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.