Today I am thinking back to 8 years ago, and what an awful, awful day it was. We got the phone call in the middle of the night from my oldest brother Hugo, telling us that my little sister Marita was dead. A lot of things have happened in those 8 years, among them the horrible heartache of losing my own child. But, I have to say again, what I have said before - I would much rather have my loved ones in heaven than being kidnapped. The agony of the unknown is much worse I think. Everyone that my sister came in contact with became her friend. You just could not not like her. I miss her and her beautiful spirit, but I also know that just like with Jake, I will be able to see her again someday. Marita and Jake are our own angels in heaven looking down on us and helping us along our way. I love you Marita!

Derick is THE BEST! He fixed my car door tonight:) What a great guy I am married to:) Thank you, honey - I love you!!!

Here's another Zane story.... About a week ago there was a big gross bug by our front door. I took Zane's shoe to kill it and then I went out on the porch to scrape it off. The next day, he was outside playing and he came inside with a little girlie scream and I asked him what was going on. He said that there was a big bug out there that freaked him out, and he said it was the same bug that I had killed the day before. I told him that that wasn't possible cause it was dead. He then says: No it's alive, cause I saw some plastic on it - it had plastic surgery. LOL!

My awesome mom went back to Norway last week:( We miss her sooooo much already! It's just not fair that we live this far away, but life isn't fair... She left Wednesday morning and was supposed to be home Thursday around 9 or 10 am. The weather was so bad in Chicago, where she had a layover, that they had to circle the airport for a while before landing, so when they were finally able to land, her connecting flight had taken off! The next available flight for her wasn't until the next night at 6:30pm. And, because this delay was caused by the weather, they did not put her up in a hotel. Luckily, I have an aunt and a cousin in Chicago, and they were able to pick her up at the airport and take her home to spend the night with them. My aunt has wanted my mom to come see her, and I guess this was the perfect opportunity, even though it was only overnight. The aunt is my dad's older sister, Rannfrid - she's lived in Chicago for 40+ years. Because of this annoying delay, my mom's luggage didn't make it on her flight so she got her stuff yesterday afternoon. Seriously, I need a ton of money so I can have my own private plane, which would be perfect, cause then I could go to dinner at my mom's on Sunday when my brother and his family will be there:) Ahhh, a girl can dream can't she???;-)

Weeeeeeell, nothing else is going on in my life right now. I need to figure out the Christmas presents I've already bought for McCall and Zane, and what/if there's anything else I need to get, but there is no time now, school is out and Zane will be home in a few minutes, so I will do that a different day. When he gets home I am taking him to get a haircut. I hope it doesn't rain when we're out cause my window won't go up. Derick was trying to fix the door handle on my car, it won't open my door and we need it to pass the safety inspection before the month is over, but of course, like everything else in our lives, it couldn't be an easy fix. My man, I am so proud of him and all that he does for our little family:) Love my boys!

Obituary of Mr. Common Sense
by Rick Archer

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:1.Knowing when to come in out of the rain 2.Why the early bird gets the worm 3.Life isn’t always fair 4.Maybe it was my fault after all. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).The health of Common Sense began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6 -year- old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Tylenol, sun lotion or a band-aid to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by his 3 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I’m A Victim. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

I copied this from a friends blog. Mary, thanks for sharing, you are such an up lifting person:)

Last night Derick and I went out to dinner with some people we know, and some we are getting to know. It started out good, but then right after we had ordered our food, our friend Heather, got a call telling her that her son had fallen on his cousins tramp, so she needed to go see if it necessitated stitches or not. She told her husband to stay, but she called a few minutes later saying that yes, he did need to get stitches:( and she came to pick up her hubby. We had a good time, but hopefully we can do this again some time soon and none of our kids will need us (for a few hours, anyway...) He ended up getting 7 stitches in his mouth:( Hope your feeling better, Ethan! This is one of Zane's good friends and they are so much fun to listen too whenever they play:)

My mom watched our kids when we went out last night, and when we came home, I took her over to my sister's so she can stay with them until she goes back to Norway. That's the bad part of her being here, I have to 'share' her with my sis and her family;-} OK, so it's not that bad:)

It has gotten cold - BRRRRR! We had to turn our furnace on 2 days ago, it was like an ice box in our house. One thing that I have learned from my parents and that Derick and I agree on, thankfully:) is that there are 2 things you make yourself afford, and that is food that is good and not buying something because it's cheap, even if you don't like it, and the other is electricity. Walking around with layers and layers of clothes on yourself and your kids because you want to save a few dollars is just not worth it, and if you have a red nose cause of how cold your house is, then there's something wrong.

I have to figure out my kids costumes for Halloween. It's only a few weeks away, and I don't know what Zane wants to be. McCall has decided, but I still need to figure out how to do it.

Gotta go, but stay warm and comfortable!

Silver Lake. McCall's friend Bram came with us.
I can't pull up any more pics right now, I'll have
to do it later...