A Quiet Christmas Eve

 A quiet Christmas Eve with Julie and Jonathon....and Mom and Dad. Was a gorgeous day and evening.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Luxembourg City Christmas Market

Dear Friends and Family,

Time goes way too fast and here we are but a couple of weeks before going into 2012. I would say, it looks very different then last year. Our fall colors were so gorgeous this year.




 We went from starting 2011 with battling about half a meter of snow and with the melting of the snow... being able to fish right off our veranda, quite an experience for me not being used to have so much snow. Needless to say, this year we are a little better prepared, we already have a shovel, which we couldn’t find in three countries last year. But the snow can stay away for me.

 It had been a real struggle and we were so happy when spring arrived. This year, one of our major projects was to prepare our garden for new landscaping, so we had ten truckloads of dirt delivered so we could level the yard and reseed the grass.

But most importantly to have the garden ready for annual our Easter potluck where we had about 6o people this year and was a big success. First because it was late April and spring had settled very well, we had almost 80 degrees, which kept everybody on the terrace or outside. Randy cooked a fantastic ham with a brown sugar and maple syrup glaze that barely left him a piece to eat, as it got taken away very quickly.

 At the same time, we had our friends Gina and John from Atlanta visiting us and we had to spend some quality time with them. We toured a little bit around Namur and Dinant but also around the Moselle in Remich, which was great.

But then, it was time for Randy to go back to Minnesota, which always comes like a chock to me. He says it's work, but I think it has as much to do with his mates, and playing baseball. They one 3 tournaments this year, so he is even more excited to go back to work.







Finally July arrived and I was looking forward to fly to Minnesota to be with him, visit family and the kids but most of all to see my grandson Ayden. He is growing so fast unbelievable.... it was so cool to watch Randy teaching him teaching baseball, the little boy is learning quickly.. of course he is just like his grandpa, fast and enjoying his sweets or cookies as often as possible.

 For my birthday we started at Robyn's cabin having some watermelon jello shots.. first time for me, and we finished with the kids at Spanky's on the Lake in Vergas, very nice place on the water. Couple of days later, we had a surprise party with our friends Sanjay and Anju at Chino Latino, great place.

We went to a couple Twins games and even had some friends that took us to the game in the Champions Club where we had a buffet and sat right on the field. I even walked over to the dugout to get a picture of my friend Joe Mauer. The Twins do not play very well when I attend though, they lost both times.







It's hard to keep up with the kids being so far away but we are very happy to say that they are all doing very well .

Dana and Chelsey settled into their own house now in Thief River for about 2 years, we are still wondering when the big day will come for them, guess I have to be patient.

Tracy and Matt are keeping up with Ayden growing so fast and still living on a lake outside of Detroit Lakes.

Ayden started preschool this fall and seems to be enjoying it.

Julie is finishing university in Brussels in 2012 and will come and join us as from the 1st of February for an internship of 4 months in Luxembourg with a marketing company.











For the politics fans, I guess it is important to mention that the Euro crisis finally forced our little country of Belgium to form a government after being without for 541 days. We are curious to see on how long that is going to last, but we will stay on positive note.

As always we ask that you remember those who won't be home for Christmas.

 Randy would like you to make it a point to read this heartwarming story of a 90 year old Belgian nurse who was awarded a medal by the US Army last week here in Brussels, 67 years after the Battle of the Bulge.
CLICK HERE or just scroll down a few posts.

Wishing you a warm, fun, family filled Holiday Season 
 Merry Christmas 

 Mimi and Randy

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Dear Friends & Family,

Here we are close to Christmas and we don't know where the time went. It seems that every year it goes faster and faster and we try to do so many things, try to see everybody and enjoy our time together as much as we can. I love the Christmas spirit where we all get together at least we try and share good moments, good food and share memories. I also hope it will stay white so we will be able to say for once we had a ''White Christmas'' this year.

On November 2nd it has been 1 year that I have been working in Luxembourg and still discover new things every day. Working in Luxembourg is a great opportunity and a different atmosphere. We are in the Moselle country enjoying the sceneries of vineyards in spring and summer. We have been exploring the region a little bit and tasting their good wines. The little town where we are is called Remich and looks like the French Riviera, it is a very nice touristic place with a lot of terraces and cruise boats where you can have dinners and where they have some parties. Our street is called: ''Route du Vin, where you will find these nice Chateau's like Bernard et Massart, St. Remy and many others, really interesting places. Randy is a pro of exploring and touring so you better come and visit us so he can show you around, believe me, you will have fun, walking down the vallee and tasting the mousseux!

At Easter we had our annual potluck where we gather all our friends and family, it becomes one of our traditional outings and everybody enjoys it, specially the kids. Lots of food, chocolates and of course the eggs'chasing. Kids get really excited and run all over the place, just hoping it is not raining that day!

This year Randy left right after Easter to start his pool season, it was way too soon for me because he only announced to me three days before departure that he was leaving because they had a project ready to go. So it was a little shock to me but I had to make more trips to the states, so I will certainly not complain.

The first time I went was in June. I had a great time, saw the kids and my wonderful grandson; the little man is so cute, he just makes me melt. I miss seeing him though, he is a lot of joy and his grandpa is very good at teaching him all his tricks that he probably would be better off without, but they are loving it.

This year has been a very special year for me for several reasons, first I had my big 50, Tracy got married and we had our 10th year wedding anniversary. To my surprise Randy put a very nice party together for me at his sister Robyn's house. I was not aware of it and just couldn't believe it. We were going to her house for some aperitifs and dinner and when we got there and when I opened the door and saw grandpa, I said something is not normal here and then everybody yelled Happy Birthday, still can't believe it today. It was a wonderful hot summer day, with the family and our friends and I was in heaven. I enjoy so much being in Minneapolis and when the departure day comes it is always too early to go back but nevermind this year I was happy to go back and this time with Julie and her boyfriend Jonathan.

My birthday party wasn't done yet, so I went to see my mom, dad and my brother at their chalet in Spain with my friend Marie Claire. As you can see we had a great time as well enjoing a nice paella. Had to spend 4 days just relaxing and enjoying the sun. After that back to reality for a while and back to work. So every Monday morning I pack and go to Luxembourg where I stay the week and come back on Friday nights, always nice to come back at our house. I try to take care of the garden, mowing the lawn and all the rest while Randy is gone and I can say I am doing a good job. He just bought me a big lawn tractor when he got back, so it will be fun now.

Finally September came and we had to go back to Minneapolis for a very very special reason, Tracy and Matt got married. Our first daughter did the big step. We were so proud of her, she was so beautiful, the big smile on our face says it all.

It was Jonathon's first trip to the US and a big adventure for him. The only thing he didn't like was the 9 hours in the plane but he made it. He wanted to try everything, all the fast food places, all the malls. We could not pass the big mall of America, so that was exciting, we had a great time there. Also we were lucky to go to a Twins game at their nice stadium, just an unbelievable place, we could spend hours there just by walking around, the atmosphere, the noice, the people, only in AMERICA.

We were ready very early on the morning of September 4 and we were all counting the hours. I was so proud when Randy was walking Tracy down the aisle, it couldn't be better, both had a nice smile on their face and yes Randy was marrying his daughter, tears came to my eyes.

Tracy's eyes were sparkling, she was in dreamland, she had such a nice dress. The bridesmaids were very pretty, not forgetting the groomsmen whom were all very handsome. The weather was fantastic, bright sun and blue sky, the beach, just perfect. Excellent food, traiteur Dave's BBQ did his best, good ribs and special BBQ food, what else could we dream off. We made a lot of pictures as you can see. At times, our little man was the attraction but he behaved very well. The day was over and Mrs. and Mr. Larson were starting a new life!

Good moments always come to an end. It was time to say good-bye to everybody now for a long time as we would not go back before 2011. I hope that the Family Larson, and Dana and Chelsey will be able to come in spring, we just have to wait and see.

Christmas is full of shiny things

That sparkle, gleam and glow;

These holiday pleasures dazzle us,

And yet, deep down, we know...

That Christmas has its special gifts,

But our year-round joy depends

On the cherished people in our lives,

Our family and our friends.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!

Peace and Love

Mimi & Randy

Since we have so many thousands of American boys who are buried in Belgium, in closing, I would be remiss not to say please keep all the young men and women around the world in your prayers who can't be home for the holidays.

Merry Christmas....Joyeux Noël

Another day, another year and yet we are not in time again to send our best wishes to all of you. But we are so happy to share with with you a new arrival in our family, our grandson Ayden was born on 31 May 2008.

Big smile on his face trying to convince Santa that he is all cool and never cranky, and yes he is. Trips to visit the kids involve battles as to who will be holding him next, feeding him, bathing him or playing with him, but as you would have thought, Randy is very good at playing and teaching him all the boy tricks.

We did the last major work on our house, rebuilding the veranda, actually my brother, my dad and their crew did the work, so when Randy came home it was pretty much done. So as this year ends we are starting to see the finish line on the renovations, but still every day Randy finds something new to explore or to do. Life is never boring with him, new day, new mission, but I love it.

The Children have been great, Dana is in his 4th year at North Dakota State in Mechanical Engineering and is already thinking of continuing University as long as he can while enjoying good times with his longtime girlfriend Chelsey who is in her 3rd year of school in Fargo or Moorhead, I will never have it right.

Tracy became the wonderful mom of our little Ayden, and her and Matt seem to be doing well starting their family. They live on Floyd Lake in Detroit Lakes.

Julie was ready for a big change as well as she started University in Brussels studying International Trade and Marketing and so far so good.. Not too many complaints yet.

Randy had an excellent year in the pool business as they were building right up until the weather stopped them around Thanksgiving. I made some extra trips to Minneapolis this year as he was gone a lot, but it gave me more opportunities to see the grandson, so I'm not complaining.

I'm still at White & Case law firm, every day is different and challenging with all the economic crisis, seems like a new one every day.Time goes fast and we still have so many things to do, to learn and share.

I can’t find the words to say thank you to whomever saved my Dad’s life coming out of a stroke with no major consequences in early November. He's a little slow, but he's recovering quickly, and the main thing is he's still here.

I will finish this letter reminding all of you that you have an open Invitation should you desire a little tour of Europe, we are in the centre of everything and we love the company. Something to plan for 2009! Please consider it!

MORE PICTURES BELOW THE LETTER

Notre lettre de Noël en Français

Un autre jour, une autre année et nous voilà à nouveau en retard pour vous envoyer nos bon voeux.
Cependant nous sommes très heureux de vous annoner que notre petit fils Ayden est né le 31 mai 2008.
Vous pouvez remarquer son grand sourire pour essayer de convaincre le pere Noel qu'il est toujours gentil, et en effet il l'est.
Quand nous visitons Tracy, Randy et moi nous nous bagarrons pour qui sera le premier à le tenir, à le nourrir, à lui donner un bain et à jouer avec lui, mais bien entendu Randy est toujours le gagnant pour lui apprendre tous les petits trucs de garcon.

Nous avons fait de gros travaux à notre Chateau Mosan, nous avons reconstruit notre véranda, en fait, mon papa, mon frère et son équipe ont effectué les travaux et quand Randy est rentré à la maison
tous les travaux etaient finis. Nous sommes contents car petit à petit nous arrivons à la fin de nos renovations. Mais notre Randy trouve toujours quelque chose à faire, la vie avec lui est loin d'etre ennuyante, chaque jour il a une nouvelle mission à accomplir mais j'aime cela.

Les enfants sont super, Dana est en 4ème année d'ingénieur mécanicien à l'université de North Dakota et pense déjà à faire d'autres études tout en passant de bons moments avec sa compagne Chelsey qui est en 3ème année à l'université de Fargo ou Moorhead, mais je ne parviens pas à le retenir.

Tracy est devenue maman cette année d'un merveilleux petit garçon Ayden. Elle et son compagnon Matt sont très heureux et ont bien commencé leur petite famille. Ils habitent au bord du lac Floyd à Detroit Lakes.

La petite dernère Julie, pour elle se fut egalement un grand bouleversement, elle a commencé l'université et étudie le Marketing et le commerce international. Tout va bien jusqu'a présent, pas trop de plaintes pour le moment.

Et en ce qui nous concerne, Randy a eu une année exceptionnelle pour la construction de ces piscines, il les a construit jusque fin novembre et ensuite il est rentré à la maison. Je suis allée 2 fois à Minneapolis cette année et fut très contente car j'ai pu partager de bons moments avec mon petit fils donc je ne peux pas me plaindre. Je travaille toujours dans le cabinet d'avocats international White & Case et chaque jour est différent et engageant certainement depuis la crise financiere et économique que nous connaissons tous.

Le temps passe trè vite et nous avons tellement de choses à faire et à partager. Cependant je ne trouve pas les mots pour remercier qui de droit qui a sauvé la vie de mon papa après une trombose sans trop de conséquences. Le plus important c'est qu'il soit toujours parmi nous. Je vais terminer cette lettre en vous rappelant que vous avez une invitation ouverte et que vous etes toujours les bienvenus à la Villa Rustica.
Pensez-y pour 2009!

Joyeux Noel et Bonne Année, Mireille et Randy.

Allisons little Cooper is growing all the time too

Grandpa and I have the same birthday

Getting close to the end of construction

With Robyn at their lake cabin

Aydens first big snow day

Julie and I in Spain

Aydens Baptism

He's always a happy little guy

With Great Grandpa

It's more relaxing being a grandmother, than a mother.

Doug and Pams wonderful little Chapel

Allison's wedding

This is not something you see from Dana everyday!

Two very proud Grandpa's

The Girls and their babies

I'm sure Randy will not try and influence him at all.