Helena came over this afternoon to hang out for a few hours, and in honor of her visit I made chocolate chip cookies. As every American in Sweden knows all too well, there are no Nestlé’s Toll House morsels to be bought in the grocery stores here, so we usually resort to breaking up a chocolate bar into small chunks instead. Not so, today, however. I’m proud to report that I made my own chocolate chips! I bought a semi-sweet chocolate bar (Marabou Dark Chocolate) and melted it, then used my decorating spritzer to press out little chocolate chips. After a couple of hours they were hardened and ready to stir into my cookie batter! To be honest, it was probably more trouble than it was worth–considering that it’s all just melted chocolate in the end–but I think I’d do it again just for the authentic feeling.

Adding to the chocolate-y goodness were the homemade truffles that Helena brought with her. I didn’t make any of my own candy this year, so it was an extra-tasty treat. While we were waiting for the coffee to percolate, Olof’s sister and her kids dropped by, so we had an impromptu family fika. Lydia’s friend Sandra was here, so she served as a sort of stand-in for our own third child, and when we were all seated around the kitchen table I suddenly realized that between us we really have a lot of kids. I think it will be a lot of fun in a few years when all of them are a little bigger — I can’t wait to see how they all grow and develop.

I’m so happy that my kids are growing up with a large, loving, extended family. When I was a kid, my immediate family (meaning my mom, my brothers, and me) were close and very much connected, but we were somewhat detached from the rest of the family for a variety of reasons (some of which are clear to me and others of which are not).

Now if only I could convince my mom and brothers that they should move in down the street from us, I’d have all the family I need right where I want them.