Merry Christmas!!!

This is one of the pictures that didn't make the final cut in the Halldorson Christmas card but it's still cute! This year Will was still agreeable to wear something matching with Zanna (which I'm thrilled about) so I went with it. Aren't they cute?!!!!

A Halldorson tradition - an IKEA Christmas tree. $20 and you get a $20 coupon to spend in the New Year. What a deal!Some families go to a tree farm, freeze their buns off, God bless them, for the sake of the "experience", have some hot chocolate and cut down a tree. We pile in the car and go to IKEA and have it over and done with in 15min. I love it! After last years tree falling over fiasco we were a bit more sensitive to that problem this year. We made sure that the trunk was nice and straight. We bought a new tree stand (new and improved - Canadian made!). Bottom line - it's a piece of $40 plastic crap. Wayne still had to reinforce it with plastic ties but it seems to be holding up. We hope.

In November we took a little getaway to Syracuse (my favourite place to get my American shopping fix). I bought some presents, we ate at Olive Garden, wandered up and down the aisles of Target (gosh, I love that place). We stayed at a hotel with a pool and the kids had a blast. We got together with the Gumm family - they came to our hotel to swim and we had some pizza. Addie and Zanna got to play together - it's so sweet! I would have posted a picture of them but as a general rule I don't post pictures of other peoples kids no matter how cute they are! Anyway, it was great to get out of Dodge if only for 2 nights!

We had a lovely American Thanksgiving. We had some more of our Chinese friends over who had never had a traditional meal like this - it was great! Will presented his lapbook to the group explaining the history of the holiday and how it came about.

Now we're in the full swing of the Christmas season. We've got lots of snow (again) and my garden flag that says "Jesus is the Reason" has been buried (again). This year with Zanna just a bit older it's been great to be able to send the kids outside and they will play together making snowmen, or snowforts or whatever. They'll spend an hour playing outside and it's LOVELY!

Zanna was invited to a birthday party last weekend for a little Chinese girl that lives around the corner. I wish I would have brought my camera because soon after our arrival the girls were taken upstairs to change into dress up princess dresses that they wore for the remainder of the party. They were all adorable! Zanna was in heaven. They beaded their own necklaces, made bracelets,ate cake - she talked about it all week! The girl's mother and I had a chance to chat too and in the course of our conversation she shared with me that she is from a Chinese family line that is allowed to have as many children as they wish because they are Muslim. I had the privilege of sharing with her the good news of Jesus and that He is God. Of course, she did not understand this but never the less heard the message. Please keep this women in your prayers!

We are looking forward to Christmas in Wisconsin (or rather, the day after Christmas as we'll be driving on Christmas!). Lord-willing, my family will be all together - so exciting! Merry Christmas!!!!