Caleb's First Christmas

We packed up everything, including the kitchen sink, and headed down to Austin but first we stopped off at the American Airline Center to watch the Mavericks play the Grizzlies. But, the main reason was to see some old friends (Craig's soccer buddies from back in the day). We left after the game and drove into the midnight fog and arrived in Austin around 1:30am. Caleb did so well and slept the entire time!! We fed him and then he preceded to sleep "through the night."

Richard, Michael, Chaz (yes it is the original Comets 75 shirt), Marcus, Jason, Scott, Craig, and the newest member of the soccer team, Caleb- ready in his soccer shoes (MIA- Junior)

Christmas Eve- We "slept in" and then went to lunch with Julie's Family.

Craig, Julie, Aunt Jen, Uncle Tony, Papa, Mimi, TJ (3 1/2), Caleb, Sarah (1), Cristalyn (5)

We went to the Candle light service at Hyde Park Baptist Church, Julie's grandmother's church. Then the entire Kreiger family got together at Julie's grandmother's house for the traditional snacks, pictures in front of the Christmas Tree, and opening presents.

Christmas Day- Craig's parents came over to Julie's parent's house for lunch and were joined by Julie's Uncle (Uncle Willie.) Julie's aunt and uncle (Aunt Karen and Uncle Gary) came in town for a for visit and to meet Caleb. Also, Julie's parent's friends (Mr. & Mrs. Clark) came to meet Caleb too.

We ended the busy day with a movie at Julie's parent's house and Craig began getting very sick. Friday- we had a "World Famous Breakfast" at Julie's parent's house and then went to Craig's sister and brother-in-law's house (Aunt K-10 and Uncle Allen) to spend the day filled with family fun, talking, and a lot of relaxing.
The Cousins: Jack (6), Lucy (1 3/4), and Luke (4 1/2)

Until Monday afternoon we watched movies, tried to get Craig feeling better, spent more time with family and friends, ate a ton, and enjoyed counting our sweet blessings. We almost forgot Santa (aka Papa "dressing up") came to the Kreiger home on Saturday.

This year instead of giving gifts, sending out a ton of Christmas cards, and receiving gifts we put our money together to donate to Advent Conspiracy. This is through Living Water International. People are dying from the lack of clean water. In fact, it's the leading cause of death in under resourced countries. 1.8 million people die every year from water born illnesses. That includes 3,900 children a day. The solution to this problem is directly beneath our feet. Drilling a fresh water well is a relatively inexpensive, yet permanent solution to this epidemic. $10 will give a child clean water for life. That's not an estimate. It's a fact. And here's another fact: Solving this water problem once and for all will cost about $10 billion. Not bad considering Americans spent $450 billion on Christmas last year. Our hope is that, by celebrating Christ in a new way at Christmas, the church can serve as the leading movement behind ending the water crisis once and for all.

We hope you had a blessed Christmas and spent more time reflecting on the gift of Jesus than you did on any material gifts (and continue to do so throughout the year!)