We had a fantastic Christmas! However, a few things happened that were quite disappointing and gave cause to reflect on how do I deal with disappointments in life.
Christmas Eve we all gathered at our landlord's house. We enjoyed the evening with many new
friends! Our friends from Calgary were bringing gifts from family back home, and unfortunately the bottle of Oscar de la Renta that was for me, was stolen from their suitcase sometime in transit. Aw, I was sad. I was so excited to receive this gift!
Later that evening as we were getting out of our van after arriving back home, the second thing happened. Another friend from here had given me a bowl when we first met, and that bowl was exactly like a bowl I had left behind in Canada. It wasn't expensive, or of any great financial value, it was just a bit sentimental as it was a gift from a new friend and it happened to be exactly like something I'd left back home. Well, I had this bowl resting on my lap, but as I got out of the van with all our gift bags, and my purse, I forgot that it was on my lap and it crashed to the carport floor....and shattered.
Then Christmas morning. We had a wonderful family time opening gifts and then Kevin and I
made breakfast which we all ate on the deck in the warm Christmas morning! As we were all visiting and laughing, someone said something that made Kevin laugh at the wrong time and he breathed in his bacon and it got stuck in his throat! He was able to breathe, he just couldn't swallow. Meanwhile, we received a wonderful Christmas phone call from Kevin's sister which was such a treat! After visiting with her, we realized that something needed to be done for Kevin as he still couldn't swallow. So he and I headed out to the clinic, where they told us we would have to go to the hospital in the city! Meanwhile we were supposed to be heading to the beach with 12 other people for our first 'Canadians on the beach' at Christmas! As Kevin and I sat in the waiting room, waiting and waiting and waiting caught up in red tape (because the first doctor had sent through a request for a nose and throat specialist which the emergency room was now trying to locate and couldn't just have him see a regular doctor because that is what the referring doctor had requested!) Meanwhile I was getting sadder and sadder because our plans were all falling apart! I was busy texting and calling the rest of our party trying to get our girls out to the beach so they could at least enjoy the day. However, we had both sets of keys, so our van couldn't be driven by the rest of the group to get everyone out. While I waited for Kevin to get x-rays I tried to buy a pop but the machine ate my money, so I tried again, and drank about 1/2 the can before it spilled all over the floor! (I know it sounds like I should have been laughing by now, but I wasn't!) Meanwhile it started raining which made the prospect of the beach even dimmer. Finally John (our other pastor) showed up at the hospital to wait with us. Kevin and him encouraged me to go join our children and guests and take them out to the beach and Kevin would follow with John. As I was finding my way out of the incredibly confusing Auckland hospital compound, Kevin called my cell to inform me that he had just swallowed the bacon and he was on his way home too! 4 hours after our breakfast we were back home to a house full of people and pouring rain! 
So we had our picnic inside and spent the rest of the day enjoying all of our new friends!
So I guess when life hands us disappointments we need to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and start all over again!
We had a great Christmas and are so thankful for our family, new friends and God's provisions in our life!
God is good!
Christmas Eve we all gathered at our landlord's house. We enjoyed the evening with many new
friends! Our friends from Calgary were bringing gifts from family back home, and unfortunately the bottle of Oscar de la Renta that was for me, was stolen from their suitcase sometime in transit. Aw, I was sad. I was so excited to receive this gift!Later that evening as we were getting out of our van after arriving back home, the second thing happened. Another friend from here had given me a bowl when we first met, and that bowl was exactly like a bowl I had left behind in Canada. It wasn't expensive, or of any great financial value, it was just a bit sentimental as it was a gift from a new friend and it happened to be exactly like something I'd left back home. Well, I had this bowl resting on my lap, but as I got out of the van with all our gift bags, and my purse, I forgot that it was on my lap and it crashed to the carport floor....and shattered.
Then Christmas morning. We had a wonderful family time opening gifts and then Kevin and I
made breakfast which we all ate on the deck in the warm Christmas morning! As we were all visiting and laughing, someone said something that made Kevin laugh at the wrong time and he breathed in his bacon and it got stuck in his throat! He was able to breathe, he just couldn't swallow. Meanwhile, we received a wonderful Christmas phone call from Kevin's sister which was such a treat! After visiting with her, we realized that something needed to be done for Kevin as he still couldn't swallow. So he and I headed out to the clinic, where they told us we would have to go to the hospital in the city! Meanwhile we were supposed to be heading to the beach with 12 other people for our first 'Canadians on the beach' at Christmas! As Kevin and I sat in the waiting room, waiting and waiting and waiting caught up in red tape (because the first doctor had sent through a request for a nose and throat specialist which the emergency room was now trying to locate and couldn't just have him see a regular doctor because that is what the referring doctor had requested!) Meanwhile I was getting sadder and sadder because our plans were all falling apart! I was busy texting and calling the rest of our party trying to get our girls out to the beach so they could at least enjoy the day. However, we had both sets of keys, so our van couldn't be driven by the rest of the group to get everyone out. While I waited for Kevin to get x-rays I tried to buy a pop but the machine ate my money, so I tried again, and drank about 1/2 the can before it spilled all over the floor! (I know it sounds like I should have been laughing by now, but I wasn't!) Meanwhile it started raining which made the prospect of the beach even dimmer. Finally John (our other pastor) showed up at the hospital to wait with us. Kevin and him encouraged me to go join our children and guests and take them out to the beach and Kevin would follow with John. As I was finding my way out of the incredibly confusing Auckland hospital compound, Kevin called my cell to inform me that he had just swallowed the bacon and he was on his way home too! 4 hours after our breakfast we were back home to a house full of people and pouring rain! 
So we had our picnic inside and spent the rest of the day enjoying all of our new friends!So I guess when life hands us disappointments we need to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and start all over again!
We had a great Christmas and are so thankful for our family, new friends and God's provisions in our life!
God is good!
Comments
Next year, put Kevin's bacon in the blender. :)
- Grace sick in (not of) Dubai :-)