Happy 4th Birthday,Emma!!!

Our precious Emma has turned 4! It is so hard to believe that 4 years ago Dave and I welcomed our first baby into this world. I'm sure I'll say that every year she turns another year older. It really is amazing how fast time flies. It's been a true blessing to watch her grow these past couple years. She loves to be a helper, write words, sing and dance, and so much more!

This year we decided to have seperate parties. She has been so excited to turn 4, we thought it would be fun for her to experience it twice. Let it linger a little bit :) Next year, we'll probably go back to both sides. It's fun when we all get together!

We had to cancel her first party with the Olin side because of our snow storm on Sunday :( We rescheduled for this thursday so we'll have more pictures and fun to share!

Emma had a fun day! Started off with her opening up the gift Dave and I bought for her. It is called Star Station. It includes two microphones and music that she can sing along to WHILE watching herself on TV. Oh boy! She really likes it-and Kate,too :)

Then the family came over for some party time! She looked so serious opening her presents. She was sure to open the card first and then get into the gifts. She received some fun stuff! Butterfly costume, cheerleader costume, clothes, ballet leotard, tights, slippers, books, My Little Ponies, Miniature people, and an Emma size Dollhouse. Wow-that takes up a lot of room ;)


Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

He's a crazy guy!

I had the priviledge of spending time with my Father-in-Law today! For the past few years we have gotten together to Christmas shop! How lucky am I!?!? :)

I'm not sure how many years we've been doing this but I'm calling it a tradition because it's been more than 3.

We have a really great time doing this! We come up with good ideas and get alot accomplished! Not to mention our conversations are funny and we catch up!

When the whole family gets together, it's a great time, but Dad usually sits back and just enjoys us. When we go on our shopping sprees he opens up and talks! It's always interesting and I learn more about him. Today, I learned about how God brought him to his place of business and what a key role he allowed God to play in his life. He followed Gods plan and if he didn't he would've been somewhere else and well Dave would never have met his beautiful bride...Tami. Oh-yeah-sorry that is me. Back to subject.... ;)

God blessed me with a great Dad growing up. I couldn't have imagined a better one! God loved him so much more that He took him home to be with Him! So...while I'm here on earth, God blessed me yet,again, with a wonderful Father-in-Law.

Keeping in the spirit of Christmas, one of the traditions we do every year is go the the Lights at the Zoo. We have a beautiful zoo!

We walk around and admire the different colors and music. After we're done with that we enjoy a cup of hot cocoa and a donut at a local place.

The only thing disturbing this year was the Ape area. I have never smelled anything more foul in my entire life. No dirty diapers, nothing! My nephews could barely stand it and my brother.....he was gagging. That is not unusual for him :)

We had a great time! The weather wasn't too chilly,either! Praise the Lord!

Karrie-this is for you......

My friend,Karrie, wanted to see our house decorated for Christmas. Here ya go, darlin! Sorry it's so blurry. You get the 'jist!

Hola Kate!

So Kate has been picking up some spanish words lately. It's been pretty funny to hear her just blurt out something in Espanol.

Like the other day....she comes up to me and says "Me llama es Katelyn, Como se llamas?"

Can you believe that!? Yeah-she didn't, but wouldn't that be funny?

Ok, seriously.....every time she goes to open the chips she'll say "habre", or when Dave is squeezing her she'll plead "habre". I'm probably spelling it wrong but anyway for those of you who are not bi-lingual that means "open". :)

Thanks,Dora the Explorer.

Emma's got her groove back....

Anytime music plays----Emma starts getting her groove on. It's in the genes. Her Grandpa Prentiss had some groovy moves and I must admit, I do like to shake it!

Mr.Snowman

Ah, the snow is here! We woke up to a couple inches of snow this week! It was a nice surprise! Everything looks pretty with a fresh layer of snow!

The girls had played in it earlier in the week but I failed to take pics!

Thankfully, when I got home from a baby shower today Dave was outside playing in the snow with the girls :) So I broke out the camera :) They were building a snowman on the picnic table!

It's very cute!

Date with Grams!

My Mom decided to get herself a Christmas present this year :) She decided what she would like the most would be to take Emma to see the "Nutcracker" at the Stranahan Theater. My Mom called Emma up and invited her to go. In the midst of the conversation my Mom told Emma that the people in the show would be in costumes. She then told Emma that she and Emma could dress up nice and go together. Emma said "I get to wear my Superman costume?" Grandma said "No, not that kind of dress up". Emma said "Gram-do you mean dresses?" It was how she said it like "C'mon Gram-if that is what you meant you should've just said so"! It was really cute :)

Emma asked me every day if "this is the day for the show?". She was so excited! They had a wonderful time together. Emma said "Mommy, there was a guy in it"! I haven't talked to my Mom,yet, so I'm sure she'll have something cute to say about it.

Sometimes you just don't wanna "go" alone. So it's nice to have a friendly sister to tell you a story.

Here we go! Christmas lights, eye pain, and a possible broken toe!

Hello all!
Well, we're off! The holiday season has arrived! It's cold and it finally feels like Christmastime :) We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

On Thursday we hosted T-dinner at our home for my side of the family. We had a great time :) My Mom & Ted took the girls for an over-nighter that night. What a blessing! Dave and I went to see a movie and then drove around looking for ANY place that would be open for a hot cocoa or coffee. Nothing was open-not even the golden arches was lit up!
We got up at 3:25AM and arrived at Toys R Us at 3:45AM. We waited outside in the COLD until it opened at 5am. This was the first year I've gone out on "Black Friday". Dave and I had such a fun time doing this together. We went to 7 stores and got most of our Christmas shopping done! We were done around 9am!
We picked up the girls and headed to the Olin Thanksgiving for some more yummy food :)

After coming home, the girls napped while Dave hung Christmas lights outside. It was getting darker out as he was getting the lights on the last tree so he couldn't see very well. He stepped right into a tree branch. It caught his eye pretty good! The girls and I at that point were watching from inside b/c it was so cold out. We just saw him holding his head and wondering what had happened. He was in some pretty intense pain but refused to go the Urgent Care. So this morning, I called the Family Doc and got him in. The Dr numbed his eye and turned off the lights to use the UV light. It was crazy! You could see the jagged CUT on his PUPIL! He got an RX for an antibiotic and to add insult to injury he had to get a tetanus shot! The nurse put a patch on his eye and sent us off! The numbing wore off and he is back to being in pain again. Advil isn't helping, so a friend of the family gave him some stronger medication to help him out. We're hoping that will help him. Poor guy! I have to do a little bragging.....he's a tough guy! He's never been one to be a baby while being sick or in pain. I'm so blessed! ;)

We started decorating the inside of our home today when another mishap occurred. We hung our stockings on the fireplace mantle and Emma didn't like where hers was so in an attempt to switch it around the "O" in NOEL came crashing down on her foot. The letters are pretty heavy! Her fourth toe is blue, has a cut going up the foot. Her little toe could possibly be broken but with toes there isn't much you can do. She's been a trooper allowing us to put ice on it. She's doing just fine this evening.

It's been an eventful holiday weekend :)

Trick OR Treat?

Last night we had the girls dress up as Supergirls for Trick or Treat. Daddy took them around the neighborhood while Mommy passed out candy. I could hear the girls yelling my name when they came around the 'bend. They were having such a great time :)

When they returned they wanted to help pass out candy. Emma was VERY generous with giving out candy. She had handfuls to give! Katelyn would take candy out of her basket to give. At one point, Emma took the piece of candy back that Kate put in a little girls bag and said "No, Kate this is yours". It was cute, the little girl didn't know what to do. We, of course, gave it to her to keep.

It was a fun family night. The girls received lots of candy and a pencil :) The neighbors and I were talking about how next year we'll pass out pennies, or apples. Wouldn't THAT go over well?

Embarrassing

Ok, Can you tell I AM TERRIBLE at blogging?! I can't get the pictures to line up right! Urgh....So sorry that it's all scrambled around.

Family pics from Pumpkin Carving night!

Jacob working hard!

Timmy so sweet!

Katelyn taking her frustration out on the pumpkin head.

Girls just wanna have fu-un.

Mom threatening...again.

Heather....sweet, sweet, Heather.

So proud of this guy!

My brother is a dork....that is all I can say. Well and the fact that Dave can't help himself. :)

Pumpkin carving night!

It's been awhile since my last post. So I thought I'd get you up to date on the happenings at the Olin Homestead. We've been plugging away over here. Emma enjoying her "second round" of preschool. There are more students in her class this time. She enjoys the social part of it, I believe :) Uh oh-I wonder where she gets THAT from!? Certainly her father ;) ;)

Katelyn is getting over a pretty bad ear infection. She is such a trooper and only let it bother her for one night. One very, very long night :) She is much better! Praise the Lord for this minor thing-it could be so much worse. He is an amazing Father. He heals our "boo boos" all the time.

We went to a neighbors Halloween party the other night. Met some new neighbors, and hung out with Dave's sister,Holly, and her fiance, Joe. They are acquaintances of our neighbors as well.

I had so much to write about what all we've been up to-but at this very moment-I can't think of a darn thing. So I'll leave you to some pictures of our annual pumpkin carving night at my Mom's. We've been doing this for over 11 years now! Heather was pregnant with my nephew,Jacob, when I remember the first time. It could've been sooner-but of course, I don't remember. We always have fun and it's so neat to see what everyone comes up with. Watching Jacob and Tim throughout the years has been so cool. They have gone from getting help to not wanting help. (Although they still get it:) ) Now, Emma and Kate are enjoying it,too. They just want to stab the pumpkin at this point. :)
This year, Kate has Bob the Tomato. Emma has a Happy face, Dave has the "Halo 3" logo, and mine is a happy face as well. THe pic that I took of all the pumpkins didn't turn out that great. Ted will send me his pics and I"ll update when I get them.

Enjoy Trick or Treat this wednesday to all the church skippers out there! :)

Front Porch!

I love this time of year! I love the season change and the cooler weather. Of course, I don't look forward to the freezing weather. :(

I love it when people decorate their houses according to the seasons. No, I'm not talking about the houses that look like the person threw up the "season" on them. Do you know what I'm talking about? The Halloween and Christmas garb EVERYwhere! Oh-hideous!

Anyway, I enjoy the different times of year. It's so much fun to decorate! We have lived in our new house for 10 months now and the INside isn't decorated that well, but the outside we're having fun with!

I'm looking forward to "Trick or Treat" :) It's so much fun to watch the toddlers and kids come door to door to get candy. We give 3 point sermons to each child but that is our choice, now you may choose to give candy or crack, but we do it the godly way.

Whatever.

So, I think the girls are going to be "Superwomen". Our friends,Dave and Karrie, bought the girls super hero outfits last year for Christmas and they just love wearing them still. :)

New Mall

Yes, everyone! We went to the grand opening of the Fallen Timbers Shops! Located in the beautiful Waterville/Maumee area.

My friend,Jessica, called me at 8:18am in the morning and suggested we go to the grand opening that started at 9am! They were going to give away a $1000 shopping spree! Now, going by luck I should have known better, but you always think "it could be me"! Well friends....stop that thinking now...it won't happen to you....ever.

This nice lady won the shopping spree :) Good for her.

This event surely lasted awhile and had all the pomp and circumstance! The Maumee chearleaders, marching band and choir did a great job. The clown painted the girls faces and handed out baloons to the kids.

It was a different and fun thing to do. We had rain on the way there but it stopped when we got there. God is good :O)

Pumpkin Farm!

We were invited to go along with a few friends to Fleitz Pumpkin farm in Oregon,Ohio. It was SO neat! We've lived in toledo our whole lives and have never known about this place. The family that run this place are doing an amazing job! You could just sense the family atmosphere.

They have gourds, rows of pumpkins, indian corn,corn stalks, bales of hay, craft store, apples, snack shop, hay rides, mazes, etc. The list just goes on! What a great find :)

The kids had fun on the hay ride and going through the mazes. They picked out their own pumpkins and gourds.

We picked a day that was incredibly HOT for October! Go figure! We were all sweating and red faced by the time we left. But it was worth it! We hit Tony Packos on the way home. That was yummy :)

Thanks Plaisances, Whites, and LaVrars for a great time!

Apple Picking!

It's that time of year! One of my favorites!!!

We went on our annual Apple Picking trip with my Mom,Ted, Brother and his family and the four of us. As usual we had a great time. This year it seemed that we all got tired quicker! Maybe we're just getting older?

Dave, as usual, was a "great" influence on our nephews,Jake and Tim. He would say "hey guys-watch this", and he would run and kick part of the tree so that apples would go flying. Nice Uncle. Get the boys in trouble ;) This is probably WHY they love him so much. He IS pretty amazing!

Emma and Kate really get into it. They test taste the apples first, if they aren't up to par, they throw them on the ground and go on to the next tree :) Waste? Sure, but there are SO many so don't give me grief about it. :O)
Kate would tell us "c'mere guys, I found an apple"....Really? There are apples in an orchard? :) haha She cracks us up.
Emma wanted to climb with the boys and loved holding the apples in her shirt and then transport them to the bags.

We went back to my Mom's for hamburgs and donuts and cider. My brother and I were doing our absolute best to pester each other. I did the best job so he squirted whip cream in the back of my shirt. I smelled like curdled milk. LOL! I love these times! Don't worry-I got him back. On their way out, I threw a glass of water at him :) Oh-paybacks. He'll get me, I'm sure.

Well, I forgot our camera on the kitchen counter. I was so bummed. Ted took pics so I'll have to get them from him. Once I get them, I'll post them.

Date with Daddy :)

Dave tries to take each girl out on a "Date with Daddy" every once in awhile. Tonight, he took Emma to go see Sanctus Real and Steven Curtis Chapman. The fun part is that he got the Spartan seats at the Stranahan Theater. Now....hopefully he didn't order Emma the special "drink of the night". :)

Emma was very excited! She wore her twirly dress and I even put hairspray on her hair!

On her way out she said "C'mon Dad, it's just you and I, Kate and Mommy are stayin' here". She is never sad to leave her Momma behind.

Here is a picture of them before the special date!

Kate and I went shopping. Then we went to McDonalds for a "cheeburga" and a chocolate milkshake. We had fun! Katelyn is always more talkative when alone. She is very funny! She pointed out the moon to me and I didn't go the right way at one point. It's always special!

Pics

Here are some pics of the new hardwood floors, and the new color on the LR wall :)

The hardwood floors were put in a week ago in our Dining area, kitchen,laundry room, back hall and half bathroom. I won't take pics of all of it-but here is just an idea for ya :)

We think it turned out nice :)

Home Makeover?

Nah...Just some decorating!

We painted the fireplace wall in our living room. First we had to buy primer b/c we were going to paint a dark red color. The primer went on MAUVE. It was SO ugly.
I decided to call my neighbor over in the midst of painting the primer on. I asked her "What do you think of this color?"....Her face got all red and said "You're wanting red,right? Is it supposed to dry red?" She was sincere and I could just tell she thought it was hideous! I gave in and said that it was just the primer. She, of course, called me a name and got a chuckle out of it.

Here is a pic of the mauve primer. I'll send an update of the red wall when I get a pic!

New 'Do for Emma :)

Well, the day finally arrived! Freedom from tangles for Emma!

We decided over a month ago that we were sick of fighting with Emma about brushing and drying her hair. It was getting WAY too long for a 3 year old! I bought the tangle free *stuff* and it just didn't cut it! So I've been asking her almost daily if she wanted to get her hair cut short. She was very confident in saying "yes"every time :)

I wanted to make absolute sure....Yes, she is only 3 but even little girls are particular about their hair.

On thursday, we went to see Miss Sheila and got 8 inches cut off! Only two more inches and she could have sent it to "Locks of Love". Next time :)

She was very well behaved and giggled when she saw the finished product! She LOVES her hair! I love it,too :) She looks like a little dolly :)

So helpful!

Just a short post about The sweetness of a 3 year old.

Emma loves to help. She loves to be the "big helper" and do things for others. Just to name a few.....She sets the table for dinner, she makes her bed,uses the small vacuum after her sister eats, and the other day I found her putting away her clean clothes! IN THE RIGHT SPOT! Which in itself is a beautiful thing because I find myself to be pretty *anal* about where things go.

Am I a slave driver!? Well-isn't that WHY we have kids? :)

Times like these.

I haven't written in awhile. I have a whole lot to say and then nothing to say!? Huh? Yes, you all know what I mean.

The girls have been at each others throats and mine for about a week now. We figure this time of the month is when they'll be on their cycles when they get older. Oh joy.

Times like these make me wonder why I don't work, at least part time! I am not the most patient person in the world, nor am I creative. I try to sit down with Emma and "teach" her and then I figure out that I don't do well with being the educational parent. We can talk about God and how amazing He is and how He created everything, and how He is in our daily everyday life. When it comes to learning how to write and sit down and do workbooks...forget about it!

Times like these make me wonder if I'm doing anything right by our girls. I want to mold them to be Christ-like, to be kind, patient, gentle, loving, etc. But how can I do that when I don't feel those things right now!

Times like these also make me see the softer side of the girls. When we wake up in the morning and it's giggles time! It's smiley time, It's hugging time, loving time. When they say please and thank you without being told. When they sit and behave for more than a minute. When they don't hit each other (yes it's not JUST BOYS that do that), and they hug each other and go into the other room and have "conversations". I love hearing them when they are sweet to each other and talk to each other like grown-ups. AND yes, I even love hearing when they are in the bathroom GRUNTING like it's some huge feat to go #2 :O) It's hilarious!!!!!!

Being a Stay At Home Mom is not easy. It's not because we are financially stable, like so many people think. It's a sacrifice on the budget. It's a sacrifice of sanity at times. It's a sacrifice of individuality at times. It's losing touch with people whom you were close with at one time or another.

It's also fun :) I get to take naps sometimes-I used to feel guilty but now I embrace them :)
It's putting them down for their naps,getting them up from naps, praying with them throughout the day, squeezing their little tooshies ALL day, snuggling with them, going to the zoo, going to the library, going to Gram's, Nana's and Great Grandma's, being helpful to others, cleaning, laundry (which i actually enjoy at times), and so much more.

Most of all, it's rewarding. This is where God has put some of us, and although it isn't the easiest of "jobs" it's the most rewarding. IF you choose to look at the rewards as seeing your daughters face light up or throw her arms around you and kiss you on the cheek or forehead or nose :)