Declaration of Christmas Peace

On Christmas Eve we climbed the 400 +/- stairs (James has counted) to the base of tower on Puijo Hill for a Christmas Devotional and "Declaration of Christmas Peace" offered by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kuopio.  The event was certainly one the highlights of our time here.  The fresh snow, thoughtful readings, Christmas Carols, and breaks in the clouds so that we could see the sunset (at about 2:30pm) made for an unforgettable afternoon.

We also enjoyed maintaining family traditions of making Christmas cookies, eating a nice Mexican meal by candlelight, reading Christmas books.

We were able to Skype Nana and Granddad for the traditional readings of Twas the Night Before Christmas by Granddad and Santa Mouse by Nana.

We left cookies and milk for Santa, carrots for Rudolf & Clarisse, salt for the other reindeer, and a piece of cheese for Santa Mouse.  We wished each other a Merry Christmas and went to bed dreaming of Santa's visit.










We had a wonderful Christmas Eve!

Dreaming of a White Christmas

We've watched White Christmas and Holiday Inn.  We've been checking WunderGround regularly to see if it might happen.  Now we're ready for the real thing!

It may not last all day.  We're expecting a bit of rain on Christmas.  But, it isn't crazy mild like at home in the U.S., either.  We're happy to be having a White Christmas in Kuopio!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

We're taking advantage of the cozy evenings to embrace Christmas for the entire season.  Christmas seems to start around mid-November in Kuopio.  They don't have Thanksgiving to slow things down, so they jump right in!

We've gotten into the spirit of things as well.

Neighbors and the weather help too!

Don't look directly at the Sun!

At times it doesn't feel like it is going to come back, but it does, or at least it has so far.  Even the smallest, faintest patch of blue sky gives us hope.

When the Sun does come out, we have to stop to appreciate it.

I spent most of the daylit hours of yesterday outside with my kite and cameras.  I may have even been seen dancing a bit as I found my kite down for the final time.

James and Anna stopped to throw snowballs into the lake on our way to the market.  We caught the sun as it was setting (at 2:30pm).

We won't see the Sun today.  But we soaked up quite a bit yesterday - that should keep us going.