Happy Mother's Day

I posted this a couple years ago, but I still love it and thought it is fitting for Mother's Day. I am so grateful for the mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and aunts in my life.

Invisible Mother......

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask me a question.

Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'

Obviously, not.

No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.

I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated sum a cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going; she's going; she is gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England ... Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.'

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a diseasethat is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my ownself-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Hope this encourages you when the going gets tough as it sometimes does. We never know what our finished products will turn out to be because of our perseverance.

Hospital photo shoot

Here are some photos taken at the hospital. Way cuter than the one they use to take.

Annistyn's Birth Announcement

Here is the announcement I made for her birth. We love her to bits.

Baby Annastyn or Anniston

Anniston Marie Nielsen was born yesterday March 23 at 11:16 pm. 7 lbs 4 oz, 19 inches long.
I had woke up in labor at about 2:45 am, but the contractions were about 5 minutes apart. The boys went to school, and the contractions started getting stronger. About 12:30 we headed to Draper and my contractions were 3 minutes apart.
Trudy drove me to the hospital and they monitored me for an hour. I had been dilated to a 3+ for 2 weeks and had barely changed (which was frustrating as I was having all that pain for nothing!). I changed a bit, and after talking to my Dr, they decided to keep me.
We called Todd about 3:30 and told him to head back from Wyoming. He made it at about 7:00. I still had only dilated to a 5+ when a Midwife came in to break my water at 10:45. Minutes after she broke it, I was ready. It happened so fast that I went light headed and almost passed out. I had to have oxygen and the baby had some distress as she dropped so quickly. My Dr showed a few minutes later, and after pushing through 1 contraction she was here.
She wasn't crying well, so you can see my concern before they took her away to the nursery.

They thought it would take a few hours and then she would be in with us. But she was really struggling and not getting better. Finally this morning they started antibiotics and took an xray. They also had to pump her stomach twice and removed a large amount of amniotic fluid she had swallowed. The x-ray showed pneumonia in one lung and the antibiotics seem to be working well. It is just so sad to see her connected to all the wired and monitors.

She has to have the drugs for 7 to 10 days. If she really improves she may be able to go home and have them there. If not, I will be staying here with her for the week.

She has a chunky little face and neck, and more hair than our 3 other kids combined. I finally was able to hold her for a bit today. She's so tiny! I forget how small they start out.

We can't quite decide how to spell her name. We've narrowed it down to Annastyn and Anniston. We'd really like your imput. Let us know your vote.

MIchael's Birthday and Feb.

Michael has his first "Friend" party this year. As you can see it was a Lego Birthday Party.
Here is the invitation I made in Photoshop.

His Lego Cake

Decorations

All the kids made a Lego Car and we raced them on the Track Todd had built. Unfortunately I took video, but forgot to take a picture of the track.

Here are some of the kids. Sorry, I loaded the wrong photo and didn't get the 2nd table in.

Here is Pin the Head on the Lego Man

And here's Jake after the party is over. So sad!!!

Check out that hair!

Happy Valentine's Day!
The Boys got lots of candy and these cute shirts.

Jared loving Purrcey

And how he eats! What Messy boy. It's no wonder his hair sticks straight up so often.

Jake's Birthday and Christmas

So, since I forget how Blogger works, this post is backwards. A few weeks ago we attended the Auto show. Here is Grandpa's Dream Jeep. Michael liked it too.

Of course they wanted their picture with BumbleBee

Jared has started to drag his head around the floor, which kinks his hair. It looks pretty funny.

Jake turned 4. We can't believe how time has flown by. He is our little superhero who lives in costumes. Costumes or pajamas. It is a fight to get him into regular clothes.

He loved the cards as much as the gifts.

Here is a photo of Christmas at the Nielsen's. I dropped the ball and didn't take too many. But Jake got some new capes which he loves.

Here are their Christmas outfits from Grandma Nielsen

We spent Christmas in GR this year. Christmas Eve everyone gets to open a gift.

It was matching pajamas!! Looking good guys!

Christmas morning

Mom had some playdough cookie dough. Bright bold colors. Be careful it colors your mouth too.

Our Christmas Card

I'm sorry to those of you who I didn't get cards out to. I don't have a lot of new addresses and lost the return address labels I had pulled off, so here it is. Merry Christmas!!

Dear Family & Friends,

We hope you all had a wonderful year. Ours was busy, hard, and full of blessings.

Todd started the year by enrolling in the Welding program at Mountainland Applied Technology College. He has received a few certifications from the American Welding Society and is close to finishing up. Although he already knows a lot about welding, he has enjoyed learning the technical aspects, new processes, and improving on his skills. In the Spring Todd was called to serve as Elder’s Quorum 2nd counselor. He really enjoyed the calling, serving the people in the ward, and really learned from and loved the men he served with. However, a few months later he was released from that and called to serve on the Stake High Council. It has been an amazing opportunity for both him and our family. He has brought a new spirit and joy to our home and we are grateful for the opportunity to associate with such wonderful men in the Stake. He always finds time to be a great father and husband and the boys adore him and the things he teaches them. It is fun to see them mimic the things they see him do.

I continue to work at home for a real estate management company, mostly reviewing properties for banks or investors. I finally finished my Real Estate Schooling and passed all my tests, so now I am a licensed agent in Utah. It feels good to finally have it over with. Our ward split near the beginning of the year and I was released from the Relief Society presidency and now teach Valiant 9 in primary. They are great kids and I have really enjoyed it. We are teaching from the Old Testament and it has been so fun to become more familiar with those stories I have forgotten over the years. In mid-September we were surprised with some exciting news. We were excited and shocked to find we are expecting baby #4. We have always had to plan our pregnancies and take medication to conceive and I don’t usually get sick with pregnancy, so I couldn’t figure out why I kept getting food poisoning and was so tired. We are expecting our 1st little girl April 13th. It is a little overwhelming, as we only know about boys here, but we are very excited.

It has been a year of growth and change for Jared. He has recently taken his 1st few steps and I’m sure running is not far behind. He can say a few words including, “Hey, Dada, Mama, Dido (Michael), Jake, and Thank you”. He loves to watch his big brothers, but is no longer content to just watch. He tries to be in the middle of everything they do (much to their dismay at times). He has a fun personality and we love having him in our home.

Michael started Kindergarten this year. He is already becoming a great reader and loves to point out words, letters, and figure out sounds as we drive around. They are already writing sentences and I am blown away at how quickly they move through information. He is full of drama and everything is a huge deal. This year he started wrestling and is kind of a natural. He loves it. He also played soccer again and even scored a goal. He is such a great helper and is so proud to be a big brother. He is constantly making us laugh with things he says. For example he though a mustache was called a hash and Lehi was Ei - “like Ei Ei O?”.

Jake loves to do everything Michael does, which often causes drama when we have only 1 of something. He loves to torment Michael to make him scream. I love him to bits, but he is definitely the one who is turning me gray. He started preschool this year and loves it. He is extremely active, but his teacher assures me it is pretty normal. He is excellent at puzzles, building things, and memorizing poems and articles of Faith. He has his sweet moments, loves to cuddle, and loves to make us laugh. He is definitely the clown of the family.

We are grateful for this time of year to focus on the blessings we have, the birth of our Savior, and love of family and friends. We love you all and hope you have a wonderful Holiday. Good luck in the New Year.

Love, Todd, Bridgette, Michael, Jake, Jared, & Baby