Jonathan Daniel Finnestad

We are so thrilled to announce the addition of Jonathan Daniel to our family. He was born at 10:21 am on Tuesday, October 28th weighing 7 lbs 11 oz and measuring 18½".


His birth was filled with so many emotions...too many for me to be able to blog about quickly. I was most overwhelmed with gratitude, deep appreciation to God for allowing Jonathan to enter safely into our arms - especially after some very scary moments during delivery.

His older siblings can't get enough of him. We love watching them cuddle him and take so much delight in him.

Timely Devotional

A couple of days ago I blogged about God's Sovereignty and timing. I should further explain what prompted that conversation with our family. Every night when we put the kids to bed, we read to them from our family devotional. A couple of nights ago I had to smile as I heard Jimmy reading the following devotion:

"He will call upon Me, and I will answer him." Psalm 91:15

Every night at the end of her prayers, Mimi said "And please God, let me have a bike for my birthday." Mimi's mother didn't have alot of money. Mother wanted to get Mimi a bike, but when her birthday came, she still didn't have enough money.

Mother worried that Mimi might not trust God anymore if she didn't get her bike. She had prayed so long for one. After Mimi opened her birthday presents, mother said "Honey, I'm sorry you didn't get a bike. But don't blame God for not answering your prayers, I just didn't have enough money."

Mimi replied, "God answered my prayers Mom. He just said, 'No, not yet,' He'll give you the money when He wants me to have a bike."

God doesn't always say yes to our prayers...sometimes the answer is no or wait. God knows the best answer for us. Like Mimi, we must trust that He loves us even when He says no or not yet. God always listens to His children's prayers and in the Bible He promises "I will answer."

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As a family, we can thank God that He knows the best time for Jonathan to arrive.

Soccer Season Finale

This morning marked the official end of the boys' soccer season for 2008. They both played hard and enjoyed having Grandma & Grandpa Hirst and the Currey family come watch. James' Soccer/Trophy party was held after his game today. His coach commended him for his excellent performance as a forward, a defender and even a goalie. She said "He does it all and loves it all!" He is very proud of his new trophy. Josiah gets to celebrate with his team next Saturday, so be on the lookout for his pictures.

Anxiously Awaiting

Much to the surprise of many, we are still anxiously awaiting Jonathan's arrival. With Aliya arriving 2 weeks early, we were fully anticipating her new baby brother would follow suit...that and the fact that this is Baby number FIVE and as of Thursday I was already dilated to about a FIVE. And yet, here we remain. Patiently waiting. It's becoming slightly comical. I can only imagine the smile on God's face as He further cements a very important truth into our minds...HE is Sovereign. HE is in control. HE has fashioned Jonathan together and knows the perfect time for him to officially join our family. Only HE knows when that perfect time will be.

And so we wait excitedly for Him to reveal it to us!

Carved Creations

Last year's pumpkin carving day proved especially challenging for Mom, who was asked to carve things like flamingos and palm trees. This year I was delighted to hear the kids wanted to carve out their own designs on their pumpkins. Josiah designed his pumpkin and then helped with the carving. Abby and James were basically on their own and were so proud of their masterpieces.

Pumpkin Patch

Today marked our annual trip to the Scholtz Farm with none other than the "Pumpkin Patch Crew." This has become an annual tradition that our family looks forward to with much anticipation. We love the kids area full of toys, corn maze, farm animals to pet and feed and of course, the sea of pumpkins we wade through in search of that perfect find. Following our Pumpkin Patch adventure, we typically meet back together at someone's house for more playtime, dinner and of course football! This year's expedition left none disappointed. The weather was excellent and the memories priceless.

Ready, Set, Bowl!

This evening we celebrated our next door neighbor's 4th birthday at ACME Bowl in Tukwila. What a great place to take kids bowling! If you've never been there before, you can pre-program each lane to lift the bumpers up and down depending on who's turn it is. There are little bowling ramps for the smaller ones who aren't able to roll the ball down the lane on their own, so even Aliya got to play. The kids had such a great time and Abby even got a few strikes.

Aliya "ramp bowling"


Josiah in action


James picking the perfect ball


Abby gearing up for another strike