Itty-bitty Christmas Eve

Today is Itty-bitty Christmas Eve!

Wait...you didn't know that?

Well, now you do!

Today is Itty-bitty Christmas Eve (pittelille julaften).
Tomorrow is Little Christmas Eve (lillejulaften).
Saturday is Christmas Eve (julaften).
Sunday is the first day of Christmas (første juledag).
Monday is the second day of Christmas (andre juledag).
Tuesday is the third day of Christmas (tredje juledag).
And on it goes until New Year's Eve (nyttårsaften) and New Year's Day (første nyttårsdag)!

 Here are some glimpses from our Itty-bitty Christmas Eve...

While we were baking, it began to snow! It was so cozy in our warm house with Christmas music playing and cookies baking in the oven. And then Grandma Esther called us on skype, and she joined us in the kitchen and "helped" us bake.

We finally decorated our Christmas tree!

The snow stuck for a few hours, but then melted in the night. 
I wonder if we will have a white Christmas?

Last night our brother-in-law returned home from two weeks in the US. He kindly brought back some things for us from my family, and these freshly-picked Florida oranges made it all the way across the ocean to us.

Guess what else came in the suitcase for us?
And guess who couldn't wait to eat it?

Tonight we had the cousins over to watch a Christmas movie. (If you look closely, you can see little M's head from where she is sitting on her big brother's lap.) 

Little M and I decorated these cookies while the big kids watched their movie.

These teddy bears were Emma's creation. Aren't they cute? She had seen them a few months ago on a video blog, and asked me if she could have some of the gingerbread dough to try them out.

I woke up in a weird mood yesterday - I really, really wanted to bake! And I still felt the same way today! So the kids and I have been busy yesterday and today, having fun and making huge messes in the kitchen. But tonight as I cleaned the kitchen from our latest mess, I decided that my weird mood of productivity in the kitchen has expired. I wonder if and when it will come again?

And now I think it is almost time for bed. (Yaaaaawn!)

Thank you to my wonderful family for all the fun things you sent to us. I wrapped up the presents for the kids, and I know they will be sooooo excited to open them on Christmas morning! We love and miss all of you.

-Sarah-

"I haven't ________ since last year!"

Last night as we were laying in bed trying to fall asleep, I suddenly remembered (with great excitement, I must add) that along with the arrival of the new year comes the rare opportunity to say one of my very favorite lines!

"I haven't ________ (insert something you usually do) since last year!"

Some examples of my favorites include:

I haven't eaten anything since last year.
I haven't taken a shower since last year.
I haven't gone to the bathroom since last year.
I haven't cleaned my house since last year.
I haven't been sick since last year.
I haven't done any laundry since last year.
I haven't talked to my kids/husband/parents/etc since last year.
I haven't bought anything since last year. (Sure to score me points with Markus, right??)
I haven't driven a car since last year.

Now the tricky part with all of this is that you have a very short window of time to actually say these things. (For example, you have to say the line about going to the bathroom right away when you wake up in the morning and before you go to the bathroom, or else you will lose the chance to say it until next January 1st.)

Markus is already groaning and rolling his eyes, dreading the morning of January 1st when I start gleefully spouting off my one-liners and then howling with laughter at my cleverness. (I pretty much start from the minute I wake up and continue on until I run out of steam and/or ideas...or whichever one comes first. I'm actually thinking that Levi is just about old enough to appreciate his mamma's special way of welcoming the new year. Yay!)

So this post is just a little heads-up for all of you who would like to join me in spreading some holiday cheer (and annoying your loved ones) this January 1st!

-Sarah-

9 years

Nine years ago today, I married the most wonderful man in the whole entire world.

I can't believe that it's already been nine years.

Nine sounds like such a big and far-off number.

But it's true.

And I can prove it.

2011 - 2002 = 9

or...

2002 + 9 = 2011

(Bam!)

Our wedding day, December 14th, 2002:

First anniversary (England):

Second anniversary (Bergen, Norway): 

Third anniversary (Manila, Philippines):

Fourth anniversary (north of Manila, Philippines):

Fifth anniversary (north of Manila, Philippines):

Sixth anniversary (farther north of Manila, Philippines)

Seventh anniversary (Florida):

Eighth anniversary (the island, Norway):

Ninth anniversary (the island, Norway):

Wow.

Saying that we've been married for 9 whole years sounds like such an impossibly large number, but when I look back at these pictures and all the places we've been and at our two beautiful babies who are now so very, very big (and when I recall my amazing math skills proving that it has indeed been 9 years), it suddenly feels like waaaaay more than just 9 years since we were those two young kids in our wedding pictures.

I thought I loved Markus on the day we said "I do." And I know that I must have, because I followed him across an ocean (and then another one...and then another one...and then another one...and then another one...you get the point...) and boy, what an incredible time it's been.

But when I look back at our wedding pictures, I realize how different our love was on that chilly December day when we promised ourselves to each other.

And then as I look at these pictures of us through the years, hundreds of memories come crashing back...memories of friends, family, the smell of our newborn babies, happy nights spent at home with our little family, difficult times of homesickness, challenging times of learning how to (and how NOT to) communicate with each other, times of spiritual growth and times where we've needed to point each other back to our Heavenly Father, times of grave sickness and serious injury, times of carefree fun and adventure, and the oh-so-many times we've packed, said our good-byes, and moved.

And that's what's so amazing about marriage. It's not that I love Markus more today than I did 9 years ago on our wedding day, but through all the experiences of the last 9 years, our love has deepened and grown and shaped us into who we as a couple are today. And it is all by the grace of our Heavenly Father...without Him, we wouldn't be here today. 

So here we go into our 10th year of marriage! We have no idea what the coming year will hold for our family, but we know that our lives and our tomorrows are in the hands of our loving Savior who daily reminds us of what Love really is.

(I love you, Markus...if you are even reading this. :-) Thank you for your love, example, and for taking such good care of me all these years. Ha, "all these years." Now it's starting to sound like we're old. But then again, you are soon to be 35 and well on your way to 40, so I guess you are technically getting up there in years...)

-Sarah-

Pretty movie

Have you ever wondered how you ended up where you are right now?

Often when I am out driving, I can't help but shake my head at the snow-covered mountains and the sparkling North Sea and the fjords and undersea tunnels and wonder what on earth a girl from ghetto Bokey is doing in this cold, exotic, and very clean land of vikings and trolls.

Here is a short video (2 minutes) that shows the breathtaking beauty of the area of Norway that we live in.

(You can sorta kinda see the island that we live on in the background of some of the shots of the city of Ålesund, which is the city closest to us.)

Good night from the beautiful island...

-Sarah-

Tonight

This afternoon the kids and I spent some time on Skype with my mom and sister and niece in Florida.

After we said goodbye, I noticed that Emma was very moody.

Then it was dinnertime and her moodiness spilled over into our meal. She didn't want to eat or drink, and didn't want the rest of us to look at her or talk to her.

I started to wonder if it was something more than just having a bad attitude because this was pretty out of character for our usually cheerful Emma.

So I quietly asked her if she could tell me what was wrong...does her tummy hurt, or does she just not like the food, or was there something else?

She was quiet for a long time looking down at her plate, and then she looked up at Markus and me with eyes full of tears and said, "I'm just really sad today because I miss Grandma Esther so much."

My eyes filled up with tears too (I think even Markus got a bit misty-eyed) and she came onto my lap and we both cried a little and talked about how wonderful our family in Florida is and how thankful we are for them. Then we decided to do something fun.

 She helped me mix up waffles (she's an expert egg cracker, and according to her it's because Grandma Esther taught her!) and then we set up a picnic on the floor of the living room. The kids and I played checkers (sweet Levi let Emma win...out of sympathy I assume...) while Markus cooked the waffles on a little table next to us, and then we ate while we went through our Advent devotional, which is something we've never done before but are excited to try this year.

Then it was time for bed.

And Emma went to bed with a big smile on her face.

Tonight I am so thankful for Markus and our little girl and sweet boy. I am so thankful that even though we've had to say countless goodbyes to family and dear friends all over the world, we've never had to say those painful goodbyes to each other.

And I'm thankful that because of Jesus Christ, we have the promise of eternity together with our Heavenly Father.

-Sarah-

P.S. Just so I don't forget, Emma has the cutest way of saying the word, "restaurant." She pronounces it like "astronaut" with "rest" at the beginning so it becomes "rest-ronaunt." I love it and refuse to correct her and will cry the day she starts pronouncing it properly!