what kind of family are you?

This is my big sister and her out-of-control-beautiful family:

She has always been my best friend {along with my little sister and bff K.C.} and I admire so many things about her.

My sister and brother-in-law are fun, outgoing, inclusive, fashionable, photogenic, lovers of the Lord. They are the best hosts, they have the perfect combination of honesty and silliness and are servants, through and through.

They also have two really great {and adorable} kids:

Out of all the wonderful qualities they have, my very favorite thing is what they have taught their children.

If you ask my niece {6 yrs} about her family, she will say {in her sweet, high-pitched voice}:

This is their family motto. It is what they are all about. It is what they want to be known for.

They want people to think of their family and automatically say, “Those Olason’s. They sure are a kind and generous family”.

I’m not sure why, but it sort of makes me cry.

Probably mainly because it is so true of them. They are kind. And they are very generous. Each one of them.

Since my sister was a young girl her dream was finding an orphaned baby in a dumpster. Sort of weird, but that is her heart. She wanted to care for a baby who needed it. They always invite friends to our family holidays who do not have a place to go, they open their home often to families who need a place to stay, they are generous with their stuff … the list goes on. Their motto is not just a cute saying; it is truly how they live.

It makes me think – what is our family motto? What are we all about? What do we want to be known for?

When all is said and done, what will people say about our family?

It is a great question to think about and one I ask you today as well …

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on the hour

It’s InstaFriday at life rearranged and this week I decided to play a little game. I was curious what my day actually looks like from hour to hour and so instead of sharing the past week with you, I thought I’d show you a day in the life of Emily. Exciting stuff, I tell ya.

I snapped a photo each hour {the timer app came in handy!} with brief explanations below.

6:30 – wake unusually early. Lay in bed and think. Pray for my sugar daddy who was having surgery that morning {it went well}. Checked email on my phone {i heart you, iphone}.

7:30 – work out video with my friend Cathy Syphers on Fitness TV.

8:30 – older boys off to school

9:30 – carpool little boys to preschool

10:30 – toddler story time at the library with Audrey’s besties

11:30 – sip a latte, listen to hokey pokey over and over and over while we wait for preschool to get out

12:30 – lunch time

1:30 – little miss down for a nap, playdate for No. 3

2:30 – work

3:30 – after-school snack

4:30 – piano practice

5:30 – hair appointment

6:30 – looking good under the dryer

7:30 – new highlights! Summery and fresh.

8:30 – book time with the boys

9:30 – back to work

10:30 – still working

11:30 – ahhhhh. bedtime.

And that was my day. Not completely typical since I get my hair done about once a year, but mostly true-to-life.

This was a fun experiment. I highly recommend it. Made me think about where I spend my time, reminds me of what a good life I have and proves that my days are long and constant. No wonder I love my bed so much.

*** A few notes to add ***

1. yes, I eat breakfast & dinner – just not on the half hour, I guess. So no photos.

2. yes I have a husband and I like to hang out with him. He was at the fire station this day, so there was no hanging out.

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this week in photos {instagram is my new fave}

Well, I finally joined the twenty-first century.

I bought an iphone.

It was a long time coming and I’m sort of in love with it {even though I don’t know the half of what it can do}.

I’ve seen you all take artsy photos with your phones on instagram and I’ll admit there was a bit of jealousy.  The photos just looked so cool.

When I received my phone, instagram was the first app I installed. Fruit Ninja was the second {but that’s for a different post}.

Now that I’m all fancy with this phone that I don’t know how to use, I can at least take some fun pictures and link up with InstaFriday at Life Rearranged.

So here is my week in photos.

You know how they say the grass is not always greener on the other side? Well I’m here to say that in my world, it is actually greener on the other side.

The boys were sick all week so there was a lot of laying around snuggling.

And while they were doing that, I tackled this:

under-the-stairs-closet

looks pretty fun, right?

and after

Why do closets collect junk so easily?

My mom & sugar daddy came over to visit our infirmary and sweet girl got a hair cut.

Lolly pops do wonders. So do grandmas and grandpas.

I am officially addicted to these:

My closet:

For a girl who is a little afraid of color, that sure is a lot of color. And stripes.

I took the kids out to our local pizza place. It is fun there because they give the kids pizza dough to play with.

We had a really great time until I knocked my root beer all down my lap.  I should have asked for a lid for mine too.

Am I the worst mommy ever for thinking Sorry is the most brutal Family Game Night game?

This is what my boys do all.day.long {well, except for when they are begging to play Sorry}

Lego battles.  Its cute – in a violent, troubling sort of way.

Obnoxiously hot pink stubby little toes.

And one last one. Yesterday I browsed through my new Southern Living magazine and these pretty punch bowls caught my eye.

Until I saw that they were $1000. Are you kidding me? Do people pay $1000 for a punch bowl?

Who knew.

Well, now you know what we did this week. I hope you were entertained by the randomness.

I’m finally linking with InstaFriday.

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