Happy Birthday Michael William!

Well, guess who's turning 20 today?  Actually, in Australia the 19th was yesterday.  But, in the USA  20 years ago today I went into labor with this cutie-pie!  Funny story.......We were living in Fremont with Mike's folks saving money so Mike could go back to school. It's Monday and it's President's day so Mike just happened to be off of work that day.  I wake up early in the morning with labor pains and after a conversation over the phone with my mother we decide it's time to go to the hospital, well, by the time we leave I am in hard labor.  So, my mother in law decides that she needs to drive us because Mike needs to be there for me and not driving as I am FREAKIN OUT by this time.  So, we all pile into the grey oldsmobile and off we go to the hospital to have Michael.  So, a little while later there is a knock on the door at home and it's the police...my brother in law Jeff answers the door and "say's can I help you"? ...the officer says, "does the owner of a grey oldsmobile live here"?  Jeff says, "yes, that's my mother but she's not here"...the officer says," there has been a reported kid-napping in that car....someone saw a woman driving the car and a man holding another woman down in the back seat and the woman in the back seat was struggling and crying"....Jeff just laughs and says, "oh, that's just my sister in law in labor, they're driving her to the hospital to have a baby"!  LOL! Fun Times!
Michael was born at 11:24 am on February 19, 1990 and has been a blessing in our lives ever since....and today he is just where we hoped and dreamed he would be, doing just what we hoped and dreamed he would be doing when he turned 20...so far so good!

Still at it!

Well, as you can see I'm still at it.   Here I sit on the top of my refridgerator painting the wall above the cabinets.  I tried to tell Mike last night that I couldn't reach but he just looked at me like..."ya right, and I can"...then he proceeded to show me where I could have done a little better...can you believe that....don't even go there Mr. Perfectionist!   So, I guess if he's gonna keep going to work everyday like he does then I guess I'll have to continue to find a way to get all the painting done myself.  I hate painting...but I love the way it is looking.  I have to pat myself on the back for choosing a great color.  Bryce has been helping..here and there..actually he rolled out the bathroom and did a great job.

 But today we decided to take a break and go see that new movie, "The Lightening Theif" and I have to say it was a pretty cool movie.  But then we came back home and I went back to my painting.  I know it's taking me a long time but I guess that's just the way I roll!  I'm almost done now.  I still need to alter my valances that we had made for our last house to fit the windows so hopefully that wont be too big of a projet and I may be able to post pictures this weekend.

Well, keep your fingers crossed!

Making the Pasta with Sophia's help.

Lots of Love today!

A delicious meal!

And a deck of cards (thanks Marty Party)

Makes a very Happy Valentines Day in the Nelson household.

(sending lots of love to Australia today)

5 Phases of Marriage

Through the passage of time, marriage goes through some predictable phases.

PHASE 1 - PASSION

You're head over heels in love and ecstatically happy that you've finally found your soul mate.

PHASE 2 - "WHAT DID I SEE IN HIM/HER?"

This second phase is a really difficult one. This is where reality sets in and you realize your partner has flaws, some of them serious....arguments start and you may find yourself wondering what you ever saw in your partner in the first place. Add to this disillusionment the pressures of daily life and no wonder problems start to develop.

PHASE 3 -"EVERYTHING WOULD BE PERFECT IF MY SPOUSE CHANGED"

You feel that everything would be fine if your spouse changed some annoying behavior or trait. The sad part is that some couples stay suck in the phase forever.

After a while, couples make 1 of 3 choices.

1. give up and decide to divorce

2. give up and decide to stay unhappily married.

3. decide to learn how to have a healthier and happier marriage.

PHASE 4 - ACCEPTANCE

In this phase you realize that you're never going to agree with your partner on every issue. You learn to become more tolerant and forgiving.

PHASE 5-PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE

You find peace and harmony together. You start to genuinely like your spouse and start to focus on your partners virtues rather than continue to be obsessed by his/her faults.

You feel proud of the storms you have weathered together and now have a shared history.

By now the kids are probably older and more independent. You can now focus on your marriage and eachother again.

What once looked like an insurmountable problem could be nothing more than a phase.

(I can honestly say that I have spent time in each one of these stages...Loving Stage 5!)

The Mantle

These little Valentine's bags are for each member of our family to put their valentines treats or cards or whatever they want to share with eachother in.  But what I really wanted to share is the color of the paint we have chosen for our family room and kitchen to be painted.  Ordered the paint, now it's just doing it.....It only took us a week to figure out what color to use (after 10 samples).  Now we'll see how long it takes us to actually DO the project....stay tuned and I'll post the finished project:)

February V.T. Message

Cute idea for Visiting Teaching this month on "Managing finances and staying out of debt" you can go to http://www.sugardoodle.info/joomla to get the pattern. These cute little purses have a message by Elder Robert D. Hales written on the flap along with 5 coins which have 5 key steps to financial freedom printed on them. I also plan to add some candy to these little purses.

Another cute idea is this framed quote by Boyd K. Packer that my sister gave me a while back, it is also fitting for this month.  She just printed up the quote on velum and put it on scrapbook paper and framed it.  "Eat it up, Wear it out, Make it do, Or do Without!"

 

Just some thoughts

So, today was sunday and I was so excited to go to church.  I love the feeling of going to sacrament meeting especially on fast sunday and sitting and listening to all of the testimonies being born and just being spiritually fed.  I loved it as usual and felt very thankful for the wonderful ward I get to be a part of.  Then I got to go to class and teach the 14/15 year olds.  I love this class so much.  These kids feel like my own especially since one of them is Stephen and then of course the rest are kids I feel like I've known forever.  However, I dont feel like a very good teacher.  I always leave there feeling like I need to do better.  The kids these days are so much smarter and inquisitive than I ever was at that age.  They truly will be great leaders of the church someday.  Then last but certainly not least I got to read Michael's email that we get each week.  This is where it all came together for me today.  That boy amazes me.  I am constantly in awe of the young man he has become.  His letters are always so uplifting and inspiring.  He has been very blessed to have wonderful companions and serve in wonderful areas on his mission thus far.  His perspective is always positive in spite of any trials they may be having and he always encourages us to live the gospel more to it's fullest.  I am feeling extremely blessed and yet extremely inadequate at the same time tonight.  I know that the Lord loves me and is aware of me as I have witnessed many of his tender mercies on me especially over the past 6 months or so.  I guess now it's my turn to do my part and exercise my faith in what he says he will do as I put my trust in him.