On Thursday, I had the great joy of receiving two wonderful guests into "my" house.  One of my friends from college has been studying abroad this semester, and in her final weeks, she decided to travel with a friend.  A month or two ago, Kyla asked me if they could come and visit me for a few days, and boy was I overjoyed to say yes!  I love having people over, cooking for them, hanging out with them, and I was so excited for the chance to continue the hospitality that this house has long offered. 

On Thursday, we made dinner, drank hot chocolate and watched a movie.  Very chill, very lovely.On Friday, we got up early for a cinnamon roll pancake breakfast.  Kyla and Kaylen were generous enough to clean up breakfast as I took a little rest (I've been sick this past week) and then we were off to see the Christmas market in town.  We wandered about, looking at the delicately painted nativity sets, stuffed animals, ornaments, smelling the delicious cinnamon apple cider, vin chaud, and of course the churros and waffles that come out at these markets.  It may have started to sleet, but it was a marvelous way to spend the morning.  After lunch, we made over 200 cookies for the Kid's Club on Saturday, and as they were baking, Kaylen read The Hobbit out loud to us.

The Kids Club was so much fun, decorated with all kinds of lovely Christmas ornaments and garlands.  The kids who came seemed like they and a really good time: playing with each other and the volunteers, balloon battles, enjoyed a magic show and a puppet show, doing Christmas crafts.  So, so much fun.  When we had finished up, one of the little nuggets from the church tried to get one of the puppets out from behind the stage, so I went and grabbed it.  I started to make it talk to her and oh, how she was surprised!  The fact that the puppet was about the size of her didnt help, but the other kids started to play with it too, talking to it, even giving it hugs!  It was so, so much fun.  Kyla and Kaylen had fun balloon battling with the kids (something you can do in any language), and they were a great help setting up the snacks and making it look pretty.  After the club, we pulled a total American dinner and devoured two pizzas, chips, and cookies.  We got things ready for the Agape after church and just chilled the rest of the evening.

In traditional French style, the Agape after church lasted until about 4:30-5, and after getting things back in order, we finally headed home around 6.  I can't imagine that happening in the States, and it is so much fun!  I remember it being such a shock when I went to one two years ago, but I have definitely come to love them very much.  Being full of food, when we got back to the house, we rested a bit and as Kaylen finished up some assignments, Kyla and I played round after round of a Dutch Blitz.  My goodness, I love that game!  We found that the game went far too fast with just one deck each, so we doubled the decks.  Now THAT was quite a game.

It was such a wonderful weekend, full of laughter, friends from home, loved ones from church, and God's many blessings.