Winter Wonderland

I was amazed of God's beauty yesterday morning when I woke up! It was gorgeous and I found myself wondering if God can make the earth look so beautiful, I can only imagine how more beautiful heaven will be! Here's a few pictures that I captured of God's artwork!

Our Little Christmas!

On Christmas day evening we had our own little Christmas. The kids had fun opening up their presents and Mitchell really liked his new remote control truck that we got him. Elden thought of that great idea and it was a hit! Elden even got his old remote control car from the basement that hasn't seen daylight for five years and they had fun racing their vehicles in the kitchen together. Boys and their toys!! We hope you had a great Christmas!

Van Zee Christmas 2010

Mitchell and his Kinze planter

Mitchell opening his Kinze!

Once our Olson side was over (and after a nap) we headed to church for our candle light service and then headed to our Van Zee Christmas. We didn't get started opening presents till probably 8:30, so the kids were pretty excited to get started. The kids got a lot of John Deere toys, remote control cars and some jammies, but Mitchell's favorite gift was his Kinze planter that he had wanted for four years now! Aunt Nancy had alittle fun with wrapping the planter in three boxes so Mitchell had to work for it! Connor isn't allowed to play with it since he's not the most careful with his toys, and so far he's been good with not playing with it. Mitchell hasn't let his planter leave his sight since he's got it! That night Mitchell ended up staying over night at Nana and Papa's house and he even had his flashlight on looking at his Kenze during the night. Funny little boy! We ate breakfast there too that morning and enjoyed our Christmas day together.

Olson Christmas 2010

Connor in front of all the presents before our gatherings!

Little miss Nora!

We had a great Christmas, and hope you did the same! We were busy with lots of sleepovers, presents and fellowship. The first Christmas gathering we had was at my parents house. The kids always enjoy playing together and opening presents. We went to my parent's house on Wednesday night in the afternoon and got there before the winter storm. We had dinner together and let the kids all open their presents! The kids had a blast opening them and it seems every year they are older that Christmas is alittle less crazy. We stayed overnight there and then enjoyed having a yummy breakfast and the kids opened up their stockings that they got from Nana and Papa! That morning we the kids played outside and went sledding on the terrace and had lots of fun in the snow. Here are a few pictures of our Olson Christmas.

Merry Christmas

This is my favorite time of year! I just love the decorating, present wrapping, and Christmas carols that we sing. This morning we had the chance to go to CMA and were reminded about having Joy even when things don't go our way. We need to share our Joy of Jesus with other's this season and through out the year. It is hard to do with all the business of the season, but I hope that we all take time to reflect on the Joy that Jesus gives everyday. I pray that you will have a Merry and Christ-filled Christmas!

Awana's Christmas program!

This morning we went to Commununity Heghts Alliance Church for their Awana's Christmas program. Both of the boys were suppose to sing, however Connor wouldn't go up and sing. I wasn't surprised, but was disappointed because I was looking forward to seeing him up there. Maybe next year. Mitchell did a great job singing though and the program was very nice. I took some video of the kids singing and a picture of the kids up there singing! What a fun day!

Kindergarten Christmas program

On Tuesday night we had Mitchell's first school Christmas program. The entire class of 11 kids sang two songs, one of them was a Spanish song where Mitchell got down and crawled on the floor and pretended like he was a donkey. He told me for the past couple of weeks that he had a surprise for me about the Christmas program but couldn't tell me. So I was definitely surprised when he was the "donkey". The program lasted about and hour and a half, and by that time the boys where ready for bed. The kids did a great job!

Winter fun!

The kids were jumping up and down because they were so excited because it FINALLY snowed!!! They couldn't wait to go outside and scoop the driveway! They were probably outside for an hour scooping the snow. Another thing they enjoy is having their CAT train around the Christmas tree this year! They have spent many hours playing with that train! I just love this time of year!!

A fun Christmas day!

On Tuesday we decided to go to the mall for the day! I always enjoy bringing the kids to the mall every year to ride the train in the mall. The kids brought their own money this year to pay for the train ride. We finished some last minute Christmas shopping and ate lunch at the mall. Santa Clause was at the mall but since Mitchell knows that santa isn't real, he refuses to sit on his lap. I laughed when he said "Why is Santa here for? He's not real! I don't know why people lie all the time about santa for." So of course since Mitchell didn't want to sit on Santa's lap neither did Connor. After we got done at the mall, we decided to go to Bass Pro Shop on the way home. The kids enjoyed seeing all the animals and fish but their favorite thing was the toy train that they could operate themselves! Mitchell told me that he wished he got this for Christmas and maybe someone got it for him before it got to be expensive. I said that maybe he can put it on his Christmas list for next year! He seemed satisfied with that but I doubt anyone will be purchasing it for him since it's $200.00. We enjoyed our day together!

Connor's 4th Birthday-part 2

Last night we went bowling for Connor's party here in Newton. We had a great time bowling, since it's been a while for alot of people since they've been bowling. The kids did great bowling and Mitchell even got 111 for his score! He was pretty pumped! I have a picture of him when he got a spare! After we bowled, we opened presents! He got alot of HotWheels, a log semi, helicopters, wooden train set addition and much more. He was pretty excited about his presents, of course he wanted to open all of them right then. After presents we dug into our Thomas cake! The kids had a great time and we were thankful for all of the family we have to help us celebrate Connor's special day! We love you Connor!

Connor's Birthday-part 1

Yesterday we celebrated Connor's 4th Birthday! I can't believe he's four years old already! Wow, has time flown! I decorated the Thomas cake yesterday afternoon and made a separate cake for last night's little celebration! I took a few pictures of the cake and of last night's party. Tonight we are going to celebrate with all of our grandma and grandpa's and aunt and uncles and cousins at the bowling alley here in Newton! The kids are very excited about it. I will post some more pictures tomorrow of the party tonight!