Saturday, 19 September, 2009, Ivalo, Finland~

Dear Journal~

Terve!  Miita kuuluu?  Kiitos hyvaa!

Sari here.  Sorry for not writing; between doctors' appointments, my yoga sessions, taking care of my family, and just trying to stay ahead of my health issues, I don't have much in the way of free time.  Also, my computer had a nasty virus; had to get that cleaned out, so I was without the Internet for a while. 

Apparently, Nik accidentally got into an account that had a virus in it; as a result, our computer sickened, and we couldn't do nothing, as it crashed.  I was not amused; I am sure my friends must think I died or something!

Well, I am not dead; otherwise, I wouldn't be writing in here!  LOL  I am very much alive!  Not kickin' nearly as high as I used to, but at least I'm still breathing, thanks to the good Lord above!

The weather here has turned sharply colder.  Already we've had some snow flurries; by next week, we may get our first measurable snowfall.  Ahhh, such is life here in the Arctic Circle.  *sighhh*  The animals are scurrying about:  bears getting ready to hibernate, squirrels gathering their nuts, birds winging their way south, etc.  And the auroras are becoming more and more active; we see them just about every night when skies are clear.

I wasn't ready to say goodbye to the warmer weather, let alone, the pretty flowers, the shorts and tees, or the long summer days!  Now it's back to reality, folks; fall is quickly approaching, with winter fast on its heels.

Now, I do like the cold weather; Nik, however, hates it, but he's since learned to tolerate it as best as he can.  Guess his Greek blood is still thin; it takes him a while to warm up whenever he gets chilled.  LOL

The kids are doing well.  Little Ilsa is discovering her voice; she uses it quite regularly.  Her shrill shrieks grate on my ears; I will be glad when she's past this annoying stage!  Birtta starts pre-K in a few weeks; she would have started at the beginning of the school year, but somehow I missed the deadline of registering her; therefore, she couldn't start school until now. 

As for Erick, he is recovered from splitting his chin open.  He was running around; he fell against the corner of the livingroom table and suffered a nasty gash to his chin.  Blood went everywhere; it scared the holy he** out of me!  He now has a nice mark on his chin.  He'll probably carry that scar for the rest of his life.  (He got injured because daddy was chasing him, and he fell.  I was not too happy with Nik!)

We used to have our cat, but no longer.  She ran away; Birtta accidentally left the door open, and she escaped.  I was devastated.  We really loved that cat!  Now we don't have any pets; I miss my kitty!

We may get one from the animal league, but I think we'll wait until Ilsa is older.  I'm sure the new kitty would be nervous with three small children, one an infant, running about!

I have finally got caught up on my e-mails.  Now I am waiting to hear from Louie in America; she wrote to me at least three times.  I wrote her a long, newsy letter; hopefully I will hear from her soon!  I pray she and her family are doing well!

My brother Markku had his appendix taken out last month; he is still recovering.  His doctor told him to take it easy for at least six to nine weeks, or longer.  He did very well during the surgery; I am most pleased.  He was in hospital for only a week.  He is feeling a little better; every day he gets stronger.

I had an argument with Ilsa last week; she's still pretty angry with me.  I don't know what initially sparked the argument; Ilsa kept springing a bad attitude with me, and I decided I'd finally had enough, so I told her how I felt.  Wrong thing to do; she was having a bad day; the last thing she needed was me getting angry.  Now she and I won't talk; everytime I try to call her to explain, she hangs up on me.

I pray we can resolve our differences soon; I hate it when we fight!  (Thank God, we don't fight often, but when we do, they are usually doozies!)

Well, I am going to go now; Ilsa is screeching again, and it's hard to concentrate when all you hear is baby screams pounding your skull!  I will write again soon; until later, this is Sari Annike saying Nakemiin!  God bless!

~Love, your Finnish friend, Sari Annike.  :)