Christmas at the farm turned out to be a sweet, peaceful time. Most Norwegians celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, but then they go ahead and celebrate on the 25th and 26th as well. And then also on the 27th this year because that was sunday. We had a wonderful dinner with the family and we opened presents and enjoyed some wonderful homemade beer. We got some wonderful and hilarious gifts and cards from home, including a full stock of wool socks, chocolate chip cookie supplies, and “The official Outlander coloring book”. Needless to say, I spent all of Christmas coloring, and yes, I know Im 27.

Bard invited us to use the sauna, and have used it almost everyday since. Its a perfectly sized little room, with a wood-fired stove that gets hotter than I would have ever thought possible. Theres no electricity in the little building, so we light candles or oil lamps, but it makes  the whole experience feel so homey and comfortable.

Last week we took a few days off to spend with Matteo, and we made a quick visit to Roger! We had a wonderful time seeing them both again, and of course playing as much as possible.

We came back to Nodre Hestnes on Wednesday, and we got to help prepare for a big New Years party. We had a very sweet and fun family from India staying in the rental apartment, so they joined us, along with all of Bard’s family for the evening. We ate a huge meal of turkey and stuffing, some really wonderful red cabbage, and they asked me to make an “american punch” (shout out to Marlis Walter for teaching me how to make punch for CM parties). We enjoyed more homemade beer, and Tyler and I took the family out to see the lights and get some family photos.

I had no idea, but fireworks are a really big deal on New Years in Norway. And so, we rang in the new year standing around a fire in the little stone paddock, watching the fireworks and Northern lights. Not a bad start to the year, I’d say.

I hope you all had a great Holiday season!!

P.S. Our 2016 resolution is to run a marathon, so we (along with some other amazing people) have signed up for the Midnight Sun Marathon in Tromso, on June 18th. The race begins at 8:30pm, in the middle of the day. Training starts now!