Ivalo, Finland, July 2011~

Dear Journal~

Terve!  Miita kuuluu?  Kiitos hyvaa!

I am starting to show.  Yes, I am pregnant again.  Fourth time.  In a few weeks, I will be finding out what I am having.  Personally, I would like to have another boy; I would like to see little Erick Karlssenn have a brother to call his own: he already has two sisters, one younger and one older.

Nikolas doesn't care, as long as the baby is born healthy.  

I'm with him on that one!  :)

I hope this finds you well.  I'm doing okay, considering the circumstances with my health. Living with multiple sclerosis and fibromyalgia (not to mention, chronic fatigue syndrome) is NOT easy!  THEN I find out I'm allergic to wheat, so I cannot have any pasta, grains, or bread!  Blast!  (I had been getting terrific pains in my stomach and felt sick all the time; Nikolas got concerned, so he took me to my doctor, and this is what the doctor told me after running tests on me.)

GREAT.  More health problems to contend with, as if the ones I have now aren't already bad enough!  +Sigh+

In the fall, Erik will be starting kindergarten.  He will join big sister Birtta Aurora in school.  The only child left at home will be Ilsa Magdalena: she is only one and a half; she's too small to go to school; she's only a baby.

Birtta will be in the first grade.  She has proven to be a very intelligent little girl.  She already knows how to read simple picture books (in English AND in Finnish) and knows her numbers up to 100 and can write out her name by printing it.  She can also identify different animals and make their sounds.  Nik and I are very impressed at how much she knows.

I call Birtta "my mini-me".  While Erik and Ilsa have brownish hair, brown eyes, and dark olive-toned skin, Birtta is as blonde and fair as I am and has inherited my ice-blue eyes.  She is very beautiful.  She is going to be tall like me, too, and thin like me as well.

We have decided that if the new baby is a boy, we are going to name it Isak Johannes.  If "he turns out to be a she", then our daughter will be named Fia Johanna.  What do you think?  Do you think those are good names?

The weather here in Ivalo has been stormy.  We've had a week's worth of heavy rains, which does not sit very well with my fibromyalgia.  I've been sitting in front of the fireplace, wrapped up in a warm, cozy blanket.  I'm ready to see the sunshine or to go outside; this dark and dreary weather makes me sad.  I hope it clears up soon.

Well, I hate to stop, but Erik is crying and so is Ilsa; sounds like they are arguing over the remote control.  +Sigh+  I will be so glad when school starts; it sounds like they are about to kill one another.  Erik is yelling and Ilsa is screaming angrily.  Meanwhile, Birtta is bored: she wants to go outside and make mudpies.  I told her not while it is thundering and lightning outside; I don't want her to get injured!  That would be the LAST thing we would need!!

I will write in here again; until later, this is Sari saying Nakemiin!  God bless you allways and keep those prayers coming!

~Love, your friend in Finland, Sari.  :)