Holidays at the Carlson

Finally, we are catching our breaths after the busy holidays. And without further delay, we wish to bring you an update about those fun occasions:
On Thanksgiving, we had several families from church - reaching a grand total of twenty-five people to fit around three tables stretched out between our dining room and living room. For dinner, we enjoyed a true feast of both traditional Thanksgiving food and also some delicious Puerto Rican dishes, compliments of the Larrazabals and Gaitans. After dinner, we all remained at the table to engage in the Carlson traditional version of giving thanks. Each person received three kernels of corn, and for each kernel, we had a chance to tell something for which we are thankful. It was a wonderful time of giving God thanks for all the rich blessings we daily enjoy. After leveling some of the mountain of dishes, the parents gathered in the living room and the teenagers retired to the garage to make use of
the ping-pong table, while some of the younger children played play-mobiles and horses in the girls' room. The evening concluded with a hymnsing.
The day after Thanksgiving, another day of fellowship commenced at two o'clock, when we headed over to some friends' house for a hike and games.

The hike was fun, but cold, and we got lost several times. When we all returned to the house, we played "Telephone Pictionary" and loved it. The point of the game is to have a laugh, but it isn't very competitive. Everyone starts with a pile of small papers equal to the number of players. They write a phrase on the top paper, and then pass the entire stack to the player to their right. For the next round, everyone looks at the phrase they've received and try to draw a picture to represent that phrase. They then place the first paper under the pile, so that the next person will only see their picture. On the third round, everyone looks at the picture and tries to write a phrase that they believe summarizes the picture. The rounds continue to alternate all the way around the circle, until you receive your original phrase in some mangled form. Then, everyone shares their train, and work off dinner by laughing hysterically! In order to prolong the fun of the evening, all the girls remained for a sleep-over.
Well, moving onto the next holiday, zooming past finals, the departure of the Birketts after their eight week stay at our house, and last minute preparations, Christmas arrived. We had a very quiet Christmas Eve with the Rimbachs. Our traditional Christmas eve dinner are some Swedish dishes reminiscent of my dad's childhood Christmases. The next morning, we had a delightful family morning, opening gifts, playing games, and preparing for our guests, who arrived at four for a delicious Christmas dinner of cranberry-stuffed acorn squash, stuffed pork loin, mashed potatoes, and a variety of rolls. Daddy led a profitable devotional, and then we all enjoyed a hymn sing with Mrs. Chanski playing the piano. Afterwards, we gathered in the living room to play our new favorite game, Telephone Pictionary. To give you a taste of the game: Daddy started his telephone message with "Mephibosheth," and it ended "Snowman in front of a house." Julie started with her historical hero, "President Teddy Roosevelt," who quickly became "King David" and ended with a "Jester King." (I bet you never knew that Roosevelt was a Jester, or a king - despite his dealings with Columbia!) After a brief ping-pong intermission, those who remained began playing Catch-Phrase, and we played until one in the morning, by which time no ones' brains were working properly, and easy words were unprecedentedly difficult! The festivities finally ended, leaving us happy to have had an evening of fellowship and a day of celebrating the wonder that God would humble Himself to be born as a man.
One week later was New Year's Eve. We spent that evening with a group of thirty people at the church, playing games and eating. At about 11pm, we gathered for a devotional about "Remembering." We sang some hymns and then "prayed in the New Year." Working together, we all cleaned up the food and games fairly quickly and headed home in the falling snow. New Year's day itself was a quiet family day. Andrew headed out to a winter camp out, and the four of us who remained played some games we had received at Christmas.
On the whole, this break from school has been packed with fellowship, food, and wonderful family time. We hope and pray that each of you have also had a wonderful break.