The dream

Levi had this dream the other night...

He and his cousin M were standing in a very long line of little boys and girls.

They had to wait a long time before they got to the front of the line.

While they waited, they sang songs and ate candy.

And then suddenly, they were at the front of the line and it was their turn.

They both were told to look down at the world and choose a mommy.

After a bit of discussing back and forth with each other, M chose his mamma (my sister-in-law) and Levi chose me.

And there was a loud boom and they both disappeared...and came into our tummies as teeny, tiny babies. :-)

(I just had to write his dream down...it's one of those sweet things he's said that I don't want to forget. Of course after he told me his dream, he had all sorts of questions about where babies come from and if he and Emma really got to pick me. A great topic of discussion while we were grocery shopping!)

-Sarah-

Lights in the sky

Guess what was going on in our skies last night?

Markus and I were on our way home from dropping a friend off at the ferry, and it was a clear, cold and starry night. (Perfect conditions for northern lights!)

My friend and I had been looking at some strange-looking, grayish clouds as we were waiting on the dock for the ferry to come pick her up. They looked so out of place on such a clear, starry night. And surely enough, about 15 minutes later, those strange-looking clouds began slowly swirling, taking on a greenish hue, and reaching across the entire sky. Markus stopped the car in a dark and deserted stretch of road far away from street and city lights, and we got out and marveled at the amazing display.

I've now had the awesome opportunity to see northern lights several times, and it has yet to cease to take my breath away. (Or freak me out, for that matter. They may be amazing, but they are also very eerie.)

And would you believe it, I just happened to have my little camera in my purse! I was proudly snapping away at the skies while Markus was warning me not to even bother trying. It took a while to decide which one I should post, but here is the best one...

Haha...turns out capturing northern lights requires a bit more than a half-broken point and shoot camera, as my dear husband had already pointed out to me. :-)

But I do know someone who was out last night and got some beautiful pictures of the light show so you can all see what it looked like! Click here to check out Line's pictures.

I wonder if the beautiful display last night had anything to do with the beautiful sunrise this morning? My camera was still in my purse, so I decided to see if I would be successful in taking pictures in the light...

And just so you know, Markus is feeling much better now.

I got several emails and facebook messages with links and ideas for helping with kidney stones...thank you for your help! I sure hope he doesn't have to deal with it again, but we are armed with lots of advice and tips in case he does.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday!

-Sarah-

Catching up from January...

Whoa, has it really been almost 3 weeks since I last posted?

We were back to full health a day or two after I last posted. Boy did it feel good for "normal life" to begin again after both the Christmas/New Year's holidays and our week of sickness.

L is happily back at school, enjoying his classmates and teachers and learning. (Can I just take a moment to say how thankful we are for the little elementary school here on the island and the teachers and staff who work there?)

This is Per the Penguin, L's snow creation from yesterday.

E has undergone a big change in the new year - she started going to a little Norwegian kindergarten/daycare 2 mornings a week! (She's still at home with me the rest of the week, and we're still plugging away at the English kindergarten curriculum. She's able to read more and more words each week, and I've gotta say, it is so much fun to be the one teaching her!) 

This is Bouncy, E's giant snowball. 

We were a little apprehensive about how she would transition into it, but she's done fantastic. Already we can hear improvement in her language, and she's soooooo much enjoying making friends. Last fall was a lonely time for her as all the children in her age group were attending this kindergarten/daycare, and sometimes several weeks would pass before she would have the chance to play with a friend. We're thankful for this opportunity for her, and feel that it will be a good "soft transition" for her (and us) before she makes the bigger jump into school this fall.

And how does the mamma feel about all of this? Hmmm.... Well, it's not been the easiest transition for me. I have to admit, on E's second day when she told me that I could leave her all by herself, I went out to the car, called Markus, and bawled my eyes out.

I never imagined that we'd hit this stage of having no little ones so quickly. It never occurred to me that E would still be our baby after all these years, nor that I'd struggle with multiple miscarriages and secondary infertility from my early-20s and onward. And I don't write that with bitterness or anger, although I've felt both of those emotions a lot in recent years and some days still battle with giving in to them.

So this transition of E growing and becoming a big girl has brought out a lot of emotions in me, and reminded me that I desperately need to be daily connected to the Source of life, hope, and joy. I am so thankful for my beautiful family - for Markus and our two precious children. And I know that my Heavenly Father can be trusted with my dreams, wishes, wants, and tomorrows - whether we are able to one day have another biological baby, whether God has us grow our family in another way, or whether our family is complete.

This has been our biggest snowfall of this winter so far. We are hoping for a bit more snow and some stable below-freezing temperatures so we can bring out the sleds and ice skates!

And now I have experienced, for the first time since becoming a mom almost 8 years ago, two childless mornings a week! I am going to the office with Markus those two mornings, and will gradually take on more responsibilities as the fall approaches and I have more free time. I'm still teaching a few piano lessons in the afternoons, but am trying to decide if this is something I should pursue even more (there are quite a few people who have asked if I could teach their kids, but I've not agreed to take on any more yet) or if I should wait a few years. The biggest problem is that afternoons are not the greatest time for me to be occupied because of L & E. I don't want them to be at school in the mornings and then come home and have me occupied all afternoon. So we're still thinking about what is best to do...

And this is turning in a very long update!

Here are a few older pictures I downloaded from my camera this morning:

Here we are at a Christmas party, Norwegian-style! Singing Christmas songs while holding hands and walking in alternating circles around the tree. This is such a fun tradition, and of course it's super fun for the kids. :-)

So I know Wii's have been around for many years now and probably aren't that cool anymore, but we are content to be waaaay behind the times. :-) We found a cheap, older model for sale right before Christmas, and that was our gift to L & E. It's been a huge hit with cousins, uncles, aunts, and grandparents alike! I think we need to plan another family bowling tournament like we had on New Year's Eve...

Last Saturday was one of the funnest days I've had in a long time. I got to spend the day with these two dear friends, and most of it was spent baking in the kitchen. Here we are eating...what else?? Chocolate chip cookie dough! :-)

And now I need to go and get this wonderful, dark and snowy Saturday morning started!

I think we're going to have a quiet day at home today. Markus has been in some pain in the last 30 hours from a kidney stone. He's been in touch with his doctor, who faxed a prescription for some painkillers to the pharmacy late last night which I will go pick up today. I feel so bad for him. He's still sleeping right now, which is good since he hasn't slept much the last two nights. We're praying that he feels better today. Anyone have any tips or advice for dealing with this besides drinking lots? His dad and brother have each dealt with this multiple times, so he's gotten some good advice from them... 

Happy weekend, everyone! :-)

-Sarah-

The songs of our birth

For those of you who frequent the land of facebook, you might have noticed how people have begun posting the song that was most popular during the week of their birth.

As I was laying on the couch tonight eating cheese doodles and drinking very cold coke (which strictly goes against a new and very important rule of 2012, "No mindless junk food eating after the kids go to bed," but tonight I am allowed an exception since I have a fever and my throat really hurts), curiosity got the better of me and I decided to see which song was the most popular the week I was born.

I'm so excited that I was born when I was born! Check this out...



(Mom, were you listening to this when you gave birth to me in the hallway of the hospital???)

And of course I couldn't stop there.

I had to figure out what most popular song was from the week Markus was born!

I didn't think it was possible for there to be a cooler birth week song than mine, but I do think that Markus' song surpassed mine...




Sweeeeeeeet!

And now I am going to get off the computer before I completely lose what is left of my voice by singing along with these two ah-maaaa-zing songs...

(Let me know if you find out what the song was from the week of your birth!)

-Sarah-

Our new table!

Hello on the first Thursday of 2012!

School started yesterday, but the kids and I are still sick.

The vomiting has stopped (thankfully!) but we've still got fevers, chesty coughs, and very sore throats. Markus has come home from work each evening this week to three sickies, and has been taking care of us. (He even brought home two boxes of popsicles for our sore throats yesterday! He's so wonderful!)

While I've been sick, I have been doing a lot of reading about the upcoming elections and the various candidates for the GOP ticket. It's been very interesting. (And that's about all I've ever write on our blog regarding politics!) :-)

Guess what arrived the other day? Our new dining table and chairs!

It sat unopened and unassembled in boxes for almost two days until last night, when we finally felt up to putting it together.

(Who am I kidding when I saw "we" put it together?! Markus put it together which the kids and I stared blankly at him from where we were laying on the living room couches.)

I've gotta say, it's been very exciting for us to furnish our home little by little over the last 2 years. We've spent a lot of time since we arrived in Norway scouring finn.no (Norwegian second-hand website really similar to Craig's List) as well as Ikea and the sales at furniture stores, and we're really happy with the things we've found.  

At the same time, I keep telling Markus that as much I love our new furniture, I wouldn't think twice about leaving it all behind if we were to suddenly return to the Philippines. :-)

And I just looked out the window and saw little snow flurries outside! We haven't had any real snow so far this winter, and as much as I dislike driving and dealing with the snow, it truly is beautiful to watch...through the window. :-) Seriously though, it would be fun to have a few days of serious snow so that the kids can pull out their sleds and have some sledding fun!

-Sarah-

January 2, 2012

Happy (belated) New Year!

And Merry (belated) Christmas!

There's been a lot of celebrating and family time happening lately, so the blog has been largely ignored. I've been using a bit of my down time to try and create our annual Top 10 post (here, here, and here if you want to take a trip back in time), but I've not been that productive. :-)  

We had a wonderful and low-key Christmas this year. I think we found a good balance between just the 4 of us time and family/friend time. Especially because we're a culturally blended family that doesn't quite adhere to the traditions of any one culture, it's really easy to get sidetracked by trying to figure out what to do and what not to do...and before we know it, we've forgotten what the Christmas celebration is even about. This year we had both Christmas Eve and Christmas morning to ourselves, and we were able to quiet down with the kids, focus on them, and have non-rushed time to reflect together on what it meant for Jesus to come to our sinful world. It truly is amazing.

The week between Christmas and New Year's was filled with fun and family and lots of laughter and good food. (And we were hit by a hurricane on Christmas night...maybe one day I'll write a little more about that adventure.)

New Year's Eve we had Markus' family over and a fun night of good food, lots of laughter, fireworks, and a friendly Wii bowling competition was had by all.

Everyone had gone their separate ways by 11 PM, and we debated putting our very tired Levi and Emma to bed, but on a whim we called my parents on skype and were excited that both them and my sisters were home and able to talk! So we rang in the new year on video skype with them, while watching fireworks out our living room window. Couldn't have asked for a better way to welcome 2012! 

And now it's January 2, 2012. We have been ambushed by sickness. Fevers, body aches/chills, and lots and lots and lots of vomit.

Not cool.

But in the midst of the miserableness, we are so thankful that we were healthy this Christmas.

(Last year we spent the week between Christmas and New Year's with upset stomachs. Really not cool.)

We've got a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks...

-From now until the end of the school year, Emma will go to the little daycare/kindergarten on the island for two mornings a week. I'm a little nervous about this, but we believe it will be a very good stepping stone for her in making friends/gaining fluency before she starts Norwegian school this fall. 
-And that means that I will be working in the NTM Norway office with Markus those two mornings. The rest of the week she and I will continue her English homeschooling. Would you believe that she is able to read simple words now?!?!? It's a privilege to be the one to teach her!
-School, Bible studies, piano lessons, kids' Bible club, etc will all be starting back up this week.
-I'll be traveling to Germany in February for a seminar. 
-Markus (and maybe the rest of us) will be traveling to Bergen in February for the NTM winter conference.
-Markus will be traveling to a different part of Germany in March for two weeks of meetings.

Whew...I didn't realize that so much was already planned for the next 3 months!

Good night from the sick-house on the island that was NOT white this Christmas...


-Sarah- 

Itty-bitty Christmas Eve

Today is Itty-bitty Christmas Eve!

Wait...you didn't know that?

Well, now you do!

Today is Itty-bitty Christmas Eve (pittelille julaften).
Tomorrow is Little Christmas Eve (lillejulaften).
Saturday is Christmas Eve (julaften).
Sunday is the first day of Christmas (første juledag).
Monday is the second day of Christmas (andre juledag).
Tuesday is the third day of Christmas (tredje juledag).
And on it goes until New Year's Eve (nyttårsaften) and New Year's Day (første nyttårsdag)!

 Here are some glimpses from our Itty-bitty Christmas Eve...

While we were baking, it began to snow! It was so cozy in our warm house with Christmas music playing and cookies baking in the oven. And then Grandma Esther called us on skype, and she joined us in the kitchen and "helped" us bake.

We finally decorated our Christmas tree!

The snow stuck for a few hours, but then melted in the night. 
I wonder if we will have a white Christmas?

Last night our brother-in-law returned home from two weeks in the US. He kindly brought back some things for us from my family, and these freshly-picked Florida oranges made it all the way across the ocean to us.

Guess what else came in the suitcase for us?
And guess who couldn't wait to eat it?

Tonight we had the cousins over to watch a Christmas movie. (If you look closely, you can see little M's head from where she is sitting on her big brother's lap.) 

Little M and I decorated these cookies while the big kids watched their movie.

These teddy bears were Emma's creation. Aren't they cute? She had seen them a few months ago on a video blog, and asked me if she could have some of the gingerbread dough to try them out.

I woke up in a weird mood yesterday - I really, really wanted to bake! And I still felt the same way today! So the kids and I have been busy yesterday and today, having fun and making huge messes in the kitchen. But tonight as I cleaned the kitchen from our latest mess, I decided that my weird mood of productivity in the kitchen has expired. I wonder if and when it will come again?

And now I think it is almost time for bed. (Yaaaaawn!)

Thank you to my wonderful family for all the fun things you sent to us. I wrapped up the presents for the kids, and I know they will be sooooo excited to open them on Christmas morning! We love and miss all of you.

-Sarah-

"I haven't ________ since last year!"

Last night as we were laying in bed trying to fall asleep, I suddenly remembered (with great excitement, I must add) that along with the arrival of the new year comes the rare opportunity to say one of my very favorite lines!

"I haven't ________ (insert something you usually do) since last year!"

Some examples of my favorites include:

I haven't eaten anything since last year.
I haven't taken a shower since last year.
I haven't gone to the bathroom since last year.
I haven't cleaned my house since last year.
I haven't been sick since last year.
I haven't done any laundry since last year.
I haven't talked to my kids/husband/parents/etc since last year.
I haven't bought anything since last year. (Sure to score me points with Markus, right??)
I haven't driven a car since last year.

Now the tricky part with all of this is that you have a very short window of time to actually say these things. (For example, you have to say the line about going to the bathroom right away when you wake up in the morning and before you go to the bathroom, or else you will lose the chance to say it until next January 1st.)

Markus is already groaning and rolling his eyes, dreading the morning of January 1st when I start gleefully spouting off my one-liners and then howling with laughter at my cleverness. (I pretty much start from the minute I wake up and continue on until I run out of steam and/or ideas...or whichever one comes first. I'm actually thinking that Levi is just about old enough to appreciate his mamma's special way of welcoming the new year. Yay!)

So this post is just a little heads-up for all of you who would like to join me in spreading some holiday cheer (and annoying your loved ones) this January 1st!

-Sarah-

9 years

Nine years ago today, I married the most wonderful man in the whole entire world.

I can't believe that it's already been nine years.

Nine sounds like such a big and far-off number.

But it's true.

And I can prove it.

2011 - 2002 = 9

or...

2002 + 9 = 2011

(Bam!)

Our wedding day, December 14th, 2002:

First anniversary (England):

Second anniversary (Bergen, Norway): 

Third anniversary (Manila, Philippines):

Fourth anniversary (north of Manila, Philippines):

Fifth anniversary (north of Manila, Philippines):

Sixth anniversary (farther north of Manila, Philippines)

Seventh anniversary (Florida):

Eighth anniversary (the island, Norway):

Ninth anniversary (the island, Norway):

Wow.

Saying that we've been married for 9 whole years sounds like such an impossibly large number, but when I look back at these pictures and all the places we've been and at our two beautiful babies who are now so very, very big (and when I recall my amazing math skills proving that it has indeed been 9 years), it suddenly feels like waaaaay more than just 9 years since we were those two young kids in our wedding pictures.

I thought I loved Markus on the day we said "I do." And I know that I must have, because I followed him across an ocean (and then another one...and then another one...and then another one...and then another one...you get the point...) and boy, what an incredible time it's been.

But when I look back at our wedding pictures, I realize how different our love was on that chilly December day when we promised ourselves to each other.

And then as I look at these pictures of us through the years, hundreds of memories come crashing back...memories of friends, family, the smell of our newborn babies, happy nights spent at home with our little family, difficult times of homesickness, challenging times of learning how to (and how NOT to) communicate with each other, times of spiritual growth and times where we've needed to point each other back to our Heavenly Father, times of grave sickness and serious injury, times of carefree fun and adventure, and the oh-so-many times we've packed, said our good-byes, and moved.

And that's what's so amazing about marriage. It's not that I love Markus more today than I did 9 years ago on our wedding day, but through all the experiences of the last 9 years, our love has deepened and grown and shaped us into who we as a couple are today. And it is all by the grace of our Heavenly Father...without Him, we wouldn't be here today. 

So here we go into our 10th year of marriage! We have no idea what the coming year will hold for our family, but we know that our lives and our tomorrows are in the hands of our loving Savior who daily reminds us of what Love really is.

(I love you, Markus...if you are even reading this. :-) Thank you for your love, example, and for taking such good care of me all these years. Ha, "all these years." Now it's starting to sound like we're old. But then again, you are soon to be 35 and well on your way to 40, so I guess you are technically getting up there in years...)

-Sarah-

Pretty movie

Have you ever wondered how you ended up where you are right now?

Often when I am out driving, I can't help but shake my head at the snow-covered mountains and the sparkling North Sea and the fjords and undersea tunnels and wonder what on earth a girl from ghetto Bokey is doing in this cold, exotic, and very clean land of vikings and trolls.

Here is a short video (2 minutes) that shows the breathtaking beauty of the area of Norway that we live in.

(You can sorta kinda see the island that we live on in the background of some of the shots of the city of Ålesund, which is the city closest to us.)

Good night from the beautiful island...

-Sarah-