winter wonderland

CHRISTmas was so wonderful. we spent the eve with my parents, morning with just us 4, and afternoon with jerry's family. it was lovely. God is so wonderful. i'm so glad He was born! yay!

the day after CHRISTmas, snow came blowing in.

here are some snapshots of CHRISTmas eve and the day after (the 26th). fun was had by all.

hope you enjoyed being together as a family. i'm sure thankful for the HOPE i have in my Lord and all He has provided for me.

may your new year be just perfect.



my boys christmas eve




the boys with grandma and papa



cute of grandma and zach



my hubby and me



logan in his snow suit



my boys together



walkin' hand in hand



with papa




my beautiful z

christmas fun in DC

met with our Braatz side of the family out in DC for a little pre-CHRISTmas fun.
we had a fun - filled, whirlwind weekend. lots of laughs, food and love were shared by all.

may you and yours have a very merry christmas!

love to you...



on our way to DC with the cousins


my most handsome boy on our way to our "mini vacation"


sophie holding logan's hand and saying ... "ahhhhh!"


at the hotel with my man


seeing the sites with cousin tessa


cousins holding hands, on their way to a new adventure


cutie sophie opening her new jammies


i was so excited to see one of my favorite peeps, keirsten, from college... she came to see me for a quick visit. love her!


whole fam (minus parents) at dinner


Merry CHRISTmas from my little family



after a workout at the build a bear workshop! :)



boys in jammies i made for them...



cousins posing in the jammies



santa with the cousins



lovin zach's face as he hugs santa. pure bliss



courtney and zach in line to see the Grinch's ice kingdom



sisters in law. we are so cool in our parkas



the braatz boys



me and the boys!

i have a [gulp] 3 year old

little logan bennett braatz is 3 today.

good grief.

i love him.

he makes my heart happy.

he is super silly.

smart.

stinkin' adorable.

funny.

trouble.

mr. attitude.

imaginative.

thoughtful.

a good eater.

a good sleeper (after a few minutes of " rubbing his back, patting his back...etc)

my little joy.

we love you loggie...

happy 3rd birthday.

it. is. finished.

"... let us run the race with endurance the race that is set before us..." hebrews 12:1

hello friends....

i am happy to report that i flew to oregon, saw my bestest from college, and ran in my first ever 1/2 marathon.

i am still alive. i am sore. i am forever grateful for the experience and i already look forward to doing it all over again with my running partners on 10. 9. 11! nope, i'm not crazy... just excited and thankful and give all glory to GOD for the completion.

let me also say i am thankful to my hubs for taking time out of work to watch our boys and have the chance to play with them. i am also thankful to my parents for their active participation as well as prayers from family and friends. you all ROCK!

i completed my mission sunday morning (10.10.10) in super cold rain (seems to be a pattern for me) with my running buddy josh in 2 hours, 45 mins, and 26 seconds. not bad for first try, right? jennifer and her great husband, chris, finished not too far behind us.

can i just be random right here and say how much i love jennifer? it is sad i only get to see her once a year but there is never a time we don't have fun together - this being no exception, soreness and all! :)

i got so many encouraging texts, too, from friends (ie MICHELE :), sweet joy, jess, crystale... etc) while away - i can easily say i'm the luckiest girl alive.

to top things off, after being terribly spoiled by the olsens and my husband's sacrifice to allow me to be "free" for a weekend, my friend noelle came by with 13 balloons representing the 13 miles i ran. how cool is that? love you girl!

sigh! now i gotta start training for next year and hopefully i'll reach my new goal...

but as my sweet joy reminded me... "i can do all things through Christ who gives me strength..." phil 4:13

AMEN!



out to dinner with jennifer... 2 days before the race! ha! :)


morning of race. in parking lot... nervous, excited... and look how super cute we are?! :)


our running partners, chris (jenn's husband) and my new bf :) (that's for you josh), josh!



oh and i did finally get the chance to meet and play with this fantastic little dude, benjamin. a pure love, for sure! i had the opportunity to enjoy sweet girl, avery, as well! love them!!!



the "finisher" shirt. worth it!!! :)



the 13 balloons. yay! thanks noelle

wow.

my husband is really the best husband in the entire world.

it is saturday afternoon and i just got back from the biggest surprise birthday party.

he rented a movie theater

got all my peeps involved

he put together a little movie about me

we all watched a g-rated movie so our kids could be there to celebrate

cake was involved

and snacks for everyone!

i am in shock

i feel extremely loved by my husband

and humbled and blessed to have such great friends and family surrounding me.

today is a good day, indeed!

thanks babe!!! :)

"29 for the 7th time!" [gulp]

it's my birthday today!

i have so many things to be thankful for.

sweetest husband

best boys

wonderful family

and the best friends in the world.

how'd i get to be so lucky!

thank you for making my birthday (and let's face it, birthday month) so full!

i am honored and feel very blessed!!

mom's night out

... And so a new adventure begins tonight. Mom's Night Out !!!

the program runs fall and spring semesters, and this fall will not disappoint. our main topic is "self control." yikes! where to begin with that? who doesn't need a little help in that area?! i know i do!

i am the MNO coordinator for our marvelous group but really and truly couldn't do it at all without the help of the most amazing women ever. more importantly, God is Head of this ministry and i'm so grateful for Him watching out for us.

i want to take some time to highlight each of my beautiful women. we have been together for years, some together longer than others, but frankly we are a well oiled machine and i could not be prouder of them!!



NOELLE is in the first picture with me. she is my friend. a very dear friend. we happened upon each other in a very unusual way (hee hee! - that is a whole other story at a later date!) she is wife to brian, and has 3 beautiful children. she is the best photographer i know. any pictures you see that are awesome of my family/ children? - she took them. she has a heart for God, people and is very creative. she is our discussion group leader- coordinator. you can dish it out with her. she doesn't judge... just loves. love her.



EILEEN is in the 2nd picture. she is my friend. could there be a more tender-hearted woman after God's own heart? she is with her adorable family of 5 in this picture. she is sweet and kind and ultra thoughtful. she is our hospitality coordinator and the job couldn't be more perfect for her. in fact, i think hospitality is her middle name. she immediately makes you feel right at home. her decorating skills rock and her sensitivity makes everyone feel as though they can truly be themselves. sigh! love her.



JOY aka "sweet joy" as i like to call her is in the 3rd picture. she is smilin' with her man, erik, in the pic. her precious children, merrie and cassie are not pictured but they are near and dear to me, too! she is my friend. the thick and thin kind. the one in a million. the "i know everything about you and still love you" kinda friend. i am safe with her and her with me. she is my Activities Coordinator." she rocks it. she is my homeschooling, creative, caring, full of life girl and is the perfect fit for our group. we'd make up a title to keep her. she's that good at everything she does. clearly, i love her.



LYNNE is our new mentor mom and featured here with her entire braatz family. yes you guessed it. she is my mother in law. how cool is it that i can proudly say i love her and am excited to be working closely along side of her?! she is amazing. Godly, full of wisdom and insight, loving, caring and will teach us ladies how to walk closer and closer to "The ONE." we've had a mentor mom, pam, in the previous years and she was tenderly amazing at it, and lynne has some big shoes to fill but i think she will come in with reckless abandon and give the girls everything she has! love her.



JILL is a class act. she is in the last picture with her adorable family of all men! she is my friend. there is really not anything i don't just love about jill. she is so helpful and truthful and loving and energetic. frankly, her laugh makes me laugh. she is infectious with a downright enthusiasm of life, love and God. i want to know her more and more and really can't get enough of her. she is our secretary and darn good at making sure we stay straight with the budget and everything else that only she can do well! i absolutely love her.




Noelle and me!



Eileen and her awesome family



my sweet Joy and her hubby, erik



Lynne (center) and her entire clan together this summer



Jill and her precious family



btw... i also owe a lot to the ladies that are stepping it up and helping us lead table discussions this year. carrie, sandy, mary... you girls are awesome and will be wonderful leading these women closer to Christ.

jenn lawrence gets a special shout out because she is head over all the mto/mno coordinators and makes things happen. i love her very much and am thankful for all she has put forth!!

michele... my right hand girl. couldn't do this or much of anything else without her in my life. period.

mari lynne and debbie... the office ladies who do much of the behind the scenes. thank you from the bottom of my heart.

now, let's get this semester started!!!! :)

1st day of preschool

another year... another great start for my sweet son zach.

he was all smiles and full of energy as he got up this morning and realized that it was a school day. i think he was really excited to ride the bus.

we HOPE and pray he has a great year. i know God will do mighty things with my mighty young man. i pray for the knowledge, speech and friendships to really form abundantly this year for him.

most of all, i pray for God's love to be shown to him and through him...

love you buddy. we are so proud of you!!!




boys being silly before school



w/ daddy!



grammie and logan hanging out...




grandma came to see zach off to school!




grandma and grammie with their little guy...




grammie and zach waiting for the bus




me and my boy




zach all smiles!!!




daddy putting zach on the bus



so so SO excited!!!




bus pulling away! take good care of my boy!!! :)



i think logan is excited to have his mommy all to himself! ha ha ha!!!