Introducing…
After dating for a year, Heidar proposed to Nora on a Fall Friday in September, and were married exactly 1 year later in the church Nora grew up attending.
Our married life has taken us on journeys from the Midwest to Hawaii, and eventually to Sacramento, as Heidar climbed the ladder of hospital financial administration and Nora’s business grew.
Heidar moved to the US from Iceland with his father’s ministry at the age of 9. He studied accounting in college and discovered a passion for healthcare, deciding to devote his skills to that field, and he worked his way to becoming a Chief Financial Officer of a hospital! Through his hard work and travels across the country, he’s drawn strength from his family. He has fond memories of living with siblings in Hawaii, motorcycling across Oahu and paintballing in the woods together. His brother brought him to an Irish fest in Indiana, where Heidar fell in love with Hurling (an Irish sport similar to field hockey and lacrosse) and joined the local club where he met Nora!
Nora says: “Heidar is kind, patient, hardworking, and someone who can always make me laugh. Our nieces and nephews gravitate to Uncle Heidar when he is in the room! You can find them scheming up a new game, competing to see who has the best cannon ball, or quoting all the words to Shrek. The kids like to “fix” his hair into sculptural masterpieces, and they all laugh about them together. Heidar is a fun and supportive husband through all our adventures, and I thank God for bringing us together.”
Nora was born in Chicago and raised in an Indianapolis suburb, where her parents still reside in her childhood home today. She loves visiting her parents, her six siblings, most of whom live close to their folks, and her lifelong friends who still live next door. Nora's school years as a caddy at a prestigious golf course lead to a full scholarship at Purdue University. After graduating with a degree in graphic design, Nora's golf contacts led her to her first job in her design career, back in Indianapolis. There, she joined a club to learn a new sport, Hurling, and met Heidar on her first day. After marriage, she followed him on his travels while launching her own business designing wedding stationary and calligraphy.
Heidar Says:
“Nora is patient, compassionate, and genuinely caring for people. She has a great sense of humor and an eye for fashion and home decoration. She’s nannied extensively and is quick to bond with any child. All our nieces and nephews love when Aunt Nora comes around. You’ll find them shopping, drinking Lanikai juice, or learning new languages over breakfast. Nora is never afraid to try something new, be it a sport, a state, or our new neighborhood. She tried Camogie (women’s Hurling) and became the captain of the 2013 National Championship team. I couldn’t have asked God for a better wife.”
During our time in Chicago, Nora nannied for a family with two boys. This was a time of adventure, exploring local museums, parks, and zoos, and cheering them on with hockey, soccer, and swimming. It was a busy time, but a lot of fun!
Our next move let us experience the beauty of Hawaii and the Aloha Spirit, and we explored, golfed, hiked, beached, and of course, tried all the food! Heidar’s older sister and her family moved close by, and we got to pile into the Jeep and share the fun with our nieces and nephews. It’s a point of pride for us that they always wanted to ride in our car instead of their parents’!
This time, God has led us just North of Sacramento to Rocklin, where we’ve started to settle into our new area. Heidar works for a not-for-profit hospital in Marysville, while Nora takes care of the household and works from home managing her wedding stationary business. We are learning to navigate a new town and explore the treasures that are hidden to us now but will become memories soon!
Our adventures of travel, moving, new homes, a house remodel, loss, and joys, have stregthened our faith in God and in our relationship. Our love for and communication with each other has only grown.
We both come from large, joyful, close-knit families rooted with faith at the center. Heidar has 2 siblings living near his parents in South Bend, Indiana, and a sister in Hawaii. Nora has 6 siblings, most of whom live near her parents in Indianapolis, Indiana, with a brother in Chicago.
Together, we have 11 nieces and nephews between the ages of 2 and 11! The kids all love Uncle Heidar and Aunt Nora.
We visit everyone as often as we can; thank goodness most of the family lives close together so we can all gather together! Family get-togethers are tons of fun thanks to all of the kids – lots of laughing, singing, and many memories made. Even when we lived far away in Hawaii, everyone visited, usually at the same time, making for a full house and lots of precious memories.
When Heidar’s sister and her family moved close to us, we had regular Ohana Nights (Ohana means family in Hawaiian) where we joined them and their kids for dinner and a few episodes of Hell’s Kitchen! This is a tradition we plan to continue in our new home.
Our vast extended family is spread all over, including Hawaii, Iceland, Chicago, and across the Northern Midwest, and we treasure holidays, weddings, and family reunions with them, with regular Zoom calls in between. No matter the distance, our family finds ways to spend time together.
We’ve always talked about having multiple children. We’re both very close with our siblings. There are no better friends than family!
Our boxer Ronaldo was a big part of our family for 9 years until he passed away in 2022. Our future dog will be of a breed known for family-friendliness and loyalty. We’re open to breed suggestions!
Around the World
We love to travel and are ready to return to our pre-Covid goal of taking one international trip per year. The first trip on our list is a return to Iceland to visit Heidar’s family and childhood hangouts. Though we previously weren’t able to visit as often as we liked, now we have a share in an apartment there, so we’ll definitely be going more!
Other places we’ve travelled to include England, Ireland, and Japan. Next on our list is Australia, Spain, Italy, France, and Germany – maybe even a road trip across mainland Europe! Both of us have occasional travel opportunities for work, and we always find a way to turn our work trips into family trips!
When we travel, we like to avoid the tourist traps and go where the locals go to pick up more of the language and culture. Fun fact: In Ireland, local food courts are structured like school cafeteria tables, which makes it easier to make friends with the people next to you! Oh, and there are mountain trails where you can literally hike side by side with the sheep that live there!
Home Sweet Home
We recently purchased a 2 story, 4 bed, 3.5 bath house in Rocklin, CA. The future nursery is close to our master room on the first floor, and the house has lots of open space to play in!
Our backyard backs up to a golf course and our neighborhood has two pools, tennis courts, and playgrounds and hiking trails scattered throughout. It was very important to us when choosing a neighborhood that there be a lot of opportunity to play outside; we spent a lot of time growing up hanging out with friends and playing sports outside.
Our home is on the far north side of Rocklin, which means we are close to lots of restaurants, stores, and activities, but still a comfortable distance from the noise and traffic of suburban life. We live close to highly rated schools. We attend church in Rocklin/Roseville and usually see quite a few kids in attendance. We are still learning the area but know that we picked a great location.
Final Thoughts
We have very loving and supportive families who, like us, value compassion, acceptance and independence. We are settled and happy here in Northern California and grateful for the opportunities God has provided us.
-Heidar and Nora
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