The Olivers

My conversation with Eleanor about Grandmother (Nana C)

2009-02-27T20:41:00.000-06:00

As you may know, my Grandmother passed away this morning. When the girls woke up, William and I were talking about our plans and the Eleanor started to ask all kinds of questions...
"Mommie, why did Nana C go to heaven?"
"Well, sometimes God calls us to heaven and we don't get to ask why, but know that the person is in a better place."
"Oh, OK...so like Papa and Uncle Andy...Nana C is with them now? But how will they find her?"
"Yes, just like all the others, Nana C is with them. As for finding her, God will show the way."

That kept her content through out the day, but as we were going to bed, it started all over again and went something like this...as William put it...I just kept digging myself deeper and deeper and deeper...
"I am going to miss you while I am in North Carolina, Eleanor."
"Mommie, why are you going to North Carolina?"
"I am going to visit with Baba and PopPop, Uncle Clay, Aunt Anne, Ben, Addison, Aunt Lyn, Tim and Mac and all the other aunts and uncles. We are all gathering to celebrate Nana C's life. That is what happens when people pass away."
"But Mommie, where did Nana C pass away to?"
"Well, her soul went to heaven, remember...just like--"
"YES!!!! Like Uncle Andy and Papa and Sara's mommie, and..."
"And Papa C, too."
"Mommie, who is Papa C?"
"Well he was my Papa and he was married to Nana C."
"So who is he married to now?"
"He is still married to Nana C, in a way."
"What color shirt is Papa C wearing?"
"Umm...white?"
"What about Nana C...how did her suitcase get to heaven?"
"Well, she doesn't need a suitcase in heaven."
"Do you need a suitcase in Omaha?"
"Yes."
"Then, why does Nana C not need a suitcase in heaven?"
"Because God provides everything we could ever need in heaven."
"How will they leave heaven?"
"They will not leave heaven...once you get to heaven, it is so wonderful, you never want to leave."
"OK, but Mommie what is a soul?"
"Well, her soul is what makes her Nana C...her heart and spirit. That is what went to heaven, not her body."
"Where is her body?"
"At a place called a funeral home."
"What do they do with it?"
"They get it ready to go in the ground. That is what we do with people's bodies after they pass away sometimes--we put them in a box and put them in the ground."
"But what happens to it in the ground?"
"Eventually is turns to dust."
"How does it get dusty, Mommie?"
"Well, after time, it just turns to dust...do you remember the story about Adam and Eve?"
"No."
"Well, in that story, God creates our bodies from dust and then when we leave this earth and our souls go to heaven, our bodies eventually turn back into dust."
"Does the dust get out of the box?"
"Nope...it stays there. Now, I think it is time to get to sleep...you and Daddy can talk more about this tomorrow."

I am not sure about you, but I am tired!

Just a few thoughts...

2009-01-01T23:22:00.000-06:00

Well, tomorrow marks one month from one of my saddest days yet. I think it is all starting to sink in for me and I must say that while I have not been outwardly emotional about my brother's passing, I am starting to feel or sense it...not talking to him during one of my many phone calls to home during this Christmas season, not seeing him in any Christmas photos (not that he ever wanted to be photographed), and not having the usual 'boobie' prize from him...not sure exactly were to start, maybe I never will, but for now, I want to start to share with you what an amazing person Andy was.

Although Andy's memorial service was not necessarily a fun occasion, it was such a celebration of his life and who he was. It was uber cool to hear what folks had to say about my brother...he had such an impact on every person he came into contact with, and at the same time, was one of the meekest, mildest, and tender-hearted persons you would ever meet. He always saw the best in people...including family members...that was just Andy.

Growing up with Andy and the stories I could tell, well...I will save that for another post...not sure I am ready to go there just yet, but in time...

Andy leaves with us three very special people, my nephews, Tim and Mac, and my sister-in-law, Lyn. Lyn is also an amazing person...funny how God connects people like Lyn and Andy who individually are wonderful, servant-hearted people that seek to know God better, but together they possess amazing strength in one another that is centered on God and make you want to know God better because you see what He has created in them. I cannot imagine what Lyn is going thru, but I know that she is relying on her faith and trusting that she will continue to move forward by God's grace.

Please continue to pray for our family, but most importantly Lyn and the boys.

First Day of Preschool!

2008-10-18T14:24:00.000-05:00

Again, this has been a long time in coming, but here are
pictures of Eleanor on her first day of Preschool at the YMCA. She LOVES everything about it, especially her teachers, Ms. Michelle and Miss Heidi! Here are a few shots on her first day!

Swinging away!!

2008-10-18T14:11:00.000-05:00

Well, I must admit that I have lots of photos to upload and never seem to do it in a timely fashion, so please forgive me! Here are a few photos of the girls enjoying the last few days of shorts and t-shirts weather on the swing set. Thanks to our awesome babysitter, Ellen, Eleanor now loves to go high and fast! She had been fairly skittish of swinging high until Ellen showed her how fun it was!

Look who is sleeping in a big girl bed!

2008-09-01T23:47:00.001-05:00

I caught Laura Kate climbing out of her crib last weekend, so we turned her crib into a toddler bed. She LOVES it and has done great with the transition. I was able to sneak in her room during nap time and here is what I found!
Needless to say, I think is she is sleeping well without the outside railing!

Learning to can the fruits of our labor

2008-09-01T23:35:00.000-05:00

One of our first priorities after moving in was putting in a garden. William has spent lots of time tending his crops and we have loved eating all the fresh veggies! We also decided to start canning and now have stocked piled lots of yummy things to eat...dill pickles, salsa, green beans, dilly beans, sweet pickles, and more! Here is a photo of our first canning experience...dill pickles--had to crack open a jar today and man are they good!

Along the way, William had lots of great help in the garden...here they are coming in with their daily harvest.
And in the midst of all this work, there is always time to be silly with daddy!

Playing around!

2008-07-29T00:39:00.000-05:00

The girls love the "park" in our backyard, so we took some pictures while playing...enjoy!

The Little Ballerina

2008-07-29T00:09:00.000-05:00

Eleanor was part of a Ballet-Tumble Camp last week and here are a few photos of the littlest ballerina in the class! She is in the middle of the photo...the one with the big bow on her head...imagine that! :)

A little too far down on the "knee bends" as she calls them! All in all she had a fun week and loved getting to wear her tights and leotard everyday!

Happy Birthday Eleanor!

2008-07-28T23:56:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos from Eleanor's birthday party a week ago. We had it at the park and she had a blast with all her friends, not to mention eating her cake and ice cream too!

Who is Kadi Kimberly?

2008-07-17T22:10:00.000-05:00

Eleanor attended Camp Showtime at the Children's Museum this week and she made the front page of the Hasting Tribune while they were covering this big news story in Hastings! There was a goof in her name, or at least we think there was a goof. For all we know she has taken a stage name while attending this camp focused on being a Hollywood Celebrity!

Back from Vacation!

2008-07-15T14:24:00.001-05:00

We made it home from our extended vacation and there are just so many photos to share! The girls and I, along with my mom, my sister-in-law, and her two boys, took a road-trip to Florida to visit my brother and his family. What an experience, but I think everyone had fun. All the cousins played and swam together and here is the line-up:
From left to right: Laura Kate (21 months), Addy (8 months), Ben (3 1/2 yr), Eleanor (2 1/2 yr), Tim (6 yrs), and Mack (2 yrs).

I think they all had fun playing and swimming together! Tim gave Uncle Clay a run for his money in the pool, trying to tip him over as often as he could.
Eleanor floated in her boat and giggled the whole time she was in the pool...I think she loves the water!
Ben showed off his swimming skills...all the cousins were impressed!
The girls favorite attraction of our visit to Florida was Little Miss Addy!

After our visit to FL, we went back to my folks' house for a few days. The girls LOVED the dolls and the Elmo couch and BaBa and PopPop had for them to play with!
Then we had a special visit from Aunt Jo!

Our last stop was Salter Path, NC. It was great to have William join us for the last week of our vacation and we really enjoyed spending time with his family.

We started off the week with a birthday party for Eleanor! Nana baked a great cake and all her grandparents were there, plus some of her cousins and extended family!
On Monday, we took a trip to the aquarium. Here are the girls with their cousin, Eli.
Aunt Lizzie and her favorite two nieces!

Time for a boat ride! I think both the girls enjoyed it! They could not wait to get the boat into the water!
We all had a lot of fun playing in the ocean and at the pool! William and his 2 favorite little girls!

The girls had a big time during all of the 4th of July festivities! Here a few photos!

Laura Kate and Eli rode in the wagon and Eleanor walked in the parade.
Then after all the games, the girls took a break for lunch under a palm tree!
On the night of the 4th, there was a picnic and a beach party--they danced until bedtime...and then a little more!

We had a great time over the whole vacation, but are so excited to be home in our new house! More updated photos of the house to come soon, as well as birthday party pictures!

Info on our girls!

2008-06-11T15:51:00.000-05:00

I found these cute birthday tickers for the girls and thought they would be a neat way for folks to keep up with how old our girls are!

We closed on the new house!

2008-06-05T23:23:00.000-05:00

Today we closed on our new home and we are all excited! I took some photos to show what it looks like, but we will be painting and moving in in the next week, so when all that is said and done I will post 'after' photos!

This is it!
Our new address is 3035 Wendell Drive.

This is the living room...soon to be painted!

Eat-in kitchen area with built-ins.

Looking down the hallway, standing in the LR. Eleanor's room is on the left, the girls bathroom is on the right, our room in the second doorway you can see on the right and LK's room is at the far end of the hall--not the door you can see, but just to the left of that closet.

Kitchen...lots of counter and cabinet space!

The girl's bathroom...soon to be painted...

Master BR...soon to be painted...

Master BA...soon to be painted...

Looking from the Master BR down to the Living room and kitchen...soon to be painted...

More kitchen and the door to the garage...from where William is standing, there is a staircase that goes into the basement...will take photos of that later, but there is another bedroom, hugh family room, laundry room and half bath down there...lots of space!

AND, Eleanor's and Laura Kate's favorite thing about the house...a backyard to run around in and their very own swing set complete with a slide and climbing wall! What more could an almost 3 yr old ask for?

The Oliver Family...William, Susan, Eleanor, & Laura Kate

2008-06-05T00:29:00.000-05:00

Here is our most recent family photo, although it is from March...we had misplaced the camera, but we found it! More recent photos to come!

Welcome to our blog!

2008-06-05T00:16:00.000-05:00

Welcome to our blog! I decided this was a great place to post new photos of the girls and keep everyone up-to-date on our lives here in Hastings! Our big news is that we are closing on our house tomorrow! We will post photos soon!