One Thing - 12/31/13

The blog has been quiet over the past week as we were spending time in Minnesota with our family. We are back home now. Home sweet home. While it was wonderful to be with family and have a break from the daily routines of work and caring for our home, it is so good to be back. Hopefully some pictures from our time away will find their way onto the blog soon. But not tonight. On this New Years Eve, the suitcases are unpacked, boxes are still full of gifts, the kids are asleep, and I am thrilled to be back in our comfortable bed. 

For the past few years, Mike and I have gone on an after-Christmas date to review our goals for the previous year and set new goals for the new year. We did that yesterday. Many of our goals went unmet in 2013, mostly due to me spending 3 months feeling nauseous and lacking energy and motivation. One goal I did meet was a personal goal to read 3 complete books in the year. Prior to having kids, really after having 2 kids, my normal rate of reading was probably 3x this goal. Now leisure reading is at the bottom of my to do list. But, in 2013 I read 3 books! All of them are worthy of the time I gave to them.

"Give Them Grace" by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson - this book is subtitled "Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus." I fail daily at doing this, but God's Grace is so good as I strive to show our kids how amazing God and His grace are to us. This book is one of the most encouraging parenting books that I have ever read.

"Discipline: The Glad Surrender" by Elisabeth Elliot - I stumbled upon this book while looking for something else. I can't even remember what. One thing that takes getting used to with Elliot's writing, but that I really like is how straight-forward and plain she is. There isn't much fluff to her writing. It isn't descriptive and literarily pleasing, but it is so filled with Truth and practicality. The book focused on how self-discipline isn't an option of a believer but it is what we are called to when we respond to God's call on our lives. She looked at discipline in the areas of body, mind, place, time, possessions, work, and feelings.

"One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp - Mike gave me this book for Christmas just over a week ago. I finished it yesterday. I can't remember the last time I read a book that quickly. This is one of those books that completely changes your perspective on life. There is so much that I could say about it. She wrote about how every thing, every little thing - the most difficult things in life, the smallest blessings, the little annoyances, the inconveniences, the pleasures, the ability I have in this moment to write these words - they are all gifts, God's grace over and over again. And, the Giver deserves thanksgiving and praise for every one of them. Not just simple words of thanks, but a life lived, marked by thanks to God.

For 2014, I reset my goal to read 3 books. I am hoping for 3 more that were as worthy of my time as these 3 were. Happy New Year!

One Thing - 12/22/13

I took a break from folding laundry to work on this 500 piece puzzle. The boys were busy watching a movie and Lydia was just playing. After the movie was over, Jonah decided to help me with the puzzle. He did an amazing job! He did most of the work with the trees and helped with the sky and the snow. Our time of doing the puzzle together made me reminiscent of our old Nelson family holiday gatherings at my grandparents house. After the meal, someone would pull out a large puzzle and a handful of people at a time would work on it. I don't remember how old I was when I started participating, but I'm sure I was older than Jonah is now. This afternoon, I really enjoyed the little conversations Jonah was initiating. And, I look forward to many more puzzles and conversations about life over little puzzle pieces!

One Thing - 12/21/13

We celebrated our little family Christmas today. Since we are usually in the cities with our extended family on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, we find a day that we can take the day to be together and do our own Christmas. We had a great day! Here are lots of pics:

We started our day with cinnamon rolls, eggs and bacon. Yum!

Everyone wanted to help Lydia open her gifts

The boys with Silas' gifts

Sy got a Monsters University book for his LeapReader

Jonah got some new legos and spent all day building with them

Silas loves his new imaginext airplane

Lydia got a shopping cart and some pretend groceries. 

She has had blast pushing her doll around and putting things in and taking them out of her cart.

In the middle of the afternoon, Jonah and Mike went bell ringing for another hour.

In the late afternoon, we opened our stockings

This little girl being a ham with her new hair bow

I made this super yummy supper tonight. It was so easy and so wonderfully good!

And, we finished our night with a family favorite - jello poke cake.

We are a tired but very blessed family tonight! 

One Thing - 12/20/13

Jonah and Mike spent an hour ringing bells this afternoon outside of the Wahoo Super. 

It was a bit cold out, but I think they had fun anyway. 

One Thing - 12/19/13

When this crazy hair girl woke up this morning, she got really excited to see Gloria sitting on the rug by our kitchen sink. So, Lydia walked over to the rug, turned around backward, took a few small steps backward toward the rug, and sat down next to Gloria. This sweet moment didn't last much past the quick opportunity to snap this photo. Gloria isn't quite as fond of Lydia yet as Lydia is of her. Lydia sure loves this cat and often squeals when she sees her!

Tonight after supper, we drove around town looking at Christmas lights. The boys have been excited to do this. For about the first half of our drive, Silas would exclaim "I see Christmas lights!" Every time we would pass a lit house. At the end of our night, we shared a few Christmas cookies and picked our favorite houses. Jonah liked one that was completely decked out...Santa on a train, a Santa rock band, penguins, snowmen, even a nativity scene - this house had it all. Silas has LOVED the Grinch this year. So, his two favorite houses were the ones that had inflatable Grinches. In fact, one of them is just up a small hill from our house and we drive past it regularly. Silas is always asking to drive up "Grinch hill" to see if the Grinch is up.

One Thing - 12/18/13

What a day! It was a full day from start to finish, but it was a good day. We started by heading to Omaha as a family. Lydia had her 15-month well visit. And, Jonah needed a couple of booster shots that we weren't able to do at his last well visit. Lydia's check up went well. She is 25lbs, 4 oz, which places her in the 91%ile for weight. And, she is 31 3/4 inches tall, which is the 87%ile. She has been fighting a cold for about a month. One of her ears is infected, but since she hasn't had any symptoms for it we will wait it out and hope it clears up with her cold. She needed 2 shots today as well. Initially Jonah was going to have Lydia go first. But, the nurse talked Jonah into being the brave big brother who would show her how it was done. He thought that was a pretty good idea. Jonah took the shots without a tear or really even a grimace. Then, he held Lydia's hand while she got her shots. She got super mad like she usually does, but it was so sweet to see Jonah trying to comfort his sister!

After the appointment, we headed to the Olive Garden for lunch. For the past few years, we have gone to Olive Garden as a family just before Christmas. Mike and I get the soup, salad, breadstick lunch. The boys both did amazingly well today. They ordered what they wanted, ate salad and breadsticks, and managed to eat most of their meals. Toward the end of the meal, I commented to Mike how nice but how strange it was that we didn't really need to help them or direct them during the meal. It feels like we are moving into another stage of life with them. 

Everyone napped for at least a short while this afternoon. This evening, Jonah's awana program held a spaghetti supper for the families. Silas and Lydia were excited about going to awana with Jonah! Mike had to lead youth group at our church so we had to leave and weren't able to stick around for parent night. 

While reading our town newspaper this evening, this is what I found:

The picture Jonah drew as an entry to the newspapers drawing contest was printed in the paper. He wasn't one of the winners but had his picture published anyway. He was so thrilled! When Jonah was drawing this picture, I asked him if he was going to draw faces on the children. He said "no, Mommy, they don't have faces on them because they are running toward the tree to hand out the gifts." Makes sense, huh?!

One Thing 12/17/13

Jonah lost his first tooth today. He is SO excited about it! I hope he can fall asleep in a decent time tonight. He can't wait for the tooth fairy to visit!

One Thing - 12/15/13

This little girl is so girly, and I love it! She absolutely loves to wear hats and shoes and necklaces and purses. She spent a few hours yesterday wearing her new snow boots around the house and didn't want us to take them off of her. This hat has been a favorite, too. And, I just have to brag on her a little bit...this afternoon was our town's community cantata. A handful of people from our church as well as some other friends were involved. So, we took the kids. Mike and I expected to take turns walking the halls with her. Instead, she sat in my lap the whole time (with her pacifier), watched most of the performance, and even clapped at the right times. What a blessing!

One Thing - 12/14/13

Today was our Christmas gathering at our house for our church family. It is a blessed time that we look forward to every year. This was our 3rd year opening our home for this event. Each year I have created an ornament for each family that is somehow related to a sermon or sermon series that Mike preached. Over the past few months, Mike has preached through 1 Peter. So, I used chapter 1 verses 3&4 for the ornament. We had a great afternoon/evening!

One Thing 12/13/13

After spilling the beans this morning, Silas said to me, "I need to take some of your beans, Mommy. I'm almost out." Can you guess which side belongs to each of us?! The toes give a bit of a clue...

One Thing - 12/12/13

While Mike cleared our driveway and the boys played in the snow, Lydia and I got some one-on-one play time. She was so excited about the tower of blocks she built!

One Thing - 12/11/13

While Jonah was at preschool today, Silas worked hard at building this Lego car. He didn't use directions and mostly built it from memory. He did an awesome job!

One Thing - 12/10/13

I am SO thankful for our sitter who comes to our house 2 days a week while I work. She is fantastic and our kids just love having her here. It is such a blessing to know that they are so well cared for while I am away. It makes working much easier! One of the things the kids enjoy is the fun holiday crafts she has done with them. Today I came home to these wreaths hanging on our hutch. The handprint wreath is Lydia's. The bottom left is Silas' and the right is Jonah's.

One Thing - 12/9/13

It was Jonah's day to bring treats for preschool. So, we came up with a Grinch theme and made Grinch Kabobs (green grape, banana, strawberry, marshmallow) and Whoville Wreaths (Rice Crispy treats made with Corn Flakes, green food coloring, and craisins). Yummy!

One Thing - 12/8/13

One Thing - 12/7/13

It has been a busy day of Christmas baking at our house. 

The boys worked hard at taking kisses out of their wrappers for kiss cookies

 They enjoyed frosting cut out cookies

And eating them, too!

One Thing - 12/6/13

A few pictures from our day...

The boys made an afternoon snack out of the gingerbread house that Jonah made at preschool this morning. Jonah ate the graham crackers and frosting. Silas ate gumdrops and frosting.

Mike put all of our Christmas decoration boxes back into our crawl space this afternoon. Lydia tried SO hard to lift the boxes for Daddy.

Since we watched The Sound of Music last night, Jonah's been singing The Lonely Goatherd. This afternoon he made his own puppet for a puppet show from behind the recliner.

One Thing - 12/5/13

Building a city of blocks on this frigid afternoon

One Thing - 12/4/13

Found this picture taken on Thanksgiving Day of my littlest sweetie and me while getting pictures off the camera yesterday. 

One Thing - 12/3/13

Tonight was our town's visit with Santa and tree lighting ceremony. We enjoyed a chilly night out!

One Thing - 12/2/13

The other night I made a new chili recipe. It was SO good! During supper, I was telling the boys about how the tomatoes in the chili were from our garden and that the beef in the chili came from a cow raised on a farm a few miles from us. Silas said to me,  "Is the cow sad now?" I said, "well..." And tried to think of a tactful way to respond to the question. As I am thinking, Jonah said, "The cow is dead. They killed it to get the beef." Well said, Jonah. So much for a gentle response!

One Thing - 12/1/13

Since it is December 1st, we started our advent calendar today. The boys have been talking about it for a few days since it has been hanging on the wall and have been so excited to start! In my early Christmas shopping this year, I picked out Christmas pajamas and a Christmas book for each of the little ones. I didn't know when we would give them to the kids. But, yesterday I decided they would be a start of advent gift. So, today after the kids woke up from their naps they saw three gifts under our tree. The boys put their jammies on right away. Then, Jonah read all of the books. Tonight, we are sitting down to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We love this time of year!