Celebrating Spring

We have often talked about going down to the

Woodburn Tulip Festival and this year we made it.
Such beauty!

We all had a lovely Sunday afternoon, enjoying the festival activities and strolling amongst the display of colour.

Tait got stuck in a giant clog
and
Renatah went on her first ever pony ride

ok ... jumping right in!

Here's some thoughts from the 'here and now'.

As a couple we feel very encouraged and blessed that God has given us both a heart of hospitality and a desire to make our home open to people who need a place to crash. Be it a night or two or a week or two or even a year, we love to enrich our journey and our life story by sharing it with others.

Our most recent guests were a couple from Toronto who put a 'note out' through our church online 'bulletin board' seeking someone to stay the night with and go to church with in the morning. It was fun to meet Kevin and Meaghan, share a meal with them, watch them interact with our kids and hear their story.


I just glanced through our guest 'list' that is going to get put into our guest 'book' -- we have had over 20 guests in the 3 years we have lived here!! Such fond memories ... we look forward to meeting more people and sharing in their life story. If you fancy a trip to Portland ... we'll put you up!!

What to do

I have obviously neglected our blog for so long that I'm now at a point of deciding what to do ... do a lot of 'catching up' or just start fresh from now?! What do you think?!?!

The summer tales have concluded ... now on to our birthday season! We'll be caught up to the here and now before too long!

Now that Fall is well and truly here ... I'll tell you about our Summer

Part 10 of 10

A Few other Random Things

I was going to tell you all about my gardening attempts of this year but I don't have any pictures to help show off my efforts. So a brief 'story' will have to suffice.

Being able to play the piano, being able to knit, being able to paint/draw/sculpt, being able to cook gourmet style, being able to garden ... these are all things I would LOVE to be able to do and to do well ... if I had another life or two to live out ... perhaps some of these might become a reality. But, for the time being I have to be content just to potter around and do what I can and glean from others experience and willingness to come alongside and help me out.

Thus was my gardening adventure this year. My dear neighbour had oodles of extra tomato starter plants, so she plonked three in my little space along the fence (that our yards share) and I watered them. That was about it. I gave them water and once trimmed them up a bit, following the instructions of my dear neighbour. We got a great little harvest of cherry tomatoes that Renatah thoroughly enjoyed picking and 'testing' before discarding the remains.

I also planted some capsicum and chocolate cherry tomato plants in the back yard ... those didn't do too well. Out of sight - out of mind!!

Maybe one day with the right help and guidance I'll develop some gardening skills. One day ... one day!

Apart from that - the other thing we spent a lot of time doing this summer was walking to the park. They have a free lunch program all summer for kids ages 1-18 on week days. So at least once a week, when naps worked out in it's favor, we'd take a walk down to the park, have lunch and play a bit. It was a lovely filler in our day.

I don't have pictures of the tomatoes or the park - so here's a couple of random favourites from the summer instead.

Tait's first Vegemite Experience

Renatah's fascination with Bugs
Tait being a boy


Renatah playing with a puppy who won't run away and won't bite!

Now that Fall is well and truly here ... I'll tell you about our Summer

Part 9 of 10

Home Group Camp Out
Oxbow Park, Gresham Oregon

Our group - Our Church Family

Our home group had their 4th annual camp out in August. Unfortunately we had something come up to prevent us from actually camping - but - we had a great time hanging out with everyone for an afternoon/evening. This year we went back to the same place we were at the year before. It was fun to be 'back' to something familiar.


playing games ...

playing with friends ...

playing by our selves ...

playing with rocks ...

and snuggles with muma!
Our home community is going through a season of change and in thinking about it - this camping trip may very well have been our last. That's not such a happy thought!

Now that Fall is well and truly here ... I'll tell you about our Summer

Part 8 of 10

Water Fun

When the summer heat is here ... there's nothing better than playing in water.
We spent many afternoons in the front 'yard' playing in a bucket full of water.
Not always this literally!


We also took a trip to a 'splash park' with some friends.

Now that Fall is well and truly here ... I'll tell you about our Summer

Part 7 of 10

Shed Building

what it looks like at the moment

The story behind the shed:

Our long term plan is to turn our garage into a "room" complete with a 'regular' door and windows and a floor (other than concrete). This plan requires many phases to move all our 'stuff' out of storage in the garage and into storage in other places.

The first phase was to convert our attic into storage space with floor and shelves and lighting to move some of our stuff up there to store . That was accomplished (mostly) in 2007.

The second phase is an outdoor shed to house our bikes and other 'bigger' things that we needed out of the garage. This project started in March of 2008 with a little slab of cement poured as the foundation for a little shed. Since that beginning it has turned into a larger, two story structure that has had to be custom built at every point due to the slope of our land. At the moment we are in the final stages of the exterior. Tim has been hard at work with our fantastic neighbour on everything, the current step is to get the siding put up . It is almost complete and will be ready to paint soon - we are hoping to get it all painted before the rains set in for the winter ... here's hoping.

After the siding there's still lots of 'detail' work to be done around the roof frame and things on the inside ... but ... we have a structure that stores our bigger things and keeps them dry during the winter and 'safe' all year round.

Now that Fall is well and truly here ... I'll tell you about our Summer

Part 6 of 10

Survived an Intense Heatwave
with a day trip to the Coast
Tait's first Ocean experience

Tim was away again on a work trip and Portland's temperatures SOARED ... we got to 109F one day and for the rest that week they hovered over 100F. It was pretty amazing to feel relief with a 97F day!

It was a tough week. It's always tougher when Papa isn't home, but this week Tait was teething and none of us were sleeping all that well due to the heat.

In looking at the forecast I picked the hottest day to plan a trip out to the coast ... to a favourite spot ... Cannon Beach. We left early and it was good that we did. If we were even 30 minutes later we would have had a very hard time finding a parking spot. It seems we weren't the only ones with the idea to escape the heat. Out there it was a mild 70F something day ... PERFECT!

Here's some pics...

Miss R ready to go!

one ate seaweed ...


while the other ate sand ...

Now that Fall is well and truly here ... I'll tell you about our Summer

Part 5 of 10

Summer-time Playmates

Renatah has become quite the independent socialite this past summer. She has taken herself outside to play every opportunity she could get.

"Muma the boys are outside, can I go play", I would hear as soon as a peep was made from the boys out the front. Renatah gets along marvelously with them. It wasn't long before I could trust her to be outside with them and be safe without my constant eye on her. It was so freeing, for me and for her.

A box is such fantastic toy!!



We also had several occasions when Miss V came for a play date. It was nice for Renatah to have an older girl to play with. Muma isn't thrilled about all the 'boy games' she's been learning!!

Princesses in a castle made by Miss V. Once again ... so much fun in a box!


Tait's favourite play mate this summer has been a ball, any ball, just put a ball in his line of sight and he's after it saying 'baa .. baa .. baa'. Put him on the ground with a ball to chase and he's happy! Roll it to him, bump him with it and he's even happier!


Now that the weather is wetter and school has started play mates are not available as often and much of our time is spent entertaining indoors. Play dates still happen and much fun is had, just a different kind and we all look forward to summer returning while enjoying this season for what it is.

Now that Fall is well and truly here ... I'll tell you about our Summer

Part 4 of 10

A Road Trip: Just Muma and the Kids

With Tim on a trip to LA, I made plans with a long time friend from high school to visit for a few days. It was my first time on a 4 hour trip on my own with the kids. I was kind of surprised at how smoothly it went. A few planned stops and carefully planned leaving times and the kids were completely content.

On the way out to Eastern Washington we stopped at a park where they ran around a bit ...


... and snacked a bit ...



We had a few days visiting with my friend, and her beautiful family.

Renatah loved having more kids to play with ... ... Tait was in awe of all the new people, sounds, toys.

... and I thoroughly enjoyed lots of chatting and coffee and catching up with a cherished friend.


I hope it works out to make another trip next year!

Now that Fall is well and truly here ... I'll tell you about our Summer

Part 3 of 10

Fought a few "Battle of the Will" Moments with Miss R

The one I'll share, that I actually captured a picture of was her refusal to eat her lunch. She held strong and so did I. She had to eat what she was given before she was allowed to get down. She cried for an hour, pushing her plate away, complaining that her tummy hurt or that she was too tired or not hungry or offering it to me. But I held strong too. She was not going to be 'unbuckled' till it was gone.

After an hour of crying and another half hour of fussing and attempting to manipulate the situation she fell asleep at the table.


Much to her dismay, the first thing she saw when she woke up (45mins later) was her lunch sitting there waiting for her. Another hour of tears and gagging down tiny bites at a time, the drama was over and she got down and played.

I have a spunky, strong-willed daughter!!

Now that Fall is well and truly here ... I'll tell you about our summer

Part 2 of 10

The Zoo

Our friends invited us to join them on a trip to the zoo one day. Renatah had never been so we jumped at the opportunity. The kids had a great time on a brief tour of all the animals. They seemed to get a bit more enjoyment out of the play areas though. It was a treat none-the-less and one that Renatah still talks about.

They admired a gorgeous gorilla who appeared to lap up all the attention she was getting from her visitors.

Here's the three big kids doing their best interpretation of a gorilla!



We stopped for a snack and a rest on the grass for the 'bird show'.



Renatah's favourite experience, I think, was feeding the parakeets. She was quite brave letting them sit on her hand/arm and holding the nectar cup (with a little help). They all got a kick out of a bird landing on my head and resting for a while!!

Now that Fall is well and truly here ... I'll tell you about our summer

Part 1 of 10

Family Reunion Road Trip

We packed up our car and headed 11 hours south to join up with Tim's side of the family for a week long reunion. It was the first time for some of us to meet each other and we had a fabulously relaxing time.

The kids both did wonderfully in the car. We broke up the trip over two days which helped. Tait spent a lot of the trip ... like this!

Tim's parents joined us on the road trip down and we stayed the night at the place of some long time friends of theirs. The house was intricately decorated. In one room we found a doll the same size as Renatah!

Renatah had a blast getting to know all her cousins. I think it was all a little overwhelming for her but with a few outings with just Muma and Papa thrown into her days, she coped well.

Here's all 12 cousins !
(Renatah had to be woken up from a nap for pictures ... hence the 'grump' look!)

And here is the OHLSON CLAN ... all 22 of us.



We hope to repeat this get together every couple of years when Amy and her family are back for the summer from their work in China.

Naomi - me

OK so now I get to tell you a little about what's been going on in the life of me. Since the most amazing miracle of my life, Tait's birth, life has been all about Tait. Adjusting all aspects of life to make room for this little man. What a joy it has been (for the most part - teething is never really a joy).

I have so many many thoughts I could ramble on about on the topic of motherhood. It is such a huge part of my life and I truly do love it. What a privilege I have to spend the rest of my life nurturing these little beings. What a responsibility! All I can say is "Lord, be my guide, I cannot do this alone!"

As I shared about Tim's venture into getting his Bachelour Degree ... I too have some big things I'm embarking on. God has provided an opportunity for me to work full-time (ish), taking care of a little girl 5 days a week, 9 hours a day, during the school year. We are thrilled with this provision to be able to help put Tim through school. This starts on Monday (August 24th) - so a busier Muma I will be!!

That's all for me really. My days are full of taking care of my children, catching up with friends from time to time, hanging out with our fabulous neighbours, running errands, all that usual stuff.

Now that all the individual 'updates' are done - we can start telling the stories as they happen. Check in soon for some pics and stories of our summer adventures.


Here's a picture of me with my two beautiful children. What a blessing they are!

Tait

Here he is ... the newest member of our family who lives up to his name everyday. We are in awe of how well his name suits his personality.



Tait
-- means CHEERFUL
-- it sums him up

Larry William
-- his namesakes
-- he bares physical resemblances to these two men in his broad forehead and the smile that lights up his face. What a delight for us to be reminded of these special men in our lives on a daily basis when we look at our son.




He is growing and changing daily - if we had started earlier in his life there would be so many stories to share with you. Since we were slack in keeping on top of sharing them with you a few more recent little highlights will have to suffice.

• Tait spent his first few months keeping to himself and minding his own business except on the odd occasion he'd voice his need to be fed or changed to put down to sleep. He started off as a great sleeper but lately this has been a more challenging aspect of his life - we'll blame the teeth! (He currently has 6 ... 4 poking through on the one day)

• His world became accessible to him when he started scooting himself around on his belly at 6 months ... by 8 months he had developed the 'perfect' crawl - no unique style for this little guy. At 9 months he has now started cruising and opening drawers/cupboards. Renatah is not a huge fan of his increased mobility. Tait is often 'chasing' her around the living room trying to get back what she has taken from him!

• As you can see from the pictures he has a healthy appetite. When he started eating solid foods at 6 months he 'bulked up' into the chubby lil' fella who I affectionately call 'my squishy'.

• At six months old he was as heavy as Renatah was at a year. We are constantly discovering the many ways in which are children are so incredibly different from each other - we are not too sure they even look like siblings!