Monday, February 8, 2010

Baby's Got Talent

Be forewarned - viewing of this video may evoke feelings of jealousy should you not be blessed with a child possessing this talent.



Then again...you may instead be experiencing excessive gratitude that your child does NOT possess this talent.

P.S. When I showed this video to Jimmy, he found no humor in it. "That's not funny Karen. Why are you laughing? Don't encourage that!!" Just makes me laugh all the more....ha ha ha ha here I go again!

Let's Par-tay!!!

We had the time of our lives celebrating Josiah's 6th birthday and watching the Superbowl yesterday! With it being a combined birthday / football party, it worked out perfectly that he wanted a Sports Themed birthday celebration. Though I laughed a little when he told me the 2 sports he wanted highlighted as cakes were football and pool! Yes, pool has become a recognized sport in the Finnestad household!I laughed at the irony of the crafts we chose, which included sports themed door hangers...when our older three children don't even have doors on their new rooms yet! ha ha Soon!
Our house was full of great food, friends (51 to be exact) and fun!






Josiah received the loudest rendition of Happy Birthday I've ever heard. I was only able to capture a brief portion of it, but you get the idea.After the Superbowl game was over, it was time for the "other sport"...Pool!! I was so impressed by one of Greg's shots - two balls split and off into different pockets at the same time.

What made this weekend even more exciting for Josiah was the fact that it was his turn to bring home the class mascot, Matty Monkey. Matty was here to join in the celebrations and got to go back to school this morning to tell the class all about it. Happy Birthday Sy!

Getting to Know James

So this is what you get when you turn on the video camera and ask a 7 year old to tell you a little about himself. What a goofball!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

You Talkin' to Me?

About a week ago I began going through a book my Mom gave me titled "The Prayer That Changes Everything" and found myself realizing how lax my prayer life has become as of late. Then at Girlfriends Night at church I won a door prize which contained the books "The Prayer of Jabez" and "Beyond Jabez". A couple of days later a dear friend called me troubled by some very difficult circumstances. We ended the conversation by saying these are the moments when we just ask God for a miracle....only one day later her miracle came! God answered in a mighty way. The next day my neighbor called saddened by the news that a family dog had run away. She mentioned she was shooting up a prayer, so I told her I was going to do the same. 10 minutes later she called back "You're never going to believe this...the dog just came home!"


I was beginning to sense a theme here. As I stood there in awe of God's power, I half heartedly joked "God, are you talkin' to me?" And then I heard him speak - "Karen, are you talking to ME?" I think I can see the first area of my life in need of Revival - Prayer.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Revival and Rejoicing

I am so behind in blogging, but rather than playing catch up tonight I'm celebrating another year of blessings and refining. God disciplines those He loves and boy have I been feeling loved lately :) It makes me all the more excited for the theme He has given me for 2010 "Revival and Rejoicing". I've had a feeling for a couple of months now that the theme would focus on Praise - glorifying God through every circumstance of everyday. How can He not receive the glory for any reviving being done in my life?

I'm curious if anyone else ever has a theme or verse they pray over for a season? Praying for a year full of Revival and Rejoicing for each of you! Thank you Jesus!!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Come on Rainbow Bells

Aliya has been practicing for her upcoming preschool Christmas Performance at church. She's frequently heard singing "Come on Ring Those Bells" ~ although she is convinced the song is actually "Come on Rainbow Bells". Here's a sneak peek - for the actual performance, you'll need to be at church on Sunday! (Maybe between now and then I'll figure out how to rotate the video.)

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Making Progress

It's amazing how much has happened in the past 1½ months with our house.

Stairs have been built

2nd story framing has gone up

Walls have been nailed on

Trusses set, rooflines reestablished and reroofed


Windows and Sliding Glass Door installed


Nursery Dismantled/Hallway Framed


Plumbing, Mechanical and Electrical installed



Interior framing done / windows removed or relocated

Insulation in place


All to prepare us for "Rockin' Out" next week! It's almost time to sheetrock - Yahoo!!!

Jonathan's Stridor

I wrote this on October 17th, but never posted it. Time for me to play catch up!

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I ran across this video last night. How quickly I had forgotten what it was like to hear Jonathan's rapid, stridorous breathing 24 hours a day...awake or asleep. He's actually breathing slowly in the video (which didn't happen often when he was younger).
I remember a nurse at Children's Hospital telling me that there would come a point when his noisy breathing would be less of a concern than when I couldn't hear him breathe at all. How true that was! And now, we are blessed to watch him breathe so easily that his Laryngomalacia is rarely even a thought. The only time we hear it these days is when he is very active or laughing really hard.

I am so grateful for our children...SO grateful. Thank you Jesus for your protection over each one of them!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Happy 1st Birthday

Well Jonathan's birthday wasn't exactly how we envisioned it would be thanks to the Swine Flu. On the other hand, with almost the entire family sick that week we were able to spend alot quality family time together. While the other kids wanted to share all sorts of cards and gifts with him on his big day, I'm happy to say there was one thing they didn't share with him...the flu! Miraculously, he managed to stay healthy!

An "Anonymous Angel" left this sweet little 1st birthday cake on our front porch (thank you Jen). Clearly, he LOVED it!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Rampin' Up

Newest favorite activity in the Finnestad household...especially for one little Finnestad in particular...

Friday, October 16, 2009

Fixing the Floor

Our indoor waterfall resulted in us ripping out all of the carpet in the family room. After a couple of days attempting to keep Jonathan off of our dirty staple/screw ridden subfloor, Jimmy decided a temporary fix was in order.

Tonight the kids got a lesson in how to lay laminate flooring and were thrilled to be part of the solution. We just happened to have an extra 5-6 boxes of it in our garage from when we laid the floor 5 years ago. While it didn't cover the entire room, it certainly covered up the majority of it and I couldn't be happier!

Didn't they do a fantastic job?

It Is What It Is

In addition to our 2009 theme of "Believe", we seem to have adopted the motto "It is what it is" this year. It's amazing how those two themes are really tied together. Essentially, it is Believing that allows us to be able to step back and say "It is what it is - and I'm content with that"...

In my Lord, Change my Attitude bible study we have been studying the Israelites tendencies to complain despite the numerous times God proved himself faithful and good. How quickly I've seen myself behaving just like those Israelites and time and time again He provides - not always in the way I imagined He would, but in the way that only a Sovereign God would.

* * * * * * * *

I began the first two paragraphs of this blog last weekend and since then have had several opportunities to put feet to my faith. Monday night at Kelly Lopez's baby shower, I shared a little about what God was teaching me. The title of the devotion was "It is What it is" and focused on Philippians 4:11-13 "...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Tuesday morning I was working on my bible study which asked me to list 3 things I was grateful for. My #3 was "for the electricity that gives me the light I need to read my bible right now and the heat we need to be comfortable." 10 minutes later - the power went out. Seriously! Naturally, the next part of the study was asking if I would still be content without those things. Um, hello! Talk about immediate, practical application!

Then came Wednesday...My intent in beginning this post last weekend, was to finish by saying that although I knew the rains were coming despite our roof not being complete, I also trusted in a God that would be faithful - even if the rains came tumbling down...and boy did they - INSIDE even!

We had quite the indoor waterfall, which resulted in waterlogged carpet, sagging walls and a quick change in project scope.
I became quickly aware of my Israelite tendencies and felt God challenging me and growing me..."Do you still believe?" "Lord, I believe...Help my unbelief." "Am I enough?" "Lord, you are enough!" It was a difficult day of struggling with the Lord (and with my attitude). When everything was said and done, all Jimmy & I could do was step back and say "It is What it is"...we will be content whatever the situation and know that our God is Faithful! Thank you Jesus for the refining moments this week...those ones that opened my eyes to see that there will be many more "raining down" on me, as I have a long way to go!

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Earnhardt Rite of Passage

Today was the day...the Puyallup Earnhardts have officially earned their stripes in the Finnestad household, successfully maneuvering through our sacred dining room window.
Stephanie and Mikayla even ventured up the ladder to check out the 2nd floor.


Next it was time to put the kids to work, followed by a little trampoline fun!

This day was exactly what the Dr. ordered. It was so refreshing spending the day together just hanging out. Stephanie & I even got to sneak out for a few hours to enjoy Michelle and Madelynn's baby shower. What a perfect end to an already wonderful weekend!