Colombian Christmas

It was almost exactly a year ago when we arrived home after a long and tumultuous flight to a house completely decorated for Christmas. It was such a beautiful sight to open the door after being away from home for over a month to see a full Christmas tree and stockings over the fireplace (including a new one for Sophia). It was such an amazing experience.

In some small way to thank the sneaky individuals, Micha and Amber, who decorated our house while we were gone, we held our first of hopefully many Colombian Christmases. It's a tradition we hope to continue in years to come.

The menu was authentic Colombian food prepared by Julie and myself (ajiaco and empanadas), and I'm not shy to say that it was one of the best meals I've had in a long time. The homemade empanadas may have even eclipsed the memorable empanadas from the small fast food stand in Bogota that I nearly closed down. Seriously...I bought every empanada they had in stock. Every kind (cheese, chicken, sausage, original). Of course I shared some of them, but it was pretty ridiculous. I'm sure the employees will always remember the crazy American that could barely speak Spanish that somehow managed to order a pile of empanadas.

Of course, Sophia was the star of the night. She loves to entertain people at parties, and she loves empanadas too, so it was pretty easy to bribe her to do cute things. =)

With Christmas right around the corner, please consider this a "digital Christmas letter" from the Sonneks. The Colombian Christmas was a great reminder that our family and friends are priceless. They are yet another amazing blessing from God and we couldn't ask for better gifts than that this year.