Amazing!

This video is a true story. Watch it with Kleenex...

Pumpkin Carving!!

We always carve our pumpkins a few days before halloween and tonight was the night :)

The boys had specific directions for dad. Asher wanted a scary face and Joshua wanted the word "Mordor". A good time was had by all!

Roar!!

Elliana is going to be a lioness for Halloween :)

Let Christians Vote As Though They Were Not Voting

Just thought I would share perhaps the best thing I have read about this whole mess this election season.

"...So it is with voting. There are losses. We mourn. But not as those who have no hope. We vote and we lose, or we vote and we win. In either case, we win or lose as if we were not winning or losing. Our expectations and frustrations are modest. The best this world can offer is short and small. The worst it can offer has been predicted in the book of Revelation. And no vote will hold it back. In the short run, Christians lose (Revelation 13:7). In the long run, we win (21:4)."
John Piper

Read the whole thing here.

The appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. (1 Corinthians 7:29-31)

A Long Update :)

The weeks are just flying by these days. The kids are doing great and they are VERY excited for Halloween. Aaron and I are doing well also. Not much new is going on just living life with three active kids. Here are some pictures of our little ones…

Elliana spilled some water on the table and decided to clean it up by herself. We walked in as she was getting a towel out of the kitchen drawer. She is a smarty!

I try and cuddle my “baby” whenever I can. She is growing up so fast. I measured her and she has sprouted up 3 ½ inches in 6 months! She may end up being taller than her ma ma (I know, I know, that would not be too difficult). We headed out to a local pumpkin patch to get our pumpkins for Halloween. The boys had fun playing in the hay and Elliana enjoyed petting the cat and riding in the wagon.

My handsome husband ;-)I have several songs that I listen to while I run. They fuel my heart and give me energy to get through the hour of sweat and discomfort. One that I have been playing a lot lately is Martina McBrides “Blessed”. It is exactly how I feel right now. I know I can speak for Aaron and say that he feels the same way. We have been blessed with three wonderful children and an amazing marriage.

Enjoy the song, sing along and feel blessed!

Things never slow down around here..

...and that is how I like it :)

Joshua has had some huge accomplishments this summer and early fall. He has mastered riding his bike and putting his head under the water in the pool. He is really enjoying his swimming lessons. I even watched in amazement as he practiced rotary breathing :)

But cooler than all of those things was what happened last weekend. He went off the diving board!!! All by himself with no noodle or anything. That is HUGE! He loves the diving board now. When we left the pool he told me he wanted to hug it :)

Here is a picture of Joshua reading to Asher.

Elliana wearing mama's shows :)

Give Me Your Eyes-Brandon Heath

This is a song the boys and I love :)

Enjoy!

Give Me Your Eyes

So Cute!

Here are some pictures of my little cowgirl :)

little update on us

I can’t believe it has been a week since I last updated everyone. Time is going by way to fast. We are in our 9th week of school and I have found something else to occupy two or three hours of my week (which is a lot considering how busy we already are these days).

I have been struggling to get my running in every week (for my tri training). I was spending 5 hours a week at the gym (in the mornings) and I just could not see where I could fit in two or three more hours to work on my running. (For those of you freaking out over five hours in the gym, in tri- world that is NOTHING.)

Anyway, I figured out a way to get my running in during the day after school is done. So I am a very happy camper. My training hours are now 7 to 8 hours/week (WooHoo!).

If that is not enough, we are also throwing together a garage sale to get rid of all the extra “stuff” around the house. Including….gulp….the crib. Yes it is going away, never to enter this house again. One would think I would be sad about such a loss. But actually I am ecstatic!! I have been blessed with three healthy, wonderful children and I am DONE! I think my body would have a heart attack if I even thought about housing another little one in my rather stocky mid-section. I mean really, human skin can only be stretched so much before it just gives up (you all know how GIGANTIC I get).

Anyway, enough rambling, my students are waiting.

The Nelson Cooking School for Brilliant Chefs!! :)

My little chefs are learning how to cook a big family dinner from scratch. They are making:

-Brown Sugar Glazed Ham
-Cheesy Potatoes
-Grandma Sandy’s Famous Thanksgiving Rolls
-Homemade Brownies

Class is complete!! Now we have to wait for Aaron to get home so we can eat :) Here are all the pictures that I took during our two hour long cooking class....

The two oldest chefs making rolls (they each cracked an egg- that was fun! :)...

Elliana LOVES the bread machine!!
The boys making the brown sugar glaze...

Preparing the ham (they are so silly)

Joshua putting the ham in the oven (the oven was not on yet) Asher making brownies (he was very interested in the cocoa)..

Elliana running off with my cookbook :)

Joshua getting the eggs ready for the brownies.

The boys getting the dough ready for the rolls :)