Unplugged

I was just "tagged" by my good friend, Jill (Porter) Harkness! I'll have you know I took these pictures yesterday after she tagged me and today my house is MUCH cleaner!! Anyway, presenting the Nelson abode, right here, right now! Enjoy! :-)...PS-For those of you who don't know, you are supposed to take pictures of certain rooms/objects around the house exactly how they are at that moment, UNTOUCHED!...uh oh!

Voila! The Living Room/Family Room!

Thanks to Jenna for the awesome pumpkin canvas paintings! Charly spends half her day playing with this "Chichen"(kitchen)!

*Thank you Shkapich's!*

...And the kitchen! Notice my dining table doubles as a handy

gathering place for laundry!

My least favorite feature of our home...the laundry "room" is IN the kitchen

Is it weird for me to say this would be my favorite room? This room is my quiet sanctuary away from my noisy world! I go in here to pray, to meditate and to catch up on my pile of archived "Good Housekeeping" magazines that go unread for weeks before I'm finally able to catch a minute to endulge myself!

Okay, so we're on an all time LOW as far as groceries go! Do you see that tupperware in there with the blue lid? Those are leftover Spaghettios I randomly bought, just to see if Charly liked them. Well, she loved them, but I will not buy them again because sadly I think they taste and smell like vomit!

ME!
This just seemed like a fitting look for this post...I look like I have a bruise over my right eye.

Here she is, folks!...by the way, any tips on how to keep those naps rollin'? She's down to 30 minutes a day instead of 2 hours and I don't know what to do!!

Cruel Irony

Today I unwrapped a Dove's milk chocolate piece of heaven and popped it in my mouth while ironing out the creases of the wrapper in order to read the message on the inside. It read,

"Kick a bad habit for today"

My bad habit?....eating too much chocolate.

September Spotlight

I love this picture. I love it because it captures my mother-in-law's true character. When the curtain is closed and the stage lights shut down, you will undoubtedly find her in some way or form out on an errand for the Lord, or simply taking in every brushstroke of God's breathtaking murals surrounding us everyday.
She never desires to be in the limelight, and yet it is her luminous countenance that radiates so brightly, you can almost feel an electric charge standing near to her!
She inspires me everyday to be a better, more optimistic person. She is a listener and a comforter. She has wept with me many times when heartache and adversity stood at our door.
I am simply at a loss for words when it comes to my gratitude and unconditional love for the mother of my eternal sweetheart and the grandmother of our little angel. How blessed I am to have a mother who is following so faithfully in the footsteps of the Savior. She truly is a sweet and humble handmaiden of the Lord. I am so blessed to have her in my life!

The Nelson Grandchildren all flock to their Grandma Nelson!

She really does GLOW, doesn't she!!

These two are constantly at battle with who gets to sit on Grandma's lap!

We Will Stand

"Pioneers exemplified great determination and sacrifice. They had the persistence of ocean tides, which led them on; the strength of virgin forests, which braced their minds; the quiet of prairie vastness, which stilled their souls; the majesty of mountains, which gave them inspiration. These indomitable spirits faced the unknown with eyes upward, and footsteps forward. There are men in this world who are made of adobe with a thin veneer carrying a high polish; but these men of the pioneer companies were of granite through and through. They did not shrink at difficult situations...They went forth to conquer and conquer they must and would and did."-President Spencer W. Kimball


















With Faith in Every Footstep

"We cannot add to their glory. We can only look back with reverence,
appreciation, respect and resolution to build on what they have done. The time
has now come to turn about and face the future. This is a season of a thousand
opportunities. It is ours to grasp and move forward. What a wonderful time it is
for each of us to do his or her small part in moving the work of the Lord on to
its magnificent destiny."-President Gordon B. Hinckley
"I see a wonderful
future in a very uncertain world. If we will cling to our values, if we will
build on our inheritance, if we will walk in obedience before the Lord, if we
will simply live the Gospel, we will be blessed in a magnificent and wonderful
way. In essence, whichever way we are thrown, we will
stand."-President Hinckley

Monday night for Family Home Evening, we hiked Ensign Peak (a pretty leisurely, though uphill hike) with Mom and Dad Nelson and Makayla. For those of you who have not yet had the opportunity to do so, I strongly recommend it!....and if you go on a Monday night, you will most likely run into a Single's Ward at the top who are always prepared with a devotional and if you are lucky, they will share their refreshments!!...we lucked out on popsicles!

As I stood at the top of this spectacular peak, overlooking the monumental rooftops scattered across the Salt Lake Valley, I realized that just as our stalwart pioneers left behind for us a legacy of faith, hope, sacrifice and determination, so are we pioneers of Latter Day, called upon to leave behind for our posterity a firm foundation and a living legacy that will only continue to go forward from generation to generation. As Pres. Hinckley said, "We cannot add to their glory."...but we can "turn about and face the future. This is a season of a thousand opportunities. It is ours to grasp and move forward. What a wonderful time it is for each of us to do his or her small part in moving the work of the Lord on to its magnificent destiny."

So, let's start moving! :-) Onward, ever Onward!!

Family Matters

Sometimes I wonder how I would fill my summer days without my family....or any days for that matter! My family is my lifeline and I simply cannot imagine my life without them.


BTW...My picture commentaries are way off whack...I can't figure out how to fix it so have fun decoding!

Bear Lake 2008




Charlie's Angels (minus me and Kim...I was in the pool!)









Charly's music class! 2008
I consider these "family", Charly and her best friends, Easton and Gracie
Jordan and Baby Dillon

Charlie and Charlie's Angels (we went out with the girls and Dad showed up with a box of Sees Chocolates for each of us!! It was especially a fun surprise since he left that day for three weeks to the South Pacific...he is still there!)

Another Marathon! Way to Go, Jordan!! (Spanish Fork Half-Marathon)

Woah kids, give Grandma some air!!!

I also consider these girls to be "family"...two of my Young Women, Danielle and Demi

Giddyup Coalville Rodeo, here we come!!!

Reading our fave, "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!" with Grandma Nelson at Bear Lake!


Travis and Peggy

Bear Lake 2008

My adorable niece, McKaylee

First Day of Nursery!! Yippeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Our Beautiful Grandma Afton Dahlquist with the girls (Dahlquist Family Reunion 2008)
Aunt "Kimbo"....the child "charmer"!

She LOVES her "Opa" Dahlquist!!

Uncle Craig!!