Nana Pam taught Natalie a new song this November, to the tune of “Are you sleeping, Brother John” :

Turkey, stuffin’, 

cornbread muffins, 

pumpkin pie- 

one mile high. 

We were all much thinner,

before we came to dinner. 

Me, oh, my. 

Me, oh, my!

Papa, Nana, Uncle David and our family started off a weekend of holiday celebrations by acting out this Thanksgiving song at the table, complete with four pies for seven people! Our abundance of food was an apt reminder of the lavish amount of good things that we have. We spent time around the table sharing about the many friends, homes, experiences and gifts that we are thankful for. 

  • Uncle David carved the turkey.
  • Thankful for Nana!
  • 4 pies / 7 people = too much!

We were able to take time the next day to visit extended family for a short three-hour period before the snow hurried us home. It was so good to have some concentrated family time to soak in before our long trip away from them.

The rest of our holiday weekend with the Nedruds was filled with Christmas fun, filling us with yuletide cheer as we did so many of the Nedrud Christmas traditions together, albeit a month early. 

  • Ricing potatoes for Lefse
  • Cooking Lefse with Papa
  • Nedrud lefse making preserves the Nedrud heritage.
  • Rolling lefse is delicate work!
  • Making Swedish meatballs for a delicious Christmas dinner.
  • Stringing Cranberries and Popcorn for the Christmas tree.
The Sunday morning worship service was cancelled due to snow, so we enjoyed advent readings and Papa’s teaching, with interactive help from Noah.

We spontaneously sang carols around the table, lit an advent candle, opened tiny stocking gifts (homemade felt dolls that the kids can take in their backpacks), and read Christmas books by the fire. We were even able to put on a few holiday clothes and snap some pictures to remind the kids that we did actually get to have a White Christmas in 2019.

Our hearts are full, and when December 25th rolls around, we will enjoy knowing that we did not miss out on many Christmas enjoyments, even though we will be on the other side of the world celebrating a Spanish Christmas!