This was what I came to Minnesota for--to be with my family on the days when being with family matters most. I wasn't sure where my emotions would be running during this time with Brent so far away but I'm happy to say I held my own. Oh, I missed him terribly but at least I didn't weep my way through Christmas and I even was able to allow myself to feel the joy of watching two little girls experience the wonder of this very special day. I'm sure those of you with kids can relate when I say that Christmas is so much more wonderful when you get to share the excitement with your kids.
I'd like to think that Kade and Sage were reenacting Mary and Joseph's long journey to Bethlehem but I'm pretty sure they were just playing "ride the horsey."
This is Anika in her usual place right next to a baby. She is so sweet with babies and just loves to mother them. Poor Clare had a true "no room at the inn" Christmas experience when alas, there was no room for her at the table so she had to be seated on the floor. She didn't mind at all though, as long as we kept food on her tray.
This is my great aunt Judith sittting next to Kade. She's been a part of every holiday we've gathered together as a family for as long as I can remember. Such an intelligent lady with a great sense of humor to boot. We all just love her so much--even the kids love having Auntie Judith come for a visit. This year we had a brunch on Christmas Day and I thought it was so wonderful. In my world you cannot beat quiche, home made breads and pastries and fresh fruit. You can see towards the bottom of the picture a tray of lefse that my parents made. For those of you who are not from these parts, lefse is a Norwegian staple around here around Christmas. It is a potato dough that is made on a special iron and the best lefse maker can roll the dough out until it's so thin you can see through it. Spread butter and sprinkle sugar on it then roll it up and you have a tradition that's been here since the Scandinavians settled this area.
Right before Christmas Brent and I started to get to talk to each other using the webcams on our computers. We had tried this when he first went to Afghanistan but the connection was so horrible we could neither see or hear each other. We were still able to talk every day on the phone but it was hard for him to have any communication with Clare (for obvious reasons of her being a baby) and Sage who refuses to talk to anyone on the phone. Now the connection is so clear and we use it a couple time a day. This has also been really great for the girls to see and hear their Daddy and they get so excited when they talk to him that they literally end up bouncing all over the screen. I like to think that being able to talk to Brent like this was truly a Christmas gift from God. This may be a hard thing for us to go through but He has given us so much to be thankful for.
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