Christmas

Christmas Eve started with a sledding trip even though the snow was sparse.

My parents came out for soup and chocolate covered strawberries. It was so much fun to have them out for a nice dinner. Unfortunately, Sophie and Lily suddenly became sick with the stomach flu which cut the evening short. We still unwrapped the new pajamas.

Lily slept in and we let her as she wasn't feeling well. The kids got to go through the entire gift opening again for her.

Carissa with her new MP3 player.

Sophie now has the entire collection of 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid'. They are pretty funny.

We had a great time at the party hosted by James and Andrea a few days before Christmas. The food was fantastic. They put together a great video of everyone's favorite Christmas memories.

Cousin fun! They are such cute kids.

Duet at the piano.

The Nativity tradition. Gabe as a shepherd with Lily peeking in too (she didn't want a costume)

Some of the beautiful angel girls, Heather, Rachel, Sophie and Savannah!!!

We had a busy but fun-filled Christmas season. It was enjoyable this year as we scaled back in the gift area. Instead we focused more on traditions and time together which was more fulfilling, and relaxing to love our time together more.

Candlelight Christmas at 'This is the Place'

Real live reindeer!

We waited for the train and got an enclosed one like the polar express.

Kids wrote letters to 'Papa Noel' and burned them as the smoke from the elves fire goes straight to the North Pole.

The highlight of the night was the square dancing in the schoolhouse. The kids had a blast and we switched partners so they all could have a turn dancing with dad.

It was a magical night and a new tradition. We will just be sure to go the first week they open to avoid the crowds.

St. Lucia Day December 13th, 2009

Lily and Gabe, these candles were a big hit with the kids.

There is so much excitement for this day at our house, it is almost like Christmas Eve. We had the Norths, Kirby family and Marcia and Dan come this year. We started with meatballs and fresh bread. We didn't like the real Swedish bread when we had it so this year I made American, white bread. The real hit was the Julmust drink that looked like root beer and got a great reaction out of some members of the group. Most hated it and thought it tasted like medicine. Gabe loved it and wanted more and more. Then we moved into the living room near the Christmas tree and talked about why we celebrate St. Lucia day and Taylor read a children's story he wrote about a little girl named Hilma celebrating more than 150 years ago. The kids liked how it ended up with her dreaming of them and she is their great-great grandmother. We then did the procession, I finally made Lucia gowns this year so everyone was in white. The kids really loved holding the battery powered candles and we only broke a few so that was good. The treats they served were chocolate and other assorted Swedish treats. We sang Christmas carols and had a great time visiting and being together. The little kids look like angels all in white together.