First Sleepover

K enjoyed her first sleepover last night. She had her best friend over to spend the night since they are moving away soon.

The fun began at dinner, and continued through the night. The girls played, watched a little Swedish movie called, "Alla Vi Barn i Bullerbyn." It is such a sweet, classic Swedish story. All four kids lined up on the couch with their bowls of popcorn to watch together.



Alla vi barn i Sofan

  The girls were allowed to stay up until 10pm, at which time we turned the lights off. I thought they would sleep in, but they were up and ready to take a bath at 7am. After a bath and breakfast, they played a while. K decided to forgo soccer in favor of spending more time playing. The girls opted to paint pictures, and the boys, of course, insisted on joining them. Even Flat Stanley joined in on the fun.


Elvira and K




Painting

H painting



Flat Stanley and his self-portrait

 AJ painted a picture for me, too. I took a photo of him sitting next to Flat Stanley, but for some reason it won't upload.

The challenging part of having Elvira over was the language issue. I was forced to practice my (really bad) Swedish with her, and we managed to communicate (although she wanted to ask me everything through K). She is such a sweet girl, and I am sorry to see her move away.

When I took Elvira home, K stayed with her, and they played until almost 5pm. As I mentioned before, this was their "last hoorah," so I am glad it lasted so long.

Sleigh or Sled

On our way back from the science museum, we stopped by our friends' house for a visit.  Åke took the kids out to try out these sleds. Or sleighs. They kind of seem like a cross between the two. I want one. You stand on the back , and push yourself along with your foot, putting it on the other side once you've got some speed or to go downhill. How fun. Apparently, these are extremely common in northern Sweden. I had never seen one before, even though I have lived here three years. I need to get out more.



Åke  and AJ sledding



K trying it out



Happy girl



AJ going solo



K pushing H on one

 After the kids became too cold for more, we went inside for some food and fellowship. At the end of the day, H decided to try out this, this, what is this? It's not a lute. It's not an oud. Maybe a domra? Most likely a balalaika. Anyway, H didn't care what it is called. He was having fun.

What a busy day. These days make good memories, though. :)

Sick House and Birthdays

The past week, I have been the not-so-proud owner and manager of my very own sick house. H came down with a fever Friday, and the fun just continued from there with every one of my kids coming down with a fever and cough. My boys also got diarrhea, and H sprained his ankle. One week later, K is back in school, the boys are still a little congested and still coughing, but feeling better, and H still has diarrhea (even in the middle of the night). However, H is also willing to limp around with my help once in a while, and he crawls around most places. This is a huge step forward from not being willing to move around at all and just whimpering when he felt abandoned or wanted me to move him. I carried him around a lot yesterday (read: I didn't get much else done).

It has not all been bad, though. I have definitely enjoyed the extra time with all three kids, even if the circumstances were not ideal. Plus, I had some friends over to celebrate my birthday on Saturday evening. They didn't mind my sick kids, and it was a special time of fellowship for me. This was especially important since my actual birthday dinner consisted of leftover chicken soup and birthday cake. We we supposed to have a date night, but I wasn't going to leave my sick kids with anyone else -- even their Farfar. It didn't seem fair to either side.

I am hoping for a sense of normalcy tomorrow. I know my family and friends have been praying for us. Thanks so much.

A Lovely Unexpected Gift

A friend of mine gave me this lovely Christmas present today. It contained homemade Lussebullar, two kinds of tea, candied almonds, and some Christmas krisp-bread.



Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.



I enjoyed the Lussebulle and the tea, even though I had eaten my share of Lussebullar at the Luciafest.



Thanks, Danielle! You are such a sweet friend and a blessing in my life.  

Luciafest

This afternoon, AJ's school held a Lucia party for the kids. They had diligently practiced their songs and baked gingerbread cookies and Lussebullar. Now, they were ready for the big show. The teachers like to do it all outside, despite the below-freezing temperatures and darkness. Actually, the girls' Lucia crowns of electric candles shine nicely in the dark, but the boys are somewhat left out.

Anyway, I helped AJ get dressed up in his outfit. We had to put everything over his snowsuit and hat since it was so cold outside. He still looks sweet, in my opinion. Then, it was time for the kids to go with the teachers and the rest of us to wait outside for their appearance. 

AJ in his costume inside

  One of the teachers served glogg (a hot spiced wine, which, in this case, was non-alcoholic). I was busy keeping H happy and getting the cameras ready, so I had none. Oh, and I didn't have a free hand with the video camera and SLR camera on hand. I did, however get a picture of two of our dear friends here. :)


Our good friends, Elisabet and Johan

 The kids came out singing, and the parents crowded around, with parents moving closer and closer to the group of kids as everyone strained to get a picture or video of his or her special little one(s). I was just as guilty of moving in front (but crouched down) of other parents, and it was admittedly frustrating that I couldn't get a good shot for most of the event.
After the first song, the teachers told all the parents to move back. We did, but parents soon crowded around the children again as they began the next song.



AJ singing outside


Meanwhile, H was crying. He felt hungry, cold, and alone. I went back and forth between him and watching and photographing AJ. H was happy to have ginger snaps and Lussebullar to satisfy his hunger. I would give him a bite, run over to try to watch AJ, hurry back to give H another bite, etc.

H thought it was too cold outside, but he enjoyed the flash on the camera. Yes, he does have two layers on his head.

 Overall, I enjoyed last year's event more. It was inside, so it was warmer and more light was available for video. Also, every parent seemed to have enough space to capture the moment on "film." Perhaps it seemed less chaotic for me also because Timo was able to be there to help out with our three munchkins, and H was young enough that he was content to sit on my or Timo's lap.

I always enjoy my kids' programs, but I felt that I short-changed AJ by not being able to give him the attention he deserved.

Busy Weekend

This past weekend, we hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for our neighbors. I had taken them some pumpkin pie last year to sample, but I wanted to share the whole meal with them. The husband can't eat gluten, which provided some challenges. I prepared regular food for the rest of us, but I tried to make a gluten-free version of stuffing, gravy, and pumpkin pie crust.

The stuffing I made from some store-bought gluten-free bread, but the texture was definitely different than regular stuffing. It tasted good, though, and I was encouraged to make my own stuffing from scratch next year.

The gravy was a big fail. I added too much gluten-free flour and it turned transparent instead of the opaque pale brown I associate with turkey gravy. It wasn't like I had a whole lot of extra drippings to thin it out since I used them for the other gravy. Lesson learned: I hope. I should have used corn starch, but I didn't have any on hand.

The pumpkin pie was made with buckwheat flour, and I thought it tasted nasty at first. With the pumpkin filling, though, it was pallatable. It lacked the flaky, buttery texture I associate with a delicious crust, though. I only made one pumpkin pie, so everyone was stuck with the buckwheat crust. The pumpkin cheesecake was a different story. I used gingersnaps for the crust and gluten-free flour in the filling. I baked some of the filling in ramekins with no crust, and I baked the rest in a mouth-watering gluten-full concoction of deliciousness. :)

Overall, everyone enjoyed the food, and the kids had a great time playing with one another. AJ and the boy played the Wii, and K and the girl played doctor and school. Poor H was the only one left out.

SUNDAY, I got up early to get to church in time to practice my violin for the worship service. Timo came later with the kids, and this was the day when we finally became members of our church. K brought her camera, and she took a picture of me playing during the service. Enjoy the rare footage, if you can tell where I am. :) I really enjoyed playing, even though I could have used more practice time (and it had been at least a month since I had touched my violin... whoops!)

This was our last weekend home as a family this year, and I think we made the most of it.

Another Failed Picnic

This past Saturday, we woke up to beautiful sunshine. I thought, "What a great day for a picnic!" With this thought in mind, I invited some friends over for lunch by the lake. Of course, Murphy's Law kicked in, and, by the time we reached the lake, the rain had started. We had walked, and we decided to go ahead and set up the picnic. The rain stopped after a short while, and I thought that the whole thing might work out, after all. Ha-ha. Silly me.

Here's the girls, starting to eat their lunch.

Timo offering Arvid something to drink.

Shortly after we took these pictures, the rain started again. Elisabet and I decided to run home to get our cars. It's a good thing that we did, because, by the time we returned, the kids were shivering. Maybe a picnic will work out next time.

Car Muffins

I had a friend and her two kids over today for what was supposed to be a picnic by the lake. Well, close-to-freezing temperatures and the snow, rain, and sleet that fell throughout the day prevented us from having a picnic outside, so we ate one inside instead.
A day like today was also perfect for baking, and we had some bananas that were waiting to be baked into bread. We therefore decided to bake banana muffins with the kiddos. Kristen directed the kids, and I just helped get the ingredients out. We used a muffin/cupcake tin I got in the US during our last trip. It is a series of cars, and so cute. Once the muffins were out of the oven, the kids asked to decorate them.

Yes, that is a car somewhere under there. I should have cut off the bottom so it would sit flat on the plate and actually look like a car.

Here is Elvira with her car.

AJ really went all out....

... and his hands were evidence of that.

We had a fabulous day indoors, but we decided that the next nice day we have, we will have to have a spontaneous picnic to make up for the one we missed today.

Thanksgiving Birthday

Today we hosted some of our Swedish friends for a very late (or very early) Thanksgiving meal. I had run across some Ocean Spray cranberries at the grocery store after returning from the US, and I bought a bag to put in the freezer for when I found a turkey. I wasn't hopeful for the turkey, but Timothy located one at our regular grocery store in the frozen section. I am not even sure why he looked in that freezer since we don't usually shop for frozen meat. It must have been a God thing. Anyway, so we made a traditional turkey dinner, and we used up our last two boxes of Stovetop Stuffing. We skipped the pumpkin pie since these friends had already tasted it (when we visited their house for the Julbord), and I made my version of a Boston Cream Pie. Since this was also my birthday cake, I went with something I wanted instead of something more traditional.

When they arrived, our friends presented me with some beautiful tulips and a Swedish cookbook for my birthday. I was so excited to receive the cookbook as I have wanted to learn to make some Swedish dishes. I am looking forward to cooking some of the food in there, and I have already picked out a few meals I want to make.

Busfabriken

Last Saturday we went to Busfabriken with the kids. Kristen invited a couple of her friends from school, but only one could make it. We are friends with the whole family, so we invited all of them to come with us. Here are some pictures from the day.

This is a volcano that is right when you come into the play area. It is kind of like a climbing wall with a slide to get down. The sides get steeper as you go up. Later, AJ slipped on this, and his shirt got caught on one of the blue circular grips. He was hanging there, crying, while Timothy and I kept slipping in our efforts to reach him to get him unstuck. I am sure it was humorous to watch, but it was frustrating to be in the midst of the situation.

Here is Kristen near the top of the volcano.

Here she is sliding down the long slide.

Even Hunter had fun.

Here I am taking Hunter through a tunnel to get to a slide. This was really hard on my knees as I had to inch forward while holding him.

This is the slide after the tunnel that I took Hunter down. Timo took him, too (obviously).





AJ having fun.



AJ jumping.

Hunter checking out the octopus.

AJ had run into Arvid. Arvid was wondering what he was doing, and AJ has a mischievous grin on his face.

To Leave or Not to Leave

There are times when I think that I will be ready to leave Sweden in a year or even sooner. Then there are times like today.
This morning, I tried to quickly pick up my house and give it a quick cleaning where it needed it most. We were expecting some company that included friends of my parents-in-law and some of our friends here in Sweden. When they arrived, we chatted for a while, enjoyed fika (well, I didn't eat anything, but I held Hunter and participated in the conversation), and then I had to leave with the kids for a birthday celebration for Kristen's good friend, Elvira. It is very convenient that her parents are also our friends (Elisabet and Johan).
We were running a little late, but I was really looking forward to this afternoon because I enjoy spending time with these friends. My time with them was not a disappointment. After a delicious lunch, Timothy joined us. We talked for a while, then we had to have some fika (Of course! That is what Swedes do :) ). My friends had made a very flat sugar cake, which Elisabet cut into heart shapes. They had various fillings and sprinkles. The kids (and adults) then got to make their own custom cakes, which I thought was a fun idea. After fika we hung out for a while longer while the kids played some more.
Elisabet and Johan are wonderful people (and I am not just saying that because she reads my blog), and I thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon together. We had to force ourselves to leave so they could have dinner and get their kids to bed. I do have my frustrating days being here, but spending time with this family makes me realize how hard it will be to leave when the time comes.