Summer came and went but we are still here..

The whole summer was one big traveling plan, best described in pictures..


 to US, our trip was a dream, kids slept in the plane all the way, Peregrine didn't except the last half an hour and had to be woken up to cry at the immigration and passport control.. Where both the twins practiced their tear duct functionality up to the standard that we were ushered past the lines meandering about the arrivals hall. thanks US officers, Swedes on the way back let us wait like everybody else.. equality hurts.  

This is how I carried the two through Copenhagen airport, while Halle worked on keeping Peregrine from escaping, we were like movie stars...stared by everybody and photographed by the majority..

When one considers the practicality of the age of ones cells.. all the "eggs" of our grandchildren are already in Cordelia, they are as old as Halle.. So Cordelia is as old as Halle and Halle is.... you know what I mean. Here four generations of Gods mercy and Blessings!

We took the Strasbourg historic railway with P and enjoyed a day in the railway museum, where P was mostly  interested in model trains rather than age old transportation just behind the wall..


It so happened that my  dear US Mom and Pop were visiting near by because of work of Paul. Oh how wonderful it was to see them!! We made our way to the aquarium of which Peregrine kept talking about for days and weeks afterwards. Was a real special time!

Here are Helen's "grand children" on a stroll at a near by   park.

Like all good things, our holiday came to an end.Thank you Marshalls for bearing us for a while this Summer.

P

The End

Here I am with Transcript and a bottle of wine we bought some 5 years ago from France.. Popcorn is popping and Cordelia is crying outside.. (her sleeping or not sleeping has landed her a spot outside in the early night shift..) we do bring her in after a while.
Everything here seems to have happened fast when looking back; we arrived bright and hopeful and rearing to go to school. That enthusiasm has somewhat lessened since then, being replaced by busyness of our life. In Finland they call it "Rush-hour-years" And we are surely in them. New job, 3 kids, moving.. In fact these days we are so tired that if our good friends Niilo and Nora had not put up a party for my Graduation we would have not celebrated it.. So thank you Niilo and Nora!

Here I am given a very nice graduation gift from my dear friend Niilo, thank you.

[The popcorn is as good as I might ask for, but the wine has seen better days perhaps..]

 Now that we are thinking about leaving Oulu for Janakkala (Turenki town) it is sad to think of all the great friends we will sorely miss. In so many ways we rely on our friends, even if we don't see them daily, it is reassuring to know they are there. A new place will be void of friends to start with, but God willing we will find some great new ones. It is hard to think we could ever replace the ones we have gotten here though.
 It is not reasonable to list everybody here, but I would like to thank you all for your support and prayers for us. It seems that lately we have been in more need of your support than before.

Dr. and Dr. Mehtälä

We do manage to pull a smile every now and then it is part of the insanity of our life these days! 

The original idea of this blog was to record our journey through dental school in Oulu, to allow Halles parents to get a glimpse of our life and to preserve the experience of our time up north. I hope our journey will lead further South eventually than Turenki. Perhaps to a place where we don't have to dig out the winter gear at any time. In the meanwhile we try to stay happy in the place we are in and be content with what God has given us. I will cease writing this record of our experience in Oulu with one final thank to God for providing us with everything we needed and keeping us.

Pekka, Halle, Peregrine, Atticus and Cordelia (Oh my! there are many of us.)