we are going to a small place in Sweden called Vimmerby. We are to spend two days in “the world of Astrid Lindgren ( a famous bookwriter; Longstocking and more). We will serve you some pictures soon. Today has been the day of packing and preparation. Me and our son David went to the store to buy food and rechargeable batteries and device. When I came home it didn´t work !!!! I drove back just to notice that they only sell this kind of device so I got the money back. I went 10 minutes by car to another store and bought a new one….after the sellsman opened the package and tried it. When I sat down for a while, collecting my feelings
I thought of Shie and Jonas and wondered how they felt when they prepared for the trip to Sweden last winter. Tired, lots of things to pack and clean, who shall do what…..and the joyfull feeling of soon being away.

It´s not meant to be a sad bloggsight, but as a parent some things grabs my heart much. One of the links I have recommended on the right, concerns a youn girl fighting her cancer. It´s both sad and now also relieving, since she finally can rest in peace, far from all the pain she has suffered. My thoughts goes to her and her family.
http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/halsa/story/0,2789,1102302,00.html
Em

”and so it´s midsummer! It´s supposed to be sunny, warm, barbequetime, party with close friends, potatoes, “sill” and swedish flags. We got all of that, except for bbq and good weather. It didn´t matter at all. We had a great time together.

Unfortunately this weekend is a “black weekend” when it comes to the trafficsituation.
Many people in accidents, and some of them die (http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=147&a=663985 )

Anyhow, more pictures from this day coming soon!

Have you ever tried to lay stones? We are, but can see the end coming closer and closer. We use a special type of stone. No stone is similar to another, neither in depth or length. And they are Heavy! I should have followed one of my brothers advice: to draw the shape of the stones on to paper and use the paper as a puzzle. It´s by trial and error you become wise I guess. But why is it that mankind has to “reinvent the wheel “/ do the same mistakes our ancestors did?
And here is another truth: I am stubborn and don’t give up, but the closer the end I get, the more bored of it I become. I want to paint now, not hurt my knees and back, lifting heavy stones.

This is David, a tired soon three years old boy. He has cried and screamed for about 30 minutes wanting me to carry him to the bathroom (2 meters away). I sat in the bathroom waiting for him, talking calmly and comforting through his “bad period”.

Yesterday our children spent their last day in "kindergarten" before summerholidays. But Hanna, and eventually David too, wanted to dance round the maypole today. So we went there and had a great summerhour together with all the other children. Some hectic days are coming, and we will give you pictures and interesting news soon. Em

This advice from my father I have held high in my life:
“Do the best you can with what you do”
Maybe you think that is hard to live up to, but the art is to really see my limits and not the others around me. I enjoy trying to do the best I can. It´s not hard to live with that.
Here are some people doing the best they can….and I am not even close to this!
Bianca Ryan: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/170944/amazing_11_year_old/
Paul Potts: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/645901/britians_got_talent_opera_singer/
Erik Mongrain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbndgwfG22k
Em

Just married! and Sigtuna

It´s twelve years since me and my wife married! When I sit here, for the moment alone, except for our daughters cat eating his food in the kitchen, I think to myself: time is strange!
Twelve years is on one hand quite a long time in ones life, on the other hand these years have flown on light wings! We have truly been blessed and I am thankfull for that!

Victoria and I could leave our loved children with their grandparents this weekend.
We went to a town called Sigtuna. An important place with great history, not just for Sweden but also for Europe once. We had booked a room here! How can it be that the more expensive a restaurant is, the larger are the plates and the smaller are the food??? We joked about it when we sat there, eating our six (!) meals. “-do they have anything against us? Do they have headache? Where is the food? I can´t see it?....” Of course it was delicious and the time together with the one I love the most, is what really counts.

We followed a towntour on foot and listened to many interesting details.
At six a´clock in the evening we went to a church, listening to “Ingegerd – musicsaga”:
“Ingegerd, Sigtuna and the ferritale about Ingegerd/Irina/Anna (1001-1050 ac)
About ten years ago they made an archeologic digging in the garden of Sigtuna museum. Olof the king had his kingsgarden there. One day suddenly something shone: a small golden ring. Who had dropped it? The question woke up the name Ingegerd. A thousand years ago she was playing as a seven year old around buildings in the recently built city of Sigtuna. Her father was Olof Eriksson. The todays world knows of him because he started the making of coins. He stamped the coins with his face on one side and a christian cross on the other. By this he showed that the power over the money was his, given from God.
Between the lines one can read that Ingegerd was the kings favourit child.
Ingegerd grew up, heard about the Norwegian king – Olav of Norway – and thought that this was a man to marry. But Olav was the enemy of Olof. Her father said no, and gave her hand in marriage to “king” Jaroslav from Kiev.
In her new country Ingegerd became Irina. She gave birth to ten children. As old and widow, she became a nun, now with the name Anna. One of her three daughters, Anna, married the bourbon on the throne of France. Through Anna is Ingegerd/Irina the mother to all the kinghouses of Europe.” (the quotes are taken from “Ingegerd – a musicsaga”).
If you want to see this saga yourself it´s quite likely they will perform it in Ucraine next year as a diplomat from Ucraine nearly promised after the saga.
Em