Weeks 71, 72, & 73 Kim's visit and back to normal

Catching up on three weeks of activity is difficult!  It is hard to believe we only have 5 more weeks here!!  We have our airplane tickets, now we just need our replacements to get their visas.  Unfortunately, the people who were supposed to arrive in June still don't have their visas, so things don't look promising...but we believe in miracles and would be happy to see one in time for us to come home!

Our district:  Sisters Larson, Westerlind, Robison and Hall;  Elders Beverage, Harden, Gordon, and Francis

We are beginning to experience our "lasts" and this picture represents our last district meeting.  Even though missionaries meet weekly as a district, they are Skype-ing all but one of their meetings every 6 weeks.  We knew this was probably our last opportunity to be able to make a tasty summer luncheon when we were all together.  Besides,  two of them are going home later this month.  We will miss them!

The highlight of the past three weeks, though, was the arrival and visit of Kim, Chris and Claira!  We are so grateful that all of our children have been able to make the trip across the Atlantic to see us.  Being able to share our lovely Sweden with them has been delightful, but being WITH them has been heart-healing and joyous!  Having Claira here was a special treat.  We were a bit apprehensive before they came, wondering how a 4-year old would keep the pace.  However, she brought a spirit of sweetness and innocence that only a child possesses, which helped us see what was really important.  Additionally for me, she awakened my grandmother-heart, rewarding me with tender feelings that had been suppressed around all these young adults.  As much as I love all these missionaries, there is something incomparable about holding my granddaughter's hand.

This posed arrival picture was actually after their return from Norway.  My picture of their actual arrival didn't work out,  so we recreated an another "arrival" shot.

Because they travelled through Iceland, with a 19 hour layover, they were pretty well rested and ready to launch into tourist mode.  Most of  what we did together were activities and places we have done with our other children.  After going to Uppsala and Västerås (where the Viking stone ship and tumulus are), we went to Gripsholm Castle. We hadn't been there since Trevor came in November, so it almost seemed like a different place with floral gardens and green grass!

A family pic!

Of course, we had to go to Drottningholm Palace, where a real king and queen live. 

Claira was more enamored with the ducks in the water in front of the castle than she was with anything inside of it.  However, she was really good during the tour, so Chris rewarded her with a crown. 

Our little princess inside the palace!

We took a drive along the coast near Nynashamn, one of my favorite places.  Kim was rather relieved that the bike ride Chris wanted to do was eliminated because it was too late, too cold, and rain was threatening,

Kim standing on the coast of the Baltic.  

On Tuesday, I took Claira to the Junibacken, a children's museum, while Kim and Chris toured the Vasa.  However, she had a little meltdown, so both parents ended up at the museum, too.  After a couple of hours, watching Claira play, they decided to go on to Gamla Stan.  Meanwhile, John had been wandering around Stockholm entertaining himself, saving an addition admission to the museum.  When I finally emerged from the Junibacken with Claira at nearly 6 pm, I heard shouts, cheers and popping noises as blue and yellow smoke bombs went off.  Being the American that I am, it took me a few minutes to recall that the World Cup was in progress.  Sweden had just scored their winning and only goal in the game against Switzerland!  Suddenly I realized why John had been so content to be outside, undisturbed, all afternoon!

Smoke bombs celebrating the Swedish goal.  A viewing area for the soccer game had been set up between the Nordiska Museum and the Vasa Museum, featuring a big screen displaying the game.  Adjacent to that area was a restaurant with another big screen where another crowd had gathered. (below)

Bicycles line the street and spectators line the bridge to watch the match from the restaurant's big screen.

Taken from the other side of the bridge, with the Nordiska Museum in the background, the restaurant and the big screen in the center, with hordes of people watching the World Cup match.

A quiet moment on the bus with Grandpa.

Kim, Chris, and Claira left July 4th for an adventure in Norway.  They had a wonderful time in Bergen.  (We can't wait to go when we finish our mission, before we come home!) While they were gone, we caught up on our office responsibilities.

We sort of forgot that it was the 4th of July.  Tired, from a busy day sight-seeing, going to the airport, then tackling some of our office work, I was getting ready for bed at 9:45 when someone knocked on our door.  "Would you like to come out and celebrate the 4th with us?  We grilled hotdogs!"  How could we say, "No"?

Well, actually, I did say "no" to a hotdog, because I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep if I ate one at that hour.  However, a slice of watermelon was welcome on that warm evening.  John followed up his hotdog with a handful of Tums, so he was ok, too 😃.  Elder Lee and Elder Olson were so happy to have someone to celebrate with!   (Oh, and by the way, it was about 10 PM when I took this picture!)

Kim and Chris returned from Norway on Sunday.  We picked them up and headed to Sigtuna for a lunch in the park, a quick tour of the town, and a disappointing view of the ruins, now completely shrouded in scaffolding.

She's a daddy's girl!

After dinner that night, we celebrated their visit with a princess cake.  Our little  princess, sans crown (which was already packed), was so excited about this treat!

We have been so pleased to have lovely weather this summer, but after Kim left, I really started to notice how the lack of rain is taking its toll.  All the plants are in distress mode.  It is sad. I can almost feel their suffering.  Two big pines in our back yard have dropped hundreds of pinecones. The leaves of the two birch trees (see pic) flanking the pine in our side yard are turning yellow and falling to the ground already.  The grass is brown everywhere--not just in our yard.  The hedges have lost their luster and droop with grayish green leaves, while even the weeds are dying.  It seems the only things that are flourishing are the potted flowers.

There's quite a contrast between the lush green of last summer and the fading green of this summer!  (By the way,  that is our car, for anyone interested. 😉)

Just as I have not really noticed the plants' suffering, until the signs of dire distress is upon them, we sometimes do not notice the small things that eat away at our faith and testimony.  In the scriptures we are told that "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass."  We usually refer to that in a positive sense, recognizing that the repetition of doing many small, good things brings strength, builds faith, and constructs a firm foundation, without us even realizing the progress we make.  However, these plants also reminded me that small and simple acts of neglect, selfishness, and sin can undermine our strength, faith and foundation.   We can lose our luster for life, our vibrancy of testimony, our spiritual strength.  Elder Ballard said, "We must ever be aware of the power that the small and simple things can have in building spirituality.  At the same time, we must be aware that Satan will use small and simple things to lead us into despair and misery."  At district meeting last week, Sister Larson made a profound comment about the use of the word "remember" in the scriptures. She said that we are admonished to remember because "faith can diminish in a day."  Oh, my dear family and friends, let us not allow small and simple things to creep into our lives that diminish our faith; rather, let us build our faith with small and simple things that nourish and strengthen us!