Saying Goodbye...

Is definitely the hardest thing to do.  When you make the decision to leave your family and friends and move to a new country where you know nobody you are really taking a chance.  What if you can't find any friends?  What if you can't understand the language?  Who are you going to talk to?  That's why it is so great to meet people who become like family to you.  That's also why it makes saying goodbye to those people even harder.  You, kind of, chose them…chose them to be your family away from home.  That is exactly how I feel about Amanda and Doug.  They definitely became my family away from home.  Amanda was more than a best friend, she was kind of like a sister, and sometimes, a Mom.  We had so much fun in the year and a half that we got to be friends in Sweden.  I know we will be friends forever, as cheesy as that sounds, but it is nice to look back on so many great memories.  She taught me to knit and I attempted to teach her to crochet, but she's one of those annoying people that is always better at everything than you are.  We shared recipes, knitting patterns, crochet patterns, our love of Pinterest…I could go on and on.  Amanda is definitely one of those people that is so kind and generous and everyone wants to be friends with them.  I feel honored that we became such close friends.  I am definitely going to miss our closeness and being able to go to her place and hang out and knit for hours or have them over for dinner and play Skip Bo.  Having babies so close together also strengthened our bond.  Norah is lucky to have such a great Mom!  I sure am going to miss watching her sleep in her stroller!  Kidding, but Norah does sleep a lot in her stroller.  I know the next time I get to see her she will be so much more fun though!

A picture I stole from Amanda's Facebook.

Amanda also became a kind of surrogate Aunt to Emily and Tyler.  They both absolutely adore her, and Doug, of course.  I'm so glad that they were able to spend time together and have that bond.  They are definitely going to miss them, too!

Emily and Tyler playing with a cat that Amanda was watching at their place.

Tyler holding baby Norah.  He wouldn't let her go!

Henry and Norah "playing".

One thing that I am pretty sad about is that I have no pictures of us or of her and Henry or of me and Norah.  I am so bad at thinking about taking pictures!  I can go on vacation and return and have one picture from the whole trip.  The next time we meet I will definitely take a ton of pictures!


Amanda, Doug and Norah you will be greatly missed by the Florida/Sweeney/Bäckström family!!!  There will be plenty of crying over the next few days and Sweden just won't feel the same with you guys.  A part of our family is missing.  We really do love you guys!

I hope you had a safe trip back to Canada!


Until we meet again...