Alive...

Hello friends and family!

Yes, we are still alive!!!  I can't believe that its been this long since I have had a time to sit down and write on the blog.  Actually, nevermind, I can.   Life has been crazy...even though TPS is over.  I think Bjorn (and now me) just like pain and punishment (B's college decision...I should have known, right?!?).

So some major things that I have happened since I last wrote: I decided to study and sit for the Maryland Bar exam and B has decided to do a master's degree in systems engineering as well as take on a Marine Corps leadership training class (for those of you wondering: no, we are not switching services) as well as working his regular job.  To say that we have been busy, is putting it mildly.

The toughest, of course, was studying and sitting for that dang exam.  From the day after Christmas until the day after the exam, I had pretty much extricated myself from my children and B.  Mima and Boppa flew in mid-January to come stay with us and help out with the kids while I studied full time.  It was an incredible blessing to have them with us during that time, but the babies and I had a miserable time being apart.  Did I mention it was miserable??  B's always been the one to leave and I have always been their constant.  It was so heartbreaking that I was the one leaving this time.  I remember crying into B's chest the night before I had to leave them, repeating over and over that I could not do this.  I could not leave my babies.  The next morning, trying my hardest not to cry, yet failing miserably, Haakon catches a tear rolling down my cheek and exclaiming, "I caught your tear, Mommy!"  Aww, man.   Just when I was trying to rally myself.  But I managed to get on that plane and do what needed to get done.

Looking back, I was and am incredibly grateful to Byron and Kristine for taking care of my babies when I could not.  But I never want to do that again....10 weeks was like 10 years!  So glad that it is over.  Now, its the waiting game.  Many people have asked my thoughts on the exam...if I've had any "feelings" on how I did.  And honestly, I have no idea.  I don't want to speculate either...it just makes me sick to my stomach.  If I thought about the exam long enough, I think I could make myself vomit.  The grading is done by actual people...not computers.  There are 10 essays plus an extra long essay for the graders to read for each applicant.  And then the computers get involved.  They get to scan 200 scantron answers per applicant.  So who knows how I did.  I just continue to pray for His grace AND that the exam graders were in particularly good moods when they read my answers.  Your prayers and positive thoughts are appreciated as they could still be grading them now.

Anyways, I will try to write more as there are always thoughts swimming in my head about funny topics to write about.  But the little people in this house are so demanding...wanting me to make them breakfast, lunch and dinner.... plus, the never-ending snacks. The snacks!  Not to mention chauffeur them around to school and their activities and playdates.  And now, the game of musical bed that ALL THREE have been playing at night.  Its hard not to fall asleep WITH them as I am tucking them in for the night.  As tough as it is sometimes, it is a crazy, beautiful, and blessed ride that I am on.

Hope you all are doing well.  Please do drop us a line at sopanhaandbjorn@yahoo.com to let us know how you are doing...we love to hear from family and friends.  Or better yet, come visit!

Hugs and love!

Sopanha

TPS Graduation Pictures

Officially a Test Pilot!

Happy Graduation!

I am so proud and thrilled to announce that Bjorn is a graduate of the United States Naval Test Pilot School as a Navy Test Pilot!!  This is an incredible feat that took a insurmountable dedication, intelligence, drive, sweat, and teamwork (our meal deliveries to the schoolhouse) to get through the rigorous 11-month course.  The Dashes and I stand in awe of Bjorn's amazing accomplishment and are giddy excited to have a daddy and husband back in our lives.  The rigorous coursework, which included intensive coursework, flying of different and unfamiliar aircrafts and report writing, took Bjorn away from family time and even Thanksgiving! If you are curious about the coursework and all the hard work that is entailed with USNTPS, click here.

Graduation was a black-tie affair and we were so blessed to have both Bjorn's parents and my parents in attendance at the dinner and ceremony.  It was so much fun to get dressed up...with the anticipation, I fondly referred to it as getting ready for our second wedding. In fact, the last time both our dads and moms were this dressed was at our own wedding!

The whirlwind of graduation ended with a trip back home for Christmas.  We have not been home as a family for Christmas in at least 5 years, if not more.  We were able to travel back home with the extra hands and help of Grandma and Grandpa Anderson.  And once we got back home, the grandbabies were just tickled to be shuffled back and forth for sleepover parties and to visit with Layla, the cat and Sasha, the puppy.  There were happy sets of grandparents and a brood of excited grandkids!  Here are some pictures from graduation and our visit.  Enjoy!

Audriana's birthday celebration at the Nutcracker performance with her friends

Haakon's first cavity filling...he did amazingly well.  The dentist and hygienist were very impressed at his tolerance and patience.

My first Army / Navy football game with Bjorn.  Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Te for taking the kids for the weekend so that we could enjoy the weekend without have to be on the kids' schedule.  It was so much fun...GO NAVY!

Audriana turned 4 this month!  Can you believe that 4 years have just flown by.  She made a special request for ballerina cupcakes and luckily I was able to pull it off with the help of Grandma Anderson.

Graduation day!  We got to tour the hangar and check out some of the airplanes that Daddy got to fly.  

There were so many cool planes to check, but this was the most fascinating thing for our kids. Weird.

Baby Espen wanting to check out the T-38.

Graduation dinner

Bjorn on the left...this was the photo they used to show just prior to presenting him with his diploma as a test pilot.

My parents and I.

Winding down the night at the lounge.

These kids are so darn special and incredibly adorable!

Waiting to board the plane.

The kiddos with their Great-Grandma Evelyn.

Christmas Eve with my beautiful sister.

Christmas morning at my parents' house.

Mai Yei with her granddaughter!

Don't those chubby cheeks just beg to be kissed . . . or pinched :)

A heavy heart

My heart is so heavy.  I started hearing about a tragedy in Connecticut on Friday as I was driving to help fellow Test Pilot School spouses set up for the graduation ceremony later that evening.  I had gathered from what I heard on the radio that it probably had something to do with a shooting.  I remember thinking that it was odd that none of the announcers said anything about why their hearts and prayers were with the families in Connecticut.  As I got to the event site and began setting up, I learned about the school children and teachers who were shot  in that elementary school.  Tears welled in my eyes as I learned about the deaths of these poor children, and the teachers who died trying to save these innocent lives.  How could this happen?

My heart is just breaking for the parents and families of those children.  No more kisses to be had, no hugs or snuggles be received, no more innocent tears to be wiped away by the loving hands of mommy and daddy.  How these parents' hands must be aching to caress the soft cheeks of their children just one last time....to just be able to tell them one last time how much Mommy and Daddy love them.  To tell their sons and daughters what a gift they are, what joy they are.  How much their arms must ache to hold their children one last time, to breathe in the sweet scent of childhood.  So much hope and promise in the young eyes of their sons and daughters.  Now, all lost... greedily stolen by the insanity and evil of one person.  I cannot even begin to fathom what these families were going through on that fateful Friday and the heartache that they continue to bear now and in the coming days, weeks and months.  For those parents, how could they stop their tears from flowing; their hearts from breaking; their lips from calling out for their child; their eyes from searching for their child in a crowd . . . and their souls from wanting to be with their deceased child? How?

Even as I write this, I struggle to understand how a monster, let alone a person, could walk into a school and harm these children.  How does the work of evil just weave itself into the mind of one person, capable of not merely just killing these children and teachers, but with the capacity to bring the heart of an entire nation into plummet?

I do not usually include religion in my blog.  But I really do feel the need in this particular post.  I believe in God.  I believe that His son will come again.  I believe that the souls of these children and the teachers who died protecting their students will be welcomed into heaven and that God will wrap His love and grace around them.  I, do not, however, believe that God needed another angel or that this was God's will to have these children and teachers die in such a violent manner.  This is the work of pure evil.  I hope that God will see that justice be served.  I hope that in the coming days, the light of Jesus will lead us out of the darkness as we mourn the loss of these children and teachers.

Happy Halloween...post Sandy!

We were incredibly blessed to have only escaped the wrath of Hurricane Sandy with only a few lost panels of fencing in our backyard.  The gaping hole back there left Scout quite curious and suspicious.  But within days, it was fixed and we are back to our normal daily activities.  Bjorn and the kiddos were given a two day hiatus from classes since the winds and the rains were quite bad during the worst of the storm.  We prepared, waiting in long long lines with all three kids (who were incredibly well-behaved for having to wait in line that long!) for non-perishable food items, water and basic necessities in the event that we would lose power.  Luckily, we never lost power and never had to tap into canned soup.  Our area, despite the rain and winds, was spared compared to those in NY and VA.  Thank you, God!

Because we were spared, we still got to celebrate Halloween with trick-or-treating fun.  Audriana was a princess (of course!); Haakon was a knight; and Espen was a dragon.  When I asked Haakon a few weeks earlier what he wanted to be for Halloween, our conversation went like this:

Mommy: "Haakon, what do you want to be for Halloween?"
H: "I want to be a king.  I want Ana [his special nickname for Audriana] to be a princess."
M: "What about Baby Espen?"
H: "I want Baby Esen [his special nickname for Espen] to be my friend!"

[Mommy and Haakon hug].

I just love that kid!  And the other ones too :)

Here is a picture from Halloween before the trick-or-treating began!

Ahhhh....FALL!

Hello, Fall!  Er...should I say, summer?!?!  It went up to 80 degrees today and I had to put the kiddos in shorts and t-shirts.  AND we were sweating when we were playing outside today.  I mean, really?!?!  My summer clothes were halfway into storage, but now because of the recent turn in climate, my closet looks like its has vomited sweaters and shorts.  I can't win!

Ok, so its seriously not that bad. The weather, despite the sporadic jump in temperature, has allowed us some wonderful opportunities to hit up the apple orchards, check out outside museum exhibits, explore marine museums and basically soak up all the goodness that SoMD has to offer.  It is AWESOME.  And in a few of those times, the Daddy Bear actually came with us...that in and of itself is pure AWESOMENESS!  Here are few pictures to your viewing pleasure.  Enjoy!

Our biggest big kid: Scout!  He's matured into a fine little pup.

At Daddy's Alma Mater and checking out the sailboats with the big kids.

Audriana adores her grandparents and has both set wrapped around her little finger :)

Admiring the newer sailboats with Daddy.

At the museum and this was the first thing we see.  Do you love the kids' outfits??  We prefer to dress to impress.

Up close.

Running around in the fairy gardens with Daddy.

Haakon is taking it carefully with his sword.

Can you tell this is a Navy kid?

Wow!  Look at that fairy house.

Our first trip to the county fair and we got to Audriana's favorite exhibit: The Clydesdale!  A few moments after this exhibit, she asked to go see the unicorn stalls.  I had to tell her that the unicorns couldn't make it to the fair this year.  

Our big kids LOVED the robot exhibit.  We spent 45 minutes in that exhibit playing and watching robots.  It was good for mommy...the entire exhibit was shaded!

After an day at the fair, the kiddos brought their pillows and blankets and camped out on my bed.  This is what I found after leaving the room for 2 minutes.

Apple Orchard....CHOO CHOO!

Audriana and her friend.  Could this mean trouble in a dozen years?!

Haakon insisted that I make him a crown while he played with his trains.  A pretty handsome king.

Espen boy at the orchard! 

Haakon's favorite part of the orchard: the corn shed filled with tractors and trucks....JACKPOT!

Haakon at the marine museum.  He is so proud of the new ship that he just built in his hands!

Haakon waiting for Daddy and Audriana to return from their cruise on the river.  

Not to be outdone by her brother, Audriana wanted to build a ship too.  

My babies at the end of our time at the orchard.

True Minnesotans...loving their Honeycrisps!

Nostalgia

Tonight I received one of the sweetest emails from a very dear friend.  We became friends when I first became a Navy wife and a newbie to the Pacific NW.  She was so wonderful in welcoming me into the neighborhood.  Quite honestly, I was scared out of my mind about being alone in a state where my husband was about to be deployed, I had a new job and I knew not one soul in our new duty station.  Her matter-of-fact-can-do attitude made me feel so competent and supported.  She and her husband and their sailor dog were always free to help with anything I needed.  It was like having family living in the neighborhood.  

My life as a law student and then new mom had many hills and valleys.  It had me traveling back and forth between the Midwest and Pacific Northwest often.  I was always excited to find out what was going on with our neighbor friends.  As the years progressed, I made the Pacific NW my permenant home (or as permanent as it could be in the Navy).  It was so wonderful and I was so tickled when she made time to teach me to knit.  I remember I would do a good number of stitches in front of the TV and then mess-up.  Inevitably, I would always end up running down to her house so that she could help me figure out what I had done wrong. I sure miss being able to do that.  Saying goodbye was so hard when we got our new orders.

Our life has changed so much since my days in La Conner.  Being in Southern Maryland has me feeling so nostalgic for my life in La Conner....I think about the things I would show to the kids in La Conner or the trips we could take on the ferry to the San Juan Islands.  Or perhaps run down to K's house and show her one of the Dashes' latest tricks.  Maybe one of these days, the Daddy bear will get some time off and I will quit being fearful of taking the kids on a long airplane ride and we can bring the Dashes out West to show them the early years of our lives and meet our lovely friends.

Scout perched on the bay window looking and waiting for Sailor to come out....or a pesky raccoon.  

Venturing out to check out the tulip fields with my baby girl during the Tulip Festival.

The front of our first house right before we put it up on the market.  I couldn't have stained the deck without K taking Audriana and entertaining her.

To K: I've never stopped missing you and don't want to either.  The email was wonderful and thank you to you and B for all those sweet memories!