Howdy!

It's been a while... okay, well a long while. :) And thanks to a few nudges on facebook, I am finally updating everyone. We have had, as most people have during the holidays, a busy season. We are home and settled in after an awesome visit to the states. We have had an amazing holiday season. I couldn't have asked for more, really. We chose to stay in Denmark for Christmas to learn the traditions and be with our Danish family. It was so much fun! The food, the dancing around the tree, the FAMILY. We could not be more blessed. The children had their first visit from Santa Claus (Jule Mand) who came to the door and knocked. Yup, he knocked. :) It has been a lot of fun!
Our trip to the states was hectic, but absolutely delightful. We chose to stay 2 nights each with different friends and family. We tried to make sure that quality time was involved with important people and also added group girl time, 3 runs with the running buddy, 3 runs on my own, a birthday party for Joseph, a New Year's Eve party and a trip down to Hilton Head. This made for a lot of good time to spend with friends, but it was also tough moving around out of our suitcases for 10 days. But, I think it was soooo worth it! We hit Chick-fil-A twice (not nearly enough), San Jose's, El Poblano (this was a funny night!), Rosso's, Panera, Little Caesars, some truly excellent home cooking, Cracker Barrel on the last day with my dad and Sandy, and the most important... Starbucks a whopping 9 times. Yes folks, I know it's sad... I love that place.

Joseph and Emma are still loving school and are doing very well there. We had parent-teacher conferences before the break and all of the teachers said wonderful things. :)
Not only is it awesome to hear Emma say that she loves school now, but it's also amazing to hear her teacher's praise her on how smart and sweet she is! I know she is bright, but it is in her own way. She is more artistic and social minded. She can sing and act like a Disney princess and she can sing and act like a diva as well. :) She is very creative in arts, using coloring and blending techniques that other children her age don't think to do. The books smarts stuff... she just doesn't care about that. And here in Denmark, that's okay! The way they teach kindergarten at this school goes along with the abilities of each child. They do things together, but also things seperately. Last year she got in trouble for not being able to sit still. Here, it's okay to have wiggles in your pants. They have 2 recesses and 2 playtimes during their 8am-1pm day. A much easier task for a little person. The danish school system sets Miss Emma up for success. A great way to start! I am so grateful for this opportunity for Emma to shine like she deserves to.

Joseph has found his 1st grade adjustment a little more challenging. At first he was interested because he was learning the language, but then he became a little bored. Here, they teach children how to read when they are 7. In the states a lot of places have children reading when they are 4 and 5. Joseph was one of those kids and he is an excellent reader. The teacher's only complaint about Joseph was that he didn't look like he was paying attention in class. It wasn't that he missed questions or assigments, but that he, by looking distracted, therefore distracted the other children. After brainstorming with the teachers and with him, we came up with solutions and now it is going better. He loves going to school so much that when we were getting off of the plane on Thursday, January 6th at 1pm after 16 hours of traveling, he asked to go to school. Ha!!! He has made many friends and they are very sweet. He and his girlfriend are "still together" and I think she is just the sweetest danish child I have met other than my nieces. This past Saturday we had a birthday party for him (his third!!!)and almost the whole class was here. It was complete and total insanity. I think the kids had a blast, but man, whew...

Samuel's experiences at børnehave have been up and down. We are evaluating now what the reasons are for this. The only concrete thing we have come up with for sure is that he is just a little mommy/far sick when we leave. He says he is bored some days, but the teachers say otherwise. SO, we are still in limbo as to what, if anything, we will do about pushing him ahead a year to kindergarten. He has a little "girlfriend" as well. Her name is Ida. We are supposed to go to her house tomorrow for some play time. :) Samuel is growing into such a little man. He wears suit vests or sweater vests, button down shirts and ties most days. Yes, even to school. He eats with a fork and a knife and, of the three children, is the neatest and tidiest at the table. He has the best manners too! It is amusing to watch him eat and quite often I get tickled by his adultness. Especially when it is followed by a miniature fit about something ridiculous. :) Today, he is home sick and we are snuggling on the couch. He is watching Enchanted while I finish writing this update.

So, for now. That's it! I am going to enjoy my sick day with Sam the man. Hugs to all!