christmas with the carlsons

Well we had a great Christmas! It is wonderful to celebrate the birth of Christ and worship him as the one who came to save us from wrath. It's mind boggling when you think about it, he came to die, and to raise from the dead and thus secure for us an inheritance imperishable - how sweet and how free this grace! It IS the most wonderful time of the year.

Emily, Corban and I celebrated on the 23rd as we normally do. We had the special privilege of having Emily's mom here with us (she was still here helping us with Corban - what a blessing!) After we read from Luke and prayed, we exchanged some gifts and then spent the rest of the evening helping our son with his digestion issues - he had some major gas. Man, things sure change after having a child (both good and bad). By God's grace we will get a grasp on this!

As is the custom we traveled to my home town of Mora to celebrate with my family of origin. We had a wonderful time celebrating there. We went to church together and then came home for dinner and fellowship. My mom is such a gracious woman! She truly is an example of someone who gives selflessly and rejoices in the happiness of others. We also sad good by to my step brother Tim who left two days after Christmas for Denver. He's moving there to be near the girl he loves and to start a carpenter apprenticeship (taking after his older brother, even though he's already a better carpenter than I am).

On Christmas day we left Mora and came home for a while before going to my brother-in-law's for Christmas dinner. The Gamble side of the family is a bit larger and a lot more chaotic than the Carlson side. Five siblings, seven nieces and nephews, two grandparents, and Emily's parents - yeehaa! I'm bless God often for the wonderful family that I married into!

Here's a couple pictures for you to enjoy.