God Jul i Stugan

Olivia got to say Merry Christmas to everybody at home in Sweden. God Jul till er alla!!!

Christmas Eve morning

In Sweden our big Christmas day is Christmas Eve. And as I am writing, my family in Sweden are eating their big Christmas Lunch and in a few minutes they will be watching the Disney Christmas television show that has been shown in Sweden in over 30 years. I decided to let Olivia open some of the gifts that my parents had sent from Sweden. She absolutely loved the dress and the book. "Tack kara mor och far." I can't believe it's been 7 years since I was home for Christmas. Well, I shouldn't complain, my aunt Gittan, hasn't been home for a Swedish Christmas in 30 years. I hope it won't be that long till I get to go home. Tonight we will be going over to Gittan's and celebrate with family and friends and tomorrow we will go to Nonna and Papa. Olivia is very excited to see Nonna and Papa. This morning Mumsey will come over for a little Christmas celebration. We are looking forward to that too. Have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year. God Jul till er alla!!! Ps. YOu might wonder who that beast is on the picture. That is our dog Cooper and not the wolf from " Three little Pigs."

Olivia...my little Bohemian

My friend Beth captured a sweet moment as we were taking some family photos a couple weeks ago. So much of my stress level these days have been Olivia. She has a will like no other and most days I have moments of panic. The other day I was cleaning up another poopy butt as she decided to jump off the toilet into my arms. I kept putting her back on the toilet, but she thought it was so funny to keep jumping into my arms. I finally had to leave the bathroom and close myself in another room just to breathe. She came running after me ( still with poop all over her butt) asking me "what's wrong Mommy?" She didn't know that I was about to have a nervous breakdown, if she was going to jump off that toilet once more. Everyday I have to chase her down to get her clothes on and it's almost impossible to keep a ribbon in her hair. The other day Will said she looks like a Bohemian. Do I take that as a complement or should I be offended, I don't know??? All I can say is that my daughter is helping me in my sanctifying process.

Lucia video clip

Here is a little taste of how it sounded...

Swedish Lucia party

We celebrated our 8th annual Lucia performance in our home in Memphis. Will wanted to be the Lucia so bad this year, but we didn't think he had enough hair to really pull it off. So we had my friend Elin as the Lucia. She is about to have a baby any time now and had to sit on a chair during the performance. There were between 40-50 people who came to see this spectacular performance. Somehow we all managed to squeeze in!! We had a great night.

Christmas pictures...

Nonna really wanted to get some Christmas pictures taken in the sweet outfits that she had made for Aaron and Olivia. But, Oboy, it's not easy to take good pictures.

In the nude...

Mumsey with Aaron and Olivia

Mumsey (Jan) came over the other day for a visit. We had such a wonderful time. Olivia adores Mumsey and loved eating the steamed artichokes dipped in lemonbutter. I know, she has the weirdest sense of taste.

Ruth, the dancer...

Olivia's friend Ruth came over the other day. Mickie turned on some music and the girls started to dance. Ruth already knows how to move her hips to the beat of the music.

Moments with Nonna and Poppa

Olivia was so excited to go on a date with her Poppa. She was so proud as we waved her off in the truck. Nonna loves reading books with Olivia and take pictures from all sorts of angles.

Early Thanksgiving gathering...

We celebrated Thanksgiving a week early with Will's side of the family. All the Aunts and Uncle were gathered and loved spending time with Olivia and Aaron.

Elias David Woodhouse Schmit

My dad, Rocky, sent me these photos a few days ago of Elias David. He is so precious and thought I would share them with you.

Jesus "rubbes" me

Olivia is quite the performer these days.

Cousins are happy to hear the good news...

We've been waiting so long for this bundle of joy to arrive. Cousin Elias David Woodhouse arrived Sunday morning in Sweden. If you have no clue what I'm talking about. My brother Emanuel and his wife, Heidi, just had their first baby boy. The cousins in Memphis are eager to see pictures.

I'm a little teapot

She finally warmed up and sang "I'm a little teapot." You will understand what I mean if you saw the previous video clip.

The other day I got Olivia up from a nap and I thought we would have some music time. She was not in a good mood and didn't want to sing even as I tried to sing her favorite songs. She certainly has a strong will (to say the least). Hopefully next time you can hear her sing her own version of "Jesus loves me." It is somehow hard for her to say "loves" so it becomes "rubbes."

What would I do without my in-laws?? They are so generous with their time and support. With no hesitation they came to Memphis to watch Olivia and Aaron and let Will and I have some vacation. I got a few shots of Nonna, Papa and Aaron right before we left for Mississippi. Aaron had the biggest grin on his face and I was able to get a good shot.

Will and I got to spend our first weekend together without the kids. Nonna and Papa came to Memphis and watched Olivia and Aaron and we got to go to a lake house in Mississippi for a couple of days. It was so wonderful and refreshing in every kind of way. You sort of forget how life is without kids. "Thank you Beth for suggesting the lake house."

Slideshow through past time...

Slideshow testing...

Rubies and Pearls...

We went to a coffeeshop in Collierville to listen to Mickie and her friends Saturday night. She seems to have a gig almost every night these days. It's getting quite fun to see her in this role as a musician in Memphis. She is now known as "Mickie the Sweede."

Playing in the park

It is November and we can go outside in short sleeves. Now, that is foreign to a Sweede. I just talked to my parents and they said they have got their first snow in Sweden. Will and I and the kids went for a little stroll in the park. Olivia is so full of life and isn't scared of anything. She climbs up slides and loves to do pretty risky things. She must have got that from her dad.

The other day Olivia helped me in the yard. She loves watering the plants and get her hands dirty. Aaron is so laid back and just watches his big sister do all sorts of things around the house.

Mickie's new song...

Mickie is working on her new song and wanted me to record it
so she wouldn't forget it the next day.

More from Halloween...

Happy Halloween

A group of us decided to take our kids trick or treating down our street. We tried to get group pictures, but it is sure hard to get the little ones to focus on taking pictures. They were probably wondering what on earth we were putting them in such crazy costumes.