were many ... "takes up too much room, too much work, too much money, too much of an alergen, too pagan, too .... you name it! " This year, we convinced Papa and Mama ( she was the tough one ...) to consider getting a tree so our little girls could enjoy the pretty lights! Well, two days before Christmas, late in the evening, they showed up with a tree wrapped in string and a plastic stand. The little girls, Gabe, and us big girls were so happy and immediately began to set it up, they told us that they were passing by IKEA and they spotted a sign that all trees were free now so they decided to surprise us. When we cut the string, which was binding the tree tightly, we realized just how big the tree was. It took up most of the room, and to Mama's dismay, things only got worse when early the next morning she heard a loud bang and screaming coming from the living room. She ran upstairs, leaving her laundry only to find the tree in this condition. Apparently the stand had broken and .... TIMBER, down came the enormous tree! Miriam was quick to point out the similarity to the idols in the Old Testament ... we laughed at the big green tree laying in the middle of the floor!
Studying God's word together after a delicious meal ...
New dresses we made for Christmas
Our warm and happy holiday home with all the beautiful snow
Playing for our dear friends at St. Mark's Lutheran church on Christmas Eve
Helping out in the kitchen before our traditional Italian fish dinner on Christmas Eve
Our friend and fellow violinist, Giorgi, serenaded us with Tchaikovsky during dinner
After service fellowship and opportunity to reconnect with friends who we haven't seen since last Christmas, and some friends that we see regularly
Our turkey in our new stove ...
Abby's beloved coffee ...
Quintessence wishes you a very Merry Christmas
Turkey dinner with some family
Special desserts for the season. Miriam made the cheesecake with the help off our Zio's secret recipe and Hannah made a chocolate mousse cake which she found out is our Zio's favorite!
Okay, this is a little late, but I had to comment. Your toppled tree made me laugh. We always have to tie our real trees up. They are usually about 8 feet tall and I don't know how wide. We like fat trees. ;)
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