''..on the road again...'''

..but currently sitting with my feet on the ground, grabbing time for a quick blog...
So, yes, we are on the road again and seemed to have covered quite a lot of miles..Deb was here over the weekend and I showed her the Golden Circle..it is a long drive but worth it to see a different part of Iceland and Gullfoss and Geysir..it was sooo cold at the waterfall (Gullfoss) that our faces were actually painful to touch..it made me smile despite the discomfort, as it was a zillion times colder than when Erika and Derrien visited in May and Erika couldn´t stand the cold then...your face would have been a picture at -7 degrees (+the wind-chill factor!) girl ;-).
Deb then proceeded to lead me astray (well it was mutual really!) and we had a whole hour doing a really girly shop at the geyser centre and I came away with a fantastic coat..now I have been to this shop several times but am usually with small and growing people so don't get to do such luxuries..it was fab and we even managed to squeeze in seeing the famous sites too!
So Deb left for the UK on Monday and the removals guys arrived and have whizzed along with the packing as I knew they would..I have been a tad anxious re Joy but she seems to have got here bounce back today and has made friends with the new, temporary residents on Framnesvegur.She flies out to quarantine on Friday :-(.We took EBB to the house yeserday to help him understand what is happening and to let him see Joy as they are great pals and he was very upset afterwards which upset Tóti...he finishes with Huldur tomorrow too,which will be another upset and all this is making us grown-ups feel a tad guilty as we are uprooting our boys again and won't even be moving our own home in the UK... but we are a strong four-some and I know we will all be ok...
So it is a week of saying goodbyes again..I finish my teaching on Saturday, Tóti finished work yesterday, Jolyon finishes school tomorrow...and so many lovely people to miss...
..and then another new beginning...I am still awaiting a start date for my new job as the CRB lost some of my information (grrr), Tóti has 2 interviews next week and is really up for these ones so we are hoping we get a positive result and Jolyon starts his new school on Tuesday..incidentally everyone is saying how different J is now and we are sooo proud of how he has come out of the other side of all this a stronger and happier person...
Strength and happiness to you all..lots of love from Joanna and 3 boys xxxxxx

''...all going swimmingly..''

(except of course its a bit too chilly, a bit too snowy and a bit too windy to actually go swimming....)
Yep, as my gorgeous husband says on his blogsite (as he beats me to it each and every day), the Burton-Freysson household is now all feeling positive, happy and organised..I have my lists so am soooo happy, Toti has his list and is soooo ?!!!??**? and the boys are enjoying having no lists, no cares and feeling jolly setteld..which is a bit of a shame as we will be uprooting them again..but hey! we've done it once, twice, thrice..we will survive!!
I am feeling better after yet another stomach bug (got a good telling off from Deb-Joanna style- about making sure I get myself sorted properly once we are in the UK) and am just about eating again..the old Jolyon has returned with the comment ''the other Jolyon didn't have this much energy''...Toti is mourning the passing of The Beast (actually I did like it, thankyou-very-much!) and the Littlest Burton has discovered the joy of snow and sledges and doing a really coool impression of a WW2 airline ace in his snow-suit...
So nothing much else to say, except that my list and my growing feelings of contentment are calling...
see you soon..lots of love from J and 3 boys xxxx

''...a time for reflection...''

..we have been back in Iceland for just under a week and we all seem to be experiencing a whole range of much more positive emotions, tinged with the inevitable sadness of leaving those people and things we do actually like and love here ;-) !...
I know I keep going on about it but I will soooo miss the fantastic swimming pools in Iceland...on Friday pm T and I attempted to go swimming but the wind had been so strong the previous 24 hours that huge rocks had been blown from the beach onto the seaside walkways and we had been warned not to travel unless absolutely necessary, so even I admitted defeat and T and I went home (the boys were staying at F and K's), looked at houses for sale near Wakefield and got up ridiculously early on Saturday morning and went swimming under the light of the full moon, surrounded by the darkness and the snow..it was out-of-this-world and I will have to say it again..I will soooo miss the Icelandic swimming pools!!!
After our early start I was teaching and as I walked back home afterwards, I reflected upon how much I have learnt and gained from this experience..I will sooo miss Ann and Letetia (my fellow teachers) and I will sooo miss my class and I will sooo miss not continuing next term..all this after I spent my first week dreading the lesson and convinced I was absolutely rubbish afterwards! I tell you, after teaching a class of practising teenagers, student nurses seem like a doddle!!!
Which will be good as I will no doubt be doing a bit more of that in my new job...I'm looking forward to being back in the nursing world and really looking forward to be able to focus upon the clinical aspect of my role (the bit I really enjoy) and I am really looing forward to doing more 'hands-on' as us old hands say!
We are trying to find a part-time job for T so he can have more time at home and help keep our collective work-life balance..he is even keen on doing night duty (something he's always avoided before!!).
It will be good for him and good for the boys who see far too little of him..J has been seeing a doctor to help him cope with his experiences and feelings over the past year and she recommended he and T spend more time together..she also said how well J had done with all his sessions and the techniques he has been taught..apparently this is the age when all the synapses etc in our brain start to grow and learn, so coping mechanisms etc that are established now are the ones which remain with us throughout our lives..this is also the most difficult age for children to move, for that same reasson..ahhh, hindsight..what a wonderful thing? So we are all working to help J to practise and grow coping strategies that are of a clalmer and more positive nature and I must say he is definitely happier, calmer and more tolerant. Interestingly, the lady who has helped us said that the fact we are moving back to the Uk has just about held Jolyon together and without it he could have really struggled to recover from his recent experiences. So reassurring news, both from one doctor and from one practising teenager, that we have made the correct decision in returning to the UK. And J is even seeing our move to Yorkshire in a more positive light...he enjoyed seeing his friends in Mossley but acknowledged that people change, as he has and so can now see that a new start near Grandmum and Pops is not such a bad thing afterall ;-).
So another positive entry with not too much focus on the people we are sooo going to miss when we leave..as J and I walked to Kristjan-Geirs this afternoon we both agreed that we now know more people, feel more like real family and actually have friends here in our adopted homeland...positive experiences all round then and many more peole to love when we return as often as we can in the future (just for holidays mind!).
Going to chill with my gorgeous (did I just say that??!) husband now...
Love and peace to you all...did you all remember Remembrance day? I was sooo proud that my class respected the 2 minute silence, even after only learning about it an hour before..how cool is that?
Stay in touch dear friends and family..Best Wishes from Joanna and 3 boys xxxxxx :-)

''...two outta three ain't bad...!''

Hi everyone!
Do you remember the song with the above title, as sung by Metaloaf on Bat out of Hell? Well, I have decided that that is the soundtrack to our Yorkshire trip...and one that we won't forget as I bought his greatest hits and started to introduce Jolyon to his music (''I like Rock music Mum, not Heavy Metal''..so I guess he meets the criteira...!)
So as already divulged on Toti's blogspot we landed at 9pm Monday night and I was in deepest, darkest South Yorkshire at 9.30 the next morning for probably one of the hardest interviews I have ever done..I didn't particularly like the vibe and came away really very demoralised and convinced I wouldn't get any job, ever..so was most surprised when I was informed that I had impressed the panel anmd it was down to references etc..later, I had some treatment from Adrian that afternoon and he did some guided imagery together with my reiki and reflexology etc and it helped sooo much..thankyou Adrian :-)...so the following day (after a welcome curry with girl-friends) I went off to 2 more interviews...
...they were both in-patienty posts..something I havn't done for 10 years since becoming a CPN and I was really up for the second one..and then I went to the first one, had traumas with the IT equipment for my presentation and remained cool, calm and impressive, loved the vibe and decided I really wanted it..the second interview went well too but i don't think the job would have been as much of a challenge for me and it was a long way from where we plan to live...so here I am..clinical team leader on an acute admisison ward for older people with mental health problems..really excited and ready for the challenge..I feel that I can really use my community experience to work to enhance the in-patient journey and it will be good management experience too..ideal for my next career plan which is a community team leader in a few years time ;-)..now it is my turn to have a career and it feels great!!!!!
I met with more office girlies the following day ('hi! girls..see you at the Christmas do!') and Jolyon went to his new school and was really positive about both his new school and his current one so that is a good sign..I really liked his new school too..interestingly I was talking to his geography teacher who was talking about glaciers, volcanoes and killing whales...we have now sent 50,000 messages of protest to the Icelandic govt and many of us have received that eml with so many inaccuracies..you remember, the 'sustanable' one..we are aiming to send 100,000 messages so if you havn't already done so, go to ifaw.org.uk (the International Fund for Animal Welfare) and give your support...
Off to catch up with job stuff for T now..he had a bit of a shock when he didn't get any of his jobs but as he writes on his blog its been a good learning experience..also its snowing here and it was very strange driving down Reykjanesbraut fron the airport to RVK..didn't feel like coming home but didn't feel like being on holiday..also sad to be leaving family and friends again too..so a stange in-between time for us all at the moment, but not long until we start on our new chapter of our life-journey and I am employed...a proper nurse once again!!!!
Take care dearest friends and family
All our love from J and 3 boys xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx