The mom letters...

I don't have much time to update (are you seeing a recurring theme here??) so I thought I'd share some recent communication between myself and Mia's mom.It actually provides a somewhat decent, albeit limited recap of the past few weeks.

12/25/09 - from Vibeke
The Family sends "Marry Christmas" to you
I am back in Kristiansand for a coupel of houers , I had to drive my Father back to the city so that he can take his car back to Larvik. It was so bad weather two day`s ago so he had to drive take the Mainroad to Kristiansand and go up to the Farm with me. Because of all the snow we used twice as long time as we normaly do BUT we made it :) ♥

12/25/09 - from me
Glad to hear you made it through the bad weather. Mia mentioned that Norway received a lot of snow. We haven't had much, enough for the boys to make a snowman but it's melting already. Hopefully the weather won't be too bad for our drive to New York. We're getting excited about our trip but first we have one more Christmas celebration. We're currently at my mom's house and we're waiting for my brothers to come over so we can unwrap presents. The boys are very excited!!

12/31/09 - from Vibeke
We still are in Winther-land ... It`s so nice with the cold weather & lot`s of SNOW. I really enjoy it.
We are off to some friend`s house in Lillesand , a City/Place close to Kristiansand , we are there for New Year every year. Hope you will have a nice evening & all the best for 2010.
How was the Porridge for Christmas , did Mia manage to make it :-) We have not yet resived the package BUT I`m sure it will turn up next week. If not I would need the poastal-number to track the package
Best wishes for a Happy New Year

1/5/10 - from me
Hi Vibeke - I'm sorry it's taken me so long to reply. We've been really busy with packing up the Christmas things, painting our house, and doing some home improvement projects. And of course, right after Christmas, our computer stopped working. So after a couple of days, we finally bought a new one.

Anyway, we had a great Christmas and yes, the porridge turned out well. I'm not sure how much Mia liked it - she kept telling us to put sugar in it. But I thought it was good and everyone enjoyed learning about the Norwegian custom.

Mia said you received the package and I was very relieved! I looked for the tracking number and couldn't find it. It got lost with all my Christmas receipts.

I know I'm behind on my blog and I do have photos from Christmas and our trip to New York. Hopefully I'll get them posted this weekend. I think that's all for now. School and work started up yesterday so we're just trying to get back in the groove.

1/5/10 - from Vibeke
Don`t rush on my Behafe ... I can imagine how busy you are - adjusting to your new job & weekday`s away from home.
I`m sorry but the package that came, was from my nice , Elisabeth in Texas BUT hopefully it will come soon - she sendt that one earlyer than you did I think.
I am looking forward to see your pictures BUT do it when you have time
Take care and my love to you all

1/20/10 - from Vibeke

Hope you all are doing fine and that you are setteling in in you new jobb and that you all are getting used to not haveing you arround all the time.
I guess the weekends are Presious :)
Wish you all the best and hope Mia are doing fine at school and at home and behaveing....!!
There is not much news from here I have had it hectic at work but part from that we are doing fine and enjoying our winther with snow and nicew cold weather
Take care
Vibeke

1/20/10 - from me
Hi Vibeke! Sorry I haven't been good about writing. I'm not on facebook much lately. Things are so crazy - with the commuting and new job and trying to get the house on the market. We've been really, really busy but doing everything we can to not disrupt Mia and boys' routines. Hopefully we've been fairly successful.

Did Mia tell you about her trip to Washington DC? I think she really enjoyed it. She flew there on Friday and returned on Monday. She stayed with my 25 year old cousin, Emily. On Saturday, they walked around the Memorial Mall and past the White House. They went to Georgetown and walked around and did some shopping. That evening, they went to a dinner party that one of Emily's friends was hosting. Sunday, they visited the Holocaust Museum and then Emily made them dinner and my other cousin Molly, joined them. On Monday, Mia did a tour that allowed her to get on and off buses as they went around DC in different attractions. I think she enjoyed doing this on her own and being independent.

I think Mia is still enjoying her stay with us but I think she still struggles to follow our rules. She never disobeys but I can definitely tell when she thinks we're being unfair. It's definitely a learning experience for all of us - we've never parented a teenager and she's still adjusting to stricter rules. But I think even when she's not happy with us, she thinks of some of the other exchange students who don't have as much support from their host families. One of her friends is scared of her host mom who yells a lot. Another had to quit swimming because her host family got tired of driving her and picking her up from practice. So hopefully Mia is happy with us!

I'm glad to hear you finally received our package. Hopefully everything arrive all safe and sound. I can't believe it took so long to get there. I'll remember that next time! did Arne like everything Mia and I picked out for him? Hopefully he likes the shoes we got. did the ornament survive the trip?

Hopefully work slows down for you AND me! We've had some snow but its almost all melted now. It was pretty cold but things have really warmed up for us.

We almost have our house ready to be put on the market to sell it. It's been a lot of work to get it ready - we had to paint everything and finish the construction on our basement. I'm looking forward to things calming down when the house is finished. We're hosting the other Aspect families this weekend. We have a party in a few weeks and then it will be time to start thinking about spring break. I don't think we'll go anywhere, but we definitely want Mia to use the vacation to do something. She will likely go to Florida with a friend and her family. I'm sure she'll enjoy being in the sun and warm weather.

Have you thought much about whether you'd like to visit us and Mia sometime during her stay? You are more then welcome to and we'd love to meet you. We'll be planning a goodbye/going away party for Mia when her stay is coming to an end and that would be a great opportunity for you to meet everyone. And of course, Arne is welcome to visit too! Anyway, it's something to think about.

Well, this is getting long but I know I haven't been great about communicating lately so I wanted to give you a big update. Hope you enjoy the rest of your week!

Natalie