Happy Birthday Andrew

Andrew turned 4 on May 27th. How is that possible? Why are all of my boys growing so fast?

Things I love about Andrew:

1. His craziness- no matter how serious the situation Andrew is always happy. You can't get mad at this boy...it's not possible.

2. His energy- Ever since he was a baby he has wanted to roll/crawl/walk/run faster than he is able. He has so much energy, but boy does he take great naps!

3. His sincerity- He will frequently at very random moment stop to tell me how much he loves me, or to thank me for some random thing that I have long forgotten. He is so sincere.

4. His ability to reason- This boy has never been a tantrum thrower. It is amazing to me how he always respects our decisions. If I don't let him have something he wants, his response goes something like this, "Oh, ok maybe later I could have that". I am constantly surprised at how laid back he is.

5. His politeness- He tries really hard to be polite. I have tried to teach him to say, "May I please have....". Whatever it is he is trying to be polite about he throws the word "may" in there as if that is the polite way to say anything. When he and Will start to argue over a toy he will say,"will you may not do that". Or if he wants something passed to him at dinner he will say,"can I may have some of that?" It makes me smile.

6.He is laid back- Details don't bother him. He has a girl in his primary class that shares his birthday. She sent him an invitation to her birthday party which happened to be a "princess" party. He is the only boy in that age group so the party would be all girls and him. The invitation said that all the girls would be dressed up in princess dresses but that he could dress as a prince if he wanted. So everything about this was a little worrisome for me. I was feeling so bad that his first birthday party invite he would have to turn down because it was a "girl" party. So, I approached it very delicately with him not wanting to stress the "princess" part. He was so excited. He had no reservations about any of the details of the party. He was thrilled to dress as a prince. I was so happy to see that the mother hosting the party actually made up some boy party favors for him. He had a wonderful time and didn't say one bad thing about his "princess" party.

7. He is so handsome- He has such beautiful skin (Thanks to Brent). He has such nice hair. He has beautiful eyes.

OK the list goes on, but I can not. I love Andrew so much and I am so happy that he is part of our family.

Congratulations Will!

Will graduated from preschool last week. He did so well this year. He loves learning. He misses his teacher and his friends. He has a little girl that he says he is going to marry. Every day he tells me how much he misses her. He drew a cute picture the other day of the two of them playing at recess. He drew hearts all over the page and at the top he drew a sad face because he misses her. I had him mail it off to her today so she knew how much he misses her. He made such good friends. He had such a wonderful preschool experience. We are so proud of him.

Will's First Helicopter Ride

I had the opportunity to take another helicopter ride to take some aerial photos of the Temple. I was able to bring Brent and Will with me. We had such a great time taking Will. He was so excited. You can see it in his face. He absolutely loved it.

I am so blessed to have this calling. I have had such amazing experiences. I am so happy that I am able to share some of them with my family. We are so blessed.

Photo Update-Why I love my life!

Have I mentioned how happy this guy makes me? ...keep reading

Wow he is so stinking cute.

I love a good photograph. This photo represents so many things to me that make me happy. 1. Jacob wanting to do everything his big brothers do. 2. Andrew taking such good care of his little brother. 3. Grandam's house. That makes us all happy. 4. Summer time- the fact that the weather is nice enough to be outside.

My college roommates. They are all such beautiful, amazing girls. It was so fun to get together for a little reunion 2 weeks ago. I haven't seen them since college (8 years ago). I have been so blessed to have such wonderful people be a part of my life. I am so proud of all of them for the good women, wives and mothers they are. They are such great examples to me. I love you Kim, Laura and Michelle.

Let's do it again.

Spring is here! I LOVE SPRING! I love that the earth comes alive again. I love all the beautiful blossoms. I feel like my spirit comes alive in the spring. I can't get enough of being outdoors, and observing the beauty of the earth. It makes me so happy.

I love this picture! This is Brent's grandma Lucille. She is 84 and just adores all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She loves to spend time with our boys but she is limited in what she can do with them. She always talks about how she feels bad that she can't run around and play with them like she used to with her grandchildren. I think that is all she sees our boys do is run around and so she feels like she can't do much. The other day she dropped by to see us for a minute and Andrew asked if she would read him a story. He climbed right up on her lap and handed her a book. I think it was a special moment for her as it was for us. She is a wonderful woman and I am so thankful for everything she does for our family, but most importantly the love that she gives to our boys. We love you Grandma Lucy!

One of the greatest sources of JOY in my life comes from this little guy. He truly makes me a happy person. Whenever he walks into a room and sees someone he loves he makes this happy, shouting, groaning noise with a huge smile on his face as he runs to give you a hug. The best part is that it happens every time he sees me through the day. Every time I leave the room and come back, he is so excited to see me. I absorb all the loves and cuddles he gives because I know that it won't last long. They grow too fast.

Jacob you make me smile!

One thing that we have enjoyed as a family for the past couple of years is tagging along with Dad as he travels to continuing education courses across the state. We go to Boise a lot. We stay in a hotel, eat out, swim...party, and the next day while dad is in meetings, I go do something fun with the kids. This photo was at the Boise Zoo. I just realized the other day that we may not have these experiences much anymore because Will will be in kindergarten next year.

This is my niece Teya. I was able to spend a couple of weeks with my sister Jaime and her daughter in April. I love spending time with family.

This is Will's preschool class. We have been so blessed this year to have him be a part of such a wonderful group of kids. He has such a wonderful teacher. I am so happy for Will that he has something in his life that is just his, and he is so happy with it.

Only the Nielson family can appreciate this picture. :)

I love that my two oldest are so close. They have such a good relationship and they love being together. Andrew enjoyed being able to go to all of Will's preschool field trips. Will helped him fit right in with the rest of his friends.

Will took a field trip to the bowling alley with his preschool class. He is a pretty good little bowler.

Will participated in Spring Soccer this year. This was our first "sports" experience with our kids. His experience was positive because his dad was there with him having fun. It was fun to sit on the sidelines and watch them play together.

The Host

Just wondering if anyone has started reading...or maybe already finished Stephenie Meyer's new book The Host? How does it compare to the Twilight series? I just got it today and I am excited to start it. Let me know your thoughts!

Happy Birthday Brent!

Today is Brent's 29th Birthday! I have never been too successful at surprising Brent on his Birthday, or any other holiday for that matter. He always knows exactly what he is getting, or not getting and that seems to put bit of a damper on things for me. As I prepared for his birthday this year I was excited to get him a couple of things that would certainly surprise him. Well come to find out the boys spilled the beans and so no more surprises for Brent :(

Feeling saddened by this I began to think of ways I could make his Birthday wonderful without having to surprise him with anything. As I said my prayers this morning and thanked my Heavenly Father for the wonderful man that I married, I realized that if he knows how loved and appreciated he is, that will help him to have a very happy birthday!

So Brent, my birthday wish to you today is that you know how much I love you. You are the greatest blessing in my life. Since the day we met, you have made me want to be a better person. After being together for 8 years now (WOW!) I hope that I am. Your hard work and sacrifice is noticed each day. Thank you for all you do as a husband and father to make my life, and our children's lives so happy. You are my dream man. Thank you for being you. I love you!