We are blessed beyond measure with family in the U.S. and family here in Cameroon.  

Wish you could have joined us for our Shiloh Family Annual Christmas Party.  Our eight closest grandchildren (there are many others who call us Grandpa and Grandma) out performed themselves!  They sang, either individually or with their parents.  They recited verses.  Some of them had memorized entire chapters from the book of Psalms.  We're talking children ranging in age from one and a half to seven years of age.  They were adorable.  Each of them took the time to individually come and visit with Grandpa Papa Jim and Grandma Mama Alice sometime throughout the course of the four hour event.  Faithful, the little one and a half year old, chatted on and on in her private language.  We have know some of these children since meeting them in the hospital on the day of their birth.  What fun to watch them grow up in homes where God is honored and magnified.  

And our adult children and their spouses!  How they bless us to the very depth of our souls.  We watch them as the bring us the only gift we will accept from them:  the gift of music.  They sing solos and duets and entire family choirs.  You may be aware that the older we humans get the more we live in the past.  It's a fact of life.  So we spend our time remembering Christmas Programs past and marveling at how much our children have changed over the years.  All of them are becoming more and more like Jesus.  We are humbled.  We are in awe of the Almighty.  And we take no credit for what is happening right in front of our eyes.

Next came the banquet.  Everyone ate until they were about to burst. Meanwhile Mama Alice laid down in the living room to try and regain some strength for the last event.

Finally all twenty five of us gathered in the living room for the gift distribution.   Mama Alice remained in a pron position, but was so grateful to be able to be there.  

Over a month ago our next door neighbors invited everyone to their old fashioned American garage sale.  We wisely arrived first and were therefore able to buy some lovely American toys for our grandchildren.  Our neighbors asked incredibly low prices for their unwanted treasures.  

Wish you could have seen all the children's eyes bug out as they received an amazing American toy that was age appropriate for them.  Neither they nor their parents had ever seen such wonders in their entire lives.  

And all the adults received gifts too. We start right after Christmas planning for next year.  As we find things we can afford, we buy them and hide them in our room.  That's the only way we could possibly give useful things to twelve adults and three teenagers.  If we had to buy everything in December, it would never happen.  (Papa Jim is always glad he married an organized lady.)

While you won't be celebrating Christmas until the 25th, for us Christmas 2018 is over.  We are going to bed with wonderful memories plus many pictures that others took for us on our Smart Phone. We are blessed beyond measure.

Shiloh will remain decked out in all her Christmas finery until January 1st.  Drop over any time and enjoy.