December 22, they made it!!!!! Welcome to Germany Johnson family!
We were so happy to see them. Mike had been to the States and had seen them, but Soni had not seen the family in over a year and a half and she could not believe how tall and grown up the boys had become. She bugged and annoyed them for two days in a row with comments like: "When did you get so tall and handsome?" But they were sweet as always and loved their aunt SOMILA like Zenock used to call her 4 years ago.
We stopped for a quick break at the food court in Ramstein Air Base
I love my sister Melanie!
Soni finally got to meet and hold the sweetest baby in the world, Avery. She loved holding, hugging and kissing her, and Avery was just hanging along with that. She is the strongest baby. Her brothers do all kind of stretching exercise to her and she does not say anything except smile.
We took the Johnson's downtown so they could enjoy the last day of the Christmas Market, but also to keep them awake.
Aunt Soni and the boys.
Johnson family.
After 2,5 years of living in Germany, thanks to Dwight now we have a picture in front of the big pyramid.
Boys eating bratwurst.
This was the coolest tree.
After walking down the hauptstrasse, we came back home for some delicious caramel popcorn and a movie. I love their faces how focus they are in the big screen.
Isn't this the sweetest moment? So precious and tender.
Uncle Mike and the boys making treats. This was probably around midnight. Yes, we had long and fun nights!
The next day Dwight and Melanie went to the the Frankfurt Temple while Soni watched Avery and waited for them. Those hours made Soni's day. Avery is so sweet and adorable. We read magazines, talked to people that wanted to see how beautiful Avery was, looked at pictures of Jesus and took short napes.
Dwight got to drive on the Autobahn. Check out the speed!
On the other hand, uncle Mike took the boys swimming. They had a blast together.
Aunt Sonila took them for a treat! Authentic italian gelato.
Late the night of the 23rd, the Muca family came from Merate, Italy. We love them so much. We took everyone shopping the day of the 24th for some more white elefant presents.
But the best part of that evening of Christmas eve, was going caroling. For the Muca's and Soni was their first time experiencing and it was amazing. We loved going to our friends's homes and surprising them with treats and hymns. And of course we had the best singers in our midst!
We ended that evening by playing Ticket to Ride.
Our friends, Jessica and Gage, brought Cotton to meet the families and the boys just loved him. I think Greta still holds a grudge because Cotton peed on her last summer:) She loves him though.
This is the Christmas morning. Was so crazy and so much fun. Just to let you all know if you haven't made the calculations. We were a total of 16 people and we absolutely loved having everybody in our home.
Uncle Mike had an episode the night before that scared us all, but he is doing much better. So Hunter was Santa's assistant. Thank you so much Hunter.
Avery was the only quite one! So cute!
After the opening of the presents, we had to run to go to church for the sacrament meeting. The spirit was so beautiful as we listened to the talks from the bishop of our ward and the german bishop.
These are our Christmas pictures.
Mike and Soni
Johnson family
Muca family
Aunt Soni and Avery
The boys and Avery
The girls
The boys and Aunt Sonila
The boys tired of having their pictures taken:)
Even though Mike didn't feel great he still found a way to come and help in the kitchen. He is so awesome! We had delicious food, a mix of American-Albanian-Italian cuisine!
Our Christmas dinner. Thank you all for your help and making this Christmas the best one to remember.
To be continued...
Love, Mike and Soni
A toast to all of you!
What is a celebration without dancing? Just look closely at Greta's face. She is so hilarious.
Just before midnight we drove downtown Heidelberg for the countdown. We loved it. It is such an experience, it reminds me so much of home, Albania. New Year is a big celebration, we cook all day and then around 8.30 p.m. start dinner that does not end probably until 3-4 a.m. We get together, eat, toast, laugh, dance, sing, watch TV programs...and do it all over again.
Mike and Berti had so much fun.
Don't you love her face?!
This was just before New Year's Eve, but I had to post these pictures, just because I love their faces.
Happy New Year to all of you!
Love, Mike and Soni
