Merry Christmas!

We were well prepared on Christmas Eve. We went to a lovely carol service at church and then headed home for a nice, quiet dinner. We were supposed to have dinner with friends in the mountains but the snow had been coming down all day and we didn't relish the drive in and out in the dark. The girls didn't want to spend the night up there - they wanted to be in their own house with their own tree for Christmas morning.

Christmas Trivia: Most of Switzerland celebrates on the evening of Christmas Eve - the Christkind (Christ child) comes with gifts. Sammiclaus (St. Nicholas) came on Dec. 6th (with Schmuetzli the scary counterpart and a donkey) bringing nuts, chocolates and fruit.

We still had our Christmas Eve dinner. I split the mashed potatoes of which I was responsible for and took a portion to church. The swap was made in the parking lot for the Swedish meatballs that were L's responsibility (a Minneapolis Swede) and we were all happy to take home our fare. We swooned over the meatballs. I'm not partial to ground beef dinners even though that is about the only red meat we eat here - USDA steak is about $25-30/lb and Swiss beef is too tough and expensive to bother with. Sidetracked - oh, the meatballs were delicious! Perfect with the mashed potatoes and steamed carrots. Funny thing was - BR decided when they got up to the mountains that carrots sounded best = we all ended up with the same dinner just different locations.

We watched Frosty and Rudolph, checked the NORAD Santa tracker (Kendra was slightly obsessed) and then prepared to go to bed. Girls were ready for Santa and the reindeer:


And Santa was faithful in arriving:

We had a great morning and then headed on up to D & B's to join in the snowy fun. It was a very slow trip - bit slick but worth it (you can say that as long as you're not the one off the road or facing the wrong way in the middle of it).

The girls down with L and her son N. The 3 entry snow fort and snowman are to the left - they did it before we came - it was awesome.

Much fun was had in the snow before coming in for a great dinner prepared by BR (have to distinguish him from Bart!) who is a fantastic cook. All I had to bring was the apple pie! We've been so blessed to have such wonderful friends here. It's a time of change for most of us and we are really treasuring the time we have left together.

So as Christmas comes to a close and we look ahead to the New Year, the verse that sticks out to me for the year 2010 is:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." Proverbs 3: 5-6

God has been faithful to provide direction and open doors and relieve anxieties this year. We can't always be certain of our future but we can look at the past and see His hand. We look forward to what lies ahead in 2011 and I have a feeling that verse is going to stick!

So from our house to yours:

Whether we are entertaining poor, beggar children from the streets of Paris (Les Miserables brought forth new, imaginative creations):

Or Sweat Peas from Zurich:

We wish you a Blessed and Merry Christmas!