Happy New Year 2010!!!

i can't believe it's twenty ten.

i remember ten years ago when people were nervous about Y2K - computers weren't going to work and the whole world was going to end...

this new year experienced a lot of hype as well... one of my good friends decided to "take the plunge", "tie the knot", "get hitched" - if you will...

johannes met a fabulous woman; they got engaged this past summer and decided upon a winter wedding in siljansnäs, sweden.

the last time i went to a swedish wedding was in 1989 - i was a flower girl in my aunt's wedding and the only thing i remember is my uncle having to change a baby's diaper to prove he could be a good dad... swedes joke A LOT at weddings...

anyway, i wasn't sure what to expect - i was told a LOT of speeches would be given...

the wedding ceremony was different than in the states, no bridesmaids, no groomsmen, no flower girls or ringbearer... they didn't allow ANY pictures to be taken during the ceremony, except by the photographer... this was a bummer for me b/c i have inherited a love for photography...



the ceremony took place at 6pm in the Siljansnäs Kyrka. there were candles everywhere, and white snow blanketed the outside world. it was breathtaking.



after the ceremony, the guests formed two lines and sparklers were handed out; we lit them as the couple headed out of the church to their get-a-way car, an old Volvo, quite classy



the reception was held at a restaurant at the top of Björkberget.
here's how the table was set and some of the decorations. it looked simple, classy and elegant. it was perfect for a mountaintop winter wedding.



the dessert :) yum - it was a mix between ice-cream and pudding - delish!




similar to the states, there was a table where presents could be left.
the theme for the presents was silver and gold.



a picture of Lucinha (Johannes' sister-in-law) and me. she's from brazil; she's friendly and beautiful. i love getting together with her! :)



my favorite parents :) unfortunately, my other (better?) half wasn't able to attend... he had school (he's going for his master's) and work... so i attended solo


ps- thanks for the dress advice kimmy :) i received quite a few compliments ;)

after appetizers, dinner, and dessert we went outside to ring in the new year :)
there was a beautiful fireworks display... more on that later.

at a swedish wedding, many people give speeches in honor of the bride and groom. i gave a speech, half english, half swedish. it was caught on video, so when i get back from the states, hopefully i'll be able to post it here (the internet connection is a little slow).

the wedding ended with a fun choreographed dance put together by johannes & rebecka's friends. it lasted until 3am - the longest wedding i've ever attended...

happy new year 2010!!!

Merry Christmas!

May you all enjoy Christmas with your loved ones!

Enjoy the hour, the day weekend.

Here's a story that made my eyes tear up... (you know, one of those forwards you actually don't mind receiving)


The Tablecloth
- things happen for a reason

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve. They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc, and on December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished.



On December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days. On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high. The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity, so he stopped in...


One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church. By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later.


She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and
it covered up the entire problem area. Then he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria.




The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria . When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. He was captured, sent to prison and she never saw her husband or her home again.




The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That was the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.




What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return.


One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving. The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike?




He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years between.




The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

I am not sure if this is a true story or not, but it caught my heart...

wedding plans...

On October 25, 2008 I'm getting married... as the date comes closer I have mixed feelings. I am excited and happy about my future, but I'm nervous as I take a step in the unknown...

June 8, 2008 - Caleb proposing at
sunset in Siljansnäs, Sweden.

My camera was on a 10 second timer... I thought were we going to take a picture of the two of us. Instead, he dropped to one knee and said: "Sara, jag tycker om dig. Will you marry me?"
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We're getting married at Heritage Christian Church in Falmouth, MA. My dad is a Justice of the Peace and he'll be performing the ceremony. The reception will be at the Flying Bridge which is on the Falmouth Harbor. It's going to be laid back... hopefully lots of dancing!!

We're taking an 8 day trip to St Thomas - staying at the Frenchman's Reef Marriot - it will be a fabulous time! It's beginning to get a little cool here in New England, so a trip to the warmer weather will be welcomed.

When Caleb and I come back from the island, we're headed to the large city of Ipswich, MA.

Just a little update - it's been a while since my last post... :)

Avkoppling = Relaxation

Weekends are great. The feeling that the day-to-day life of the 5 day work week is over and the weekend is yours to enjoy, to do what you please. Weekends can be a way to catch up with what you haven't had time to do during the week, or a way to relax and "koppla av" as they say in Sweden.

Helgerna finns för att ta det lugnt och koppla av. Det känns skönt att kunna väcka när man vill på en lördag morgon och njut av dagen. Jag var ut och gick en promenade med min mamma, bara gå tillsammans, prata lite och ser alla nya hus som blir byggt i vår område. På en lördag är man inte jaktad, man kan kolla in i varje nya hus och undra hur det ska se ut när den är färdig byggt. Senare på dagen är det ärende som gäller. Det som jag ser fram emot efter solnedgång är hockey. Oj vad jag tycker det är kul. Att knytta skridskor, sätt på min hockey jersey, öppna dörren till is och "bara åk". Vilken härliga känsla! Visst är det sent på kvällen, men det är bara dig, din team och den härliga känsla att åka skridskor i en timme så hårt man kan. Efter, blir man helt slut och den kvällen när man ligger i sängen och sover, då sover man BÄST! Sen är det söndag morgon. Jag vaknar och hoppas att jag kan sova längre, men det finns barn som jag är söndag skol lärare till. De vill att jag är där för att sjunga, leka och har det kul med de. Då stiger man ur sängen, duschar, äta frukost och skynda sig till kyrkan innan barnen kommer. Eftermiddag blir det Amerikansk football som gäller, eller en promenade. Söndag eftermiddagar finns för att göra ingenting. Vilken helg! :)

Something to think about:
"Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine." - Anonymous

Saturdays are meant for relaxation. I love Saturdays. It's nice to go for walks feeling the breeze on your face, and the sun shining brightly. As I walked through my neighborhood, there's no sense of hurry. It is just a lazy Saturday morning. I can talk to my mom as we walk and peer in the different houses being built. We go inside the skeleton houses and plan out how it's going to look when it's finished: bedroom here, kitchen here, fireplace there, master suite here.

After a relaxing walk, you can take care of errands that you weren't able to finish during the week. There's no hurry.

Once the sun sets, the highlight of my weekend has arrived. Playing hockey. The feeling you get as you tie your skates, pull your jersey over your head and snap your helmet in place. I grab my stick and head for the ice. I love the sound of the click as the door opens and the scrape of my skate on the ice. A quick warm-up of skating around the rink and shooting on goal. Then, it's time, the sound of the puck hitting the ice. Gametime. It's the rush you get, struggling to get to the puck as it is pushed into the zone. It's the feeling you get when you and a teammate block off the defense behind the net so one of you gets the puck and the defense loses. It's the sensation of making a pass under pressure and watching as your teammate's stick slaps at the puck and the puck hits the back of the net. It's the satisfaction of coming off the ice completely exhausted, knowing you gave the game 100%. That night, the best feeling is pulling the covers over your head and falling asleep, your body completely worn out.

The next morning, you struggle out of bed. Sunday. It's time to teach Sunday School. Some people may think it is silly to spend a "valuable" Sunday morning teaching Sunday School. They would rather sleep-in. Well, pulling my worn-out body out of bed is difficult, I will admit. However, the satisfaction from seeing the 5 year old's face light up when I tell him we're doing an obstacle course, or the sound of the 4 year old's voice when I tell her we're going to sing her favorite song - she starts belting out the tune with a smile on her face before the rest of the class has even comprehended which song we're singing. Teaching Sunday School is such a reward. The children are so fun to teach and they always have funny stories to tell. They want you to think they are special and you leave knowing you've left your footprint on a child's life.

Sunday afternoons are filled with family dinner, football, and just enjoying the laziness of a Sunday. The feeling that you have nothing to do till Monday morning is satisfaction enough.

“Att våga är att förlora fotfästet en liten stund.
Att inte våga är att förlora sig själv.”
- Sören Kierkegaard

This sums up my weekend :)

"I’m looking forward to looking back on all this."
- Sandra Knell

First things first...

Most of the MacDonald family: Peter, Mom, Dad, Me, Philip (David's missing) on a hiking trip to the mountains of Norway & Sweden this past summer.

Me and my friend Petra at a Midsommar party in Sweden. :)

Well, I decided to try the blogging thing...
I have family and friends around the world, particularly in Sweden, and it may be easier to keep in touch with them and let them in on my life.

Hoppas att livet går bra för vännerna i Sverige! :) Jag ska försöka skriva på svenska och engelska så att man kan förstå.

My name is Sara and I have grown up on the Cape in the States. I recently graduated from Gordon College where I played 4 years of lacrosse and loved it. Now, it's back to reality, WORKING for a living. In my spare time I play hockey, coach girl's lacrosse, volunteer at www.ababycenter.org , teach Sunday School, pound pavement (run), ski, read, and lots of other things...

Background: Lagom, the title of my blog homepage - it's a Swedish word that has no comparable translation in the English language.
Lagom = just right, just enough, adequate, är det lagom (is this enough?)
- I want "lagom" to be a description of my blog. Just right.