Needle in a haystack

We packed rather lightly for our trip here - amazingly, just two small bags a piece. But one thing we made sure to pack was a letter that had been sent to my great aunt Martha (on my father's side) from a cousin named Alma in Dombaas, Norway back in 1976. In the letter, Alma mentions her two sons and a daughter. We've have incredible luck thus far in tracking down family, so, yesterday, we travelled to Dombaas on a bit of a whim. While I napped in the car, Mom and Dad walked into the post office. When Dad plopped the letter down on the counter, the woman behind the counter gasped. Alma was her mother-in-law! And better yet, was still residing in Dombaas! Her husband Asgeir, now a carpenter (a very skilled one, I might add), was just 20 years old when Alma's letter was sent. 

So, just a few hours later, we were sitting in Kirsti and Asgeir's living room with their son Mattis (a musician), Asgeir's brother Marten, and the lovely Alma! We had a wonderful time chatting with our new cousins, looking over photos and sipping on coffee. And we made sure to snap a family photo for the album. Asgeir and Kirsti's family have planned a trip to Route 66 next autumn. They've promised to stop in Minnesota to visit us and we're going to hold them to that promise!