We had kind of an extended Thanksgiving this year. We spent Thanksgiving Day in Bern doing untraditional things like eating Chinese food and walking around downtown looking at the windows all decorated for Christmas.  I will be honest holidays away from home are not something I look forward to. By the afternoon I was knee deep in self-pity and if my tired brain is remembering correctly my sweet husband had to basically say that he wasn’t going to want to hang out with me and take me to dinner if I didn’t cheer up. It is a weird lifestyle to begin with most days of the yr but I find holidays to be the toughest.  But by the time we had some dinner and took in some holiday cheer downtown things were looking up. On Friday we headed up to Kandern (not sure if it’s actually up but we headed there) for the weekend with Bo, Leigh and Katy Jo.

It has been a surreal experience for me each time we are with the Bowen’s on this side of the ocean. I always hoped to live near Leigh when we were both grown up and were married with babies but never thought it would happen. After going through all of the jr high, high school and college journeys together it is fun to continue the journey in closer proximity.

Here are some pictures from our Thanksgiving celebrations both in Bern and Germany

And now off to Kandern…it was a snowy day so we were a bit nervous about the roads. They were clear and it was amazing to do a roadtrip in a winter wonderland!

Friday night Bo and Leigh had arranged for some students from BFA to watch the kids so the grown-ups could go out to dinner! It was a much-needed night out!

pumpkin soup!

so maybe walking the icy hill with a loaded stroller wasn’t the wisest of decisions

the finished bird…best yr yet. Maybe we have finally gotten the hang of it.

I attempted a turkey roll for Jackson…he wasn’t as impressed as you would expect!

our spread

Bo had a broken foot but was a good sport about hosting a crowd!

Jackson waited all week to use the turkey napkin ring he had made at school. The time had finally come! He was so proud of his creation!

Owen had a wonderful first Thanksgiving..he wasn’t so sure of the strawberry bib that KJ lent him but he loved the food!

We had a wonderful weekend and arrived home on Sunday afternoon in time for Seth to shovel the driveway and Jackson to get some rosy cheeks! Followed by a round of hot chocolate!

Let the holiday season begin!

We celebrated the first weekend of the new year with a visit from my brother Graham and his fiance Tina!It was so much fun having them here for a few days! We wish they lived closer!

This is what Jackson said to Owen as he screamed on our way to church on Christmas Eve! I have to say this was the best Christmas we have had. Not just because Owen joined us only days before..although that had a lot to do with it. It was that we were with family and friends, we made snowmen, snow angels, baked cookies, read Christmas books, decorated our tree together, made a gingerbread house, gave and received gifts, sang our favorite songs and just enjoyed being together.  It was the first year that Jackson began to understand Jesus. we spent many hours singing carols of Jesus’ birth and we listened to him ask question after question about all things Christmas.

My parents were here to celebrate with us for Christmas. We ate yummy food, exchanged gifts and had a fun time watching Jackson open gifts with great enthusiasm. One of my favorite gifts this year is the recipe book that my mom recreated for me. The original was my wedding gift from her and it was lost in our box when we moved back a few months ago. So, she spent so much time handwriting all of our favorites again. We had Christmas dinner at my brother Ryan’s home with his family. A couple of days after Christmas our extended family from my dad’s side made the trek over from Maryland for a fun evening of visiting and …you guessed it, more eating. Here are a zillion pictures from Christmas.

Christmas Eve service…Jackson was slightly disappointed when he realized that there was no baby swaddled in a manger. After looking in for Jesus he said “mom, it’s just a pretend blanket”

the cutest stocking stuffer!

Advent calender

Jackson wanted to make a Jackson snowman and an Owen snowman

It was the year of the shortbread cookie!  My mom made Jackson his own huge container….and he ate and ate and ate.

We hope you and yours had a very Merry Christmas!

I know there are much more important things happening in our life today (like coming home from the hospital, getting ready for Christmas, etc), but it is important to remember the significance of today.

So, Happy Festivus to everyone!  If you would have asked me a week ago, I probably could have aired some grievances, but after holding my newborn son, all the problems in the world seem to melt away.

Hope everyone is having as good of a Festivus as me!