Update

I would love to show you some photos of the beautiful winter Norway that we drove through for 8 hours on Sunday. Our kids got super tired of driving after four hours, so this is something we would like to repeat often....not!

We would also like to show you pictures of our kids going "Christmas goats", it's like a mix of caroling and trick or treating, the kids will sing one song, they are dressed up as something, it happened between Christmas and Newyears and there is no punishment for not giving candy.

We would also like to post pictures of us rolling in the snow, playing in the igloo the kids help build and a lot of other snow related things... But we didn't take photos of everything and both of our laptops quit on us.. It's so frustrating being dependent on things we can't rely on...

Birthday and Christmas preparations

We got back to Steinar's mum, and soon it was Tobias' birthday, he is already 3 years old. It is crazy how the time flies. We had a great day, the kids was out playing in the snow for hours, so they were hungry and tired when they came in. Tobias fell asleep on the chair only having eaten half a hot dog.

"I'm Batman", Yes, that was what he said all day.

Rebekka and Tobias in birthday clothes.

Afterwards he got cake and strawberries. Between the playing the food and the gifts, he had an amazing day.

Superman is having a power-nap.

Cousins, oldest and youngest together.

The next day, we were going to a "club", we were a bit late, so we pulled the kids on a sledge there, but they weren't open at the "right time", so we looked at some ducks in stead. Then we sent the kids inside and went for a sledge ride down the hill our selves.

Do you see our "club" in the back?

Louring the birds with snow...

Rebekka and Steinar's mum had a lovely time making Christmas decorations and doing other crafts things on Monday. They sat for hours! So much fun, and grandma has a lot of craft-things.

Making decorations. 

Marzipan figurines making.

Today the Christmas tree came up. In Scandinavia we don't put it out until 23rd of December, or little Christmas eve as we call it.

How cozy is this.

So beautiful!

There are so many things we have forgotten about Norway, and it is so good to relive them! One thing is the extreme darkness I have mentioned before. I went to the city where me and Steinar went to University this week, and the sun was up between 9.30 is and 2.30ish so strange.

This is the size of the plane I few with, it is 9 in the morning.

This is taken today at noon.

The extreme rain is another thing. In China where we live, we don't really have much rain and those days when it does pour down, we'll just stay inside. But last Sunday when we went to a "club" Steinar walked to the car, and from the car to the club...He was soaking wet! It has also snowed insainly much in no time at all, we go in for an hour and we can't trace our steps when we go out again, crazy.

Rebekka is skiing.

We are driving, so pretty!

How good it is to hang with old friends and our families. We love our friends and family back home, don't worry Chinafriends we are coming back, and we love you too.. But how good it is to know that we have friends and family that care for us and love us.

This is the city center of one of Norways largest cities.

Rebekka and Steinar's mum, enjoying crafts.

Face drawings!

The last thing is: Nature. We are in the west now, and I have been to the middle of Norway, I just have to say that Father did an amazing job creating Norway!

Winter city.

Again, this is taken at noon!

Do you see the mountain?

Driving down from a mountain.

The beautiful dark sky

Norway and the rest of the northern part of the hemisphere is gradually getting darker. You guys, it is really dark here. We are also in a valley now. On Saturday it was sunshine, or it was a clear sky, but the high mountains prevented direct sunlight in any part of the city. It is so strange. And when it is cloudy it hardly feels like daytime at all.

Picture taken at 11 in the morning.

I remember my first winter in China, feeling that it was not dark enough or cold enough. Well, candlelight is beautiful, but it is strange that the sky is so dark all the time. I think it is colder in our China town right now though...

Look at that Rapunzel long hair to the left.

In the time we have been back we have gotten to go to one Christmas concert for kids, and the mum got to go on a consert with her sister in law. So fun! It does feel more like Christmas is getting close when we are here, and the star is in every window, the advent candles are being lit, kids and grandma is baking Christmas cookies and gifts are piling up in our closet.

Rebekka and Tobias's oldest cousin, he is taller than Marianne now! Bu xing!

Joy in December

We finished up November seperatly, and at the end of the week I think kids missed their parents and I know the parents were acing for their kids. It was however a good week for all of us.

On a consert with the "Holy boogie guy".

Tobias got to see snow for the first time, he bonded really well with his uncle and nobody but him were allowed to help. When Mum and Dad came back Tobias spent 90% of the night in his parents bed, sleeping partly on them, and when Steinar drove over the mountains, Tobias wanted to "carry his mum" the whole time.

Decorating cookies.

Rebekka got to try skiing for the first time (cross country for those who don't know that that is what is real skiing). She got to try a Norwegian kindergarten and she was so busy most days that she only had time for two sentences in the phone. "I'm busy playing we can talk later". She has loved having us back and fell quickly in to "normal" routines.

Gingerbread cookies with decorations:)

Steinar got to spend the week excercising, reading books, being quiet, sleeping and having minimal internet connection. He is now outside playing with kids.

We were at a cabin, you can see it behind the trees there.

Marianne had a great week, she got to feel that she enjoyed the present, it is hard sometimes to look forward to the future, because it is good but with hard things as well. It was also a time for reading and taking long walks 17km+ was the most I walked in one day, we got lost looking for old inscriptions on rocks (it was dark and we met a guy saying they were covered in water right now...). I loved seeing my kids again and I am finding things to look forward to.

I'm OK!

The darkness and the rain

Today Rebekka prayed about sun and that it would be daytime soon. Grant you it was 6 in the morning, so most people (who aren't jet lagged) were asleep. But the fact is it has been raining/snowing since we got here, and it is wet and dark. I do like the darkness, because we can lite candles and make it cosy. But our kids are not used to this kind of darkness or this kind of rain:) It does not look like she will get sun today, but everybody is now awake, and she is playing happily with cousins.

It is strange to be back, we knew people would ask us how China is, and that they expect a to line answer, but how can we sum up the last year or the last 4 1/2 years in two sentences? Should we be honest and say that we love China, but it has been a really hard year? Or do we smile and say that China is awesome, you should come!

We are still landing here, so we haven't really gotten the camera out yet, pictures might come next week. Today we leave our kids with grandparents and Mariannes sister for a week. It is strange, but hopefully it will be good for us all.

Hade for nå/bye for now.

Vi skal nå forlate Kina igjen. Vi liker å være her, men vi savner Norge når det er lenge til vi skal tilbake. Tobias husker ikke Norge så godt, så han vil bare være her. Vi andre gleder oss litt, men det er litt trist å si hade, selv om det bare er for tre måneder.

Tobias pleier i blant å ta en dupp i løpet av dagen.

Vi gleder oss til å bake julekaker, til å synge julesanger, til å være med familien vår og å hilse på Jonatan:)

Rebekka elsker å tegne!

We will miss China, but we will be back:)

Rebekka og barnevakten tok bildene denne uka.

Nå har vi begynt på de siste ting før vi reiser til Norge

Dere vet jo hvordan det er før man reiser på ferie, men dere vet kanskje ikke så godt hvordan det er før man reiser bort for 3 mnd. For meg særlig blir det da: Siste bursdag, siste sosiale lag slik og sånn.

Siste tur i xixia park, med nydelig solnedgang.

Denne uka har det skjedd litt forskjellig. Vi begynte med Wes sin bursdag, han ble tre år og Tobias ble bedt om å stille i Spiderman drakt.

Bursdagspiknick i parken med karuseller.

To stk fornøyde gutter.

Tid for kake.

På torsdag var det åpen dag i barnehagen til Rebekka. Så jeg fikk være med å høre om den dagen det regnet godteri, vi fikk se hvordan de organiserte dagene og vi fikk le og gråte litt:)

Barna var flinke til å sitte stille.

Maletid.

Etter lunsj fikk foreldrene velge om barna skulle bli igjen eller om de skulle være med hjem, mange foreldre sa som meg: Skynd deg å spis opp, så kan vi gå hjem. Vi var nok litt slitne vi voksne også.

Dansetid.

Rebekka var på overnatting hos Juliana (ho utenlandske i klassen hennes), vi har ingen bilder fra det, men Tobias koste seg hjemme med Mamma og Pappa.

Jeg ble ferdig, hurra!

Ellers har det jo vært farsdag, tradisjonen tro malte barna et bilde til Pappa'n sin og nå kan vi virkelig se utviklingen, så det var gøy.

Tobias malte en gorilla og en sol. Rebekka malte ei jente og en sol.

Verket er nesten ferdig.

Spidermann og Queen Elsa

I hele høst eller kanskje til og med fra i sommer, har Rebekka og Tobias lekt at de er Spiderman og Dronning Elsa fra Frozen. Så når vi skulle ha utkledningsfest/halloween, så bestilte jeg kostymer til de på nettet. De var veldig fornøyde. Jeg visste ikke helt hva jeg skulle ha på, så jeg ble prinsesse Anna, Elsa sin lillesøster.

Rebekka er klar for fest.

Tobias klar for fest.

Rebekka har det så gøy med vennene sine her, hun begynner å leke lettere med kinesiske barn også. Da vi var på KFC på lørdag så lå hun under sklia og snakket fortrolig med to jenter. Det var veldig koselig å se.

KFC venner.

Vi gleder oss til å komme til Norge, men det er også koselig å være her. I ettermiddag skal vi i bursdagsselskap til Wes. Tenk at han er 3 år og tenk at Tobias blir 3 om 6 uker. Det er ganske så rart å tenke på. Barna vokser opp så fort, og de er så flotte begge to. Vi er ganske heldige altså.

Familien fra Frozen + Spidermann og familen fra Brave.

I helga var Steinar borte fra fredag daggry til mandag kveld. Så jeg og barna var hjemme her alene. Vi hadde det veldig koselig. Vi fikk gått på tur og snakket om forskjellen på bartrær og trær med blader. Men det var jammen meg godt og gøy å få Pappa'n hjem igjen.

Pappa er en flott hest.

Dagene flyr

Når det nærmer seg tid for Norgestur, så går gjerne tiden ganske fort. I tilegg hadde vi besøk i helgen, Steinar skal bort neste helg, barna skal på Halloween fest i morgen og vi får besøk om litt over en uke også. Vi får da fylt ventetiden med noe.

Nordmenn på fjelltur etterlater seg en varde.

Rebekka har lyst til å være Dronning Elsa (fra Frost filmen), men hun vil være blomsterversjonen, som hun har funnet på selv, i stedet for å få is ut av hendene får hun blomster. Tobias vil være spiderman. Siden vi bor i et slikt flott land, så koster kostymer ca 50 kr på nett, så de er handlet inn, men barna får ikke vite om det før i morgen.

Muren kan sees som lysere felt innover ett stykke på bildet.

Siden vi hadde besøk i helga måtte vi jo ta de med ut på tur. Jeg liker å gå på muren her, det er nydelig utsikt og fjellene er spektakulære (synes jeg da). Vi var der vel sist med Mari i februar, så det var på tide med en ny tur. Nå har de også begynt å restaurere muren:) så nå kan man ikke gå oppå eller under lenger:(

En annen attraksjon er Xixia gravene, nydelig en varm høstkveld.

Selv om vi har besøk, må vi jo ta oss tid til våre kinesiske venner, her illustrert av vår tidligere barnevakt sitt sjarmtroll, hun er 10 mnd gammel, født på julaften.

Wo hao ke ai.