After Christmas we took the girls to Minnesota to visit with Kim's family. We all stayed with her cousin Gina who was a wonderful host. All the cousins were there and the kids had a blast as well. After our party we spent some time with Kim's friend Jenna before flying home. It was a great and memorable time.
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| Kim and her sister Kristin also enjoyed a thrilling snowmobile ride. |
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| All the cousins together with Grandpa Irv |
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| Lucy loved the plane ride. |
Kim's Mom had a wonderful idea to put together a nativity for the family on Christmas Eve. Like any Pederson event, we went all out and had a blast! Kim's Mom made costumes for all the kids. Milo was a Shepherd, Lila was an Angel, and Lucy was Mary. There was even a script to follow. It was a ton of fun and a meaningful moment for all of us.
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| For some of us our "costume" really meant "bathrobe in pajamas with a napkin on top," but who's critiquing? |
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| The next day the kids made gingerbread projects. Here's the result... |
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| Lila Bird didn't quite get why we play with food and not eat it. It all tasted so good. |
We had a fantastic Christmas celebration with family, fun, and festivities. We started Christmas Eve at our own place doing crafts and fun projects with Lucy and Lila and opening some presents. From there we went to church and worshiped with Kim's parents and sister's family (Kristin, Eric, and Milo). From there we took the short drive to Kim's parents place, with more fun with the kids. Once the kids were down for the night the six of us (Steve, Kathy, Kristin, Eric, Kim and I) exchanged gifts and kind words.
Kim's family has a great tradition of the "gift of words" where we take time to affirm those we love.
After a wonderful Christmas day breakfast, we all headed to Kristin and Eric's for a wonderful holiday dinner. It truly was a memorable holiday, although we missed being with my family in Washington.
Kim does a great job of packing in tons of Holiday fun during the month of December. Many memories are in our own home and involve being cozy and goofing off. There are special holiday ornaments, cooking and art projects, Christmas-themed pajamas, visits with Santa (both girls are still very afraid). My favorite this year is Lucy's "Silent Night" advent book, where every night we read it and open another little window on the cover. She is so excited to finish it and to welcome Christmas day and the birth of our Savior. The first picture below is of the girls Christmas ornaments that we got at the Christkindlmarket downtown. Every year we get them an ornament that has significance for that year. Lucy received ballet shoes since she recently developed a passion for this activity and Lila's was a bird as her nickname remains "Birdie."
One of the real treats of our Thanksgiving weekend was seeing my new niece Daria Vander Griend. Not only is she adorable and beautiful, but Lucy was enthralled and a big helper. We are so excited for my brother and his family for their new addition and honored they would brave the roads to come and spend Thanksgiving with us.
We recently went on an excursion to downtown Chicago and timed our return trip to catch the special CTA Holiday Train. I'm not sure what it is about Santa but both girls were terrified of him. These pictures tell it all. Thanks to Mary for the pictures.
