Home

It's done! We know own our new home - or rather the bank does -but we're ignoring that detail and rejoicing over the fact that it is now ours. Yay times ten! We get the keys on Ascension Day morning.

No more having to cram Lotta in her stroller into the tiniest elevator in the world. No more having to do the dishes by hand. Husband is especially thankful of this since it has been his chore, in fact he is doing them right now :). No more having to have a washing machine that opens at the top because the other kind doesn't fit into our bathroom. No more having to step up into the bathtub to take a shower.

On the other hand, no more soaking in the bath since the new place has a sauna but not so surprisingly no bathtub.

What we now leave, this is the home were we have spent our first three and half years together. Here is where we brought our new born baby girl. Here is where Husband carried me over the threshold the day after we had gotten married. Here is where we had huge fights when renovating it to suit both our tastes but those are the fights that made us a real couple. This was our first home together and we will never forget.

Travellin'

This photo is one of my favorite ones ever. I love the light, I love the little girl :) and I love the bright colors. This was taken the day we were driving to see yet another apartment which turned out to be the one :). So a special picture in every way.



Little miss Lotta was playing with her dad and the both of them had a brilliant time.




This last photo was taken on our way to Ikaalinen during Easter. Lotta had slept for an hour and woke up very happy which was so nice since she hasn't relly been a very keen traveller.

After a photographic update then a literary ;) one. As of yesterday we no longer own our apartment! Yay! Today at 3 p.m. we meet at our bank to close the deal on our new home. Double yay! :) Scary, too, since it is kind of a big loan we're undertaking but we've done the math (how could we not have, given Husband's occupation :)) and we think that even with a clearly higher intrest rate we'd still be ok. And we're loving the new place so it's worth it even if things are tighter at some point.

It's been a really eventful spring up till now I have to say. First we were selling, then we sold, at the same time we were looking and finally found what we were looking for. In the midst of all of this our daughter is growing and learning new things every day and making every day both busy and special.

Then of course there was Easter. The very first Easter that I didn't get one chocolate egg and more importantly never got to church. You see, we were in Ikaalinen for the weekend which was lovely but I have to admit that it feels weird to not have celebrated the single most important Christian Holy Day there is. I missed all of it so much! It is a good feeling to be sad about it, though. Once in a while it's good to be reminded just how much I love my Christian tradition and my church. I don't need to be reminded about loving God :) but the other part of my relationship to Him - the one that is tightly connected to His church - this is the part that I at times don't remember just how much it means to me. Consider me reminded! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and the miracle of Christ's resurrection has touched you in a new way once more.

Birthday girl

First things first :). Here's our little one year old on the morning of her birthday. Isn't she cute?

Husband's working place comes with fun perks. Here's Lotta's birthday cheese cherry peach cake which they'd made for her. Lotta blew the candle all by herself. Not perhaps that intentionally but nonetheless all by herself.

Here are my two baby girls. My oldest friend's daughter and my very first goddaughter and my little one. It was love at second sight ;). The first time these two met Lotta was still very very small but now the two hit it off brilliantly. It was so much fun to watch the two play together.

And then the other update. We got the apartment! :) We're moving to Lieto, yay!!!!! We move the weekend after Ascension Day. We are so so sooooo pleased and thankful. And find it really weird to actually have time in the evenings to do something else than to search for apartments in the internet. Thank you so much for your prayers.

To Lieto

I'm still somewhat in shock but it seems we're moving to Lieto. We put in an offer for an appartment in a rowhouse today and it got accepted :). Nothing is yet on paper so this is why I'm a bit hesitant but let's say it is highly likely that the day after Ascension Day we're moving to Lieto just 13km from the center of Turku.

The house is just five years old. There are 4 bedrooms (two are very small but big enough for a little girl like Lotta), a sauna, not a very spacious kitchen but it's bigger than the one we now have - and has a dishwasher!!!!!! - the lot is really nice and bigger than the ones we've seen before and the view from the living room window and the surrounding area is absolutely lovely. Also, the center of Lieto is within walking distance which'll make things much easier for Lotta and me this coming year when I'm still home with her.

Yay!