Brussels--Finally!

We went to Belgium! It has been a long anticipated trip. Ever since Ian and I have been married, we've talked about going to visit his mission together. Five years since he got home, 4 years of marriage, and 2 children later we finally made it! Here is the photo slideshow.

Some of the highlights from our trip:

Language: Brussels is such a cool place because you're never sure what language you'll need. It was my first time visiting a place where English wasn't the main language. I was pleasantly surprised at how multi lingual everyone was! You almost have to speak at least 2 languages to live there! I would say French was the most common, but I met people who spoke dutch and english also. I had a great opportunity to speak/practice my french. I definitely made mistakes and gained a little sympathy for new missionaries. But it was cool to see that even if I don't speak perfect french I can communicate and that gave me the confidence to keep learning and trying. I did find it frustrating a couple of times that when people would hear my American French accent they would sometimes switch into English. It was thoughtful. They were trying to help me feel comfortable, but I wanted to practice French. I did get to order a waffle in French though. It was a unique experience!

Food: The food was AMAZING. I could eat food like that all the time. It wasn't all traditionally Belgian, but it was all good. The kebabs and frites were so delicious especially with the special sauces they have. The waffles were heavenly! They were extra sweet (especially compared to American waffles) and they were great plain or with toppings. I find I crave them often....like right now. Holly was always asking for them except she had her own name for them. "Mommy, I want an awful!" Yes...she called them awfuls. Pretty close and quite ironic, making it endearing and funny!

Sharing the Past: While Belgium was a great place to visit regardless of Ian's ties to it, it was so nice to have him show us around a bit. He lived in Brussels for 6 months as an office missionary. After the initial confusion when we arrived he was able to show us some familiar sites and I felt like it was a great bonding experience. We saw where he used to live and work as a missionary. When we went to church we even met his old ward mission leader! It was great to see what this part of his life was like. I've always wondered and kind of dreamed what this would be like and I found that I was very satisfied.

All in all, it was a great trip. We'll look back on the pictures and always our little family adventure. After such a great trip to Belgium I'm looking forward to exploring the other part of this mission...FRANCE!

Groundhog Day

Do you celebrate Groundhog day? I never really have. Florida doesn't have seasons so six weeks of more/less winter doesn't make much of a difference. In Rexburg it was a life saver to think the winter might be over sooner rather than later, but in my heart I knew it would go on until at least May! In England however, there is hope for spring before summer! Unfortunately they don't celebrate Groundhog day. Rats! Big furry rats...or should I say groundhogs!

Well, no real reason to celebrate except that while we were on our trip to Belgium (post to come) our neighbor emailed us to tell us they found our long lost Christmas package! We were so excited to have MORE presents to open. So since we picked it up on Groundhog day, we decided that Groundhog day presents were just as good!

I received a beautiful pair of pearl studs and the kids got toys that are just perfect for church! You know the kind...the quiet kind! With me playing the piano in Sacrament Meeting every week, Ian needs all the reinforcements he can get keeping the kids quiet.

Thanks for the Groundhog Day presents Grandma! They came just in time!

Valentine's Day

We aren't very good about celebrating Valentine's Day. I like the extra affection and presents, but it's hard for me to go along with everyone else because I feel like a sheep. I also don't like feeling left out if I protest. My convictions on the matter are shaky at best.

We were so blessed to receive small packages from Grandma's and Cousins to help us celebrate the holiday. Did you know, in England it's uncommon to send flowers, gifts, cards, etc. to anyone but a romantic interest? In America our kids give Valentines to everyone in their class. My Mom always did something special for me on Valentine's Day to remind me she loves me. I like that. I think I'll stick with that tradition. It leaves less people out!

Holly was a great helper in celebrating the Holiday. We baked some treats...

She got an apron for Christmas from Grandma Sorensen and she calls it her "pretty dress." She loves to wear it in the kitchen. I can't get over how adorable it is! She's also getting to know the ingredients. When I ask her what the secret ingredient is in Pancakes she says "-------------!" You didn't think I was going to reveal the secret ingredient did you?!

I did the measuring and Holly added the ingredients.

We waited while it baked...

And decorated the living room with heart doilies and Valentine cards that Grandma sent.

I spent Valentine's Day in red with my new Valentine's socks. Atley carried around his dinosaur card from Grandma and Holly wore her hugs and kisses necklace. Atley has taken to calling the hearts "dreams." I have no idea where that came from. Oh well :)

Hope your Valentine's Day was fun! We love you all :-)

Firsts

More firsts for our little boy! Atley started Primary and Pre-school!

The first Sunday of the year was the first day of the year and Atley got to come along with me to Primary! He's moved up from Nursery and is now in a class we call Sunbeams! IT's na excitin time for us because instead of playing with toys and eating snacks all through church, he gets to learn to sit reverently and listen to a lesson. After our first sunday we realized he still needs a lot of practice with that. Hopefully the older kids he's surrounded by will be a good example to him.

As is usual with Atley when things change, he cried. He just wanted to sit on my lap. Luckily for him, I'm in Primary every Sunday! I sat with him and even walked him to his class where he saw this:

This "Choose the Right" shield is his FAVORITE part of Primary. He associates it with being a Knight. On his first day of Primary they gave him his own CTR ring and he wore it with pride saying "look Mommy, it's my shield ring!" I was so grateful to be in Primary to witness the full of Atley's first day. Even though he had a hard time sitting still, listening, and taking turns, I was full of hope that by the end of the year, he might be professional at it!

Ian was good enough to stand with Atley so I could take a picture! He needed his hair combed, but at least we're looking at his face!

That same week was Atley's first day of Pre-school. I was so excited for him though I'm not sure he was entirely aware of what was going on. He was good enough to let me take pictures to my hearts content.

When he finally decided to get out of bed 8:30, he needed a good stretch and then was ready to go!

Outside his school and wearing his best for the first day of school. A new backpack and lunchbox are the perfect tools!

This is what his school looks like. It is a converted Victorian House made up to be a Nursery School. Atley is in the blue room and the first day they made him "Star of the Day" for his good behavior.

This is what our day looked like back at home:

Holly wanted to go to school so she got all dressed and ready. When I broke the news that we'd be staying home, she had a bit of a negative reaction! Crying, gripping her blanket, and sucking her thumb--I'm gonna say she's a bit young for school still.

The next day we made this video:

Holly's Great-Great Grandma turned 101 and so we sang her Happy Birthday. This video is always a good pick-me-up for me and never fails to bring a smile.

At about the middle of the week I wondered where all the extra time came from and what I did when Atley was around. Friday was his first day home and he was in time out for much of it. I remembered "Oh I must be punishing him all the time and that's why I never have peace!" Really, Atley is a very good little boy. It's my favorite part of the day when I go pick him up from school and he says "Mommy! Can we go home?" I respond in the affirmative and he goes down the stairs at school saying "Huzzah!"

I love that little boy.

A Sorensen Christmas

Christmas time is extra special for me. More special now than when I was a kid. This year was extra special because without the rest of the country waiting until after Thanksgiving to celebrate Christmas, we got it the whole month of November and December. It was GREAT! For the first time when Christmas was over I felt fulfilled and satisfied.

We enjoyed extra Christmas music, a Christmas film every night, Christmas parties of many varieties, and LOTS of scriptures and stories about the true meaning of Christmas. Our family was blessed to come closer together and form stronger bonds because of the blessings from this Christmas season. I'll give you a specific example:

Since Ian and I have been married, I've never been very homesick at Christmas time. We've always been away from home and enjoying a snowy white Christmas in Idaho. I must say, that snow on Christmas does add a bit of extra magic. But, for one reason or another, this year I felt very sad that we wouldn't be home. Actually, home is kind of a difficult concept for us right now, as our home is technically here in England, but we know it isn't a permanent home and the time for us to leave is rapidly approaching. We don't know where we'll be yet, and having said that, I'll repeat, home is a difficult concept for us. I guess that could be part of the reason why things were so difficult for me this Christmas.

As I got to feeling bluer and bluer each day, I found myself taking it out on my family--especially Ian. I felt like if he really wanted to, we could go home. We decided the expense was too much though and he was really good at reminding me of that. So, after at least a week of feeling frustration and anger with my situation, I realized I was the one causing all this pain and I began to take a hard look at myself. I thought 'being angry with Ian is making me withdraw from him even more, making my homesickness even worse!' So I made a choice to show extra love to Ian and cling to him and my children. You may believe it and you may not, but I have never felt closer with them in all the time we've been together. I no longer wanted to go "home" and began to realize that the home I was looking for was right here with the 3 people who need me most right now.

Our Christmas this year was pretty lean as we realized anything we got we'd probably have to take home with us. That was actually quite a blessing. I wasn't so worried about what I would be getting and really focused on the giving. It was illuminating and liberating!

We began enjoying Christmas as a family with a Christmas Eve dinner. It was small but with such variety, we were sad there was nobody to share it with. We enjoyed the leftovers on Christmas Day as well.

In the morning we opened presents and took some pictures before heading off to church.

Here are some videos of our Christmas fun!

Atley's special present from Santa was a sword. He knew what it was before he even unwrapped it and almost decided not to! He's really into knights which probably has something to do with where we live.

Holly was a good sport waiting for her turn and it makes it even better when she's excited about getting shampoo! Atley needed underwear. He didn't seem to care much.

Ian and I were so excited about this next English tradition. We'd never seen it before but were so excited to enjoy it and will probably keep it forever! Christmas crackers can be found in every store during Christmas time and they are filled with a variety of items. We were blessed to find a kit to make them ourselves so I stuffed Ian and he stuffed mine! As you'll see in the video below, I'm better at the assembly than Ian.

It took me 5 tries to make the cracker part crack. I was beginning to wonder if we were celebrating April Fools day!

All in all, we hope you all had a fulfilling Christmas, with the spirit of Christ prevalent in your hearts. Christmas still isn't over for us, as we are awaiting packages from family and the kids won't stop singing Frosty the Snowman. Maybe that's why I got enough of Christmas this year! Well anyway, Merry Christmas!