Easter.....

Thursday afternoon and Sara´s Christian arrived to spend Easter  here with us. It was great to see him again.

We had a cosy dinner together and then Kristian, my neighbour Laura and I headed into Copenhagen to a special Gospel Service in one of the churches in the centre of the City.
It was such a lovely service which ended with Communion.

On Friday Sara and Christian met some friends for brunch, Leah went to visit Lasse and his family so suddenly Kristian and I found ourselves alone again. The weather was not good so we settled down on the sofa to watch The Passion. We wanted to use some time to reflect on the Easter message.

It is a hard film to watch but one that left me feeling soooo loved. The words that Jesus said from John 10,18 really spoke to me....."No one takes it (my life) from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again." No one took Jesus life. He gave it freely because of His great love for me (and you). It made me feel so loved to know that Jesus gave His life freely for me. He suffered all that He did for me, so I could have a relationship with Him.

Late afternoon Sara and Christian arrived home with their friend Catherine. She would be staying till Saturday evening. Catherine brought a lovely Easter Egg for me!! Yummie!!

I made dinner for us and after dinner we all settled down on the sofa to watch X-factor. It was down to 4 contestants and all of them very talented, so it was a very exciting evening!

When X-factor was finished we played a board game. Sara and Christian love to play games!

On Saturday Sara was working. Leah was working too. Christian and Catherine were going to spend the day in Copenhagen till Sara finished work. Then they would all head out for dinner together.

Kristian and I decided we would spend the day together and end it with a date night out to dinner.

We made a big breakfast for everyone, to get us of on a good start. 

 Christian had brought his slow juicer with him so he made us all very healthy juices.

 I baked bread, made soft boiled eggs and had bought different cheeses and jams.

 Everyone helped out....

 All healthy food going into our juice :-)

After breakfast all the kids left. Kristian and I got the place aired out and tidied up and then we headed out too.

We needed to find a few birthday presents for friends that have birthdays this coming week. We also wanted to look for some clothes for the wedding we are going to in a few weeks time. We had such a lovely day out shopping. We got a lot of things ticked of our list so we were feeling good.....

We headed home for a snack and then  relaxed for an hour or so, before we headed out for dinner. (Leah arrived home before we left so we felt bad about leaving her on her own. We invited her along on our date but she didn´t want to come with us, she was in the mood to be alone and relax after a hard day at work.)

Kristian and I headed North to a wee cafe that we like. After dinner we then drove the Coast Road down into Copenhagen. It was so beautiful.

We wandered around Copenhagen for a while and then decided we would go see a film. There was one called Room that looked interesting. So we bought tickets for that. It was an ok film. A bit slow moving. It was probably more my sort of film than Kristians. But it was fun to hang out with my hubby.
                                  (It was a little bit cold last night in Copenhagen!!)

After the movie we met up with Sara and Christian and headed home.

Today I made brunch for everyone and then we headed, once again, into Copenhagen. This time we were going to church in Hillsongs. It was great service of celebration! After church we said goodbye to Sara and Christian, they were heading back home again so they had a long drive in front of them. It was good to spend some time with them.

(Andrew was meant to be visiting Camilla´s family this Easter but they had to cancel their plans as he got sick. Poor Andrew.)

Holiday....

Once again I have holiday!! :-)  I stopped work on Friday for Easter - the blessings of working in a school. (Kristian first has holiday from Thursday.)  On Monday I decided I would pack a picnic and go exploring.  I decided to invite a couple of my colleages along on the trip. They don´t have cars and I thought it would be fun for them to have a day out. Only one of them could come along so we set out together.

 Normally when we go on a picnic we always head north. I decided that I would head West this time to an area I didn´t know that well. We followed signs for small towns and villages that I had never heard of before and we found some wonderful nature.

 The weather was fantastic, just a little cold, yet we were still able to sit out and enjoy our picnic lunch.

 My goal was to find a Castle called SELSØ SLOT. I had never been there before. We found it, but unfortunately it was closed. It first opens in May so I think another visit will be made then. It was fun to explore a whole new part of Denmark.

 We of course had to have a treat!! I had bought us each a Strawberry cake and we sat in the sunshine, by the water and enjoyed our coffee/tea and cake.

We ended the day in one of the big towns. They had a big shopping centre so we spent an hour walking about shopping. I got myself a new Easter decoration. It was such a great day out. A good combination of beautiful nature and a little shopping.

On Monday evening Sara arrived home again! It´s great to have her here.

Tuesday I spent at home with Leah and Lasse. We had a lazy day just hanging out here at home. Leah and Lasse spent the afternoon playing games. I spent the afternoon playing piano, I also did some reading, and then made an early dinner for us all.

Leah and Lasse were going on a date to the movies and I was also going to the movies with my neighbour Laura.

After work Kristian was going to Copenhagen to collect Sara from her work. Since they knew none of us were at home they decided to go out for dinner and have a father and daughter evening together.

On Wednesday I travelled into Copenhagen with Sara. She started work at 10am but we arrived 20 minutes early so we had a cup of tea in the cafe beside her work.

I then left Sara at work and went to explore Copenhagen.

We are going to a wedding in a months time, so I need a dress for that. I spent most of the morning in one of the department stores just trying on dresses. I think I have found one but now I want someone to come with me to see it and help me decide if I should buy it or not.

At lunchtime I met up with Sara and we had a delicious lunch together in a local cafe. Sara only gets half an hour for lunch so it had to be quick.

After lunch I decided I had had enough of the big city. I hopped on the train and headed home. I did a bit of food shopping on the way  since most of the shops will be closed Thursday and Friday for Easter. I then came home and made myself some Bruschetta for dinner - yummie, it was delicious!!

 I ate dinner in the peace and quiet of the house and enjoyed every minute of it. Leah was working and first needed picked up at 9.15pm. Kristian was at his go-kart shop and would first be home around 8pm, he would pick Sara up on the way home. Those few hours of quietness were just what I needed after a day in the city.

Just after 8pm Kristian and Sara arrived home. Not long after them our friends Birthe and Henrik came by for a cup of coffee. It was sooo great to see them. They stayed a couple of hours and it was such a good way to end the day. 

Zoey and Shadow enjoyed the peace and quiet of the house along with me.

Today Sara´s Christian is coming to spend Easter with us. On Friday her friend Catherine will also arrive so we will have a full house. Let the madness begin!! :-)

Dates with friends....

Kristian and I kicked off the week with a date night. Sara went home on Tuesday, Leah was working and then going out with Lasse, so Kristian and I decided to have a date night. The plan was dinner and a movie, but while sitting in the restaurant we decided to drop the movie. Instead of rushing dinner to make the movie, we would just eat slowly and enjoy having the time to sit and chat, just the two of us.

It was a really lovely evening.

Wednesday after work I went training in Loop. When I was finished it was after 5pm. Leah was working and first needed picked up at 8pm. Kristian was at his go-kart shop and would first be home about 9 or 10pm so suddenly I had a few hours to myself.

Just as I was leaving Loop I got a text from my friend Pernille asking if I wanted to go out a walk. I actually did feel like going for a walk so I texted her back - YES. Pernille lives down the road from us so when I got home we met up and went for a lovely walk down to the lake. It was good to catch up with her. It was then home to make a big pot of carrot and lentil soup! It was delicious!

On Thursday I had a date with my good friend Audry and Ikea. It was that time again - time for us to catch up with each other and check out the stock in our favourite furniture shop! We had such a lovely evening!

 On Friday we had a date with our friends Jette and Filip and their two children. We were going over to their place. We picked up some Chinese on the way, after all it was Friday evening and who wants to cook when you can buy delicious Chinese! haha

We had such a fun night with them. We spent a lot of time laughing.

 The kids and I had fun taking silly pictures....

 and we had so much fun using the face swap app on our phone. So funny to see Kristian with sooo much hair! :-)

When the kids went to bed we watched X-factor and spent the rest of the evening relaxing. Good friends are such a blessing.

On Saturday we spent the morning cleaning, organising and washing. It felt good. In the afternoon Kristian´s sister Hanne and her husband Flemming came by for cake and coffee.

After eating far too much cake and whipped cream we decided to go a walk. It was such a beautiful day and we wanted to get out and enjoy the nature and the weather!

Hanne and Flemming were meant to be going to the airport to collect their son but his flight had been cancelled. He would not be landing anytime that evening. We invited them to stay for dinner and they did. We had a great evening with them and spent a good part of it talking about spiritual things. It was such a lovely way to end the day.

Full house....

Late Thursday evening - 3rd March, Sara and Christian arrived for a short visit. Friday morning they headed into Copenhagen for a day out, the rest of us went to work. Friday evening the whole family gathered together for dinner. I had just gotten used to making food for 3 people and now I had 8 mouths to feed!! Luckily for them, I made more than enough and we had a really cosy time around the table.

After dinner it was time for ice-cream, sweets and X-factor!

Saturday morning Sara and Christian left. Sara was flying to Los Angeles to visit her friend. Christian took her to the airport and then headed home to Jytland. Leah was working and then was going home to eat a Lasse´s house so suddenly, after all the chaos of the last few days, Kristian and I had a day alone and we had a plan!!!

Sara and Christian left at 8.30am. Once they were gone Kristian and I got stuck into cleaning our different areas in the house By 10.30am the house was all clean and shining, beds changed, washing done and we were feeling good. The next part of the plan was to go shopping and get some delicious bread and cheese.

It was a quick trip to town and then home to change into our PJs for our PJ day on the sofa. We had planned to watch the series Homelands (and anything else we wanted!!) It was to be a day of peace, quietness and relaxation! We had had a really busy week and  hadn´t actually seen too much of each other, so Saturday was going to be our day on the sofa.

The day was a great success!! We changed into our PJ´s, got the bread and cheese on the table, put a couple of blankets over us and watched the last few episodes we yet had to see of Homelands - boy was it exciting!!!  We then started a new series but just couldn´t get into it so gave up after 3 episodes. I also spent some time reading, Kristian sorted through photos and we had the most relaxing day hanging out together. Zoey also got in on the relaxing.....

On Sunday our neighbour Mia turned 18!! We had been invited to Brunch. Since we have a bigger dining room than Laura we offered our place for the party. Laura took us up on the offer. So we were 9 people here for Brunch.

We had a really cosy time celebrating Mia´s 18th. She got some great gifts and I think she really enjoyed her day.

On Tuesday after work I met up with my "old" friend Genny. Since our Mexican restaurant closed down we have not had a proper cafe/restaurant that we both liked and could call "ours". We had tried different places but never been that happy with them. On Tuesday all that changed. We found our new "home" to meet and eat! :-) It was sooo cosy, the food was absolutely delicious and we had a great evening catching up with each other.

On Thursday Sara arrived back home from the USA! I took the day of work so I could pick her up. She was arriving at 11am and I was there to meet her.  Over the years it has mostly been Kristian who picked up Sara at the airport, from all her different travels. They started a tradition many years ago of going to McDonalds for a burger and chat before driving home. On Thursday I continued that tradition with Sara. I was straving by the time I collected her and she was too, so a couple of cheeseburgers went down a treat! Ummmmhhhh!

We stopped at a shopping centre on the way home and did a little window shopping. It was really lovely to spend time with Sara. We then came home and relaxed on the sofa. I heard all about her trip to see her friend. Late afternoon we both fell asleep on the sofa - one big disadvantage to having such a comfortable sofa!! :-)

Sara will be working a few days, every other week, in a shop in Copenhagen, so we will be seeing a lot more of her.  So Sara being Sara decided to take over Andrew´s old room, which is now my office, rather than share with Leah!  When I came in she had totally re-arranged the place!!! haha She got her dad to buy a stand to hang clothes on and it now is in the corner of the room with a bunch of clothes that she will leave here. We have been teasing her about coming back home thinking she owns the place and just taking over everything, but we secretly are loving having her home.

Friday evening I was going out with my colleagues from work. We had planned to go to the cinema right after work to see the new Danish film - Bottle post from P. It was such an exciting film!! My heart was in my mouth half the time! I experienced all sorts of emotions! A really great film!

After the film we headed to a local cafe to have something to eat. They had a special weekend menu  - a three course meal, going for a good price. We all decided to order that. We had loads of time to talk and discuss the film. The food was delicious, there just wasn´t enough! hahaha Well I think I was the only one that thought that! (What is wrong with me??!!!) Above in the picture is the main course....it was served on this little spoonful of Barley (totally delicious and creamy) but I could have ate 3 more spoonfuls of it, more carrots too! Ah well, I survived and I didn´t even go to McDonalds on the way home

Although when I got home Leah, Lasse, Mia and Sara were all watching X-factor with sweets and chocolates so I did indulge in a Snickers - ooops!!

Saturday was a busy day for Kristian and me. Kristian was going to play at his colleagues wedding. They were getting married in a church connected to one of the famous Castles here in Denmark. Kristian was playing Amazing Grace on his sax. 

It all went according to plan and Kristian did a great job (or so I have heard!) I wasn´t there to hear him. While he was at the wedding I was helping to prepare and serve food at my colleagues 40th wedding anniversary party and his wife´s 60th birthday party. It was a busy day but a really enjoyable one! They had a really lovely party and I was glad to be able to help them out.

                        Our fruit pyramid!! I was rather impressed with it!!! :-)

The party started at 1pm but I was already at the place by 11am. I first got home on Saturday evening at 9pm. Leah, Lasse, Sara and Kristian were just getting ready to watch a film together, so I kicked off my shoes and jumped onto the sofa with them. It felt wonderful to finally sit down and relax.

We watched Gravity in 3D....what a boring film!!! The 3D effects were good but that was about it!