Our first Swiss Christmas...

It's quiet now and our first Swiss Christmas is almost put to bed. Bittersweet, given the circumstances of the last three days. I don't think the words we read in Luke regarding Mary's travails and the Savior's birth ever seemed as rich or poignant as they did last night. Agi has been a study in stoic strength and resilience.

But a quiet, introspective, beautiful day, this 25th. It started snowing late last night, as it should on any Christmas Eve, and continued through mid-day today, leaving a thick fluffy blanket of snow on everything. Kids were up not-so-early, surprising me, since I didn't expect them to take my admonish to "sleep in" to heart. I know I never could. Up at the crack of dawn when I was their age. But they held out, and we all padded downstairs as a family in our new opened-on-Christmas-Eve PJ's.

Presents were a flurry of new clothes, most emblazoned with the BYU logos everyone had been asking for--a way I guess to do the two-birds-one-stone thing-- swaddle themselves with the comforting emblems of home, and set themselves apart at the new Swiss schools they attend. Never been prouder to see my kids so excited and anxious to set themselves apart as "BYU kids" among all their respective peers. Ali especially.

Everyone got a small HD video camera, either the FLIP version for easy uploading or an indestructible hand-held. All purchased weeks ago when documenting today seemed like it would be so much more enjoyable and forward looking--documenting the last Christmas with just the current team of 4, together for 10+ years. I guess this team will stay longer than we planned--probably forever.

In spite of the turmoil of this week, Agi still made hands down a fantastic Christmas feast--a homemade honey-baked ham that would put the usual suspects at "HoneyBaked Ham" to shame, and a delicious pot of her famous stuffed cabbage--a Hungarian Christmas staple in our family. Love this woman.

This late afternoon after the wrapping had been sizzled away in the hearth's fire, and the New Donkey Kong world had been fully explored, dinner eaten and the kitchen cleaned, we cleared the table and had two plus good solid hours of playing a family board game. Love these times with the kids. SO many great, funny conversations spring to life over haggling about roads and resources in the Cataan world or racing trains across Europe. Mental note to get the original "Ticket to Ride" --Zug am Zug", considering we're in the backyard of the original :-).

And now the day's over. Another Christmas down. Another year closer to whatever comes next.

Merry CHristmas to friends and family the world round. We appreciate so much the love and support we've felt from so many of your these past days.

Have a wonderful New Year....

Aaron