Mamma, I lost a tooth!

Illïus has been waiting for sooooo long for his tooth to fall out.  Finally it dropped at school today.  He had twisted it out.  He was so excited... those were the days :)

We will forever love my grandfather

One of the reasons that I opted to move back to Sweden after a decade+ in the US was partially due to my grandparents getting old and ill.  They raised me and are my beloved examples in all things.  They never spoke much, but were examples of how to live a righteous and loving life as disciples in Christ.

My grandfather has been a hard worker his whole life, born into a very large and poor family from Jokkmokk (the very northern parts of Sweden).  He almost died a couple of weeks ago and I feel the urgency to take down his life history and of those relatives that still live in his heart and mind.

About 3 years ago, my grandfather was diagnosed with Parkinson and Alzheimer.  These 3 years have substantially changed my grandfather's and grandmother's quality of life.  His health is deteriorating quickly.  I have been wondering how such cruel illness happen to selfless and giving people that love God.

Now a month later, I understand more.  He never curse God about his ailments.  He loves the opportunity to have lived a full life and accept his current time that is heavy laiden in his sufferings.  He is brave, and worries more about us than himself.  He is grace and an example of hope and faith.  He knows where his place will be when God resurrect His chosen the last day.  My grandfather might need help remembering what a wonderfully blessed life he has had, and he knows that this life on earth is but a short moment in time.  He knows he is loved by all his flocking grand children and great grandchildren that all love him so.

We stop our days, for our grandfather and great grandfather.  We take time to tell him we love him.  We thank him for our lives.

Xavier is learning about family

At Xavier's school there is a family project ongoing.  Pretty much all last month was dedicated to talk about what a family is.  It is amazing how broad or narrow a concept family can be.  It depends on who is speaking and what values one has.  Xavier has painted many portraits and this is his toilet paper portrait.

My middle son Anïas is getting real interested in genealogy and family history.  So we will see how far back we can get in our family history of Granström to start.  We have about 500 identified Granström members at this moment in time.  Not all relations have been figured out of course.

Xavier and Illïus

Family history work - I'm on a mission

I am now on a mission to gather family history from my elder living relatives.  To my joy, my grandmother pulled out a couple of old cherished photos of her mother and grandmother.  I quickly pulled up my iPhone and took a copy. 

My grandmother May Ann Henriksson is to the left and her mother in the middle.  Next to them were two neighborhood children.  Can't wait to ask more questions about this picture.

Here is my grandmother's grandmother.  She was a widow at an early age and here is her eldest son. Mary Ann belives her father is about 7 here.  He is now in charge of his siblings.  The clothes they are wearing were lent them.  They were very poor and had very little.

All people we meet are our neighbors

All people around us are of worth. All people we meet are our neighbors.

Today, I decided for the first time in a years time now, to go downstairs to our laundry room that exist in our house to do some laundry.  We have been blessed with having a washer/dryer combo in our house, but for some reason I chose to use the landlords laundry facility.

Fokusskolans valentine's wall.

To my surprise, there was an opening first thing this morning although I knew I have my 'booking pin' in the first day/last laundry pass, of each month as a safeguard.  I got the laundry started and it was happily washing and drying itself while I got wrapped up in Indexing history work from the US 1800s.  Saving the records from the past.

This is what my son Anïas and I now love to do together.

 

I looked at the time and realized that I had gone past my allotted laundry time with 5 minutes and hurried down into the laundry room.  Outside of the door stood a beautiful, very colorful young woman in classic Muslim attire.  Next to her on the floor stood her detergents and a neatly sheet-wrapped bundle of clothes to wash. I came up next to her and smiled as I apologized for being tardy.  I gave an honest account for what I had been doing and picked up her detergents as I followed her inside.  She stopped for a moment and placed her things on the floor and smiled.  In a very broken Swedish she told me 'all is well' -- Ai-Shallah.

 We were both very cheerful that all is well and went on with our laundry, but as it turns out there was a third person in this drama.  Sitting far to the wall was another young Swedish woman.  She was noticeable frustrated at my laundry, and halted my company to stop with her laundry.

 The women sort out who is supposed to do the wash.  This Swedish woman spoke with a loud and stressed voice so the other woman had a hard time to follow her directions and understand what was going on.  This made this woman more frustrated and she spoke more feverishly and with arms and fingers articulating what was going on while the other woman shrunk down and backed off.

I calmly walked up behind the two, staring at the board.  Explaining that all is well, as I took out my ‘booking pin’ that had so selfishly been ‘pinned’ in a spot all these months but never used.

This other woman could take the spot over and wash her family’s clothes today as she had planned.  She did not know about the leap year, thus her time was yesterday.  She labored intensively in forming questions related to the booking board and laundry room.  I patiently waited for her to finish all she wanted to say and answered in a way which she would feel comfortable.
 As we were leaving, once again smiling, we both offered up our apologies to this other flustered woman.  We helped each other out of the laundry room and before we parted ways, she tugged me gently at the sleeve of my arm.
-Thank you, she said and tipped her head a bit.  Do you live here?
-I smiled back and nodded, pointing up at the ceiling with my finger. -On the first floor.

And there we were.  She is waiting for the elevator, me walking up the stairs.  All was well.

All the irritations in the world are unable to withstand acts of genuine friendliness and kind patience.  It undoubtedly spreads a feeling of cheer and awakes patience in those who partake of it.  All people around us are of worth. All people we meet are our neighbors.

What mouse bit the cake?

Xavier, did you touch the cake?

-No

-Are you sure?      A long pause

-Yes

-So you didn't steal any chocolate cake?

-No

-Xavier, go look at your face in the bathroom please.

Xavier runs into the bathroom and comes back after moment.

-I didn't do it.

-Now you sound like someone we read about. Who is it that talks like that?

Xavier gets the book 'No David'.

-Sorry mom.

I laugh.  -It's okay honey.  Just don't do it again, ask first.