Tag Archives: Sandefjord

God Jul fra Sandefjord / Merry Christmas from Sandefjord!

Merry Christmas
from the Dove family!

 

 

Luke 2:8-20
That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,    and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

Christmas Cheer (part 16): Early Christmas

While my dad and his wife were here, we had an early Christmas celebration together.So Saturday evening, we began with a nice dinner (who wouldn’t want to eat salmon while in Norway?!), and then exchanged gifts. It was a fun evening, and a nice way to spend our last night before they headed back to the states.

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Cheer (part 11): Knitting Christmas

Our city isn’t that big. But like any good Scandinavian town, it has its fair share of knitting/sewing shops. And like any good Scandinavian boutique, their windows are also decked out for the Christmas holidays.And before you ask… no, I have not learned to knit. I really need to, though!

 

Christmas Cheer (part 10): stars

One thing I love about Christmas decor here in Norway is the Stars. You can find them in so many windows, both homes and businesses. We like them so much, we bought ourselves one this year!

 

Christmas Cheer (part 7): Santa’s little helpers

You’ll see these guys all over the place at Christmas in Norway. From shop windows, to the packaging of food and drinks.

This one really creeps me out – he’s animated

 

 

 

Christmas Cheer (part 6): Christmas in Jail?

We were a bit surprised to see a sign for a Christmas market at the city jail!But then again, if you’ve ever watched Lilyhammer, you’ll recall that Johnny built some nice items during his brief stint ‘behind bars’.

Christmas Cheer (part 4): Sandefjord corner boutique

One of my favorite shops in terms of window displays, regardless of the season – all of these are part of one large corner shop.

 

 

 

 

Don’t Judge

We decorated for Christmas this weekend.

The city is starting to look a bit more like Christmas with each passing day. So we thought we’d get in the spirit, too!
I know a lot of people will say it’s too early. Maybe it is. But if you read my last post, you know how dark and depressing it can be this time of year. And expat life during the holidays can be a little rough if you’re not careful.
So this is one of the ways we combat the blues! It sure did put smiles on everyone’s faces. And for that, I will not apologize!

 

Fun with family

Like last year, Jenn’s mom and her husband came for a visit during the boys’ fall break. We had just finished up a visit from a colleague and a week with our first volunteer team, so we were a bit tired when they arrived. But even though we kept things low key this visit, I think everyone had a great time!