we do jammies on Christmas eve... they still haven't caught on that it's jammies every year. hee hee

 oh my goodness do i ever love this photo

                                         new jammies

 VERY EARLY Christmas morning

                remote control helicopter from our neighbor (he had it for years, but eli admired it so much he gave it to him ) such a generous gift!!!

                                    suntanning in 25 degree weather. didn't feel like Christmas at all this year.

Vintage Americana

                                      I met these 2 guys who have been collecting old
                                      things for 50 years.  This is a fraction of the stuff.

this spoke to both wes and me. thought i'de share

SEEK MY FACE, and you will find what you have longed for. The deepest yearnings of your heart are for intamacy with me. I know, because I designed you to desire Me. Do not feel guilty about taking time to be still in My presence. You are simply respondning to the tugs of divinity within you. I made you in My image, and I hid heaven in your heart. Your yearning for Me is a form of homesickness: longing for your true home in heaven. Do not be afraid to be different from other people. The path I have called you to travel is exquisitely right for you. The more closley you follow My leading, the more fully I can develop your gifts. To follow Me wholeheartedly, you must relinquish your desire to please other people. However, your closeness to Me will bless others by enabling you to shine brightly in this dark world.

 i usually don't know where my children are... and they are usually playing with guns! i've been told that's normal for YWAM kids. who woulda thought?

 up above the orchard (gleanigs down below) on a beautiful december day

 our favorite place to eat... taco trucks are everywhere... wee haven't gotten sick yet.

 playing with guns is a must here... we shoot up in the "bone yard"

 the prettiest lights i've ever seen. the kids across the street did them to surprise their parents.

 out at farmer Jay's (a friend of the missionaries here) picking pomello's (my new favorite fruit)

 wws found a possum under the hood of a car. it's so gross i could puke.

Life

 well, it's been a while since our last post... sorry the blog has been so sparce recently... here's a few things we've been up to... gleaning's packed up a bunch of food, quilts and things for the Christmas season, and we took them 5 miles down the road to a little town that is so stricken with poverty, people have families have been starving. we loaded up the tractor, and the kids got to have a ride.

 we showed up, and started singing right away, bringing people out of their homes (if you can call them that) some weeping before we even give them their gifts we brought them.

 wes went to a hard core concert with a bunch of local bands performing...  he had a sweet time

 my girlfriend jackie gave me a wee Christmas tree... it's the only one wes has ever liked

 we go to markets all the time for produce and goodies... we always come home with random things we don't actually need... everything's as cheap as borsht.

 another out reach we got to be a part of... this little town of 500 has the highest gang realted deaths in all california, and the suicide rate is abnormally high as well. we got to love the socks off a bunch of kids for the day... giving them food, and some little christmas gifts too...

 they recently got a basketball court... they had the opening ceremony that day too.

 night markets are so fun... every time we leave one, Eli says he's so lonley for a pet he could cry. they have birds, hamsters, rabbits, rats (eeewwwwww) and lots of other rodent type things that give me the heebies.

we've been to what seems like 20 Christmas plays... everyone of our friends here go to a different church, and they all have their own Christmas production. it's been really fun tho, the kids have been up late, eating treats, and meeting people everywhere we go. we're going to the wearhouse (homeless church) on Christmas day and spend some of the day singing, eating and loving the people there that have nowhere else to go. we miss everyone, and we'll miss not being apart of your Christmas, but we're really looking forward to something different this year, and loving people who don't have anyone. 
so, a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone!!!! we hope you find more and more reasons to celebrate what the Lord has done in your lives, and to celebrate the most important birth ever!!!!!  we love all of you, and are so blessed to have you in our lives. thankyou for your prayers and love