Madeline Rose: Christmas 2014

Our Little Angel

What a wonderful Christmas season filled with family and friend time! We enjoyed every moment of our visit. Christmas in Minnesota started with a heat wave and melting snow; luckily part way through our trip there was a five inch snowfall so we were able to enjoy Minnesota snow...and sledding!

We arrived in Minnesota on December 19 and spent a couple of days with Mike and Jan, spending some time with friends (thanks to Joe and Heather for hosting a kid-friendly gathering) and family. Jana and Colin spent one night with us at Mike and Jan's, which was lots of fun for Maddy.

We headed to Duluth/Knife River on Sunday and spent the next several days (through Christmas morning) with the Sebastian side of the family. Joel, Silver, Anali and Lisa (foreign exchange student from Germany staying with them) were also at my parent's and we all had a great time! The Johnsons came on Monday, including Grama, Uncle John, Aunt Sharon, Jared and his daughter Jemma, and Janine. Catching up with them was fun, lots of reminiscing! The next evening we went to Bentlyville and enjoyed the lights, and went to dinner at Blackwoods, where Maddy finally got her first taste of walleye. Christmas eve dinner (pigs in the blanket and pork tenderloin) was fantastic as always, and that night Maddy loved playing elf and handing out gifts. Everyone was very generous as always, and we all enjoyed our gifts! Grandmom helped Anali and Maddy put together a plate of cookies for Santa/carrots for the reindeer. There were a few Elves hanging out at Mom and Dad's including Maddy's own "Simi Newmi" so we all hoped for a good report to Santa. Santa did not disappoint, and everyone had gifts waiting on Christmas morning.

Our family headed back to the cities, where we stayed with Jeff, Sara, Jana and Colin. On Christmas day we had the Faust extended family gathering at Ben and Shelly's on Christmas, attended by the Thurnaus, Mike and Jan, Tom and Susan, our family, Uncle Bob, Chuck, Debbie, Rick, Randy, Matt, Seamus and Finnegan. Friday the 26th we celebrated the Faust Family Christmas at Ben and Shelly's, complete with steak, mushrooms, potatoes and all sorts of cookies and ice creams for dessert. We exchanged our gifts and a great time was had by all!

Saturday was the day we had the 5 inches of snow, and all the cousins gathered at the park near Jeff and Sara's to go sledding. We all had a great time, minus the snafu where Steve and Maddy collided with a dog while tubing down the hill. Maddy's hysterics subsided when we saw there was a swing nearby, and after a bit of time swinging in her snow gear (which she thought was hilarious) we were back on track, and sledding once again. That night we had Movie Night at Jeff and Sara's and the adults enjoyed a movie upstairs while the kids watched their movie downstairs.

It was a wonderful visit and nice to have time to spend with everyone on both sides of the family. Steve and Maddy headed back to Portland on Sunday and I stayed on a couple more days at Barbi and Erik's (thank you!) so I could work a couple of days from my home office in Minneapolis. That went well, and I flew back to Portland Tuesday evening, making it home in time for New Year's Eve.