Another Shot

Dusting off this old blog, once again. I have been waffling around a bit, when it comes to writing online. I had an old online diary site that I wrote at faithfully for 10+ years, but it's slowly falling into disrepair. The person who was in charge has slowly phased themselves out, leaving the functions of the website to volunteers. Sometimes it's down, and sometimes it's operational, you can just never tell what it will be on any given day. I find that I need to (and like to ) document my daily life for my own well-being and for posterity's sake. It's great to look back on how you've grown, how life has changed, and keep track of it all in one place. So here's to a new fresh start at an old blog. Hope to make new memories right here....

Hi All! I am going to dust off this old blog and write here to record my memories and pictures for our trip this spring. We leave in just two short weeks for a month long adventure. We are going to visit our exchange daughters and their family in Finland. They live just outside of Helsinki in a city called Vantaa. We will be taking two smaller trips as well, one to Stockholm, Sweden and one to St. Petersburg, Russia. We have known the Hartikkas now for about 6 years. Their oldest daughter came to stay with us when Mattie and Jonah were 5 and 4 years old...we connected easily and instantly, when two moms, miles apart, both wanted good things for this teenager living in a strange country, speaking only a bit of English, and homesick. We made memories, sent packages, had long emails and discussions. Asked questions about the differences in cultures, politics, and every day life. And little by little, our relationship grew. At the end of that first year, we got to meet Aarno and see Emma interact with her dad, but then she left for home and we felt bonded but the distance grew again. Then, just over a year and a half later, in a surprising twist, Kaisa ended up at our house....Merja sending a frantic email, telling us that Kaisa was so unhappy in her first host family, and she couldn't believe she was asking this, but could we possibly even think about keeping Kaisa for a year so that she could complete her exchange program? And I read that email, headed out the door to where Tim was mowing lawn in the backyard, and yelled, "Hey Tim! Can we keep Kaisa this year?" and his instant response, "Sure! Of course!" And then we travelled to Indiana to get Kaisa.....and again, our relationship grew. We talked about religion, life goals, ideas about family. We laughed a lot over mis-interpreted messages, funny animal sounds (did you know roosters sound different in Finland than in the US?), little inside jokes. I learned that a mother's love knows no bounds from *Merja*, whether your child is across the ocean, or an adult, or you don't see them for a whole year, you still love them fiercly and protectively, you still sit up nights worrying and wondering if they are ok, you Skype, you email, you still LOVE. And then we got to meet after Kaisa's year here, and we both cried -- joyful that we could finally see each other face to face! So on this Mother's Day, I thank God for the moments that I have learned from all mothers, but especially for this special woman across the world that I have co-mothered with. The woman that I will get to see again in just a few short weeks. Happy Mother's Day!

Frozen and Fun

It's no secret that winter is NOT my favorite season. I'm not a big fan of the cold winds, nothing GROWS in the winter -- except maybe my impatience -- and I'm always freezing. I always daydream about trips that take me closer to the equator. I get cabin fever.
However, when I heard about the big storm coming in this week, I was sort of excited. One of my few favorite activities in the winter is shoveling snow. You heard right, shoveling snow! I love going out before everyone's up after a snowfall, when the world is white, clean, crisp, quiet, and new and clearing a path. I like getting warmer as I shovel a path to the cars and the garage, taking off my hat as I work up a sweat. I like seeing the kid's faces peeking out the windows once they wake up and asking, "Can we come out now?" I like helping out my neighbors and feeling like I'm part of a real neighborhood where we look out for each other.
Then Tim comes out and starts up the snowblower and really gets to work, clearing the bigger areas. The kids and I, done with our work, play -- throwing snowballs, making angels in the backyard, getting out the sleds. Then the kids head to the school where the BIG piles are to play with their friends. They play for what seems like hours!! Afterwards, we have some hot chocolate with cinnamon toast and snuggle down to do schoolwork.
Days like this make the dreary winter seem to pass more quickly.

I'm Baaack!

I know I have been woefully neglecting this blog, but I think Facebook ate my brain. :D It's so much easier to post a quick status update blurb than to actually sit down and think about what I want to write.
The school year is winding down. After Easter break, Mattie asked if we could "just be done now" -- the weather started getting beautiful, the outdoors is calling to us, soccer practices started, and I wanted to be done with the books too. We have loosened our school schedule (or what there was of it) and have been doing more science experiments, more long-term research projects, gardening, and journal writings and less slogging through workbooks. I'd still like them to both finish their Math workbooks before the official end of the year, but I won't lose sleep if they don't finish every last bit.
I have grand plans of course for next year. The whole family went to Cinncinnati for the homeschooling conference, and I am filled with new ideas, new curriculum choices, and good solid Christian homeschooling advice from some really inspirational speakers! I'd like to start a family website and blog next year with Tim's help, one that the kids can blog on. It will be useful for computer and typing skills and still help them journal regularly. I'm going to switch Jonah's math program and add an elementary Spanish program for them both. I'd also really like to find a great Bible study to do with them. We have been winging it thus far, talking about character traits, some memorization and Bible copy work, reading aloud from the Bible, but I'd like to make it a more regular part of our school day.
Kaisa's year is flying by too...she just had prom and was in the school play. She really doesn't want to go home, but I keep telling her she has to mentally prepare herself for it. I think it will be a tough goodbye.
Here's some pictures to end with...enjoy!

Mattie's skating performance this spring....

Kaisa's prom dress

Garden ....snap peas popping up!

Mattie's new cast....

Jonah's Birthday Surprise! A Wii!