Here a sleep. There a sleep. Everywhere a sleep sleep.

When Amalia was little, on a couple occasions, she would get so upset that she'd run into the bathroom and lock the door. Mommy and daddy, in a stressful state, would worry about her doing something that might lead to injury. Thankfully that never happened. Though it only happened a couple of time we realized that we could lie down on the floor just outside the bathroom and use the reflection of the floor to see into the bathroom where, to our surprise, we saw a cute little girl having fallen asleep in the shower area. She did this until she woke up - now over her stress - and came out as if nothing had happened. Since then the girls have fallen asleep in all sorts of places: On airplane floors, on hospital floors (after several-hour tantrums), on boats, on table tops, in book cabinets, in supermarket trolleys, on people's couches, in tents, and even a few feet from hundred meter cliffs. 

Some of those times they are worth taking pictures of (as long as we have the presence of mind to do so) and so the above pictures are from the times we've done just that.  A little here, a little there, sleep is essential, no?  This post is for the years of spontaneous naps we've gone through, and the for the many yet to come. :-)

Field Days... Thrill Days!

 

 

We're all for supporting a sporting lifestyle in our family. As the girls get a bit older, and more confident, and more capable, we are happy to see them blossom into hard-working participants. They are too young right now for full-on competitive sports (which, for Irini, begin more formally next year) but that doesn't mean that competition can't be celebrated!  At our school there are several opportunities for such things, either internally to the school or through inter-scholastic opportunities. Whatever the case the girls are working hard and having lots of fun. Perhaps it's a sprint over the hurdles (Irini's favorite event, it turns out!), an attempt at the long jump or a relay around the track, the end result was the same... big smiles and red faces!  

One one such event we even had a special guest with us, as Smilla was visiting for the weekend as a stop over between her time in Uganda recently and her return to chilly Sweden. Though perhaps a bit surreal for a Scandinavian young adult, she none-the-less humored us all by coming to family events and the like. We loved having her around and, though not entirely touristy, she seemed happy to "go with the flow" which she seems so good at. 

So whether it's pure competition, the social dynamic of being with friends or visiting family, it's nothing but smiles on this end of the world these days!

Finding Beauty in the Moment.

Sometimes, as a parent, you find yourself in moments when you look at your children and realize that they are growing - faster than you'd want them to. You look at their smiles, your hear their giggles, or perhaps you listen to their wisdom, their caring, a beautiful moment, something that triggers that sense of overwhelming pride in them. There are, of course, other moments far from that description too, but that is perhaps saved for another post. This one is dedicated to the moments of beauty - in person and in spirit - that our girls give us as gifts nearly every day. It's those moments that, collectively, grow a deep, satisfying love of who they are becoming. Just the way any parent would want it. 

Love. Simply. Beautiful.

Irini Turns 11 with a Splash!

The clocks ticks on. Life fills with the many moments that make it what it is... a celebration of experiences and love. Then, just like so many ticks before it, the clock ticked 5,781,600 minutes and Irini - our beautiful, smart, caring and simply awesome - little girl reached her eleventh birthday.  It's hard not to look at her and wonder where the time went. It's hard to not look at her and realize that all you'd hoped for as a parent is steadily coming true. She is dedicated, honest, giving, a good friend and a great member of our family. And, as she gets older we smile at the wonderful person she is becoming, all the while frowning that time doesn't slow. Not for us, or anyone. The best a parent can do is share the journey, support when and how one can, and watch her grow into something simply amazing!  

As she grows, though, and as we all try to keep up with the changes that edge her closer to adulthood, the dynamics of what a party looks like shift as well. On this day she chose to share some time with a few friends at a local water park, and to enjoy her time with friends. In place of goodie bags her friends were given the choice of supporting an animal-based charity (three of which had been pre-determined by Irini). And so it was that, along with the fun and games and splashing there was also conversation about conservation. 

Irini, you're steadily heading into your teen years. We know that this will bring some changes to your life, but we're happy as can be to have you in our lives!  Love to you, on this day and beyond!  

Out in the Desert.

We don't figure we've made the best use of the fact that we live in a desert environment. Every time we either drive through or across it we find ourselves marveling at just how beautiful it is, especially at dawn or sunset. And yet we've only been "in it" on two occasions. After two and a half years that's a bad track record really. 

This outing was with our friends Jasmin and Kevin and their kids Annika and Will. They had worked out an evening in the desert on New Year's Eve with two other families that we didn't know (yet). Even as we drove, however, it was all "woooow" and "amaaazing". After the moved beyond the ever-expanding city, out beyond the cycling tracks, there was a world of splendor waiting for us. Just waiting. 

Once we got out of the cars the girls were off (along with the other kids too) and running up and down the dunes. A bit of shifting of chairs, coolers, picnic mats, etc., was all that got in the way of settling down and enjoying the evening. We chose a spot surrounded by dunes on pretty all sides. It was a nice spot allowing for the fire to become the central point of the camp. 

The kids came and went freely and Amalia joined a group of another four (all older by at leave five years) children/young adults to roam around the camp and go explore the area. They played "spy" as they ran from one dune to another. Irini played for a while but then settled down in the camp to chat with a girl she just met. Both were happy as can be with the outdoors. 

Of course, light in the desert is quite impressive during sunset and so we took advantage of the juxtaposition of dark and light to take some profile pictures of the girls. As the darkness arrived the photo focus shifted to the light of the fire on the face our our growing girls. Beauty all around, both inside and out. What a great day to end the year with!  Wonderful. Wonderfilled!