My wife convinced our son to translate our annual Christmasletter. I think he did a pretty good job. Here is the outcome.
/Matt
After
writing Christmasletters for 15 years, yes, that is the number of years many of
you have had put up with my highly subjective description of the latest year in
the family´s life, I’ve tried to renew the form somewhat. 2011 was the year
when I tried to describe the latest 12 months by using numbers, 2012 on the
other hand I told you about events in chronological order and this year the
Christmasletter is like a top 10 list with the years tops and bottoms.
The longest cold
In the
beginning of September the coughing began and in the middle of November, after
inflammation in both throat and eyes, taking medicin and two and a half weeks
of absence from work, Mathilda was finally healthy again. 10 weeks of constant
cold took its toll on both me and her.
Biggest U-turn
Samuel
started the ninth grade this fall. His attitude towards school and his studies
was completely different than the one he had during the previous year. This was
reflected in his (already good) grades. Two weeks internship on the local
newspaper was also a fun experience.
The year’s building project
The last
summer our new 36 square meters storage building was barely reaching over the
ground. This year it grew substantially. In May we raised the walls and in
August, in time for Mattias’ birthday, the house was nearly intact.
The year’s building project no 2
This spring
we were approved by Örebro’s municipality to become foster family. While waiting
for a possible placing of a child in our home we let the handymen split our
living room upstairs into two and install windows in the roof of one of the
large wardrobes. In a couple of days we had ourselves one and a half more rooms
in the house.
The year’s extension
After nine
years our old sandbox disappeared (mine and Mathildas very first building
project). That meant that our football field could expand. Some fantastic games
have been had on that field during this very summer; me and my wife facing
Samuel, Debbie and Lydia.
The year’s business trips
Travelling with work is only
glamorous for the ones who never have to travel with work. This year Mattias
had the privilege, however, to visit Visby during Almadalsveckan (a week when
the politicians of Sweden gather there to debate etc.), Paris during one of its
most beautiful summer weeks and the EU-parlament in Brussels this autumn. Three
travels that each and everyone gave many exciting impressions and angle of
approaches.
The year’s Brenda Brave
This fall
Lydia jumped over first grade started second grade and she really, really likes
her new class. Every Thursday she and little sister, Rakel has been taken the
bus from school into the city to attend to her dance class.
The year´s best investment
Sending our
kids to bible camps cost a small fortune, but it has been worth every penny.
The year’s best purchase
We have a tradition that goes years back of ending the week with a visit
to the indoor swimming pool (and then eating pizza and candy in front of the
TV, better know in Swedish as Fredagsmys/Friday
cozy). The hefty discount on the local adventure bath year-cards were therefore this year’s best
investment. The year’s family trip
The trip of the year
Our kids have barely left our country’s borders. It was finally time in
May. The four days visit to London was an adventure (not least because of our
car broke down on the way to the airport and we had to take a cab down to it).
Bustling around central London with the whole family all the time was somewhat
of a challenge. All the kids were very pleased though.
Biggest party
The 17:e
August I celebrated my 40th birthday. Close to 100 guests came and
during the day 7000 kronor (1080 US dollars) was raised for the Hannaschool’s
(in Emuriakin, Kenya) libary.
The year’s effort
In a service
couple of weeks ago me and my wife was getting credit for our garden. That was
of course nice but credit goes to the one who deserves it. The garden would not have grown nor would we
be able to solve our weekday logistics without Grandma Ingrid.
The year’s best baker
In our home
there is a struggle between Mathilda and the youngest daughter, Miriam. It
isn’t easy choosing between Mathilda’s homebaked princess-cakes for every
birthday or the daughters increasingly esthetically pleasing pastries.
The year’s newcomer
In May we
ventured into a new contact family mission. Every other weekend a charming
little three year old boy comes named Steven to live with us. Rakel and he are
close to inseparable when he is home with us.
The year’s ego-boost
The year’s
ego-boost was most definitely when me and S.F ran up on the stage of a
children’s-meeting on Torp, a conference, to the tunes of Survivors “Eye of the
Tiger” to tell them about our contest “Position X” while they all, 350 kids, yelled
in excitement.
The year’s blogger
In February
I started blogging. My thoughts about everything from heaven to earth scribbled
down in one and the same place. A “40-years crisis” my family claimed, (Yes we
did! //Samuel), but half a year later the son began blogging as well. He writes
in nearly perfect English and the theme is always movies. A very readable blog
with other words (Yes it is! //Samuel).
The funniest involvement
If I would
describe me and the wife with one word it would probably be “dedicated”.
Sometimes I may wonder how we make it. And the answer is that we don’t. The
thought that you should make everything in time is an illusion. But the things
we do make in time are the things that we prioritize. One of so many highlights
during the year was the church’s Christmas market during first of advent where
every krona goes to helping children in Tanzania and Kenya to get a better
future. The whole family is helping, before, during and after and it is sooo
fun (but relieving when it’s over). This year over 70 000 kronor (10 807
US dollars) were raised for the good cause.
The year’s party 2
Is in fact
next year’s party. The 16th
August kl 14-21 you are welcome to our place to celebrate my beloved wife
who turns 40. Since Mathilda already has everything she could wish for and
more, it would be appreciated if you could give a gift in form of money to the
Hannaschool in Kenya. This time the money will go to books for the school’s
library.
The worst logistic
This fall
both Miriam and Debbie started a new school. The school is called
Grenaldjärdskolan and is a Christian free school in the eastern part of Örebro.
This means that we have five children that should be driven to one preschool
and three schools. Coordinating pickups and liftoffs, not least when all the
four eldest kids have activities to attend to at the culture-school after their
regular school, has been somewhat of a predicament. Everything has been working
fine though. The kids are all very good at getting around to their different
activities themselves.
The year’s shopping…
is
performed during the November break nowadays. The wife and the four oldest
children plus grandma wakes up in the middle of the night to take a bus 200
miles to a large mall, GeKås, in Ullared. Me and Rakel are happy to not go
there, at least I am.
The year’s Do-now-immediately thing
The last
week in May it happened. Mathilda wanted to make a tree-house, or rather a
house around a tree. It is odd that the person who comes up with the idea and
the one who actually makes the vision come true often are two different
persons. Anyhow, the mini house was there when the weekend was over.
The year’s most awful task
When the
cold came back to Sweden in Mars the sewerpipe froze to the ground. To get the
poop and pee water away from the house demanded a bit of manual labor. Thankfully
we do have nice neighbors that can helped with the right tools.
A BLESSED CHRISTMAS (in arrears) and A HAPPY
NEW YEAR wishes THE BOKENBLOM FAMILY
