Christmas....

.....and it´s over! 

We have had a lovely few days of celebration. 

It started on the 23rd December with Sara arriving from Århus. She told me she would arrive around 7pm but at 4pm she came through the door and surprised me by arriving a few hours early!  It was sooo great to see her again. Sara then went and collected Andrew, Camilla and Lasse so we could eat dinner together.

They all love my home made Chinese so that´s what I made. After dinner we exchanged gifts with Camilla and Lasse. 

Sara had sooo many gifts under the tree. These were from her friends, colleagues and Christian´s family. 

Unfortunately her Christian could not join us. He was working right up to the 23rd and so he could not make it over here and back again to see his family on the 24th. 

After dinner we sat around exchanging gifts. It was really cosy.

After we opened gifts we spent the rest of the evening playing a board game called Hint. It was so much fun! Kristian, Sara and I were on one team and Leah, Lasse, Camilla and Andrew were on the other. Even though we were out numbered we won!! :-) 

On the 24th we held our Danish Christmas with Kristian´s family. This year our Danish Christmas was a little different as Andrew was going to hold Christmas Eve with Camilla´s family. 

We started the day with brunch, just Sara, Leah, Kristian and me. Then we headed to church for the Christmas service. Our neighbour Laura came along as she was going to hold Christmas Eve with us.

After church we headed over to Kristian´s mum´s house. Here we met up with Kristian´s younger brother Peter, his wife and two kids. Kristian´s mum´s friend was also there. We were only 11 this year compared to 30 last year!! Kristian´s other brothers and sisters were holding Christmas at their in-laws. 

So we all had our part to play in getting everything ready for the evening celebration. Our girls and Emma and Emil (our niece and nephew) were in charge of decorating the tree and setting the table for dinner. Laura and I were helping in the kitchen with the food and Trine (Kristian´s brother´s wife) was in charge of dessert. 

The food was delicious and as usual we ate too much!

After dinner we walked around the Christmas tree singing carols. This is my favourite part of the evening. Then we exchanged gifts. After dessert we played some games before heading home.

We had a really wonderful Christmas Eve together. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful Danish family. 

Andrew arrived home shortly after we did. He was staying the night in his old room. It was lovely to have all the kids home again. It was just going to be us five to celebrate Christmas day together. 

We had a lovely long sleep and woke up to exchange our gifts. When I awoke I had a surprise at the end of my bed - a Christmas sock! I have never had a sock before and my kids made me one with such great gifts in it!! (Leah even got up at 2.30am to plant it at the bottom of my bed!)

 Our neighbours Laura and Mia along with a friend from America arrived over in their PJ´s to exchange gifts. A tradition we started after we moved out here. I served some bread, cheese and coffee and we had a quick snack together before they headed over again to get ready for their guests. 

Late morning was spent in the kitchen cooking the meal. It turned out great!! I made sooo much food that I now don´t have to cook for the next few days!

We had a lovely afternoon just relaxing together, playing games and seeing films. All very quiet and peaceful. 

I got this wonderful gift for Christmas from Kristian. I have been wanting to learn to play the violin for a while and so I had been wishing for a violin but Kristian said he wasn´t getting me one. I really didn´t think he would get me one and when I saw the shape of the presents he had for me under the tree, I could tell that there was no violin among them. 

He had gotten me a few dvds which he had packed in bigger boxes that looked nothing like a dvd or violin. I was happy enough with the films that I had gotten but then suddenly Kristian came in from the kitchen and said - "Oh here´s one gift I forgot about!!" I knew right away what it was - the shape gave it away!! I was over the moon. Kristian you´re the best!! (Even Zoey loves it!!)

 So now I need to learn how to play this thing!! When Kristian gave me the gift he told me it came with a condition -  I can only play it when he is out! hahaha 

Tuesday´s song...

Tuesday´s song is in Danish. It is one of my favourite Danish Christmas songs.  It was orginally a Norwegian Christmas song. I just love the melody....it´s sooo beautiful.

 
Now in the holy hour
We stand in the starlight
and hear the bells chime
for now Christmas is here

The angels they sing loud in unison
They sing about peace on our earth
the world was never completely abandoned
A star shines in the night

A newborn love is sleeping,
Now God´s heaven is near,
Our long march is over,
The star has stopped here.

The angels they sing loud in unison
They sing about peace on our earth
The world was never completely abandoned
A star shines in the night

See heaven lies and rests
on the earths golden straw
We stand at the manger and smile
For we have arrived now
here we can dream about the peace
that we will own one day
Because this child is heaven sent
and the earth is filled with song

Monday´s song....

Monday´s song is a new song I found.  I had never heard this one before and found it by accident. I just love the words.....

Since we decorated our tree this evening, I decided this song was a good one for today.

I also stopped school today for 2 weeks!!! Let the holidays begin!!

Just wondering how long the decorations are going to stay on this tree!! With a wee rascal of a kitten around I don´t think they will be on the tree for long. The tree has been tied to the radiator so at least it won´t fall down if she starts to climb it! :-)

Sunday´s song....

And my song for Sunday is this....

Mary wrapped a present to the world.

Music, music and more music....

On Friday evening Kristian and I were at a Gospel Christmas Concert. The aim of the concert was to raise money for Mission East, a Christian organisation that does a great work among the refugees in Syria.

Two choirs were singing - our friend Birthe´s choir and then a choir from Copenhagen. There was soooo much energy! Great gospel songs, traditional carols, traditional carols done in a new way and some quieter pieces. It was a fantastic evening.

In the middle of the concert, Kim from Mission East came and told about the work they do in Syria to help the refugees.  He showed pictures of people he had met there, he told us their names and he spoke about the different situations they were in. It was all so heartbreaking. We were then given the opportunity to mobile pay, or sms a gift to Mission East. There was 2400 pounds collected!!!

The sale of the tickets for the concert were also going to Mission East so in that one evening there was raised about 4000 pounds - which I think is just fantastic!

All week long I have been finding different Christmas songs to listen to while at work. I made my special playlists on Spotify and so from morning to evening I have been plugged into my music.

I found some great Christmas songs, some I haven´t heard in years while others were totally new to me. I want to share some of these songs on here.

So for the countdown to Christmas I want to play a new song on here, each day. The first song I want to share is Redeeming Love, one of my favourite Christmas hymns since I was a teenager. I love the words and melody. I also love that this song reminds me of my dad. I can just hear him singing along to this.....

Christmas always make me think more about the family that I don´t have around me anymore.  I miss them even more at this time of year. I´ve been thinking a lot about mum, dad and my brother Jim and all the special Christmases we shared. 

Different things make me think of different people. When I see Marcipan in the shops I always think of my Aunt Kathleen. 

I saw Heniz salad cream the other day while out shopping (which you don´t usually see over here) and it made me think of the deviled eggs my mum made every Christmas for my Aunt Laura and Uncle Walter and our salad tea on Christmas day. I just had to buy that salad cream - maybe this year I will try and make those eggs.

The one memory always seems to lead unto the next. A lot of my days this week have been filled with memories of days gone by and of family and friends who are no longer with us. Even though I feel sad that they are gone, I also feel sooo blessed to have had them in my life. They all enriched my life in their own special way.  I have wonderful memories of them all and for that I am truly thankful.

Quick update....

...it´s been a bit of a fun week.

Tuesday night I was asked to do a bit of entertaining at my friend Birthe´s Gospel choir practice. It was their last night before Christmas so after their practice they were going to eat together and have a small Christmas party. Birthe asked me to come and kick of the party by teaching them Michael Jackson´s Thriller dance. I am always up for a good laugh so I said yes.

I got myself all ready and then drove up to the practice.

Yes - I drove looking like that!! Kristian was really hoping I would get pulled over by the police!

I got there just as they finished a song and so I stood outside banging on the window. One by one they saw me and then everyone started laughing. I went in and did my wee sketch and then got them all up dancing. It was hilarious. They really seemed to enjoy it and really got into the dance. Twenty minutes later and I was gone again and they could enjoy their Christmas dinner in peace and quiet.

Wednesday and Thursday I had off work. I had a few holidays left to take and so decided that I would take the time off to get organised for Christmas. They were two fantastic days!!

Wednesday I went shopping. I was in town for the shops opening at 10am! I wandered about the place and checked out all the shops first to see what I could get people and where I could get the cheapest deal. I had a blast.

After a few hours I went for lunch at my favourite café! I sat there and enjoyed lunch, went through my list of what I had bought and what I still had to buy and I even took time out to read my book.

When I felt like I had rested enough away I went shopping again! I shopped till I literally dropped!! At 7pm (when the shops closed) I headed to McDonalds to buy a gift card for someone and since I was the only one at home eating that evening I just decided that I would stay and have a burger. I got home at 8pm - fed and watered and with nearly all the Christmas shopping done! The rest of the evening I spent relaxing!

Thursday morning when Leah went to school and Kristian went to work, I had a quick shower and then put my PJs on again. This was my day to be cosy!! I got out all the shopping from the day before and spent some time organising and packing in the presents. Then I made myself a delicious lunch and sat down to watch a few Christmas films. I spent the afternoon being cosy on the sofa and saw 2 films.

I think I am going to do this every December.

I made a fun calendar for work. I bought some small silly gifts for them all, packed them in and took them to work. There were 11 gifts and on Monday we had only 11 working days left until our Christmas holidays - a present for each day, when there are no presents left we have holiday!! They loved the idea!

Friday night was our Christmas dinner at work. It was a really great evening. Good food and lots of fun with my colleagues. We played some fun party games, we had a few quizzes, there was a bit of dancing and a lot of laughter as no one could figure out the dance and we ended the evening singing Christmas songs and our leader shared some thoughts from the Bible. I just have the greatest colleagues!

This weekend we achieved a lot too.

We are in charge of getting the Christmas tree for Christmas Eve when we will hold a Danish Chrstimas down at Kristian´s mum´s house.

One of the neighbours in our wee village had some Christmas trees for sale. He had sent messages to us that they were on his front lawn and we could just come and get them and put the money in the postbox. They were half price. Kristian and I decided to go and check them out.

Some of them were really big but we found a perfect sized one for Christmas Eve. We were really happy to save a lot of money on that. It was fun just walking down the road to pick up a tree.

We also got our Christmas tree but that one we had to get at the garden centre - but the trees are now bought! Only 2 presents to get and hopefully I will pick them up at the start of the week and then that´s everything organised except the food.

On Saturday Kristian was at a Christmas dinner with his guy friends - a tradition that has been going on for a few years. He had a great day out with them. They take turns to hold it at their homes. A couple of years ago Kristian held it here but this time it was at his friends Michael´s house.  They always eat far too much - Saturday was no exception and he came home totally stuffed.

While he was there I had a cosy time at home. I cleaned the house, went shopping and then spent Saturday evening playing piano and my flute. A really lovely day.

On Sunday we went to Copenhagen to visit the International Church. They were holding a Christmas Concert and I have been dying to sing English Christmas Carols.(Oh how I miss my English Christmas carols!)  I got to sing some of them and it was wonderful. There were 30 different nationalities gathered. (yes we counted!! at one stage we had to tell where we came from!) It was a really lovely service, very warm and welcoming. I really enjoyed myself.

Now there are only 5 working days left for me!! I can´t wait to go on holiday and the best thing is that next week Sara will be home for Christmas and Andrew too. Whooooopppiiieeeee:-)

Christmas is just around the corner....

....so my friend Audry and I decided to continue our tradition of going Christmas shopping together.

We have been doing this for about 7 or 8 years and we just love our day out shopping together. So last Saturday (28th November) we decided to try a new shopping centre - well the shopping centre has been around for years but it was new to us.  We had a great day out.

We each bought a few presents and we spent a lot of time talking and catching up with each others lives.

This year we could feel that we were older - our bodies had aged! haha Normally we go shopping from 10am when the shops open, till 5pm when the shops close. A few times we have also gone to Ikea afterwards as it stays open till 9pm!!

This year by 2.30pm we were exhausted! haha We had seen all the shops that we were interested in and had gotten what we needed, so we headed over to Ikea, which was just across the way. We spent an hour or so there before heading home. (We found Santa sleeping in a bed there! Ssshhhhh - we didn´t want to wake him!:-)  By 4pm we were in the car heading home!! That has never happened before!!! We both were exhausted!

That Saturday evening Leah had her Galla (Prom) night at school. She was so excited and looking forward to a great evening out with Lasse and the people from her class. I got home from Christmas shopping in time to see them all dressed up and ready to go.

Last week I wasn´t feeling the best. Maybe that´s why I was so exhausted on the Saturday out Christmas shopping. I was fighting a bit of a cold. So I stayed home on Wednesday from work.

A few weeks ago I had arranged for my friend Rhona to come for dinner the very Wednesday I now lay sick. I had been soooo looking forward to seeing her and I didnt want to cancel so I lay all day on the sofa and then just before she arrived made an easy lasagne for dinner.

We had such a lovely evening together. We both weren´t feeling totally on top, so we just enjoyed each others company while relaxing on the sofa. So great to have friends that you don´t need to dress up for or entertain but can just be together with, just as you are! I am so thankful to have her in my life.

Friday evening and it was girls night out. I was heading into Copenhagen with my friend Laura and Pernille. We were going to Sisterhood - a woman´s meeting held by Hillsongs Church. The guest speaker that evening was Christine Caine from Australia.

We decided that we would go out to eat before hand. We had some really delicious food and some really good talks over dinner.....

 The meeting was packed with women and we had a fantastic evening together praising God through worship and then getting into His word. Christine Caine was encouraging and challenging.

I am now really looking forward to hearing her at the Conference next Spring in London.

She spoke from 1Kings 17 about how God takes the most highly unlikely people, puts them in the most highly unlikely places and makes the most highly unlikely outcome!

While I was at my Sisterhood night, Kristian had invited his brothers home for a steak night. They were  just going to eat steaks and hang out together. Kristian bought T-bone steaks for them all - 500grams in each!!! Crazy man - but they had a blast and loved the food.

Saturday (5th Dec) was my day to hang out with hubby. We had a lovely long sleep and then got up and headed out to do a bit of Christmas shopping. When we´d had enough of that we came home and relaxed before we headed to Copenhagen for a concert.

The kids had given us tickets for a concert for our wedding anniversary present way back in September - so we got to use them on Saturday evening.

Kristian invited me out for dinner before the concert and we tried some Asia place in Copenhagen. We had the most delicious food and the best thing was that it didn´t cost that much either

We had a great night out at the concert and then enjoyed the walk back to the car going through the posh part of Copenhagen. The old houses and apartments were amazing. We soooo enjoyed seeing all the different architecture, and all the wonderful small details. Plus with all the Christmas lights, everything was even more magical.

It was a lovely weekend. Now there is only 2 weeks left at work and then I am off for the Christmas break!! Yipiiieeee but I need to get organised!!