Elijah's Blessing

Elijah Wendell Oswald was blessed by his dad on Sunday, Aug. 16th in Rexburg, Idaho. It was a beautiful blessing with a promise of good health, righteousness and a happy life. It was so special to have many of our family and friends participate. We know it was a sacrifice for some to travel such great distances.

Me and Eli (Yes.. that's me!) 4 Generations... Me, Mom, Grandma Nelson, Eli

Eli with Grandma and Grandpa Meier (left) and Grandma and Grandpa Oswald (right)

Eli with Great Grandma Nelson (My Grandma) and Great Grandma Casper (Justin's Grandma) How special this was!!!

Kelli's Family (all except Dad Hover)

Saturday (the day before) in Idaho Falls with Staci, Michael, Nicole and Mylie

Oswald Family Reunion...

2 weeks after Eli joined our family we were off to Schofield, UT. for the Oswald family reunion. My father-in-law, Bob, was asked to oversee the Boy Scout camp there this summer and was able to arrange a weekend for all of us to have the place to ourselves. Because Elijah is so new, we were able to stay in the only cabin they had on the grounds. It was quite nice to have hot running water, a bed and toilets. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to camp the "real" way... but with a newborn and a toddler this was the way to go. We spent the weekend eating, fishing, eating, boating, eating, playing games, eating etc. What a FUN bunch the Oswalds are!!!

Each family wore matching shirts Saturday. We chose to do camo :)

A Few of Our Favorites...

Our friend, and amazing photographer, Brendi, took these adorable pics of Eli and Estin. (Eli didn't feel like being naked for most of 'em) Eli is only a few days old. These are a few of our favorites... it's hard to choose!

Brothers...

Zoo

Can you believe it! This was Justin's first trip to the zoo... and let me tell you the Idaho Falls zoo is one to see if you've never been. :) It actually was better than I thought. I was expecting deer, birds and reptiles, but surprisingly there was a lot more to see! Estin had a blast! I love that he's at an age to appreciate this kind of thing... Eli on the other hand, I think we wore him out!

Drumroll Please....

Our Boys...

Can you tell who's who?....Crazy huh!!!

BABY OSWALD has arrived!! His name has not!

On Tuesday night, 7-21, during a ward function Kelli felt as though she broke her water but wasn't sure, we went home and gave Estin a bath and put him to bed, shortly after, Kelli went to pick up a toy Estin left in the tub, then she KNEW she had broken her water. Grandma Meier came over and we were off to the hospital! Kelli was in her bed at 10pm, epidural at 1:00am and at 5:45am Kelli started pushing... at 6:04am little baby Oswald was here! 6lbs 12oz 19.5 inches. Baby had to remember to breathe all the time but he figured it out. Mother and Baby are doing well! Thanks for all of your calls, texts and visits over the last little while. We are truly fortunate to have you all!

Proud Mommy

Proud Daddy

WHAT! He's coming HOME with us?

The new and improved, Oswald Family with a new upgrade!

This is truly a wonderful day for our Family. We feel so blessed to have this little one with us now.

We've Decided on a Name...

And PIPPEN.....

It's NOT!!!

Ok, so we haven't really decided on a name yet, but we want all of you to know Pippen was NEVER seriously considered... we just thought we'd throw it in there for laughs! We'll let you know what baby Oswald #2 wants to be called when he gets here.

Progress!

I went to the Dr. today and here are the stats....I'm 3 cm. dialated, 50% effaced and the Dr. could feel the head (crazy!) He stripped my membranes (Oww!) and said if I didn't go into labor on my own this weekend he'd see me Thur. morning (23rd) 7:30am for an induction! I am SO excited! I'm a lot farther along than I ever was with Estin... and knowing I'll have this baby within the week is really exciting (and scary) to both Justin and I. We're going to have 2 kids by next weekend! WOW!!! We'll keep y'all posted!!!!

Our Little Mozart...

Giveaway...

There is a giveaway for these CRAZY cute watches on Make it and Love it. Just click on the link (scroll down a bit-to the right) to find out how to enter!

4th of July...

I can't believe the 4th of July has come and gone already! What a WONDERFUL day to spend with family! I am SO grateful for the freedoms we enjoy! This year was spent leisurely... just the way I like it. We started the day off at the Rexburg parade... complete with tractors, riding lawnmowers, cheerleaders and dance groups (I'm not even kidding!) It was especially nice to spend part of the day with mom, August and Grandma Nelson. After the parade, we made our traditional route to Porter park to ride the carousel and walk around the different booths and vendors they had there. Once we stopped for a BRC hotdog (another tradition), we ventured home to a movie and a good nap. The evening was spent BBQ-ing at mom's and watching all 10 minutes of the fireworks. (That's because the fireworks only lasted 10 min. ) We're going to miss Rexburg and it's little quirks!

Pinewood Derby...

I'm not a frequent contributor on our blog, this should do it for another year or so... I used to own a 1972 Plymouth Fury III it was given to me by my Grandmother Cora. I loved this car. Kelli and her friends, when we were dating, wanted to give it a name so Cora was the natural choice. When the pinewood derby came up, I had to make Cora! Kelli went the with something a little more non-traditional.

After many hours of carving, polishing, painting and taking a neighbor to the urgent care for 10 stitches (after using one of my chisels) the cars were done. The day of the race came, we had a lot of fun with the different ward members that participated....

Drumroll please! I got 3rd place in our regular mens division and Kelli blew everyone away and got 1st place in the sisters category! Way to go Kelli!!

The videos tell the story! I barely lost to Kelli in our head to head exibition race. I don't feel too bad, I did a good portion of the carving and wheel polishing on her car (she sculpted the monkeys), but she still won.

Air Show

One of the things we look forward to most in the month of June is the air show. It's pretty amazing especially to the men of my household. I've never seen Estin sit still for so long... and Justin... well, he was like a kid in a candy store. Here is just a glimpse of all the pics/videos he took. Hope you enjoy!

Update City!

I'm not very good at posting one thing at a time... I usually wait awhile and post several happenings at once. So I guess what I'm saying is, keep scrolling down... there's always plenty to see!

The Innocence of Childhood...

I think one day when I look back, this is one thing I'll remember most... I'll always treasure these quiet moments just watching my children play.