everybody has a story: Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your time with family, friends, and loved ones. We made it through down here. All the kids had a great holiday and even the leading up to it as well. Let's start from the beginning.

Mañanitas: OVER. I can sleep in until 7am now. whoaaa. watch out. They were really cool to experience. Really cool to be a part of. When it was the volunteer's turn to re- enact the nativity scene we had some helper's come to the door to dress up- one of them being my boys, Rodolfo. He and I dressed up as the donkey and I dressed up as the cow. Quite the combo, no? The next day, it was the director's turn, who also needed some extra bodies, so Avriel and I dressed up as 2 of the 3 kings as well as Sister Maria. OH! I was woken up at 530am in the morning by Marijo, who was acting as Mary, saying, "Madelon, Madelon... get up. We have to get to Bethlehem!" Awesome. Jumped out of bed and off we went.

Donkey and Cow (for my Irish Dancers- I am still living the role of MadCow. MOO!)

SuperStar and Super preg.

Three Kings- SUPPP

Best looking crew Bethlehem ever saw.

Noche Buena (Christmas Eve): Last morning of mañanitas, we walked to the nearby batey, sang songs, shared tea and cookies. Then after we got back, the madness begins. We practiced our dance, made the final touches, finished the piñata for Christmas, and had some down time in between. The night started at 7pm with Christmas Eve mass, then we went to share dinner and dances. Dinner was a big deal, we killed the pig earlier that morning, which is a huge delicassey during the holidays in the DR, potato salad, spaghetti, rice, bread, apples and grapes. Later that night we performed our dance and the kids were back in their houses by 1130pm.

Christmas: I woke up and went to fill the stockings my boys made with candies and treats. Oscar, was looking out the window and scared me a little when he said, "Magdalena! Magdalena." *jumping a little* "OSCAR. Go get the keys from the tía, open the door, and get back in bed! None of the boys can leave the room, got it?" *little smile* "Okay okay" As I start stuffing the stockings, I catch out of the corner of my eye a pair of eyes peeking around the corner. When I went to tell the tía the kids can come out now, the tía called the kids and WHOOSH! Running, dashing, turning corners, kids coming out to open their stockings. Very sweet, very cute to see all of their excitement. After that, we went to the multi-uso and opened presents with everyone. The kids were called up one by one to sit on Santa's lap and receive their gift. Mid-day, we had lunch in the park and did piñantas after, which- might I mention, Santo Domingo was voted best piñata! zinggg!

Shortly after, I ran to the house to but the presents under the tree which were from me, my mom, and everyone who donated socks, underwear, shirts, etc. The kids were standing outside the door while I was inside and they were all confused about who had the keys. They started knocking on the door, I started knocking back. I opened the door just a crack and all of a sudden they swarm around, wanting to get in. They run in, each found their draw-string backpack with their name embroidered on it with socks and boxers (super cool). Oh they were so happy- so excited! Kept on saying how cool it was, how much they loved it, and it was just cool to see how happy they were, how their faces lit up, and just to be a part of it was something very special to me.

Now, it's time to prep for NYE. It will be low key, but still a little party. Before all of that, it's my weekend off and Mad Dawg needs a little TLC. Beach with the girls, sleeping, and just taking time for me.

I really hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Throughout all of the craziness, I did miss my mom and dad- and whole family. It was different being away. Doesn't mean I didn't like it, it was an experience for sure, but just a tender heart through the holiday. I have much more of an appreciation for parents and everything they do to put on a great day for their kids and family members. It's a lot of work, a lot of stress, and although it's worth it to see those faces light up with joy, it's tiring. So a big shout out to Tim and Mary Alice for providing great Christmases in the past- even down to Tory's dog bone and firewood for a great fire. Every detail counts and every detail makes a difference.

Love to everyone,
Mads

I FORGOT! We had a gingerbread house making competition on Sunday and it was SO intense. The boys, being boys, got so into it and competitive. Frosting everywhere, candy wrappers, boys yelling "NO COPYING, Magdalena, tell him not to copy! CHEATER CHEATER!" They were in teams, each group had the same amount of candy and graham crackers, a plastic spoon and knife, and it was so funny to see how into it they were. The were sawing the crackers with their knives, strategically placing chimneys and doors, snowmen, oh it was so funny. Of course a lot of them had a tummy ache after because of the amount of candy consumed, but I warned them! To wrap up the night, we watched polar express and enjoyed some popcorn. Cozy, fun, and just nice to be together as a family.