Christmas 2014

Ben's parents arrived on the Sunday evening before Christmas and the boys went berserk - screaming, jumping, somersaulting, running around. It was pretty exciting to see someone we know. 

On Monday, we drove to Trier, Germany for a Christmas Market. It was bitterly cold. We went in search of a carousel and Karen got right down to business shopping and buying food. 

After several epic meltdowns by Otto and Aksel, we bought ourselves another half hour with candy canes and continued to walk around the city. Karen found herself a nativity scene cut out of a log and a giant cake ball, which she said she ate a lot of as a child in Norway. I had, of course, seen these giant, chocolate covered marshmallow balls at all of the Christmas Markets and had wondered who would buy them. I now know. 

Karen, Otto, and I went to several grocery stores that evening stocking up on items for the next four days (nothing would be open). 

On Tuesday, we went to a new Airplane-themed park in Cents. The Moshers joined us and we kept warm by eating Ashley's sugar cookies and sharing a pair of Oliver's mittens (Otto didn't stop talking about the mittens for weeks). 

Then Ben, Karen, and George escaped for the afternoon to Vianden Castle, and the Luxembourg missionaries came over for dinner and Nativity watching. 

On Christmas Eve, the boys and I went on a walk and bike ride around the neighborhood while Ben, Ingrid and George went to pick up Ben's hand-tailored new suit. Karen went on a walk of her own, finding three bakeries and my favorite home interior store (appropriately named, Home Interiors) around the corner. She returned when she had run out of money and couldn't get the ATM to work. 

George and Karen then hopped on the bus headed downtown to the Luxembourg City Centre to wander around, window shop, and see the Christmas Market and Ben delivered a Book of Mormon in French, German, and English to Birgit Goldak. When they returned, we fed the boys dinner, sang Christmas songs, ate the last chocolate out of their advent calendars, watched the Nativity movie and tucked the children in bed. 

The four adults sat down to a roast, carrots, potatoes, parsnips, bread, egg nog, Schweppes, tarts, and chocolate cream pie. 

By 8 the next morning, Otto was waking everyone up and encouraging us all to go downstairs for presents. 

Grandma for the win as Otto unwrapped a red helicopter with a rescue grab hook for carrying plastic injured people to safety. He didn't care about anything else.

We labeled all of the toys (as we normally do) with a silver sharpie O and A, so the boys would know which toy belongs to which munchkin with the hope of eliminating some arguments, and then we turned our couch into a bed and watched the Curious George Christmas Movie. 

We spent the afternoon at Bambësch Woods, Aksel helping himself to a dozen Ferrero Rocher's, eating leftovers, napping, packing for Utah, and eating pie. 

My favorite memory from our Christmas in Luxembourg was watching Otto cut out this Nativity set and glue to popsicle sticks I swiped from the hospital. We watched the Nativity movie at least once a day for the entire month of December, and each time our home was filled with the Spirit of Christ as our small children learned about the birth of our Savior. 

It would have been a lonely week without Karen and George. We are so glad they came to visit and filled our home with stories from their own mission in Sweden, Ben's favorite chocolate cream pie, laughter, Norwegian chocolate bars, blessings, and mishaps (like Karen falling out of the shower and limping for two days). 

Living in Luxembourg at Christmastime is an experience I will treasure for the rest of my life.