Kandace Isabel

   

We were soooo excited when we received the phone call with the wonderful news that Kandace Isabel had joined Ryan and Kara's family on December 15, 8:12 p.m., weighing in at 8 lb. 7 oz.

We were thrilled to hear that the homebirth went extremely well, and both mother and baby were doing well. 

We think Kandace is absolutely adorable and are so extremely happy for Ryan, Kara, Noah, Selah and Andrew.

It has brought such joy to our hearts to see our family grow and we feel blessed beyond measure to be the grandparents of 7 fantastic little ones!!

Kandace enjoying love from Grandma Allen.   

My sister Luella, and niece Jodi.

Christmas

We sure enjoyed our few days with Craig, Claire, Ellie, Bekah and Lydia over Christmas.

Our 1st evening there while Ragnar and Craig were at a soccer game (rooting for different teams), Claire and I had fun putting the final decorations on a Christmas cake that Claire had made and iced.

 

One day Claire's mom joined us for a lovely lunch.  We missed her dad, but he was not felling well that day so stayed home to rest.

Ellie and Bekah each made a beautiful Christmas table decoration!

Christmas Eve found us at the new playground just a few minutes walk from their house.  I know the girls will enjoy many more hours there.

Ragnar cooked salmon for us that evening, while Rebekah and I worked on a Maple Coffee Twist for Christmas Breakfast.

Seems to me I took a picture like this 25 years ago!!

Christmas day began with a encouraging message at their church.  Then throughout the day it was so much fun watching the girls' excitement as they opened their gifts.

Later on we enjoyed a big turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

My first attempt at making a Pavlova - and only because Claire (who is a pro at it) was not feeling well that day.  (We all took turns having the flu that week.)

Pre Christmas

Some of the ways Christmas was special to us in 2011 -

STUDENT PARTY

A couple of young people worked really hard to plan and get ready for a great Christmas party for everyone on campus.

They planned games, quizzes, got tables ready for making Christmas bags, decorating cookies and arranged the room so nice - even a fireplace which made the huge room cozy.

CHRISTMAS CAROL SERVICE

Each December we turn our gym into a 'chapel' and invite everyone in the community to come join us for a carol service. This year a brass band played lots of music as everyone came in and also accompanied the carol singing. The nursery group also sang a song which we all thought was so cute.

After the service we enjoyed chatting with various ones while munching on the specially made goodies.

VOLUNTEERS

Our last Monday night together before Christmas break, the Volunteers joined us for dinner.

Later we enjoyed opening gifts (scarfs again) and singing a few Christmas Carols around our piano.

Then we split up - a few of us watched a Christmas movie, while the others played games before we went on to dessert. A fun relaxing evening with the group that we appreciate so much.

STAFF PARTY

As a Headquarters staff we meet each Tuesday morning to pray for our missionaries on the various fields. Our last Tuesday before Christmas after our time in prayer we were treated to a yummy meal at a local carvery.

As a group of staff in all the areas on the campus, we meet once a month in the evening to update each other in each department. We take turns hosting it and this month it just happened to be Niclasens turn, along with Palmers (my fellow N.B.B.I. grad here on staff). We decided to do it a bit different this time and planned a party with singing, games etc.

One game we played was a relay race, trying to open Hersey's Kisses with thick winter gloves on. Another fun game was to give each person the name of a Christmas carol. Everyone in the room starts humming their carol at the same time. Two people are humming the same tune, and need to find each other. Then to get the prize, the couple needs to sing the carol together.

FRIENDS IN FOR THE EVENING

We also enjoyed having lots of friends in for the afternoon or evening. I didn't always remember to get the camera out though.
Here are Tony and Lena & Boris and Valentina - two sweet German couples that we enjoy spending time with. They are all in their 2nd year here.

Benny and Kristina - we first met Benny when he was on a missions trip to the Philippines. It is great having him and his family here this year studying Linguistics.

SINGING IN HOSPITAL WARDS

We were thankful for the opportunity to join a group of people who went from ward to ward singing Christmas Carols in the local hospital. Seeing the patient's faces light up as they heard familiar carols sung, made the evening worth it. It sure is not their choice to spend Christmas in a hospital.