always wanting more

In our preperations to move, we need to prepare our house to sell it. The first thing we need to do is to downsize! In a time where most people want more more more, we are getting rid of things, selling and giving away as much as possible. Makes me wonder why we always want more stuff. Is it to fill a void in our lives, or to keep up with what everyone else has. When will we be content with what we have? (Material posessions) I'v heard that in another religion, you are only allowed to own 7 material posessions. (Don't know if it is true or not) What would you chose if you could only own 7 material posessions? I would choose:



1. my iphone. I have so many things in it including a Bible, daytimer, and phone as well as internet access, games and a WHOLE LOT MORE!

2. Guitar- bought it when I was in High school and it is still nice. I love to worship, just me, guitar and the Lord.



3. Jackie- our dog. A faithful companion who reminds me to stop when I have worked too much.

4,5,6 Airbrush, compressor and paints. Gotta be able to paint sometime!

7 Angle, my Harley Davidson Heritage Classic. (Didn't get to take a helmit? Awww, shucks. Guess I'll have to ride without one ;P )



No TV, lease a car, rent a house! Ha! Alls well with me!!



But for you folks that want more- here are more pictures of our future abode. Fact is, my religion allows me to have more than 7 material posessions. And we are so thankful for that!!



Livingroom with open fire place


















Bathroom upstairs with tile floor and metal masiac in shower and on bathtub. Check out those wash basins!!





















Stairs from top floor to main floor- nice warm green! And speaking of warm- a sauna in the bacement- a small one, but there it is!!




The rest of the basement also has tile floor, most with subtile heating. There are 3 rooms, a large hallway, and a laundry room in the basement, all with tile floors. The top floor has 3 bedrooms and the bathroom. Main floor has kitchen, diningroom and livingroom as well as a toilet. There is a garage, but we will have to put in isolarion, water pipes and drains, and heat before I can use it for my buisness. It's getting late and I need to get ready for my English classes now. HAve a good one!

Looking forward to April!

So I really suck at keeping you all updated on my daily life. There are several reasons for this.

First- the only time I get on the computer is in the wee hours of the morning- time I usually set aside for my personal time with the Lord. So, those hours are so precious to me that I don't want to spend them on anything else. Otherwise the computer is shared with a new blogger (Kat), a gamer (Bj) and a man with an inquenchable thirst for knowledge (Hubby). My Iphone has been working as an email checker, so the essentials get done.

Reason number two- I never learned to type. Although I do get better throught the years, I still need to look at the keyboard. (Lots of fun when you have early morning eye gunk stuck on your contact lenses!)

Reason number three- I have dislexia- reading and writing are a trial. (Yes I know. Trials develope perserverence...)

Reason number four- I have a life!! Like my sister said on her blogg a while ago, those who have a life don't always have the time to blogg about it! And there is so much going on right now that I wonder how I will manage to get it all done. I honestly think that God is stretching my days into 28 hours just so I can get it all accomplished!

I am sure I have more reasons, but the eye goop must be clouding my memory a bit, so I will move on.

Thanksgiving is coming up, then Christmas and New Years. Fun as they are, our family is looking forward to something else. After three years of deliberation, looking, talking and thinking, we have finally decided to move. (Sorry all you American folks, not to the States) We are leaving Vännäsby and moving into Umeå. We spent the last 3 -4 weeks on talking, looking on the web, viewing and discussing different house alternatives with each other- kids too. After viewing one house, deciding we all liked it, we were in on the bidding for a nice place in Teg. But alas, we did not win the bid. Back to the viewing stage. The kids and I went to see a couple houses one day- a week ago today. We decided right away that it was beautiful- even better than the one at Teg. So we gave an offer for the house- and they accepted our offer!! So, here are some pictures of what we are looking forward to in April!

The outside of the house will need to be painted within 5 years, but it really does look better than the pictures. Stones will be replaced with cement plates. Nice little yard- I do not have any intress or time for gardening!

The kitchen is a real selling point- Kris was sold with the fridge with ice and water in the door!

Kitchen is opened to the dining area, which has a door to the back yard and future patio. Bar stools so folks can sit nd talk to the cook, and a "wine fridge" - great for soda too!

Spain, pain and NO RAIN!!

The rain in Spain does NOT come in late summer! The entire time we were there, it didn't rain a single drop! Here are a few sneek peeks of the trip I took to Mijas, Spain from 23 July till 10 Aug, 2008.

This is the house we stayed in. It is a Bible School which was in desperate need of a proper cleaning.

We started the day with a breakfast, prayer and some sort of wacky compitition. Anything from making an alter to decorating pine cones to a babbeling competition could come up.

Then we set about doing what was needed most- cleaning. And more cleaning and then a little more.

The temperatures were way too high to be able to work, so we did the Spanish thing- SIESTA- between 12 and 2 o'clock. Most of the time it was the pool that mattered most- cooling off and relaxing. I wimpped out and usually slept or did paperwork and planning.

Saturdays were usually spent on the beach. Here is the team...

Hanna, Sara, Katrina, Frida and Simon. A more wonderful team does not exist! We had lots of laughs and fun together. Many memories were made.

This is the view from the patio- beee u ti ful! I really enjoyed a morning cup of tea sitting outside watching the sun rise and having some 1 on 1 time with God.

Sunday church service- NOT at 11:00- too hot. Nope, we started around 9-ish (pm) when it was a little cooler- and OUTSIDE!! What a beautiful ceiling! Katrina gave a testimony , and there were other oppertunities to share as well. Frida, Hanna, Katrina and yours truely all shared at some point.

Simon often entertained us with a rythmic melody on the bongo drums. That is when he wasn't getting us to throw frisbee or play volleyboll!

Gotta go get ready to pick up Anthony, Lori and unnamed baby soon, so that's it for now.

Sorry so late!

OK So you all had to wait a long time for tomorrow. When I returned to Sweden, my life got busier than ever before. Time to do anything like blogging was put asside, and even if I had time on the computer, it was short spells to check out my moms blogg, or my sibblings böoggs, read and answer (some) emails, and pay bills. The shortened version of my trip to Bulgaria is that with the advise of both my pastor and one of the elders, we decided against taking the team to Bulgaria. The main reasons were that I (as the sole team leader) could not insure the saftey of the team. That is what sent me into a whirlwind of research, phone calls, emails and web surfing- to find an alternative trip. The answer came really close to home, in a way.
Our church works very closly with another church- the Missions Church here in Vännäs.One of the team members is from the Missions church, and she had a suggestion. One of their members has a sister that works as a missionary in Mijas, Spain. Their son is the pastor at the church and in charge of the Bible school there as well. First we prayed- that God would open the doors we were to go through and close the ones we were not to go through. Then we called the sister, got the number for the pastor, and called him. He was very oppened to having us come for 2 weeks, and it worked well in their plans to have us come on the very weeks we had previously planned!
So, now we are on our way to southern Spain! We are leaving on the 23rd of July and returning the 10th of August. Our mission is mainly to do practical work while there- cleaning the Bible school. We also are looking forward to blessing the pastor and his family in some unique ways. It has been a joy to work with the group that is assembled.
Last week we had 2½ days of "team building". Even this was a challange. I had invited someone to help with the activities so I could also be involved, when not taking care of the practical aspects of our little "get away". Two weeks before we were to go, the woman called me and canceled- she had broken her leg!! So, I spent one week trying to find a replacement, and the other getting the activities together, because I couldn't find a replacement! (There was a lot of praying in between there too!!)
Turns out that we had a blast together! God was really there with us, and I could feel his presence leading me the whole way. Solving the practical problems became a part of the team building- with the added difficulty of not being able to see (for half the group) or not being able to talk (the other half of the group). We found some really creative ways of communicating, leading one another, and helping each other. Even the discussion afterwards was fun! I am so psyked to go on this trip with this group.
And there is one more thing to be really happy about. We needed to raise 45000 swedish kronor (a little more than 7500 dollars) to take the 6 of us there, room and board while we are there, and get home again. There is not the same sort of financial backing from the churches here as in the states, so we had to WORK for the money. But we can praise our wonderful Savior- we got the cash!! Our youngest team member baked and sold muffins door to door for 5 weeks to earn $500, Katrina came with me to do tattoos twice to earn $600, I took on extra teaching, and the other team members worked overtime to earn money. We also did a number of presentations at churches- drama, testemonies, singing, telling about our trip. That earned us a little too. We still have one more fundraiser to do- this Sunday. We are working with a bike shop in Vännäs, and having a unicycle day. The reigning swedish master of unicycle "just happens" to be a member of our church, and works at the bike shop. He was more than willing to help out, and even do a show for us! So we are really glad for his help and for the help of 360 Norr who is sponsering with setting up the competition, running the show, and for all the prizes!! And a special thanks to Niklas Jonsson (reigning Swedish master in unicycling) for all his help as well!

And the excitement never ends. I wanted to post some pictures, but the cable for the digital camera is missing. And while posting this blogg, a water connection upstairs just decided to spring a leak. So, gotta go get a bunch of towels.

Sandwich, Snot, and Sofia

I finally got a little sleep- about 30 minutes. Then I did the rounds- walked the entire length of the airport and back, played a little solitaire, did a sudoku and checked the computers. (still not working) Then I thought I would go down to see if anyone had left the Stay and Fly. You can rent a room for an hour at a time. I thought that would be just enough time to get a fresh shower, repack my bags and get breakfast. Sure enough, they did have a room available. That was the best shower I had had to date. Afterwards I went to the cafe close by and got a breakfast of fresh fruit, a sandwich and a cup of hot chocolate. When I was done with that, I got the large luggage from storage and waited for Magnus and Börje. I mistakenly thought (in my sleepless haze) that all luggage check ins were to be done in the main terminal. But, when asked, the SAS personnel told me to go to terminal 5. (Did I know where it is?) That was funny! I had been there quite a few times throughout the night.Magnus came and we rushed to terminal 5, and met up with Börje. He was still looking a little yellow,but a whole lot better than the day before. We checked in and waited at the gate. And waited and waited. Finally a man got on the intercom and told us that the plane was ready, but that the crew didn't show up! There was no one to fly the plane, and no stewardesses either! We were to sit tight till they could arrange an alternate pilot and crew. Only 15 minutes later, they had everything ready. But now the plane was gone! They had to move it out to a parking area so the next flight could come in to the gate. So they got a bus to take us to the plane- parked in the middle of a parking lot, in the middle of nowhere! The ground crew was frantically trying to warm up the plane again, after having sat for a half an hour. We had to wait in the bus for 10 minutes till we were finally allowed to get onto the plane.

Once situated in our seats, we were amused to see what looked like orange colored snotty slime seeping down the windows. I couldn't help but to wonder if some strange alien had sneezed a huge orange hocker on us! If God would blow his nose, would it have snot in it? If so, what color would it be? Perhaps instead of a dust storm we were caught in a snot storm!? OK- sorry about that! I got a little carried away. Truth of the matter is that they had to de-ice the plane again- and the de-icing agent has diesel fuel extracts in it, which makes it a brownish orange color. But it was cheap entertainment, and struck me particularly funny with the thought of an alien flinging a snot boll on my window!

Once in the air, everything went well. We made our connecting flight without a problem in Warsaw. I got off a few pictures while on approach to the Polish airport. Everything looked so orderly, and clean! Wonder if they have laws about how the houses are to look from the air. I noticed that when you have gone a night without really sleeping, your mind can really find some creative thoughts! My mind must have been sleepless and on caffeine! It was really going to town- to Warsaw to be exact!

We landed, went through security and passport check, and waited 10 minuted till it was time to get on a bus to go to the plane to Sofia, Bulgaria. Once again we were bussed out to the middle of nowhere, to wait, and then board an even smaller plane! The roof was so low that Börje and Magnus had to be very humble! They had to bow their heads and hunch over a little so they would not mash their heads! I guess a little humble pie is good now and then. But they didn't know that they would be eating a lot of humble pie!

The flight to Sofia went as planned. We got our luggage, went through security and passport check, and looked for Stella, our interpreter. But she was nowhere to be found. Börje called her. She was in a Taxi on the way to the airport. There had been an accident that slowed traffic to a snails pace, but they were not far from the airport now.

It was good to finally see her when she came. We couldn't read a single sign! The Bulgarians have a different alphabet than what we were use to. So, she could point us to the toilets! Then we were our of our element, and the real adventure began! Out of the safety of the airport, it was time to go back in time about 50 years, and into a place where we could not communicate. But you will have to wait till tomorrow for that! Enjoy the day and those you share it with!

Airports are boring!

Later this summer I am taking a group of youth from church to Bulgaria for a missions trip. Today I am traveling there with our pastor and our church accountant to prepare and get a feel for the country. We left Umeå at 4 yesterday afternoon, and arrived in Stockholm at 5pm. Since then it has been a waiting game. Our flight to Warsawa(poland) leaves at 6:55am. There are two hotels at the airport, but they were both booked solid. So, I got real aquianted with a bench for a while. But, alast, slumber was not one of my companions.

(Edit note- I am only now posting this message because all the computers at Arlanda airport suddenly went off line, and I only now can post it. Right after that frustrating moment, I went outside and snapped a few photos of Arlanda at 3 am. enjoy!

Daddy, can you fix it?

I love having Dad here with us, I wish I could keep him here forever! But I don't think Mom would like that too much. I guess she would have to move here too. The kids are enjoying having time with their grandpa too. Yesterday Katrina made a special cake- took her all day to make it. I went to bed right as she was serving it and had a quick taste- yummy!

I got to spend a lot of time with Dad yesterday, what a treat it was! I knew I had to cram questions from the past 17 years into one day, and didn't quite get to all of them. What a treasure to be able to ask advise, and get pearls of wisdom to replace the dark spots of inexperience, as well as to clear up areas of questions from the past.

On Monday Dad (being the wise mechanic he is) noticed that my brakes were squeaking. At first I thought that I would just make an appointment with the mechanic next week to have it fixed. But Dad offered to fix it. Somewhere along the 17 years of living so far away from home, I adjusted and stopped asking," Dad, can you fix it?" The thought hadn't even crossed my mind that Dad is here, he has the ability to take care of the problem. Honestly, I didn't want to bother him with something I could take care of myself (by hiring someone else to do it), felt it would be a burden, or was afraid he would feel we were taking advantage of him. But Dad willingly offered to take care of it, told me what he needed to fix it, came along to pick up the parts, and fixed it. It didn't cost that much for the parts, but we saved a lot of money not taking it to the garage. Than you so much, Dad! I really appreciate your time and effort. You are awsome!

There was one thing I finally drew up the courage to ask help for. (Sounds dumb, but it did take a bit for me to ask for help) There was a loose hose at the bottom of the windshield washer tank, and the fluid just runs out. I asked if he could help reattach the hose. Within the first 2 seconds he recognised the problem. I thought it would be a simple problem to fix, but his knowledge and experienced identified a larger problem- to complicated to fix right then. It would involve a new pump (which most places usually do not have in stock), removing the damaged one and putting in the new one. My first thought was ," Typical! I finally get the courage to ask for help and it is too big a task. Just when I thought I was asking for something simple, it winds up being something much larger than I thought it would be. I should have kept my mouth shut!"

But then I realised that it was not a dumb thing to ask for help. Now I can get the assistance I need and even ask in advanced to have the needed parts ordered. If Dad hadn't educated me a little in what the problem was and what was needed to fix it I would have felt cheated by the garage and not gone back to it! That would have been a bigger problem in the future.

So, I got to thinking. (It happens sometimes, . I try not to think all too often!) One of the things I have had to learn being so far from home for so many years is to FROG it. FROG stands for Fully Rely On God. When I moved here, I was thrown into a world that I knew no one, had no family to lean on, and even if I would have had the courage to ask a stranger for help(ha ha), I didn't have the language skills to do so. I have had to become a lot more self- reliant. After a short time, that fell like a ton of bricks, and I realised my short comings were many. So I had to start relying on God. At first it was a daily plead for help- we had no real income. (I was not allowed to work or get any kind of social assistance either because I was not a Swedish citizen and Kris was studying to be a doctor.) But as the years have gone by, we became a little more financially stable. I stopped asking God for help, because I could do it myself. I didn't want to bother God with the things I could take care of myself. But new problems arose, and I tried to fix them myself too. Only after I gave up and asked my Father God to fix what I thought was a simple problem did I realise that the problem was much more complicated than I first thought. It is a deep rooted thing that needs to be removed and replaced with a new replacement. (anger replaced by patience, pride with humility, stubbornness replaced with a helpful spirit...)The problems were there, and even if I had asked God for help earlier, they still would have needed the same treatment, but I would have skipped the time and energy as well as the frustration of not being able to fix it myself. So why am I still so afraid of asking for help? (Both God and those around me) Is it because I want to appear to be strong and untroubled? Or maybe I am afraid to show any signs of weakness. (Did that before and got majorly burnt!) Is it a personality flaw- a survival technique that worked in the past, and is comfortable? Hmm. Me thinks it is all of the above. So, once again, I must step out of my comfort zone, dare to look stupid and weak, and put my foolish pride aside. Time to get on my knees and ask the hardest question of all... "Daddy, can you fix it" And you know what? I know he can!

Dad, gifts and chocolate

DADDY IS HERE! My dad has come to Sweden to visit us, and I am so glad he is here. I must admit that the things I remember when I lived at home are not all the same with dad as I remembered. Let me explain.
Dad has thick black curly hair- well not now! His hair is still curly, but now it is more white than black, and not quite as thick.
Dad is a man of few words. I don't remember Dad ever talking so much before! What a wealth of information! He still needs to clear his throat before he starts sharing his thoughts, but he really has a lot to say- and most of it is worth hearing!
Dad is always at work- either his job, or on a list of things to do. This is the first time I recall seeing Dad not working on a project! (Besides when he was sick) COOL! I wonder how long it will take till he gets stir crazy?
But you know what? I also realised that I haven't lived at home for almost 20 years. I know I have changed a lot in these past years, of course even parents have the right to change, get inspired, have new goals and outlooks on life. Dad has survived a couple bouts with cancer, and I am sure that is bound to have a profound effect on anyone.
So, why do we expect certain people to remain unchanged through the years? Why do we lay that expectation on others, especially those who are older than us? Why do we expect those younger than us to change? Now that I think about it, it really is silly to think that my folks would be exactly the same as when I left home to move to Sweden.
Anyways, It is good to have dad here, to be able to get to know him again, and to let the kids have some fun with him.
I have a story to tell (actually I have many stories to tell, but one in particular is on my mind right now.) Let me preface it by saying that (number one) our family loves chocolate- especially the high cocoa content chocolate-70%. Also, (to understand what I have been thinking about) our church is in the process of discovering what gifts we have- each person is given a (of a few) special talents and gifts that God wants us to use to build His church, and glorify Him.
So, the story.
It was Sunday morning, and We all sat around the breakfast table before getting ready for church. We talked for quite a while, then it was time to get ready. We were in a bit of a rush, so no one cleared off the table- leaving tea cup and tea bags, bread crust, and opened bar of chocolate, and empty orange juice glasses on the table. (We remembered to blow out the candles)
We went to church, and then to a friends house for fika (coffee and a light snack). We were expecting Kris (hubby) sister for a visit, so we came home around 3 in the afternoon. I noticed some silver foil in Jackie's cage (our Jack Russel Terrier) and wondered what she got into. But she often finds wrappers and plastic to chew on, so I didn't think much of it. But a little while later, I noticed that she has .... regurgitated?! (threw up) something. She doesn't usually do this, so I checked it out. Sure enough- it smelled like chocolate.
Now, for us humans, this would have been annoying that someone else ate your chocolate, and nothing more. But for dogs, chocolate is poison. They cannot digest the chemicals in the cocoa bean, and it acts as a toxin, damaging their organs, especially the liver.
So, we did a little detective work and figured out that she ate about 65 grams of chocolate. A big dog would have gotten sick, but survived. But our little pooch weighs only 8½ kilos. This was a toxic dose, bordering on lethal. So, we called the vet, took her in and she got a shot. The shot made her throw up- over and over again. Each time she would get the shakes, begin to pant and foam at the mouth. Then the heaves. It was heart wrenching to watch it over and over again. But we knew the poison had to come out to save her life. We comforted her, held her between bouts, and helped her stand up when it was time for the next round. We stayed with her throughout the evening, and kept her warm, comforted her and let her know she was loved.
Later in the evening, the drugs wore off, and she had a bit more energy. But she tires out quickly, and sleeps a lot.
And now, the thoughts:
Each of us has a God given talent or two, sometimes more. We can often deny our gifts, wish we had another gift or even try to take the gift that someone else has. The gift God gave to me is tailor made for me, and is not intended for someone else. It may not be as glamorous as the person that can sing like the angels, or speak into the hearts of everyone listening. It may not make me famous or rich. But it does give a sense of fulfillment and peace. So, what happens when I try to imitate (take) someone else's gift? There might not be any immediate signs of trouble, no one will even notice! But, if I continue, I am eating poisonous chocolate. It tastes good at the time, but I am ultimately damaging myself. Hopefully there will be someone to love me enough to take me to the "vet", and love me through the heart wrenching medicine of getting back on track. But that takes guts. First, you have to recognise that even if the person is "good", it is not what God wants, it is not their gift. Next, you have to confront them, and do something they will probably not like or appreciate at the time. Then you have to love them enough to stay by their side through unpleasant times, even repeated experiences. In the end, you know you are saving their (spiritual) life, but you may never be thanked for it. Do we have the guts to do all that? Or is it easier to stand by and hope it will be OK? Hmmm. I think I need to talk to the vet about a few things in my life!
Luckily, I am not a dog, but I do have a God- and He said that I may eat chocolate- but stay away from the dog food!

Snacking Angle, screwed up and sweet baker

I have a little catching up to do, so I thought I would start with our angle. She graces the top of our christmas tree every year since 1997. This year it was Björns turn to decide on how to decorate, and he went for a candy theme. So, even the angle got a little sweet this year! She is now resting after a 2 month period of gaurding the tree, awaiting her next shift later this year.

Someone screwed up!! We were hanging a new lamp above the piano, and needed some screws. All went well, the lamp was installed, and we were cleaning up. Then the box of screws was picked up. Unfortunatly, the latches were not fastened properly and the screwes went everywhere! What a screw-y mess! (An onslought of screw jokes ensued and persisted for the next few days- we are a screwey family, what a screwed up thing to happen, etc...) The next 3 days were spent sorting the screws according to length and thickness. We were happy the job finally was finished!

Katrina continues to experiment and excell in her baking. A friend's mother was celebrating a birthday and hired Katrina to make the deserts. She made 2 cakes and truffels rolled in cocoa powder. WOW!! We got a taste of the cakes and truffels- they were SOOOO good! The womans husband has contacts with the best resteraunt in Umeå, and said he would offer a word of encouragement for Katrina to be able to visit the kitchen sometime. (Viktors) She is really excited at the prospect of being able to be there sometime! They normally don't accept young people to do practical experience there, but here's hoping!

I would appreciate your prayers today. I am feeling a bit blue, and wondering what in the world to do in the future- this year, next year and in the years to come. I have been taking stock of my past and am not so encouraged. It would be nice to have the drive that my hubby has- know exactly what I want to do and be really good at it, be appreciated by my peers, friends and family. At the moment, I can´t seem to get any answers for the future-in my prayers or in my thoughts. Confusionj and sorrow abide in full, and I am so.......
tired of feeling this way! So, if you happen to think of me, say a quick prayer. Thanks

Another year has gone by!

Ain't it funny how life can go in slow motion sometimes and fast forward other times? Well, my life seems to have been in fast forward lately. I have no idea how or where time has gone this past month, but now it is a new year! I have had enough people ask me to PLEASE put something new up, they are tired of seeing the leaves! So, here you go- something else!So, what have I been doing this past month? Let me look in my daytimer to see. Oh my- it has been more like 3 months! No wonder everyone has been bugging me to post!
OK Since I last wrote, I have had 5 meetings with the Youth Group, 6 meetings with the Missions group- Bulgaria, 11 meetings with our younge believers group, 2 sessions of Youth Alpha, 2 sessions of tattooing, and 5 classes of oil painting. Besides that, I have been in various other meetings and plannings get togethers. For most of the meetings, I had some or all responsibility, and had to do a bit of planning and preperation.
On the homefront, there are the normal responsibilities- wash, dishes, food preperation, cleaning up, grocery shopping, delivering kids to/from school, taking their gym bag they forgot (or homework, inside shoes, gloves, backpack, bus card...) I even have made time to go to the gym every now and again- even bringing a friend along sometimes!
Tis also the season for ... Christmas presents (shopping, wrapping, ribboning...), decorations, tree, school programs, church programs. Then there is extra visiting, delivering flowers or singing to the older folks from church- usually requiring a fika- and me somehow drinking a cup or two of coffee. (I really do NOT like coffee- looks, smells and tastes like ground up earth worms! BLAA!)
To make matters all the better, Björn came home with the stomache flu a week before Christmas, and again the week of Christmas. Yep, he got it twice! But he seemed to recover just in time for Christmas. Not too soon! But then on Christmas Eve, Katrina started her bout with the stomache flu. Kris and I didn't actually bark, but we had terrible pain in our stomaches, no appitite, feaver, and the oh, so fun aches in every joint of our bodies! What a fun way of spending the holidays. After a few days we recovered and have avoided contact with anyone who has the flu. We spent New Years Eve with Sonja and Ingemar Stenmark. We lived in the apartment on the second floor of their house for 7 years before we bought our house. We had a lot of fun playing Brainiac, eating some fine food, and setting off fireworks at midnight. After a quick fika with warm sandwiches, Katrina and I went home. Just in sight of the house, I realised that I had left my keys at home. So, Katrina and I had to break into our house. I have had a lot of experience in this field, so it was no big deal. (I knew that there was a window that I had forgotten to latch, so Katrina played acrobat and got in. Then she opened the front door for me. So we were back in the warmth of our home and ready to sleep. I didn't wake up till after 9 this morning- very late for me. I usually wake up between 5 and 7.
Today we have been relaxing, enjoying a day off. Björn and I made a treasure hunt for Katrina, and Katrina made up a new game which we will play later on tonight. Tomorrow Kris returns to work, and I will pinstripe 2 gas tanks in the garage. This weekend we are going to Luleå to visit with Tomas and Birgitta Öberg- our "pretend" Grandparents for the kids. Kris grew up with their son, and has been a part of their lives forever. So, it works.Next week I am back to work- lots of paperwork to do, planning, reporting, etc. So, there is a quick update. More in depth and deep spiritual insights will have to wait. The tribe is hungry, and it is my turn to cook tonight. Chicken fatiljas are on the menu for tonight. Thanks for stopping by, and Happy New Years!