A time to celebrate!

One of my most favorite things about Christmas is how it really brings people together. Which is so suiting because isn't that what God is really wanting? For us to be brought together with him through His Son Jesus!
YES!

Which leads me to the Christmas parties we've gotten to go to!

Austin and I went to a Christmas party (just the two of us) at our friends, Teddy and Emily Holmes.


They have a wonderful home! I love Emily's taste.
They had warm beverages, all that were very yummy!

The food was also soo amazing! Cheese, Olives and Jam...
really makes me thankful that God made us with taste-buds!


The next party was the...
**SECOND ANNUAL WOMEN'S CHRISTMAS PARTY**
(this year at Solid Grounds Coffee Shop)

I think there were about 22 of us total!
It was a BLAST!

There was even a real tree to put our gifts under.
We had gift exchange and the gifts were really awesome this year!


Who are you excited to see this Christmas season?

Winter Song: The Holidays with a Two Year Old (almost)

Oh the delights of this joyous season!

I, like my best friends, love this season. I mean who doesn't want to bring trees indoors for crying out loud (I love trees for all of those who don't know). This year, however, we are doing things really low key. It's not that Wyatt wouldn't eventually understand that Christmas ornaments are more beautiful on the tree rather than in his sweet little mouth, it just brings me more holiday cheer to be minimalistic in my decorating endeavors.

CHECK IT OUT!

If you were visiting us the first taste of Christmas
would be this beautiful wreath from Dad and Mom Olinger.
I like it a lot because it feels Colo-radian


On the other side of the door is this felt star ornament.


These little snowmen candles are on our mantel.


These berries are also on the fireplace mantel.
(I actually have these up all year...is that cheating?)


Last but not least, our little snowman that resides in our bathroom.
Can you see our new camera??? I LOVE IT!




It's twelve days 'til Christmas. What are you doing to celebrate???

Playing House: Thanksgiving at the Walkers House

The Walkers (friends of ours from our Church) were so kind to let us house-sit for them Wednesday through Saturday. There house is so warm and welcoming. It felt like one of the most peaceful Thanksgivings we have ever had! Not only was it peaceful but because of the non-"rush rush, stuff stuff" mentality we also got to really sit back and be THANKFUL for each other and the year that is nearly behind us. Here are some pictures of the wonderful meal we had:


One for the perks of staying at someone's house are the cool dishes! I put all of our potatoes (from here) into these quaint little dishes.

We put fresh parsley in the potatoes! Yummm!

We had all the traditional dishes:
stuffing, green bean casserole, rolls with homemade jam,
mash potatoes with gravy and TURKEY of course!

We had left over pumpkin so we put it into this little dish and
had ourselves a photo shoot with this Amy's sweet retro platter. SWEET!
(I know, I'm a nerd.)

For dessert I made three pies:
Pumpkin, Apple and Blueberry Peach (don't ask).
Featured here: DUTCH APPLE PIE

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Love,
The Olingers

Let's Get Thankful!

To follow my dear friend Michelle, I am going to make my list of gratitude!
I AM THANKFUL FOR:

1) An amazing husband who is my best friend and brings out the best in me (on most days).

2) My first son! I love you Wyatt Keith Olinger! He has taught me so so much about myself and how dependent I am on my Father in Heaven.

3) I'm thankful for a job that is actually really fun! I hope I can keep working there until Austin in done with Seminary!

4) Thankful for such awesome friends both here and in Kansas, England, Holland and any other place I am forgetting.

5) For an awesome family (Olinger, Weaverling, Jarvis and Bohannan) I love my siblings, parents, grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and my sweet niece.

6) I am also thankful for blogs. It may seem shallow but it really does inspire me and helps me stay connected to some really dear friends. Yeah! for good uses of internet!

7) Trailhead. It has been both encouraging and challenging being a part of our church. I love the woman's small group I am a part of and the youth group girls I lead. I have love love loved being on the worship team. And most of all I have really loved how everyone has become like family and shows me the love of Christ!

8) I am so thankful for the arts and how they say things that no words can fully grasp. I love how art helps me understand my Creator more intimately and also helps me deepen my faith. Even though I am not "painting" I am living art in a way, by molding and shaping my precious sons life and creating a home that is beautiful (at least attempting to do so).

9) I am thankful for the Hope of tomorrow, for the Love that binds us all together and helps us look beyond ourselves, and for the Faith that helps us be anchored to a firm foundation so we don't get lost in the sea of life. And I am thankful for a Savior who gives us these things in abundance!

10) I am thankful for you! Thank you for reading this and I would love to hear what you are thankful for!

A Year and a Half!!! aka 18 months!

This is him from today! You can see his sweet personality in this one!

GO CHIEFS!

He has been a bit drooly lately...all those teeth coming in!
He love his poppie!

Fun at the park!

Those sweet brown eyes are too much!

I can't believe how fast 18 months have gone by! It has been such a wonderful experience having him in our family. He has his rough days, like the rest of us, but more than anything it has been such a privileged to see him grow, discover and live his precious little life.

What is something you have enjoyed about Wyatt in his 18 months of life?? (it will be fun to share this when he is older)

The Beauty of God

This past weekend on our church labor day retreat I had the great (and a bit stressful) privilege of leading an experiential time of reflecting upon God's beauty. The time was shorter than I had anticipated but what I had been praying while I prepared and planned this activity hopefully still transpired. There is no real way one person can create an experience that really gives God the honor that He is so greatly do. But I prayed that God would meet His people during that time. It was a powerful time for me of surrendering all my efforts and letting God just work. I gave everyone this handout before they started and I wanted to share it because it is so much on my heart. I know it won't have the same effect because there are no stations to go to via internet but I hope it still stirs something. (Thank you so much Michelle and Amy for listening to me process and wrestle through this time. Thank you Sam for the beautiful images...people really responded to them! And thank you Allison for praying with me when I was at my wit's end. Love you ladies!!!!)

The Beauty of God

This time is designed to give you tools to remember, experience and discover the Beauty of our Dear and Glorious Heavenly Father. Just as an architect, artist, chef or craftsperson’s work reflects their heart and often times their very essence so does God’s creation reflect His character. This experience is pushing you towards the littler things to help you see the big picture. It takes a lifetime to discover and digest the wonderment and dynamic beauty of the Creator of the universe. Below is a brief description of each station:

• Christ’s Forgiveness: This station is to remind us of the great and precious sacrifice of the SON of God. As a parent or child think of the price of this gift. Read over Isaiah 53:5 and remember. The love that was poured out for us is too immense to measure and its power is still active today. We have a God who empathizes with every heartache and pain that this life lays upon us. He knows what it is to be human. He knows how it feels to be rejected, he knows the pain of losing loved ones by the awful sting of death, he knows…he knows. What great beauty and love do you find in this fact? Pray and ask God to reveal the deep beauty of his Son and our High Priest, Jesus!
• The Sense Station: We all take in the world through our senses. It’s how we gather information; how we process the world. We did not have to be created with tongues that can taste so many things or with noses that can smell a million aromas. Tastes and smells are often times associated with memories. Taste and Smell and remember. God obviously wants us to enjoy life otherwise why would we have taste buds? Taste and see that the LORD IS GOOD!
• The Names of our Lord: This section is self-guided but it’s power and significance is staggering. He is so beautiful one Name cannot contain His awesomeness.
• The Prayer Labyrinth: This section is also self-guided but as you walk, read, and contemplate, remember to take time to notice the little things. Pick up a leaf and examine its veiny surface. Breath deeply, look closely and reflect upon the Creator.
• Music: Music is very powerful. All people groups value the role music plays in their culture. Take an ipod/mp3 player and listen to a song or two (or spend the whole time listening) the words are printed off to help you focus in on the meaning behind each song. As you listen to the words that are written to and about the Lord also think how it is by His inspiration that we have instruments and tools to create such songs.
• DVD: This is a compilation of images to bring the little things and the big things to the forefront. The music is called “Hope” which is fitting because it is what we all cling on to. Things are not always the easiest here on planet earth but our real home is in Heaven. Things will be fully restored there and there will be no more goodbyes. Our hope is in the Lord.

Mathilde Anna Gerta Maas

It was so fun having Mathilde here! Wyatt, Austin and I miss her so much! Can't wait to see her again!

Looking Good!

Nothing like a good (fake) belly laugh!

The little goober was fake laughing all night! It was quite amusing. I take full credit for the cheesy part of his personality.

Our sweet boy!

Things that Happened this summer

Things that have happened this summer:

• Katie got engaged to a charming young man and they planned to be united in March 2010.
• Miriam Joy, our first niece was born! She is totally awesome!
• Austin took 5 hours of Hebrew and did exceptionally well! (100% on his last paper exceptional!!!)
• We went to Kansas in June and had a fun time having family photo shoots…thanks dad and Melissa & Michelle!!
• BABY BOOM! Joy and Jamie had a sweet little lad and Reagan Ann and Jerry had their first child and they are both so precious! I LOVE BABY LIPS!
• Houses! Houses! Houses! A number of our dearest friends have purchased homes for the first time. It’s so nice to all go through different things at different times so we can help one another when it’s our turn.
• Mathilde came to visit from July 21^st to August 16^th. It was such an incredible time to reconnect with my sweet sister and dear friend. We hope to visit her in two years!
• Sam and Andy visited us all the way from England. We had fun hiking, eating amazing food, and just being with each other. I love you Sammy!

Now school starts up in one week and who know what we can pack into seven days! We thank the Lord for such wonderful friends and that all our physical needs are met daily. Austin and I continue to work on loving each other and our son in more selfless ways. I hope everyone else had a good summer…if you haven’t shared, please tell me all about it!

More little things (the Orange addition)

I bought these carrots for .99 cents.
Where a jar of carrot baby food would cost .89 cents for 8 oz.

The color is so rich.
(I was able to fill two tubs full of carrots, yum.)

There is something so satisfying
in making food for the ones we love.
Plus there is a bonus in knowing it good for little love!

I recently decorated the house so I will post pictures soon...

It's the little things in life (birthday edition)

This video speaks for itself but I just have to say I really love the little things.

Where I Hangout While Mommy Folds My Clothes

He was fascinated he could hang out in the laundry basket...new things are excited I guess! :)

New Job and New inspirations!

I have recently gotten a new job at a local coffee shop, Solid Grounds, (www.solidgrounds.org) that is owned an operated by a local church. It has been so refreshing getting back into a job where I see and interact with people and see direct results from my actions. *Sigh

Solid Grounds has different artists come in and hang their works so I have been working on a few things...here is one:

"Amelia" or "Blessed are the Pure in Heart, for they will See God"

My boss has also mentioned some graphic design work they may have for me. Here is a flier I made for some live music we will have this weekend...well it's not working so I will have to find a different way to post it.

I am going to paint some today! If you have any suggestions for what I should paint post them in the comments!

Shimmy Time

We finally captured the amazing shimmy! Enjoy!

Wyatt and his cuteness!

A tale of a little man trying to not just make it in life but also have tons of fun. This journey would involve much taste testing. (As Austin would say "Everything goes straight into his mouth". It's my theory that the mouth is the best way to quickly get acquainted with an object/person...)

Presenting: The One, the Only, Wyatt Keith Olinger!!!
Here he is modeling mom's "cheeto" hat.

"Doesn't taste like a cheeto.."

"But biscuits are good to eat!"

"Mommy and Poppy are pretty great too! They give me plenty to snack on!"