Thankfully homesick

If there's one day a year that I am truly homesick, it is today. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and one that means so much to me. I think of it as a chance to sit back and take stock of my life and all of the wonderful blessings that fill it.

Being away from the US today means that I will miss an amazing, stuff-myself-to the-brim meal made lovingly by my Grandpa. I will miss the traditional pass-the-phone-around calls to family in California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Ohio and Georgia. But most of all, I will miss the chance to tell those members of my family who are not in Sweden today how thankful I am to have each and every one of them in my life.

We will celebrate Thanksgiving on Saturday with Eva and Steve and their kids, American-Swedish friends of ours. I am so happy that we have the chance to hang out with them, share some turkey, laughter and smiles and I'm really looking forward to it!

The past week has been busy -- Nicholas took his first unassisted steps (he can take five now before he tips over), he began insisting that he can feed himself, all three boys were sick, and Nicholas had his first haircut (which left him looking like a completely different little boy -- not exactly our intention). Over the weekend we got over two feet of snow. Unfortunately, it's melting today, but I wanted to share some pictures of it. In fact, here is a bunch of pictures and one cute little movie.

Happy Turkey Day!

Winter begins

The view from our porch at dusk

Caught in the act

You mean I'm not allowed to make my own chocolate milk?

My famous boys

As previously mentioned, Matthew and Lucas took part in a presidential debate and mock election at school earlier this week. Those events were filmed by the Swedish National Television network (SVT) and were covered tonight in the children's newscast.

You can see an excerpt of it here (some of the people are speaking Swedish). Watch for Matthew and Lucas, who are handling the vote count.

A moment in history

Nicholas closely watching the news -- Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States!!!!!

VOTE!

When I was a little girl, I used to think Election Day was held on November 4 just because it was my birthday. I didn't realize at the time that the day shifts from year to year or that it had nothing whatsoever to do with my birthday, despite the fact that I was indeed a very special little girl.

Today, though, being a bit wiser, I just want to say that even if you are busy celebrating my birthday, I hope that each and every one of you who is able to vote in the US election heads to the polls.

A few weeks ago I gave a presentation for Matthew's class about the election and the US electoral system. The students asked a bunch of questions that really gave food for thought. These 10 and 11 year olds were concerned with issues like:

Do you think that George Bush is responsible for all the banks falling apart?

What will the candidates do about the war in Iraq?

Why doesn't every American child have a right to health care and a good education?

Yes, I have sent in my absentee ballot. Yes, Matthew and Lucas will both take part in a "presidential debate" and vote in a mock election at school today, even though they attend a Swedish school.

VOTE!

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Lucas and his buddy Anton went trick-or-treating Friday and had a great time. Despite the snow and freezing temperatures, they came back with bags filled with candy, popcorn and potato chips. Matthew wasn't able to join them because he was in Denmark vacationing with Steen's parents.



Nick and I hung out at home handing out candy and trying to scare children with my great impersonation of a witch. Some say I look like a witch whether it's Halloween or not.




On Saturday, Matthew and Lucas took part in their first tennis tournament. Both of them did great considering they've only been playing for a few months. Matthew won 2 games and lost 3, while Lucas won 4 and tied 1.

On Sunday, Helena, Anders, and Eva -- and their kids -- came over to celebrate Nicholas's birthday.

Here's a bonus photo of Nicholas playing with the garage he got from his Bedstemor and Bedstefar for his birthday. He adores it!