Christmas Letter 2008

This passed year has gone by faster than any year so far. A couple of high-lights from the year were our week in Toinis family's summer cabin and our trip to Småland and Öland. There we stayed on a farm and the children got to help take care of all the animals. While we were there, we also visited the beach and an old castle, dating from the 12th century.

Being a family of six, there is always something to do, something to look at, something to worry about and something to laugh at. We realize more and more as time goes by how blessed we are to be part of this family. Every individual brings to it his or her special spirit and personality, which makes it a colorful blend.

Egon is develloping fast. He just turned 18 months and he never rests. Constantly moving from one place to the next, he is trying to quench his thirst for discovering and learning new things. He is fascinating to watch, and very demanding to keep up with. Egon loves to play with his siblings, and always falls for their silly attempts to make him laugh. When he does, you have to laugh with him. His laughter is just so contaminating.


Lovisa continues to be a headstrong little girl. When she has set her mind to something, good or bad, she will not budge. She is always up to something, and leaving her on her own for very long can prove disastrous. Last fall, Lovisa started playschool three days a week, which she enjoys very much. Lovisa loves to sing and play house. In addition to her dolls, her "babies" include a rabbit, a ragdoll, a horse a sheep, a polar bear and a dog. Lovisa is a very happy little girl - a ray of sunshine in our home.


Ivar is a very studious boy. He started school this year and he loves it - especially maths. He is also very fond of playing computer games where he can learn new things. This year the boys have been taking swimming lessons and Ivar is excited about learning how to swim. He is very good at taking care of his little brother and is really patient with him. It is very important to Ivar that things are fair, to him and to others. When he thinks that something is unfair it really upsets him.


Alvin is very creative and loves to do crafts. Recently he gave his mother a "jewellery box" made of two ice cream boxes and some string. The other day he asked why she still hasn't started using it. Alvin also enjoys school a lot and especially playing with his friends. He likes swim school even though he wishes he could learn how to swim a lot faster. Alvin has a real roller coaster temper. He can go from happy to angry in a matter of seconds. But when he is in a good mood, which is most of the time, he is a joy to be around.


Toini has had a busy year taking care of the children and trying to adjust to having children both in school and in playschool. She continues to be a stay-at-home-mom, and is also working a few hours here and there as a translator of TV and movies. It is such a blessing to be able to work from home. Toini has also developed a couple of new interests this past year. One of those interests is blogging and the other is road biking, something that she was introduced to by her husband.


Jens continues on his script-writing course, closing up on his last semester of four. He has been focusing on a script for a feature film for children which he hopes to finish this spring. It is fun for him to work towards what he really wants to do. In the meantime, he still works extra as a busdriver. Last April Jens took up road biking, which he absolutely loves! Now he eats, sleeps and breathes road biking and bikes.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

from the Rydgren Family

Lucia celebration

Here in Sweden we have a tradition that we share with about ten other countries. This tradition dates back to the late 1700s and is named after Lucia who was born in a Syracuse, Italy, around 283 AD. Lucia was girl with strong faith in God. Emperor Diocletianus persecuted Christians and when he heard of Lucia he saw to it that she was tortured and killed for her Christian faith.

Every year on December 13th Lucia is celebrated by a procession. Or rather, by several thousand processions throughout the country... A young woman representing Lucia, walks at the head wearing a white gown, a crown of burning candles on her head and a red sachet around her waist. Following her are young women in white gowns with a burning candle in one hand. The candles have ever since the birth of this tradition been used to spread light in the midwinter darkness .

Originally that was it, but nowadays the tradition has become a mixture of things that have to do with Christmas. Now there are men in the procession as well, dressed in white gowns and cone shaped hats with gold stars on them carrying a gold star in one hand. They actually represent the three wise men who came to visit baby Jesus. There used to be a day in January where they were commemorated, but now they are represented in the Lucia procession instead.

When children do the Lucia procession there are also boys dressed as Santa's little helpers at the end, as well as some boys and girls dressed as gingerbread cookies... I have no idea why. Probably just to give the children more to choose from...



Here is a picture of Alvin's and Ivar's Lucia procession. They were Santa's little helpers, like most of the boys.

In Lovisa's procession, like in every other procession with the youngest children, there were about 12 Lucias.

Lovisa, of course, was one of them.

Lusse-buns. It really is December.

Alvin & Ivar, 6 years old!

November 29th Alvin and Ivar turned 6! According to birthday tradition in our family, the day started out with the birthday song and presents and breakfast in bed. Or, at least, breakfast in the bedroom... The boys were so excited! As Ivar sat there, opening his morning presents, he said: "This is what life is all about!"

Later in the afternoon they had a birthday party with 8 of their friends! And wow, was that a party...! I didn't get any pictures of the chaos that erupted about two minutes into the party, simply because there was no chance of even getting the camera out. It calmed down eventually, and Alvin and Ivar really enjoyed themselves!

The kids played a couple of games, ate some cake and cookies, and of course, watched as the boys opened all of the presents.

What started out as a mad house, ended up being a fun party. Jens and I were even alive when it was over, two hours later!