The place where Jon David grew up

~Risoya, an island of paradise!~

Jon David, grew up in the most perfect place a boy could ever dream of. It was surrounded by water! Totally cool! Had lot's and lot's of climbing you could do. Was safe as could be, which allowed for him to wander past what is considered a normal back yard and explore the great beyond until he was just so satisfied he had to come home.

This is actually the house we are renting for the week. Their house was two houses back from here. I should have taken that photo. I still mean too!

I came here for a whole summer in '99'. I remember feeling like I was in a paradise. I loved to roam this whole island from the great giant cliffs, the wooded area inland, to the beautiful dock of sails. A good long walk to count your many blessings on. (If you look closely you will see us on the top! This is the only place you can swim whithout that has sand for your feet, instead of sharp shells or a cliff to jump from.)

Jon David came to America not knowing he was saying goodbye to this place forever. His parents moved off this Island the year we married. Nine years later they have come revisit the place they lived for almost 22 years. A land that holds great meaning, unforgettable memories, all of God's faithfulness, many dreams come true and so much more i could not begin to know. There are lot's of emotions swimming around in their hearts. This is a big time for us all who are here. Who is here? Jon David's family of: two uncles, one aunt, sister, brother-in-law, their two children ,two cousins, a friend of family, his mom and dad, me and ethan. That is a total of 15! Staying together in THIS house for one week! It is a lot of fun and a huge stretch to reach each others needs well and smoothly. Especially when there is a language barrier, major culture differences and a couple of new comers. I think we do pretty well, considering. Kids at play, remember the olden days! This picture was taken at 11:30 at night. The sun had just set! It was spectacular!

My favorite spot on this island are on the rocks that surround her. I must go and settle there early in the morning. Our time here is soon over and i am feeling rushed to enjoy it even more. How do you fit all of this island in your heart forever?

This is the bridge that takes you from the Island to the Mainland. I took this picture because it made me think of Jon David as a boy riding, on his papa's shoulders!

I feel like I am swimming in emotions. Maybe, I have run out of words for this place, hour, day, time! I am glad to share it with you, for now. There is more..... Follow on and see a funny video of Ethan!

Vote for me...OK!

This is two videos while we are in Norway. One is on the fourth of July and Ethan is speaking to the people of Norway about THE LAND OF THE FREE!!!!

The other video is his favorite word!...OK

Places we have been

This is called a boat lock. At this particular one there was originally a waterfall and they made it into a boat lock that transfers boats from the top of a water channel to the bottom and back up again. It is so brilliant that some one came up with this. I have heard of them but, i have never seen one before! They fill or empty each lock so that the water level is the same from the lock the boat is in to the lock it will enter next.

In this photo, above, they have just opened the doors of a lock for the boat to pass through. Now it will sit and wait another 30 minutes or so to pass the next lock and so on.

This is just a very sweet photo of Jon David's sister, Hanne- Gudvieg and Ethan. Now Ethan has met both of his aunts! And all of his cousins! Which i soon want to blog about!

This is most definitely one of my favorite parks of all time! Every time I come to Norway, I get the pleasure of stopping by here. I wish i had at least one or two of the photos that i took of Jon David and I in this park over 8 years ago, when we were young and in love. It was my favorite thing to go by each one and pose next to the statues. This time we only had time for one pose. There are so many that i couldn't even try to tell you. I love them because they represent humanity in it's raw form, the good the bad and the ugly, and yet, it is just so beautiful! The tall pillar leaves one to ponder on what was the artist really trying to portray. It is a pillar of bodies all piled on top of each other. Some are old, some young and even babies. Many think it is a depiction of the Holocaust. Anyways, it is a spectacular work of art!
As you can see it is truly a remarkable place that no photo can do justice.

Today we went to Tvedestrand to have some Ice Cream. This is the town that i have shown here. So many beautiful houses on the water and a very special old town. Just thought i would share it with you.

More from my favorite park! Now you can kinda see how many there are...but not really.

Where is Waldo? Or rather, Jon David?

Pride and honor

There is a thing called pride and honor that most Americans might think they know a thing or two about. They may even hang the flag and take it down at dusk every night or properly illuminating it at night as the flag code states. You may find that Memorial Day and July the 4th they actually celebrate by being patriotic and waving their flag and meaningfully singing a song in remembrance and not just having a barbecue or party for the sake of another good time. And what about Flag Day, June 14th. This day just comes and goes and most no one knows. At least i haven't since i learned about in Highschool.

Until you have seen a Norwegian embrace their country and where it has come from and what it is today, you have never truly seen what patriotism is! In all my 32 years of being alive in the US of A, I have never seen so much passion and pride as i have seen in this country the few times I have been here. I can not imagine being here on their nations holiday. I have heard the stories told over and over again. How they all get dressed up in these national costumes that represent the different areas of Norway that they are from. Then they parade in the main area of town waving their flags and if you live in Oslo, you parade in front of the King and Queen waving to them as well! The schools are all going as groups to parade together as well. The pictures are very telling of this very exciting day! I hope one day to witness this glorious day!

Whenever I have been here for a birthday i have noticed that they take a small flag in hand and wave it as they sing and then place it on the table by the cake.

This is a photo of Jon David's birthday cake that his mom made him while she was in the states. She put miniature Norwegian flags all over it!

The picture at the top is the only one i got,(wish i had a better one) that somewhat represents the way we were greeted as we arrived here. Every visit i can remember, Jon David's mom has come waving the flag and had flowers in some way. This time as we walked up she crowned me with this beautiful wreath that you see on my head and a sweet kiss on the cheek. I am always amazed at how honored i feel in this family, house and country!

Why does it feel so unusual and sweet to me. We have love, we have honor and we have such passion at home. What i do feel is a fresh new wave coming over me and blowing all around me the whole time i am here. It is the Pride part..i think. It is pure and honest. It is not corrupt or selfish. It is pride in the whole and not in the individual.

I haven't really grasped all that my head is trying to wrap itself around in this, but, i am touched and i wish i could take this refreshing thing that is touching me so deeply and put it in my pocket to take home with me, to then share with you!

Now that i think about it, i guess i am. That is what i am here to do. Gather and take what i can! I think that is all for now. Maybe, more on this later.

We made it!

This is how ethan looked most of the trip, except when he was sleeping!

Jet lag got the better of him........

What a wonderful journey this has been. We have traveled so far and it has not been as hard as i thought. Ethan did great on the trip over and has adjusted well to the new time zone. It took him about a week but he was never up all night or anything so i am absolutely pleased! Our trip over here was full of challenges and yet we were happy and ethan was awesome. So, it is of no matter since we had joy, felt good and were able to rest too. Now we are living the good life of eating, drinking in good company and taking it easy most of the time. Our days so far are filled with hiking, napping, eating, eating, eating and eating as well as a lot of talking a little swimming and just watching the babies play together! I feel like i am growing into a hot air balloon by all the meals we are having. So much for loosing weight on this trip. This week is Jon David and I´s 8th year anniversary and we are not together. He and his dad, terje, and brother-in-law, Martin are working on Terje and Berit's bedroom. Me and Hannah-gudvieg, Jon David's sister , and Berit, his mom, went to Bo, Norway for the week. This is a very beautiful place hat reminds me of Colorado a bit. It has all the lush green, great mountains and a little college town (as college town as your gonna get in Norway, i suppose). They have a lot of concerts in the summer and none while i am staying here, of course.

Today is the 4th of July and i am happy to say we will be celebrating it! They are so great here. Congratulating me on our country's special day and wanting to celebrate the way we would, with out the fireworks, of course. So, what to do?

We will go on an excellent hike in the mountains! I can't wait! Then we will have a barbecue and smores. Smores is something they have only ever had one other time i was here about 8 years ago. They are very excited and so am i! Not the healthiest thing to introduce but, fun.

I can't wait to show you pic of some of the traditions here. I do love this country and family more and more every time i am here! What a special place.

sentimental hoo ha

I have been going through so many different emotions as we near Ethan's one year birthday. I am happy, I am sad, I am regretful, disappointed, jealous of others, excited, festive, depressed, getting baby fever and truly exhausted!
I look at him and still have the same feelings I did when we brought him home. Could he really belong to us? How could he be so wonderful, so cute, and how could all these wonderful things about him pass me by so quickly?
I just feel like I let the special things in each month pass me by without really getting to notice them, enjoy them and soak them up before a new thing would happen. I really don't want to forget any of it, AT ALL! He is such a treasure and he brings me so much joy. Sometimes I just wish the demands of life would stop. Other people would seize to exist and he could have all my attention. Truth is, that even when he does, I am distracted in some way.
so, I will soak him up now and remember all his sweetness, his cuteness and the joy he brings me!

Fun things he does
Ethan has always had this really unusual laugh that no one else has heard before. It sorta sounds like some one making a long AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa sound and tapping their voice box at the same time. He will make this laugh while playing, in his car seat, on the changing table, while eating or whenever. He does it to show his pleasure in something. He has a totally different and very adorable laugh for when he is completely lost in it and giggling histarically.
I Remember how sweet it was when he would wake up early in the mornings and i would nurse him in bed and I could feel his body begin to give into sleep again and be heavy in my arms.
He also use to lay on the changing table (before he learned to crawl) and just laugh and play. He loved his changing table! That was when he came alive the most!
When he was first learning "peek a boo" he would crawl right up to me and bow his head quietly for a moment and then lift his head quickly with laughter and bright eyes. That was his way of saying, "peek a boo". SOOOOOO, cute.
One of my favorite memories was when all three of us were laying in bed on a Saturday morning. It was way too early for us all to be up and Jon David and I were trying to rest while keeping one eye open to watch Ethan. Suddenly i heard what sounded like clapping. I focused in and sure enough Ethan was just sitting there, clapping away. It was his first clap and it was as if to say, "come on you guys, let's play!" He loves to clap.
He claps for many things through out the day. He even claps while he is getting to sleep and when he is asleep. He claps a lot, come to think of it!
I miss how he would crinkle up his nose and pucker his lips a little opened and breath out his nose really hard.Just to be cute.
I love the today's too though!
How he loves to drum and shake,shake, shake. He bops his body left to right and waves his arms in a dance. He is so beautiful!
Every time we say, "praise Jesus" he raises his hands high above his head and waits for us to follow. It is a little game that started awhile back. He had the whole room imitating him and he just LOVED IT!
I love how I can hear him when he is excited making his way down the hall and into the kitchen, with such a thunderous crawl. I often have to look just to make sure it isn't someone else with him...he's just one baby and he sounds like an army!
















I love how he says mama.
I love days like today, where he just seems so happy to be alive, playing by himself and talking with that sweet "AAAaaaaaaaaaa", voice. He spent his whole lunch time with me going thru different hand motions he has learned ( i didn't even know he knew how to do, by the way). He waved with both hands, at himself and then just one at me. Hee, hee! For the first time ever, he blew kisses at me and he instigated it! He clapped, waved, blew kisses and praised Jesus. It was the best lunch i can remember!
Oh, Ti's sweet to have a little one that the Lord has entrusted you with, that belongs to you, looks like you (well, one of you , anyways) and is all his own person. I love him! I treasure him. I am happy for this day! I am grateful for such an honored gift from the father. I just want to wrap him all up in my love even though he won't let me and keep him and all his cuteness with me, always.
Well, this helped! Really, it did. Just to get it out there, ya know? I feel so much better and ready to recieve the day that we celebrate his birth! His Birth! Wow, I really have come full circle. I can now say that the day of his birth holds more than just pain! I will have to share some day soon, maybe this week, how God has changed the pain and ashes to beauty!

I think i will sing off now. This has to be the longest blog yet.

These are a few of my favorite things!

Ethan loves drumming, dancing, eating and playing with auntie Kristina!