Nu’ det jul igen

Dansk (english below):

Sikke en skøn jul vi har haft! Vi startede faktisk julefejringen midt i adventstiden, da Grandpa og Liz skulle på ferie hen over julen. Så d. 6. december var vi samlet hos dem sammen med onkel Johnny til hygge, aftensmad og masser af gaver. Skønt at kunne fejre det med vores amerikanske side af familien igen. Julen er fyldt med traditioner og måske det bliver tydeligere når man er væk fra det vante og kendte. Ingen klippedage, nissevenner, julemarkeder, julefrokoster, julekoncerter, snaps, gløgg, juletræsdans, Disneys juleshow eller ”Det’ jul, det’ cool” bare for at nævne nogle. Blandet andet derfor blev optakten til julen, på mange måder, også anderledes end vi plejer og i hvert fald markant mindre stressende, da der var færre ting der skulle ”klares” og arrangeres.

Der er flere highlights som foruden de tidligere nævnte julekalendere mv, blandet andet konfekt og småkagebagning, skøjtning og peberkagehuse. Men jeg vil gerne fremhæve to særlige oplevelser som vi ser tilbage på med stor glæde.

Den første var min fødselsdagsgave - en koncert med et af familiens ynglingsband ”For King And Country”. Allerede tilbage i juli hørte vi, at de skulle spille to julekoncerter i Minneapolis d. 10. og 11. december, men efter lidt (meget) betænkningstid besluttede vi os for ikke at købe billetter - troede jeg. Mary havde andre planer og på selve dagen, tog hele familien til koncert (selvom Benjamin egentlig skulle spille koncert med skolebandet - han spiller percussion). Det blev en fantastisk oplevelse som vi kunne dele som familie og så var julestemningen i hvert fald banket op ad.

En anden større oplevelse var også midt i december hvor flere børn og unge fra kirken opførte stykket ”We Knead a Little Christmas”. Alle kunne børn kunne være med og der blev øvet til ”børne-/juniorkirke” om søndagen og om onsdagen i forbindelse med fællesspisningen. På mange måder mindede det om de stykker som Mary og Gospelteens har lavet med skuespil, kulisser og sang til back track. Så det blev faktisk ret ”nostalgisk” for Mary at sidde på bænken og se på for en gangs skyld. Vores børn ønskede ikke at være med, så vi kunne alle nyde stykket og budskabet - hele to gange, både til generalprøven og til gudstjenesten hvor den blev fremført. Stykket var både sjov, rørende og med et dejligt julebudskab. Jeg ved ikke om Mary allerede er gået i gang med at oversætte stykket til dansk, men i hvert fald havde hun svært ved at sidde stille på bænken og bare nyde og lytte😊.

"We Knead a Little Christmas" MPCC 2025

Selve juleaften to vi til gudstjeneste i kirken ”Westgate Church” som ligger tæt ved Marys kusine (Sam) som vi var inviteret hjem til kl. 17.00. Vi fik sunget mange skønne julesange med et moderne udtryk, så selvom vi desværre ikke kunne deltage i gudstjenesten i ”vores” normale kirke (Maple Plain Community Church), så blev juledagene skudt godt i gang. Herefter gik turen videre til kusinen hvor, traditionen tro, alle fra Marys mors side af samles. Vi var (igen) ca. 30 i alt til en hyggelig aften med overdådigt sammenskudsgilde til aftensmad og dessert. Aften bød også på pakkeleg, som altid er en oplevelse i sig selv. Selvom vi havde set flere af familiemedlemmerne i løbet af de sidste måneder, var der også nogen vi endnu ikke havde være sammen med, så det var dejligt at været og få snakket sammen igen.

Christmas service at "Westgate Church"

about a 1/4 of the Christmas Eve feast

Pakkeleg /Dice game

Glædelig jul / Mary Christmas 2025 

d. 25. startede stille og roligt og drengene fik åbnet deres ”stockings”. Vi havde inviteret Johnny til brunch og herefter åbnede vi gaver. Resten af eftermiddagen slappede vi af, legede med nyt legetøj og så Vikings spille. Endnu en skøn dag som blev afsluttet med kalkun og risalamande til aftensmad.

Silas got the almond in the Risalamande

Så selvom tingene ikke var helt ”som de plejer” denne december, så må vi sige at vi har haft en dejlig juletid med meget mindre stress og mere tid til at være sammen med hinanden.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas at Grandpa and Liz' house

Konfekt

Pebernødder og brundkage bagning

Gingerbread house #1

Gingerbread house #2

One of many Christmas movies 

Grandpa and Liz' stopped by to say farewell

Obligatorisk Risengrød d. 23. december (nu også med Mac'n'Cheese)

English (translated by AI):

What a wonderful Christmas we’ve had! We actually started celebrating Christmas in the middle of Advent, since Grandpa and Liz were going on vacation over Christmas. So on December 6, we gathered at their place together with Uncle Johnny for some cozy time, dinner, and lots of presents. It was lovely to be able to celebrate with our American side of the family again. Christmas is full of traditions, and perhaps that becomes even clearer when you are away from what is familiar and well known. No paper-cutting days, “nissevenner” (secret Santa friends), Christmas markets, Christmas lunches, Christmas concerts, snaps, mulled wine, dancing around the Christmas tree, Disney’s Christmas show, or “Det’ jul, det’ cool”, just to name a few. Partly for that reason, the lead-up to Christmas was in many ways different from what we’re used to and, at least, noticeably less stressful, since there were fewer things that needed to be “taken care of” and organized.

There were several highlights which, in addition to the previously mentioned Advent calendars, etc., included making candy and baking cookies, ice skating, and gingerbread houses. But I would like to highlight two special experiences that we look back on with great joy.

The first was my birthday present—a concert with one of the family’s favorite bands, For King & Country. Back in July, we heard that they would be playing two Christmas concerts in Minneapolis on December 10 and 11, but after some (a lot of) consideration, we decided not to buy tickets—or so I thought. Mary had other plans, and on the day itself the whole family went to the concert (even though Benjamin was actually supposed to play a concert with the school band—he plays percussion). It turned out to be a fantastic experience that we could share as a family, and it certainly kicked the Christmas spirit into high gear.

Another major experience also took place in mid-December, when several children and young people from the church performed the play “We Knead a Little Christmas.” All the children could take part, and rehearsals took place during children’s/junior church on Sundays and on Wednesdays in connection with the communal dinner. In many ways it resembled the productions that Mary and the Gospelteens have done, with acting, sets, and singing to backing tracks. So for Mary, it was actually quite “nostalgic” to sit in the pew and watch for once. Our children didn’t want to participate, so we were all able to enjoy the play and its message—twice, both at the dress rehearsal and at the church service where it was performed. The play was funny, touching, and carried a lovely Christmas message. I don’t know if Mary has already started translating the play into Danish, but in any case she had a hard time sitting still in the pew and just enjoying and listening 😊.

On Christmas Eve, we went to a service at Westgate Church, which is located close to Mary’s cousin (Sam), where we were invited for 5:00 p.m. We sang many wonderful Christmas songs with a modern feel, so even though we unfortunately couldn’t attend the service at “our” usual church (Maple Plain Community Church), the Christmas days got off to a great start. After that, we continued on to her cousin’s home where, as tradition dictates, everyone from Mary’s mother’s side of the family gathers. We were (again) about 30 people in total for a cozy evening with an abundant potluck dinner and desserts. The evening also included a gift exchange game, which is always an experience in itself. Although we had seen several family members over the past few months, there were also some we hadn’t been together with yet, so it was wonderful to see each other and catch up again.

December 25 started off quietly, and the boys opened their stockings. We had invited Johnny over for brunch, and after that we opened presents. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing, playing with new toys, and watching the Vikings play. Yet another lovely day, which was rounded off with turkey and risalamande for dinner.

So even though things weren’t quite “as usual” this December, we can say that we’ve had a wonderful Christmas season with much less stress and more time to be together.

Merry Christmas! 🎄

Tour de Lights

Dansk (english below):

Jul i USA er, for mig, lig med julelys! Julebelysningen (i hvert fald i Minnesota) startede for de fleste i slutningen af november lige omkring Thanksgiving. Jeg har altid haft hang til julelys, både de hvide og de multifarvede, derfor har jeg også gennem længere tid overvejet hvordan vi skulle få hængt lidt op i år uden at bruge en formue på det for bare dette ene år. Heldigvis fandt jeg en "guldmine" i en genbrugsbutik tæt på til en rigtig god pris. Desuden lånte vi lidt af Grandpa og nogle fra kirken (som også lånte os 4 kasser julepynt!). Så nu var vi klar til den helt store ” Griswold” opsætning med god hjælp fra Liam som sønnen ”Rusty” (jf. familiens favorit julefilm ”Fars fede juleferie”). Det rakte dog ikke helt så langt, så vi måtte nøjes.

En (ret lokal) observation har været, at der ikke umiddelbart er helt så mange som faktisk har julelys oppe som i Danmark. Man finder jo nærmest ikke et eneste hus i Danmark uden mindst en enkelt kæde udenfor, dem er der altså flere af her. Men dem som så har noget oppe, har så også ofte gjort noget mere ud af det end vi ser i Danmark.

Derfor tog vi vi på vores egen lille ”Tour de Lights”. Mary havde på forhånd undersøgt og udvalgt nogle spektakulære huse som vi kørte forbi og det skuffede så absolut ikke. Så nu fik jeg inspiration til de kommende år😊.   

Her er et uddrag af nogle af de mest imponerende:

English (translated with AI)

Christmas in the U.S. is, for me, synonymous with Christmas lights! The Christmas lighting (at least in Minnesota) started for most people toward the end of November, right around Thanksgiving. I’ve always had a fondness for Christmas lights, both white and multicolored, and for that reason I’d been thinking for quite some time about how we could put some up this year without spending a fortune for just this one year. Fortunately, I found a “gold mine” at a nearby thrift store at a really good price. In addition, we borrowed a bit from Grandpa and some from the church (who also lent us four boxes of Christmas decorations!). So we were ready for the big “Griswold” setup, with great help from Liam as the son “Rusty” (cf. the family’s favorite Christmas movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation). It didn’t quite stretch that far, though, so we had to settle for less.

One (fairly local) observation has been that there don’t seem to be quite as many people who actually put up Christmas lights as in Denmark. In Denmark, you can hardly find a single house without at least one string of lights outside; there are simply more of those here. But those who do have lights up often go much further with them than what we typically see in Denmark.

That’s why we went on our own little “Tour de Lights.” Mary had researched and selected some spectacular houses in advance that we drove by, and it absolutely did not disappoint. So now I’ve found inspiration for the coming years 😊.

Glædelig Advent og 1. december

Dansk (english below):

Så blev det (endelig) december! Og hvis december er lig med sne, julelys og kakao så er det i sandhed blevet december her. 

Som skrevet i sidste blogindlæg, så faldt der i weekenden 20 cm. sne. så vi fik fundet kælkene frem og drukker masser af kakao.

Da min søster og hendes familie besøgte os, kom de med både et kalenderlys og julekalendere til os alle. Så i weekenden blev der også tid til at lave en kalenderdekoration og selvfølgelig få tændt vores adventskrans (i år købt på Amazon😊). Desuden er julekalenderen udvalgt (blandt dem man kan se i udlandet fra DRTV), så nu kan december og julehyggen bare komme an. 

I søndags (1. søndag i advent) havde jeg fornøjelsen af at spille til gudstjenesten i kirken (igen). Der var selvfølgelig jule-/adventssange på programmet. Desuden blev både Mary og jeg spurgt om vi ville spille med til "speciel music" indslaget også - hvilket vi jo selvfølgelig sagde ja til😁. 

Det kan ses/høres her: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIvpdcr3tL4

Musikken starter ved 9:40 og "Special Music" ved 30:40.

Nu glæder vi os til en skøn, om end meget anderledes, december måned end vi er vant til. Normalt er kalenderen jo fyldt med masser af traditioner som div. advents- og julemarkeder, koncerter med flere af Marys kor, julefrokoster, konfekt og alt muligt at andet godt. I år føler vi, at december i hvert fald er startet i et andet gear end normalt. Lad os se om det også forbliver sådan. 

'

English (translated through google translate):

So it was (finally) December! And if December equals snow, Christmas lights and cocoa, then it has truly become December here. 

As written in the last blog post, 20 cm. of snow fell over the weekend. so we managed to find the sleds and drink lots of cocoa.

When my sister and her family visited us, they brought both a calendar candle and Christmas calendars for all of us. So this weekend there was also time to make a calendar decoration and of course light our Advent wreath (this year bought on Amazon😊). In addition, the Christmas calendar has been selected (among those that you can see abroad from DRTV), so now December and the Christmas cheer can just arrive. 

Last Sunday (1st Sunday in Advent) I had the pleasure of playing at the church service (again). Of course, there were Christmas/Advent songs on the program. In addition, both Mary and I were asked if we wanted to play for the "special music" feature as well - which we of course said yes to😁.

It can be seen/heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIvpdcr3tL4

The music starts at 9:40 and "Special Music" at 30:40.

Now we are looking forward to a wonderful, and very different, December than we are used to. Normally the calendar is filled with lots of traditions such as various Advent and Christmas markets, concerts with several of Mary's choirs, Christmas parties, confectionery and all sorts of other good things. This year we feel that December has at least started in a different gear than usual. Let's see if it stays that way.

Thanksgiving!

Dansk (English below): 

Selvom Thanksgiving ikke er en dansk højtid, så er det noget vi har fejret sammen lige siden vi mødte hinanden tilbage i 2005. Første gang var i Iowa (hos en af vores Watermark-venner). Siden er det blevet til 18 år i Danmark med skønne venner. Nu her 20 år senere er vi så tilbage i USA igen og kan få den "fulde" oplevelse endnu engang. 

Drengene (og Mary) havde fri fra skole allerede fra tirsdag og resten af ugen. Vi havde bestemt os for at vi (endelig) skulle besøge Great Wolf Lodge. Dette hotel, med indbygget vandland (ala Lalandia), ligger tæt ved lufthavnen i Minneapolis, så hvert år, når vi kører forbi, har spørgsmålet lydt "Skal vi ikke nok prøve det i år". Takket være en fantastisk tilbud kom tiden endelig hvor forventningerne kunne indfries. Vi havde en overnatning fra tirsdag til onsdag med svømning begge dage. Det var to skønne dage med masser af hygge både i poolen, i arkaden og på hotelværelset. 

Arcade fun!

Game night

Torsdag var det så endelig tid til Thanksgiving. Dagen startede ud stille og roligt hvor alle kunne tage det i deres tempo. Vi var inviteret ud til Grandpa og Liz sammen med Johnny og Molly til kl. 15.00, hvor menuen bød på en lækker traditionel Thanksgiving feast. Inden vi tog afsted fik vi også oplevet Macy's Thanksgiving Parade" og en smugle Football som begge er ikoniske og en del af den fulde oplevelse. 

Video chat with our danish Thanksgiving friends

Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on TV

Thanksgiving at Grandpa and Liz's

Vi havde en skøn dag, hvor vi endelig kunne få lov til at fejre den med vores amerikanske siden af familien. 

Fredag besøgte vi Marys moster og onkel i Winona hvor vi blev forkælet dagen igennem med både mad, selskab og gode oplevelser. Om aftenen var der varslet snestom, så vi tog køreturen (2½ time) hjem igen og lørdag vågnede vi op til 20 cm sne. Så resten af weekenden gik selvfølgelig med div. sneaktiviteter. 

En lille sidenote: Mandag var der forældresamtaler for alle tre drenge. De fik alle meget ros og lærerne fortalte at de var rigtig glade for at have dem i klassen.  

English (translated by Gemini): 

Even though Thanksgiving is not a Danish holiday, it is something we have celebrated together ever since we met back in 2005. The first time was in Iowa (hosted at one of our Watermark friends). Since then, it has been 18 years in Denmark with lovely friends. Now, 20 years later, we are back in the US again and can have the "full" experience once more.

The boys (and Mary) were off from school from Tuesday and for the rest of the week. We decided that we should (finally) visit Great Wolf Lodge. This hotel with an built-in water park (like Lalandia) is close to the airport in Minneapolis, so every year, when we drive past, the question has been "Shouldn't we try it this year?" Thanks to a fantastic offer, the time finally came when the anticipation could be fulfilled. We had an overnight stay from Tuesday to Wednesday with swimming both days. It was two wonderful days filled with lots of fun, both in the pool, in the arcade, and in the hotel room.

Thursday, it was finally time for Thanksgiving. The day started out calm and slow, where everyone could take it at their own pace. We were invited to Grandpa and Liz's, along with Johnny and Molly, for 3:00 PM, where the menu offered a delicious traditional Thanksgiving feast. Before we left, we also experienced Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and a little bit of Football, both of which are iconic and part of the full experience. We had a wonderful day where we finally got to celebrate it with our American side of the family.

On Friday, we visited Mary's aunt and uncle in Winona where we were spoiled throughout the day with food, company, and great experiences. A snowstorm was forecasted for the evening, so we took the drive (2½ hours) home again, and on Saturday, we woke up to 20 cm of snow. So, the rest of the weekend was, of course, spent with various snow activities.

A little side note: On Monday, there were parent-teacher conferences for all three boys. They all received much praise, and the teachers said that they were very happy to have them in the class.

Halloween USA

Last week was the holiday Halloween here in the US. Of course the decorating and festivities started a lot earlier, as Søren mentioned.  Halloween and Fall are synomous here, meaning they go hand in hand;  orange colors, pumpkins and ghourds.  And then there are the spider webs and skeletons, but I would say mostly just lots of Fall colors.  We noticed a lot of people have big blow up Halloween decorations now a days.  See this one of Bluey and family dressed up!  

The boys and I were excited about getting to do Halloween festivities for weeks before Halloween.  We had secured costumes at least a week ahead of time. ;-) Liam as a monkey, Benjamin as his favorite Barcelona player Jamine Yamal, and Silas (after a bit debate about not being allowed to dress up as scary or murderous things) dressed up as a magician.  

The day of Halloween we went to the Trunk or Treat event at our church.  The concept is that people decorate their trunks with a theme and park in a parking lot so people can come visit and get candy. The themes here were very light - popular cartoon characters, movie themes, etc.  My favorite was the Christian themed trunk that was a cat theme and said "God's love is Purr-fect".  It was a nice event to reach out to the community and spread happiness.

Afterwards the boys and I headed to Grandpa and Lizzie's house to say trick or treat! It was fun to get to see them, as we've never been able to do that before, and Silas got to show a magic trick.  

During dinner we were all prepared to hand out candy to trick or treaters, but as it was raining slightly we only had 2 guests before we ourselves went out in the neighborhood.   The boys were excited to go real trick or treating this year, as their previous experiences with trick or treating have included me going from room to room of our own house, changing hats and outfits, so they could say "trick or treat" at each door and get some candy!  They've loved it, but were excited about the REAL DEAL!

We all wanted to go together so we just left a bowl full of candy on the front step. 

Just a little candy ;-)

 Walking around in the neighborhood was such a joy.  All three boys had a great time and were very brave walking up to doors and saying "trick or treat".  Of course a lot of the people handing out candy wanted to talk to them, and ask them questions, so they really got a cultural experience out of it.  We also learnd that people don't just give out one piece of candy, they give out at least 2 or 3, and sometimes even a whole handfull! Some families had built a campfire in their front yards and were sitting around hanging out and passing out candy. It was very cosy.  We enjoyed seeing some houses that had really decorated a lot.  

A few places had moving statues that would sing a spooky song or start moving and blink their eyes, and that was fun too.  There wasn't a single place that had any really scary or gory items. It was just a festive night with lots of activity in the streets and friendly people.  All in all a great family experience. 

We walked around for almost 2 hours and when we got home around 8:30pm the boys quickly poured out their candy and started sorting it.  It was fun to see types of candy I had forgotten about, for example "Butterfingers"....there were lots of Snickers and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.  The boys got to eat a few pieces for bed, but I think we have plenty of candy for the next long time!