December days

The patter of feet on the stairs roused me from my happy sleeping state. Opening one eye ever so slightly, I ascertained that it was too early for the festivities to begin. It was precisely 5:52 in the a.m. Without opening the other eye, I asked how many little people happened to be in my bedroom at such an hour. With excitement in her voice, Anna answered, "Three". Only Peter was still asleep. Informing them we would not begin opening gifts until they were all awake, I pulled the covers over my head, snuggled down into the bed and was just about to return to dreamland when they burst back in with one cranky boy and announced they were ready to open presents. That was at 5:58. By 7:15, the living room had gone from picturesque to destroyed, the kids were trying out all the new toys and I was in the kitchen making coffee and breakfast.

Before the onslaught of present opening began. Notice the blackness still outside the window. Makes for very grainy pictures and very groggy parents.

His was an antique Christmas. Almost all of his gifts were found at the flohmarkt. The typewriter actually still works that he received. Every page begins with the heading "Jack A Reosti 2015". The pecking on the keys, the ding at the end of a line, and the overuse of the space bar is all I hear now.

What a fun game! She also has been scootering around everywhere, thanks to her aunt.

This kid was extremely grateful for all her gifts, considering her main present is still lost is transit somewhere.

Ahoy, mateys! With this here spy glass and the treasure map that accompanied his new pirate outfit, he is ready to seek some treasures on the high seas.

Christmas day was rainy and gray. Yesterday and today were unseasonably warm and sunny. We took advantage of the rare weather and went exploring a little in our new village. We found the playground yesterday. It is a gem of a playground and seeing the train roll into the station every 30 minutes made it even better for my boys. Today, we crossed the tracks and headed uphill to find the little hut we can see on the mountain from our backyard. It was a lovely hike and the view of our village from atop the mountain was amazing. And now, if you will excuse me, I must go and play Ticket to Ride with my family.

We cross over a footbridge on the way to the park. It reminds me the little creek in Ft. Ashby, WV, where I spent time every summer throughout my childhood.

Flowers blooming in December! Happy me!

This is far and away the best version of a see-saw I have ever had the pleasure of riding. We want one in our backyard.

Jack and Therese almost make a good counterweight for me. Anna and Therese were a slightly better match.

"Higher! Higher!"

I am thinking not many people use this bench on the hiking trail.

"How much farther, Mama?"

a lovely, sunny, Sunday afternoon

Our village. You can see our old village in the distance directly behind it.