things are really rolling now.

first of all, let’s take care of business. i put all of your names in a little bag (those of you who commented), and my love drew out the winning name…

congratulations, nicole! our dear swiss friend married to an irish man, living in dublin is the winner of belovelive’s first contest! nicole, text me your address, and i’ll put together a few swedish goodies and send them your way!

now, i want to say a great big THANK YOU to all of you who voted, commented, and visited my blog!

it has been humbling, overwhelming, and enlightening to read your thoughts & opinions. i will take them most definitely to heart as i work on this space and prepare it for it’s relaunch in about 2 weeks! as for the poll, it seems that most of y’all just like to hear me ramble on about my daily life, with a bit of spirituality/faith and a tidbit of my memoir thrown in. so, i’ll just keep doing what i’m doing… sharing my life and my thoughts and my photos with y’all. and soon, it’s time to bring you all along with me as i make my way back in my home country, except not exactly the same person as i was when i left; and most definitely an expat with a different perspective. and don’t forget this… i don’t have a job yet, so it’ll be super exciting to see what unfolds!

i’ve said it before, and i’ll say it again (and surely more times after this too!), this blogging community is amazing!! those of you who have been long-term readers, i cannot describe what it means to me that you keep coming back for more. and for you newbies, i am so thankful that our blogging paths have crossed. this blog has gone global, and for that i am amazed and grateful. there are many of you who i have never met face to face, but i hope that our real lives cross soon, or at least one day. it would be my honor! family members & american friends, it has meant so much to me to be able to share this journey i have been on in sweden for the past 3 years with you so that we might stay connected in the least little way. and, dear swedish readers, stay tuned, because it’s now your turn to follow along and keep up with this ex-pats american experience. we simply must stay in touch!

in my daily life, still in sweden right now, it’s full speed ahead. visiting people, meeting up with friends, saying goodbyes, or rather, see you laters, and trying to squeeze in a little bit of work time. yes, i am still working some. this week, we’re fully-booked it seems with friends & such, and then next week we will be in the swedish archipelago for the week, so i’ll be way off the grid. we’ll be at a camp for families and people in the church where i work. i’m the “resident minister” during the camp, so i’ve got some worship services and devotions to plan this week! but… after working for a few weeks to try to decide on a theme for the week, i have finally come up with one! super yay! now, it’s just to hammer out all the details this week for each day’s cozy moments together during the camp.

after the camp, we have 4, yes i said FOUR days before we leave sweden! gaaahh. time is on super warp speed now. but, it’s totally exciting!

for now, in addition to meeting people & working some, we’ve begun the ordering process! yep. we are now officially ordering things for our apartment! here’s a tiny sneak peek. if you wanna see what everything really looks like, you have to come to visit. hehe.

and finally for tonight, i wanted to share with you a few shots from our weekend in gothenburg. we left on friday & came “home” on sunday. the main reason for going was for lina’s cousin’s confirmation. but, we made a long weekend of it with some of lina’s family. a little hotel visit. some shopping. a ton of cold, rainy weather. good food. and a trip down memory lane – lina & i met in gothenburg six years ago! but, that’s another story coming up one day soon. now, you’re welcome to scroll through some gothenburg pics.

hope your weekend was a good one and that your first week in july is shaping up to be a good one too! thanks, again for reading & following along! it means so much!

peace and love.