our christmas

Well....where do I begin?

Christmas was wonderful. It was full of family, friends and faith.

As I write this, it's actually been a whole month since Christmas. Don't pay attention to that published date. I started this blog entry a very long time ago. That is sad. Not sad because I am going to start crying. Sad because life has been so busy this past month I haven't blogged. I haven't even had time to think about blogging. Sorry. I know that you are all totally bummed about it, so you'll be happy to know I'm back on track. Pictures included.

This year we spent Christmas in Jason's hometown of Westbrook, Minnesota. We arrived at Grandma Great's farm just as a giant snowstorm was starting. From December 23-December 27 it snowed. Every day, all day it snowed. It had already snowed so much by Christmas Eve that we had come to the conclusion that there was no way we could get out of the farm and into town. That also meant, no one would be coming for Christmas Eve. By 4:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve the power was out and it wasn't coming back on.

Jason and I, Kate and Annika, Grandma Bakke, Grandma Great along with Uncle Chad and Aunt Jenny spent Christmas Eve together, in the dark. We even had our own little church service. I played the piano by candlelight and we read from the Bible. It was a Christmas Eve to remember. Thank goodness Grandma Great has a gas powered oven in the basement. That pizza hot dish never tasted so good! (We saved the Christmas pork roast for another night.)

One thing I learned about living on a farm- when it snows and blows and snows some more, you don't go anywhere. We were snowed in until Sunday. Thankfully we all love snow and the girls love being outside, no matter what the weather. We enjoyed many days of making snow forts, having snowball fights and sledding. My favorite time was taking pictures of the farm during the entire snowstorm. In the ten years that Jason and I have been together, I have never seen that much snow in southwest Minnesota.




Thanks to Grandma Great's wonderful neighbor and friend, Russell Gunderman, we finally got power back on, thanks to a generator, and we finally got plowed out. I may be a country girl who grew up in God's great northwoods of Minnesota, but I certainly love being a city girl when it comes to snowstorms.

We made it home safely from the farm just in time to enjoy a few days with my parents in Lakeville. It felt good to be home. But it feels even better to know that every bit of our Christmas season was spent with family and friends.

a merry christmas letter

A year with the Bakke Family.... A Dog's Perspective

Hello all and Merry Christmas! It’s Ginger here, you know, the family dog. I know that people have pretty much forgotten about me, especially since those two little girls came into the world. But, I’m still here. A little grayer, a little older, a little slower, but still living life to its fullest. Eat. Sleep. Play. Sleep. You get the picture. Well, it’s my turn to write the Christmas letter. I figured it would be fair to tell it like it is, according to me...

This past year was filled with a lot of travel, even for me! We spent many weekends up north with Grandma and Grandpa Cloutier in Two Harbors, MN. They have this huge hill that I love to hike on. Even Kate and Annika got into the hiking this year. I have to say, they are pretty good hikers for only having two legs. We also did a lot of splashing in Lake Superior. Boy does that cool water feel good! We also spent a lot of time on Grandma Great and Grandma Bakke’s farm in Avoca, MN. Kate and Annika love playing with the barn kitties, feeding the sheep and playing in the dirt. Grandma Great always sneaks me some pretty yummy treats, too- shhhh! Don’t tell mom and dad!

Other adventures for the year included a trip to Texas for Jason, a trip to Washington D.C. for Aimee, a road trip to Michigan, a marathon weekend in Appleton, Wisconsin and a football getaway to Lincoln, Nebraska. I unfortunately was not included on any of these trips...major bummer! I may have overheard the family talking about future trips to fun destinations like Phoenix, Arizona for Jason’s next marathon, Jacksonville, Florida for spring break, Seattle, Washington for the AFT National convention, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area for Jason’s first ever canoe trip and maybe even Grand Forks, North Dakota. North Dakota?! (Been there, done that... come on people!

My favorite part of the whole year was our family vacation to Agate Lake near Crosby, Minnesota. I could not believe it when the family loaded everything in the truck and then they had me jump in, too. What? I get to go? That’s right, I finally got to take part in the cabin fun and boy oh boy it was awesome! I went swimming with Kate and Annika, took naps on the dock, chased the paddleboat, and watched the girls go fishing. By the way, Kate caught her first fish! Life was good! I’m already looking forward to next summer.

Speaking of life being good- Kate and Annika are growing like crazy and they love playing with me. We make forts, pretend to go camping, play with legos, practice writing our names and sing princess songs. However...even though I’m a girl, I don’t do dress-up! Kate and Annika can keep their high heels and feather boas. Can you believe the girls will be four years old in April? It seems like only yesterday that Jason and Aimee brought those little noisy bundles of joy home.

It sure sounds like we lead a pretty busy life, but really it’s not all that bad. During the day I get the whole house to myself, ahhh! Peace and quiet. Kate and Annika are busy with preschool, Sunday school and swimming lessons. Aimee keeps busy teaching first grade...she got off easy this fall...she had a student teacher). And well, Jason keeps the middle school world in control in between his marathon training sessions of course.

One of our favorite times of the year is coming up, Christmas! The house is festive in red and green, twinkling lights cover the trees, treats are baking in the oven and the gingerbread train is decorated. No treats for me though, I got put on diet doggie food this year. ARGH! But the most important part of Christmas should not be forgotten. It’s almost time to celebrate a special birthday- the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior, born in Bethlehem. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9::6:. Wherever you and your loved ones are this Christmas. We pray that you will enjoy every moment of this special season. Live. Laugh. Love. Rejoice. Cherish. And love some more.

Love,
Ginger, Jason, Aimee, Kate and Annika

hot tub fun

Yes it might only be 10-20 degrees outside, but that doesn't stop Jason and the girls or even Grandpa Cloutier from taking a dip in our hot tub. Just about every night Jason and the girls head outside, braving the cold for a little family fun. Since they started swimming lessons, they have become braver and braver. Even dunking their entire head underwater. We think that is pretty awesome. But their favorite hot tub activity is floating and twirling on their pink floaty noodles, "dancing" in the water.

cookie baking

This past Wednesday we all had a snow day. No school. No daycare. Just a fun day at home with the whole family staying cozy and warm inside, while the snow fell and blew all around outside. This was our first snow day in almost six years, so needless to say we loved every minute of it!

We did a little cookie baking- just in time for Christmas. Gingerbread cookies!

We used Grandma Cloutier's recipe for molasses gingerbread cookies and Kate and Annika helped with every step.

Making the dough. Rolling the dough onto flour. Using the cookie cutters to make the perfect little stars, gingerbread boys and girls, snowflakes, Santa hats and more. It was a lot of fun, especially with two little girls helping momma out.

my little snuggle bugs

first snow

Today after a very long wait, we are finally getting snow!
The girls were so excited this morning when I told them that we might get snow- you just never know if the forecast will be right.
But, when I got home today there they all were....playing in the first snow of the season, even Ginger puppy and Daddy. And it's supposed to be a big one. We might get 5-10 inches. Yippee! Nothing like Lake Superior lake effect snow or a southern Minnesota blizzard, we're just thankful for a little bit of the white stuff to cover up the yucky brown grasses of November. Let it snow!

almost a wordless wednesday

The other night while the girls were in the tubby, I heard lots of giggles and little girlies saying, "Ho, ho, ho!"

Here is what I found......

Tubby time Santas. So cute!