Surprise Weekend & First Swimming Lessons

I have the sneakiest husband on the planet. He pulled off a surprise (early) 30th birthday party for me this weekend with our family! He brought in my whole family from Indiana too! It was wonderful to see them all! And of course, the time went by way too fast! Here's some highlights from the weekend, and yes...that's a blow torch lighting my candles ;)

We were all worn out from the fun, but started the week out with a busy day! We have another one to follow tomorrow. The older 2 kiddos started their swimming lessons today. They ROCKED it! We are so proud of them! I wasn't sure how either one would do, but I had nothing to worry about! Asher was really upset that he couldn't be in there too. He's probably the biggest fish of them all! Next year buddy! 

This is the start to a very busy, but fun, summer! I'm going to need a vacation from summer after all of this! Ha! What are your plans for summer??

Everyday Blessings

I'm going to be brutally honest. Some days I struggle to truly treasure my family. Yuck. That sounds even more horrible when I see it written. I've been challenged a lot this last year with my patience level and short-temperedness with my family. It's true, isn't it? That those closest to us tend to get the worst of us. I think that's true because it's a generally "safe" relationship. We are family. Nothing can change that. But instead of our worst, they should be getting our best.
My everyday mission field is my home. It is my job to raise up my beloved children and prepare them for life. I hope that they will grow up to know and love Christ with every fiber of their beings too. But if I'm not giving them my best, how can I expect that to happen? I know that I can't do it alone either. I know that because I fail every time I try to go it alone. So how??? How do I accomplish this seemingly insurmountable task? I've only been able to find one answer. Grace. Cling to grace by clinging to the cross. When I take a step back, in the heat of the moment, and cry out to God to step in- he does. I just need to ask. I love the reminder from
Matthew 7:7-8

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened."

It may be a subtle whisper, or a reminder of a verse, or a reminder to count backwards from ten. Whatever way it comes, the point is that it does come. We just need to ask. What an amazing God we serve, that he desires to help us even in our ugliest moments! Thank you God, for your grace! Here are my everyday blessings:

Swimming Fun!

I decided it would be really beneficial to get a little pool for the kids. They were SO excited about it and I couldn't keep them out of it yesterday! We found out that you can fit 7 kids in it too! Our neighbor kids came over in the afternoon and joined us for some swimming fun! It definitely made the warmer day more enjoyable! Loving summer!!

Start of Summer

We have had a great start to our summer so far! Last week we took our first trip of the summer to the zoo. The weather was perfect and the kids had a blast! You can see S's blue mouth from the cool treat they got at the end of the day! My girlfriend had made them "Zoo Passports"- little booklets where they could check off the animals they saw as we walked around. It was so cute! She is so creative!

Even though it's summer, we are still in school. We got a really late start to our school year this year, so we will be schooling through the summer. But despite that, it will still be a fun and busy summer with lots to do!

I wanted to share a verse that is beginning to mean a lot to me.

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17(NIV)

What an amazing thing to know that the God of the universe delights in us! I know that I personally am so undeserving of that delight- but he does it anyways! Over this last year, the Gospel has become new to me all over again. I'm really enjoying learning about my God in a whole new light. It still amazes me that after...ahem...30...ugh...years that I can learn something new about my Creator! I love that! I will try and share my new findings as I come across them in hopes that you may learn something new too:) How has the start to your summer been so far??

Back to blogging!

Ok, so I've decided that I'm really going to do this now! Ha! I've been encouraged by some to keep going with this. So since I know that there's no way I'll keep up everyday, I'm shooting to post once a week.
We had a very busy weekend here at the Olson house! The kids were fishing with MS and had a blast!

I didn't get to go because of a conference I was attending- which was also really great! It was full of encouraging tidbits on how to maintain a healthy and balanced life- emotionally, spiritually, and physically. I definitely needed that! So now that I'm on a new venture of blogging, I hope that this will help keep family and friends updated on our life, be a great tool for us to look back on and remember, and a way to bring glory to God! Thanks for joining me on my journey!

A different type of Christmas

I love Christmas! Everything about this season is so much fun! But since Dave has been working at UPS, this has become his very busy season. He works long hours and is usually working Christmas Eve too. This has been a hard adjustment for me. I have often gone through this season with a grumpy chip on my shoulder, feeling like I was robbed of some right that I had to happiness. That was ugly to admit, but it was true. This year is different though. A lot of it has to do with our tree. How you ask? Well I have to admit that it started out ugly. Dave and I were trying to decide what to do for a tree this year. We have done real trees in the past. But we are in a rental this year and he was concerned about any possible damage the tree could cause. Plus, we decided to go artificial and get a pre-lit. We went in search of one, but to our dismay they are REALLY expensive! We know that they will be deeply discounted after Christmas, so Dave suggested that we just go without a tree this year. That didn't go over so well with me. That was just one more thing to give me fuel for my Christmas season, UPS fire. And THAT bothered me...a lot. I looked at my attitude with complete disgust. Dave also said that this was a great opportunity to really teach our kids what Christmas is really about. Hello guilt trip. For a few days, I was in a horrible grumpy funk. My stubborn selfish will was declaring a full out war with my reason, conscience, and heart. And it was UGLY.So I set out for some serious heart examination. And after lots of prayer and thought I knew he was right and that this WAS a great opportunity, not only for a teachable moment for the kiddos, but for ourselves as well. It's so easy to get caught up in all of the hustle and bustle of the season and lose focus on the true meaning of Christmas. This sparked my "advent tree" idea. I made a tree out of construction paper and am having the kids make an ornament that represents the Bible story that we read that day. I found online that someone had figured out that the number of stories in the "Jesus Storybook Bible" is the exact amount for the number of days in Advent! The last story falls on Christmas Eve and is the birth of Christ! How cool is that? We already had the book (its a REALLY great kids Bible story book!) so that was easy! I read a story while the kids make the ornaments. They really have enjoyed doing it and so have I! The funny thing is, is that once I decided to do this, the desire for a Christmas tree was gone. We even have had at least 3-4 offers for a tree! Ha! We turned them down for now. We will still plan on doing a normal tree in years to come, but I also want this "Advent tree" to be a new tradition that we start as a family. It really helps to recenter our focus on why we celebrate this beloved holiday! Merry CHRISTmas! :)

Our Advent Tree

Gifts of Gratitude Day 8

So, I'm finding I'm not the best at being a regular "blogger". We've had a lot happen in the last month and I'm just not good at being consistent with this. But nonetheless, I will keep at this even though it may not be as regular as I hoped! We have a lot to be thankful for right now. We just moved closer to Dave's job and our church. Its so nice being so close to everything again! Love having our friends close by! And I just found out that I am STILL cancer-free!! It's been 3 years now! That's the longest stretch I have had yet! SO much to be thankful for!!
Yet despite all of that, I am still struggling to have a thankful spirit. Get ready for some brutal honesty people. There are days that I struggle to find the joy in motherhood. *GASP* I know, I know....that's a terrible thing to say. But let's face it. It's the truth. Now, don't get me wrong, I love being a mom! It was always my dream job. Its just also a lot harder than I anticipated. Ha! And there are days (especially lately) where I literally feel like I've ran a marathon at the end of the day. Motherhood is exhausting- physically, mentally, and emotionally. I'm attempting my first year at homeschooling (which is not going all that well), running a household, and the mother of 3 precious children- one of which is a 3 year old boy that has been exerting his strong will as of late. There isn't a day that goes by lately that this mommy doesn't feel like an utter failure at the end of the day. But despite all that, I know that this is just a phase in life and that it won't last forever. I also know that in order to make it through, I need to look at my own heart and change my attitude/behaviors instead of trying to change my children's. Kids learn by example. So I know that I need to constantly be checking the example that I'm setting and make adjustments accordingly. Definitely easier said than done!
Life itself is hard. That is a fact and something that won't change until our Lord makes his appearance again. Even though that's true, he is a gracious God and gives many many moments of joy even though we don't deserve it. As I've been sitting here typing, my precious Luke climbed into my lap, after having a massive meltdown that included an "I don't like you Mommy.", he snuggled in and apologized (without prompting). Those moments are grace-filled blessings for me. They remind me of the joy that is in motherhood and life. They remind me too of God's great love for us and that he cares even about the small things. I'm so undeserving of his love, yet he lavishes it upon me despite it. Thank you, Abba, for your many displays of grace and love! So even though mommyhood may not get easier, I know that this is my calling and I will keep clinging to those "grace moments" and the joy that comes with it. And if you're a struggling mama out there, know that you are not alone! I'm not one that hides what I'm feeling or going through. I believe that a lot of our struggles are the very same. But we won't know that unless we share! So I hope you get some encouragement from my ramblings! May God give you "grace-filled moments" in abundance!