what's in a name?

When I started blogging about a year and a half ago I knew very little about how to do it. I just knew there were things in our everyday lives that I wanted to capture and share. So I quickly set things up and started writing. But in the last several months it has been bothering me that I didn't have a good blog title. Oscarson Family wasn't very creative or interesting or descriptive. So I've been thinking about a new blog name for awhile. And asking friends and family for input. And praying about it. My Mom is the one who suggested Blessed Beyond Measure. And I just knew that was it. That's us in a nutshell. Ordinary people who have been BLESSED by the God we serve far more than we could ever measure or deserve. By grace. It constantly amazes me.

So that's us. Blessed Beyond Measure. Thanks for sharing this journey with us.

this weekend was...

...really, really fun. Audrey and I were able to go to Bainbridge Island for my sister-in-law's baby shower. This is Jee Young and Luke's first baby and it's a girl and we're SO excited to welcome her this summer. The shower was great. Audrey had friends to play with. And I thoroughly enjoyed the company of my mom, sisters (but we missed you Kel!), and many other amazing women. Jee Young is going to be a wonderful mother and it was a joy to celebrate with her.


While we were enjoying the baby shower, Luke and Liam were having some male bonding time in Seattle. They went on some great adventures (which Liam will be talking about for a long time!) and ate lots of food. And knowing the two of them, I'm sure they had some very interesting conversations. I love the way my brother loves my kids. And the feeling is completely mutual.

more creative and less meat

This could pretty much sum up my cooking goals for the summer. It's not that we eat a ton of meat already, but I think we'd be healthier if we cut back even more. I've been searching for meat-free meals that my family will enjoy. This week we've tried spinach and black bean enchiladas from my friend Jen's blog. And baked gnocchi with spinach and fresh mozzarella from Claire's blog. The WHOLE family loved them both!

So what is your favorite meat-free meal?

cousins!

My sister Stefani and her son Charlie came for a visit this past weekend. We all had a great time!

a great way to end the season

Audrey had her last soccer game on Saturday and she scored THREE goals. What a great way to end the season!

tee ball

Liam is doing tee ball and loving it!

christian heroes

For the past few months the kids and I have been reading aloud from a wonderful series called Christian Heroes: Then and Now . Each one is a biography of amazing people who lived lives of sacrifice for the will of God. So far, we have learned about Gladys Aylward, Hudson Taylor, C.S. Lewis, Amy Carmichael and our present selection - Lillian Trasher.

Lillian was an American woman who started the first orphanage in Egypt. In our chapter today it mentioned that an article had been written about her in Reader's Digest back in 1939 called "Nile Mother". I decided to go online and see if I could find it, which I did. I also found a 35 minute documentary that had been filmed about her life and the orphanage which was available to view right online. So cool! The kids got to see the actual orphanage we've been reading about and hear from Lillian Trasher herself.

Wow - homeschooling in this day and age is amazing. I love it.

...and thank you Thompsons for loaning us all these books! We're so thankful!

fun family day

One of Audrey's Boxcar Children books was about the Fremont Troll. So today we were down in Seattle and decided to go look for it. And we found it!

...yes, we're strange. But please don't tell our kids yet. They just think we're fun!