15 months in Finland.

Time for another letter to America!!  To give an update on how things are going in the old world.  It's been 15 months since the boat arrived at the harbor... or I guess when our Finnair flight hit the ground in Helsinki.  A lot has truly taken place since...

The move itself.  Getting an apartment, and trying our first little jumps and hops, like a babybird learning how to fly, in a new country.  Starting to build a new house.  Starting a new business.  New schools, language, Dr's, blah blah blah....
We moved again, and now live in the house we started building, the new company is growing roots, things are picking up. 
A new baby is on the way.
The kids have a year of school here stuffed in their backpacks of life.

Lately there have been many things happening back in Canada and USA.  Some friends of mine are expecting babies right around the same time as I.  I'd love to "grow big" along side with them.  I miss them.  A dear friend has moved on to eternity, and she'll be missed.  One of my dear sister-in-laws won't be my sis-in-law much longer... and that hurts, but she know's she'll always be my special L.  I wish I could be there for many reasons at times.  I get "homesick" for people.  Sometimes for places too, but not much.  I don't miss "stuff", I miss people.

Here I have laid the ground work for new friendships.  Looking back in my life, I realize that I've "started new" many many times.  Becoming a new friend to someone does not scare me.  I love meeting new people, and I find that everyone is interesting in their own way.  One thing I miss here is my ability to talk to anyone I want to.  I like to talk to old ladies, but here the language barriare slows me down a lot.  Very frustrating at times.  After learning Swedish growing up, and now also being fluent in English, makes the road of learning Finn seem very long and bumpy at times.  (I know how much work is involved in becoming equally fluent in 2 languages)  I'm not 18 anymore either... The age I was when I spent 2 months in USA and learned English. 

Now I'm mostly at home during the weeks, so the opportunities to use Finnish are sometimes far in between.  Lately I've been to some "in home sales" parties.  Great chance to practice Finn!  And to listen to the person presenting their products.  I actually "get it" every now and then.  Finn  is very different from most languages, so it's not like it "sounds like" or resembles any of the common Europeean languages either (which would greatly help me out).  So.  I struggle.  And I'm taking small steps forward. 
At least I can relate to how the kids feel!  They are fortunately catching on faster than their mom thou...

We are going through our 2nd fall here, and it's interesting to experience the seasons change for the 2nd time.  I'm curious and a bit scared to see if this February will be as cold as last one.  Will we still have tons of snow at the end of March?  Right now the trees are all dressed in sparkling colors, but their gowns are falling rapidly.  Soon we'll hit that gray November... and I'll be looking forward to snow to brighten up the days.  It's already getting dark quite early, and it's only getting darker.  We are planning to spend Christmas at home.  I hope I have energy to bake all the traditional Christmas goodies, and spend the holiday relaxing in front of the fireplace.

So... the latest review of life here??  It's good.  I still like the fact that things are so close.  I still don't miss crossing the international border crossing between Windsor and Detroit.  I don't miss Detroit traffic, and my hubby stuck in it on the way home from work... We have seen each other a lot more this year, and that was one of our goals.  The kids are adjusting, and they seem happy over all.  Of course they miss their friends and realtives over there, just like I do!  But you'll always miss somebody... especially when your family live very spread out!  But as long as we are content in the moment, and with what we have each day, those things become easier to handle. 

Some people ask if we are staying here, we originally talked about living here for 2-3 years.  Some people said before we moved "Oh, you'll be back here in 2 years!" others predicted we won't come back at all.  (besides for visits)  At this point I think we are staying here for many years to come.  1st of all, I'm not interested in uprooting and moving our kids every few years, especially since moving back to where we used to live would not be an option.  So if we moved back, it would be starting new all over again, in a new city etc.  Does not sound appealing right now.  Some of the reasons that made us move in the 1st place, we really would miss moving back, and why "fix" something if it's not broken??
I like to tell the kids that this is where we live now, feel free to root yourself.
If they knew that "We might be moving back in 2-3 years", would they dare to fully spread their wings and embrace all the new?  And then after a few years, we aren't able to move back, and they feel disappointed? 

I don't know if there is a "right or wrong" way to do a big life change like this, but being honest makes it easier.  And I couldn't honetly tell them "in 2 or 3 years this or that will happen!"  That's impossible! 
Who knows what will happen in the next few years??  Besides, then our oldest kids will be in highschool, and highschool here and overseas is very different, so the older the kids are, the harder a move would be.

2 years ago it seemed very strange to move here.  I was almost due with our youngest, and our overseas plans were just starting to gain momentum.  So much have happened since then, and I guess time will tell how this move has changed our lives for better and worse.  I like to look at the good stuff thou, and so far, so good!  I realize that giving a timeline for a move like this is really quite pointless (unless you move on a one or two year work visa, where your company helps you with the moving costs, and you plan on returning to your old place, that's different).  We sold our house, brought all our belongings with us, my husband quit his job... so after cutting all the ties like that, it's a lot more work going back.

So.... now you know where that stands!  I guess we are Finns now!  :)

We moved!!!

This is my 4th attempt at this post... I keep getting interrupted, so let's see how this goes!

We are finally out of the apartment and in our new house!!
Wednesday was a blur of crazyness... with 7 kids, as well as the kid's cousin from overseas, AND 2 kittens!!! added to the mix, we somehow manage to pack up and transfer our belongings from apartment to house.  Our oldest girls and their cousin were of great help, while our 2 youngest were not exactly useful.  The kittens added some stress too, we had to make sure they didn't get lost or stepped on in the commotion!
Thanks to my wonderful in-laws who also helped out a lot!!  (they are here from overseas, and sacrificed their time on a very hot and muggy day helping us out!)
What's up with the kittens??  Well...  we have sort of promised our kids that we would get a cat when we finally moved in to our house.  I happened to see an ad for kittens for sale a week and a half ago, and we went to see them.  Of course we ended up with 2 kittens...  and we couldn't wait to get them till after we moved (how do you argure with 7 kids wanting the same thing??), so there they were in the middle of the moving madness.

Now we've spent 3 nights here, and I have my appliances all working!  Big help to keep this place running smoothly.  I'm already enjoying our kitchen immensely!!  It feels like I'm visiting someone who has a super nice (although still rather messy) house, full of our stuff!  I don't have a working camera for the moment, but as soon as I do, I'm gonna post some pictures!!

The week coming up will be busy (nothing too unusual around here, it's a chronic condition!!).
My dear brother from USA is coming to pay us a visit along with his wife and little boy!  Our 2nd oldest daughter's BFF from USA is also coming, together with her great-aunt!!  So things are going on, and we don't have a dull moment!

Well, I'm gonna post this now, before something else interrupts me!

It's like being pregnant!!

Building a house that is.  I've been pregnant 7 times, and there are some parts of each pregnancy that seem to repeat itself each time.  At least for me.  Remember that I'm really patient... or maybe that was my sister??  Anyway.
When I 1st find out that I'm pregnant, I feel excited, a bit overwhelmed, and I ask myself if I have what it takes to deal with another pregnancy.... When we decided to start building our house here in Finland, we were still finishing up our house that we built in Canada!!, so I had to ask myself if I was ready to do this allover again! There were trim pieces missing and of course, when you own a house, there are things you want to change and improve along the way. 

When I'm pregnant I always try to think of new ways to make the pregnancy go faster, make it more fun, trying to look and feel my best...  And each time I like to follow the baby's growth inside me.  It's always fascinating!  It's a miracle actually.

With our house, I keep making lists, writing things down, I kept changing things on the plans till I couldn't change it anymore...  I talk to people about the progress, and then I get a bit stressed about feeling that people are on my back (even thou they are only curious)   House or Pregnancy = same thing. 
(when are you due?  when are you moving in?  Are you done yet? - Am I done yet???? Oh YES!!! I'm usually "done" waaaay before I'm supposed to be done... doesn't really matter what it is)
I guess one difference is that the baby I want OUT and with our house I want IN!!  he, he...

Well.  I have gone overdue 4 out of 7 times, and I can safely say that I feel "overdue" with our house!  I get to a point when I really start to think that "It will NEVER happen!!!" "This baby will neeever come out!" Then I have a reasonable Hubby at my side, that reminds me that "I never heard of a baby that didn't come out!"  And I sense that he really feels that "I never knew a family that moved over the ocean and built a house and never moved in to it!"  (although that is far more likely to occur than the baby not coming out...)

All in all, I'm excited, stresses, tired... ready!!!  I keep tossing and turning at night (as if I'm waiting for labour to start), and I feel like I can't settle down before we move!!  Nesting instinct alright!!  I'm so excited to start making our house our HOME! 
Our kitchen is ..... NICE!!!  Gotta get some pix and show it off. :)

well.... sooon I will announce "WE MOVED" and rest assured that there will be a happy dance following that announcement!

Blah blah blah...

The weekend is sneaking up on us again.  A busy week is leaving a messy trail behind us.  It's been so warm and beautiful that I really really really don't feel like staying inside a stuffy apartment packing...

On the beach the other day I saw your typical mom looking all over for her son's hat, while she was holding it in her hand...  I laughed inside my head, as that could have been me 10 times over!  He, he...  She did eventually locate it.

Today our kitchen arrived, so next week we are hoping to get it installed.  The balcony is framed, and ready for deckboards and railing.  The garage and breezeway is FINALLY getting poured on Monday!  Yohoo!  The joys in life.  Today Big Guy is working on the stairs to the 2nd floor, he's building them himself.  We have ordered the cork flooring for the kitchen, glassrailing for the hallway upstairs, the ceramic tile is getting done, along w. plumbing and electrical and painting...  It's all coming together and it looks great! 
From starting with a piece of paper and a pencil, to seeing this house almost done, is very exciting!  Seeing it turning out the way I pictured it, is even more exciting!  I feel very lucky to be able to experience this!  (and a bit buys, stressed and impatient too...)  Our goal before moving in (in 2 weeks ??????), is to get the house safe enough to live in (has to pass an inspecion of course), so will still have some things to do after getting in there, but that's pretty normal when you build from scratch.

On Wednesday our "Miss Teen" left to Sweden to be gone for a month...  I'm questioning the smartness level of that move, as she's my right hand on a regular basis... But I'm so happy for her to trying her wings, and not having to be here during the moving stress... She'll be coming back to a brand new house, and her OWN room!  1st time since she was 2 years old when her little sister moved in w. her....

Well.  I can hear the 4000 stuffed animals calling my name, suggesting that I stuff them in a bag, so they can help keep this place a bit less cluttered...  1 box and 1 bag at the time...

Tu-de-lu for now!!
PS. Pictures??? Oh yeah... they are all on Big Guys phone, and since he's here only to sleep lately, I haven't gotten around to upload them yet.  He could do that himself???  In your dreams... he, he... I'm the one that knows how to deal w. all the fancy gadgets in this household!  (and even my "knowledge" is rather limited...) But, I'll try to get them out here soon.

It's getting there!

Our house, our house, our dear house!! 

So, how is that project coming along anyway??  Well.  It IS getting there!
A few updates:  Upstairs is all painted.  Ceilings are almost done.  Floor is started on. 
Downstairs is halfway done with the paint, the ceramic tile is getting installed, fireplace is BEAUTIFULLY done (my 2sided "dream" came true!!)  The chimney just has to get bricklaid through the roof, and then we can fire it up! 

Our kitchen is arriving on Friday, along with bathroom sinks etc and also 7 double cosets!
We are almost ready to have the floor poured in the garage and breezeway area (this has been a bit delayed for various reasons, but this week it should be done!) 

I'm packing bags and boxes as fast as I can (between going outside enjoying the beautiful weather we've been blessed with, it's supposed to rain next week, so I better soak up the rays while they are here!)

Today Big Guy is helping his brother move into his new house....   Things are happening!!!

I'll post some progress pictures asap.

I'm only as happy as I want to be!

About being content.  It seems like some people are surprised about me living in Finland.  And liking it.  I have lived in 5 different countries (some for brief times, but still), in 7 different cities or towns.  Some really small towns and others rather large.  I have learned new languages and cultures along the way.  I have moved because of school, work, and marriage.  And everywhere I've gone, I've always been with me.  In some places I felt happier, some were more fun than others, but always, I was me.  And every time I had a choice to make the best out of the situation.  I have always known that, but maybe not always tried my best.  You have to mature into the understanding of realizing that I can dare to do what's the best for me in each new situation.  I can choose to be happy and content.  Of course some surroundings, climates and friends will make this easier or harder to achieve, but if you are not happy with yourself and try to change the surroundings, you will have a really hard, never ending struggel ahead of you!!

If I complain about how "this or that" is SO different! HOW can they do that? Well.... Maybe that's how it's always been?  They have never questioned the patteren, because everyone has been fine with the way things have been done.  So what can I do if I'm not happy with it?  One way is to try to see it through somebody elses eyes.  To realize that things can be done in different ways.  When I moved to Canada after getting married to Big Guy, some people wondered how I liked it, and I said I liked it just fine.  Someone pointed out how fast I seemed to blend in, and I said that I felt it had been easier for me to change, rather than trying to change everybody else around me!

You might say "Yeah, but this one person that moved here tried to tell us how we should do this or that different, or how they didn't like anything, why don't they just move back to where they came from??"  Well. It's still all about choices.  You can always ask that person questions.  Be curious.  Don't jump to conclusions and think that "He or she is so negative!!".  Have you walked in her shoes?  What do you know of his background?  Ask,  "Where you lived before, how did they do......?  Why do you miss....? 
Also picture yourself moving to where the person came from.  Would you do that? 

It's never easy to uproot yourself, especially not when you have a family in tow, and sometimes I have to remind myself that our kids might not feel the way I feel about some things.  I can't lay a protective blanket over them and tell them that they like something they don't!  On the other hand, I can teach them tolerance, and remind them about the good and the bad in each situation.  For our kids the language barrier is still the biggest hurdle, as it is for me.  So at least we can relate on that one... And we know that as long as we get the yakking under control, we will be happy with most aspects about living here. Also,  If you like it in one place doesn't mean that you don't miss or like it somewhere else.

I heard about some "live well" expert saying that it's not good to get attached.  I'm not sure about what he was referring to exactly, but I felt that it hit home with me.  I have one lifetime of opportunites, and one day I'm hoping that I can look back and think "I did this and that, and I'm thankful that I dared!"  What's the point?  Well, for me it hopefully means that I have learned something about myself along the way.  And about others.  And always remember that my own happiness starts within me.  I can choose how I feel and how content I am with what I have at each moment!

More Finland...

OK.  I promised some more about Finland.  With friends and family spread out over this planet, covering 10 time zones, it is hard to keep in touch with you all.  My one sister asks me occasionally how we are doing over here, because "so and so" was wondering!  Well.  We are officially doing really well!  So now you can share that piece of info with whomever your heart desires!  I'm glad to say that too btw!

Last fall was a whirlwind of activities.  It seemed like and endless stream of practical things that needed our attention.  Importing the cars.  Finding a new doctor for our diabetic daughter.  Planning for our house.  All school related things for our 4 schoolaged kids.  Getting in to the "system" in a new country.  Well, I'm glad to say that most of those things are now out of the way, and the wheels are turning more smoothly.  As all that went on thou, I never felt that I had the time to "feel" how I felt about living here.  It felt as if we were still in "moving mode".  Then Christmas came out of nowhere, and with that a nice visit from my parents.  Then we headed up to Northern Sweden and Norway to share the Christmas and New Year holiday with family and friends.  Coming back here after being gone for 11 days actually felt like coming HOME!  The kids felt that way too!  That was such a neat experience.... Driving down the main highway of our city, with all the lights and snow, feeling like home!  We all took that as a good sign!

January is January.  Right?  I never heard anybody claiming January to be their favourite month of the year, and for a good reason I think.... We did have a pretty mild January however, so that meant the kids were outside a lot! Yohoo!!! That pretty much saved us all from severe cabin fever!  Talking about which, we have been relatively healthy I feel.  We had a bout of some fever and flu, but that's pretty much it!
I can feel a difference in the air compared to Windsor thou.  Normally our kids have runny noses all winter, but here they have barely used a Kleenex!
Things to be thankful for.  Health!

Lately I've had the time to reflect on how we are all doing here.  And I've had some "heart to heart talks" with the kids as well.  After the obvious fact that we all miss many dear friends and family members, they have all said that they really like it here!
The school is a lot more relaxed as far as regulations.  They ski and skate and play freely in the snow.  They enjoy textile and woodwork class, and my oldest daughter told me that they are allowed to use paint here in art class "Becasue nobody is worried about making a mess!!!" (she's almost 13 btw...)
Wow.  I was a bit stunned that this had actually stopped them from using paint in the classroom back in Canada!  The language is coming along for all of us, although we sometimes wish we could fastforward the learning pace.  But, each day it gets a bit better!

Now we are looking forward to another summer here.  Hopefully in our new house!  The kids can't wait to pick blueberries and enjoy the beautiful nature that is right THERE!!!  So!  I'm happy to say that we are doing well and feel positive about the future in this new country of ours!
And Oh!  I almost forgot, there are many stores that I haven't visited yet.... for me to discover!!