like last year, but with new friends

We had thought it might be a quiet Christmas for us this year, but it was pretty lively in the end. Angela was here for Christmas eve dinner, and Tony, too, Bev's friend from Florida who stayed with us over the holiday. The church service included a reading of Heather's Mary story. We had read that together last year; also like last year, Heather made "chicken with forty cloves of garlic" and petits pots de crème au chocolat, rich dark chocolate custards with shaved chocolate on top. And we were glad that Brandon could join us for dinner, too (and our usual after-dinner theological discussion).

There weren't any presents under our perfect $1 Christmas tree (the stores were practically giving them away this year). Until Bev slipped a couple there. So Heather got to unwrap something after all, a bird feeder, something she'd been thinking she might like.

Before bed we read the passages from Luke and Isaiah that I put together last year. A good day. And there's still a couple of those custards left.