Monday, September 29, 2008

OUR 8TH ANNIVERSARY


Today is Brandon & my 8th year anniversary! I am seriously the luckiest woman to have such an incredible spouse! So here are 50 things I love about Brandon:

1. That he loves me.
2. That he loves our girls as much as I love them (and that is A LOT)!
3. That when he promised me FOREVER he meant it.
4. That he makes me want to be a better person, wife, & mother.
5. That he is a lot like my dad (if you know my dad that is a compliment) because he is so giving and does so much for our children.
6. That he has a strong testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has a close relationship to Heavenly Father.
7. That he is a hard worker and motivated.
8. That he puts the older three girls in bed at night.
9. That he not only holds the priesthood, but honors it and is always prepared and willing to give blessings to me & the girls when we need them.
10. That he supports me & knows how important it is for me to stay home with our children. He has worked many jobs and many long hours and sacrificed so that I could stay home. I just love that for him it is not an option that I go to work.
11. That he is honest. It seems like honesty is a harder trait to find in people.
12. His smile and his laugh and that I am still attracted to him, if not more, after 8 years of marriage.
13. That he has never said “NO” to me. Believe me I’ve said “no” many times, but I really can’t think of a time when he told me I couldn’t do something.
14. That he cares about making memories with our family. When he wanted to get a trailer I thought it was too expensive & I wasn’t too interested in the whole idea, but it has been a great investment because we have created so many wonderful memories that our children will remember.
15. That he mows the lawn. Silly, but I’m glad I don’t have to do it.
16. That he doesn’t complain (to me anyway) when the house isn’t clean & there isn’t dinner ready because he realizes that having four children & taking care of everything in the home is difficult (if not impossible).
17. That he is close to his and my family. Luckily we don’t have any in-law drama.
18. That he is excited about his new calling as Ward Clerk and is happy and wanting to do anything that is asked of him.
19. That he still will compliment me when he thinks I look “pretty”.
20. That he notices when I’m not so put together (mentally) & is willing to help me with whatever I need or will encourage me to have a break.
21. That he makes sure that we have Family Home Evening.
22. That when I ask him (which is probably only 3-4 times a year) to do the dishes he does them.
23. That he speaks 3 languages. I personally think it is a turn on!
24. The he enjoys his job and I believe does really well at it. I know it has to be a lot of stress to be the sole provider of our family, but I am so grateful that he has found a career that he enjoys (although I know is difficult at times) but works to constantly improve what he is doing.
25. For the most part we think the same, especially on the IMPORTANT things.
26. That he faithfully served a mission and wants to serve one with me when we are older.
27. He is preparing now for our future.
28. He enjoys helping others.
29. As much as I love the deer hunting season, I am glad that he has things, which he enjoys, that allow him to have a break.
30. That he has enough patience for FIVE females (and believe me you need A LOT).
31. Talking to him at night when neither of us can go to sleep.
32. That our girls are all daddy’s girls (the older 3, anyway). It’s because he not only spoils them, but he shows them in everything he does how much he loves and cares for them.
33. That he LOVES food! This comes in handy especially since I’m not the greatest cook.
34. He has a strong testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith and loves learning as much about his life as he can.
35. That he is an over-protective parent. He has been since the day that Sydnee was born and for many people, they probably got the impression that he didn’t trust me with them. But he really cares about every aspect of their well-being from them making right decision to how many poopy diapers they have had. He wants to know that they are alright.
36. His homemade spaghetti sauce! YUM!
37. Watching Forensic Files and eating popcorn together.
38. That he can read me like a book. He ALWAYS know when something is bothering me!
39. That he will take turns with me getting up with the girls in the middle of the night. This shows once again what an incredible father he is!
40. Going on trips with him. We have had so much fun on our trip to Cancun, the Mediterranean cruise, Hawaii, and our family trips to Jackson, San Diego, and our many camping adventures.
41. His eyes. (aka “two piss holes in a snow bank” – his terminology not mine)
42. Our relationship I believe is 50/50. We both give and then are able to take.
43. That he gave me a gift certificate for a facial and massage for our anniversary.
44. Snuggling with him.
45. That he cares what is important to me and tries to support me in those things.
46. He makes me HAPPY!
47. He allows me to enjoy decorating our house & the many crazy projects I have created and have ALMOST done them with a smiling face!
48. He is the patriarch in our family & takes his responsibility to lead our family seriously.
49. Just about everything!
50. That he is the best husband that I could have asked for! He has far surpassed any
”ideal” man I could have dreamed of as far as a spouse or the father of my children. I have had the best 8 years of my life because I have had him by my side and I look forward to the rest of our lives and eternity together! Brandon, I LOVE YOU!

Friday, September 26, 2008

PRAYER

I was talking to our girls the other night about prayer & how Heavenly Father always listens to us. Sydnee was deep in thought & then finally asked, "Mom, does Heavenly Father grant wishes?" I told her that in a way He does because if we ask Him for something & He thinks that it is something that we need He will give it to us. She then preceded to tell me that there is a boy at school that she thinks is kind of cute & so she said a prayer that he would like her and play with her. Then she said "it hasn't worked". I thought it was a very cute & a little scary that boys are starting to be "kind of cute" to her.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Zucchini Anyone???


Since so many people have been posting about their garden veggies on their blogs, I thought I should too! We have quite an assortment of life-sized squash in our garden just ready to be picked so if anyone is hungry, come on over!

So you ask, do I like eating fresh garden vegetables? YES
Am I a gardner? NOT SO MUCH

Thursday, August 28, 2008

MY SOPHIE

WHAT?????

So Sydnee & the other girls were having a dance party downstairs & she came up in this...



Not only was she thinking she looked great, but she thought she had it all picked out to wear to her first day of gymnastics. Let me think about this...HECK NO! The funny thing about this is that last year when we were at my parent's house my mom gave the girls these OLD costumes. I thought they would be fun for them to dress up in. Well, I went to Layton with my mom & Chase (my little brother) took the girls to dance. When I picked them up Sydnee was in one of these costumes, only with bigger shoulder pads. I laughed for a long time! In fact I am still laughing right now! When I asked her how everyone liked her outfit she said everyone just stared. :)

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

MADELYN'S FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

Madelyn was very excited to go to kindergarten today! You never know how Madelyn will really act when she gets somewhere, but she just walked in as happy as can be. When she got home she said she had lots of fun. I can't believe that she is really in Kindergarten! What a cute, crazy, bossy, & wonderful girl she is! I love her to pieces!


EMMA'S FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL

Emma BEFORE she went to Preschool...


























Emma WHEN she got to Preschool...


EMMA AFTER Preschool...


As you see in the pictures she was excited to go before we got there, but once we got there she flipped (typical female). I had to take Madelyn to school & I felt so bad leaving her crying, but I never got a phone call which normally means good news. When I went to pick her up she was grinning from ear to ear & had such a great time! What a stinking cute girl she is!!!



Here is another picture I thought was cute!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

5 MONTHS

Sophie is 5 months old & has actually changed quite a bit since last month! She is getting busier & is not as content just sitting on my lap. She started rolling over about a month ago, but now she is contantly rolling over to her stomach, which makes nap time a lot harder. She is still such a happy girl! Night time has gotten a little better, but still goes in spurts. She'll go 8-10 hrs. without waking up & the next night she'll go 4-5. The poor girl gets showered (at times hard) with love by her sisters, but I am so glad that they love her & want her ALL the time. Wow I am lucky! I keep trying to remind myself to count my blessings because it is so easy to get caught up in the every day life, that you loose focus on what is important. And right now what is important to me is my cute little family full of girls, emotional drama, caos, but most importantly LOVE!

Friday, August 22, 2008

Sydnee is in 1st grade

Where does the time go? I can't believe my Sydnee is already in first grade! She was so excited to start school & at first I was excited for her to go all day, but yesterday was her first day & it is a very long time! I missed her! Sydnee is such a smart & beautiful girl! She has a great memory & is reading really well. One of the things I love most about Sydnee is that she is so responsible! Sometimes I think that she is more than me. Not only that but she already has a testimony and it is so easy for her to follow the things that we should. Every night she reads a verse from the Book of Mormon, and I have to admit that she is more consistent than me. She bore her testimony at church the last testimony meeting & I was so proud of her. She has such a special & mature spirit about her, which she has always had!

Sydnee is such a great helper! I know I have posted about that before but she has helped me many times to keep my sanity. She also is a social butterfly! No matter where we are she always finds herself a new little friend. And whenever she leaves to ride her bike around the block, I have to go find her because she ends up stopping to talk to someone along the way.

Sydnee is a very special girl to me & I love her so much! I am so lucky to have my four completely different but equally wonderful girls!




Sunday, August 17, 2008

Nelson Family Reunion

Yesterday we had the Nelson family reunion & it was so great to see everyone that I hadn't seen in a long while! This first picture is of me & my cousins Heather & Tara. We had a lot of fun growing up together & have some great memories together!














Avery & Emma















Braden, Josh, Dylan, Riley, Avery, & Emma















Sydnee & Hannah



















Madelyn & Dylan