It's end of the month

and what do I have to show for it?
A few pictures of the kids.

(Cousins takin' a bath)

It's obvious that Zoe was the one that was sitting still enough to get a good shot. We are still waiting for her to take off crawling...any day now.

It's been 28 years...

and here you are.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JEREMY!

The escape

I was at the hospital on Monday morning with my sister. That meant that Dad was on duty...does anyone know what that really means? Here's a prime example:

Jeremy had put Zoe down for a nap and taken Hosanna and Judah outside to play for a while. After they came inside, he turned on the TV for them and went upstairs for a minute. He came downstairs and they weren't anywhere to be found...the front door was open.

He ran outside and down to the corner. No sign of them. He went the other way toward my sister's house, the sidewalk was empty. He ran back to the house to look again. Then it hit him - the park! So he took off for the park (only about a block and a half from our house). Mind you, it is 55 degrees outside and windy, he is only wearing basketball shorts, no shirt and no shoes.

At the park, he finds them trying to climb the trees that they never have permission to climb. There were a couple of ladies there, as well as a cop. After answering a few questions from the cop, he walked them back home.

In all honesty, we are thankful for their safety, at that time of day there isn't much traffic on our street. And hopefully, they understood that they are NEVER to go out the door alone again! I know it seems questionable whether the two children pictured above could cause such a panic...but they did.

Jackson Robert Olson

Late Sunday night, I went to the hospital to be with my sister while she was in labor with her first baby. After a long night and a little bit of a change in plans, Jackson Robert Olson was born Monday, April 20th at 10:35 am 8 lbs. 7 oz. 20 1/2 inches long.

Another sweet little addition to our family... his cousins were excited to meet him. He is pictured above with my dad.

Third Day

For his birthday, Jeremy got tickets to go see Third Day in concert. Appearing with them was a new group called Revive and Brandon Heath. The day of the concert Brandon Heath was at a local bookstore, Jeremy took Judah and went to meet him. That's them pictured above.



Here are some other pictures that we took during the concert. We had a great time. Jeremy was so thrilled that he got the chance to go. Third Day is his absolute favorite!

Think About It Thursday

God is FAITHFUL

Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. Psalms 37:3-5 NKJV

There is ABSOLUTELY nothing that God can't do.

He is faithful to accomplish His Word and care for His children. We are to put our trust in Him, although it isn't that easy sometimes.

We need to constantly remind ourselves that He has our best interest at heart and that as we go through the seasons of life He is FAITHFUL and will complete the good work which He started in us.

The definition of the word faithful - true to one's word, vows, promises, etc.; loyal; constant; reliable, trusted or believed. After reading that, you could pretty much sum it up in one word - GOD.

He is always there for us, never lets us down and always takes care of us. The best part is that is true ALL OF THE TIME, regardless of how we act toward Him. His love for us is amazing and is not based on anything we do or don't do.

I'm thankful that He is reliable and constant, FAITHFUL in every way, all of the time.

Think About It...

The weekend

On Saturday, the kids had a chance to color some eggs. My recommendation: DO NOT try this at home (especially if you are a renter!). There were 5 different color cups...by the end there were only three. Thankfully, their Grandma was patient and knew how to clean up egg dye! They enjoyed the project. I am afraid, however, that Paula's shoes will never be the same again.

Here is Hosanna showing her pink egg - pink was the first color to go :(

On Sunday, we woke up to an Easter basket bonanza. Everyone was excited about all they had received. After breakfast, Hosanna and Judah went outside to hunt easter eggs. It was a little cool and breezy, but they didn't mind. They had a blast.

EASTER MORN' - 2009

Before we went to church, I did pile them up for a picture. I was excited about this one...they are all looking in the same direction.

Baby's First Easter
Click here to see a picture of Hosanna wearing this same dress on her first Easter.
(I have more pictures of this sweet girl, but I'll save those for another post.)

We enjoyed Easter ham and the works at Great-Grandma Shirley's (Tim's mom) house. After playing outside awhile, we loaded up the van and headed home. There the kids found more Easter goodies, enjoyed their fifth (or maybe sixth?!?) pack of fruit snacks for the day and called it a night.

We had a wonderful Easter weekend.

Easter Weekend

I am trying to get in my third post of the week. It's Saturday morning 10 am.

We made the trip to northern Iowa yesterday afternoon and will spend the weekend with Jeremy's mom and stepdad. Jeremy's brother (Shane) and his girlfriend are also here. Right at the moment, the house is silent. How did I manage that you ask? Well, Zoe is napping, the guys went to town to have a tire on my van looked at and the kids are outside with their Grandma (Grammy, as Hosanna has been calling her all morning). Ahh, a moment of silence...can you feel it? Isn't it wonderful?

Anyhow, we don't have a huge day planned - just some relaxed, hanging out time. Somehow Hosanna remembers that last fall we used the firepit to have a fire and roast marshmallows, she asked her Grandpa if they could do that again tonight. And then there's the Wii that Shane brought with him. We'll probably get to bowling some time later tonight.

I don't have much else to share at the moment. Maybe I'll be able to take some pictures of our crowd today and post them for you later.

Have a wonderful Easter, as we celebrate the One who died to give us abundant LIFE in Him!

I AM THANKFUL

As I sit here on this quiet Wednesday afternoon, I am thankful for ...

3 children napping so soundly

the beautiful sun beaming down despite the wind

a Heavenly Father who loves and guides me

the true health and wealth of our family

the laughter and racket that my children are bound to provide countless times each day

the ability to love and to forgive


What a wonderful day

I AM THANKFUL AND BLESSED IN SO MANY WAYS!

Three things from today

First of all, what is sweeter than a chunky, smiling, brown-eyed, dimple-faced girl with wristless arms? Not much if you ask me! We met Jeremy at the mall for lunch today, Zoe was getting antsy in her seat. When Jeremy lifted her out of the seat, she smiled SUPER big and pretty much clapped her hands.

Judah has just recently learned how to say 'Love you.' Yesterday and today, pretty much out of nowhere, he told Jeremy a couple of times, "Love you daddy." Well, today he and Hosanna sat at the table to do some water color paints. He looked over at her and said, "Love you, Sanna." It was very sweet!

Okay, so I had one thing in mind to write for Hosanna and then I thought of another...so this is kind of a two-fer. 1) While we were at the mall, she was practically skipping around singing, "Ding dong, the witch is dead." That was pretty funny since I could understand what she was saying after the ding dong part. As for the other mall patrons, I'm not sure what they thought she was singing about. (She's been watching the Wizard of Oz.) 2) Tonight I fed her and Judah before Jeremy got home from work. I put their food in front of them and walked away from the table to do something else. She turns to him and says, "Okay Judah, let's pray." She bowed her head and said a prayer over their dinner.

These are three things I want to remember from today. For the most part, we are enjoying today's ages and stages...

I know you're probably wondering...

where I've been and why I haven't been blogging quite so much.

Well, here's the scoop:

We've had a couple of sick weeks over the past couple of months.

We took a short trip to visit some friends in Tulsa.

I've been doing some 'childcare' for my sister and that has kept me busy a few mornings a week.

But that's no excuse! I really want to blog a lot more than I did in the month of March.

Here's some fun news: my sister, Meg, brother-in-law, Ben, and nephew, Jonah - just arrived today from New Jersey. They have moved back to the area and we are excited to have them closer. They will be staying at our house for a while. Jonah and Zoe were born just 9 days apart, it will be like having twins! Except one is crawling and one isn't.

I hope to have some pictures to post over the next couple of days and to blog at least 3 times next week. We will see!

Think About It Thursday

Isaiah 55 (amp)

Seek, inquire for, and require the Lord while he may be found [claiming Him by necessity and by right]; call upon Him while He is near. (vs. 6)

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord. (vs. 8)

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. (vs. 9)

So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. (vs. 11)

For you shall go out [from spiritual exile caused by sin and evil into the homeland] with joy and be led forth [by your Leader, the Lord Himself, and His word] with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (vs. 12)

As children of God, we can seek Him by right (vs. 6). The same way that a child asks their parents for help, we can go to God and ask Him for what we need. Although His thoughts are so far above ours, He still takes time to listen to our hearts and He knows what we need when we need it.

His Word - the Bible - will NOT return to Him void (vs. 11). Everything that we SAY that is from the Word of God will go out and accomplish what God intended. As we pray and believe what God says about our family, friends and those we love - we can have peace and joy regarding the circumstances (vs. 12).

I am so thankful that 'if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.' (1 John 1:7) God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8).

His thoughts and His ways are enormously greater than ours and we can come to Him with the needs that we have and trust that He will use His Word to make a way, His way, for us.

Think About It...