madison children's musuem

3/30/2006- Maxwell had fun running around and meeting his new friend claire.

20 weeks

halfway there!

pregnant...

nicole- 15 weeks. anne-20 weeks.

 

the kindness of strangers...

Last night Justin was at a Bucks game with his Dad, brother Jordan, and sister Joelle, so Maxwell and I ventured out to Starbucks for a decaf non-fat latte. I had a craving. While we were there a older couple who used to come in when I worked at Starbucks came in for their usual drinks. Two venti chai's...I know people by what they drink, not their names.
(Oh, yeah on a side note, I also saw a local celebrity, Greg Jeske...my Mom will be impressed, she loves seeing newscasters in real life. He was on his way to the station I think for the 10:00 news.)
Anyway we were catching up, they were talking about their grandchildren, and I about what was going on with us. Meanwhile Maxwell was scoping out the organic milk in the cooler, I sometimes buy some for him, so he was eyeing it up to perhaps get some. I decided it would be a good snack for the evening so grabbed one, handed it to Maxwell and told the barista ringing people up I was getting one. A voice behind me said, " I got that, and I will take one of those cranberry oatmeal bars too." I turned around and found my former customer giving the girl his cash for my sons drink. "Thank you so much, that was really nice of you."
We chatted a little more and they headed out the door. Maxwell and I sat for awhile, at his request (he is so cute when he climbs up on the chairs and sits like an adult ready to relax and chat with his Mom at a coffee shop, he does it a lot, there is a coffee place right down our block and there is a kids area which he will play in but then he will come sit with me, I will read the paper, he some books) and I smiled to myself, so thankful for the experience I had just had. I remembered that more than once I had not charged them for their drinks, and I guess they wanted to repay the favor, but they did not have to. It was such a nice gesture. It is those little things in life...

Big news from the Swansons

We are excited to announce that this August we will be having another baby boy! We are so thrilled to give Maxwell a little brother to play with (and wrestle with). We thank God for this percious gift to us!

loving the outdoors

 

get a move on...

Justin and I are at the point in our lives where we ask, " What now?"
Justin is finishing up graduate school this semester, and will be looking for a job in these next couple of months. He considered getting his PhD, but I think we are going to forgo that idea. So, being the over-anxious planner that I am, I hate not knowing where we will be in five months. Plus the fact that we will have a new baby in four and a half months makes me more crazy.
We have talked about moving to Arizona, Texas, the East Coast, but moving too far from our families is not that appealing to either of us. Plus, my Father-in-law said "you're not those kind of people" meaning we could never move that far away. He is right. I am rooting for Chicago area. At this point Justin and I have the only grandchildren that our parents have so they would be sad to see them gone, both of our extended families are close by too, and we would miss them greatly too.
I must say I am excited too, we are finally going to have a real income, hopefully purchase a home in the next few years, and we will be settled down somewhere. When we were first married four years ago we were both still in school, and even after I graduated I only worked full time for about half a year until we had Maxwell. Now, Justin is finally graduating and we hopefully have a real income as opposed to a graduate student income.
Pray that we would seek Gods will for us, where he wants us to go and that we would move forward with willing hearts and trust in him to guide us.

a bad case of the Mondays...

so today is Tuesday right? Still feels like Monday to me. I cannot seem to get going this week. I have accomplished a lot so far this week, but I feel like I am running in slow motion. Pregnancy catching up with me perhaps...the belly slowly venturing outward so I can no longer see my toes!

Last night I was having a hard time falling asleep. I was thinking about the hard things in my life. Things I have had to deal with. I had no desire to read the word, but I knew I had to. I read about Job. What a amazing man. To trust God so completely. To have hope despite the complete destruction of his life. I wish I could be more like that. I can. I mean compared to Job I would say I have had it pretty easy. I would say that perhaps I have been through more than the average 25 year old in my short life, but still nothing compared to losing EVERYTHING. I think I am a strong woman. I hope that I would have faith like Job, and put my life in God's hands alone. It would be hard to not wallow in self pity and lose my senses. I hope that I would be strong, stand firm, and continue to worship Christ. I hope I can do that today, tommorow, and until the day I die. For he alone is my only hope.

that's all for now...

it's a girl...

Congratulations to my cousinVanessa and her husband Wally! Expecting Samantha on August 3, 2006! We cannot wait to meet her!

march madness

madness...complete and utter madness...

This morning I awoke with Maxwells head on my shoulder. His heavy breathing could be felt across my back. Soon after he sat up and soon was begging me to get up to get him breakfast.
"peas, peas. "
I threw the blankets off of us, and we headed for the kitchen. Shredded wheat sounded good to me, and Max concurred when I showed him the box. We poured a bowl and sat together. Even though I dread mornings, the peacefulness we have together while sharing breakfast is something I look forward too.
The rest of today we have spent watching the NCAA basketball tournament. It was a nice restful day. Maxwell spent the majority of the day practicing on his Little Tykes hoop. Justin and I filled out a few brackets (against family and friends) and with my competitive nature I always want to do well. I think I probably know more than the average woman about basketball, but I am no expert. I know a lot of what I know from Justin. Anyway, during a game today, Boston College against Pacific I nearly lost it. The game went into double overtime, an intense game, and Boston College pulled off the win at the the end. I shed tears. Joyful tears over a basketball game. I do have Boston College doing well in the tournament, so I was desperate to see them win. As the games end tonight however, although not in last place I am not doing so well. Maybe tommorow will be better.
Ah, the drama. This is what pregnancy does for you. Justin was stunned I was actually shedding tears over a game. Madness...complete and utter madness.

the deal...

You may be wondering what the deal is with my new blog title.

~ Justin and Anne...it was just too boring.

~olives and mondays...two things I dread, but want to like.

~i needed a change.

~just go with it... i'm pregnant.

today...

resolutions...there are always more...

to drink more water

to exercise more

to insist on high quality dark chocolate

to take better care of my hair

to look more carefully when walking

to wake up earlier

to eat fruit and vegetables before they spoil

to make my coffee at home more often

to be more organized

to spend more time with God

to clean the bathtub with more vigor

Life is Christ

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you might have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. - Colossians 1:10-14

Often times I feel lost in this world; lost within sea of people wondering which way to turn.
Life is Christ. It is as simple and as complicated as that. Instead of feeling lost in this world, like you are contributing nothing, know that in Christ we have gained all we could ever want and need. Do not worry about tommorow, focus on today, what you are doing, and just breathe. He will overflow your cup, you will be amazed. Each day seek him, enduring toward eternity in heaven with him.

runway show...

It was absolutely gorgeous outside this past Saturday. We spent the morning outside at Marc and Nicole's house enjoying the weather and a bit of wind!

wind blown

 

three pregnant women

Nicole, 12 1/2 weeks. Vanessa, 19 weeks. Anne, 17 weeks.

best friends!

readaholic

Maxwell loves to read! Today he dragged one of his green chairs to the middle of the family room, and when I came back to see what he was up to, he was sitting in it reading! Too funny.

 

Faith and Forgiveness

“Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.” Luke 7:36-39

This story never gets old. In fact no stories in the Bible get old. That is the way it is with good books, you never get sick of them. The best part of the Bible is that it is real!

What I love about this story is that this woman saw something in Jesus that maybe even she did not quite understand, but she was drawn to him. She had faith in him. She risked more heartbreak and judgment that had surrounded her for so long by the rest of the world. Yet, she knew something was different about Christ, and she put her full trust in him.
He knows her, every detail of her life, from the day she was born..and yet he loves her. Knowing everything about her, he looks at her with kind gentle eyes and forgives her, frees her from her bondage of sin!

"Therefore, I tell you her many sins have been forgiven-as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little."- Luke 7:47

I cannot wait to meet Christ! To see my Lord face to face, to kiss him, to be held in his embrace. Yet in this mortal world I hold back. I have been forgiven for all I have done and will do to sin against my Savior. But too often I take that for granted. I do not rely and trust in him alone. It is not an easy world we live in, but that is no excuse. I am not ridiculed daily, like I am sure that woman was, I can tuck myself away and not be even noticed if I want. Her whole life was exposed, and daily she was judged. Yet, she risked coming to Christ, having complete faith in him, loving him, hoping he would forgive her, and show her mercy.
I want to have faith like this woman. To have complete trust Christ, to not be ashamed to admit I am a sinner and that Christ is my only hope. The problem with us is that we live and love the world too much, and live for and love Christ too little.
Soon this world will be gone. This seeming hard life in the harsh world I live will be gone, and none of what I worry about will matter. I will be able to be with Christ, to kiss his feet and cry for joy when I look into his eyes. Nothing will be better than that.

Happy Birthday Paul!

Happy 1st Birthday Paul! I know your parents cannot believe you are one already!

You are such a handsome boy, and a great buddy to Maxwell!

blocks

 

chatting about snow

 

and the Oscar goes to...

A Brentwood housewife and her D.A. husband. A Persian store owner. Two police detectives who are also lovers. An African-American television director and his wife. A Mexican locksmith. Two car-jackers. A rookie cop. A middle-aged Korean couple. They all live in Los Angeles. And during the next 36 hours, they will all collide.

This powerful film is unforgettable. Justin and I saw it first about 6 months ago, and I still talk about it. While inappropriate for young children, as an adult it was so draining. Dealing with racism in many different ways this film is amazing. So many emotions, so intense, yet a film I am glad I did not miss .

16 weeks