Happy Birthday Joshua!!!!!!!

Joshua woke up at 4 am this morning. He was a tad bit excited because today is his birthday!! My baby is seven years old. I remember his first birthday (insert weeping). Time is going by way too fast. Anyway, back to this morning. The other kids got up at 7 am and we opened gifts. As you can see from the following photos, Joshua was very happy with his presents.

(this is Aaron bringing in his presents..)

He is a little excited :)
We will be making his cake this afternoon. He made a Lego Waterhorse to go on top of his cake. I love it when he uses his imagination. This evening his cousins will be coming over and then later in the evening the rest of the Nelson clan will stop by. It is going to be a great day for my birthday boy.

Another big milestone happened last night. Elliana was starting to lift her leg to climb out of her crib so we moved her to a toddler bed. She LOVES it! Here are some adorable pictures of our beauty enjoying her first real bed.

Why are you here?

I Corinthians 6:20
For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

I Corinthians 10:31
Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

We have been put here on earth to glorify God. In an instant He could take us from this life and bring us home. But He hasn’t, you and I are still living and breathing right here on earth. Why? In what way are we glorifying God? Perhaps it is in the way we are submissive to our husbands or the way we raise our children. Could it be the way we care for our friends or maybe even our enemies?

When I look at my children I can see all the potential they have to change this world. When God looks at us He doesn’t just see what we could do to change this world. In all His wisdom He knows what we will accomplish. He is fully aware of all that we will do to glorify Him. Only He knows how our actions will point others to Him.

Will the mountains of laundry and dirty dishes that we tackle day in and day out really glorify God? If you are completing these tasks with a gracious and submissive attitude, others will be blessed (especially your children and your husband). When we bless people with a Godly attitude we are pointing them to the reason for that attitude.

There is some way or maybe many ways that we are or will glorify God with our words and actions. So why is God keeping you here? What potential does He see in you?

Oh my...

My sister Molly posted this song on her blog a few days ago. It makes me appreciate even more my role as a mom. As many of you know getting pregnant with Elliana was no easy task. We lost two babies in three months and then waited four months before we were blessed with another pregnancy. It was not an easy 10 months. I was heavily medicated the first three months and then on bed rest at 35 weeks.But as you all know Elliana was worth it all. I would do far more than that to have my beauty. We thought all was well the evening she was born, we were finally going to meet our little girl. But things did not go as well as we had planned.

The night of her birth we started to notice complications. Her glucose levels were low, she was put on oxygen and her breathing was much too fast. These problems led to a week stay in the hospital for our little girl. There were many times when it crossed my mind that I might be leaving the hospital without my little girl. I remember holding her at one of those low times. I was in the nursery waiting for her test results. The nurse came in and told me the results and I just turned away from her and cried. I remember hearing the nurse whisper “I’m sorry”. It was awful, but it had such a great ending :) Thank you Lord for my little girl!!!

So enjoy the song and remember how blessed you are to be a mom (naturally or through adoption).

She is ALL girl, but...

...she can hold her own in a light saber fight :) That's my girl :)

The "lay on your back and put your feet in the air" maneuver is helpful in avoiding Elliana's "hitting you in the head" maneuver...

WooooHooo!!

What a great day!! My wonderful husband came home for lunch and literally swept me off my feet. The boys thought it was very funny. And we all laughed until Joshua got his tickle fingers going. I was being held up in the air and tickled at the same time. Oh the joys of motherhood!

But it gets better, not only did Aaron brighten my day but I won something!! WooHoo!! I have been posting recipes for the recipe swap and Jill Savages blog for several days. I checked today and I won!! Yeah!! I get a free cookbook!!

The boys are enjoying their last week of summer break. On Monday morning they will start school. I have been holding myself back for weeks. I so want to jump right in and get started. But my wise husband keeps telling me to wait a little longer. So I have been patient. Even though I hate being patient, I am glad we waited and let the boys enjoy some much needed rest and relaxation before diving into the next school year. I will have some great first day of school pictures on Monday.

Elliana seems to have healthy ears at the moment. That is such a blessing to us. She has had 6 ear infections since May. That is just too much for such a little girl. Less important, but still stinky is that fact that when she has an ear infection Aaron and I lose a lot of sleep.

Hope you are all having a great Monday!!

I think that in the mundane activities of parenthood we often forget to count our blessings. Maybe dinner doesn’t turn out the way we expected or we don’t get to do what “we” want to do. Regardless of the source of our frustrations the result is all the same, we become blind to what God has blessed us with.

I was sitting at t-ball with my two little ones when I overheard a heartbreaking conversation. I was relaxing next to my beautiful children who were wearing nice clothes, eating snacks and playing with a big tub of toys. The man next to me (a fellow parent) was lamenting that he didn’t get many hours this week at work. Another parent asked him where he worked, his response… Wal-Mart.

I instantly felt about 1 inch tall. Wal-Mart is a fine place to work. But it is obviously not a career that provides stable income. I live in the land of security. I am well cared for in every way. Which makes it easy to forget how much I have compared to those around me.

So my advice for today is count your blessings and help those in need. Be thankful for the roof over your head, food on your table and the relationships that God has blessed you with.

In that vein here are pictures of my three blessings.

Recipe Swap #4

Cinnamon Ripple Muffins

Ingredients:
Ripple:
½ cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter, cut in pieces
¼ cup flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Batter:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, @ room temp.
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup sugar
½ cup milk

Combine ripple ingredients, use mixer to blend, set aside.
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Line or grease twelve muffin cups.
Whisk together flour, powder, soda and salt. Set aside.
Beat butter and sugar with mixer.
Add eggs, milk and vanilla, mix again.
Add dry ingredients.
Hand mix in ripple.
Divide batter into muffin cups.
Bake approximately 17 minutes.
Use toothpick to test. Makes 1 dozen muffins.
Here is a link back to Jill Savages blog.

Recipe Swap #3

Italian Beef Sandwiches

INGREDIENTS
3 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 bay leaf
2 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
1 (5 pound) chuck roast
1 green pepper

DIRECTIONS
Combine water with salt, ground black pepper, oregano, basil, onion salt, parsley, garlic powder, bay leaf, and salad dressing mix in a saucepan. Stir well, and bring to a boil.
Place roast in slow cooker, and pour salad dressing mixture over the meat.
Cover, and cook on Low for 10 to 12 hours, or on High for 4 to 5 hours. When done, remove bay leaf, and shred meat with a fork.
Add green pepper 1 ½ hours before it is done (big pieces, not to eat, for flavor).

Here is the link back to Jill Savage's blog.

So indulge me :)

I received an email with a notice that there would soon be pictures available from the triathlon. I had no idea that anyone was taking pictures. So here are some more cool pictures from the triathlon :)

This is me coming out of the lake…
http://www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?userid=bpadilla&gallery_id=1190018&image_id=101

In this picture I am behind the women coming in…
http://www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?userid=bpadilla&gallery_id=1189973&tcount=1355&scount=370

Here I am crossing the finish line!!
http://www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?userid=bpadilla&gallery_id=1189973&image_id=370

I promise to post some non-triathlon pictures tomorrow :)

Recipe Swap!! #2

Cherry Cheesecake

Ingredients:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick margarine- melted
½ cup powdered sugar
1 package (8ounces) cream cheese- softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1- 12 ounce package of Cool Whip
Canned Pie Filling- strawberry or cherry

Crust:
Mix graham cracker crumbs, melted margarine and ½ cup powdered sugar. Press firmly in a 9 x 13 cake pan.

Next:
Beat together the cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, vanilla and Cool Whip until smooth. Spread over crust. Top with pie filling. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Here is a link back to Jill Savage's blog.

Recipe Swap!!

Barbecue and Bacon Sandwiches

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
15 slices cooked bacon, broken into pieces
Famous Dave’s Rich and Sassy barbecue sauce (or your favorite)

Brown ground beef and cook bacon. Add all ingredients to a slow cooker heat until warm through out. Serve on buns.

Here is a link Back to Jill Savages blog.

The Results Are In :)

I finished #108 out of 141 (both men and women). I beat 33 people!! :) How fun :)

I completed the 500 meter swim in 13 minutes 5 seconds. After this portion I was # 58 out of 141! That means I swam faster than 83 people!! In April I didn't even know how to swim!!

My T1 (transition one) time was pretty slow. I sat down and tried to get the water out of my rain drenched socks. My T1 time was 4 minutes 46 seconds. I will definitely be getting this down next year (hopefully it won't rain :)

I completed the 40 kilometer bike ride in 1 hour, 29 minutes and 58 seconds.

My T2 time was 2 minutes 14 seconds.

The final portion of the triathlon was the run. A lamented that portion of the race in yesterday's post. My run time for the 5K was 36 minutes and 24 seconds. Which is actually better than I thought. After the run I was #108!

My age division was 30-34 year old women. In this group I was number 8 out of 12. So I beat 4 women in my age group :) It was neat to divide the totals by actual event. In my age group I was #7 in the swim, #5 in the bike and #12 in the run (not to surprised :).

When the men are taken out of the picture, I beat 14 of the Sprint women (includes all the age groups). When the women are taken out, I beat 15 of the Sprint men (includes all the age groups).

I am excited by my times and I look forward to beating them next year!!

Here is the link to the race results.

I DID IT!!!!!! WOOOHOOO!!!!!

This morning at 7:33am I started the swim portion of my very first triathlon. I stepped into the murky green water and happily waited for my turn to start. In fact I was not nervous at all. As you all know that is so not me. I know God was giving me His peace as I stood in the water waiting for the official to blow the starting horn (thanks to all those who prayed for me this morning!!). I took off with the sound of the horn and focused on technique and trying to go in the proper direction. Going in the proper direction was the hardest part of the swim. I was so afraid I would swim off course. With a large number of people swimming in a small area it is hard to see anything. But I was actually able to finish the swim without going off course (WooHoo!).

It was very sad to see people faltering in the water. Several men were moaning and clinging to the life boats. I just prayed for their safety and remembered that God was swimming right there next to me. He was my companion in the midst of waves and fatigue.

After the swim I ran to the transition area and put on my race number and grabbed my helmet, sunglasses and my bike. You are not allowed to ride your bike until you exit the transition area. So I took off running with my beloved bike and as soon as I could, I got on and took off for my 27 mile ride. I have forgotten to relay to you all an important piece of information; it was raining…a lot. At first it seemed that this might dampen the fun of the day. But really it would have been so much harder if it was sunny and hot. Plus, the wind was so powerful I was going 22-24 miles per hour on flat roads! That was AWESOME! (Of course that was on the way back, the way out was into the wind, which was a little bit harder). So I praised God for the rain and the wind.

After the bike ride I ran my bike to my spot in the transition area, took off my helmet and set out on the 5K run. I have known all along that I would most likely be run/walking the 5K. But I was pleasantly surprised at how much energy I had. I felt GREAT. I wasn’t tired and I even had a volunteer comment on the smile on my face (I was having a blast!). But my knee was not feeling so great. My ITB was acting up horribly (ITB=ilotibial band, a tendon that runs across the front of your knee, when it hurts the tendon is scraping across the knee bones, ya it REALLY hurts).

Basically when I am running and my ITB starts to cause problems it feels like I am literally breaking my leg. It is extremely painful. So I regardless of how much energy I had my knee made me run/walk the 5K. I would run until it was painful and then walk until the pain went away.

However, at the end I had a runner encourage me in a not so nice manner. I believe she yelled “Come on!!”. So you all know me and you know what I did next. No amount of pain was going to stop me. I took off and sprinted past her (she did pass me like 8 seconds before the finish line, but boy was she surprised!). I finished at about 10:00 a.m.

I am officially a triathlete! WOOHOO!!!!! I can’t wait until next year!!!

I need to add one more important piece of information. I was not alone at the triathlon. My wonderful husband was there cheering me on and taking pictures. He was a very welcome site throughout the entire event. Here are some pictures he took…

This is me before the swim.

This is a picture of the swim start. All those people are preparing to swim to the same location, it is chaos!

Me in the transition area getting ready for the bike portion.

I am on the right, coming in from the bike ride.

Sprinting to the finish line :)

Spending time with Aaron after the race :)

Me and my bike after the race...

Our after triathlon healthy lunch..Steak & Shake !!

So True, So True...

Even with laundry piled to the windows, we can be grateful that the God who clothes the lilies has graciously chosen to clothe us. Even amid the crying mayhem, we can remember God has blessed our children with healthy lungs. Even when our jogging shoes stick to the kitchen floor, we can thank Him for the floors and the Kool-Aid that stains them.-
Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God- Mary E. DeMuth

It's All About the Shoes!!

Elliana is a girly girl and I LOVE it :)

Pedaling for Kicks Pictures!!!

Check out the Fellowship of Christian Farmers for some rather embarrassing pictures of Aaron and I.

Isn't there a law about taking pictures of people when they have no idea?? If not there really should be!

Family Update

This weekend was just crazy busy. On Saturday Aaron and I completed a 40 mile bike ride together. The original plan was to do the 67.5 mile route. But we woke up to severe thunder storms that changed our start time by about 2 hours. It was a great time and we are already looking forward to next year.

On Sunday we took the family to a local beach. This particular beach happens to be where my triathlon will be held this coming Saturday. So I was able to get in some laps in the lake water in preparation. It was not as bad as I had imagined. I think I will be just fine for the swim portion. Aaron said "wow you can really swim". He is so cute :)

The kids and I are taking it easy this week. We are going to baseball and playing at home :) Hope you are all doing great!

9 Days and counting!!!!

Only 9 days until I complete my very first triathlon!! WooHoo!! To say I am excited would be an understatement. I have spent a lot of time training. This has been my work out schedule for what seems like forever:

Monday- one hour of weights in the morning, swim instruction in the evening
Tuesday- one hour of spin in the morning
Wednesday- one hour of weights in the morning, one hour of running in the evening
Thursday- 45 minutes of swim in the morning
Friday- 45 minutes spin and 15 minutes weights both in the morning

Those have been my definite training times. Add to that the normal being outdoors with three kids (aka biking while pulling 120 + pounds) and I have been getting a lot of extra exercise as well.

Physically I am ready; mentally I need to spend some time in prayer. Ya know how you get yourself all excited about something and then you get nervous and then you get excited again and then nervous…and it goes on and on. That is what I am dealing with right now. I love the excited moments, not to fond of the nervous times. So I am going to spend extra time casting all my cares at the feet of the Father. I know from experience that only He can give me true peace and joy.

Aside from the triathlon in 9 days, Aaron and I have a grand adventure in just two days!! We will be completing a 67.5 mile bike ride on Saturday!! We are both really excited and can’t wait to get away together.

Hope you are all having a great day!!

Recipe Time!!

I have long been searching for an amazing homemade brownie mix and now my search is over. My family loves this recipe and it is quick and easy to throw together :)

Best Brownies

Ingredients:
½ Cup melted butter
1 Cup Sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
½ cup unsifted flour
1/3 cup Hershey’s cocoa
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

Blend oil, sugar and vanilla in mixing bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually ad to eggs mixture until well blended. Spread in greased 9 inch square pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until brownie begins to pull away from edge of pan. Cool in pan.

Love, Love, Love this song!!!

A GREAT mom song! :)

Hair Accessories!!!

Having two boys before unveiling Gods blessing of my little girl, I never even glanced at the baby girl hair accessories. Now that my beauty is growing gorgeous light brown hair I needed some equipment to tame her locks. So I purchased some hair clips. They were really cute and really expensive.

Last Friday I got the “do it yourself” bug. So I started making hair clips for my beautiful daughter's growing glory. Here are a few of her newer hair accessories… They look much better on my little model :)

If you would like some, let me know (at no cost, of course). I would love to bless you!