God jul!
Mum and dad
Hello everybody!
Our house is full and the spirit is high! We are so fortunate, having all of our children, children in law, and grandchildren visiting. The number of grandchildren is doubled since last year, going from one to two. We have already spent a few days together, busy with Christmas preparations. Great fun!
For the first generation, this year has been “business as usual”. Astrid works as a full-time teacher in 6th grade, while Magne works more than full time in Dynaplan.
Astrid bikes to work while Magne works from home, so with few big travels this year, we have probably been carbon neutral, an accomplishment in itself. Last New Year the whole family celebrated together in the mountains, skiing and having a good time. On our national holiday, 17 May, Nico and Liz visited from USA. We enjoyed their company and the opportunity to introduce them to Norwegian traditions. We live in a rather rainy part of Norway, but this year we had the sunniest summer since 1947. We went to the ocean or the lake daily to swim and enjoy lunch in the open. No reason to travel to warmer places this year! However, in July Astrid travelled to Iceland together with her mother, Solbjørg and all her four sisters. Not warmer, but interesting!
Magne keeps up his cycling interest, and he also made a few longer trips, for example the one to Mallorca, to bike together with friends.
Solbjørg, Mathias and Bjarne
Dear all!
Mathias and I thought that the year 2017 was life changing – including our wedding and six months research stay in Berkeley, US. Then 2018 arrived – and Bjarne! Our son was born on November 20th 2018. He is beautiful and looks just like his father, but his name comes from his great grandfather. He eats and grows, and sometimes he sleeps too. It is all really good!
In the middle of all this, Mathias got his PhD after defending his thesis December 18th. I was so proud, listening to him explaining about sound in rocks with water and methane. In the evening, we had a great party to celebrate it all. It was perfect to afterwards travel to Radøy for our Christmas vacation!!
We hope you also are doing good! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from us!
Ingrid, Jørgen and Sigve
2018 is coming to an end, and we have a lot to be thankful for. Sigve is now 2,5 years old (What?! When did that happen?). He talks non-stop and entertains us with all the funny things he says and does. Jørgen has finished the seemingly endless studies, and is now a doctor! Hurray! He works as a doctor at two nursing homes. I (Ingrid) have been a youth priest on Askøy for 1,5 years. It is a job with many challenges and many good things. It is nice to get to know the youth and tell them about Jesus. This fall we bought a house on Askøy, close to where I work, and we move in in the start of January. We are looking forward to getting settled there. It is quite close to the sea and has a small garden which meet Jørgen’s one demand: space enough for a trampoline! In March Sigve will get a little brother. He is very excited about it, and is already working on his big brother-skills on Bjarne, his cousin that he got in November.
Magnar and Lillian
Lillian and I have now moved back to Bergen from Hamburg (see last Christmas letter). We had a really great time there, but there is no place like home :) As Lillian completed her degree in economics (me so proud), she got a job in Oslo. Therefore, her time as housewife is over (me so sad), and her time as an advisor in the Norwegian Environment Agency will begin in January. So, we will pack our bags once again and move to the Capital. For me it is a repetitive procedure; I will pack my computer and tag along. Lillian always enjoy experiencing new places, and I have found myself a parkour club, so this is going to be really good!