"I can't"

It is so easy to say "I can't". We put up all these roadblocks in our life because we simply say "I can't". This defeatist attitude robs us of attaining our goals and showing ourselves all that we are and all that we really can accomplish. Lots of times we fear failure and so it is just easier on our egos to refuse to try.

I am not immune to this self defeating behavior. I say "I can't" to lots of things. For example, I can't be the mom I want to be. So I settle for the mom I am today. And I can't be the wife I dream of because I am just too busy. So I settle for the wife I am. You know as well as I do that "settling" does not make you feel all that great. We desire to be better than we are. We want to surpass all of our greatest expectations. We want to "wow" ourselves. We long to be the woman that God desires us to be.

It doesn't matter in the least what anyone else thinks or tells us. We can hear all day that we are great mothers, wives, friends, sisters. But we know in our hearts that we are failing. We say "I can't" to changing our behavior and our attitudes because that would be too hard. We want the easy way out. We don't want to work for anything. Just as we all know that "settling" feels bad, we also know that working hard for something feels great. The end result, whatever it may be, is awesome.

You may wonder why in the world I am rambling this morning. Today was a running day at the gym. At mile five I started to question if I should go any further. I was having a mental battle about the real purpose in attaining that mile six that I was after. I was in a lot of pain, I was feeling nauseous and I just wanted to stop. But I knew if I stopped I would be saying "I can't". Did I really feel that way? Or was I just "settling"? Was I willing to come home and tell Aaron I just couldn't do that last mile? The answer was a very determined "No". I knew in my heart that regardless of how I was feeling physically, I could attain my goal.

And so I kept running. After running for an hour and 15 minutes I was able to collapse on the gym floor knowing I had accomplished what I came to do. Sure I felt horrible. But mentally I felt wonderful. I did not settle.

Now I just need to spend some time in prayer. And then begin to work on all those other areas of my life where I am "settling" for less than what God wants me to be.

The Cousins

We had Christmas at my moms house on Saturday. Here are a few pictures of all the cousins.

Molly opening her gift with Essie (hope you like the recipes!!).

Christmas at the Nelson house :)

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve. The kids played and relaxed all afternoon. I was able to complete a mini-tri at the gym (500 m swim, 10 mile bike, and2 mile run). And Aaron even took a nap :)

In the evening my dad came over to celebrate Christmas with us. The kids loved the gifts they received from Grandpa Tucker. Elliana especially LOVED her dollhouse. Here are some pictures… After spending time with Grandpa Tucker we headed over to Great-Grandpa Tuckers to socialize with the Tucker side of my family (that’s a lot of Tucker’s in one sentence!). It was a lot of fun and a much enjoyed time of reunion and relaxation with family. The boys were enthralled with Great-Grandpa Tucker’s extensive gun collection.

On the way home we saw Santa. He was getting into a Ford truck. Joshua was all excited and said “I didn’t know Santa drove a Ford.” Then he said “I hope he has been to our house already!” I told him Santa only comes when boys are asleep :) (Santa brings them their stocking stuff).

Christmas Eve night we have some special traditions. We all open up our Christmas “jammies” and read the Christmas story. The kids looked so cute in their jammies.Despite their excitement, they fell asleep rather quickly… This morning all three of our little angels woke up at 5 am! So we opened presents and enjoyed a wonderful Christmas morning together. After opening up gifts we enjoyed homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast.This evening we will have the Nelson Christmas :)

We hope you all had a wonderful day celebrating the best gift of all, Jesus our Savior :)

Middle Earth

Although I hate this weather, I am enjoying the whole stay at home thing. No driving the kids to lessons or running last minute errands. Just sitting in my warm house watching my kids be silly.

Joshua has decided that he is going on a trip to Mordor...the mom in me immediately thinks "What is he going to do to my house to make it look like Mordor???" But I am letting him run with his idea.... as far as I can.

Here are some shots of my beauties this afternoon. I am off to scrapbook (I am sooo far behind!).

Elliana and her cabbage patch kid :)

Joshua preparing for his trek into middle earth ...

Random..

It is so cold here (we are talking -20 windchills)! As a result we are really not doing much. But I did get some good pictures this weekend:)

What Elliana has to do to get a kiss...

Two peas in a pod....

Joshua and cousin Rachel

2 hours and 25 minutes later...

...and I am exhausted. Today I did a "block" (completed two portions of a triathlon consecutively). So I swam and then jumped out of the pool and headed to the bike. I was on that bike for an hour and 50 minutes! And I was going at a constant quick pace the entire time (round 100 rpm) for 28 miles :) The last 8 miles were so hard. I wanted to get off that bike so badly. But I stuck with it and finished :) I am so happy to be at home with my kids and my wonderful husband. I am done with the gym for the whole day :) Yeah!!!

The kids are so excited for Christmas. We still do the Santa thing at our house. So the boys have already decided what they are leaving out for him.

The most exciting thing going on in our lives right now is the return of two very special people. Jared and Michelle are back for Christmas! :) We loved being with them yesterday.

Try to stay warm and enjoy your weekend!

no joke...this is my life :)

We were relaxing, enjoying the snow falling outside. Nothing much exciting was happening. It was one of the peaceful moments that all moms long for and when they come, you never want them to end. Then…....no joke…....a gun fight breaks out…....boys and their guns…

Aaron hiding behind a kitchen chair. Asher joined daddy in his hiding place. Apparently it looked like a secure place to hide???

In walks the enemy (Joshua)..
I just love my family. Aaron is an amazing dad :)

Cookie Time!

We made cut out sugar cookies this weekend. A good time was had by all and the results were yummy :)

Here is the sugar cookie recipe that my family LOVES.

Best Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
1 Cup butter/margarine
1 Cup sugar
1 Egg
2 ½ Cups flour
½ teaspoon cream of tarter
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar and egg together. Add the dry ingredients. Refrigerate for one hour. Roll out and cut cookies. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes.

Icing:
3 Cups powdered sugar
1/3 Cup margarine-softened
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1-2 Tablespoons milk

This is how I found him...

On the couch reading.

No, it isn't Aaron (although they do look a lot alike).

His father will be very proud (he is reading "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe").

I hope you all have an amazing weekend!!

Recipe Time!!

I made two great new recipes this week...

Chicken Noodle Bake

Ingredients:
4 cups uncooked egg noodles
½ cup butter, divided
¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
3 ½ cups milk
4 cups cubed cooked chicken
2 jars (12 oz. Each) chicken gravy
Shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup dry bread crumbs
4 Tbs. Butter, melted

Cook noodles according to package directions.

Meanwhile melt 6 table spoons butter. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until smooth.

Gradually add milk.

Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened.

Remove from heat.

Stir in the chicken and gravy.
Drain noodles; toss with remaining butter.

Stir into chicken mixture.

Transfer to a greased 9 x 13 dish.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees or until bubbly.

Sprinkle cheese on top of casserole.

Combine bread crumbs and melted butter.

Sprinkle buttered bread crumbs on top of casserole.

Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Double Cheese Macaroni

Ingredients:
1 package (16 oz.) elbow macaroni 3 cups (24 oz.) cottage cheese
½ cup butter, cubed
½ cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. garlic salt
2 cups half and half cream
2 cup milk
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Topping:
1 cup dry bread crumbs
¼ cup butter, melted

Cook macaroni according to package directions.

Meanwhile, place cottage cheese in a food processor; cover and process until smooth. Set aside.
In large sauce pan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic salt until smooth. Gradually add cream and milk.

Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
Drain macaroni; transfer to large bowl.

Add the cheddar cheese, cottage cheese and white sauce; toss to coat.

Transfer to a greased 9 x 13 dish (it will be full).

Combine bread crumbs and butter; sprinkle over the top.
Bake, uncovered at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Aaron went back for thirds on the mac and cheese (it is soo yummy!).

Here are some cute pictures of my little ones...

Joshua is always building something cool with his Lego's. This is his newest creation..can you guess what it is....

....it's Wall-E!

Did I mention I was tired...

I couldn't resist taking a picture of my beauty getting into "trouble".

She is lucky she is so cute..

We spend a lot of time reading during school. Here is a picture of Joshua reading to the rest of the "class".

Asher had to stop school for just a second to give his sister a hug (one of the many benefits of homeschooling :)

What a blessing it is to hear my oldest singing "sing your praise, sing your praise, sing your praise" while he is doing his school work. If he was in a "regular" classroom he would have to sit quietly...that is so sad.

Two posts in one day (along with school, laundry, dishes, and cleaning)!! WooHoo! I am rockin' today...did I mention I am tired..... :)

Tired...So Tired....

Someone remind me why I get up at 4:45 every morning and go to the gym (and then go back to the gym in the afternoon, sometimes). And while I am complaining about being tired, how does all this dirt get in my house? Why does the laundry always end up in the hamper...I just washed that!! Why do all my kids LOVE to ask me questions... all ...the ...time...


Alright I am done complaining. I am just really tired today. Although I am exhausted, I am also extremely happy. I heard a great saying on the radio this morning from Dr. Dobson. I am sure I won't say it word for word but I think this is how it goes... When you are envious of others you are essentially saying that God is not taking care of you. How sad is that. I am so thankful to be content with what I have been given in this life. I think growing up with nothing helps me to appreciate all the little things that God does for me everyday. I mean I have a wonderful family, a home, a minivan (I mean how wonderful is the minivan! I don't just have a car, I have a minivan people!).


I could go on and on listing all the material items that God has blessed us with. But really it is the emotional and spiritual things that matter the most. I have an amazing husband who loves me to death (and I him). And I have been blessed with three wonderful children. Those are wonderful things that I am so very grateful for. But even more importantly I have a Heavenly Father who loves and cherishes me at all times. So today in the midst of my exhaustion I will be focusing on my blessings.


One of which is this little girl...Thank you Lord for providing everything we need...

a little of everything...

We have snow, and quite a lot of it. The boys are LOVING playing outside right now. I am not a cold weather person. For the life of me I don't understand why they love to spend so much time in the snow. I think that kids must not feel how awfully cold it is outside. I have promised to build them an awesome snow fort when we get more snow. But until then I will watch their joy from inside my warm and cozy house.

Asher's ants arrived! He is loving his new pets. He named them all Asher :) In fact the whole family enjoys watching these cool insects create themselves a home.

Joshua is a great reader. When we come back from the library he will spend a ton of time sitting on the couch immersed in his new books. Here is a picture of him reading to Elliana.

Eliana decided that Joshua needed a kiss, while he was reading to her. She is so sweet.

Elliana loves to spend time with "mommy". And I just love spending time with her :) Here is a picture of Elliana and "mommy" making homemade chocolate chip cookies. I just adore that silly smile.

Today Joshua did an experiment in school. When he completes an experiment he does an entire write up in his science notebook (hypothesis, experiment and results). He LOVES doing experiments. Today he made it rain in a cup. He put hot water in a cup, placed plastic wrap on top of the cup. And finally he placed ice cubes on top of the plastic wrap. I few seconds later it started to rain :) He thought it was pretty cool. Here are a couple pictures of our science lesson.

Joshua snagged the camera and took a picture of his "teacher" :) To think that I used to get dressed up to teach (in my former life as a high school teacher). As a SAHHM (stay at home homeschooling mom) I get to wear whatever I want :) WOOOHOOO!

Only two more weeks of school until Christmas break! I guess that means I only have two weeks left to do our Christmas shopping..YIKES!! (you all better email me your christmas lists, otherwise you are all getting chocolate-and you have to share!!)

One last note, I made the BEST lasagna this week and I just have to share the recipe. It makes a lot and freezes great....

Lasagna

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 pound sausage
3 can (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
2 cans (6 ounces each) tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
3 eggs
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
3 cups (24 ounces) small curd cottage cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
9 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
6 slices provolone cheese
3 cups (12 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Cook beef and sausage, drain. Add next 7 ingredients. Simmer uncovered 1 hour. Stirring occasionally. In a bowl combine eggs, parsley, cottage cheese and Parmesan cheese. Spread 1 cup meat sauce in ungreased 9 x 13 pan. Layer with 3 noodles, provolone cheese, 2 cups cottage cheese mixture, 1 cup mozzarella, 3 noodles, 2 cups meat sauce, remaining cottage cheese mixture and 1 cup mozzarella. Top with remaining noodles, meat sauce and mozzarella. Cover and bake 375 degrees for 50 minutes. Uncover and cook 20 minutes longer.