Almost Christmas!

We just got our first ever invitation to a Glögg-party in Sweden! I am used to hosting it myself, I will quite enjoy to "just" attend this year! Which prompted my to take a closer look at the current season;

In America people decorate the tree this Friday, as soon as they have swallowed the turkey, traditionally eaten this Thursday which is Turkey-day to all Americans. It is also a day to express thankfulness, or to give thanks for the crops for the year. Neither is done in average American homes today. Although there is a lot of food consumed, and all Weight-Watcher's classes last week brought up the subject of How to survive Thanksgiving and not gain weight, and they also taught their visitors/clients how to deal with different food situations this upcoming Thursday. It is a time to get together with family, and soon made it to my favorite American holiday. Just hanging out, (and eating!) no gifts involved!

In Sweden no one gives thanks,OR eat turkey this week. Accept ex-pats. We are happily un-aware of the amount of calories in cranberry-sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with brown sugar, pecan pie and pumpkin pie.

BUT we are getting ready for Advent! It is really dark here now, almost  dark at 4 pm, and we still have another month to go before it turns around and gets lighter. Anyway, Advent is the time when Swedes decorate their houses with lights, electric candles and candelabras everywhere. The most popular thing right now is Advent stars. I have bought 8 Advent stars for our new house! We won't have our new house for the first Sunday of Advent, but close enough, three days later!


First Sunday of Advent is the most visited for churches in Sweden. In America that Sunday is Easter, but here it is an old great tradition of going to church on this Sunday and sing Advent songs, and also a few Christmas songs. SO, no thanksgiving here this week, but Christmas season begins Sunday, and ends on January 13th (20 days after Christmas) with a big "through out Christmas-party"! And in between we have Lucia on the 13th, and Christmas is three days. Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing day. That's roughly 7 full weeks of Christmas. Almost as long as the Summer-break! We need it up here though, it is really dark out, and we sure could use some cozy lights on the inside.

We will be giving our kids a white house with a pool for Christmas. As long as our house in the States won't sell, that will be it! But quite frankly, they will be very content. They are SOOO excited to move in to our house and unpack all their belongings. And Christmas this year will be celebrated with family! YAY!

Lucia-decoration

Classic Advent candle holder

Modern Advent candle holder

Classic Swedish window in times of Advent

If you wish to see pictures of Swedish Advent windows, gyou can google "adventsljusstake, image" and then scroll down! Enjoy!

Sugar beets- the on going saga!

A sugar beet contains 18% sugar. 40% of the worlds sugar consumption comes from these beets. The only remaining sugar plant in Sweden is not far from here, about 10 km (7miles or so). We live along the main road that leads to the sugar plant, and according to statistics, there are about 300 trucks A DAY passing our house with sugar beets! Each truck weighs about 60 tons (metric tons).

The beets has lead us to jokingly glance through the window when we here a truck passing and excitingly exclaim, "Hey! Look, beets!"  There is also fields of beets (almost) surrounding our house! There is no sidewalk along this road, so I have got together with a couple of neighbours to collect names and try and get one! A journalist was here two weeks ago and took pictures of our little village and the kids in it to try and help us get publicity in the matter. So, we were in the paper! Andreas is convinced I will end up doing local politics..... we'll see.

I started working last week, and I LOVE IT! I am exhausted by the end of the day, but it is sooo much fun! I have my own class of 5-6 year olds in a tiny little school, there are 48 students in the school, and 15 in my class. I am only doing this job until Christmas, and then switching over to another place after Christmas. BUT, guess where this little school is located? 2km from the Sugar-plant! (feel free to laugh here).

As I sit here and compose this little text, it is 9 pm and the beet trucks are zooming by outside the window. They do have a break from about 11 pm to 4am.... and they go from November to mid-January! Welcome to the country side!

I spoke to a man in church on Sunday about his wife's new store, and then I went back to ask about him, and if he was done with the crops for this year, "No, the beets have still to be taken out" (-Aaaaaarrrrrggghhhh!) "Don't tell me YOU have beets too!?"

The sugar beets are following us where ever we go! I look forward to February!

Sugar beet, still in ground

Photo taken by the journalist

So Long!

You are there....

7Where can I go from your Spirit?
   Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
   if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
   if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
   your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
   and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
   the night will shine like the day,

   for darkness is as light to you. 

Ok, now you think I am super serious, but here is the truth: The house we are renting do not allow for any alone-time. I feel like I am living with God in this house, because there is NO WHERE I can hide!! Or no where I can go to just sit and be. Or enjoy a book, or be quiet. Not even the bathroom! There is only one bathroom in this house, and  there is five of us. AND it is located right next to the kitchen, so no alone time for mom. The bible can be quoted at ALL stages in life!

Anyway, I started a new job this week! It is sooooo much fun! There are plenty of jobs available for pre-school teachers in this area, I got 3 out of 4 positions I applied for, but now I have my own class in a school, so I teach Kindergarten! And there are not as many jobs in schools for a pre-school teachers available. But it is so much fun! I think I could do this forever! I am only subbing for someone until Christmas, but I would jump to the opportunity of having my own class for next school year!  The kids are soooo cute, and they are so motivated and eager to learn! And being part of the pre-school but in the school building and all, really gives me free hands! 

Noah, Albin and Emma really enjoy the occasional participation in the after school care program too. 

Everything (almost) has fallen into place in our lives concerning the move. I've been praying to find a dogsitter for Ginger while I am away during the day, and on Saturday (two days before I started working) we found her! She is great, and has a very playful dog herself, which is a perfect match. Again, God is never early. 

We are still trying to sell our house in the US. Keep praying, please!

Making sense

Different things make sense on different continents. (please, different continent readers, do not take offense, this is not to be considered critisism, only observations.)

Dressing like a cowboy wouldn't make sense in Europe. Listened to a radio show this morning featuring a man who loved horses and everything cowboyish that you can think of surrounding horses. The reporter asked if he also dressed like a cowboy, "No, no, no I don't. That wouldn't make sense". And, no it wouldn't. Here. In America it would.

Getting a job in a preschool and try to juggle kids and work, wouldn't make sense in America. Not as a Europeen at least. But it does here. Sweden has fabulous before and after school care, and here my degree counts, and I am recognized as an academic here. In Sweden we pay very high taxes, but we make decent salaries in ANY occupation. It makes sense. Here.

Halloween, is almost here and we are happily unaware of the ghosts and goblins, demons and graveyards that Americans so willingly invite to there home this time of year (again, try not to take offense... please). But I do miss the cuteness of Halloween, the candy and the cute outfits for kids, the trick or treating and the neighborhood traditions from our old house, pumpkinsoup with friends and pumpkin carving. There are a few Halloween parties that occur here too, and most of them are about spiders and witches, blood and mummies, but at least I can choose to be or not to be involved. In America this time of year I couldn't take my kids into a regular grocery store without them getting nightmares. Not to talk about the Party-stores! It makes sense there, but not here.

Different things makes sense in different places. What do you think? Leave a comment, here or on Facebook.

"Livet är fullt av möjligheter, Stig-Helmer"

The above is a quote from a very classic Swedish movie, and is about the possibilities in life. There seems to be a lot of possibilities in life. It is crucial to see them, and grab them.

I had my forth job-interview yesterday, I quite enjoy going to different schools to see them from the inside. We signed the contract for the House of our Dreams last night too. Not completely without anxiety, I have to admit. It is a big commitment, and we still own a house in the States..... but as we stepped out of the agents office, they called me from one of recent interviews and offered me a job! YAY! Possibilities and choices. Not only fun, but also scary.....

Celebrated with a Falafel.

Took Emma to the ER yesterday. I picked her up the usual time, and she had then been crying nonstop for over half an hour over pain in her shoulder (!!???). Nothing in particular had happened in school, and there were no marks. But she is not typically the complaining type so I took her to the ER and it took about 2 minutes in line to be admitted, and within 10 minutes we were in waiting for the doctor. She then starts moving her arm again, and stops crying. Starts talking, asking questions etc. I then decide it is time to leave. It was pick up time at the boys school and Andreas had to take time off of work to go there. We left, the nurse just chuckled and agreed we might not need care. hm....

Later that day, she complained of pain in her back, and her neck. Pinched nerve maybe? Strained muscles?

Today is a COLD and sunny day, it snowed last  night and it is time to look into getting winter tires. Andreas had to defrost the car-doors with hot water this morning. (we don't have a garage where we rent).


Wish you a good day.

A time for everything.....

It is poetry time in the Jansson blog:

A Time for Everything

 ¹ There is a time for everything,
       and a season for every activity under heaven:

 ² a time to be born and a time to die,
       a time to plant and a time to uproot,

 ³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
       a time to tear down and a time to build,

 ⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
       a time to mourn and a time to dance,

 ⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
       a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

 ⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
       a time to keep and a time to throw away,

 ⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
       a time to be silent and a time to speak,

 ⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
       a time for war and a time for peace. 

There is a time to own, and a time to sell. Time to sell is here. If you are a praying person, please pray our house in the USA will sell. It is getting increasingly stressful to have two costs of living. We have taken a step of faith and placed a bid on a house here in Sweden, we trust in a higher power, The Highest Power as a matter of fact, to sustain us in that decision. In my little tiny human mind, I do not understand why our house in the US is not selling, but I can only choose to trust...... it is crucial the house sells THIS YEAR!

Thanks for reading, thanks for helping, thanks for understanding.

Picture-time!

Albin and his best friend Ryan, day of departure

First day of new school!

Happy birtday Emma!

Cake from Mormors bageri! Yum!

Emma at b-day breakfast

Emma's aunt (my sister) and family came for cake!

Noah at the beach yesterday