A Swedish Christmas Celebration

It was a Swedish Christmas at Ken's parents' home on the 26th. It was a fun and unique way to celebrate our Norwegian heritage as we celebrated the birth of our Savior.

A Swedish smorgasbord wouldn't be complete without the traditional meatballs. We were glad that it was the main course and not the famous lutfisk.

The corn pudding is apparently a tradition as well. It wasn't as scrumptious as the lefse or Swedish tea ring.

Some of the younger children gathered to read a message from "Pixie" the little Christmas fairy that lives in Grammy's chime. It sent them on a scavenger hunt all over the house and ended with a big box to unwrap. It was big surprise when Cousin Nate jumped out of it and handed out Teddy Grahams. Sorry no photo of that.

Among other treats, the children were given recorders and train whistles in their stockings. The parents were glad that there was a designated room in which the children could play them to their heart's content.

Kennedy was thrilled to get her first real watch. Thanks Aunt Becky!

Grammy and Papa were both given some snazzy new shoes to make their marina walks more comfy.

Ken had to work until evening, but we were thankful that he was able to swing by during a break for some Swedish meatballs and time with the fam.

Yes, this is the famous unwanted sweat suit that Harrison received on Christmas Eve when J and K opened up fun gifts. They all ended up with matching suits. Someone commented that they looked like a soccer team. Kind of unconventional for Christmas outfits, but they were cozy.

We all had a wonderful night of being together. Watching the cousins play with eachother is always special. I appreciate hanging out with Ken's family and enjoying the time with one another.

God Jul!

Christmas Day Joy

If you look out the window, you can see how early it is. The children were exited to open their stockings and see what treasures they held. It didn't matter to them that the sun hadn't come up yet.

I just love the excitement shown above. It's the little things; Pez, reading lights, Tootsie Rolls, that were so much fun for them to find in their socks. We probably didn't need to give them anything else after the stockings because they were so thrilled with their loot.

Harrison finally got the game that he wanted so badly. Leave it to Mom to make sure it was educational, too.The kiddos gave Twister to Dad.

Since Dad wasn't feeling too good this Christmas and we were still snowed in on our hill, we decided not to make the trek out to West Seattle for the celebration with my extended family. We were thrilled that some of the family stopped by our home afterward to share Christmas with us.


My sister, her husband, and their son, Karsten, managed to make it up our hill without 4 wd. I was especially glad for their visit since it was my sister's birthday. I only wish I had a b-day cake waiting for her. Ken and Karsten jammed a bit on Jack's new guitar.



The kiddos were happy to see Ompa and Oma.

Harrison opened this silly wiggly-eyeball book and loved having Oma read it to him.

My little sister, Kayce, was fantastic with the kiddos. They laughed as she read the dinosaur book to them. Jack was especially drawn to her. He even showed her his prized collection drawer.

Unfortunately, the only photo I took of my little brother, Kameron, and Kayce's boyfriend, Jeff, didn't turn out. But please note they were there, too, making the evening even more special.

Christmas Eve

It was the first snowy Christmas Eve in the Northwest that I can remember in a very long time. We woke up to beautiful fluffy snowflakes coming down.

In the morning we allowed the children to open one gift. Kennedy was excited to receive her own Bible with a color-it-yourself-case.

Jack was thrilled to open his remote control tarantula. He had been wanting it for so long.

I don't have a photo of Harrison opening his gift because he was thoroughly disappointed to tear off the paper and find a new sweat suit. Poor little four-year-old. I really should have been the one to hand out the gifts to make sure everyone had something fun to unwrap.

Christmas Eve night is usually when the children get to open their special gift of pj's. This year the boys got matching Superman jammies that included these super-cool capes. We also have a matching pair for Mikey when he returns.

Harrison liked the jammies so much that it almost made up for the sweat suit mishap earlier in the day.

The following video clips are only for the truly devoted. I figured the grandparents might delight in seeing these images of the children opening their gifts. I was thrilled with their genuine excitement.

Harrison loved his set of Lincoln Logs.

Jack was happy to get his (third) guitar.

Our little scientist didn't have this on her list, but was very glad to get her first microscope.

Happy Birthday Mikey!

Today is Michael's birthday. He is two. He's away visiting family today, but we are thinking of him. The big kids talked to him on the phone this morning and sang Happy Birthday.

Mikey is a precious gift from God. He loves playing with our puppy, Hazel, being read to, and trying to keep up with Jackson and Harrison. He has a great arm and can throw a ball like no other two year old I have ever seen.

Still Snowed In...

Yesterday the kiddos and I took a walk around the neighborhood. This is a view of the main road, facing down hill.

Here is a view up the hill. This road hasn't been sanded, so the only vehicles making the trek had 4WD.

It still hasn't warmed up above freezing. We were all glad to head back home after the walk.

I played Sorry with my children after we warmed up. This is a very big deal as it was the first time that all of my children are old enough to play. I have such warm memories of playing this game with my Gram during visits to her house throughout my childhood. I am sure that as soon as my sister and I were able to recognize numbers and count up to twelve, she introduced us to Sorry. She still has her original game board that was given to my dad as a gift from his grandparents back in 1958 when they lived in North Dakota.

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Several years ago, Gram and my little brother, Kameron, took a picture of themselves playing the original Sorry game and sent a note off to Parker Brothers telling them how long the game has lasted. The company did not send a new game to Gram, but they thanked her for the note and said that they posted the photo in their employee lounge.

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Harrison, at four, had a difficult time with the concept of being sent back to start when a "Sorry" card was drawn. He did throw a little tantrum and had to spend a portion of the game in his room until he was able to calmly join us again. Sorry. It is part of the game.

We played outside again after lunch. The newest round of snow is sticky and perfect for making snowmen.

Kiki's snowgirl.

We made these yummy candy clusters. They were so easy and delightfully goooooood. The children had fun helping.

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Crock Pot Candy Clusters

1 bag milk chocolate chips

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 bag white chocolate chips

1 jar lightly salted peanuts

1 jar salted peanuts

raisins (optional)

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Dump all the ingredients into a large bowl. Stir. Pour the mixture into a crock pot. Leave on medium heat for three hours. Stir. Place little mounds on parchment paper, wax paper, or aluminum foil. Allow to harden. Enjoy!

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So easy. SOO delicious!

Play-By-Play of our Snow Day

The Pacific Northwest has been hit by a winter storm. We received about one inch of snow at our house, while some of the surrounding areas received up to 14 inches. Nevertheless, snow is not something we are used to in the Seattle area, so when it happens, schools close, metro buses get stuck, and most people try to stay home. That is just what we did today.

7:54 AM

Potty Break for Hazy. She was a bit unsure about the snow at first, but then she got excited about it.

8:47 AM

Mikey watches Kennedy and Jackson sled down the hill.

8:50 AM

Jack and Kennedy have fun sledding.

12:06 PM

Jackson plays the piano with Michael.

12:22 PM

M, J & K look out the window at the beautiful falling snow.

1:38 PM

Mikey is napping. I walk out to the mail box with Jackson, Harrison & Hazy to get yesterday's mail and put another stack of Christmas cards in the box to be picked up. Six Christmas cards in the box!

2:16 PM

Make peanut blossoms with the big kids...yum-oh!

3:54 PM

Jack and I ran out to the mail box again to see if today's mail was in...nope. Ended up sledding in the back yard for a while. What a blast! We had to bail off the sled early so we didn't go off the cliff.

4:11 PM

Being silly with my boy!

4:19 PM

Harrison came out to join us. Jack and Bear catch snow flakes on their tongues.

4:27 PM

Last trip out to the mail box. This time with the whole gang. No mail and the out-going hadn't been stolen yet!

6:32 PM

Pot pies for dinner.

7:02PM

Mikey takes a bath because he smeared pot pie in his hair.

7:54 PM
Christmas tradition: one child (tonight it was Harrison's turn) chooses a wrapped Christmas book to have Mom read before bed time. Tonight's book was about a donkey who was too shy to make his animal noise for baby Jesus. After all the other barn animals had their turn, finally the donkey was brave enough to hee-haw for Jesus. And when he did, he made the baby laugh.

9:07PM

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

9:45 PM

Good Night!