Brad's parents with Brad and Sargon in the garden.

T, Marilyn, Brad's Mom Jerry, and Cairo on Christmas Eve

Nick and the Cook kids on Christmas Eve

It's exciting to find new ways to light up the house for Christmas Eve. I loved using arab clay pots with candles under them. We had them out on the front porch as well as center pieces on the tables.


Christmas Eve is such a great night. Growing up, my parents always made it a special night. We had several traditions but no matter what we did there was a feeling of magic in the air. I'm sure anticipation is a huge part of it. The big build up, the decorations, the lights etc..Mostly, it comes down to tradition and sharing the time with those we love. Unfortunately, the past two years we've been away from most of our family but we have done our best to create traditions of our own. The Abu Dhabi Christmas' will always hold a special place in my heart. Christmas Eve feels magical here too. Being geographically closer to the historical birthplace of Christ is fun..spending time in the desert and seeing camels and watching our little family create memories we will always cherish has been wonderful. In this part of the world, where there is so much conflict and seeming lack of peace on earth, it felt peaceful in our world. Our muslim friends and neighbors were wishing us a Merry Christmas while, in turn, we wished them Eid Mubarak. The shopping malls and grocery stores played Christmas music and were decorated just as they would have been at home. While sharing time with all of our family members will always be my preference, I cannot complain about the experiences we are having here. This is a beautiful place and Christmas was a great time full of fun and memories.
On Christmas Eve we had a traditional american turkey dinner. We visited and listened to Sargon's great tales of his travels. Then we read one of my favorite Christmas stories, The Last Straw. It is a book about a grumpy camel who is called upon to carry gifts to a newborn King. He doesn't want the burden. The younger camels who admire him encourage him through their confidence in him and he ends up having to carry more and more gifts as many people approach him as he travels closer to the star. By the time he arrives he is loaded with all kinds of gifts for the new King. In the end he stumbles into the manger and weighed down by his load, falls to his knees. The wise men, who are also there, follow his lead and also kneel. Hoshmokaka, the camel, regrets his complaints and realizes he was blessed to carry such a special load. I recently found my version of Hoshmakaka here in a store. I had to buy it. You will see him sitting next to the pots as part of our Christmas dinner centerpiece.

Sargon was able to stay here right until midnight. Then we all hurried to bed so Santa could come.