Let Them Eat Birthday Cake!

Oh Beautiful for Spacious Skies!

Alexa's 1st Firework Experience...she was enthralled!

My Arms and Heart Are Full!

Recently I have found my arms to be very full. Most recently that happened in church today when Nick was asked to sit on the stand to leave me with my two beautiful babies.

That's right readers, two!

James Robert Nelson, born 3/17/13 -- he's our lucky little leprechaun

I am very much aware I haven't posted in a couple weeks, but that's because, like I said, my arms have been a little full. I'll give more details about my beautiful new family (including our beautiful new birthmom) tomorrow and later this week, but on this Easter Sunday, my thoughts are focused more so on my Savior.

My arms have been full of children mostly (along with bottles, burp cloths, and oh, so many diapers!). Because of this I wish I could always have a floating camera and photographer at the ready because I would have them take pictures of us instead of me unloading all my goods and try to finagle a sweet picture of a now lost moment.

For example, I would get a picture of James in my left arm and Alexa cuddled under my right arm as we all snuggle on the couch together. I would have gotten a picture of us in church today when Alexa laid her head on my left leg and I was holding James in my right arm. Thinking about how my Lord and Savior has immeasurably blessed my life while holding my little angels in my arms has been my favorite part of this Easter Day.

I always tell people that I've had a hard time imagining myself as a mom of two in the past because...I don't know, I guess imagining one child was fairly easy. I just assumed I would always have one child because it was so important to me. What I've discovered today is that vision of my life with two kids was always difficult to imagine because I thought it was a bit presumptuous, after all I've already been given, to ask God for a child, and then downright selfish to ask for another when so many people I know would give all they have for just one child.

I'm so glad (and moved to tears) that God is merciful enough to grant us the desires of our hearts even when we have done absolutely nothing to deserve it. Additionally, He will comfort us through the power of the infinite atonement as we wait for the tears to drop from our eyes so that we are able to see the hand of God, ever present, in our lives. How patient and merciful He is with us, and how willing He is to bless us with more than we would ever dream of asking for!

 Happy Easter from the Nelson Family, all 4 of us!

Truly, my arms and my heart are full today!

Happy Birthday My Beautiful 2-Year Old!

Yesterday was Alexa's birthday and it was such a wonderful day! We started out opening a couple presents...

Then we had birthday pancakes...

Then we went to Barnes and Noble to find an interesting book...

Then we had lunch at Panera Bread...

Then we visited Daddy at work...

Then we took a nap (while mommy made dinner and birthday cake-brownies-thing and stopped taking pictures)...

Then we played in the sink water and got soaking wet...

Then we had dinner with the missionaries consisting of some enchiladas, some beans, some rice, and A LOT of sour cream...

And then just before bed we finished off the party by video chatting with grandparents in our princess dress.

BEST. 2ND. BIRTHDAY. EVER.
 
(You may notice she's wearing a few different shirts. We changed clothes a total of three times and wore four different outfits. Princesses are pretty high maintenance...what did you expect?)

It's Nice Being Home

Our family headed to Oregon for a two week vacation over New Year's and into January. It was such a wonderful time with family and friends! We filled our time with a myriad of activities taking in the culture and scenery of the Pacific Northwest by...

enjoying Burgerville milkshakes

lounging on the couch with Nick's parents

eating cheese sticks with Uncle Jacob

getting crazy with Cousin Abby

playing at OMSI with Cousin Patrick

hugging family members

and going to breakfast with friends!

We had a wonderful time, but it is so nice to be home, where we can feel comfortable in our own skin, clothes...or whatever.

Music Monday: One More Sleep

"One More Sleep 'Till Christmas," Muppet Christmas Carol

This may stand as my favorite Christmas movie of all time. The movie follows Dickens' novel so well and only adds meaning and feeling to it through its wonderful music! 

Have the merriest of Christmases tomorrow and try to get some sleep tonight, although I know the mounting excitement is hard to constrain!

12•12•12

A number that repeats in the month, day, and year in a date will not happen again in my lifetime, unless I live to be 1,015...which I'm not sure I want to do.

So that means today is special. And special days deserves special things, like a family of angel bells donning the tree. Another special thing today is I'm going to begin again my 365-photo challenge that I got about a third of the way through last time. This year is going to be so special for our little angelic family, and I want to record it!

I love our little angelic family - at least their angelic to me! 

"...though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!"
-Scrooge's Nephew, A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

Music Monday

"Mary Did You Know," Cee Lo Green

Really, the most beautiful rendition of this song I've ever heard! What a beautiful voice this man has!

Happiness is...A Walking Christmas Tree

This is how we have gotten our Christmas Tree the past 3 years: it just walks to our house!

Haha! We're so funny! No, those are Nick's legs, and he carried our tree from the local high school back to our house just a couple of blocks away.

Alexa and I walked with Daddy, which was pretty funny sometimes!

We tried the wagon, but the tree wasn't having it, which is okay when you've got Superman for a dad!

We really love our tree! The End.

Decorating the Christmas Tree 2012

One of our family traditions is that we set up Rachel's camera and take pictures while we decorate our Christmas tree.  Then we put the pictures together in a little video. Without further ado, here's the Nelson Christmas Tree Decorating Party 2012:

We were hoping to include Alexa in this year's tree decorating, but someone got a little cranky right before we were about to start and needed to be put to bed.

Music Monday

"The Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth," Bing Crosby and David Bowie

I love me a beautiful duet, and this maybe the classic duet of Christmas! So beautiful!

Covetousness: The True Christmas Spirit

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am getting caught up in the Christmas spirit this year!

I want...I need...I wish I had...

That's the Christmas spirit, right?

Our financial situation is fine, we're just not going to get that Mercedes and move into that mansion that we've been planning on. Bummer, I know.

Nope, this year Alexa is getting the gifts and our family is headed to Oregon to see Grandmas and Grandpas and Aunts and Uncles and Cousins and Friends! There's definitely challenges to our parents living 5 miles apart, but I'm glad we get to make one trip and see everyone during the holidays!

So, my motto this year for Christmas has been this:

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." -Leonardo Da Vinci

I'm not sure that my heart has caught up with my brain on this quite yet, but there's still time! My mom gave me a lot of wonderful qualities (thanks for those, no thanks for the nose), but my favorite maybe that she and I are both dreamers. I've talked about this before, but at Christmas time it's so easy to get caught up in dreams, and some even decide to elevate their dreams above their finances.

We don't do that. Both Nick and I have had to sacrifice some of our immediate wants this year for something that we really want: financial stability.

Our recipe for a simple Christmas this year is this: we're filling each others' stockings for $20 or less, Alexa is getting new gifts from grandparents, birth-grand-parents, aunts and uncles, and from other gracious admirers. But Santa is playing it cool this year and is giving her second-hand and homemade gifts...and of course some candy. That's it.

I certainly admit to indulging the green-eyed monster of covetousness a few times too many this season, but I am the master of my fate, my happiness, and my finances!

It's going to be a wonderful Christmas season this year! So much to be grateful for and to look forward to and delicious delights to bake and share...more stuff would just clutter it up!

We're getting our tree tomorrow (YAY!) and I'm planning on finishing Alexa's stocking this weekend and will also figure out a stocking to make for The Sneetch as well. Can't forget about our next little character that will be coming into our home when the time is right! Maybe by next Christmas...

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a silly and smiley weekend!

Music Monday

O Little Town of Bethleham, Sarah McLachlan

It's after Thanksgiving, which means Christmas season at our house! We'll be getting our Christmas Tree on Saturday and decorate our house...two stockings are already up!

Other Christmas traditions include cookie/treat making and caroling to friends, we watch The Muppets Christmas Carol the day after Thanksgiving, and Nick always gets a chocolate orange in his stocking and I always get a pen in mine.

This was the first Christmas song I listened to this year, and it's just beautiful! I love Christmas!

What Do Bunnies Do? Hop pop!

Seriously, what happened to October?

But since Thanksgiving is next week (HOLY COW!), I suppose I should post our Halloween costumes from last month. You wanna see? Promise not to be critical and instead focus on how cute Alexa is! Okay, I'll share.

So I'm a little reserved about the success of this year's costumes because of this: Alexa is supposed to be Peter Rabbit, but she has no coat...so she's just a rabbit, making me just a rabbit mom instead of Peter's, Floppsy's, Moppsy's and Cottontail's mom, and making Nick a farmer instead of Mr. McGreggor.

Alexa was so cute though, whatever bunny she was. I love our cute, little, confused family!

And to clarify, the title of the post is a conversation we have with Alexa a lot and is why I chose her to be a bunny, because I thought it might be something she chose to do herself:

Mom/Dad: "What do bunnies do, Alexa?"
Alexa: "Hop pop." [While tapping feet]

Too cute!

Happy 30th Birthday, Nick!

I know we're a bit behind as Nick's birthday was on Sunday, but we were a little busy being with amazing people and doing amazing things.

We met our newest niece, Lauren. She's so beautiful! Alexa was curious about her and even gave her a kiss a few times and was "soft" with her arm.

 On Saturday we hit up BYU to watch our Alma Matter destroy the Oregon State Beavers...so we must have gone to the wrong game. But we had fun with Nick's family anyway.

It was a week ago today, however, that Nick got his birthday gift from Alexa and I:

We gave his new rifle to him early so he could take it shooting in Utah where it's a more acceptable practice than in Boulder, CO. He took it out twice and loves it!

Overall, it was a wonderful birthday weekend, at least for me, and I think for Nick too! Happy 30th Birthday, Nick! Alexa and I love you so much and are so blessed to have you as the father of our family! We hope that since your two favorite girls get to be a part of the next 30 years with you they will be filled with joy and love!