decisions are not one of our forte's

So, I thought I would update people with our plans while I am sitting  here waiting for my pumpkin cookies to bake. I sure hope they turn out because I am tired of everything I bake not turning out. Plus they are for the Alpha group at church, so they better... 

Anyways, we are really bad at making life decisions - which is no news to anyone I am sure. 

We really were debating on staying here, because even though it would be hard financially, this is where we feel at home. We love the seasons, we love the people, we love the area. We know how to make things work on a tight budget because that is the way we have been living for 7 years, so nothing would change and we would go on. Were happy now, so why not? 

Magnus got offered the job in Kelowna, but to our surprise they gave him the accepting package and the wage was a lot lower then what we had thought. We had thought that they would over us at least $35000. a year, but we were thinking it would be more like $38000. But to our surprise they offered him $33000. a year. I was furious and said some choice words to them in my head and told Magnus no way!  I will not go to work full time and put Mika in day care just so we could live here. I always said that I would never put finances before happiness, but sometimes you have to make a decision that is best for family, and so right now it seems like Oregon is our best bet. Of course this could change in the next day or hour, but I feel a peace about this and so we shall see.  Magnus will go and talk to them, but I really doubt they will budge.  So that is my notes for today, but we will keep you posted as progress continues. 

Oh where, Oh where should our little home be?

well, so far we are still undecided, but we are leaning toward Oregon.  It is so hard for us because I feel like we are Canadians. That is weird to say, but it is true. We met here, we live here, we have a Canadian baby.  I honestly do not feel American anymore and I do not feel Norwegian, so I feel like I have identified myself as Canadian.  The thought of leaving here scares me. I love the snow, I love the lake, I love the people. But I love family more and when it comes down to it that is what matters. Our little family and my family in Oregon. I think for us as a family Oregon would give us better family time. Although there is nothing to do in my small coastal town, except go and watch the traffic light change ( a joke in our town ), there is the Ocean and it is beautiful. I do feel like it is a stepping stone going to Oregon and I know that it will not be our permeant place - I really think God has something else for us in the future. Being close to my family is very important right now since my dad is no longer around I feel like we should support my mom and be there for her. 

The only thing I do worry about is that the firm ( in North Bend ) can not guarantee Magnus a job, so it will be by faith that we go down there.  

So for now I am going to take every day as a blessing and enjoy our house on the lake ( which we will probably never get a chance like this again ) and soak in God's amazing blessings. 

A New house, but same scenery

So we moved into our other lake house, which is the same one that we 

have been staying in the past few years. It is so nice and I feel like I am in  a super nice house, when really it is still an older house with wall paper you want to tare off or do something with..... anything. Not to speak of the beautiful wooden bars that are decor from the 70's yuk.. and light fixtures you think of bowling every time you look at them. Compared to the house we were in it is stunning. One thing that has changed is that there are very nice beds in the bedrooms now, which is so nice for when we have guest and they don't have to sleep on the floor. I am still in awe of this place and the beautiful view of the lake. Every morning I wake up and look out and my emotions rise, because we are so blessed to be here and the beauty is stunning - absolutely stunning.  

I am tired of moving though and as much as we like adventure and change, it is starting to get annoying and I do look forward to a time when we can actually put things away and buy a filing cabinet (something I have been wanting for a long time). I went to the new Walmart yesterday, and I was really wanting to buy things, simple things like towels and table cloths, but I can't because we move too much and so therefore we never buy anything that is not really needed.  I really do want to be able to buy decor or comfort things and call a place a home for us. Mika's dresser is a suit case, our dressers are duffel bags. I think after seven years of marriage I am ready to have a home, which might be sooner then I think. Magnus has had three interviews this week and one has called him back for a second interview, and I am sure the others will too. He is in one right now as I write this and he will probably have to make a decision in 48 hours if he wants the job.  So what I am saying is that we will probably know what our future will look like in the next week. So much to pray about and think about. Oregon? Kelowna? or elsewhere?  We the situation in the States (economically) I am scared about moving there, but what happens in the States does affect Canada too. 

I am more and more inclined to move to Oregon simply because there is family and I will have more freedom with somethings with my mom able to watch Mika. I can work, I can have a gym membership etc.. simple things that I can not do now when Magnus is at school from 7:30am until 9:30pm and then stays up until 12:00am to study.  My freedom is very limited and I don't really like that. I want to be able to go out to things in the evenings or even work a bit more. I also think that in Oregon we will have more family time (the three of us) then we would here. It is a lot more slack in Oregon and when it comes down to it I don't care about money I care about family. Our time on this earth is way too short to worry about finances. I know magnus can make more money here down the road, but I would rather have him in the evenings and weekends then make a couple more bucks. 

So we will see what the outcome is, and we will keep you posted.....

First I want to say CONGRATULATIONS to my cousin Niki and her little boy Caleb, who after a stressful pregnancy with lots of complications had a C-section delivery at 36 weeks. So far so good even though little Caleb is in ICU it is looking good. I feel so blessed to have Mika when I think of my cousin and others who have had stressful pregnancy's and births. I was talking to a friend of mine from church who had a baby at only 30weeks and he didn't make it. I had no idea about this and when she told me her story I started to cry because I couldn't imagine that. I am really blessed to be able to have kids and so far healthy ones. I will never complain about pregnancy again I decided.  Anyways ......  things are going pretty good. Magnus is so busy with school these days and I so feel for him. He is stressed and worn out - this is his hardest semester so far and it is hard for him. He really misses Mika and I, and that is hard on him. The last couple weeks I haven't seen much of him. He leaves in the morning and doesn't get home until 9:00pm almost every night during the week and then on Friday and Saturday  I work, so are time together is minimal. I am getting use to it and feel like a single mom most of the time, but it is ok. I try to just support him and not say anything because it is harder on  him then it is for me. I do get lonely in the evenings, but so far it hasn't been too bad. I am glad this is his last year at school, but I know that realistically the next few years are going to be just as bad since he will be working and doing schooling... I just try and keep my head up and not to think about it too much. I am so in love with Mika and he keeps me going. He is at such a cute stage right now and I am loving every moment of it. He is blabbling all the time and so cute. I just love all of his sounds and actions. We are still unsure about the future and that is not a surprise knowing us and how we make decisions. Magnus has two interviews this week with firms here, so we will see how that goes. Keep us in your prayers if you think of it, we have such a big decision to make and it isn't easy. 

Here is Mika in his dresser... (we do not have a dresser so we use a suitcase, which is probably a good picture of his life right now and might be for a while) He loves to take all his clothes out a few times a day and then puts them back in. 

We had amazing weather last week. We had temperatures in the high 20's and we actually went swimming the 1st of October - crazy but it is true! Where we live ( housesit) is right in the back ground in the middle of all those houses on the peninsula.

Mika and I spent a lot of time outside and just enjoying the nice weather knowing that soon the snow will come.  yuk....

Mika just LOVES his cars and trucks. I was amazed and so where a lot of other people that I talked to. At 12 months he is in love with cars and he plays with them and makes the sounds and everything. I have no idea how he knows, because we never taught him. I guess it is just built into boys. He is just like his dad was, who knew the name and model of every car at age 3, he probably knew more then a car sells man, that is how much he knew his stuff.  I am pretty sure Mika will be following his foot steps in that department.