2014 was a really amazing year for me and my family. So many great things happened and we just had really much luck with everything. I am not even sure that I remember to write down each and every single good thing of this year in this post as there are just too many things which pop into my head.
But lets start with the beginning.
In January the time of Nathan birth was approaching and with it also my mother-in-law three-month stay in our apartment. But, back then the year started not so well as several bad things actually happened. First of all I got final answers from several Universities that they did not choose me for their programs, furthermore freelancing was going very bad and I could not find any stable job at all. To make things even worse we did not find any apartments for our future in Germany and much of our savings were consumed by our car.
![2014_02_21_14_29_18_753_Light[1]](https://crazychinesefamily.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/2014_02_21_14_29_18_753_light1.jpg)
However wonderful February happened. It started with MIL arriving in Finland and giving us already a lot of excitement. Excitement in both ridiculous but also few annoying ways. But what do you expect when three people are living together in a 40m² apartment and one of them is just going crazy as her baby is already due for over 10 days…
Yes, Nathan was seemingly feeling too comfortable in his mother’s womb and extended his rental contract by 14 days! On February the 21st it was then his big day and he joined this world and our family. Both mother and baby were healthy and were able to leave the hospital after two days and come home.
March came and with it our new apartment in Germany. After so many months searching for an apartment and losing another bidding process this apartment basically fell into our hands. My parents had helped an old man for many many years in our building and he passed away in March. What we did not know was that my parents and I would inherit everything he owned!
April was the month we went to Germany and started our first step in the long-lasting renovation process of our apartment. It was also the month when Nathan got baptized, to be precise he got baptized on Easter Sunday. Usually it is impossible to get a baptizing day on Easter as it is a very popular date however we were offered a date and we accepted without knowing that it would be on Easter Sunday…
May came and MIL left. Probably I shouldnt be so happy but I was very glad when she finally left Finland after spending three months with us. Of course she was a great help but enough is enough after such a long time. In May also my parents came to Finland to spend their summer in the cottage.
June was our “holiday” in the cottage where Nathan gathered his first fishing experiences and played first time in ice-cold Finnish lake water. Tallinn was another good thing which happened as we went together with other friends for a short two-day trip there to relax and eat well (at least I did eat very well).
In July nothing really good happened except that Germany won the Football World Championships! Oh, and there was yet another journey through Finland and to our cottage.
August we had our great holidays on Rhodes which we won through an online prize competition! After that we said our goodbyes to our friends in Finland, packed our last belongings and went again to our cottage to relax a bit before starting our journey to Germany.
Then the day of moving to Germany came in September. With two cars we drove from our cottage to Helsinki to take a ship to Germany. After two days on that ship, in a tiny cabin with four people, one baby and two bunnies we arrived and started shortly thereafter the last huge step in the renovating process. Much work was ahead of us but I did it with pleasure as I knew it would be worth it. However September was also full of exhausting runs through the city to get us all signed up, get social numbers and get my wife the German residence permit.
In October we celebrated my fathers 73rd birthday and an end of the renovation work was in sight. We got my wife signed up for the German language course and Nathan was doing of course very well.
November, lovely November. We finally moved into our new apartment and to sweeten up the month I finally got a job, a job I have hoped for so long time as we got with it our health insurance.
Now we are here in December. Christmas is ahead, presents still have to be bought so what good thing could still happen? Well, I am working now on finally “refreshing” the blog, something I had planned already for nearly a year. How will it look like? Lets see, it will be probably a surprise for me too! Just wait and see what new things I have in mind for my Crazy Chinese Family. Furthermore I want to thank you all who are reading this blog and thus give me motivation to go on to write down the weird stories of my family.
Crazy Chinese Family 
Thanks for sharing your wonderful year! 2015 will be great too, I’m sure! And Nathan is adorable! I like the thumbs up photo especially!
Greetings to you from NYC!
Thanks, the thumbs up picture is already old but popped up when I was searching for a nice picture of him 🙂
Thank you for bringing me through the whole year for me to catch up. I wish I had known about you earlier but this review will have to do. I’m happy that things are looking up for you and hopefully, 2015 will be an even better adventure for you and your family. Cheers! 😄😄
Thank you 🙂
Over the past weeks I realized it would be a good idea to make this kind of review, especially as I can link up all major points of the year in one post
A great summary! I’m sure next year will bring even more good things to your family! And well, I guess there will be a new visit from MIL hahaha. But that is also good as you will get inspiration for more hilarious posts!
Oh my MIL. She definitely wants to come here however we managed that we go to China instead (my apartment is saved!)
I started following your blog when you were spending time in Finland, so I was always under the impression that you were Finnish, LOL, only now do I realize that you are actually German. XD
And wow, it’s only the beginning of December, you’re really getting ahead of everyone with this annual review. 😉
Well, I am actually both German and Finnish as my dad is from Germany and my mother is from Finland, so you didnt get the total wrong impression 🙂
I decided to put up the review now as its been an amazing year, who knows what next week might bring!
Oh my gosh, Nathan is so adorable. How has parenthood been this last year. I’m a bit scared to think of how it’s all going to be next year, but I guess that’s normal. Seems like your little family had quite the year btw!
Parenthood has been interesting. Many things have been mich easier than imagined and others harder. For example he slept really well in the night the first half year but now as he actually is supposed to sleep through the night he wakes up every few hours to annoy us…not so great when we have to get up before 6am 🙂
First off, love your curtains with the big flowers – totally my style!! Did you get them at Ikea?
What a great year it has been for you!!! The birth of your son must definitely be the highlight of the year. ( And by the way, February babies are the best as I am one (a V-Day baby) and my husband is one as well.) 😉 Plus, you had the chance to turn that place into your very own home – a place to make many happy memories in the years to come. And not to mention getting a job!! 2014 was definitely your year.
However, I still remember your post about your MIL greasy hands and cleaning with a dirty cloth. It definitely ranks up there for most humorous post of the year!! 🙂
The curtains are by the design brand Marimekko from Finland. I think this particular flower design is from the sixties 🙂
Yes, MIL certainly keeps us entertained nearly every day,even when she is not with us but by the weird messages she sends us each day per WeChat .
We had hoped that Nathan would maage the 14 of February not only due to Valentine’s Day but also because my wife and I are respectively born on the 14 of May andMarch 🙂
60’s style or not, I really like them!
Yes, that would have been awesome if he had been born on Feb 14th. However, my husband always jokes around and says it is the most expensive day of the year for him and a few years ago, Chinese New Year’s eve was on Feb 14th, so it was super expensive with the giving of all the red envelopes as well! 🙂
What a year it’s been for you and your family. Something positive happened every month. It must be hard to pick a favourite month. I love that blue sea photo you took at Rhodes, stunning view. Definitely a year of hard work and hard play for you 🙂
Good luck with re-designing and re-vamping the blog. The possibilities are endless as to how you can make your blog look. It’s something I’ve been working on too for a few months for my blog. Very exciting. Good luck with Christmas shopping, it is a mad time of the year. I am sure Nathan will enjoy the gifts you are getting him 🙂
Thank you Mabel 🙂
I really don’t know which was the best month but it might be February.
Christmas is really a crazy time, all the shops are constantly full, the post office have lines of people and everyone is just waiting to get their Christmas holidays. I have myself still eleven days left of work till my first thirteen days of holidays 🙂
Looking forward to hearing of your holiday stories next year. I am sure it won’t disappoint. Maybe MIL is getting into the festive spirit too.
Good luck with work. My work finishes on Christmas Eve, then I have the next year of holidays…or until I get another job 😉
So what would you prefer, having a lot of time for your own projects or having a new job as soon as possible?
Let’s just say…at the moment own projects. Of course, no question about that 🙂
Wonderful recap of the year and filled with many blessings. I hope the next year is even more joyful and productive! Hugs from Thailand 🙂
Thank you so much 🙂
Now I am just hoping that we did not get too much luck this year and dried out all the coming years
What an eventful year! In years to come, if you ever want to remember what happened in 2014, you can just look back at this blog.
You worked very hard this year: job hunting, blogging, renovating, moving, entertaining visiting in-laws, and caring for a new baby. And now, at the end of the year, you have a new job, a new apartment, and a new baby. Congratulations!
Thank you so much
For the upcoming year I hope it will be a bit more peaceful. Though we had incredible mich luck this year it was also very fast paced and exhausting 🙂
What an eventful 2014 and hope 2015 is even more fabulous! Can imagine MIL for three months being a ‘mixed blessing’ – Small space, new baby and all? 😉 Am impressed you survived! Congrats on the new job, new apartment and growing family.
Especially MIL was a little challenge in the beginning of the year. But thank god I am a guy so I can just turn off my brain so I don’t get bothered by anything 🙂
What a busy and big year for you guys! Congrats on keeping your sense of humor in the midst of all the big life changes.
Thank you:)
I hope that my humor will stay with me for many years to come (even with MIL around)
What a great review! And so very handy for new readers to get an overview (^_^)
I hope that the new year will be a great one as well
I hope so as well, few things we have planned and I hope they will work out well 🙂