Back in Time

We're going back in time, to the first week of September....

We arrived in Sweden two days before my birthday. Our flight was the last one leaving from Bergamo that night, so we didn't arrive at our friend's house until after midnight. Dave was waiting for us though, as he always does and greeted us from his front porch. We had to wait till morning to meet his new addition to the family, who is now a blonde headed 18 month old little boy, with the cute nickname of Dan-Dan. When he met our Clara, they hit it off and were best friends the whole time we were there. It was so cute to watch him come up to Clara, put his head next to hers and snuggle with her. Sometimes he wanted to sit on her lap, which she did not find amusing. He would stand beside her, aim his rear end towards her lap, and PLOP, down he goes. Sometimes she was able to make a getaway while he was in the downward motion, and he was surprised to make a landing on the hard floor!

We had such a wonderful time in Sweden. It was one of the few times where we've taken a trip somewhere and it actually felt like a vacation. You know how it is when you go "home" to visit family. That it is not a vacation. Sure, its fun to be with your family and see everyone, but it usually isn't restful or relaxing. Everyone needs to be seen and had dinner with. If its Christmas, we have to juggle our calendar to squeeze in all the dinners and parties for his side and my side of the family. Anyway, the point is, hanging out with Dave and Karin at their house for a week really felt like a vacation.

The boys and the dads always have a yardball competition and several evenings worth of Kick the Can. This is, for my kids, the highlight of the visit. This year, the dads won the yardball tournament and it was a low blow to the kids. The kids nearly beat them, but the old dads came back in the end and saved their reputations. Yardball is a variation of baseball, played in Dave's backyard.

Dave loves to cook and he prepared many special meals for all of us. On my birthday, we had grilled steaks. One night Karin whipped up a mushroom sauce, made with the mushrooms that we picked from the forest that day. It was so delicious (that comes from a girl who has never even liked mushrooms!)

We spent a day wandering around Stockholm. We drove by our old house on Lidingo, ate at one of our favorite restaurants (a Mongolian BBQ), bought the boys their favorite Swedish candies from the grocery store, and spent some time reliving the memories of the 18 months that Stockholm was our home. We dropped in on old friends, and visited our church on Sunday morning. One of the ladies who attends church with us was kind enough to host a gathering of our old Bible Study group friends. How wonderful it was to spend the evening together again, eating, talking, and sharing with each other. They enjoyed seeing Clara... several of them threatened to keep her, but we insisted that we couldn't part with her.

Karin took me shopping in Nykoping one afternoon. Just the two of us! We shopped at H&M, where I found a few things for Clara. We enjoyed a cup of coffee and a muffin at a wonderful cafe. And the drive there and back was a beautiful one. I love the old red color of the majority of Swedish homes and barns. It is especially gorgeous in the winter with the snow all around. The air is so crisp and clear, the sky is a pure blue, and the trees and grass add the perfect summer shade of green to bring it all together in a way that is a feast for your eyes. I am really drawn to places like that. It was very hard to say goodbye to it again, knowing that I would be returning to a noisy city atmosphere. God definitely did not make me a city girl!

We also spent a Sunday at Grona Lund, Stockholm's amusement park. It happened to be a very busy day there. We could hardly move through the crowds and there were long lines at the food shacks and to ride the rides. But even so, it wasn't nearly as bad as a Six Flags. The boys never spent more than 30 minutes in line. They had a great time, especially ~D~ since he had grown taller and was able to ride a few things for the first time.

We are so blessed to have Dave and Karin's friendship! Without their kindness and hospitality, this trip would not have been as wonderful as it was, and likely would not have happened in the first place! Just being together with them in their home was a special joy and we pray that there will be many more times in the future that our paths will cross. (Dave and Karin: If you guys are reading this, thanks again for everything and we love you!)

Sweden is a beautiful country. None of our relatives or friends were able to come visit while we lived there. They missed an opportunity of a lifetime! Though it is expensive to fly there from the U.S., it is worth every penny to see this place with your own eyes, to breathe the Nordic air, and to walk through its forests. I am so thankful for the year and a half that God allowed us to live there. I hope that someday I'll look back with the same fondness for our time here in Croatia!