Andrea the destroyer

We have nicknamed Andrea the Destroyer because she has the ability to completely change a room in a matter of seconds.

Today she took one small bowl of dried bananas and spread them all over the floor. Here is a short list of things she does often:

She plays in the toilet daily. She makes sure all the crumbs from empty cereal or cracker bags find thier way out on the floor. She plays in my compost. She eats soap. She sucks on the vacuum hose. She takes ALL the DVD's down. She spits her food out, throws her food, and mixes her food up on the table. She pulls my curtians off the hooks. She stands on our laptop. She eats crayons and spits them out. She empties the toy box. She pulls dishes off the counter. She pulls all the shoes out of the shoe bin. She sits on everything and yes, usually it breaks :). She is my sweet baby who reminds me to get up and do something.

I love her and am amazed at how fast she has grown!!!!

Can I ever get out of house on time?!

I love my children! They are so clever at making sure I am late taking them to school. I have been trying to figure out how to get out on time and the only thing left is to wake them up at 6 am.

They are supposed to be at school at 8:30. They usually wake up at 6:30 or 7. If I do wake them earlier they will be cranky.

It takes 20 minutes for them to eat. It takes about 20 minutes to get them dressed in thier clothes. 15 minutes to get thier coats, hats, gloves, winter pants, socks, shoes and backpack on. It also takes me 10 minutes to dress myself and Andrea. It takes 5 minutes to get them in car. It takes about 10 minutes to drive there. Another 5 minutes to undress and get to class. The total time is 1 hour and 25 minutes. And that is if everything goes as planned. Does it you ask? well usually not ;)

I know one day they will get up with an alarm. I just laugh at how much of a struggle every morning is.... Okay now I feel better.

Fun in the blazing sun!

WOW. It has been HOT here in Finland. I ask myself everyday if we moved to the right place cause I don't remember Finland ever being this hot!! We are going to the beach almost everyday just to stay cool. The kids are enjoying the swimming and playing so that is nice.

Antti has been working for a construction company doing window installations. He will soon be quitting to start school. He is excited to get started on his career path and get working. The school will last about 7 months or less and he will have 2 months of internship before being out in the work field.

We are excited for the future and looking foward to new experiences.

Reaching our goals

I am pooped. I think trying to be positive and keeping a smile on my face isn't as easy as I thought. What happened to my upbeat and ready for a challenge attitude? I feel myself losing interest in doing more. We are both a bit frazzled by the unknown but are trying to be faithful. We have forgotten fast Sunday for the 2nd time since we've been here. It's depressing. Why aren't we more organized. We have a calander and a message board. I am noticing we are a bit depressed. New place and new responsibilities. We need to dig deep and find our energy and motivation to achieve the necessary things.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest" - Galatians 6:9

Fun with friends and time at the lake

Friends from our ward invited us over for dinner a few days ago. They live about 25 minutes away in a city called Orimattila. Thearea is very quiet and seems great to own a home. Not to expensive and also a popular place for young families to buy who work in Lahti. Our friends home was not expensive and was quite nice. We are now starting goals to buy a home in Finland one day. We still aren't sure if we will stay in Finland forever. I think it's good to start making goals and also keeping our options open. Also, another friend of ours recently bought an old shack/house and remodeled and added to it so they could live in it. It's like a cute cottage and they have already built equity. They are willing to live in a small and old house to eventually have something better.

We visited Vesijarvi (the lake near our apartment) and played in the snow that covered the ice. It was a lot of fun. Antti and I had more fun than the girls I think! We ran around and threw snowballs and also made a snowman. Andrea just loved watching us run and play. The girls pretended to be snow tigers and penguins. The lake is fun to play on in the winter because it's open and you don't feel restricted. It was so peaceful just laying in the snow and being in nature. No noise and no people. Just us. We really are the most happy when we are outside.

Here are some pictures of both occasions:

Lahti living

There have been so many new and fun experiences here in Finland. I have learned some new things about myself and also about our girls. They are very tolerant with change. They are stronger than me. They miss Utah and of course family and friends. Eila drew a picture for Abby today that she wants to mail off. It's a picture of Ariel from the Little Mermaid.

We have been playing in the snow a lot. There is so much snow here that when it melts I am worried of a flood! It's not to cold but it is a little windy because we are near a big lake. Our area is so beautiful. It has a large playground and lots of grass/trees. We are going to get bikes this year so that we can get around quickly without driving. So many people here ride bikes in the snow. I am always worried they are going to fall.

Antti has had a few golden nuggets in regards to jobs but we found out today that his CDL license in Finland does not transfer over exactly. He gets dropped down to Class B license. I guess that means he has a weight limit on the vehicle he can drive. He will be checking out the courses for completing the requirements. In the meantime he is still searching for something to earn extra money.

I wanted to show a few pictures of the city we live in. I will put up pictures of our apartment soon.

The last 3 pictures are right near our house . The building all lit up is the Sibelius House. There you can see musicians play. It's made of wood inside for better sound but the outside is made of glass. We live behind that building.

We're here!

I don't want to be in an airplane for at least 10 years :)

Our flight to NY was cancelled due to wind and snow so they routed us to Paris instead. We had to wait in Salt Lake for 6 hours before the plane took off. The girls behaved pretty well but they were restless by the time the plane was ready. Eila did very well considering the 9 1/2 hours we flew to Paris. Liana feel asleep before take off and slept for about 6 1/2 hours. She woke up for food and colored a bit. Andrea fought sleeping for the first 3 hours and eventually dozed off. Antti and I stayed awake most the time and read a book. Overall we got through it okay.

We miss Utah. On our way to Antti's parents house we were in seperate cars. He went with one brother and I went with the other. We both afterwards said how we felt anxious and wanted to go back. It's funny when you are sure about something you can still be scared. I think we are doing better. Once we feel a bit established I think it will get better.

Finland is beautiful and full of white snow. The air is clean and fresh and feels great. The girs have already played in the snow a bit and are going next week to sled and ride a pony! They are very excited. We miss our family in Utah and have already spoke on webcam today. It was nice to see them.

Keep Smiling...

Today was Antti's last day at Kennecott. I was anxious all day because I know how much he loves his job. I take on his sadness because he is putting on a tough face. I know he is hurting and is scared about his future employment. In a way I feel responsible for his pain.




Since about 2 1/2 years ago I started feeling the need to consider moving back to Finland. I consider myself to be someone who doesn't focus on something unless it is important and this feeling seemed important.

I was afraid to tell Antti. I knew how much he loved living in Utah. He has wanted to live in the western/desert lifestyle since he was young. He got his dream and I was about to take it away. Surprisingly though he wasn't opposed to the idea. He was a bit shocked and needed some time to process this possibility.

We didn't talk about it much for a couple months because I think we were both still processing. The feeling never went away for me. In fact it got more intense. I was freaking out a little because we had just bought a house a year earlier and our family life was great. Antti's job was solid... It couldn't get any better.

I soon knew I had to approach Antti with discussing it again. We both knew that because of a spiritual promise made to me in the past I was supposed to gain inspirations for my future family. Talk about pressure! I just knew I needed to stay with it and not push the thoughts away anymore. We started discussing different scenarios. Maybe school. Maybe work. Maybe stay. Maybe not.

In the early part of 2008 we decided to plan a trip to Finland for a vacation. I had already lived there but I needed to go back to feel it again. To get some clarity on my feelings. To see what it was that was calling us back. No, I didn't get any sure sign or anything. I just felt peaceful like I was at home. My kids were at home. Even though I saw possible hurdles and struggles I knew. And I think Antti even felt it somewhat.

We came back and started planning little by little. Still I think for Antti and others it didn't seem real yet. At this time we started experiencing financial struggles. We put our house up for sale and it wasn't even getting tours. But after a few price drops and a few months on the market the tours started. We got 1 possible offer but it didn't work out. We tried everything. We invested money in building onto the house. By the time we reached the end of 2008 our yearly income had been cut in half due to the economy. I was 7 months pregnant and we couldn't afford our house anymore let alone pay for the baby to be born. To top that our vans transmission went out 3 days into the new year. That was the month we started making major decisions.

About that time I think I realized how the Lord works in mysterious ways. Everything was happening so fast. All of these changes that we couldn't control were happening to prepare us for our future.

I don't know what is going to happen in Finland. Sometimes I think we are moving there for my selfish reasons. I know that this is wrong but I still get bouts of guilt when I see how sad someone gets about our decision.

My Father in law spoke at our wedding and he said something like this: "Your life will not be easy. The kind of marriage you have is not typical, it's not going to be perfect all the time and you will have to work at being happy. But if you do stand by eachother and listen to the Lord, you will be happy".... I believe that.

Finland and the fears

We are about to embark on a new journey. Many of you already know that we are moving to Finland at the end of February. There are many mixed feelings about leaving but mostly we are joyful. We look at this change as an opportunity to start over again and make our life better. We want to stay positive and not get down about the "what ifs" in our future.

I will miss my Mom. She is a great influence in my life as well as in my daughters life. She loves them so much and it is very hard knowing that they will be seperated. I hope that Mom can travel to Finland often considering we will not be able to visit the U.S. very much. My Dad is okay with our leaving and understands what we are doing. That helps me to feel like I can say, "see you later" rather than goodbye.

I don't like goodbyes. I don't like them AT ALL. I avoid goodbyes at all costs. I seem cold and distant when I say goodbye (or so I think). We are not emotional people in my family. My Dad's side is more emotional and that is a refreshing change when they come around. I just don't like that feeling of not seeing someone again. I already choke up when I think about missing out on something. That is why I am going to start writing out my thoughts. So if you don't think I will miss you.... I assure you, I will.

I have always wanted to get closer to my aunts, uncles and cousins but with different lives and busy schedules it's been hard. I feel close to them even though we don't spend much time together. I truly am a very deep loving person. I think that's why I struggle with emotion. I don't want to look like a lunatic when I see someone... I am very loving with my girls and my husband. I could be more so. But I do think I try.

I will keep up with posting my thoughts and our family adventures. Please check back often. I want to stay in touch.