SKYNI

My dearest son Jonathan,

You look at the world with a view that is new,
so I try my best to see that way too, 

All of us here are a one of a kind, 
and I'm learning so much from your beautiful mind. 

Your little ways, the things that you do,
Thank you son, for all the stuff that make you 'YOU'.

                                               Author Unknown

Jon, on your 19th birthday, I want to thank you for teaching me so much each passing year. I learn to let go and accept your world where you laugh and play and in your heart, you care and love in your special way.  Most important, you are content and happy. Although I have difficulties understanding how you make your own rules and interpreting the world your way, I love you no matter what.  Keep dancing to your own drum beat, and I will keep dancing with you. 

Happy Birthday Jonathan my sweet son. 

  

We vowed, to take each other, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish….

For the past 20 years, this vow has kept us together and indeed it is a sacred vow that we hold through all the good and difficult times in our 20 years together.

Thank you Nichlas for being my rock and loving me no matter what. You are my person, always.

Happy 20th anniversary, my dear husband.

My dearest birthday girl,

Yes, you are 17 today. How do you feel?

No doubt, the first year of Gymnasium has not been a walk in the park. It is tough with the some subjects (Maths, Chemistry) but we know with determination you can do it . So keep on going and don’t give up.

This year you were even more active in Scouts activities and it really helped to widen your social circle. We are glad to see you enjoying activities outside school and creating a school life balance for yourself.

Wish I can do a better job at showing you ‘how to adult’, but it is never easy. I am sure you will get there and wish that you continue to create better versions of yourself each year. I have seen all versions for the past 17 years and they keep getting better. Love you for that!

On your 17th birthday, we want to congratulate on your achievements, climbing Sweden’s tallest mountain Kebnekaise and enduring the long hike, taking on the leadership role at Scouts, and pursuing your interests and hobbies with finesse and joy. And of course, not forgetting that you always stayed true to yourself. We are really proud of you.

Grattis Linn and May you always choose to be happy!

Love, Mom

Singapore does not have a lot of wild jungle left, but it does have a few jungle patches and one wetland reserve. Nick and Jon visited the wetlands and met some fabulous creatures in the wild….

Crocodile, Sea otters and Malayan water monitors…

We had a 8 hour transit enroute to home in Stockholm. We punished our bodies (after a 12 hours flight) to make our way to Munich city at 7 am. But we did soaked in some great sights of this beautiful city.

As it was so early in the morning, the city was less crowded and we were blessed with great cool weather. The family really enjoyed the delicious bread and sandwiches after eating mostly local Asian food for 2 weeks.

The Walls really looked forward to going back to Singapore in July 2024 as it has been 2 years since we last visited. Hence this year’s visit became extra special and having not seen the family and friends for 2 years, it was an extra sweet homecoming for us.

We caught up with PoPo and the lovely Queks, ate massive amount of local food until Jon and Linn came down with the cold and cough. Jon was even tired of eating local food and tried to get us to eat his favourite pizzas and burgers. Needless to say, the amount of Singapore street food and snacks really extended our waistlines.

As we stayed very near Orchard Road, we became the ‘Orchard Road family’ walking down Oxley, Killiney Road and Somerset everyday in search of good food and bargains.

Spending time with precious family and friends was also our priority. Words cannot described those wonderful sharing moments.

Thank you so much to everyone for making The Walls feel right at home and it was a great vacay.

I woke up early at 2 am today … maybe because it was 18 years ago around this time, I saw and had Jonathan on my chest for the very first time, as he came into my world. The feeling then was really special and through the 18 years, he keeps motivating me to be a better person.

Jon has a really funny goofy side that is so perfectly captured in the picture. He makes us laugh and he checks on us every now and then to see if we are ok. He is really sweet in that sense.

He keeps us grounded in so many ways and always makes us look at things from different perspective.

Jon has really simple needs. Yes, they could be special but all he wants is to be happy and surrounded by people and toys he loves. Of course his favourite food like pizza, hamburger, ice cream and cookies will make it even better.

On his 18th birthday, my wish for him as his mother, is that he will always feel love and be happy.

Love you to the moon and back, my dearest sweet and kind son, Jonathan. I am so proud of the person you have become.

Happy Birthday Linn. What a major milestone as you are 16 today. Celebrating you and kudos to some of your wonderful achievements in the past year.

• You pushed yourself to complete your Year 9 exams, achieved good academic scores with recognition from the school.
• You made it to the course and gymnasium of your first choice.
• You climbed some good walls with Dad and Jon.
• Your drawings and art are getting better and better each day. Getting an academic award for best woodwork in school is no small feat.
• You created a new electronic song. Love your Spotify Playlist that you put together for me.
• Your appetite for reading English literature is growing each day.
• We had some amazing trips together in London and Norway.
• You formed good friendship in school and enjoyed your movie outings with them.
• You have taken higher interest in scouts. We are proud that you signed up leadership training camp with attendees you never met, despite the hardship of an outdoor mossies infected camping ground.

For your 16th birthday, we wish you much happiness and that you will continue to reach for the sky, fulfil your dreams and follow your passions.

We love you very much our dear sweet Linn. Grattis!

This year we took a very long road trip through Norway, it was gorgeous. From fjords to mountains to rivers and cabins along the way. The highlight was probably the Nigardsbreen glacier hike we had. The glacier has been shrinking for the last 30 years so we are happy we made it before it’s all gone.

Linn, we are so proud of you for your graduation. You got two academic achievement awards despite the school rule of one award per student. We hope you will enjoy the well-deserved summer break coming up and that you will be ready for school in autumn.

Last year we took a hiatus from climbing as we tried a more social sport for Jon. I felt that we should come back to climbing as it’s a better workout and also encourages you to solve a problem. This year Linn is also a permanent climber, so they are climbing together. Beginning of the season we are focusing on bouldering to develop technique and strength, later in the season we will shift to the high wall.

Jon will turn 18 this year, time has really been going faster than we could expect. He now runs a youtube channel where he reviews toys, lego, and action figures, you should go in and check it out