Blessings

It has been such a long time since the last update. Sorry we have been crazy busy. The loan on our house did go through and we are now happy homeowners. We moved in April 2, and I still find myself putting things away. Clarence already has many projects going on, such as cleaning up the yard, building a pantry, moving walls, etc. He is in his element now. Clarence's company has now been put on a furlough program, where they work 3 weeks and then get one week off unpaid. Scary. But on the bright side, the kids and I are working at a local raw milk dairy and getting lots of great, fresh, delicious dairy foods and meat. I feel extremely blessed. I'm not posting pictures of the house, you will just have to come and see us. The kids are loving it here. They have already made lots of friends. This neighborhood has been very welcoming. We are definitely meant to be here right now. Here are a few more recent pics of my little man. He is such a sweetheart. He rolls all over the place now. Pretty soon, he'll be into everything.

6 months old!


This is how Oliver uses his pacifier now.



Clarence got these shirts from a buddy at work. He thought it was pretty funny, so he had me take a picture. If you can't read Oliver's shirt it says "I was in for 9 months now I'm on probation." Clarence's shirt seriously makes him look like a jail inmate.




This is a short video of Oliver's first time eating food. Pretty cute, but not a very clear picture.

Check this out!

McKay just posted some interesting posts about his birding adventures in our yard. Check it out if you have a minute. Here. I think it's pretty great how much he loves his birds and he has some great stories. It really is fun to watch the kids grow up and learn new things. We still have not heard whether our loan has gone through or not and we are suppose to close the 30th of this month. Stress!!! I took Oliver to the doctor today, because he sounds like Darth Vader when he breathes, but luckily, it's just a bad cold. I was a little nervous about RSV or pneumonia. I am so grateful it is not. Other than that, things are going well, I just wish I knew what was going on with the house. Anyhow, life is good.

The bottom of the laundry pile

So I have been searching for my camera for a few days now. I found it on my couch, under the huge laundry pile that has not moved for awhile. Some of the pictures of Oliver that I found cracked me up. I guess the kids take off with the baby more than I realized. Poor 4th child.


Oliver posing as the chef.


Oliver posing as Winnie the Pooh sitting next to fingernail polish stained Piglet.


Oliver being forced to walk way before he's ready.


Oliver pleading to be rescued from this craziness. I don't allow the girls to hold him that often, but when they do, they sure have fun. Here are a few more pics of my boy.


Some of Oliver's skills.

The Home Feeling

One of my favorite books of all time is called Laddie. It is about a large family, set in the early American time period. In one part of the book, they are standing on a point that overlooks their whole property, discussing some of the trials they have faced, and the many things they have overcome, until now they can see the fruits of their labors in their land. They had started with nothing and now they have ownership of this beautiful land, their home, and their family. One of the characters calls this feeling the "home feeling". It is a feeling of ultimate peace, joy, and contentment.

The last 2 days or so I have felt the "home feeling". I feel as if I can see everything we have gone through together as a family thus far, and I am standing at a point overlooking it all, and feeling this ultimate feeling. I can see the purpose for it all, and I am just content to be today. My family makes me happy. I am so content with where we are now and my heart is spilling over with joy. What a glorious feeling. I just want to feel this way always, and I believe there will come a day when I will. But for now, I am going to enjoy it while it lasts. I wish I could give this joy to everyone.

We are under contract for a home, and are supposed to close the end of March. We will see what happens. Hopefully the financing will pull through. I wish for all of you to have a fabulous day! As soon as I find my camera, I will post some long overdue pictures.

Reflections

Clarence and I have been married for almost 13 years and we have never had a house. We have always lived in a modular home or rented, which is perfectly fine with me. I could have worked and had a house but it has always been more important to me to be home with my children. Because the markets have plummeted, Clarence has a higher paying job, and we now have four children in a 2 bedroom apartment, we recently made the decision to begin house hunting. We have been house hunting for about a month or so, and have found the house that we want. However, yesterday, about 60 percent of my husband's company was cut to part time hours for a while. This did not affect my husband, yet. The fear engulfs me at times, yet in quiet moments we still feel good about offering on this house. All of this hardship around me actually is causing me to feel extremely grateful for the blessings we do have. What is a house and things really? The real wealth that I have is a loving husband who takes care of me, 4 beautiful children, a wonderful extended family and many amazing friendships. I am also grateful for the experiences of life that are helping me to turn to the Savior and rely on Him more fully. I am excited about the opportunities coming our way.

I just have a spare minute or two, but I wanted to post a few pictures. Maybe in a day or two I will have some time to do a real post. Notice Oliver's cheeks. I just want to squish them daily. He's so fun!







Here is one of all the kids ready to go to church.

Update and pictures

Just a quick update on what is going on at the Olson house. We have been frantically trying to get ready for Christmas as I have put most of the shopping off to the last week. We finally got all our shopping done on Saturday. Who waits til the last Saturday before Christmas to go shopping? Apparently everyone where I live. The stores were packed. That's what I get for procrastinating. It seems that my life is spinning out of control and I am constantly pedaling to keep up. How have I allowed so many distractions to get in the way of my most important job, which is nurturing and teaching my family. It's time for me to inventory everything I'm doing in my life and drop about half of the things. I figured out that I spend about 6 hours per day (at least) taking care of the baby, yet I am still trying to do the same amount I did pre baby. It does not add up, and my housework and homeschooling is suffering. I can not let this happen. That is why I have been spending much less time at the computer. Okay, I'm done venting.

McKay was recently asked to share some of his knowledge of birds with a co-op group of homeschoolers who happenned to be studying birds. He did such a great job talking about birds in the area and showing some of his drawings and paintings. It was fun to see that he knew the answers to every question that was asked. The only pictures I got were at the very end of the presentation when all but a very few children were left. The others had lost interest and fled the scene. I think it was a little disheartening for McKay to see that not everyone shares his passion for birds. He was also there for an hour or more and they stayed through most of it. What a great learning opportunity for him.

Elena got to be Mary for our Primary's Nativity scene at our Ward party, and she was so excited to hold Oliver posing as the baby Jesus. What an exciting day for her. We also saw Santa at the party, and Elena and Alexia enjoyed it very much. I guess McKay is too old for such things.

Oliver had his two month check up last week. He has gained 4 1/2 lbs. and 4 inches in length! He is growing too fast. He's already wearing size 3-6 months. All of the newborn pants go to his shins. I guess my hopes of having a little baby for awhile are already being shattered. He smiles all the time now, and even chuckles on occasion. Especially for his Dad. He is such a good, sweet baby, but he doesn't tolerate any of the kids holding him for very long anymore, so I usually tote him around in the ring sling. What a joy it has been to have him. He is very loved.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season. I may not be posting again for a little while as I have put off many things that really need to get done, and I am determined to enjoy this little one while he is still little. Here are a few pictures of Oliver in the last few weeks.