Intuition

Something different about me is that I am a very intuitive person. I can feel and sense things that usually end up being true. Mostly, this applies to people, but sometimes to situations too. It is hard to explain or believe, but I have always been this way and my intuitions are usually spot on.

Chris and I celebrated last Christmas in Sweden with his family. My heart began softening toward Sweden during this trip. For some reason while we were there I just knew this would be a permanent place for us at some point soon. I can't explain it exactly, but there was just something different that I felt during this trip specifically...cue my intuition. I've visited Sweden previously, but never felt the same way as I did this time.  I wasn't sure of any of the details, but there was definitely the feeling.

This trip for Christmas was actually one of my hardest trips to Sweden. I felt very homesick and was dealing with some major anxiety. I don't discuss my anxiety much, but I even had my worst panic attack yet on our last night of this trip. I fully believe I was being prepared in my heart and life for what was to come even though I had no idea at the time. This feeling I had during our Christmas trip was no exception. I fully believe what I went through during our trip is what has made my transition here easier. There have still been a few WHAT ARE WE DOING moments during the whole process. However, I have been able to be the strong support that my husband needed. Chris tells me that I have become very wise the past few months and I am so glad that I have been mentally prepared to venture into this opportunity.

Cheers to good intuition! 

Swedish Adventures

My husband, Chris, is Swedish and was born and raised in Sweden. Since we began dating he's always talked about moving back to Sweden one day. I was part of the reason for him staying in the United States, but he had a longing in his heart to return to Sweden at some point. One aspect of marrying him was accepting this and knowing one day, somehow, we would live in Sweden.

In April, Chris was contacted out of the blue by someone who works intricately with IKEA. This man is a colleague of Chris' father (my father-in-love has worked for IKEA for 30 years) and knew Chris ran a hotel. IKEA has a hotel located in their world headquarters in Sweden and was looking for a new Managing Director. Both Chris and I were surprised by this opportunity and intrigued. We had not considered Sweden at this point in our lives for a variety of reasons, but mostly given the insane past few months we had been through. However, I encouraged Chris to explore the opportunity and the next thing you know we packed up our life, sold our town home, and moved to Sweden.

This all transpired over the next few months after the initial contact in April.We spent lots of time discussing our future, the job position, what it would mean to be in Sweden, etc. IKEA sent us to Sweden for a "look and see" trip the first week of July. Chris was able to meet colleagues, hear more about the job, and we were able to explore areas where we would potentially live. I spent a lot of time with my mother-in-love asking her over and over if she thought I would survive in Sweden. She graciously answered all of my questions and provided a ton of support having lived all over the world as an expat wife herself. Together, Chris (and I) accepted the Managing Director position and quickly started planning our move across the world.

We arrived to Sweden the first of September and our adventure began.

Cheers to Adventures in Sweden! 

Begin Again

Hello!
I am brushing off the dust on this old thing and not even sure where to begin. Life has a funny way of throwing the unexpected at you. I first created this blog to document married life as a newlywed. Our first year was certainly a big one followed by 2015 and then now we are here heading toward the end of 2016. My mind is completely blown away at what life has handed us since first saying "I do." This year has been the most shocking of my life with the events that have transpired before our eyes. Chris and I find ourselves staring in disbelief at everything that has occurred and can't believe this is our life. Both with the good and the bad.

I am a firm believer in ignorance is bliss and I am sure glad that we don't know what our futures hold.  If someone had told me what the past two years of my life would be like I wouldn't have believed them nor would I have wanted to face what was ahead. But here I am living life and enjoying every second because life is messy and precious all at the same time. One of my favorite inspirational women, Glennon Doyle Melton, refers to life using the term "brutiful" to combine brutal and beautiful and I wholeheartedly agree.

While there have been quite a few devastatingly heartbreaking moments these past two years there have also been some incredible opportunities including the huge journey we are on now living life in Sweden. This brings me to shaking off the cobwebs and seeing how this goes again.

Cheers to unknown futures! 

A year later...

I first began my blog over a year ago to document my life especially being a newlywed. Half way through I stopped blogging mostly due to time and not making blogging a priority. 

Well a year later we have definitely had quite the first year as a married couple. Don't get me wrong it has been a great year, but there have been some major life happenings. 

This past year I started a new job which has come with its own ups and downs. It's been an adjustment since it's a new environment and I'm now working full time. Job changes are hard especially for someone who does not like change. It took me a long time to adjust and in many ways I still am. 

My dad has had a variety of issues with his foot, which ended in amputation as was detailed in my last post. This has been huge for me personally and my family. It's caused Chris and I to be more flexible toward my family both physically and emotionally. In a new marriage it's common to figure out family dynamics, but a serious issue like this takes it to a whole new level. I'm fairly independent of my family, but I also have wanted to be available to them and as helpful as much as I can be. More on this topic later. 

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law had a baby last April. Of course, this is a happy and exciting change to our family. But nonetheless it's still a change. It's been an easy adjustment because he's so darn adorable and we all love to spend time with him, but it's still a new element to add a baby to the family. Our get togethers have changed a bit, but we love him so much and love watching him grow! 

Regardless, Chris and my's relationship has been stronger than ever. He's been a huge source of comfort and support to me. We've been together for a long time, so adding changes wasn't a big deal for us but it did make for an interesting year. Our first year of marriage was great relationship wise and us being a strong unit made everything happening around us bearable. I couldn't ask for a better life partner to take on new challenges! 

Cheers to the first year! 

Amputation

I hung up the phone tonight after speaking with my dad and burst into tears. This has happened many times over the past five months, but this time it was for a good reason. My dad sounded genuinely happy and an even better version of himself than I can remember. I cried tears of joy which was a nice change considering everything my family had been through. 

My dad fractured his ankle in July. My parents had a leak at their house and my dad was home with the plumber. He went down to the sidewalk in front of his house to turn off the water and slipped and fell. My mom came home from work to take him to urgent care where they gave him a walking boot and told him it should heal in a few weeks. 

A few weeks later his ankle was worst. Turns out the boot didn't help and he ended up breaking his ankle as all the bones in his foot had shifted. His bone literally looked like it was going to pop out of his skin. He had a series of various tests before surgery was planned to replace the bones. The bones shifting ruined an artery that would also need to be fixed. 

His first surgery was scheduled for September 22nd. After a week in the hospital he came home for further recovery. About two weeks later his surgeon had consulted his fellow colleagues and decided to redo the surgery a different way. He wanted to use an erector set with rods that would run outside of his foot to hold the bones in place to properly heal.

Three weeks after the first surgery, on October 13th, he underwent another surgery to have his bones replaced again and the erector set put in place. He came home from the hospital a few days later and we all waited for healing. We had to replace the bandages around his wounds and the rods twice a day. I was the one usually doing this and every day his wounds looked worst. He had two huge open wounds that were not closing up in addition to rods sticking out of his leg. It was scary and we all wondered what the healing process would entail. 

He was not healing which is partly due to his surgeries, but mostly due to being a type two diabetic. We all knew the outcome wasn't great, but we all supported one another and did our best to stay positive. I attended one follow up appointment where his surgeon mentioned amputating his foot and I completely lost it when I got home to Chris. I never considered the possibility of my dad having his foot amputated and did not take this idea well. My family shrugged off the notion and prayed for healing. 

After a series of different doctors appointments, more pain, and less healing my dad brought up amputating his foot to our family. We all cried and discussed the various options. The decision would ultimately be my dads, but he wanted all of our input and sought out council from a variety of people. 

Two weeks after the erector surgery, my dad scheduled an appointment to discuss amputation with his surgeon. Two days after that appointment he had an amputation surgery date of October 29th. Everything went well and my dad spent four days in the hospital and then was moved to the rehabilitation unit of the hospital. He was there for a long and emotionally and physically draining 12 days before being released for home. 

Being home was a huge adjustment for him as suddenly his whole life was different. We all agreed this was the best decision especially considering where he is now compared to the beginning. There were countless stories we heard which I attributed to be affirmations from God reassuring us all that this was the best decision. 

My entire family had days of tears and frustrations, days of humor, days of joy and everything in between. We all supported one another and seemed to balance the emotions. When one of us was weak the others were strong. None of us would have gotten through this without support of one another and peace and comfort from God. 

My dad spent time healing and adjusting at home since the first surgery. He went back to work the second week of January and is getting used to being back at work and doing his normal activities. He is in the process of getting a prosthetic leg, but for now my parents have made many adjustments to their home and he gets around in a wheelchair. 

The tears of joy flooded down my face tonight to finally hear my dad sound happy. My dad is not one to show emotion, so seeing him sad, frustrated, disappointed, and every other emotion possible given these circumstances was rough. Hearing him on the phone talking about work, board meetings, and getting used to his old routines completely broke me in the best way. Instead of crying over a tough situation I was now crying for everything we had been through. 

He's come so far and gone through a huge life changing event and I'm so proud of the way he's handled everything. It wasn't an easy decision or path to take, but he's done well and hasn't ever given up. He's only getting better and I am so thankful for where we all are today. 

Cheers to Dad! 

There's no place like home

The Husband and I just returned home after a two week vacation in Europe. We were mostly in Sweden spending time with family and relaxing. But we also went to Paris for three days. I love vacation! Who doesn't? It is always nice to be away from work, normal routines, have-to-dos, etc. and just relax and not think of anything.

However, I am a total homebody. I do not know when this began for me because I was never like this before. Sure, I enjoyed being home, but I was always the kid spending the night at her friend's house, enjoyed going new places, and I could not wait to go away to college. Heck, I even took off to Texas for school on a whim!

At some point in the past few years I became a homebody. I prefer to be at home most days. I do venture out and enjoy seeing and experiencing something new, but I always look forward to coming back home. Maybe it has something to do with security? Maybe it's because I love my house with my husband and furchild? I truly do not know, but in one sense I think it is okay. There is comfort in my home and I like spending my time here decorating, organizing, cleaning, cooking, reading, watching TV, and just sitting. They say "home is where the heart is" and maybe after all it is true.

So, cheers to your home! 

Life Happens!

As I have previously mentioned...I have a new job! I have been job searching since April and accepted a new job at the end of June. I am still in education, but working as an Executive Assistant at a private school.  This position is full-time, which is a change for me. I love it, but my life has taken some adjusting.

 

Blogging takes a lot of time and now having a full-time position I have not figured out how to work, enjoy life, and blog at the same time. I seriously am in awe of the amazing bloggers who work full-time and run a successful blog!

 

There have been good changes in my life lately, but it definitely takes time to get used to a new schedule and routine. As someone who does not like change, I think I’ve embraced everything fairly well.  I enjoy being busy, but when the weekends come around I am desperate for some alone time and relaxation. 

 

My family has been enjoying Friday nights at a local lagoon paddle boarding and watching Harvie run and play.  I absolutely love summer time and this summer we have been more active and taking advantage of all the possibilities around us. Right now we are preparing for a trip to Europe, which we are very excited about! There will be more on this later so stay tuned.

 

Cheers to summertime!