Better late than never….
our 4th was great! Relaxing, yummy and fun.
Lemon Curd Cupcakes with Lemon Butter cream frosting topped with blueberries. :) My contribution.
Here are the recipes…
This is what I got when I told them to say……. “HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!!”
not what I was hoping for but at least it is candid….
Hope you all had a pleasant 4th! God Bless America!
will be extra special.
BABY NELSON #3 is on it’s way!
Thank you Lord for your many blessings, we pray for a healthy pregnancy free of complications and of course a healthy, strong and HAPPY baby. God is faithful!
It’s a good thing.
With big plans ahead for our summer. I have made it a “must” that we are just home for a while. We’ve been doing A LOT of back yard time, in our “pool”, A LOT of tent making, coloring and a few movies. :) Not much else.
Hope you are enjoying your Summer thus far.
This post comes with a slight………”oy”……… from me.
Last weekend we went with our Sunday School class to Big Bear for a camping trip that ended up being quite an adventure.
I won’t go into every detail but our trip included, a trip to the ER, stitches for Josh, throwing up (Anna), sleeping in the van, 30 degree temps, frying doughnuts, great friends, dirty kids, tummy aches (Bekah), bike riding, lots of coffee, good food, smores, a fun trip to the Dollar Tree, a walk around town, a battery charge, did I mention dirty kids……. and I am sure there is more in there that I forgot.
What a weekend.
Anna…… and dirt.
The Friday afternoon crowd.
Bekah was so dirty she started growing things.
And here is Anna and her partner in crime Lauren…… in the dirt.
They were bathing each other in it.
Wish I got more pictures, but like I said…..it was quite a weekend. :)
This Summer our family will be heading out on a 3 week road trip through middle America! Josh and I thrive on trips like this! We love packing up the car and heading out on adventures together! We can’t wait! Some of our stops will include Yellowstone National Park and Mt. Rushmore. We are literally giddy with excitement and trying to save our pennies to make this adventure reality! Josh and I actually just have moments of conveying our excitement to each other! :) Growing up as PK’s (pastor’s kids) we didn’t have funds to fly to Island getaways or to European vacations, but we both have fond memories of packed mini-vans and road trips cross country! These are some of our greatest memories in fact! It is fun to share our memories with each other and our kids.
So this is where I need your help. I would love to get suggestions for…
- Maintaining my sanity!: Ideas for keeping my 5 year old and 2 year old happy and content in the car! (snacks, games, crafty things, incentives, potty emergency solutions, audio pleasantries, helpful educational tools). Give me ideas!
-PLACES TO STOP!: Whether they are places to get good eats (we do love good food), fun tourist spots, places of historical or literary significance, a local secret, great family activities, places to stay overnight, places to get out and stretch our legs, or even places for great photo ops.
If you consider we live in Southern California and we are headed to Yellowstone, Mt Rushmore, Minnesota and then winding our way back (coming back through Arizona) that should give you an idea of all the states we will pass through. Even if you have suggestions of great places(worldwide) to go that won’t be for this summer , I would love to hear any and all ideas. We plan on doing lots of big road trips (and traveling in general) in our lifetime and can’t wait to show our children this wonderful country/ world that God has created!
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p.s. I have still much to learn about blogging… I will in the near future figure out how to email/ comment you back after you comment. I do get all your comments and appreciate all that I get. Thanks for thinking we are interesting enough to read about! :)
Today was the big day! Today was Great Strides 2009! Thank you to all of you who supported our family! Team Jonah raised close to $22,000 and had well over 100 walkers! We were able triple our family’s personal fundraising goal thanks to generous support from family, friends and coworkers. It was an overcast morning in Placentia, CA but perfect for a 5k!
Bekah was TOTALLY into the warm up work out (Sponsored by Total Woman Gym). She was front and center doing every move perfectly! :)
Friends Shanna, Kate and Luke and………….. us
Anna and her buddy Luke. Quite the duo!
Anna sucked on a lollipop the entire walk and then fell fast asleep just as we walked back up to the park. Perfect!
The Nelsons
We are just 3 days away from Great Strides 2009! We are so excited to take part in this event and support our friends the Ostermanns! A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post telling all about this event and our inspiration for participating.
If you would like to support our family you can click HERE and then click on Josh, Emily, Rebekah and Anna Nelson.
We thank you for your prayers and support for this great cause!
We had a wonderful Memorial Day!
Our church has an annual picnic jammed pack with activities!
Bekah on the Swings ( thanks Rebekah P. for the picture! )
Josh playing volleyball.
The “almost-married” couple. The big day is just weeks away!
Anna so proud of her parade ribbon.
Our family knows how to do a picnic right!
Cousin Alee with Anna….. and some corn.
Mommy with some lemon bars.
This is Rebekah’s response to getting the green “participant” ribbon instead of the RED “I love a parade” ribbon. You can’t please everyone. :)
Anna has a little help on her parade route. Thanks Grandma! :)
We had a great time with family and friends yesterday.
We do say thank you to all those who have given their time, service and lives on behalf of our liberty! We are forever in your debt. May we never forget!
Now that the tears have subsided and I am able to compose myself, I will share with you a tragedy of great proportions. Yesterday (during and overall peaceful day at home) I decided to make my first ever Lemon Meringue Pie! I have a women’s Bible study that meets on Thursday nights and it happened to be at my house last night. The Bible study girls always appreciate a good dessert and are usually willing to try out my baking experiments. So after four hours, my mixing and beating, baking and cooling, watching and waiting FINALLY came to an end and I had the end result!
Here it is!
I was so proud of it! And I especially couldn’t wait to try it!
And then tragedy struck! Minutes before the ladies were to arrive I felt the pie and it still felt a tad warm. Well I couldn’t serve warm lemon meringue pie so I decided I should put it in the fridge for a little bit, to completely cool off. So after I tried to find a place for it in an already full fridge I placed it on top of another container thinking it was steady……… well as you can see it wasn’t!
KER-SPLAT!
I screamed as if I had just seen an alien, stepped back, took a deep breathe, held back some tears and then…….. ran to get my camera!
NOT ONE SALVAGEABLE BITE! My poor pie!
So the Bible study ladies had to settle for Toll House ready made brownies and I have NO desire to attempt making a lemon meringue pie anytime in the near future!
…. in supporting a worthy cause, a wonderful family and amazing little boy!
On May 30th our family is participating in the GREAT STRIDES walk in Placentia CA. GREAT STRIDES is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's largest and most successful national fund-raising event. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a devastating genetic disease that affects tens of thousands of children and young adults in the United States. Rebekah and Anna have a very special friend named, Jonah, who is living with this disease. And so… we are walking as part of TEAM JONAH!
Jonah is a wonderful little guy with a sweet and gentle spirit. Our girls love playing with Jonah and his twin brother Javan. Jonah is, indeed, an active and happy little boy but his days consist of endless medications and breathing treatments. I cannot begin to tell you how much I admire Jonah’s parents for their diligence and faithfulness in taking care of their son. They never rest in making sure he is taking everything he can and doing everything he can to continue to stay healthy and active. But still more is needed…… A CURE! Research and care supported by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is making a huge difference in extending the quality of life for those with CF. However, precious lives are lost to CF every day. That's why our help is needed!
We would greatly appreciate you sponsoring our family in the walk. The easiest way to make a donation it to go to www.teamjonah.com, click on our name and make a secure online donation.Your generous gift will be used efficiently and effectively, as nearly 90 cents of every dollar of revenue raised is available for investment in vital CF programs to support research, care and education. We are so eager to show our support for Jonah and his family by raising money for TEAM JONAH! Any amount you can donate would be greatly appreciated and all contributions are 100 percent tax deductable!
Thank you for your support!
Josh, Emily, Rebekah and Anna Nelson
Today I had the privilege of throwing a shower for my sister. As a family, our hearts truly rejoice over Donna’s upcoming wedding.
The big day is fast approaching and ALL the preparations are in full swing. Here are some pictures of this special day….
The “CANDY BAR”….. not exactly the best insurance policy on fitting into that bridesmaid’s dress.
The cupcakes…
My mom, sister and….. me. I have an issue with closing my eyes in pictures. This is the best we got. :)
The flower girls and the bride. What kind of mother puts her girls in WHITE dresses and then hands them a chocolate cupcake!? That would be me!
Pyrex: A definite reason to smile!
Ok I have to just brag about my 2 year old for a minute. NOT ONLY is she potty trained ( in less than a week), at the end of the party she climbed up on the couch in the “den” and took a two and a half hour nap! Can I say………. ANGELIC?
And Rebekah, being quite awake after cupcakes and full access to the “Candy Bar” had a lot of energy to burn, so she made use of all the gift ribbon………… by tying Grandpa to a chair.
A wonderful day! God is gracious and we look forward to all God has in store for Donna and Philip!
This past weekend we were able to get away to Palm Springs. Josh’s grandparents have been so generous in letting us use their condo and it is something we look forward to with great anticipation. Now Josh and I are both people who enjoy making the most of vacations. This time we went and just did…….. NOTHING! It was fantastic! The weather was heaven-like. We swam in the pool (for hours and hours), ate easy ready-made meals from Costco (which Mommy liked), colored, read, watched movies, baked cookies and had one nice meal out. IT WAS PERFECT! Exactly what our little family needed. We were almost too relaxed to come home. :)
The girls loved the pool. Both of them NEVER tire of the water!
Bekah with a “pose- and- jump” shot.
Anna tends to just fall into the water.
The girls in their matching dresses before dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants.
I found these little “vintage” slates at Cost Plus World Market for just 59 cents in the clearance bin. The girls had a great time with them. I,however, forgot how much I HATE chalk and the sounds of chalkboards. I had to leave the room.
And here is Miss Rebekah admiring the 500 piece puzzle Mommy put together. I had hopes that we would do it together. But once we got to the condo she was much more interested in swimming, watching movies and playing with play-doh to bother with puzzles. But once I was done she of course said….”Hey! I wanted to help put the puzzle together.”
Happy Nelsons in the sun!
To little lovelies relaxin in the pool. Should have brought the sunglasses.
Such a great few days away.If only every weekend was that relaxing.
This little sundress of Rebekah’s is one of my favorites. I purchased it on the clearance rack at Gymboree last December and it was a bargain at $7.00. When washing it this last week I was saddened to discover a hole. Just about the size of someone’s pointer finger. I am sure the hole didn’t start out this size, as I am guessing it had a little help. Nonetheless I was bummed. Until I went to Michael's (for another reason entirely.) While browsing their dollar bins I just happened upon these little appliqué's and ta-da! I had an idea!
So a $3.00 fix for a $7.00 dress. A little pricey, but I was excited to see that the dress has a new life and I think I might even like it more than before. :)
My brother Nathan is in Florida working at Disneyworld right now. The girls have something to tell Uncle Nate….
Love you Nate!
