Christmas greetings 2009

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Hello everybody!

This will be a short note this Christmas to tell you we are still going strong!

We are thankful for being healthy, and have not seen any kinds of “flues” around. This makes us able to be active and hardworking!

Magne and I did not have much of a summer vacation this year. We had short trips in the mountains with my family. One of the tops climbed, was “Preikestolen” together with my mother, my sisters and their families. We also visited some dear friends in southern Norway. The rest of the summer was spent painting the house, of course with daily trips to the beach to swim! The house looks nice now, and we just hope the paint’s commercial is right, saying we don’t have to repeat the work in 12 years…

But we have had a wonderful year travelling:

New Year’s was spent in Norway’s most beautiful valley, Valdres, a skiing paradise. We celebrated a friend’s 50th birthday. In March we had a trip to Hamburg, in May to Iceland, in September another trip to Southern Norway for another birthday, in October to Switzerland, and in November to Lübeck to visit Solbjørg who is practicing her medical skills in the hospital there. Solbjørg will come home for Christmas and continue her medical studies in Bergen. She and Magnar rent an apartment together there. Magnar studies computer science. They still dance together, and practice every time they live in the same country. They just competed in the Norwegian Championship.

Ingrid is now in Alta, Northern Norway. She was so inspired by her brother’s and sister’s tales from Alta, and is now making them her own. So now she has a year of skiing, mountain climbing, Bible study, stars and arctic lights.

We are lucky to have a big family and many friends. This year has been great: So many have celebrated birthdays with big parties, and we have even been to the most remarkable wedding of a niece and her husband. I celebrated my 50th birthday in March. I had more than a hundred guests and enjoyed a party getting a lot of attention and having very much fun. I wished for gifts to poor children in Albania, and could send a large amount after my celebration.

Magne works all day and all week, and I do believe he is successful now and then. Several times a week he works out on his bike, making the narrow roads on the island dangerous.

I have no time for working out anymore, but use my bike to and from school, and I frequently visit the swimming hall close to school. I teach 5th grade this year, and work takes so much of my life and time, that I keep forgetting the fun and joy of it. I have to do something about this some day… (I keep saying this every year).

One of the small, but important things we have done this year was to walk our entire island together with good friends. We started as far north as possible in the morning, and headed south for a full day, till the end. A very good way to celebrate Easter!

But now is Advent; we are preparing for the celebration of God’s love to all mankind and for our reunion with family and friends who come home to spend Christmas together.

Solbjørg, Astrid, Magne, Magnar, and Ingrid wish you

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!