Merry Christmas!

This will be our third out of five Christmas spent here in Belgium. Although being just the two of us on Christmas day feels a bit like any other weekend it is also nice not to be running around in the last minute Christmas rush. We will definitely miss seeing our families but since they all live so close together in Georiga, sometimes it can feel like we are driving around all day and stuffing our faces rather than just relaxing at Christmas.

Tomorrow we are going to a British friends house for a "proper Christmas roast." I'm not even quite sure what that means, but it sounds good. We are headed to another friend's house for tea on Boxing Day. I have lived here four years and I still needed to get her to translate what day and time that meant (apparently it is December 26 at 5ish for a light supper).

This weekend we went to Strasbourg, France and Trier, Germany for their Christmas markets. We have decided that hands down, if you want a good Christmas market, go to Germany. They really know how to do those things right. Strasbourg was a pretty city filled with split timbered houses, while Trier was a much smaller town but well kept. We hit the 'perfect storm' of the Trier Christmas market -- it was the weekend before Christmas and it was a Sunday (so everything else was closed and it was the only thing open). The gluvine was flowing, all the booths were covered in greenery, bands were playing Christmas carols and there was plenty of good food. We went back Monday and as Kyle perfectly summarized, "This feels like we are in the hangover of the Christmas market" -- the greenery was down, no music was being played, everyone seemed tired and worn out. All this to say, we are glad we went on Sunday and we are just trying to forget about Monday. Our strategy for eating in Trier was to split everything and eat every hour and a half. By doing this we were able to taste sausages, fried potato cakes with apple sauce, mini-pancakes with powdered sugar, and a brick oven style pizza. It was all delicious!

The French version of what I should call my kitchen.

Kyle in Strasbourg.

Our church recently showed a very interesting video that I really liked. I think it is great to give presents when you have found something that you know the person would really like, but I hate it when you are standing in the store just thinking, "What can I get this person? Maybe bath soaps, a candle or some other generic thing so that I can just check it off my list?"


As we were driving through France I heard this song and have now decided that it will be "our" Christmas song. The words are perfect and express exactly what I feel with getting to spend Christmas with Kyle, as well as every other day of my life. After four plus years of marriage and almost eight years of being together, I still pinch myself and wonder how I got so lucky to find such a wonderful person to share my life with.

Merry Christmas!!!