7 years.

We got married in Janesville, WI...not the most glamorous city in the US but, we did get the BEST place for a wedding reception, thanks to a colleague of my Dad's a private Country Club. They had some BEAUTIFUL grounds and the hall was just as nice. We had a live band and people still tell me how fun our reception was, even though I hardly remember it! Holy cow we were kids when we got married!
And I CANNOT believe I cried all the way down the aisle, sobbed through the ceremony, and started to get control of myself just after we were pronounced man and wife.

WHAT a baby.
I remember very little about our wedding day, it was so crazy, butI do VIVIDLY remember what I was thinking when I stepped to walk down the aisle with my Dad. I walked into the doorway, and seeing Justin I just lost it.
All my emotions came crashing together and the only thing that came out was tears. I was SO happy to be marrying Justin, seeing of all our family and friends there to celebrate with us, I was devastated that Jared wasn't there to be with us (to be Justin's' best man), the emotional roller-coaster we had all been on since his accident in February, and the start of a new life together was just too much for me to handle when I saw Justin standing there waiting for me. What a day it was!

What a seven years it has been!
But, they have been the best seven years of my life! I can honestly say, that today I love him more than I did seven years ago. It is a different love, not that newlywed puppy love but a deeper love that I pray continues to grow and florish.
According to the US Census Bureau, the average marriage lasts just over 7 years. Yikes! We're ready though...bring on that seven year itch, we'll kick its little behind.

May God continue use our marriage to make us more holy and draw us closer to him.

Happy Anniversary Just! I love you, always!

bags for Ethiopia.

My friend Marian, and her husband Nathan are in the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia. They have three young boys and after watching some friends adopt, they decided to start their own adoption journey!

Marian and I first "met" ( we have not met in real life...only online...)in fall 2007, and as I type this I cannot believe that! I found an article she had written for Radiant, and asked her if she would like to write for Ungrind. She said yes, and we have been in touch with each other since. When I read about her adoption adventure and that she was sewing to raise money for the costs, I hopped right on that bandwagon.

And guess what?! You can support them too! Check out their journey here.

chalky

chalky, originally uploaded by olives on a monday.

Happy 30th Jared Paul.

evan & jared (2006). I know I posted this picture last year, but I love it.

Today my brother-in-law Jared turns 30. When his birthday rolls around each year, Justin and I always reminise about the GREAT times we had. He even throws in some great childhood stories.

I met Jared right after he turned 18. I'll never forget the first time I met my now in-laws.

I was about to enter my senior year of high school, and "too cool" to go hang out with some family,because I had plans with friends, duh! I remember my parents said something like "but they have two sons your age!"...like I cared, I already had like 5 crushes going on!!
I'm glad I went though. I remember I felt so welcome in their home from the start. Jared really sticks out in my mind that day (I actually hardly remember Justin at all, he was so shy, and so smitten with me, and my beauty from the time he first saw me...ha!), he was so kind, fun, and energetic.
Anyway, I left thinking what a great time I had...and after that we became close friends. For the next two years, Jared, Justin and I spent endless hours together with other friends, and soon Jared was off to Wheaton College in Illinois. This was after Justin and I started dating, and I remember calling Jared more than once on advice in dealing with Justin :)...he was such a good friend to the both of us.
Happy 30th Jared! We love you and miss you very much!

06.27.2009

"God moves in a mysterious ways.
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dreadAre big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain. "
William Cowper

Happy Independence Day!

Liam's bum sporting his latest g-diaper.

Happy 4th of July!

Zoo.

Last week the boys and I went to the zoo.

We saw a Lions bum.

We saw a Tiger.

We saw no bears, and then...
Maxwell threw up.
Oh My!

He started feeling ill about an hour in, so we had lunch and sat down for a bit and he didn't look so good, so I had him come sit on my lap and as soon as he did... a nice strawberries, crackers and grapes mixtures (a fun sight) came out.
Twice.
So...we got cleaned up. Some lady and her husband were nice enough to go get some water and some towels to clean up...and alert the zoo staff that there was cleanup on aisle just past the tigers but before the gazelles.

Afterwards Max claimed he felt like a million bucks and he did look much better but for good measure I made him ride in the stroller for a bit.
So here I am, walking past the jaguar's and maned wolves with Liam in the Bjorn, Maxwell in the stroller and Evan (who was such a trooper that day!) walking up Mt. Everest.
Well, it felt like it anyway.



...but, we did it, survived and actually it was an AWESOME day.

the oldest two.

Evan.

He is so ridiculous. He wanted sunglasses but I couldn't find a pair of his, so he wore mine...and I think they look better on him than me. Sheesh!

I love this picture of him marching through the grass in his boots.


Then there is Maxwell.
So suave, this kid doesn't mess around. He's so much like his Daddy.

They sure do have a lot of fun together. These two.

Love these two....and love their extreme fascination and obsession with Poke'mon even though they haven't the SLIGHTEST idea what the heck Poke'mon is. (thanks to my brother Pete who gave them his cards...circa 1994 or something like that)...they carry those cards around like they are a prized possession.

beach bums.

Great Grandparents.

We have the only Grandchildren in both of our families.
We also have the only GREAT Grandchildren of this wonderful couple;
Grandma Ruth & Grandpa Paul.
Grandpa is a WWII veteran and is 95 years old.
I am so thankful to have them in our lives...and thankful to be able to visit them while we were in Wisconsin.

home again.

homeagain., originally uploaded by olives on a monday.

back from our holiday.
more to come...

6 months.

Liam. may13.2009, originally uploaded by olives on a monday.

half a year old already?

St. Ann Seton Fair.

St.AnnSetonFair, originally uploaded by olives on a monday.

Our neighborhood is right next to a catholic church that has a fair at the end of May EVERY year.
When the weekend arrives our streets are FILLED with people and cars whereas our neigborhood is usualy very quiet as there is really only one way out!
It's fun to have the sights and sounds for a few days, but NOT on Saturday Morning when they blocked the street out of our hood for the NUN RUN!
Darn NUNS!
Kidding.

a short update.

Yesterday, I took Maxwell and Evan to the dentist for the first time.
{Yes, Maxwell is almost 5 and has NEVER been to the dentist...yeah I know shame on me.}
I was a little nervous because I had read a not so positive review about the dentist we were going to see online, but I decided to give her a chance. I was also a bit nervous about how they would react to someone all up in their grill, but I told them what the dentist would be doing so they knew what to expect. Maxwell was ACTUALLY excited.
Imagine that?!
So we went, and it was AMAZING. Evan watched Max get his teeth cleaned and then it was his turn. Liam cooperated too. I couldn't believe I had braved taking all three to the dentist, but the whole thing was kind of last minute. The dentist was fine, she wouldn't be my bff or anything but she wasn't as tyrannic as the review made her out to be.
Anyway...Evan had PERFECT teeth while Maxwell has 8{YES EIGHT} as in; I am a HORRIBLE Mother cavities. All his back teeth. There were several reasons the dentist gave me that it was possible he got them, one of which was bottled water..takes out fluoride {which we not longer buy because I was convicted after we watched a documentary about water}, another being he just was one of those kids prone to get cavities...I don't know.

Evan calls our neighbor Grandpa.
Uh...slightly embarrassing as the guy is only like 40 and HAS A 7 YEAR OLD SON!
I think mostly he calls him that because he has some grey hair and a beard like my Dad does, but nonetheless I felt bad when the guy says to me;
"Man, that makes me feel old."


Maxwell thinks we are getting a dog.
AND, that the FedEx Man is bringing him.

First of all, Maxwell has this CRAZY obsession with FedEx. He has this airplane book that has a FedEx plane in it, and he always FREAKS when he sees a truck when we are out and about...because it's not like the FedEx truck frequents our house (ahem).

Awhile back, like before Liam was born I went through a stage where I wanted a dog. We went to a pet store where they had dogs and cats you could adopt, and we also looked at dogs at our local Humane Societies site and "picked" one out. He asked if we could "order" one, and I told him we had to talk to his Daddy first. Anyway, I knew I would regret getting a dog right now with three kids under 5.

So...I'm not sure why he still thinks one is coming. I haven't talked about it at all and last Sunday night a friend who was teaching his class informed us he prayed for his dog that was coming in 2 weeks, and crabs under his bed.
NO IDEA where that came from either.

Oh, and in other news Evan peed all over the floor.
AGAIN.
I CANNOT FOR THE LIFE OF ME potty train this kid.


As for the L-man...well, he is just as sweet as ever.

lampapalooza.

The Nester is having a "Lampapalooza" blog party today, and everyone is showing, well, lamps and lighting!

I got this Chandelier in the girls bedding section at Target on clearance for $20. I have three boys {not to mention it didn't match my kitchen} So I bought white spray paint and some shades to dress it up a bit. I love how it turned out.

1st sweet potatoes. 5.26.2009

1st sweet potatoes. 5.26.2009, originally uploaded by olives on a monday.

Liam sits with us at dinner, and these last few weeks he's been intently watching us eat, trying to grab anything he could get his chubby fingers on.
So, we've started some solids...and he's loving it.
Today was his first taste of sweet potatoes.

some cutie patooties.

Babysat for these two sweet girls yesterday. They are our friends Chad & Melody's sweet babies. Mel had them in these cute rompers so I took a few pictures...couldn't get to many...I had 5 kids to take care of!

This is sweet Juliana. She LOVED watching Maxwell & Evan run around the yard, giggling at them!


...and Adorable Addie. She is about a month older than Liam, and all smiles. They held hands, gotta keep an eye on those two!

Fun to have girly shrieks, giggles, and bows for the afternoon!

the L-man.

liam.5.16.2009, originally uploaded by olives on a monday.

I'm not sure why but I have to say of the three boys I have enjoyed the newborn/infant stage most with Liam.
Maybe it's because he's always so happy, or maybe it's because {by Gods grace} I've become more patient.

Regardless, I'm in LOVE.

haircuts

new haircuts for summer! Thanks to Uncle Chad!

For the LOVE of clean clothes.

So, the dryer guy came today. Looked at my dryer, took it apart and put it back together, came out and told me the grand total for his services IF I wanted it fixed was $75.00 less than I paid for it...not including tax.

uh...ridiculous much?

So we decided we might as well have a brand spanking new machine {and let them reap the benefits of fixing our old one and reselling it...I did consider setting it on fire...} and pay about $100. more than what it would cost to fix it.
Furthermore, by the time they would get the parts in and back to install it, it would be next week. My friend {AHEM. bff...you reading this Chad&Mel? haha.} Melody offered me to use her washer/dryer if we needed to, but for a little bit more money and a new dryer that would be installed tomorrow was worth it.

I drove out to the {boonies} where I bought the thing, a mere two years ago.

This story is getting sicker by the second isn't it?

What's sicker is that I saw all these shiny new models in AWESOME colors and was tempted for a second to buy a new set, but HELLO that would be INSANE.

I told the guy I needed a new dryer preferably to match the old one. They had my exact dryer in a newer version, and on special and they are installing it tomorrow.
Sheesh, I hope this is the last you hear about home repairs from me for awhile, first the heat pump, then our water heater {which has been fixed twice before}, the washer {thank goodness that was minor} and now the dryer.
I'm sure you are just as sick of hearing about it as I am talking about it.

Home ownership. Gotta love it.

the end.

...oh yeah, it's Monday.

my dryer doesn't run.

mmmm...nothing like moldy clothes.

:)

5.5.09 our 3 boys.

5.5.09 our 3 boys., originally uploaded by olives on a monday.

an awesome week.

Monday:

Justin & the boys all woke up with the "swine flu". Justin stayed home from work, because he is kind to his colleagues like that.

Truth be told it was great to have him home, even though he was "sick", checked the boys temperature's every hour, made them drink Emergen-C by the gallon, and nearly had a panic attack every time someone coughed.

Tuesday:

I cancelled my ROOT CANAL. So, I went to the dentist last week because I was SURE I had a cavity {or 20...kidding} because I ALWAYS get one after I have a baby, it's weird.

I put on my paperwork that I could feel something was up with one tooth.

I had x-rays, was checked out by the hygienist and dentist and they were all like your mouth looks good, there are no problems except an old filling had cracked a bit {the tooth that was annoying me} and needed repair, and you might as well get a root canal...or two. YEAH, two...and at the tune of $6000. {before our insurance was taken out}...uh, no thanks I'll take the used Toyota I could buy with that money.

Funny thing was though, that they kept saying "we'll take care of that tooth that is causing you pain" and I was like; "it doesn't actually hurt, nor is it sensitive to hot or cold. " I was ignored.

Needless to say after a 2 hour WASTE OF TIME appointment at which I didn't even get my teeth CLEANED for crying out loud they offered to do one of the root canals right then and there.

I don't think so.

So, at this juncture {did I seriously just type that...I guess I did} I'm not sure what to do. I thought you got root canals when you were in pain. I could be wrong, but I think I need a second opinion. The whole thing was a bit to sketchy for me, and seemed more like a money making scam rather than a dental office.

Wednesday:
I discovered some water behind my washing machine...so I pulled it out {which was no easy task let me tell you} and cleaned that nastiness out. I figured out that the hose had come out of the drain because the hose clippy thingy {this is a technical term} to get it to bend down in the drain had snapped off...nothing a little duct tape can't fix and I think it should be good to go. I did two loads of laundry afterwards and all is well.

Despite the fact that it rained ALL DAY LONG without ceasing until around 6PM, the boys did get to go out and play a little baseball in the cul-de-sac with the neighbors until around 8 when the game was called...on account of RAIN.

Thursday {TODAY}:

I pour my coffee, drink it, go back for a refill and there is coffee ALL over my counter. Our coffee maker doesn't pour out of a carafe, rather it brews into a built in carafe and you just put your mug under the machine and pull lever down and wallah.

Except today I had to scoop my second cup of coffee into my mug.

Yeah, I'm that desperate.

On the bright side of things though, I see the sun today!

Count It All Joy.

I couldn't believe what I was looking at.
There was toilet paper everywhere, not to mention a number of toys floating in the toilet. And did I see a few sitting comfortably on the bottom? Great. I was going to have to stick my hand in the toilet. Again.

Read on....

(image credit: ungrind.org)