erica danielle

As I've been reflecting on 2017, I can't help but feel like it has been a whirlwind of transitions for our family. Nothing has looked the same from one month to the next, and although we all are up for a good adventure, I think we are looking forward to a little more stability in 2018. We started January, by telling our amazing church that we were leaving to plant a church in Hudson, WI. After putting our house on the market, and having 25 showings, we finally got an offer and closed in June. In between that time, we finished up life at Cedarbrook, looked for a home in Hudson, lived in a friends house for a month, and began gathering a core team of people to help us launch MIDCURRENT church. We moved into our home in Hudson on July 15th, and then started weekly meetings at our house, planning, prepping, and praying for our 3 preview services this fall/winter.... which all leads us to today, where we are 2 weeks away from our official launch on January 14th. Right now our hou...

I can’t figure out how to get pictures onto my computer ever since I updated my phone. Therefore my posting has significantly decreased because then I have to post from my phone and that’s just not as easy or fun.  We had a good week! Seemed to zoom by, as they all do, especially this time of year. We spent Monday at my moms and I think that was a highlight for me. The kids love being at grandmas house and my dad randomly came home in the early afternoon, so they were doubly excited about that.  Other favorites from the week:  1.  We had “Christmas in the loft” downtown Hudson on Saturday, and it was such a gorgeous day! The loft was decorated so beautifully and it was fun to be out and about with all the shoppers and events going on.  2.  It finally snowed on Tuesday for the first time this month, so we watched White Christmas and ate Swedish Pancakes. This has been a Carlson family tradition for as long as Sten can remember and I love that we’ve carried i...

Happy December! This month I hope to live with intention. Every day setting a goal for myself and for our family. This time of year Sten and I start talking about all the highlights of our year, and I love being in a habit of remembering the good things. The times we laughed a lot and felt secure and loved within the confines of close family and friends. I hope to make lots of memories this December. I hope we can look back 31 days from now, and say: That was a really good month. SO onward and upward! Here are my favorites from this week. 1. Lucy started swimming lessons at the YMCA and I seriously cannot handle what it's done to me. The amount of pride I have for her is not healthy. I want to tell everyone I meet how good at swimming she is in just 5 little weeks. She absolutely loves it as well. She cannot wait for Monday mornings and asks almost daily if it's a swimming lesson day. I can see why parents love to watch their kids play sports, it is an instant joy-bringer. T...

I searched my blog high and low for our Swedish Pancake recipe on Sunday night and came up short. I thought for sure I’d posted it throughout the years as it’s a staple in our house (especially around Christmas). Here it is now-- I apologize for the horrible pictures.  The recipe comes from the infamous “Ada Shawl” whom I’ve never met, but her name is a legend among all of us in the Carlson clan. I make it just as it’s written on the recipe card and it feeds our family. I, of course love to load mine with lingonberry and a drizzle of maple syrup. But you can roll whatever you’d like in these tasty treats. After pancakes we decorated our house for Christmas. It’s fun to decide where things will go as this is our first Christmas on Robin Lane. The kids were excited to see all the things coming out of bins. Their little people nativity set and the millions of Christmas books we've acquired being their favorites.  Our house feels so warm and cozy and very Swedish with all...

Olle woke me up at 4:40am yesterday so I got to enjoy a little more of thanksgiving than the average person. #lucky.....  In actuality, yesterday was my favorite in so many ways. We were at my aunt and uncles in Chippewa Falls, and the whole day was happy, beginning to end. Wish I would have taken A picture- but I didn’t, so I’ll just say it was 40 people, lots of kids in the mix, 2 trampolines, a hot tub, games, a wintery walk, bocce ball, ultimate frisbee, Vikings game and of course So. Much. Food. I love my family, and my memories of thanksgiving are some of the best of all my growing up. I've decided it’s just as great getting to watch my kids enjoy this holiday, too. Today is sunny and unexpectedly warm, we’ve been playing outside, and organizing the garage and have loved a slow day at home. We even snuck in a Starbucks date. Shocking. So this is my Friday favorite. A single picture to say that I’m thankful that these 3 see me at my best and at my worst and stil...

Can’t believe it’s Tuesday. The weekend flew by with so many great memories I’m trying to just keep them alive. We dropped off the kids Friday night then headed downtown Stillwater to eat at LoLo. We tried menu items with flavors that made your mouth dazzle and had the best time sharing our plates and talking about our year. Our waitress was the best and after hearing we were celebrating brought these adorable champagne flutes to toast. Saturday we slept in, went for a run then headed up north past Taylor’s Falls to a couple wineries. We had the best afternoon eating cheese/ chocolate and drinking wine. The sun was shining so bright and it couldn’t have been more perfect. Sunday: we went to the VIKINGS GAME!!!! I can’t even tell you how fun this was. As someone who doesn’t totally care about Football, this was seriously the highlight of the weekend for me. It was electric in US BANK STADIUM and we just soaked in every play, cheer, chant and point! And the Vikes WON!! It was th...

I can't even handle today... it's the day we leave for our anniversary getaway! AHHHH! I seriously couldn't wait for today to get here, and now I have to tick everything off my to do list before dropping the kids off at 5:30. AWAY WE GO! always my favorite, and especially this weekend, when I get to spend all the hours with him! Each night after we put these 2 to bed I am SO OVER parenting a 4yr old and a 2 yr old.... but sure enough, each morning these 2 wiggle their way into my heart. Moms in the trenches, I feel you, and I hope you feel me. Every day I have grand plans of making a difference, and most days I go to bed glad I kept them alive and apologized when I yelled. Mom-ing is not for the faint of heart, and I am thankful that Lucy and Olle are 2 of my favorites, even tho I question it at times :) CANNOT wait for this event! It's going to be part shopping, part cookie decorating, part giving back and it all takes place in the coziest, dreamiest place...

I can't believe we're celebrating year 9 at the end month. The time has literally flown by, with a zillion of pictures to show for it. I love being married to Sten. We were just babies when we got married and moved to Colorado and I think we thought we had the world figured out. We knew how to pay our bills and we had our very own little apartment in the foothills in Colorado. I wish I could tell 22 year old me that it's only going to get better: That the security I felt then, would only be a fraction of the security I feel today. That cheering on the one I love most, makes my heart swell with pride. That with every change (in job, location, hobbies), I've been able to see a better version of the person I married. That although our freedom has been taken from us (for a season), that makes time away just the 2 of us THAT much more special. November has always been one of my favorite months, and I think it's fitting that it's when we got married. I get to ...

Friday! YES!!! This weekend is extra special because Grammy and Mim are visiting AND we have our SECOND preview service. The kids have been talking about Grammy and Mim all week long and I'm sure they will be completely bombarded as soon as they walk in the door. Here are a few of my favorites from the week: 1. I made Swedish Toast yesterday for our visitors coming tomorrow. Have you ever had this stuff?? You can dip it into your morning coffee for a slice of Sweden right in your kitchen. I asked Sten's Grandma to teach me how to make it one afternoon, and my favorite part of it all is that her writing is on the recipe card. How special is Grandma writing? I remember when I was little and would get letters from my Grandma and how hard it was to decipher the cursive words. Now I so appreciate that fancy style and wish I could adopt it as my own. If you'd like this recipe here it is: Swedish Coffee Toast 2. The kids and I went to the Millers house yesterday for a p...

I love one on one time with the kids. They are so unique and I love to spend time doing JUST their favorite thing and listening to whatever they want to talk about. We do a lot of mixed gender one on one time. Lucy loves "lucy/daddy" time and Olle can never get enough of me, so naturally having me all to himself is his favorite thing! I had to go to the grocery store Saturday morning and when I asked Olle if he wanted to come he said, "and go to the coffee shop?" How in the world could I say no to that?!?!?!?! I swooped him up and after the grocery we went to the coffee shop and talked about baseball, and tractors and things that fishy's eat... With a twinkle in his eye this boy makes the world a better place. I love spending time with him, and hope he always wants to go to the coffee shop with his mom. Love you buddy. erica

We had fun exploring Halloween in Hudson this year. We were a little under the weather, and the temps were on the chilly side, but we all had fun going around our neighborhood trick or treating. It is really a joy as a parent watching your kid be big and go up and ring the door bell. I just couldn't get enough! I kept saying: Just one more house.... :) A few favs: carving the pumpkin with dad. Monster man checking out the loot :) trick or treating downtown in the shops! Super cool! spider girl getting serious. This costume was about 10 sizes too small... but he was the warmest of us all, so I guess that's all the matters! Until next year.... XO, erica

I'll have to name this one Monday favorites, because, well it's Monday and I'm just getting to this. We had a nice weekend, I can't even recall most of the things we did. Although I know I did 6 loads of laundry, so that always feels so productive. Some of my favorites from the week: 1. We helped take out the dock and get the cabin ready for winter, we lit the coziest of fires and bundled up in the cabin. It was such a stark contrast from running inside and out with bathing suits on, but the crackling fire was one of my VERY favorite memories of the week. Winter always whispers: slow down, enjoy the quiet, recharge, drink tea. I need those reminders often in my life. 2. Sten works from a coffee shop most days, and when he announced Thursday morning that he was headed to Starbucks, Olle quickly chimmed in: Me, visit, you, daddy? He speaks in such clearly spaced words these days, it's like a little pause before each new word comes tumbling out of his mo...