Clara arrived at 9:25 pm on April 13, 2010 (one day before dad’s birthday!)  She weighed in at a healthy 7 lbs. 12 oz., and was 19.5 inches long.

Here are a couple photos of our little peanut:

The Story of How the Kids Caught the Mouse

 by Laura E. Olson 2/11/10

            One Christmas night, the kids hung up their stockings. Then the mother and father put them to bed. They said their prayers and hoped that they would get lots of good things from Santa Claus. Then they went to bed. They all had good dreams. In the morning, they got up and ran to open their stockings. They found good things to eat, and they each got a new book and a doll. They ran to tell mother and father. Mother and father smiled. “Why, what nice things!” mother said. “Yes.” Said father, “Now let’s go have breakfast.”

            After breakfast, they got to have a little dessert of their candy. Then they played with some toys that they had gotten. When it was finally time for lunch, they had their favorite meal. It was tuna fish sandwiches. Then they went to a Christmas party with their Papa and Grandma. They opened more presents and found that they had both received board games. It was a good day! Then they went home and had supper. They had salad, and spaghetti and meatballs. Then Mama gave them dessert which was chocolate brownies that she had made the other day.  “Delicious!” said the kids.

            Suddenly, the kids screamed! Dad said, “What’s going on?”

            “There is a mouse that just ran under our bed!”

            “Oh my goodness!” said Dad. “Go get me the flashlight.” When the kids did, Dad went into the bedroom to try to catch the mouse. He saw it scamper right behind him. He chased it out into the living room. They had a cat. The cat tried to get it too. Suddenly, the kids had an idea. “Hey, let’s surround him.” So that is what they did.

            They finally got him put under a bowl. Then the cat went sniffing the bowl. The dad said, “All right, I will give him to you for your supper.” So they killed the mouse and then they put it in the cat’s bowl and she licked it right up.

The END.

Here is our 2009 Christmas card:

All three of our girls LOVE books! I am not really sure if it is genetic but they all love to be read to and to read on their own. Helen has even been known to be browsing through chapter books without many pictures - probably a direct result of wanting to imitate her big sister who wants to have her eyes in a book at all times. Laura is just starting about the 25th book in our collection of the “Box Car Children” series! She is so engrossed in her reading that she has been known to run into walls while reading a book and walking. When I went to pick up Esther a couple of weeks ago from the nursery at church, she was sitting in a chair and “reading” a book all by herself.

They really do love hanging out with other kids and people as well, just to quell the thought that they are all anti-social book nerds. A couple of weeks ago Esther made friends with two different children at the library all by herself. Helen makes friends wherever she goes - even in the elevator at the mall. Laura makes friends quickly as well even though she is a little quieter.

As most of you have heard, we have another girl in the making. Since all three of our girls that we have met so far are so different in personality, I really am looking forward to meeting this new one and getting to know her as well.

Laura thinks it’s really funny that I’m going to be “even more outnumbered” in my “girlie family”!

I’m excited!  Now to pick out another girl’s name…

That’s all the pictures for now, but in the future we’ll add more photos to Baby Olson’s Photo Album.

Eight Big Boys
By Eric Twietmeyer
To be sung to “Yankee Doodle”

Eight big boys from First Free Church
	C'noed the boundary waters
Left couch and remote behind
With wives and sons and daughters
Packed a pair of underwear
	Was that all I needed?
The doctor said that I could go
	So with care I proceeded

To Grand Marais we left with haste
	And stayed at Pastor Harvey's
Slept in comfort, ate real well
	It's Northern hospitality
Up the gunflint trail we drove
	In at Seagull Lake
Little did we know that eight mere
	Hours it would take

Captain Ole was our man
	He headed our adventure
Navigated like a champ
	With calculated measure
Ole, Ole, lead us on
	Into great blue waters
When this trip has come and gone
	We'll hold you up in honor

Browner was a fisherman
With Mountain Dew and paddle
"Trolled" the lakes with his own hand
Caught nothing now I tattle
Cast it out, cast it again
Never from it weary
If you ever catch a thing
	I might believe your theory 

Scotty is a carpenter,
A jack of every trade
Cabinets and paddles are just
Some of what he's made
Once for dinner he prepared
	Dehydrated spaghetti
Adding water was such fun
	Your talents sure are many

Jon was vet'ran guide and cook
	His meals were a sensation
After feeding us would
	Encourage contemplation
Engineered our feasts so well
	Loved the steak and chicken
Cared for us e'en at the end
	By lending us tenactin

Stopped at Knife to set up camp
	It could not come too soon
Not much happened here, we slept;
	While Scotty shot at loons
Jeremy snored, kept us up
	Jon cooked eggs and bacon
Packed it up and then we left
	Eight boys on their vacation

Knife, Amoeber, and Topaz,
Day: two; lakes down: just three
God had mercy on our backs,
A sweet site at lake cherry
Portage nearly killed us all
Muscles were so tender
Lunch was good as I recall
Cheese, sausage, bread, p-butter

Mark & I swam 'cross the lake
As fish we were in water
Browner, Koby caught bass so we
Cooked some up for dinner
Love the taste of small mouth bass
Heated over fire
Fresh from where he swam his last
And only inches higher.

Football player Jeremy
was quite the entertainer
Showed me how to fish
With hook, leech, bobber and a sinker
Did a little dance one time
	A joyful celebration
At the catch of a walleye
	He showed his delectation

Mark is our man from the south,
No, wait he's from Ohio.
Kicked out of his church because
He read from NIV -- O
Pastor Mark, you rebel, you
	Paddle strong and steady
When I needed some ear plugs
	I ask you 'cuz you're ready.

Playing bard has been my role,
	I do not take it lightly
Would have wrote much less but thanks
	To Jeremy I write nightly
I won't think about my legs
	They're not really throbbing
Aches and pains, I'm going to bed
	My sleep you have been robbing

After pancakes we moved on
Portages to go: four
Roots and rocks and up and down
	Until we see the lake shore
We all peed on Canada
	North of monument
Paddled up the Sag Lakes as
	Relieved Americans

Camped by Munker Island for a
	Final night of rest
Only to be greeted by
Green Man of the Forest
Mask on face he was a friend
	With us he would fish
"Litter Not" was his command
	"Come back again" his wish

Chip was oldest and best dressed:
	Red jacket and brown pants
Navy man & teacher, now
Consults for insurance.
When the rain began to fall
	And our spirits tired
He's the one to cheer us on
	Keeping the weary fired

Morning rain was our goodbye
	Our trip is at its end
Food was gone and so we lunched
	With Ole and with Sven
Eight big boys from First Free Church
	C'noed the boundary waters
Left the wild to return to wives and sons
and daughters!

Our friend and sister, KaWan came over the last couple of days and put in long hours to create a new look for the outside of our playhouse. Thank you KaWan for beautifying our children’s playhaven!

Today, we had friends over to play for the morning. Esther skipped her morning nap. At lunch, she was so tired she couldn’t make it through.