Summer is on the wall

A thank you goes out this week to the two budding artists Benjamin and Celin.  Their spring and summer theme is a happy one indeed.

Friendship is an ongoing theme at Fokusskolan in Nyköping.  The students and faculty work together on creating a conducive environment, where every person is important and have a voice to be heard. Many students escape to Fokusskolan to rise from difficulties they may have had at other schools.  That places an additional burden onto the staff, but this Christian school has divine help and many prayers.

No school is perfect.  No staff is perfect.  No faculty is perfect.  No family is perfect; however, having followed this chalkboard each week has left a significant in-print and testament, that the children are lovingly encouraged to aspire and grow at their own pace.

Fear not, you are numbered

"Fear not, little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome the world, and you are of them that my Father hath given me; 

And none of them that my Father hath given me shall be lost." -D&C 50:41-42

"Ye are they whom my Father hath given me; ye are my friends;" -D&C 84:63

And the Father and I are one.  I am in the Father and the Father in me; and inasmuch as ye have received me, ye are in me and I in you." -D&C 50:43

Fishing with a 'fish stick'

Xavier hopped off his bike as we were coming home from his great grandmother Mary-Ann's house.  We biked along side Nyköping's river when he suddenly stopped and climbed down the river bank.  I was at first impatient but decided to park my bike next to his and go down to sit with him.


-Xavier, you don't just hop down next to the water.  You can fall in.  You have to wait for me.
-Sorry mom
-What are you doing?
-I am fishing...
-Fishing?
-Yes, I am fishing.  This is my 'fish stick'.
-Oh, maybe we should go home and get some worms for the fish to eat.
-Ok... but I can fish sticks (and he reaches over to snag some bypassing sticks)

Last hockey cup for the season

This was the last hockey cup for the season. Anïas had a great time with his team mates. He has really grown to love playing this sport.

Here he stands outside the arena (in his Islander ballcap), warming up for the first game.  The kids were doing some dashes back and forth.  I took a quick picture through the chain link fence to the arena.

Pre-game warmup

Game start.  Anïas is to the far top of this picture in black.  The puck has been dropped and he moves in for a pass.

Here he is is skating backwards,

preparing to stop incoming play.

The cup ended with tired and happy kids. Playing the whole rink is new, and it is tough work skating across the whole lot.

You are good at many things

My son Anïas is a very empathetic and sensible 10 year old.  By some, he is considered childish, but to others he is viewed for what he is;  a very young, kind, helpful, caring and innocent boy.  I am proud of the fact that he prefers to play with legos, Plus Plus and sticks in the woods .

His school Fokusskolan, Nyköping gave all students grade 1 - 6th a choice of 'proud to be me' buttons (that all had positive self reinforcement messages) as a treat after a completed day of track and field.

He still has his button and it reads:

"I am good at many things.

Especially with being myself."

It takes guts, inner strength and conviction to dare to be oneself.  We can learn a lot from children like  Anïas.  How many times do we fall short in being good at being oneself, and to accept who we are,  and dare to be different in today's society?  Grownups seem to have a knack for saying one thing and being another.

Eternal love

"I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love."

2 Nephi 1:15

Thumbs down to all thieving actions out there.

So here we are again.  Once again -this time in broad daylight- my bicycle was stolen.  Every year, a bicycle gets stolen from us.  For a while there, they were stolen in the bicycle sheds.

I was going to pick up my kids from school and walked out to a cut lock that was on the ground.  Can't exactly bike on that.  This is really terrible, especially since we are all so very dependent on our bikes.

I had to call school to have my two eldest sons bike home by themselves today.  The good thing is that they will have a couple of roads to pass and then they can travel safely on a bicycle path all the way home.

People that steal the bikes here want one for themselves or sell them off.  There is no bike insurance worth paying for, it is such a terribly common crime here.  The sad thing is that most people that steal have no means, and they usually end up stealing from other people that also have no means.  Like I wrote earlier, societies in the modern world are built on taking... not giving.

That person which so disgracefully and selfishly stole my bike can have it.  I will leave it at that, and get an un-cuttable lock for my next used bike. 

Choose the right... uhm, or the right timing

So Anïas, Illïus and Xavier are sitting for a group photo they want to have of their newly made Choose-the-Right badges.  We had been talking and reading a bit about examples of things one can do to choose the right.  In short, be good to oneself and others.  If one looks around today, it is becoming increasingly evident that people are more unaware and less kind to others.

 They worked hard on these badges, cutting, painting, threading.

So this picture below is the 3rd try of getting a picture when all are looking at me.  Xavier decides to eat his banana AND look at me, and Illïus decides to make a RANDOM infomercial WHILE looking at me, and Anïas is just reveling in his crazy little brother's ingenious pranks (Their elder brothers Duncan and Liam are such goofballs that this is probably to be expected).

Anïas tries to sort the brothers out.

Illïus is now ready, but oh that sweeeeeeheeeeeet banana.... muuust ....haaaaave  ..... 

Anïas is trying his best to keep it in.

Then, the unthinkable happens (or does it?) Xavier rips a fart and it is all over with as you could imagine.

... and time goes by

... and goes by

In the end, they all sat there admiring their good works, and Xavier got to finish his banana.  I got a bunch of pictures that could not be more perfect.

Why did I pack the winter stuff away?

Of course this is to be expected.  We are in Sweden after all.  2 days out of every week for the past 3 weeks we have been hit with cold weather and hail/sleet and snow.  It hits real fast and real hard.  At the end of the week, it will be all gone...  or not (it just started snowing again).

We all bike and walk to school.  Good thing we have not taken off the studded tires on the bikes yet.  Iceeeeeeeee, ice baby. 

Mom... I am stuck... moooooom?!?

 Xavier in a crafty mood + paper + glue = good times

Shield of Righteousness

"Fear not,...: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." -Jesus Christ, Genesis 15:1

Cold but sunny...

Cold but super sunny outside. A few hot dogs on a small portable grill, and nothing to clean up after. Brilliant.



Dad eating some carrot sticks, Xavier and Anïas chowing down some grilled hot dogs. Ilïus is no where in sight, he's found a new friend that moved into the neighborhood , so he had very little time to eat.

Grats big brother Duncan!

All of us sent a quick message using Twitter to Duncan when he had a job interview a few weeks ago. 

He got the job and we finally got a hold of the proof of it.

Anïas in concert: March 2012

I finally came around to upload a low-res version of Anïas' brass band concert. They all met once a week for a school semester (30 min each session) to play for fun. He was so excited. His group played for 3 schools and an evening show for the community.

Enjoy!

Xavier, did you touch the nummies?

Where the heck did all the frozen blueberries go???  Xavier?!

-It wasn't me

The greatest sacrifice of all

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord:  though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson..." -Isaiah 1:18

"And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctifited, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." -1 Corinthians 6:11

Snazzy Duncan and Liam

Liam to the left, Duncan to the right.  Duncan is the eldest going on 18 and Liam is almost 16, 2012.

Duncan's and Liam's stepmother Amanda and her son Jordan (far right), and half sibling Devon (center).

Happy 10th birthday Anïas

Time sure flies, Anïas turned 10 today.  His father Jeffrey had made him a birthday lemon/chocolate pound cake the night before.  Anïas has such a hard time falling asleep the night before that we had to arrange a sleep over with a movie in his little brother Xavier's room.

Anïas woke up as usual and played Legos and plus-plus with his brothers Illïus and Xavier for a couple of hours in the morning.  He chose to have some home made burgers with fries as his birthday lunch celebration meal.

After some relaxing time, we took off into the woods for more play.  We've had cold and terrible weather for a few days prior, so when the sun decided to show up it made our day.

This is a perfect place to play fortress, and imagine creepy and brave scenarios.

This tree had fallen down across some boulders.  It was fabulous fun for  Anïas, Illïus and Xavier.

As Anïas and Illïius were playing around, I snuck home with Xavier to pick up the birthday cake and drinks.  Here I am setting up the candles, and lo and behold, I brought a lighter that does not work (no girl scout readiness badge for me!).

After a quick 10 sec cake break and some birthday singing, the boys rushed off to play.  Jeffrey had to chase them around and I am sure we would still be in the woods if it weren't for me wanting to go home, and Anïas wondering if 'Birthday Santa' had left him a present this year.

To his joy Birthday Santa had been at our house and had dropped 2 presents off.  To Anïas dismay, Birthday Santa had also hidden them.  It took a good 15 minutes until he found them, even with help.

He got a science kit and a Wii game.  Good times.