The Memories of Home

There is only one thing that is really any kind of sacrifce in coming to Sweden on this assignment, and that is leaving our children and grandchildren behind. We miss you all and think of you daily. In fact, we have a few reminders of you around the house which help us feel closer to you.










I'm not sure how many of you had a chance to see the beautiful drawing which Carrie made me for my birthday before we left so I am including a closeup of it. There is somewhat of a miracle surrounding its arrival here. She gave it to me after we had shipped our goods the beginning of October so it was included in some boxes which we mailed to ourselves here just before we left Utah. All of the boxes arrived here in Sweden safely except one, it was the one that had Carrie's drawing in it. After about another week, we began to make inquires at the local post office. They did a check and said it had gone to Uppsalla. We called the main office to locate it, they checked the scanning number and said that number had gone to a lady named Birgitta, or something. I became convinced the box was lost and that we would never see it again. I felt devastated about Carrie's picture. It really is irreplaceable. I admit I said a few prayers about it. Another week or two went by with no luck in finding out where the box was. Suddenly, one day, it suddenly showed up at our house--truly a tender mercy if there ever was one. As you can see, it is a beautiful symbol of this journey to Sweden. Thnak you again Carrie. It has even more meaning now.



I love that all of these things have special meaning for us and are a daily reminder of our loved ones far away. They make this feel more like home to us. Many people have asked us how our children feel about us being away for three years. It always feels good to be able to say that you all support our being here 100%! And we always add that you are all coming here for at least one visit while we are here. We love and miss you all and are grateful for your love and prayers. They have been felt and are much appreciated.

There is another new blog just under this one...I am really on a blogging roll! Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who are reading this! We plan to have a big dinner here at our home this week with everyone who lives in the apartments and the guesthouse. I'll report on how it goes next week. Wish me luck with finding a big enough turkey here for 20 people!

More Photos of Our Life in Sweden

Just so you can picture more of our life here, I am posting some pictures that show our new car, where we park, and the little path that takes us there. I also included what we had for dinner today after we came home from speaking in Stockholm's Stake Conference. It just looked so pretty on that blue plate! We bore our testimonies last evening at the evening adult meeting and then both spoke today. We also got to see a wonderful musical production written by Gunnel Hedberg which was performed after the adult meeting taken from the journal of one of her ancestors. What talent they have here! I wish you could have heard Dad's talk today. It was really excellent. Arne Hedberg came up after and said he waited to hear him speak and after the talk said with great feeling and relief, "Yes, he's back!!!" What a compliment. We saw so many people who are wonderful friends from so long ago--the Hedbergs, Judy & Ulf Hammar, two of our former missionaries Michael Holmgren and Bo Ohlsson, Per & Agneta Malm, and many more. We met Amanda Cornelius from Falun who remembers Chip so fondly--well, there were many who remember Chip fondly. It was a wonderful two days. And now for the photos--the first shows Dad opening our garage doors. Our garage is in the bottom of the little house next to ours. It used to be a family history center but now has multiple uses--stake offices, classrooms, family history, storage, AND our garage.




Those were pictures going to the conference...and now some of coming home...except for the first one which is obviously taken a little earlier, but shows the path we take to get from the garage to the house. Am I making any sense here?

Of Swedish Food, Castles, and Street Signs...Among Other Things

What's not to like about this place? Let's start with the food. Dad thinks he is back in heaven eating celestial food again. Think pepperkakor made by a company called Annas. Every night he says, "Tant Anna is calling me!" Then he helps himself to the biggest box of ginger cookies in the world and makes a pretty good dent in it. He is already on his 2nd or 3rd box. I have lost track. The other goodies that you just can't find the likes of any other place in the world include leverpate on hardbread with pickle slices, red beets, yellow pea soup, and of course, there is Marabou Chocolate....in many more flavors than can be found in your local IKEA store. Sorry. The thing that has him swooning the most is the svartvinbär saft. It is black current syrup for making drinks. He loves this stuff. I think he may be a "saftaholic!" We haven't even mentioned the bakery goods, the pyttipanna, or the yoghurt. Okay you get the picture and now here are some....pictures, that is.

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We went exploring today while we still had the light...it is a precious commodity here, trust me. It was a dark, rainy and dreary day, but hey, we like it like that! We found a castle called Häringeslott, about 10 minutes from our home. It is supposedly haunted and had some very interesting sculptures on the grounds...something like Rodin's "The Kiss" only more so and a little more tacky. The grounds were interesting as only a castle can be. The crows in the bare trees added to the atmosphere. It was very Edgar Allen Poe--ish. There was even a very Narnia-like stone table. Sacrifices anyone?




And finally, remember my foreign street sign fascination? Well, that was two summers and a few blogs back, but trust me. I love collecting pictures of unusual signs in different countries. Here is my latest from Sweden. I think it means, "watch out for wild boars!!!!" and it is covered with paint ball hits. It was just begging for the paint ball shots, don't you think?


Sorry I just can't seem to figure out how to make the pictures match the descriptions so you will have to scroll up and down. You're on your own to figure it out. I just provide the raw entertainment.
All I can say in parting is, enjoy the sunshine if you are lucky enough to have some,

There's No Place Like Home!

You have waited patiently so here they are, finally. Here are a few pictures of the home in Västerhaninge in which are so lucky to be living. We feel as if it is all a dream at times. The home is newly renovated, very comfortable, spacious, and feels like an old-fashioned Swedish Villa. We really are so blessed.

























Och det var det! Har det så bra! Vi ses nästa gång! Hej på dig!

The New Workers in the Stockholm Sweden Temple

Here is a picture taken on Sunday of the new Temple Presidency and their wives. The counselors and assistant matrons are all amazing and wonderful people. The Evensons are on the right and come from Drammen,Norway. Seppo and Kirsti Syvanen, are from Goteborg, Sweden--she is a firecracker personality and will make this one fun job! Just a side note to my children. Remember the wallhanging we have had in our house for the past 30 years of the house and garden--all made of fabric sewed on a velvet background? Kirsti Syvanen made that. Isn't that a weird coincidence? Who knew? More pics will be coming shortly, I hope, of the house and surroundings here. We just need to be home when there is a little sunshine outside--it is awfully dark here all the time!

Wonderful, Wonderful, Copenhagen

We have left the building, so to speak. We departed the United States on Wednesday, October 28th and flew to Copenhagen, where our plan has been to recover from our jetlag enough to be intelligible and alert when we land in Stockholm to begin our new assignment as Temple President and Matron beginning November 1st. So far, so good. We spent the first afternoon and evening here in the Copenhagen Temple and it was a marvelous experience. Today, was spent in Copenhagen seeing the sights. Being here has reminded me just how much I love and admire Scandinavian style. I just really relate to the clothing, furniture, and just plain old basic design that originates in this part of the world. It makes me forget all the anxieties of moving to a foreign land because I am remembering how much I feel at home here. I have thought of Amy all day long and wondered if she saw what I was seeing, when she was here on her mission. I can see why she loves this place so much. The people are beautiful, friendly, and happy. They are all out riding bicylces and pushing their beautiful children around in snappy strollers. The food is delicious. Even their street musicians seem uber-talented and amazing. So, here are a few scenes we encountered today. It was surprising to see signs of Halloween here. They never used to celebrate that holiday but you will see the ghosts they had in the main department store and we saw jack-o-lanterns and pumpkins in many places.I can never seem to get my captions aligned with the photos so I have embedded the captions right into the photos.






Hope this conveys the amazing time we have had here! It has been two remarkable days so far. Tomorrow we leave for Stockholm and our new responsibilities. Thank you for all of your prayers in our behalf!

Let Me ...'Splain. No There is Too Much. Let Me Sum Up.

I haven't blogged for a very long time. It's not that I haven't had the time, because until this past week, I really have. It's more that it just too hard to think about leaving the people I love most in this world for the next three years so I just avoid thinking about it. But, it really is getting close and I am beginning to prepare myself emotionally and I am getting very anxious and excited to be on our way. Anyway, here are a few scenes from the SECOND OSCARPALOOZA FAREWELL TOUR. Mind you, we will not be saying goodbye to those who live close until we absolutely have to so they are not really represented here. But this is a start.














I hope you understand when I say that sometimes there are just no words to describe things.