Now...Drooling On/Decorating Grandma's Christmas Tree

When I uploaded these shots I was a little frightened by just how idyllic a scene was emerging on the screen. Ah, but thankfully one shot made it all okay. You decide which one made me secure that we weren't living out a Norman Rockwell painting...

This first holiday season hopefully will set the trend for the future of our little Jewish Viking. She'll get a good dose of Christmas cheer and Norwegian culture from her Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, and Bampa, and then bask in the glow of the menorah with her Bubbe and Zadie.

Beyond her childhood enjoyment of the lights, decorations, food, presents, and general good cheer, we'll be working to make sure she grows up appreciating the real foundations of the holidays - family, culture, history, and compassion. Lucie will go to Hebrew school, grow up knowing her Rabbi and appreciating her Jewish roots, but we look forward to exposing her to the common ideals of other religions. My Lutheran roots and family traditions are founded in a commitment to family, involvement in the community, and living an examined and meaningful life. "Kjeringe med staven," my family's traditional grand finale Christmas song/dance/march is about the "old dear one with the cane," making butter up in the Hakke dalen just like Ula had before. While the song doesn't say it, the old dear one was making butter for her family and friends, and simply finding her place in the circle of life that rules us all - not to mention being the matriarch who'll whack your behind with that same cane if you get lippy (my favorite interpretive twist).

Regardless, we feel blessed that Lucie will grow up with a bounty of culture and family, and we expect to toss her into a full and complete circle, if not full-fledged merry-go-round.