Yep.  This Saturday (August 25th) Jeremiah is turning 30 years old. In celebration, he is planning on running a half marathon up in Michigan.  It'll be his first one and I have all the confidence in the world, that he'll do a great job.  If you think of it, drop him a line.  He'll love to hear from you.

We are moving!  It really was amazing how it all happened...there really is no other way of explaing it except that it was all God.  We decided to put our house on the market and took a week or so to prepare it for showings.  We listed it and in 9 days we had a whirlwind of 7 showings and three offers!  During those 9 days we looked at several homes, including one that smelled like you were walking through a giant catbox that hadn't been cleaned in years. The rest were nice but none caught our eye like the one on Hummingbird Court. It's totally perfect for what we need...in every way.  So....to make a long story short, we accepted an offer on our current home and made an offer that was accepted on the Hummingbird house all in one day.  We were both so excited that we couldn't sleep that night.  Now we are on the fast track of finding furniture and packing our house up. 

 It's funny to see Libby and Cari react to all the packing.  Cari likes to decorate the boxes with stickers and crayon drawings while I fill them...and Libby tries to find anything she can and throw it into the box before I seal it up and before I notice that she did it. : ) 

So...in a short while our lives will slow down.... oh yeah, it never does that.  Oh well, at least we get to enjoy a new place to live in the middle of the craziness! 

  Happy Birthday to Jeremiah!  He's celebrating his 29th birthday today!  Wishing him many more years of joy, excitement, blessings and happiness!  He's the best husband and friend...EVER!

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www.40milesnorth.com

Tired, sore and hungry:
the not-quite-new-years resolution 

Twas a fortnight till Christmas, and loaded with dread
the Olsons sat thinking of what lay ahead-
Not candies and presents and holiday bliss
but a day that would come  the week after all this

The new year would turn and thru grand elocutions
everybodyd be trading New Years resolutions
Now not a things wrong with a well-meant commitment
But seldom, if ever, had they truly stuck with it

But the fight wasnt over, they decided that day
For the curse to be broken, some things had to change 
Desperate times, desperate measures- youve heard it too, surely
so this year they decided- theyd get started early

Eschewing holiday feasting and grand entertainings
They commenced a new diet and began fitness training
The plan was: just do it, but leave it unspoken
For if oaths were untaken, theyd remain unbroken

So when the dreaded day came, they just let others speak
Theyd nothing to say- theyd been at it two weeks
And with goblets held high, smiled a husband and wife
tired, sore and hungry- for the rest of their life. 
___________

Its true!

Weve been working out and eating right since a couple weeks before Christmas, and were really enjoying the payoff. We feel better, look better, move faster, all that good stuff. Between the two of us, weve lost about 60 pounds, and now find ourselves back at wedding day weight.

Really, the only downer has been the financial crunch of replacing our wardrobes so that we have clothes that fit. Salvation Army and Goodwill, baby! 

One of the really cool things about all this is that its given us another interest to share, not only with each other, but also with our band MVPs, Eddie and Mindi Tucker, who have been on a similar health kick. We all ran in our churchs annual 5k race in mid-May, and it was a blast. 

L to R: Eddie Tucker, Mindi Tucker, Marcie Olson, Jeremiah Olson

Now were actually making plans to sign up for reigonal 10k races. Its crazy.

Well, Im outta here. Dont know why, but Ive got this terrible craving for spice drops and hot chocolate

We're excited to announce that we've linked arms with Andrew Duncalfe, the limey Brit of tlBdesign.com.

Be on the lookout for a redesign and updated features by the first of May!

Check out this article written in the South Bend Tribune in early Feb. 06

Click here to read.

Just returned from a great 10-day trip away from gray Indiana to sunny TX. Well, mostly sunny. Did have some thunderstorms while we were there, but those are a wonder in and of themselves- in the words of a Caedmon's call song, "Out here the Texas rain is the hardest I've ever seen- It'll wash your house away, but it'll also make you clean". And I guess that's kinda how we feel- a little cleaner, a little more focused. Some time away from the norm and some exposure to the sunshine re-awakened the dreamers in us. More on that to follow, I'm sure.

Had a couple concerts while we were down. After the 2nd concert, a lady came up to us and began to share about a young man named Jesse.

Jesse was working at a furniture store and was up on a loft stacking some items when he fell 30 feet and landed on his head on the concrete floor. Needless to say, he sustained serious injuries and pretty much everyone is amazed that he's even alive. He's been comatose for weeks, and to give a bit of perspective on just how bad he was, here's a little-known factoid. The medical world has a rating system for levels of consciousness- 10 being best, 1 being worst, and I'm guessing zero is dead. For all who remember all the media publicity about Terry Schiavo, you'll be interested to note that I'm told Terry's rating was a 3. Well, Jesse's rating was a 2.

Praise God, Jesse is coming around- it began when he was able to recognize and respond to "deep pain stimulus", which is probably about as awful a test as it sounds. Now he's opening his eyes and focusing on objects- name badges, faces, etc.

Here's where we come in- the doctors told family members that although Jesse is still unable to communicate, he is receptive to sights, sounds, etc. So the doctors told them to have music playing- stuff that would stimulate his mind as he recovers. Jesse is a believer, and his family are beleivers, and so they want Christian music playing. A friend of the family came to our concert and picked up some CDs and is going to be sending them to be played in Jesse's room.

So here's the perspective... we're really happy that our concerts were so well-attended. We're thrilled that God answered our prayers that we'd make enough money in the shows to cover our expenses for our vacation. All that stuff is great.

But the real honor we're taking away from this trip is that through our music and ministry, we get to be in the picture of this young man's life- this young man who can do pretty much nothing else but sit and listen to music- and he's going to be listening to our music- what an honor to think that the songs God has given us could be companions to Jesse- could fill his mind with God-thoughts as he continues to progress through recovery.

We hear comments from people a lot- how God is using our music in their lives- it's amazing to think that without us even being around, God is still using the music and ministry He's given us. It's humbling, and it's an honor.

So if you've just read this and gotten this far, before clicking off this page, just pray for Jesse and his speedy recovery.

Blessings,
Jeremiah and Marcie