Welcome to my World

My Mom has some quirky traits that she got from her Mom. Things that I used to make fun of her for. Guess what? I realized that I am a LOT like her! Quirks and all! She taught me: 1. To accept others, no matter what they look like or what their social status is. 2. To accept myself, just the way God made me.To embrace who I am and boldly celebrate ME! 3. To go for a goal whole-heartedly 4. To let my beliefs guide me, to be true to my convictions 5. To be creatively budget-concious (shopping the second-hand stores, making my own versions of things that I would spend too much on in the store, etc) This is where some of those quirks come in! 6. To be compassionate 7. To be a servant, even when I don't feel like it 8. To be a creative mother, coming up with ideas to do things differently 9. To love music and art. 10. To sing silly little songs about nothing .... And the list goes on....to be continued

We had Brendan's mom and dad and grandma over for Mother's Day. It turned out to be a really nice day! We had done something for my mom on Saturday night. This was my first Mother's Day with a daughter and it really made me think about all the things that I learned from my mother about being a mother, and all the things that I want to pass on to Joanna about being a mother! It was a sweet day! -Above: Great-grandma Martha and JoJo -Momm y and Joanna -Joanna in her favorite place! Under the coffee table

I can't believe Jeremiah had his first recital today! He is growing up so fast! It was a very hectic day, but we made it! We went to church this morning, rushed home, ate, and went to the recital. Then we rushed home to get the kids napped! Then we woke them up to go to church again! Poor things! Poor mommy & daddy! But we had a good day! Very exciting for JJ! Enjoy the pics!

Good morning to all those who have ventured onto this site. I thought I should put a few pictures out so you can see all FOUR of our children, not just the two that have been pictured so far. It is amazing how DIFFERENT all four of them are! I am amazed how their little personalities are forming even at this young age. Jeremiah is our lion! He has a very strong personality, to put it in the most positive light possible! He is the typical first-born who likes to boss his younger siblings around. At the same time, he is very creative, intelligent and detail oriented! Ben is our teddy bear! He is pretty compliant(but he has his moments), tenderhearted, helpful, but also tends to be a little tattle-tale! Oh well, you have to have one in each family, right? Samuel is a little monkey. He is a little clown, always hamming it up, especially to the youth girls! But with that comes the "I can get away with anything" attitude! It has been very cute until lately. Now I'm like, ok, yo...

I have been reminded lately, due to some tragic events in a friend's life, how precious little babies are. And mine is no exception! Joanna Jolee is my sweet little angel! Really, she is the best baby I've had yet, and the others were all great too! She just turned 7 months, but I wanted to display her 6 month picture! She is so close to crawling, but not really interested in solid food yet, to her mother's chagrin! She just wants to do the tongue-thrust thing!

I can't really say what motivated me to start this new blog, especially since I don't exactly have a lot of time on my hands. But I have a lot of friends and relatives who are "bloggers", and I was tired of Xanga anyway. Life at the Nolt house is busy as usual, but one new thing is that Jeremiah has started violin lessons! And let me tell you, it is probably the cutest thing you've ever seen! But it is also hard work for a 5 year old. His teacher is great, but very particular about how he stands, holds his hands, etc. It's SO good for him! (by the way, this picture was taken BEFORE any lessons) We are also going camping this weekend! (Remember, we live in Florida) I can't believe I let Brendan talk me into taking all four kids camping... in a tent! But, really, it should be kinda fun. We are going with some other couples from our church. I just hope it doesn't get too hot! So, that is a brief update of our lives. Maybe I will update again soon, if I c...