Keith and Celia's Christmas Letter

Hi, everyone!

I just posted our Christmas letter on our blog. Go have a look!

We're with the Olsons in Iowa this year... ready for a happy, noisy, Christmas with lots of kids (well, 2) and dogs! Joseph and Cat, I hope you guys have a safe trip here tomorrow. We're looking forward to seeing you!

I hope the rest of you are also doing well. Our thoughts and prayers are with you (especially you, Eric)! Have a wonderful Christmas!

Love, Celia (and Keith)

Yay for Blizzards!

I have a great husband who shovels the walk and makes sure the cars start and lets the dogs out when it's frigid, so I can enjoy blizzards. :) It wasn't as bad today as it could be; we didn't have that much snow (relatively speaking) to blow around and it was too cold to drop any new stuff.

We are doing great. I might actually get Christmas cards out this year! I'm willing to bet I'll be working on them while in Iowa for Christmas though. :) I wanted to work on them today but there was an issue with Sam's Club getting my online order and they weren't ready when they said they'd be. Ahhh, but I won't go on about that, instead I'll update you on fun things, like Michael!

I posted lots of new pictures to our shutterfly site: http://jcolson.shutterfly.com A friend of ours is a new photographer and we were very pleased with the pictures. Michael has a million expressions, and he shared them all during the photo shoot. He was absolutely exhausted so I was impressed we got as many good ones as we did.

I think the little man might be walking by Christmas. We've been making him practice. He's such a nut- he cries when we "force" him to walk, but then he laughs and beams when he takes a few steps because he is so proud of himself! I'm trying not to push it too much because I don't want him to regress, but he came a long way this weekend! He still won't voluntarily stand on his own either.

I figured out how to make Bavarian almonds this weekend. I've eaten way to many! The recipe and technique need some tweeking, but all in all I'm pleased. I've always wanted to find a "special" goodie I can make for the holidays (and be known for), so maybe this is it.

The new job is great. Have I posted about it here? I don't think so... It's a very diverse job and that makes it very interesting. I've been there for six weeks and still enjoy the people I work with. Haha! My supervisor and the Dean of the department/school are wonderful. I agree with their management style and philosophy on dealing with the group dynamics. It's very refreshing, as my last manager didn't want to hurt feelings so she wouldn't put her foot down and manage. I have gotten as used to the odd hours (1:30-10) as possible. Joseph does a great job with Michael in the evenings and doesn't like it when I come home early (to work from home) because I steal MJ time. ;) Our daycare lady is Awesome! Her five kids (of her own) love Michael and he loves them. We're pretty sure one of the words he repeats is her oldest son's name.

Thanks for listening to me babble. I'll have to take a few videos at Christmas of the Olson cousins. I bet by the end of the weekend, if not sooner, they'll be chasing each other around Grandma's house!

Eric's Address

Hello Fam,

I thought I'd put my address on the Blog so that everyone would know how to get a peice of mail to me here in Iraq. By the way my e-mail address is rudsterman@gmail.com

Capt Eric Rudolph
MNC-I C3 JOC
APO AE 09342-2001

I'm doing fine here, I live in a trailer in work in a palace. It feels as if the time is going by relatively fast, 1 month down and 5 to go. Stacey has sent me a couple packages, I write e-mails a to her alot and I spend a lot of time on Facebook.com. I have several pictures posted there, though I am having trouble posting here due to connectivity problems -- I tried! I'll try again later I promise.

-Eric

Twilight Movie

Kristyne and I went to see the movie Twilight...twice. Once on Friday evening and again on Saturday morning. Yes, it is crazy, but we were not alone as many did also. We stood in line to get in both times.

We are both big fans of the books thanks to Stacey who started it by giving me the book, Twilight and got us both hooked.

The movie was great. But if you have not read the book, it may have been a bit confusing at times. Maybe not. I guess they are going to make the second book New Moon into a movie now.

Anyway, it is a sweet love story about a girl and a boy who fall in love, but they have issues. He is a vampire and she wants to become one so they can be together always.

Olson family news

We have a bit of news for the family. Well for those who don't already know. Here it is:

Or should I say he/she is. Baby Sweet should arrive on the scene around June 23, 2009

Sarah and Nathan weren't going to say anything for a while, but looking for babysitters during trips to the ER for fluid hydration meant that so many people knew, that it was hard to keep a secret. Hopefully the hyperemesis will be short lived.

Quick Hello!

Hi everyone, here's a few pics from Halloween.  I've been busy posting pics on each of the blogs I have, so Im going to keep this short.  We had a great Halloween and I'll post more pictures of the kids later.  But I wanted to post the ones of Catherine and Michael when they came through to visit.  It was a rainy morning but we loved having the chance to catch up as much as you can in a short time.  I can't believe it has been so long since we saw you guys!  I hope when Eric comes back we can make a trip through Iowa and SD to spend time with everyone.  We miss you all and am so glad we have the computer to keep in touch.  Even all the way to Eric on the other side of the world!  What a blessing!  Take care and Congratulations on the job Catherine!

Life changes!

I got the job at UND! I start on Monday already. We stopped by the gal who will be Michael's nanny and things will be great. Her son is two months younger than MJ but the same size. They'll be great together. Our parenting styles are a lot alike so I feel very comfortable leaving him there.

The plan now is that we will both work and pay off debt until Joseph goes back to school in the Fall. We figure he has about three years left. Hopefully he can arrange his classes so they are all in the morning and be home in the afternoons and evenings when I go to work. (Did I mention my job is 1:30 - 10pm?) I'm not thrilled about the hours because I will see Joseph a lot less, but Michael will see his daddy more and I think that is great! I'm really disappointed I can't throw Michael's first birthday party on his birthday. I'm going to try and get work off that night... I know he doesn't care but it's important to his mommy. (I take my mommy job very seriously, haha!)

I really enjoyed our trip to Ohio and Chicago. The time with my brother's family was wonderful! We went to the zoo one day and I met up with one of my online mommies which was great. The mommy forum is really my support group so it's a joy to see them in the flesh. There are 50 of them, and I've met four people that are new, and three of them I knew in person to begin with. Our babies are all about the same age.

Stacey, it was really nice seeing you, even for the short time. Joey is still such a cutie pie! Did he ever pass on the tickles to Katie? :) Eric, best wishes to your deployment! Captain Olson sends her best. ;)

Hans Solo, Queen Amidala and Baby Yoda are hosting a Halloween party tomorrow night. We love hosting parties and are looking forward to it a lot. Kids are welcome this time, we'll see how that goes! I'll post pictures soon.

Sounds like Baby Yoda is trying to swiffer for me in the kitchen. I better see how he's doing with that. Ha ha!

Karen & Kris, I look forward to updates from each of you!

Ohio update, haha

We're in Ohio too! Michael, myself and Grandma Fleming drove to Chicago on Sunday where we spent the night at a friends house, and then continued our drive to Columbus, OH on Monday. Tomorrow (Friday) we will enjoy a visit with Stacey and then on to Chicago for two more nights.

We were able to celebrate my brother's birthday and do some GREAT shopping. I wish the baby stores were this good in ND!

Unfortunately my husband is home sick this week battling flu, a cold or sinus infection (or both) and poisen oak AGAIN. Poor guy. They think he got it on his coat last week and then when he wore his coat earlier this week he got it on his skin. Poor guy!

My UND job interview is Monday at 8am. (We are getting home Sunday night, phew!) I know I am qualified for the job, and though I'm not crazy about taking it I know I'd be good at it, and it allows Joseph to go back to school next Fall. We have a gal lined up to watch Michael if I get it. (The job is 1:30 - 10pm)

Here are a few photos of our week so far:

Holiday Greetings from Ohio!

Hi everyone,

So yes, I've been way out of the loop with blogging, but....you know how it goes.  Here is a link to a recent post I wrote for our Run Run Rudolph Blog.  This will be much easier if I use this link than type it up again.  

What's new lately?  I'm a new Brownie Girl Scout Troop Leader.  Not that I was jumping at the opportunity, rather if someone didn't step up, it would mean no Troop for 11 girls along with Katie.  So even though I've really enjoyed learning how the program works, it has been a LOT of work.  Eric is gone training for the week and is in Texas camping out in all his gear he'll be using in Iraq.  The day before he left the van battery quit on us, but that is fixed now.  I always feel like things could be worse, so I'm not complaining.  Just sharing.  The tow truck guy said his car battery quit on him in the middle of Christmas shopping.  So after that, I was grateful it happened before Eric left, it was in our driveway, the weather was warm, we have insurance that covered it, and at least 3 people offered to help, and they each did in some way.  It's interesting how sometimes my trials become the things that strengthen my belief that we are being watched over and are blessed.  It doesn't mean life will be perfect, but there is always something to learn and appreciate.  Thanks for listening and I hope everyone is doing well!  Stacey

Keith and Celia update

Hi! Wow, lots of stuff going on here. I posted a bunch on my blog, so all of you should look at that. I think both of us have traveled more miles this year than ever before, starting with a visit to ND for Michael's baptism in January, then a trip to Hawaii, followed by a road trip to ND, MN, SD, and IA, then New Zealand in August, and Peru last weekend... but that was just me. Keith stayed at home for that one. Then we're going to IA for Christmas. Probably should book a flight soon. :)

Other than lightheartedly traipsing all over the world, we are heavy into studies here in Vancouver. Keith probably has the most difficult semester ever. Here's what we're doing. Keith is taking Advanced Greek, Old Testament Narrative, and Intermediate Hebrew, while reading about 4000 pages to prepare for comprehensive exams, and working as a TA (teaching aide) for Intermediate Greek. I am taking History of Christianity, working on my thesis (there's a post about that on my blog), working as a TA for both Introductory and Intermediate Hebrew, and teaching cello. Then there's church stuff too... both of us helping out with worship music.

Yep. That's what we're up to. How is everyone doing? We're looking forward to Christmas break... and this year it will be even more fun at the Olson house, since we've got 2 more people since last time!! Yes, we are looking forward to seeing everyone again. So, that's my report. :)

Some pictures for you. Here we are in New Zealand, in the middle of a winery tour. We visited 7 wineries that day. Note Celia's purple teeth. Don't worry, we were good kids, and made use of the spit bucket, so we didn't feel the effects... NZ wine is very impressive! We loved that aspect of our trip. :)


I just got back from Peru! Here I am with my friend, Sindy, her mom, Sonia, and her nephew, Israel. We had a great time!


Update:

Keith wanted me to add the following picture, also from New Zealand. We had a New Zealander over for lunch today, and showed her the picture, but she didn't get it... in NZ, "te puke" (the name of a town) is pronounced "te pookie." Tee hee.

Rudolph Update

Well I'm trying to add pictures and my computer is giving me crap.  SO, for now I'll just write and then edit later.  Our new addition to our family is Pheobe, our 2-year-old Cocker Spaniel/Lab mix little girl who is such a delight.  We adopted her from a local Humane Society, and she knows her commands and is loving and sweet to the kids.  She's small enough for Katie to take for walks and Joey loves to play with her by covering her with blankets and feeding her dog food.  She is so patient.  I love that she doesn't bolt out the door when someone comes.  She wiggles around the visitor (after barking) on the porch and is delighted to run right back in the house.  I love it!  

We've planned lots of family things before Eric leaves in about a month.  He still doesn't have a date, but it's coming up.  We got to attend an awesome Pre-deployment Fair which the kids got to make things like frames to put a family picture in, a Build-A-Bear with Eric's voice recorded in it, and a pillow case with a picture of each child with their Dad on it.  It's overwhelming how much they did for us, and it will really help in lonely times.  

Joey is recovered almost completely from his surgery.  It went very smoothly and we'll have tests in a few weeks to see the results of it.  He had bilateral ureter reimplantation to correct the reflux in his kidneys.  Basically, reattaching tubes from his kidneys to the bladder in a different spot so the urine stop backflowing into the kidneys, causing enlargement.  Overall, his health has been normal so we feel very blessed that this hasn't cause damage.  

Girl & Boy Scouts is in full swing, so it's hard to keep our calendar organized; we seem to have a lot of things overlapping and we have to decide what to nix.  I have become a Girl Scout team leader since the one from last year can't do it this year, so a few parents have stepped up to help out, but we're all a bit overwhelmed with learning the system and all.  This really seems fun, but I was hoping to not add too much to my plate while Eric is gone.  We'll see how it goes.  

Well, I'll see how this goes for now.  Love you all!

Olson Update

I nearly wrote "Fleming Update" for the title. Wow, it's been a while since I've done that! I did just read my brother's blog so that must be why. ;)

We are great here! The cool weather feels great! I love the fall season. Joseph is a lot more comfortable working in the cooler weather too.

I finally finished reading the Harry Potter books so I can get things done again. Haha! Michael was a great boy and played by himself all day yesterday while I read. This was a great change of pace because he has hit the clingy-Mom stage. He's also been working on teeth so he's been crankier than usual.

Other than battling teeth we don't have much to report here. I am planning a trip to Chicago in the next month or so to visit a college friend. She is battling cancer and it's not going well. We've decided to try something very different and she is going to start drinking my breast milk. I know it sounds crazy, but there are actually more and more cancer and chemo patients doing it with favorable results. Both she and I are a little squeamish about it but if it helps we're willing to try. If you know of anyone who has ever tried this, please let me know. We have no idea how much she should drink, etc. and have been trying to read up on it. We've only been able to find a bit of Swedish research and American articles on the topic. It's too difficult to ship the milk to her and I've wanted to visit the city for a long time so this is a great excuse. I may drive the extra 6 hours after that to see my brother's family in Columbus Ohio. And if I'm already in Columbus perhaps I could meet the Rudolphs too! (It will be Michael, myself and maybe my mom)

Hugs and (sloppy) kisses from our house to you!

Yellowstone Trip 2008

Here are a few pictures of our short trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park.
This is a picture of Old Faithful. We stayed for a while and looked around the Yellowstone Lodge and watched Old Faithful erupt a few times. It brought back memories of when as a child we went to Wyoming and tent camped in Yellowstone. I remember my mother getting some of the hot boiling water on her leg from the hot pots in West Thumb. Things have changed a little and visitors are more restircted in the amount of walking they can do around these areas. That is probably a good thing. Some people are so careless. The whole park is very clean and well taken care of by lots of forest rangers and volunteers.

This is our big expense for the year. The trailer is 27 feet long and sleeps four. It pulls very nicely. I hope we can get our money's worth out of it. After I retire (someday), we will travel and live in it where ever we decide to go or as the wind directs us. Gary's last truck that he bought brand new lasted for 24 years. Hopefully this will also.
We did see buffalo, but only just before we were ready to leave the park. I guess they wanted to say goodbye to us. They knew I was upset that we did not see many animals other than small ones from time to time. There were signs up all over to watch out for them.
This is a picture of the Tetons, they are remarkable. Snow never melts so there are glaciers on them. All in all it was a nice little trip. We camped six nights all together. We did take the dogs.

Next time we won't. Wet dog really can get stinky in a truck.

September Vacation

Hello Everyone!!!!
Yes, I know, I have not posted in a long time.
But I have been busy...reading and working and being a big pain if you ask Gary.
I have read the Twilight Series of books by Stephanie Meyer. If you have not read them and you enjoy a sweet love story about a 17 year old girl and a 17 year old vampire and a 16 year old werewolf, well these are the books for you. Enough said...maybe you want to read them so I will not go into more details.
Other news! Gary and I have purchased a new 2008 3/4 ton Dodge Ram Truck and a new trailer to pull behind it. We made the big plunge and will suffer making payments for the next few years.
I'll post pictures when I get them taken. Last weekend we took Kris with us and went up to our property in Ogden Canyon. A very nice and secluded area, no power, no nothing just mountains, narrow roads and beauty all around. On the scond day it rained and poured and then we had more rain. We saw lots of wild life, even a moose and it's calf. This was our maiden voyage, and there were a few glitches. But all is well and everything is working. This next week we are going to go to Yellowstone. So wish us luck and happy RVing.
I miss you all so much and think of you often. Sorry I am so slow about blogging and calling.
I'll try to have something to post in the near future.

BACK TO SCHOOL!

Hi there family!
It has been busy around here! School has started and it is going to be a great year.
I am working with a new speech patholgist. - Bonnie Bond. She is great.
The kids are doing so good. My principal is also very supportive.


My kitties are going well. Bella is growing up so fast! She is going be declawed and fixed at the end of the month. She is getting to be more cuddly.

This is quickie, but I also look at the blog at least every other day, so I'll get some pictures on here too!

LOVE YA ALL!

Kris

Looking for Family updates!

Hi family! I miss hearing from the cousins! How are the new members of the family (animals) doing? Are the kids back in school, and if so do you have first day of school pictures?

We are doing great in our family! Michael is growing like a weed now and is doing new things every week. It's fun! Joseph and I are doing well too.

Love from our house!

Michael pictures!

Life is very fun in our house! (Long Michael update to follow)

Here are photos from his 8 month old photo shoot I did tonight in our front yard. These were the only ones he smiled for, thanks to a neighbor who helped. I will probably take more tomorrow. I forgot to take pictures of him at 7 months, but otherwise I think I have a picture of him every month with his Tonka truck! This was the first month he could sit in it by himself and he enjoyed touching it and checking it out.

We are very happy Cousin Elizabeth was willing to lend Michael her walker. To say he LOVES it is an understatement! He figured out how to get around very quickly. He likes to chase the dogs and run laps around the house. I love it because I can get work done (such as child proofing the house).

He can army crawl everywhere and hints that he knows how to stick his butt in the air and crawl on his knees but so far he prefers to do it the hard way. He loves to be upright and have help walking, which is why the walker is such a hit. He has two little teeth and a third one must be one the way but I can't tell which one yet. His nose is running, drool is a-flowing, hands or toys constantly in his mouth... but no tooth. His first two took a while to come so I'm not overly surprised this one is taking it's time as well.

I am so lucky and blessed to have such a happy boy. Even though I think he's teething he is still a happy little kid. He has been more mellow lately, but still happy. When he gets cranky I feel lost- I rarely have to deal with that!

He prefers baby food but will often get mad if we don't share our meal with him too. I feel he has changed SO MUCH in the last two weeks. Size wise I don't think he's grown a lot but developmentally he's changing in leaps and bounds. He's at the fun age where he is figuring everything out. His closet light has a pull string and he's learning how to turn it on and off himself. He is starting to be interested in blocks. His toys have new meaning and depth to them now. You can tell he is soaking in so much more of his environment than he did before. I feel like our house now has the kid spirit in it. When he was a baby our home was nice and the air was sweet, but now it feels different because there is a playful little BOY running around. Our home has new life and I LOVE IT!!!

Here (hopefully) is a video of Michael chasing the animals around the living room. The dogs spend most of their time in this room so Michael does as well. He also loves the large fish tank. (Side note, the floor desperately needs to be re-finished! We pulled pealed off tile from the floor and the icky tar/glue is still there. Someday...)





Here is a link to a much longer video of him making his way through the house. It's not as interesting as the first one but you can see that he easily amuses himself for hours in this walker. (Have I mentioned how grateful we are to Nate & Sarah for lending it to us?!?!)

http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii310/cat52480/July%202008/?action=view¤t=StateFair077.flv

He doesn't talk much in either of the videos but there are times he is quite the chatter box. He is always talking about Joseph: "Dada, a dadadada..." He doesn't talk about Mama yet. *wink*

Thanks for reading this far- can you tell I miss adult interaction? Haha! Being at home is going well. It was an adjustment for both of us but with all the changes he's going through it is a VERY exciting time to be with him all day! Joseph is a wonderful, wonderful husband and father. He is great with Michael and is very willing to share care-taking duties when he comes home from work. As a couple we're doing fantastic and the adjustment of having another member in our family has only made us stronger.

I thank God every day for all our blessings.

Computer woes

Tim and I had a crash on Tuesday. The night before, an information box came up on the screen telling Tim to disable our firewall because there were two firewalls running. He didn't, but clicking on the pop-up was enough and the next day we couldn't bring up windows or anything. We followed the directions to try to fix the problem with the original windows disc, but had to go to system restore and dispite trying to save our files, we lost everything. A "friend" of ours researched our needs and purchased this computer for us a year and a half ago. There is no original paperwork nor is there a statement that the computer was registered to me. I even think that the disc for windows may actually belong to my other computer in ND because everything looks different now. (Although, Celia actually set the original parameters for my screen so every thing didn't look "stretched" and I don't know how she did it. )
The hardest aspect is all the pictures I have lost. It could be worse though. When Keith was here in May (bless him) he backed up my pictures and documents for me, so I have only lost those pictures I hadn't downloaded from the camera yet. About 200 pictures from Memorial weekend, Mother's day, Will's graduation pictures (darn me for being too lazy to send them along to him) Our May vacation and Elizabeth's birthday. I'm glad I posted my favorite pictures on the blog so I can download them back to my computer. But I'm missing a lot of cute baby pictures
My computer won't let me view Catherine's slide shows on the blog so if anyone has any help I would appreciate it.
Anticipating Eric's question. I had the most up to date version of PC doctor on my computer. When I purchase it, it was supposed to be the best virus control.

Elizabeth's Pictures

Elizabeth had one year pictures done. They can be viewed at
www.memoriesinfocus.net then select client login and scroll down to her name. The pictures are darling and will be present for view until July 29.

My Baby

Yesterday Tim & I went to visit Rebecca. we saw Man of La Mancha and Pippin it was good to visit with her. She is doing an internship in Minnesota and the community is nice...small but nice. She won part of a cow in a lottery and will be having a nice celebration with her room mates on the 4th

My babies

We had the fun of going to SD again last weekend and I worked on Chris' apartment. Joseph and Catherine brought a trailer with most of his furniture and we had a nice gathering. We probably spent too much time with grandkids and not enough getting the apartment ready

We also celebrated Elizabeth's birthday a little early since I didn't think I would see her before her birthday

"Rrrrrr Ye Maties!"

Here is our little pirate in training!

Here is one of the last gummy pictures we will see of him. He has been working on a tooth and I can finally feel the tip of it this evening. He is much happier now than he was this afternoon!

WE ARE HAPPY FAMILY!

Here are a few pictures of my little ones!

They are getting quite used to each other.

It makes their Momma feel good that they can get along!

:) Love All

Kris

More photos

Thanks for posting the other ones Grandma! I have a few more:

Here are his six month photos.

Here are a few from Aberdeen. I created it for my mommy forum so I don't have many of my cute neice in it.

I am no longer working at Coldwell Banker. We debated what my next move would be, and decided I will be a stay at home mom! I am excited and scared at the same time. I will probably start teaching piano lessons in the fall. So far I have ten students, without advertising. I think I may need to find a nanny to watch michael for a few hours while I teach!

Here is one more picture taken with my camera phone. It was taken while I was at Girls State where I am the music director every year. This was during MJ's first government lecture, on state government, I think. :)

Catch up Post V

OK guys this is the last catchup post, be sure to read the other four. We went to Aberdeen this weekend to see Chris's apartment. Yes, Chris has a job in Aberdeen starting in July and now has an apartment. The house up North is not really empty, but soon we can consider remodeling before I retire and move back there. Yes, you read correctly, Tim wants to move back to ND after I retire. I'm thinking that will be in about 10 years. Right now Will is living there so it isn't empty, but I'm sure he won't want to stay there forever. Not only that there is a lot of everyone's storage there.

Sitting in Chris'sliving room. Just imagine furniture

Fun at Story Book Land

Biker Michael

Walking Elizabeth

"He ain't heavy, he's my cousin"

Now that you are up to date on my family Karen, now it's your turn. Loveya