Change is required….

With a new addition quickly coming it would seem that the name of our blog perhaps needs to change :(. The name “Boo-nanna” sprouted from our girls nicknames… Bekah Boo and Anna Banana (or more commonly known as “Monkey” which she is indeed). So, since we don’t want the youngest member of our family to feel like he is not included, we need a new name…

I am a blank and need your suggestions!

It can be anything. A name combo, a Bible reference, something that characterizes our family, something longer, something shorter… ANYTHING! Change is required! I am excited to hear all your ideas and especially excited to see all that I will get to blog about in the days, months and years to come. Exciting times are ahead!

Staying Occupied…

With the lower half of my body pretty much looking like this…

and sitting here for the last 2 weeks…

 

… I have found many a minute to surf the blogging world. One blog that caught my eye is Tatertots and Jello. This girl has fantabulous ideas and it was she that inspired most of our crafty distractions over the last couple weeks… The first thing we made was a Valentines day wreath out of coffee filters. The girls and I dyed some of the filters and painted some more. Then we twisted them into flowers and……

ta-da…… a little glue and a foam wreath form later we have a sassy center point for our mantle. Also from the same blog she had some “XOXO” inspired art. We chose to use the word “love”. My goal for our valentines decorating this year was to NOT purchase a single thing but use up what we have. So no ribbon to hang the wreath, how about a tape measure? Frames were in the garage sale pile in the garage. We made a fabric pom pom garland from a scrap of fabric and are currently making a red one to add to this one. Buttons and glitter were all things I had. We are still working on our final “February Mantle” debut. It’s been fun to have project that we are working on together and that cost Mamma nothin! :)

I have had this project in mind since I found out we were expecting a boy. Decoupage might be my newest craft addiction. Added flair to a tin star too. ( Will post complete pictures of the baby’s room soon.)

 

The best thing to distract a busy mind is to busy the hands…… so I got out a ball of yarn and my trusty old crochet needles and tried my hand at making “snow bands”, basically thick head bands, for the girls. They turned out cute and these pictures don’t do them justice, but when your models are hungry for dinner, just woke up from a nap and both have ear infections…… not to mention you aren’t paying them, you take what you can get.

So here is Miss Silly

And here is Miss Grumpy

 

 

So there are a few ways, the Nelson girls have kept busy in recent weeks……crafting makes us happy. :)

*******************************************************************

 

And… today Rebekah Nelson made a break through… she can now say she can… tie her own shoes! Yipee!

January was….

Well it happened…… January came and went, the first month of 2010 has passed by and all without one post from your truly. Sorry friends. So for those of you who emailed me wondering if I was ok, alive, or just ever going to blog again… here is a January event recap.

In the beginning of the month some wonderful friends hosted a shower for me and our little boy! Opening boxes and bags of blue and bold colors, trucks and bugs gave me just a little glimpse of how much our world is about to change.

  How blessed I am to call these women friends. They are all people who have prayed for me, laughed with me, and shared many a memory. :) I have known them all for at least 16 years now and some even longer. What a comfort to know you have friends to count on.

It was a good day.

Thanks to Shanna and Rachel for hosting and Patti for getting some great pictures of the day!

With Micah’s arrival being the number one thing on our minds we thought it would be beneficial/ therapeutic for us to get away one last time as a family of four. So we headed out to Palm Springs for a three day weekend. When we go out to the condo we try to make our trips as uneventful (with as few outings) as possible and truly just relax. We really needed this time away. The girls learned how to roller skate (well almost), they played a lot with daddy, did quite a few crafts and we made one outing to the local children’s museum. (If you are ever in the Palm Springs area the Children's Discovery Museum of the Desert  is a fabulous way to spend a day with kids!!!! Our girls could have stayed for much longer but Mamma was getting HUNGRY ;))

Both girls were complaining of sore bottoms the next morning. :)

We made “Shrinky Dinks”, window stickers, and played with lots of play-doh!

The girls “played” catch with daddy, much to the enjoyment of mommy. :) They are learning…… but somehow I am thinking they are suited better for a sport that doesn’t require catching anything.

As seen by the photos below………

  (not exactly the position one should take when getting ready to catch a ball)

Bekah at least kept her eyes open, she tended to take more of a ballet/ yoga approach to her catching and throwing)

So when the catching wasn’t happening, we made our own game… “bottom ball”. By attaching the Velcro piece to the loops in their pants they were perfect targets for catching of a different sort. Call us “wierd”, “odd” and even “crazy”, but we were all laughing and it made for a fun time together.

Here are some pictures from our trip to the museum…

searching for artifacts…

The museum has a ‘69 Volkswagen Bug that the kids are allowed to paint.

And of course my girls love any chance to dress up and make believe. :)

and show their monkey side……

So our 3 day get away was a good time of focusing on our two little ladies who are about to get their world shaken (just a little).

And the month was finished with a big bang when our Sunday school class threw a shower for us. Once again, I was humbled by the generosity of friends and blessed by the love and support surrounding us.

( p.s. the beautiful cake was made by my sweet friend Aly at B Sweet Cakes and it was DELISH to say the least)

So those are the major events of the first month of this year. The rest of the month, there was rain, there was sunshine and mostly the girls and I stayed cozy in our house learning, crafting, watching movies, reading books, organizing rooms and shelves and getting ready for Micah. ( I might post about our crafty creations later.)

So here we are a few days into February and less than 2 weeks away from having our little boy! Of course we are praying, hoping, begging, and wanting him to come before then but know that God has the moment, minute, hour, and day perfectly chosen for his arrival. (I am just saying I wouldn’t have a problem if that time was right NOW! ;) )

Hope your 2010 is off to a good start! Oh and I haven’t said yet……

Happy New Year!

Celebrating our Savior!

We had a wonderfully, peaceful Christmas celebration. Time with family, Christmas Eve church service, presents, fantastic food, and time to just be.

Christmas Eve after church….

Josh was up until 1:00 in the morning putting together the girls presents….. our girls adore playing “office”. They pretty much weekly clean us out of all paper, tape, envelopes…… thus their gift was inspired. Each have their own desks packed to the brim with every office supply (age appropriate) that you can imagine.  (Thanks Aunt Becky for stocking us up for at least a year.)

so here is the 1 a.m. shot…… “Santa Daddy” and “Santa Mommy” are off to bed….

The girls first view on Christmas morning….. 

stockings….. Christmas day outfits with their new dolls.

Then over to Grandpa and Grandma’s for the rest of the day…..

Rebekah got her very own sewing kit and sewing machine from Aunt Becky. :) Now to learn…….

Happy Birthday Jesus! NOTHING compares to the gift that was given in you!

Christmas with the Nelsons

Sunday was our Christmas celebration with Josh’s side of the fam. Our girls can’t get enough of their cousins and we had such a pleasant evening with our Nelson family.

After a beautiful dinner we exchanged gifts….. Josh’s sister Christy and her husband Josh live in Oregon and were not able to make the trip down so they joined us via Skype! Isn’t technology amazing!? :)

Grandpa and Grammy Nelson  got each of our girls  a “Bitty Twins” set from American Girl. I am thinking they like them. ;)

Just the cutest dolls ever!

Bekah with her little brunettes……..

and Anna with her blondies…….

After gifts the kids (and some “kids at heart”) put on a performance of the Christmas story. Bekah thought she would be a shepherd for this performance. :)

Anna was an angel……

Our cast was quite eclectic.

As you can tell………

OK……… (slight side note)……………… I must be an extreme glutton for punishment, but here you go. This picture even got a “WHOA!!!!!!” from me…. and I see myself every day! Here I am in all my 31 week glory! Seeing as the main purpose of the this blog is to have a record of…… well…… life…… for my kids, I can’t hide every picture I hate.

I guess you could say, I am being very vulnerable right now…. 

But here is a word to the wise……. before you post any comments…….. if I get any commentary that looks like this (because i already get it all the time) … 

   “ Are you sure you’re not having twins?” or…..

“OH MY GOSH, you still have 2 months left!?!?!?” or……

“I could tell you were having a boy the minute I saw you…..”  or……

and this is my favorite……

“You look like you could go any day now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!……… oh, but you look great!”

Let’s just say………… you might ( or you will) have a very pregnant, slightly exhausted, very often… overheated… and possibly a little bit of a crazy woman a little disturbed  with you .   :)

Ok…….. I am done with my hormonal tantrum………. take a deep breathe, Emily.

And back to Sunday………

Well since I am on a roll right now , showing  you….. reality…..

Here is basically what our attempt to get a picture of the four of us was like…….

It was either show a picture of Bekah crying or one of Josh and I wish our eyes closed, so this was the best choice. ;)  

Our night only had that one moment of tears……. the rest of the evening was full of delightful conversation, squeals of joy, lots of laughter, A LOT of  little feet hitting the floor, and plenty of memory making moments.

Here is the majority of the Nelson family.( We missed you Christy and Josh!)

And no Nelson Christmas is complete without a pajamas picture. This has become a steadfast tradition and it is fun to look back and see how the kids have grown. :)

We are truly blessed!

December……. so far…….

It seems like all my posts lately are a random gathering of moments…….

This one is just that…… a mish mash of activities. We have been able to experience some cooler weather (like in the 50’s and 60’s) in the last few weeks and for my overheated, overextended body it has been simply wonderful. The beginning of the the month brought it usual December craziness, but the last week and a half  have been all about being home, and loving and anticipating the REASON FOR THE SEASON!

We’ve enjoyed time in the backyard. (My girls favorite room in the house!) Anna got a mini-trampoline from Aunt Becky for her birthday and it is the perfect thing for our monkey. Now if only the screen had a way to lock her in there we would be set! ;)

  Cooler weather has inspired me to bake (a little……. just a little)…… cobbler, bread pudding and a couple batches of cookies……. all of which were quickly consumed….. by yours truly:(.

Bekah is for the most part done with naps….. a new stage that the Kindergarten status seemed to bring along with it. :( But she is still required (not without argument) to have a quiet time in her room. And I love when quiet times turn into this……….:)

Why do I feel so victorious when this happens?

Every year our church hosts an annual “Angel Breakfast” for just the kindergarteners. This was such a special morning. We appreciate our church and are so thankful for the opportunities it has provided our family.

Bekah with some of her friends……

Getting special ornaments from a special Angel…..

A BIG event for us this month was Rebekah’s theatrical debut. Our homeschooling group put on a modern day version of “A Christmas Carol” and Rebekah was chosen to play the role of Mary. She was so excited and I am pretty sure this is the only time I have ever seen a portrayal of the nativity where the mother of Jesus walked out onto the stage giving a parade wave to the crowd. ;)

She even had a little solo dance. Just her and the baby Jesus. It was a proud moment. And her daddy, sister and I along with both  sets of grandparents were there……… 2nd row, dead center to watch our Bekah. :)

(I am trying to get Josh to put the video on here so we can show you……. sorry for the gushing…….. it was just so darn cute. )

This month is zooming by and it is hard to believe that we are just 2 days from the 25th!!!

Now to clean the house…….

Happy December all!

officially THREE!

Yesterday our Anna turned 3! It will take her some time to get used to, as she just mastered holding up 2 fingers! We started our day with, what else, doughnuts and presents.

After church we headed over to Disneyland, as Anna is now “of age” Disney speaking, in other words….. we now have to pay for her. So our 3 year old got her first pass. And she could not have been more thrilled!!!! She is always quite bothered when we walk through the gate and she has nothing to hand the attendant. Now she does……

But before we entered the park…… a few snap shots.

A is for ANNA!!!

R is for Rebekah!!!

N is for Nelson!!! 

We really had a very pleasant day as a family. Our girls chose to put on their best behaviors and had such sweet temperaments all day. They especially loved all the time with Daddy. (He was the choice partner for every ride. )

And here is one of my favorite pictures!!! One of Anna’s favorite shows is Handy Manny!! THE only thing she requested for her birthday was a “handy manny tool set.” Look at this picture…. she couldn’t even look at the camera, she just kept looking at Manny with adoring eyes. (She might have been a little scared of his being over 6 foot tall…. but either way, she was smiling.:) )

Happy Birthday Anna! We have faith that the Lord has a great plan for your life and we are honored to get to watch you become the little girl and eventually woman God wants you to be!

bits and pieces……

Well here is a photo blog of a couple things that were picture worthy over the last couple weeks….. a few bits and pieces that needed a place to go. :)

San Diego Zoo a couple of weeks ago…always a good time and you couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day, weather perfection!

Rebekah being………………………. Rebekah…….

Baby bump, up close and personal……

Anna Banana…..

Daddy helping his girls to get the best view.

Daddy and Anna on the sky tram.

Putting up some festive trim.

Our tree…..

Our school activities have taken on a Christmas theme. Here the girls are making a countdown calendar.

yep…… that’s about it!

Seeing Minnie in my dreams…….

Today we celebrated Anna’s 3rd birthday! Her actual birthday is not until the 13th but we decided with December being so busy, earlier rather than later would be better for a party date.  The theme was Minnie Mouse as Anna is a devoted Mickey and Minnie fan! I am posting a lot of pictures!!!!!!!!! No really, I mean a lot!!!! I had such fun with the details of this party and couldn’t just pick a couple pictures of the day…… so even if you weren’t here, you get to see pretty much every detail! ;)

I had to figure a way to blend a party with all my Christmas decor and Minnie’s red and white made for endless “blending” possibilities!

This wreath was a total after-thought but it came out cute.The tag says…..

“ It may be a Minnie party….. but Anna’s 3rd Birthday is a BIG reason to celebrate!”

Here we are in our Minnie attire. My mom and dad bought me and the girls our ensembles. Polka dots are slimming right?;) And of course we are making good use of our sparkle tennis.

  Here she is…… our Birthday Girl!!!! She kept telling me all week…. “Mommy, I so ezzzited for my pawty!!”

Our girls…… Bekah was just as hyper with anticipation for the festivities. She is a good big sis. :)

If you know me, you know that (in my opinion) there is NO reason for me to throw a party if I can’t have fun with the details. I love the chance to be creative and this party was no exception…… here are some of the little things that brought the party together.

Mickey and Minnie pots of daisies……

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carmel apples……. these were supposed to be my beautiful copies of the Minnie Mouse caramel apples at Disneyland, but alas….. after a couple hours of trial and error and a wonderful mom who was willing to help, we decided to just go with caramel apples drizzled with chocolate….. still fun.:)

Minnie Cookies….

Beautifully sewn goodie bags….. My wonderful friend Valerie volunteered to make these for me and they could not have been cuter. :)

 

The cupcakes and candy to decorate…….

The banner…… putting my Cricut to good use. ;) Thanks Valerie for this too!!! ;)

Ok…. so enough with the treats, sweets and decor…… here are some pictures of the party…..

Anna and Grandpa (in his Mickey wear too)!

Pizza time………… We ordered 3 of the most GINORMOUS pizzas I have ever seen. Each pizza had 55 slices…….. we will be eating pizza for days…….

Blowing out the candles…..

Bouncing, bouncing and bouncing……… Thank the Lord for bounce houses…… and thank you to our friends the Lees for letting us use theirs!!!! :)

Candy mayhem………..

Don’t be shy Anna……. dig right in!

Grandpa and Grammy Nelson brought 3 white doves for Anna to release for her 3 years. You may not be able to tell by the picture, but she was thrilled, no really, she LOVES the birds!!!!!

and of course there were presents….. I always find present opening so funny at kid’s birthday party’s. All the kids get closer and closer and closer as the presents continue until  you can’t even see the presents, you just see a bunch of little heads hovering over something.

Any party success I have ever had is only because I have help….. and there are two “elves” ,in particular, who are always by my side doing the grunt work and pretty much anything I throw their way or forget to do…… my mom and aunt Becky. What would I do without my 2 extra sets of hands? Thanks ladies for your help, love and support! :)

We had such a fun time celebrating our sweet Anna! She keeps us busy, always on our toes, but delights our hearts, makes us smile and is one of our most precious blessings!

Happy birthday to our vivacious, energetic, curious, strong, and happy little monkey! :)

Wall Art continued………

…….trying to not get carried away but totally loving my new found craft!!!!! :)

Been working on the girls room lately, repainted, new bed, new comforters, and LOTS OF ORGANIZING & THROWING STUFF AWAY, put two dressers into one, two closets into one, and eliminated a lot of clutter….. all to get ready for our little guy!!!!! Anywho……. been wondering about the wall above the bunk bed, as it needed something… but hanging anything with weight might brain my child as she sleeps, if it fell. So a wall decal was a perfect solution and my “chandelier project” has only unleashed my creative juices or at least my copy cat juices! ;)

Having fun! 

Another angle…

a couple little hiding friends…. do you see them?

Wall Art…

The nesting phase of pregnancy is in full swing, I am pretty sure my husband wouldn’t see it as a phase as I am constantly changing and rearranging things in our home pregnant or not, but I can definitely sense more of an “urgency” within myself when it comes to all things decorating, organizing, cleaning and de-cluttering!

So on a recent restless browse through ETSTY I found, yet another thing, that sparked that all too common thought in my head….. “ I bet I could make that……” many a disaster has come about with those very words! I am happy to report that this time, I only had a couple frustrating moments and I am overall pleased with the final outcome. So…… not bad. :)

Check out my handmade wall decals…..

Time (they took over an hour each to do) really was the key element in this project otherwise, it was pretty easy. And best of all it was so much cheaper than the pricier ETSY versions. Seven bucks for a huge role of white contact paper and an Exacto knife and ta-da!!!!!!!! 

And I have enough Con Tact paper to make a hundred other wall decals or a least repaper every shelf in our kitchen……. hmmmmm what will I do? I don’t think there is a floor, wall or surface in my house that is safe from me at this point…… what will my hormones tear apart, glue together or reorganize next?

stay tuned……..

Shoes, Glitter, Crafts, Food and Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Thank you Lord, for our many blessings…..

Hoping you all had a blessed day! We, true to form, did not take our thanksgiving festivities far from home….. just about 3 blocks away to be exact. We had a fun day with family and had one of the best Thanksgiving meals I have ever been privileged to taste(seriously my mom, dad and aunt out did themselves this year!)

Here are some pictures of our day….

Yesterday, my dad called…. wondering my shoe size. “A little odd….” I thought, not one of his normal questions to ask. But he then told me that he saw some shoes and thought my with being “pregnant and everything” my feet could use something “festive.” So after a few phone calls and a couple hours, he and my mom stopped by with some “BLING” for me and the girls. What a nice little surprise! Notice the sparkly shoes. :)

We went to a nearby park this morning for some quick picture taking. Mostly of the shoes……. ;)

Gotta get a couple shots with the belly in there. Twenty eight weeks and counting!!!!!!!!! February cannot get here fast enough!

 

We went back to the folks house for a great meal…… Here is Dad after carving the turkey and making the most delicious candied yams.  Not only does the man have good taste in foot wear but only REAL men can wear an apron that says this……

The table…..

And more glitter…… this time it wasn’t on our shoes, more like…. all over the place. Instead of saving a Christmas craft I had planned for school time, I decided to take full advantage of the extra hands for helping, the patio at my parents house and the extra free time that holidays seem to provide and do it today. We made sparkly Christmas trees for our mantel. 

The finished products on the piano until we bring out all the Christmas decor tomorrow……..

So, it was a good day.

Where do I begin in conveying our thanks for the blessings that have been showered upon us? I am at a loss for words……

God is good. ALWAYS GOOD!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Brass Rubbings,Medieval Lessons & Mc Donalds

Last week we went to THIS....

The London Brass Rubbing Center at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Long Beach. We had a great lesson on knights, lords and ladies. We held real armor (which was insanely heavy) and were able to see and hear the history of (the reason we were there) the Brasses.

“Brasses” were engraved with likenesses of Medieval people ( mostly the wealthy and powerful), set in stone slabs, and placed in churches and cathedrals throughout England and Europe as memorials as early as the 13th century. With a kindergartner, we did not come away with all the information that maybe an older child would have. But, when we left Rebekah understood they didn’t have cameras in those days, this is how they would take a picture, so that they could be remembered for generations. A lesson learned.

To be honest my kids were the youngest there, and I took them more out of my own curiosity. This year of homeschooling is all about seeing what is out there and available and I am sure many events and things we do this year we will revisit in future years and, at that time, we will be able to put more background work in before we go and then retain more when we leave. We are exploring this new ground we have ventured onto. 

so here are some pictures of our day of time travel……

 

Sorry for the blurriness of the picture…… The girls trying to lift the armor.

Now for the “activity” that brought us here….. Brass Rubbing.

They had almost 200 brasses there, some almost life size. The originals were life size but we, of course, only saw remakes. I tried to find the most simple of all the brasses for our girls to use……

Final outcome…..

And it has kind of become our field- trip- tradition for the girls and I to go to McDonalds on our way home from our outing. They don’t seem to mind it. ;)

Here they are with their first ever Mc Donalds apple pie. I actually only think I have maybe had 1 in my lifetime. The girls each had change in their pockets (from who knows where) and kept asking if they could pay for something. Well after counting Anna’s 58 cents and Rebekah’s 64 cents, 50 cent apple pies was our only choice. I am pretty sure it was an ok option. :)

A good day! 

what we do…..

Well, it wasn’t my intention to make this blog “homeschooling” themed…. but alas it is our life. We are loving it and as we get more into our daily routine of living and learning it is becoming harder and harder to find other things to blog about cause, really….. this is what we do….. 

here are a few of our projects over the last two weeks that were picture worthy….

Here are the girls making use of the box from our new coffee table. Over the course of a couple hours the box was a house, a boat, a concession stand, an oven, a cave, a tent, a tunnel and of course…. just a box.

We made our Thanksgiving center piece, which quickly became a decoration for the top of our piano as Miss Anna (also known as “the collector” in our house) took a liking to grabbing handfuls of leaves and putting them in random places….. mostly all over the floor.

And this project was very exciting for me….. I have had a minor sewing project that has been on my mind to get done for a long time, I kept putting it off because every time I get all the stuff out I then have to find something to distract my little “magnets”, and then a light bulb went on in my head….. (I am a little slow, I know),” how about teaching them how to sew!” Yes, I handed a 5 year old and a 2 year old a needle. And guess what… I was the only one to poke myself! We started simple, with ZERO expectations…. and we made something that somewhat resembles pillows! I was  proud of myself for not interfering with their handiwork, and even more proud of my girls for their diligence and excitement over their final product . They were thrilled! We are on the fourth book of the “Little House” series and this was one of those projects that just brought the words to life. Rebekah kept saying….. “ok, now that I have sewn a pillow, we should make a quilt like Laura’s Ma made!” Ummmmm…….. slow down there kiddo. Maybe one day we will get there.  

 So, that is what the Nelson girls have been up to. 

Oh, and in case you are wondering…. these projects were all on different days, it would seem that ballet outfits are our “school uniforms.”

Happy Candy Day!

hope you all had a good day yesterday, in what ever way you chose to spend it……

so ,of course, the girls said a unanimous “NO” to re-wearing the “handmade” ;) angel costumes they wore last week, in favor of pulling out, what else but, princess dresses from their dress up box.

So Sleeping Beauty and Tinkerbelle got ready for their night out….

  The first and only house they “trick or treated” at….. Hey, this house was handing out $10 bills AND candy, we pretty much could stop after this…. ;)

(for those of you not catching the humor, this is my parents house and they didn’t hand out money to every kid, just the cutest princesses in town) ;) And not all trick or treaters, while welcomed with a smile, were greeted with the same enthusiasm….;)

To quote the sleeping princess herself “sweepin booty” didn’t make it to the ball without falling “asweep”.

playing games at our church “Harvest Party”

Mommy and daddy did their part and worked the pumpkin toss booth….. my lower back is still reminding me of my time in said booth…..

yes, Grandpa and Grandma got them cotton candy, because poor children didn’t have enough candy….. :(

in the puppy petting zoo….

AND HERE YOU HAVE IT FOLKS…….. this could be the one and ONLY thing Anna is afraid of……. not that I blame her….

His smaller relative, didn’t seem to bother her.

We finished the night off with drivin thru The Hat and going back to my parents, and then a somewhat early bed time.

Sleeping = the best use of our extra hour. :)

now for the serious task of removing candy from our house….. I have volunteered to take care of that ;)