Big day for my big boys

Alvin and Ivar turned 8 on November 29th, and on December 4th they were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The boys had been looking forward to it for months and when the day finally came they were so excited! And I was too!

Since I'm the first in my family to be baptized into the Church, I was so happy that my sons made that same decision. On Jens' side of the family, our children are the fifth generation of Church members. And now there is a second generation on my side as well. That is pretty special!

What made it all even better was my family being able to come. My mom and Folke, my dad and my sister Merit and her family all came to witness the big event. None of them were able to be there when I was baptized almost 13 years ago, so having them there meant a lot to me.

The program was beautiful and the Spirit was so strong. When it was time for the actual baptisms, Alvin stepped into the water first, since he is 13 minutes older than his brother. Ivar stood by the funt and watched as his brother was baptized by his father. Then it was Ivar's turn and Alvin sat on the edge of the funt while he was baptized. Egon thought the ceremony was so funny, he laughed the whole time...

The boys were then confirmed by their father and welcomed into the church by the Bishop, who is also their father's cousin!

It was a day our family will always remember.

Pretty fall pics

We've had snow for a good month by now, but I thought I'd share some fall pictures of Lovisa and Egon that turned out really well.

Flash-back! First day of playschool!

One sunny August morning it was time for Egon to start preschool, the same school where Lovisa was now starting on her last year.

He was so excited he practically ran the whole way!


Finally he was a "BIG BOY"!

He started playing as soon as he got in the door.

Look at him going wild with the meatballs!

First lunch at preschool!


Egon has loved playschool from day one. He loves his teachers and you can tell that they love him and all the other children. I'm so happy that my kids have teachers who really love what they do. Egon has made many new friends and has learned so many new things.

I'm back!

Sometimes there just aren't enough hours in a day. It's been a real challenge for me to keep my head above water the last year and a half. Being a wife, mother, homemaker, translator and full time student all at the same time has been exciting and fulfilling, but also draining and overwhelming. A lot of the time I've felt as though my life was made up of nothing but demands and I've felt guilty about so many things. (A mom-thing, I know...) But I know that Heavenly Father knows our situation and knows why I have had to go to school at such a busy and important time. I know that I've truly been blessed this whole time. I've done the best I've known how under the circumstances, and I know that my Heavenly Father has filled in the blanks.

One thing I decided not to feel guilty about was not writing on my blog. For a few months now, I've been dreading having to try and catch up on everything and start writing where I left off so that there wouldn't be this big gap in the blog. But then I thought about it and realized there are bigger things to worry about!

I'm just going to start where we're at right now, and maybe, if I suddenly feel a surge of energy and inspiration, I might just throw in a few flash-backs here and there.

For now: Here's a christmas song for you! (Don't forget to turn off the music player to the left.)

Wow!

I can't believe a whole summer has just gone by, and I haven't managed to make one single post here! I'm still alive, so everyone exhale! I guess things haven't really calmed down since the kiddos got out of school... I will post lots and lots of summer pictures real soon.

Right now I'm sitting here thinking about the fact that Egon starts playschool tomorrow. That means I will be all alone for a few hours every day. I will be able to focus on my last semester of school and on work, so that when I do get to see the kids I won't have to feel distracted. Sounds great, doesn't it? But what will I do without my little man at home with me? He's so much fun to be around and it's so great to hear his wise comments and laugh at his wonderful sense of humor! I will miss him so much! I've been so busy all summer that I didn't see it coming, and now I'm sitting here all teary eyed, wondering were time went... My little Egon has turned 3. My baby is officially no baby anymore.

Inspiration

One of my friends shared this clip on facebook, and it really moved me. What an inspiration she is!
This is what life is really about!

Life

Lately I have been so preoccupied with life, that it feels like I've forgotten how to enjoy living it. As much as I enjoy school, it has taken up so much of my energy and I've been feeling guilty for not having enough patience with my kids, for not being able to keep up with all of the housework and for not taking better care of my spirit. I've even been feeling guilty for not writing here more often. With only two more school assignments to go before the summer, I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I'm looking forward to spending more time with my family this summer. I'm going to try really hard to let go of all of the musts and shoulds and enjoy being a mother and a wife. I'm also going to put the Gospel back where it needs to be in my life. I miss going to the Temple regularly and making scripture study part of my daily routine even if it only is for a few minutes.

I am so grateful for my family and for their love for me even when I least deserve it. I love watching my kids grow and develop every day. They are such amazing little people! I truly look up to each and every one of them, and feel blessed to be able to call myself their mother. Yesterday, as we were getting ready to go to Church, the kids almost got upset with each other because they all wanted to help me carry something to the car. Things like that don't happen every day, but I realize that I need to appreciate it more when they do. I know that when I try to focus on the sweet moments of every day, they seem to grow in number.

Life is good!

Funny things they say...

Egon (watching the dolphin show at the zoo): "I love the dolphins! I want them in our house!"


Ivar (7): "Mom, were you born in the 1900's?"
Me:"Yes."
Alvin & Ivar: "WOW!"


Lovisa (5) to Egon (still in diapers): "What are you thinking about? Or are you pooping?"


Egon (constantly): "Can I have something?" (meaning food)
Me: "You just ate!"
Egon: "I will give you a KISS! ... There, NOW I can have something!"


Ivar (to his dad after hearing a famous singer being called "Sweden's coolest mother of four"):
"She's the coolest mother of four?? I think they're exaggerating. Maybe she has four kids that listen. Imagine having four kids that DON'T listen!"

Playing in the snow

Lovisa's "baby sister"

Lovisa is a really girly girl who loves to play with dolls, dress up, and so on. In a family with three brothers she ends up playing on her own a lot. Lately she has been talking about how much she would love to have a baby sister, saying that it's no fun being the only girl.

Well, now she seems to have taken matters into her own hands...

2009 New-Year's letter

Jens finshed school in may and continues to work on his feature film script. He is planning on finishing it this spring, and after that he will start contacting production companies and TV-stations to have it made into a movie or a TV-series. He is still driving buses for a living. It's not a job he particulary enjoys, but it does pay the bills. When he's not working he helps out around the house so that his wife can go to school. Last spring he went to a mission reunion in SLC and met up with some good friends. He also had the opportunity to attend General Conference. He really enjoyed that trip! He is a passionate road biker and can brag about having broken his collar bone riding down a mountain in the French Alps. Not many can top that.



Toini enrolled at the University of Stockholm in August to study translation. She has classes a couple of days a week and studies as much as she can at home. She loves it and feels as though she finally got it right. She will be done in december of this year. During the year she underwent two surgical procedures to her lower back, but unfortunately still isn't pain free. She continues to try and lead an active life nonetheless, road biking and running as much as her body allows and is looking forward to biking in the French Alps again.





Alvin 7 started 1st grade in the fall and is enjoying school and all of his friends. He is quite the ladies' man. During the year he had three girlfriends. At one point he had two at the same time. He is a sociable kid who likes to talk (wherever did he get that from?), and spend time with his siblings and friends. He loves to create and is, among other things, a skilled lego constructor. Together with his brother, he goes to swimming classes and is getting better and better at swimming. His goal is to be able to swim all by himself when we go back to Öland this summer.




Ivar 7 is also in 1st grade and he loves to read and write. But his favourite subject in school is maths. This is a mystery, because neither one of his parents have ever been any good at it. Ivar is pensive and thoughtful child. He loves to write little notes of appreciation for his mom and dad as well as stories. One of his stories goes something like this if translated:

"Once upon a time there was a big sea monster that lived deep down in the see and it devoured people it loved meat and ate loads of fish. But one day another sea monster came, and this sea monster was good. And they started to fight and at the end both of them had died.
And everyone in the city lived happily ever after!"

Lovisa, almost 5 is a happy and outgoing girl. She loves playschool and has a whole bunch of friends there. During the year she has grown more and more interested in letters and numbers, and is now able to write quite a few words and read signs. Lovisa loves to bake and cook. She also likes to play shop. She sells everything from cereal to underwear. Lovisa loves inviting friends over or going to their houses. She especially likes birthdayparties - especially those with a princess theme.





Egon, 2.5 is a very sweet little boy. He is very good at expressing himself and loves to talk. He wants to do everything himself, no matter how hard it is. Right now he is either a puppy or a kitten. One morning at about 3.45 we heard the door to our room open and in comes Egon, on all fours, meowing! Even half asleep he was a kitten. The other day Egon stumbled on the edge of the livingroom carpet and fell down. He cried for about 15 seconds and then he looked at me, teary-eyed and said: "I didn't hurt myself. I just broke my leg. It doesn't matter."




As a family we enjoyed several trips last summer, the camping trip to Öland probably being the highlight. Jens and Toini of course enjoyed their trip to the French Alps in May. What a beautiful place to go road biking! Meanwhile, the kids had a good time, staying with cousins and grandparents back home.
Another exciting thing is that we got our first pets: rabbits Teo and Emilia. They live in our back yard, in a house/cage that Jens built for them.
At the end of the year we went through an exciting adventure called "Water damage". Jens and some kind helpers had to tear out our entire kitchen and hall way, cupboards, floors and all. For a couple of weeks there was nothing but concrete floors. The family moved in with Jens' parents, where we ended up staying for over three weeks. Jens worked day and night the entire time, and we were able to move back into the house the night before Christmas eve. We were so grateful to be able to spend Christmas at home.