Henning-Kolberg Christmas letter!

I like to compare the holiday season with the way a child listens to a favorite story. The pleasure is in the familiar way the story begins, the anticipation of familiar turns it takes, the familiar moments of suspense, and the familiar climax and ending.

Fred Rogers

Back in the day I always wondered why my mom included a letter to each family member she sent a Christmas card to.  Before the advantages of a computer and re-prints of the same letter for multiple people, she handwrote her Christmas letter to each person she sent a card to.  We have a LARGE family so this was most certainly a labor of love…and much frustration and a little pain, I’m sure, for my mother. 

As an adult that has moved away from family and friends, I now understand my mother’s desire for that letter each year.  It was probably the only letter she sent out all year and, in some cases, it was the only update on our family that others received from us.  Well, thankfully, that is not the case at this time.  The blog has allowed us to share stories about the family and I am SO thankful for that medium.  I should certainly be using it more than I do…perhaps now that we are settled, that will become easier. 

SO!  HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!! We will be sending out Christmas cards but I think I will save at least a few trees and keep our Christmas letter even more up to the minute with the use of technology and share our family update on the blog.  The opportunity to share photos is so much greater this way and I do so love sharing our photos :)  

Have I mentioned my total love for Christmas?  I love decorating for Christmas and picking out gifts and baking and BEST of all, for me, is the Christmas tree.  I have countless memories of Christmases with my family.  Chopping down live trees when we were kids, hopping from chair to chair with my mom making sure we got the lights on the tree just right while watching (and singing with) White Christmas, the pile of presents and the boisterous racket that comes with family laughter, gratitude and one or two tempers that would flare up and just as quickly dissipate.  We are a family after all.  How I miss those days...each year my Christmas tree is a tribute to the memories of my family I hold dear and the backdrop for memories to be made in the present.  

A refrigerator is the ideal canvas for family art.  Coloring pages, note pages with scribbles on them, cards from loved ones, magnets from friends far away, and photos of dear faces are the way I make the view of our fridge an exercise in smiles.  We have been receiving a few extra pieces of art and photos to add to it our exhibit here and would welcome more for sure!  We could also use more magnets so if anyone is looking for something to send our way that would be a great one.    

I think maybe it's a mild winter?  I don't know.  Today the sky is silvery gray, cloudy but still bright and welcoming - to me anyway.  This photo was taken from our balcony earlier this month and just blows me away.  I love the region we live in and that the weather can still be inviting in December. 

Decorating the tree. 

A bit of a wider view of the living room.  I love our little apartment...there will be lots of photos of our new home so I will try not to go on too many tangents about how thankful I am for where we found a place to live...but I am exceedingly grateful!  I am also amazed at how easy and inexpensive it was for us to furnish the apartment. The goodwill in Lynnwood was/is awesome and they have GREAT prices on their furniture. We got really lucky...once again.

A real mantle over a real fire place HAD to host Aydan's fabulous nutcracker collection.  He has been receiving one a year four about well...four years now, this will be the fifth year.  Wow.  Megan, my dearest bestiest best friend, is the gift giver for these fun guys.  I know there's another one coming this year and I am eagerly looking forward to seeing it...

Christmas tree hunting the beginning of December and Aydan is in a hoodie and the scarf is really just for festive decoration.  It was windy that day but nothing too bad.  We were able to wander the tree farm with the dogs, which was great, and find the tree that was just right for our wallet and for our decorating desires.  This was my first year with a douglas fir and so far I am loving this tree.  It sheds more than the trees we've gotten in the past but I love how full it is and how it looks like we threw the ornaments on there and they just got caught up in the needles.  

Sadly, no train and no Megan, Monty, and Agatha.  This is one of the few years we haven't been together for tree getting, and before going to the tree farm with Megs and the kiddos, we went with my mom and dad.  Establishing new traditions feels strange and will take time.  I am looking forward to seeing what we will discover along the way. 

Andrew and Aydan get the tree secured to the top of the truck.  Love having a truck. 

Crumpets loves being so involved with her family.  This trip and our new lifestyle has made it so that the dogs are more a part of  what we do regardless of what that thing is.  Part of it is our desire to monitor their behavior pretty much all the time and the other part is that even when they aren't with us, we think they are, so being away from them feels strange.  I like being in this place with the pups.  I adore their little fuzzy faces.  They are family. 

Oh Rosie...I just love the way she's sitting there...

This is absolutely one of the BEST features of the apartment.  I'd say it's pretty much tied with the dishwasher.  Oh, dishwasher!  I love you.  I hate doing dishes, just hate it, but I love working in the kitchen...first world problems? Hmmmhhh...anyway, One of my very favorite things to do is to sit in front of the fire place and lay a fire.  I keep it going, enjoy the heat and ambiance it provides.  I have wanted a woodburning fireplace like this for...well...gosh, ever.  And now I have one.  That is worth a sigh of happiness.  Sigh. 

Thanksgiving was delicious.  Super traditional.  The guys pretty much created the menu and I can totally crank out that Betty Crocker Thanksgiving but I do like to do it my way and keep things as healthy as I can...I'm also pretty lazy so this year Trader Joe's was a total life saver and didn't completely break our budget for food.  While I may sound like an advertisement for TJs...well, I guess I am.  And I don't really mind.  So far, I'm totally digging having one close by.  Need to check out the company a bit more but so far I like them...Anyway, the turkey was from there and was already brined for us.  Leah had brined the turkey last year and it was SO good so I had high hopes for this bird.  Not disappointed.  Yum.  It was also lovingly served up on the stellar bicentennial platter that was a gift from dear Michael Hensley, another person who I can't extract from my thoughts of thanksgiving and food preparation.  So thankful for good people and good cooks that are part of my life. 

Super traditional.  Pumpkin pie.  YUM.  Really proud of how this bad boy turned out.  We did do homemade whipped cream with nutmeg and a dash of sugar.  I would go so far as to say EXTRA yum.  

Aydan's room came together quickly and extremely well.  Thanks to Nora we were able to save a lot of the items that are important to us and that would include a box or two of Aydan's legos.  And of course that means at some point Aydan and Andrew will be hanging out together putting together legos.  I am so so thankful for the relationship my husband and my son have with each other.  They are still finding their way to communicate but thankfully that's what they have me around for.  I'm a good liaison between them and I can see that this relationship is just going to continue to strengthen as it grows.  

This seems like a highly appropriate picture of Andrew to share.  Drinking coffee and working on a project. Reminds me of my dad. I found this idea for floating bookshelves on pinterest and we got the few supplies needed to do it and...

how cool is that???  Andrew did a really good job and it was super fun creating a frame like that around that amazing painting from Nora.  I LOVE this painting.  She exudes serenity.  It's a perfect vibe to feel in your home.  

I love that we were able to bring things with us.  It's been so helpful in making us feel connected to the chapter of our life that we had before.  The collage of photos is like, five years old and I can't really think of changing it too much.  The framed pieces above and below were gifts from Miss Maggie for my birthday and had been meant for my office in Fort Wayne but now have a perfect place to hang in our apartment.

Living room, mostly together. As you may have noticed we are going backwards in time (we can think of it as time travel!) from where we are now to when we moved into the apartment a little over a month ago. I could have flipped the order but this seemed more fun...and easier :) 

First piece of art we hung in the apartment.

I found these sweet mini roses and decided I needed them for the window of my office at work...and then I decided, with the help of the people I respect, that I couldn't stay at that job. So the roses stayed home but sadly did not have enough sunlight here.  It was sad when I realized they weren't going to make it but I now only have plants that survive in mostly shade :)  That I can provide :) 

From the back left corner of our apartment - dining room to living room.  This was definitely still the first night or two we were in our apartment.

The beginning of organization. 

Aydan is just silly.  He really is one of my favorite people to hang out with.  What a guy :) 

Panorama photo of the kitchen.  I love my kitchen.  I think this is one of the best kitchens I've ever had.  I could go for a gas stove and a different faucet set up (that is easy enough to do) but other than that...dishwasher, lots of counter space and cabinets.  perfect!  

I love the pieces of my life and how beautifully they come together...

I love this close up.  My life is an amazing gift.

Our bathroom.  Exciting right?  But I have really been considering getting acrylics and using this shower curtain as a page in a coloring book...I'll send out an updated photo if that happens.

Art from friends in the fort. Even found in the bathroom.

I've been a Norman Rockwell fan since I was a girl.  This is my new favorite coffee mug.

More apartment in disarray.

One of my sweetest gifts.  Megan and me. Opening boxes and finding things like this is pure happiness. Having little pieces of me, my family, my friends back up on the walls and on shelves is what brings a level of peace and continuity to my life.  Somethings never change...

Starting to feel like home...

All our stuff from Nora's packed and on its way from Oregon to Washington.  We were surprised at how much stuff we had but it turns out it was just the right amount and we were able to use the trailer again when we went to Goodwill to pick up a couch and coffee table I had already purchased, and then found two book shelves and a big fluffy chair to bring home as well. We knocked out the majority of our furniture purchases the same night we moved into our apartment.  We were all EXHAUSTED that night and slept well that first night in our new home.

Scenic and thankfully clear of snow for our cross over the mountains.  Our one big worry completely avoided.

Love this kid and this dog. 

SO!  Wow...I told myself I would get this knocked out today and I did!  Woo hoo!  Now I just need to sit down and get those Christmas cards done!  I may also see if I can't get the guys to rally behind the idea of a walk at a park, something I would never suggest doing in December while living in Indiana.  I love that being in the outdoors is still possible and not unbearable for me!! Hooray!

Love to all!!! Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! 

Two steps forward, one step back.

The love of family and the admiration of friends is much more important than wealth and privilege.
Charles Kuralt 

Hello family and friends!  You may be wondering, where are the HKs now?  Transitioning once again! And I didn’t even fill ya’ll in on our arrival in Washington…yeah, that post will be along at some point but for now, this is the one I feel needs to be done. 

We are done with traveling, for now, but that does not mean that we are done moving around.  Once we left Nora and Bend we took a jaunt over to the coast to catch our first glimpses of the Pacific Ocean.  I felt like I did five years ago when traveling with Leah and Adrien.   We were driving towards Charleston, SC and my heart was quite literally yearning to reach that magical city that had made such an impression on me when I was a child.  The morning after we arrived at our campsite in Newport, Oregon, I had the dogs out for a walk.  I had only meant to get them out and about for a moment but then there was this trail that said “beach this way” and I felt that yearning rise up in my chest once again.  I didn’t care that what I was wearing was far from appropriate or that it was misting, chilly and I had an extremely full bladder, I was walking to the beach dammit, and I was going to see the Pacific Ocean that morning. 

I must say, it’s a good thing I’m a determined person.  The walk was much more than I had expected and by the time the actual trail was gone I found myself wandering along the sand dunes until I finally came over a hill and there it was…fog, and crashing waves, the smell of salt, mud, ocean life and ocean death all hit me in the face and I knew that trek had been worth it.  I had managed to sneak off one of the side trails, tie up the dogs, and pee in the woods so I no longer felt a pressing need to do much of anything except enjoy this first meeting with our new coast line.  It was breathtaking.  

The next day, after the campsite was all packed up and we were just about ready to leave, I informed the boys that we must take a walk along the beach.  The day was sunny and bright, quite a change from the day before, although fog still hung out around the edges, resisting the power of sunlight as it created beautiful shapes around the people playing on the beach. 

When I say “beach” I usually think swim suits, sun, HEAT – not here.  People were wearing shorts but for the most part they were paired with sweaters or sweatshirts.  Our family was wearing jeans and I only took my cardigan off after I had run around and played long enough to build up the warmth in my body.  That warmth was quickly a thing of the past as Aydan and I decided to go further and further out into the water.  Stupid.  It was COLD.  But man was it fun. 

We traveled north from Oregon into Washington, camped over one night and then kept heading north.  Andrew had his first Seattle job interview on August 19, a little over two months ago, and we left for Canada that night.  It was a long day for all of us but we knew we had a goal in mind: getting to Leah and Adrien as quickly as we could.

And that’s what we did.  We arrived on Vancouver Island (two hour ferry ride from Port Angeles in Washington to Victoria, BC) around 11:30 and made the drive to Leah and Adrien’s house that night.  The time we spent there is a story all its own and will definitely be shared along with all our other stories sometime soon, I am getting distracted enough from my goal as it is…

A month with Leah and Adrien and then a return to the states that was far from fun for any of us.  I had been SICK.  Really sick for several days, unable to eat or drink or think or anything and we made the decision to get me to an emergency room as quickly as we could once we got back to the US.   All I could think of was how desperately I wanted an IV and Zofran.  Andrew says that the moment the IV started my color changed and I started looking more like myself.  Thank goodness.  It hasn’t been quite a month since that happened and the extreme nausea isn’t with me any longer but I still have strange stomach upsets and my appetite has been quite peculiar.  I can feel as though I’m starving right before dinner and then we sit down to eat dinner and I can eat maybe half of what I’ve served myself and I’m full and nearly sick feeling.   Andrew and Mama Nora have insisted that I seek some medical attention this week and I will mention this to the doctor I speak with.  Maybe they can suggest something…I don’t know.  I did read that the level of nausea I was experiencing can be caused by inflammation of the central nervous system – my thoughts; possibly MS related.  But…if that’s my flare up this year, I’ll take it over losing the use of my arms, and or legs, and or the ability to talk…yeah, I would for sure.

Vashon Island has been our landing space for almost a month.   In that month, and this is really what I wanted to get at, Andrew has done 10 resumes a day looking for a job.  There had been roughly an interview a week for him until this last week – and that’s when it was like the heavens opened up and poured down job opportunities on Andrew.   It was almost as though we were being told not to give up and to keep trying because things were about to break wide open for us and everything was going to be ok…it always is. 

While we have been quite generously allowed to stay on the island, we were also given a time limit.  Three weeks from the first week we arrived, a month total.  And really, that’s totally ok even though it was terrifying to me.  I didn’t know where we would live or where we would settle or what we would do if we didn’t have jobs.  We talked with Nora a lot and she was of course so encouraging.  The main thing we were worried about was putting a stop to the momentum we had started.  But then…

Monday, Andrew does his 10 resumes as usual.  We spent the day up at Café Luna (our coffee shop of choice on the island) – I had a phone interview at noon that I wanted to finish prepping for and one other job lead that I wanted to put the finishing touches on.  The phone interview went amazingly well and I received a call from them asking me to come in for an in person interview the next day.  Andrew had also received news that same day that one of the jobs he had applied for would be interested in doing a phone interview with him the next day. 

Well, then we learned that everything can change in a very short period of time.  Andrew had several interviews this past week and I can’t really go into a lot of detail because he has asked me not to until we know which job he is going to be offered or take.  What I can share is that even if the #1 job that we both want him to have comes through he won’t be able to start for another two weeks.  The big thing became “where do we go from here?”.  We have to be off the island this coming Thursday. 

Enter Mama Nora to the rescue again.  We have made the decision to take a break from busting butt looking for jobs and being more or less cooped up in the camper (which feels smaller every day) to hang with Nora for two weeks or so in Bend.  The drive to Seattle from Bend is roughly five hours, not terrible if we need to do some back and forth-ing which I am going to bet is very likely.   What I think each one of us is looking forward to is the soothing, energizing presence that comes along with being around Nora.  She is an amazing person.  I am still in awe of the amazing family I belong to now.  The love that has come to us from the Matthews and the Kolberg side have been healing and strengthening.  I am thankful that I have the rest of my life to spend getting to know my new family better. 

Bend is an amazing place and I’m looking forward to getting off an island.  I’m pretty much over ferry rides.  The first one was really exciting and fun, and maybe the second and third one but then when you are using the ferry to do things that you need to do and you have a time limit, not so much fun.  And it’s pricey.  The island has most of the things we need but not everything and we aren’t really island people.  Each time we head into Tacoma or Seattle we all kind of sigh in relief at the variety of people and places available to us.  Vashon is a wonderland for the people that want to be here but it’s not the right place for us. 

We spent the day in what will hopefully be our new neighborhood yesterday.  We have been told there is a high sense of community and the schools look great.  The thing that we keep being told is that it’s really “hippified” and Andrew and I keep looking at each other wondering why people think we are “hippies”…any ideas friends?  We did have nothing but pleasant interactions yesterday.  To me, it’s very city…but I guess that’s what I should expect in a city that is home to 650,000 people…right?  I think it will be exciting to get to know this amazing city.  We are definitely looking forward to our exploration opportunities once we are settled.  Waiting again…but we are getting closer and closer to our end goal.  Hang with us! Our travels may be done but our adventures will constantly be ongoing – we can’t seem to avoid it!

PS: I will do a whole post of just pictures soon because I LOVE pictures and love sharing them :) 

Getting caught up!

Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.  Paul Theroux 

Well, maybe, maybe not...haven't decided yet.  The fact that I have fallen this far behind on letting everyone know how we are doing seems a bit thoughtless and self indulgent of me.  We ARE safe and secure and still, more or less, on the move.  Currently the camper is set up in Leah and Adrien's driveway on Vancouver Island - we have reached our "end" destination and are now waiting for little Amalia to make her way out of Leah's womb and into the world for all of us to share in the holding and caring of her.  Our family will head back to the states shortly after Amalia arrives and will be able to stay on Vashon Island while the job hunt for Andrew continues.  In the mean time - I thought I would do a little travel back in time and share some of the photos that haven't been shared yet. So, last time we had left from Arkansas and were on our way to Oklahoma and it wasn't almost my birthday...

What to do, what to do on your 35th birthday in Oklahoma City?  Well, we chose Oklahoma City because it was the closest Lush store and I wanted Lush goodies for my birthday.  Yes, I am that demanding.  And, I didn't want to drive through Kansas.  After searching maps and internet for a fun campsite or SOMETHING appealing in Kansas I came to the conclusion that we were better off skipping this tragically boring state.  Sorry Kansas...Oklahoma City had a Lush AND a COWBOY MUSEUM!!!! Since I couldn't be with my bestie for my birthday I thought I would do something fun that would make me think of her all day.  Megs, I miss you and this would have been an amazing museum for us to go through with the kiddos :)  

Walk into the museum and this giant statue stands at the end of the hallway.  Gorgeous and thought provoking. 

Tried to get a lower angle looking up at the statue...impossible to capture how massive this structure is. 

It's strange to walk through a museum and see things that you have OWNED and USED in the display cases. 

Thoughts of Bird and polaroids :) 

I now pronounce you man and wife...hee hee :) I would marry this man every day of my life over and over again.  

Kissy kissy :)  Thankfully Aydan is comfortable enough seeing his parents kiss all the time that he doesn't mind taking photos of us together. 

Bad Aydan.  Jail for you! 

Hmmmhhh...not the pledge I know but I like it better...

The American Cowboy...fascinating and still very much a presence, although not in the same way. 

Cowgirls!  Did you know that cowgirls didn't start wearing pants until the 1930s even though they had been working in the south west long before that?  

Cowgirl outfit - again, thoughts of Megan - don't you have this outfit somewhere? :) Don't you wish you did? :

Cowboy ukulele!  

Ha ha ha!  Sometimes, me too! 

And then there was the children's dress up section...

where Andrew and Aydan decided to explore their own cowboy style. 

or something...

What up, Abe. 

We did attempt Pho for lunch and spring rolls - thoughts of Baan Mi Barista in the Fort - not as good which was disappointing but you know, nothing ventured nothing gained.

Stayed for two days at Lake Thunderbird in Oklahoma. 

Aydan assisting in our goodbye to the campsite...

Next stop - Texas!  

OK!  So, I will do my best to get us all caught up between stories and photos and real time...but that may never happen.  This was such an amazing summer and I felt the pull to play more than anything else.  Yes, our travels have been "glamorous" in their way - they were also challenging, hot, sweaty, occasionally full of stress and dirt...but isn't that they way life goes?  Our charmed lives are still moving forward, we take the good with the bad and hope always for the best.  

Love to all.