erica danielle

I can't believe NEXT week is Christmas! I am so excited and have been jamming my days full of Christmas treats and my favorite people. This week has been especially full. On Monday we took Lucy in for a sedated eye exam. She went under so the Dr. could get a good look at how her eye is doing 1-year post surgery. He checked her pressures and her contact fit and we got an EXCELLENT report. I am always so encouraged when we go for Lucy's appointments. It makes me feel like all the hard work is totally worth it. After Lucy's appointment we stopped in for coffee and donuts at my sis's in St. Paul, where I was able to see her new home all decorated for Christmas <3. That night I went to Ashley's concert at school! This girl is amazing! I am so impressed by all her talents. On Tuesday, my mom, sister and I + 3 kids, went to my Grandma's and made Christmas cookies. We had SO much fun mixing and baking and sprinkling. Today we had some guests over, met Sten for lun...

We celebrated 6 years with dinner and a movie the day after Thanksgiving. That's so us. Low key. We like being together and we are savers, so the thought of spending money to stay downtown when we could stay for free at my mom and dad's didn't make a whole lot of sense to us. Of course we came to that decision after lots of back and forth- one thing in our marriage that has never changed. We. Are. The. Worst. Decision. Makers. Ever. It came out in our pre-marriage counseling and now we mostly just joke about it. Something that makes us, us. We've had one of our best years yet. Getting to spend a whole year doing "firsts" with our girl Lucy. When it's just the 2 of you, there is no way to know how much more your heart can expand until it doubles in size with the addition of a baby. There are significantly less "us-ies" this year, but the times that we have been, just the 2 of us, have been some of the most special memories yet. We are so grateful ...

So excited to be back for another year of Scandinavian Christmas! As my little one grows I think about traditions often. One of my favorite Christmas traditions was decorating our house while listening to the Amy Grant Christmas RECORD. I still have visions of my sister and I dancing around the house while singing: "Wonderful, Counselor! Lord of Life, Lord of ALLLLLLLL, He is the Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Holy One, Eeee-maaaaaa-nuel, Emanuel!" I think secretly our parents hoped that record would get scratched.... Last year for Christmas I got a 'Swedish Gingerbread House Cookie Cutter' from my mother-in-law and thought making gingerbread houses will be a tradition I start! Lucy is a little young yet, and was really more just in the way, but it's the thought that counts, right?! So- here we are, year 1! This gingerbread recipe was delicious, I made little gingerbread men and gave them to a new family at our church and she asked for the recipe. Sten loved it to...