Freebies 2 Deals has amazing giveaways including a chance to win a free ipad2. My favorite deal would be incredibly cheap movie tickets or all the tips for free things at Walgreens. We get all of our razors and most hygiene products free thanks to her tips and posts.Thursday, October 6, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Summer 2011
I realize it has been forever since I updated our photos. So here are some from this summer.
We have moved to Wyoming, so lots of our activities took place here.
1st our Summer has had a lot of drama, especially from our almost 2 year old Jared.
This was a very common scene all summer long.
Michael and Jake were able to take swimming lessons at the Rec Center. Jake even put his head underwater on the very last day of the very last session. Good Job Buddy!
We were able to visit family in Idaho and see our cute niece in her 1st pagent.
We went to the zoo. I had to see how my monkeys measured up to theirs.
Annistyn grows and changes quickly. Here is her 4 month photo.
Our family visited Seven Peaks water park. . .
And had a fun 4th of July BBQ at Chad and Tracy's. Chad had built a zip line that my boys still talk about. Super Fun!!
Todd and I went to Elko, NV with the OCI surface rescue team for a competition. What a great group of people. I really had a good time.
We were able to spend time with the Davis Side. Here we are a Ninja Turtle training camp.
We attended the FMC family day. I went underground for the 1st time. Michael and Jake played on the bounce toys and learned to put out fires.
This is Michael's 1st Day of school. He is in the 1st Grade with Mrs. Shears
Jared is a GREAT helper and loves to copy everything we do. Here he is resting after helping dad fill the sandbox.
One afternoon after nap time, he cam upstairs like this. He had put on one of Annistyn's dresses. I hope this doesn't become a habit :-)
Annistyn grows and changes quickly. Here is her 4 month photo.
Our family visited Seven Peaks water park. . .
And had a fun 4th of July BBQ at Chad and Tracy's. Chad had built a zip line that my boys still talk about. Super Fun!!
Todd and I went to Elko, NV with the OCI surface rescue team for a competition. What a great group of people. I really had a good time.
Michael and Jake attended the Real Salt Lake soccer camp and then played for the City League. Jake loved to play goalie, and if he wasn't goalie, he wasn't really interested.
Michael was awesome this year. He chased the ball down, pushed his way in, and almost scored a few times. He was the youngest on the team, so maybe next year!
We were able to spend time with the Davis Side. Here we are a Ninja Turtle training camp.
We attended the FMC family day. I went underground for the 1st time. Michael and Jake played on the bounce toys and learned to put out fires.
This is Michael's 1st Day of school. He is in the 1st Grade with Mrs. Shears
Jared is a GREAT helper and loves to copy everything we do. Here he is resting after helping dad fill the sandbox.
One afternoon after nap time, he cam upstairs like this. He had put on one of Annistyn's dresses. I hope this doesn't become a habit :-)
He loves his little sister and gets upset when Michael or Jake hold her. If she does something he has to do it too. But she loves him and his attention.
This is her 6 month photo. She can even sit up by herself now!! She's growing TOO FAST!
Here's the bunch of them. The run me ragged a lot of days, but I love them to bits!!!
This is her 6 month photo. She can even sit up by herself now!! She's growing TOO FAST!
Here's the bunch of them. The run me ragged a lot of days, but I love them to bits!!!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
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.
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.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
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.
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.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
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.
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.
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