6.27.18 Smelling the Roses

The girls love to pick flowers from our sparse collection of yard decoration. They make pretty bouquets and work to enliven our home. Bruce of course was helping and brought me this lovely blossom. They are charming!

 My no naps lady often loads my phone with random selfies pictures of books, the house, outside, the couch. She is particular in how life works and very artistic in her world view. She is learning to sound out words, count, and write. She has a knack for poetry memorization and a real skill with coloring. She recently showed a knack for dressing stuffed animals with odd bits of clothes she created. She adds details and creates coverings with items heretofore un-imagined.  I love seeing what she comes up with.

At dinner on Friday night it was announced the pigs were completely out of feed. BEing that each day counts heavily (ha-ha) towards making weight this was not good news. We hurriedly hooked up the trailer gathered collection totes and buckets and headed to fill our buckets with corn from Corn farms. 

 Can you spot Bruce carrying his small bucket? He is always so happy to help. He carried several loads.

I think the best part of this pig project is the continued and essential camaraderie that is necessary to make it happen. FRom the teamwork of getting and processing the feed ( I helped Mark with that this weekend that's a big job!!) to the morning/evening walking or running and chasing the pigs it is a group effort. Granted Reed usually fills in for Harold it is still a group suffering/working/fighting/laughing together. I think that's the greatest reassurance of this large family is they have each other. Cousins included. They've had some time with cousins on both sides lately and it's been rejuvenating to share some life with them and see/hear that they are having a similar experience on their growing up journey. LIfe may not be all roses, neither is it all misery. Friends along the way with the added benefit of blood relations sure help ease the load and add merriment to most any situation. We are thankful to have so many to share this life with.

6.26.18 Father's Day

There's a lot of talk about self-esteem in this rising generation lately. Or better stated the lack of self-esteem in the kids today and the disturbing trend toward suicide. I think a lot of self-esteem comes from dad interactions. Dad's challenge, don't accept less, encourage, and believe in better than you think you can be. This father's day was interesting. 

We are in the two ships passing in the dark phase of marriage. Little time of leisure or even shared normal activies as we are both doing as much as possible to keep those ships floating. It's not super fun but their are some big rewards family wise. 

After a nice family picnic we stopped at KEvin's the boys were in awe of this sweet toy of his. 

Randomly I looked over while visiting with my sisters and realized holy cow these ladies all bare a strong resemblance. I often wonder if there is any of my genetics in these kids of mine but that night yep at least one looked to be from my side of the family. 

I'm thankful for the impact family has on mine. PRoviding wisdom, reassurance, examples, and sometimes just fun it's a relief to have family close by.
Meanwhile outside the kids were playing too. Enjoying each other's company and imaginations. IT was a good night.

Sweet times made possible by hard working, long suffering, full of endure to the end commitment of dads. I'm sure thankful for the rock my dad has been and am working to fully appreciate the different yet important way Greg father's our children. He makes my life possible and is always encouraging me onward.  From tenderly leading me to bed each night after rescuing me from sleeping with Bruce in his bed, to being the enforcer, to teaching our kids (they sure seem to remember what he says more than me), to showing us his strong example of devoted service he blesses us daily.  Dad's are pretty grand and important and I'm thankful for the multitude of them that surround and influence my family.

6.25.18 Worm on Sunday

Sometimes we eat Roast beef and sometimes ham but this Sunday it looked like Livy was branching out to worms!

 

No she was actually teasing Millie and teaching Aliza.

 Millie played her part well screaming and grimacing when approached by the worm. Livy is such a bug person ( and loves to tease Millie). She often catches moths, butterflies, lady bugs, flies etc.

It was a beautiful Sunday night spent relaxing in the shade pitting SOUR cherries just visiting. Again soaking up some rare all together family time. 

This guy graced me with a rare selfie.  Actually he was trying out the timer on the camera.  He's so curious and able. He had went up to take care of some irrigation maintenance for GRandpa. He's off to camp again so we are missing him as he goes and grows some more this weekend. It's hard to believe he is almost grown up. While helping him prepare his Sunday lesson we were mapping out how long and what he needed to do to be prepared for a mission in 3 short years. Wow that's close! Happily he's developing many necessary skills and abilities that are preparing him for that journey. Even using technology which will be a big part of his time away from home. Hopefully he won't have to eat worms though!

6.25.18 Trying new stuff

The oldest girls were gone last week. Boy was that different. I decided I better get some hobbies or something because man was the house lonely without my big talkers around. I attempted to practice some piano songs. This big helper came to share the bench with me and was the most insistent kid I've ever had on not sharing the keyboard. He then moved onto just plain sitting on the keys and that short piano practice session was quickly over. 

I also decided to try some more adventurous cooking. The daily need for sustenance is amazing this summer and I'm cooking more than I ever remember. Coupled with the resulting dishes mess I rarely leave the kitchen. MAybe that's why the daily walk I get to take is so refreshing.
Tortillas are pretty fast and painless with this sweet gadget. A tortilla press. So nice!

And because I'm supposed to be eating lots of protein and low sugar breakfast sandwiches. I made the english muffins from scratch. It was pretty easy and not too involved. They were yummy and the batch made about 24 which is like $5.00 to buy so if bored it wasn't a bad trade off. This looks like a lot but it's about one meal for all the hungry bodies here. Sigh! 

Oh well, I'm thankful for some electric appliances and a dishwasher that does  at least  1/3 of the dishes. And I'm even more grateful my older girls are home!! They breathe life  and excitement into our family and calm to my soul. I know I shouldn't be so dependent on them, but I truly lean on them a lot as I get more and more unable to do things as I increase in size. They easily glide in and pick up the pieces and keep us moving along.
Saturday night we finally had everyone home under our roof from various activities of the week. It was the best feeling to have them all safely gathered in. We stayed up till after 1 just listening to their stories, frustrations, joys, and experiences of the week. I love the teen age. We devoured almost a whole box of donuts, they were good!, and just soaked up being together. After feeling like I just couldn't go on with all this and I was pretty much failing on all sides it was a reassuring way to end the week just being surrounded by their goodness and vitality. I'm thankful for the people they are choosing to be and for the love that they so freely share. It is the fountain of life to have kids in our home.

6.20.18

Man summer is flying by. We attempted to tame our Chinese Elm jungle last week. It's a constant battle with those blessed trees. We have amazing shade a beautiful yard but if not worked on each year we would be nothing but trees EVERYWHERE. Bruce loves when we get out the hand tools. He was in heaven holding one while his brothers used the others to saw the trees. According to our tree knowing uncle we sawed them close to the ground then drilled a hole in the trunk and poured borax mixed with water on the fresh stump. Hopefully that works. 

A perk of the evening was a long awaited bonfire. We happened to have chocolate bars and graham crackers that had not been devoured yet. Thank goodness fro an always prepared grandma who had marshmallows so we could enjoy s'mores after all our work.

It's amazing how fast the kiddos put the fire supplies together. I was still picking up sticks and watching the fire to make sure no one got too close while they whittled sticks, gathered chairs, and got all the ingredients assembled.
The next day Bruce was more than happy to tackle his Goliath brother John. These two are peas in a pod in their desire to wrestle and rough each other up.

Mark was helping Bruce conqueror John! Bruce is sure loving all these brothers around who are not afraid or averse to playing boy style with him.

Summer is a good time of late nights, long work days, reading, playing some, and floating along as the situations arise. We should probably be more organized I keep thinking some year I will be more energetic and on the ball. Since the midwife appointment I've really increased all my supplementation trying to build stronger blood and man am I tired. They said at the appointment I should be really tired but this last week I've been more tired than before... not sure what that means more phone consults scheduled tomorrow. Until then we will keep surviving and doing the necessaries with a few extras like cleaning freezers, organizing and sorting clothes, and reading a lot of stories

6.19.18 An Eagle Project

One of the best parts of scouting has been the opportunity to work on Eagle projects. Over the years our family has participated in several. We got a text asking for help last week and decided to go check it out. This project was making a wheelchair access ramp at the local rodeo grounds. The kids, shoveled, leveled, graded, laid the forms, then laid the concrete to make the new sidewalk. It was  three day project. Mostly my younger scouts helped. It was a great experience to learn the process of concrete and to learn to work as a team.

Boys learning to plane the concrete to make it smooth.

Mark was helping get the concrete even to be smoothed. Even if every hand wasn't always busy it was a good experience to see how a job is done and to work together. 

Communities have really been blessed by the countless hours of service given by boy scouts. In a way I'm really sad to see this program go. So many lessons have been learned from being a leader to being the follower/supporter, to leveling the athletic playing field showing lots of different skills to the boys. I'm thankful for the many different men who have taught my boys.
This eagle recruited his older brother to help teach the project. Some of the boys drove him crazy and some of the boys really enjoyed learning from him. Good life lessons. No mom's were meddling making it all fair and nice. It was just the boy-man-club working through the day to get the job done. Such important experiences for boys to grow and become men.
While Harold was gone protecting Anna on their big trip it was comforting to know he had faced many hardships with his scout experience and could handle challenging situations. From massive forest fires, to winter snow camping, to outdoor survival complete with shelter building and hard hiking badges and tedious cooking badges the program really blessed Harold. I'm thankful for the men who spend so much time teaching and enduring these boys as they grow.

6.18.18 Baby Pheasants (guest post by Anna)

Anna had a lot of cute pictures on her phone from work today, so we decided that Anna would write a post and share.
 Where to begin?  I have been working at the Nelson Pheasant farm for a while now so you could think like my boss and say "...I'm a professional" but in all honesty, I feel like a little kid when something new like this comes up.
I have slowly been moving my way up from hooding birds, where we put a red hood over the birds eyes so they cannot see each other. When dressed as such they then cannot peck each other to death.

Last week I moved up to catching the juvenile birds in the barns and moving them to their new home outside in the large cages. Today I was introduced to the freshly hatched chicks. They are super tiny and they have to be under a heat lamp 24/7 while they grow. Then they too have to be moved into larger pens where they finish the growing process.
When they are mature in the fall I help "herd" the birds then catch them for the groups of hunters. And when I say "herd" I do not actually mean herding them. These birds cannot see through the hoods so they move when they hear noise. Just imagine the sight we must be while we move down the pens clapping and making the most animalistic sounds.
 I have officially seen the entire process from day 1 to the end when the birds are taken out for hunts. I am so grateful to get to work there.

The Nelson's go directly to the hatchery to get the birds. They drive them home secure in these boxes.



These are the boxes that the chicks are brought to their new home in.



I happened to set my phone with the camera on, on top of one of the boxes. I must have placed it just right, because I got this cute picture.



Baby chicks waiting to go into their new home that is warm. We boxed up two section into a bucket to transfer them to the heat lamps.



Just noticing how cute this little guy/gal (I can't tell the difference at this age) looked. They were so tiny.



They get dumped under the heat lamps, so that they can get warm fast. After a long drive with no heat and just being hatched that morning really put strain on these little guys. After about a week they can fly, and after a few weeks go by they will be big enough to move into the big pens.

6.13.18 When Life hands you Lemons make Lemonade!

We started cleaning freezers here. The little girls were delighted to find lemonade. Alivia quickly whipped up a batch and sest to work making a lemonade stand. Millie quickly cut up some paper into money so she could get some lemonade. A few trips in and out of the house and voila a stand. She served over 12 cups of lemonade! It helps to have a large family. Her cousin walked down with her mom, and grandpa stopped on one of his frequent trips past our house on his Honda. Livy was so proud. She was truly beaming about her entrepreneurial success! I love watching the imaginative games the three girls come up with each day. They are outside acting, pretending, and playing in the shade. I was leery of three girls in a row but the fun they concoct and the happy times they enjoy have taught me to just be grateful. 

This guy goes along with any fun and games that is happening here. From the big kids to the little he is a part of the action. Always checking out the possibilities as this picture shows.

This week has been startling for sure. Last week at m first prenatal visit I measured much larger than expected and the idea was thrown out I might be having twins. Sick irony if you ask me. I agreed to and waited anxiously for the ultrasound appointment. The ultrasound revealed ONE healthy normal baby. Everything looked good. However my blood numbers were not so normal and healthy. So after some scary talk and possibilities thrown out I'm headed down the doctor and hospital path once again.
I'm taking handfuls of pills and supplements and drinking quart after quart of tea in an effort to strengthen and thicken my blood. I'm tired of worrying already. I'm thankful for options and information and prayers. I'm thankful it's summer to have some extra feet to run errands and cook some meals. I'm hoping to find the lemonade in the mess of this lemon. One way or another time passes and situations come to pass.

6.11.18 Squirt Gun school

A big part of summer is water. Although its been pretty mild weather there has still been plenty of instruction on different ways to get wet. Bruce took a short course in how to squirt the squirt gun and immediately began practicing on unsuspecting sisters and mom. The look of joy on his face was priceless.  Thank goodness it was a small capacity gun.

Livy took a spill off the four wheeler requiring over 6 bandages and some R & R. She managed to pull her self together when the squirts got too frequent.

And another book worm in the making. Our house is littered with books of all shapes sizes and genres. Summer is a time to read and listen to stories and to pretend your own. The sleeping bag is out in preparation for fathers & sons. The boys had a great time! The girls watched some movies and we took care of all the many animals needing care this time of year. Summer is a good time!

6.6.18 Respect and the Future

This has been an interesting week. I have been so thankful for the technology to talk/ hear my children as they are very far away. I get their impressions, their questions and a few pictures that in the beginning made my heart smile. I can honestly say they have had a few more layers of innocence rubbed off this week. They have seen, felt, and read about true American greatness. They have seen the blessings that we so often take for granted. They have been disgusted with the lack of respect for those virtues so freely given and so desperately won. A way of life only possible by God's sustaining hand. 

They have also witnessed and felt the confusion of the great evil that has swept our nation as we have become more prosperous, more self-serving, and more attuned to a very loud entertainment culture. They have risen to new awarenesses and made friends. They have gained confidence to care for themselves and felt the crippling sadness of how small we are in the scheme of this planet. They have been shown some of the muddy water of world politics. The unfortunate suffering of billions in other parts of the world. And they have witnessed history. 

 In the capital.

At the Washington DC temple during a down pour.


At a monument on their monument tour. After a LONG day of speed walking and running escalators.

And the other happenings of the week. Bruce found and fell in love with wet dirt!

We roll on protecting and nurturing innocence and yet there is a time when we loose it. When our eyes are opened and we begin to see and wonder how we can help? What effects our actions have and if any of it matters? This week it has been my opportunity to bear my testimony to share love with my children and to pray for them. David McCullough the nations leading historian declared our country is historically illiterate. Through reading, discussing, and visiting sites we are seeking to change that in our family. We also try to help the less fortunate in our community.

I love that the conference keeps having the kids repeat "We do what we can with what we have where we are at with what we have!" Yes we do. My heart has been touched, as I told Anna that the hope of the nation lies in families who teach respect, reverence, and honor of the goodness of the country, the sacrifices that got us here, and who continue to live those time honored values. The families that are raising her cousins, and many others like them are the only hope our country has for turning the stem of selfishness, evil, and complete corruption.

My understanding of my role in this has been deepened. At a time when I have been wondering if there was any purpose at in all in all the cleaning and managing and re-teaching. Wondering why I couldn't do something bigger or more important? But as I read her confusion, disgust, and heart messages I realize that teaching this gaggle of kids and just doing what we do is highly important. This has been a great week for our family and one that I hope we all remember.

Anna has said more than once this week "Mom we are so blessed!" "Mom we live like millionaires, we have everything!" (that was a surprise to her). And "Mom we just don't realize how good we have it...." She's right we don't. Our safety, security, abundance, and rich access to all we want is astounding. We are blessed, and so excited for them to come home!

6.8.18 Haying

We live in a beautiful spot of the world. We are also surrounded by aging neighbors who are battling various forms of aging and disease. We got a call to come help pick-up hay on Monday. The older kids and Greg have done this in years past and came home feeling very strong and capable. Monday night we all decided to go. 

John clowning around as he so often does when the going gets tough. He keeps things light and learned more about his abilities this night.

We sincerely missed our bigger more developed kids. But as we peel them away onto other learning ventures it gives the next set a chance to grow, experience, and challenge their own limits.

We had to have Aliza's muscles outside. So Bruce drove.

The little ones are not to be left out. Afton decked out in her princess dress rolled bales closer to the pick-up spot so dad didn't have to walk so far. She had a ball!!!

And at the end of the day last trip to the barn the smiles of relief and accomplishment are real and earned. Man I love my new camera and the opportunity to catch the moments of our family life. It was a windy dirty night but oh so good to be together!