Love at first sight

Lydia is learning the joy of licking the last bits of cake dough (or whatever is on the menu) off the mixer. 

Look at her, she is clearly in love. 

Here she is, posing with her new beloved, the mixer hook. 

 A little bit too much PDA, don't you think??

A few outings...

We've done a lot this summer, including some great trips out!

 Lydia LOVED the carousel at the Gothenburg Culture Festival.  I think this boy who was older than her (yet a total stranger) made her more confident to ride...

 Somehow, Lydia broke down in tears when she tried to ride the carousel again, this time with a little girl who sat next to her.  I had to take her off before the thing even started.....well, there's always next year. 

And then we found a great lake nearby that is really "kid friendly." 

 I thought Markus was napping through our time at the lake, but he is much more awake and wanting to join in the action these days....

 Just a side note....Swedish kids love to be naked at the beach. (totally normal behavior here)
 Would this kind of thing happen in America?

 Daniel jumped off the top of that....oooh the thrill.

 
We also took a ferry out to some sweet islands outside of Gothenburg, and had ourselves a beach grill.
Looks all dreamy, right?  (Well, it was a lot of fun but we were all freezing cold here.)

 And those "one time use" grills you can buy?  Hmmm, it died out after about 15 minutes and we had to beg and plead it to cook our meat and vegetables.  Note to self, next time buy two grills!

sweet kiddos

Look!  These are my sweet kids!

Fridas here!

Guess who's here?!  Daniel's sister Frida, her husband Ramy, and their baby Micaiah have just arrived for a short visit in Sweden before they head onwards to Lebanon.

Imagine, 5 years ago we were two single girls running and skipping our way through Syria. 

Frida told me about this wonderful brother of hers.  I didn't believe her. 

Well, he came to Syria to visit (her) and I found out what a wonderful guy he is. 

Thanks Frida!

And one day when we were on the bus in Syria, we giggled about how we would one day be married and have kiddos to take care of.  (Really, those long bus rides could be real "open your heart" times)

 Husbands!

 Babies?

Now it's true! 

Having kids also significantly reduces my ability to take good/lots of photos, so all I got was a picture of their arrival at the airport. 

(I bribed Lydia with a bag of chips, and then by the time they came, she was tired (overchippified?) and didn't want to be in the picture.  Typical.) 

Look at that proud grandma...Monica hasn't seen Micaiah since he was born!

Gissa vem är har?!  Daniels syster Frida, hennes man Ramy, och deras bebis Micaiah har kommit för en kort besök innan dem kör vidare till Libanon. 

Tänk, för 5 år sen, så var vi två singel tjejer som sprang runt i Syrien. 

Frida berättade till mig om hennes underbar storebror.  Jag trodde inte på henne. 

Men sen kom han till Syrien på besök (till Frida) och då lärde mig vilken underbar man han är. 

Tack Frida!

En dag när vi var på en bus i Syrien, så skrattade vi om hur vi ska en dag var gift och har barn att ta hand om. 

Och nu det är sant. 

En biverkning av att har barn är att man hinner inte att ta många eller bra bilder, så allt jag har är bilder på deras ankomst på flygplatsen. 

Kolla vilken stolt mormor som kramar Micaiah efter så många månader borta!

Omid's dop

Last year we had the joy of seeing our dear brother Omid get baptized...the water was frozen on the other side of the lake, lots of friends and his family were there to watch.  Even if you can't understand Swedish, you can skip to the last minute or two of this film....it is moving.



A few photos from the baptism...(look at our clothes and you can see how cold it was!)

We have had several sweet trips to the ocean recently, 

and this is one of my favorite photos of our time out there. 

 Lydia is "Crabbing." 

 In reality we caught all the crabs and she just looked at them and gave them fresh water all the time. 

 A lot of the beaches we have gone to were out on the Archipelagos of Gothenburg, and we have to take a ferry to get out there...that is half the fun!

 But, driving there, waiting for the ferry, and finding parking is not so fun....

 But it is all worth it when you catch some beauties like this.

 Lydia decided that clothes was way overrated, and did what most Swedish kids do, stripped down to her underwear. (Don't ask me why she doesnt have her swimsuit on instead, i have no idea.)

 Beautiful views all around....

 Sweet friends we happened to bump into while waiting in line for the ferry....

 Daniel and I took turns with each kid.  Wonder if Markus can see anything under that hat!

 
 ...this is how the day looked.  Men talking theology, women relaxing and playing with the kids, a dip in the cold water (but don't stay in too long so you don't freeze), picnic at the beach...what a sweet time.

Sweet Aleppo

In honor and memory of my time living in Aleppo, Syria, I want to share a few favorite photos of the the people and the places there...It breaks my heart to see what is happening now.  Lord, help the people there in a way only you can.   

 View from the citadel...

 One of the beautiful doors there.

 Now some faces from Aleppo and the area...

 

 Anyone want to buy some radishes?

 I just like this old lady's face...

 Oh, the tattoos these older ladies can have....

 A fun game to play in Syria: how many people can cram onto one moped (I think we have seen up to 7 or 8 on one moped).

 One of the typical sweets/nuts shops, I think this was also in the old city of Aleppo.