The neighborhood is alive!

Elin, Emily, and Ella in the Waltz street stroller brigade, this keeps them busy for hours. We walk down the street together to visit the horses.

Ella and Elin(a friend from church) holding hands

These girls love to jump on the trampoline

It has been too long...

Hello everyone. So it turns out that I am not a great blog owner. I just can't seem to find the time. It is fun to look at everyone's blogs, so I thought I would just do a quick update. Our little family just got back from a short trip to Norway. It was wonderful to get away from everyday life and visit good friends. We visited the Kiges on the southern tip of Norway, and the Rydlands in Stavanger:Maggie and Joe, Elisabeth and Jonas, and Victoria(the little girl that Ella is kissing in the picture)


Maybe you are curious what has happened since Christmas....
-I am not studying Spanish anymore, the class went too fast
-the busy season at Yamaha has begun and Henrik is stressed
-we are trying to wallpaper, but I just can't seem to pick the right beige
-I have started studying World Religions while I finish up my English class
-We had a great time in the Canary Islands for a couple of weeks
-Ella loves to sing, her favorite song to sing in English is BAA Baa Black Sheep, fav. in Swedish, Blinka Lilla Stjärna där (Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)

Ella loves to travel, planes, trains, buses, bikes. She says,"Yippee! Fun!", sometimes she gets mad and then it can look like this...


This is my great-great-grandparent's house in Norway. The new owner has put an addition on it since any of my relatives lived there. The house to the left is what Theodore Kristiansen, his Swedish wife Maria Scherqvist, and two children (Thelma Ingeborg, my grandmother and her brother Theodor Norman) lived in. My brother Kristian is named after our great, great grandfather, his full name was Krist Kristian Kristiansen, quite a mouth full. His son, Theodor's wife was Marie Lovisa Scherqvist who was born in 1882 near Linköping Sweden. I feel kind of sorry for Marie because her mother died when she was one-year-old, and her father left her with a foster family and headed for America with his other four children. Luckily she was taken in by a rich family, The Walins, in Motala Sweden. She ended up traveling to America with her foster father in 1893, when she was 11-years-old. She then met up with her siblings and her real father, Adolf Scherqvist. The Walins wanted to adopt Maria, but her father had missed her so much that he wanted her back. She met my great-grandfather Theodor Kristensen in New Rochelle New York at the Covenant Church. They married, and then decided to move back to Norway when Theodor's father Kristian died and he inherited the farm. Marie was not happy about the move because Norway was a poor country then, before the oil, "Norway's Christmas Present" was found. She was accustomed to the more modern life in America. However, she did visit her foster family in Sweden while she lived in Norway. All I have left from her is some of her genes and a beautiful picture of her when she was about five years old, and her wedding picture.

I often think about my ancestors. A kind lady in Jönköping helped me research my Swedish ancestors all the way back to 1566. In 1804 to 1841 my great, great, great, great grandfather Magnus Scherqvist was the first parish clerk and organist of a beautiful church outside of Linköping. His son, Adolf Scherqvist took over his job after he died, though he wasn't a very good organist; he was fired from his job because he loved alcohol. Unfortunately, I don't have any living relatives left in Norway or Sweden, they all died or left for America. However, my great-grandparent's neighbor's son lives down the path from my great-grandfather's house, and his family now owns the entire peninsula. Their names are Ole and Jorunn Kige, they have three children Marianne, Linda, and Harald Jarl, and many grandchildren. They open their "homes" to us like we are family and have been on many trips to visit us in USA and Sweden. They are a connection to my past here on this side of the Atlantic, and I love them. Here is a picture of them

This is their grandchild Ivan(Harld Jarl and Katja's son) and me

Yum! Norwegian chocolate!

Elisabeth(expecting any day now), Victoria, and Jonas Rydland

Ella and Victoria, Ella is a good kisser!

Joe and Maggie Rydland Vaernesbranden, they got married this last summer. One could not ask for better friends. I know Maggie from when their family lived in Wheaton 1991-92, I believe. God's plan and money(for traveling purposes) has made our friendship possible. Thanks for a great weekend Maggie and Joe!

Well, that is enough for now. Hopefully I can figure out how to post videos on here. That would be fun. Much love to you all. My friends in Chicago, can't wait to see you in June. Lisa Miller (Hervey) is expecting! Congratulations!