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!

Renatah

Over the last 8 months or so Renatah has done lots of growing up - not so much physically but in so many other ways. She will talk your ear off and experiences life with much gusto! On the other side, she is very loving and thoughtful and tender when the time calls for it.
Following are some pictures with little blurbs underneath to sum up some of her life,
...to catch you up a little.
*note: they are in no particular order*

... loves to help around the house, washing dishes, sweeping/vaccuming

... in January, Renatah got her first hair cut, by her god-muma

... she turned 2 and the highlight of the event was
blowing out the candles - over and over and over!

...definitely had some 'terrible two' moments exploring her world and 'wearing' it.
This picture shows her discovery of my make-up but a few weeks prior to that was
Vaseline - half a tub, mostly on her hair but not exclusively.

... has really started to entertain herself with imaginative play with her dolls
and her cooking toys and other such things little girls play with.

... simply adores her little brother and is now in the process of learning how to
share toys and space with this little boy that likes to get into every thing - more on him later!

Some other highlights to include speak to her independence and signs that 'my baby girl' is growing up so fast!

Renatah has been potty trained for some time. Her little quirk ... to the horror of some (and her mother when in public places) she simply drops her 'dacks' when she feels the urge ... and then seeks to find the appropriate place to relieve herself.

Renatah will now ask if she can go to the neighbours house to visit and stay there without a parent for as long as they will keep her!! Chuck and Karen are her favourite!

Renatah will tell me what day of the week regular things happen ... "CBS is on Wednesday", "Church followed by Sunday School is on Sunday" and "Sha-Sha comes on Saturday".

Now that I've shared a little from the past, it will be fun to keep you 'updated' with things of the present, as they happen.

Tim

The biggest news of our family is that Tim has just started his Bachelor Degree online. After about three years of intensive study he will get his Bachelor of Science in Human Services. His goal is to then get a Masters of Divinity or Theology to prepare for ministry in leadership within the church, if the Lord continues to lead us in that direction.

Tim keeps busy with work and has traveled more in the past 8 months than previously. Right before Christmas he was in New Jersey when Portland got hit with a severe snow storm. Weather was terrible every where and he ended up stranded in Chicago for three days on his way home. We were preparing for the possibility of having Christmas without him ... but ... thankfully he made it home in time.

We have just had a month where he has traveled 3 out of the 4 weeks and has two more week long trips coming up (that we know of) before the end of August! It is an adjustment for us all - how to get through our days when we are separated for lengths of time. God is good and is sustaining us.

Back Again

Remember us??

It has been over 8 months since I updated our blog ... shall we blame ...

... computer crash and all that that entails?
... steady flow of house guests?
... adjusting to life with two kids?
... facebook?

I'll blame those and all the other reasons why things get overlooked.

It is my intent to start up again with stories and pictures of our life. I won't attempt to backtrack - we'll be here far too long ... but I will attempt to give a little over view of each of us with some highlights of the past 8 months.

Check back in a day or so and I'll have some news on at least one family member! For now - here's our most recent family picture, taken at our Ohlson Family Reunion at the end of June.



For lots of other pics check out our facebook accounts!!