September has been a month filled to the brim with adventure. From going to Bergen, Norway to Paris, France to Tallinn, Estonia and back. We've had our fair share of seeing beautiful sights, eating our weight in sweet treats and taking in the gorgeous scenes these cities have to offer. More on both Paris and Tallinn will come, but in the meantime, here's a bit of a life lately.
September has been pretty kind to us regarding weather. We've cemented our routine down of going on adventures mixed with normal life errands. I'm a little anxious to see what this winter will hold-we had a few cold rainy days recently that reminded me just how fun it is to bring children out in freezing rain-but in the meantime, Helsinki is treating us well with her weather.
Eowyn is bursting with words and stories and feelings. I speculate this is classic four year old behavior, but it has been both exhilerating and exhausting trying to keep up with all she's absorbing. Elias is quick on his feet as always and is learning a handful of words by the day. His latest thing is telling Eowyn " Good Job!" it sounds more like "goo ob!" but we all cheer and Eowyn is quite pleased.
We've been hanging in the balance of trying to figure out when we would be moving. What felt like an almost certain autumn date (so much so we told friends and family to NOT visit) has turned into a very likely winter date for departure. My sister found a wildly affordable ticket (under 500 roundtrip!) and scooped it up to save my withering little heart. What a gift it was to have her come and brighten up this month. Because she was coming, we arranged a little girls weekend to Paris-just Friday to Sunday- where the two of us could be together. We had never done this before and it was such a gift to my heart. Showing her around and being with family was a very sweet blessing. After telling so many family members to 'wait' on visiting us, it was a bit of a rescue mission for her to come to fill in the emptiness that our expectations left. She filled up that emptiness wonderfully!
While we wait on our future, we're finding ways to celebrate the now. It's such a tricky situation to be in when we're hanging in the unknown. I've become wildly aware just how much of lifes decisions are based on expectations for the months ahead. When those expectations grow uncertain, decisions grow more difficult. Fortunately, we've learned this reality more than once with our time with Ben's company (one time we moved states over a weekend!) Unfortunately, I dont think I'm much good at sorting out the best way to subdue my planner heart.
Needless to say, October is a favorite month in this house. Ben's Birthday (and my sister',s brother-in-law's, grandmother's, and nephew's!) makes it a fun month of planning and celebrating. We hope to check out a new place somewhere in Europe and hope to transition our little home into a cozy space (the Nordic countries have mastered creating cozy places.) We're playing with the idea of having another go at having the kids share a room. We've tried and failed once, but I think we've grown in our resolve. I suppose, time will tell.
It's fun to see the transition in the shops from the bright colors to the more subdued warmer hues. While I don't plan on outfitting our home with plush things that we'll just have to find new homes for later-a candle or two looks to be likely in our future. That and lots of pumkin cookies. We even found canned pumpkin in the american isle at our grocery store. So, looks like we're securing a pretty classic american experience for ourselves. Word on the street is there is even a pumpkin/apple orchard near Helsinki!
Preschool has continued to be fun times. When we actually are consistent, it becomes a sacred part of our days. With the busy month it has often gone on the backburner, but I never cease to be amazed at all my girl is learning. This past week I caught her 'reading' to Elias, new books memorized. It's such a sweet gift watching her gain new skills and pride herself n being 'teacher.' I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things as October promises a bit more of those quiet days.
The photography biz is going about as wonderfully as I could have hoped. I'm learning new aspects of being a woman with a trade while juggling life with children, (being honest about what my services are worth, protecting my passion, being attentive to the calendar as it concerns everyone in our family, etc...) and I'm grateful for the pace we've had over the past three months to photograph clients. I think with each passing day I allow myself to more and more learn and grow and share the excitement I have for this. Thankfully, I have wonderful people in my life who are kind enough to me when I ramble about leading lines and Kelvin and light and composition. Thanks to all of you who humour me. :)
Good things are in the works this autumn, even if they weren't what we planned. But they never are what we planned, are they?
We're looking forward to you, October.
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