Family Time

Yep, we went to Sea World again this weekend! We LOVE having our annual passes. We always have so much fun! This time, we went through the "Polar Express Experience" and it was so cool! It was like you were a part of the movie and riding in the train! And, we got to play ball with the dolphins...yep, I mean play real ball! Did you know they could do that? I didn't and I've been to Sea World a million times. Here are some photo's from our day.

Counting Our Blessings

As we approach the holiday's, Tim and I have been thinking of how grateful we are to have such wonderful friends, and we are especially grateful for the loved ones that we share our lives with.

I'm going to try harder each and everyday to recognize the good things that I am blessed with in my life and not worry about things that aren't in my control. I love ALL of my family so much (and there's a bunch of us!) and it is my sincere hope that one day, Tim will find peace with his family. I know that no one is perfect (especially me) and we are all struggling to live our lives as best we can.

Sometimes we are so concerned about our loved ones and our own feelings, that we make mistakes in the process of trying to help. I know that I have very strong feelings about Tim's family (both good & bad) and I want things to be better for all of us. I'm tired of fighting for the last 8 years. If that makes me weak, then so be it. I just don't want to feel heartbroken any longer and so I have to let it all go and see what happens. I know that somewhere in Tim's heart, he desperately loves his family and wants to be closer to them. But, it's a 2 way street and he is not the type of person to give his heart and not receive the love he deserves in return. Where much is given, much is required. If nothing else, I am thankful that Tim was born on this earth and he wouldn't be here without his parent's. So, for that I am thankful.

Our family has been so blessed and I know that we will receive more blessings if we will recognize the Lord's hand in all of the goodness in our lives. I pray that each of you will have a wonderful Thanksgiving and that we can all try a little harder to just be better and stop and think about what we're doing, before we do it...no matter what.

Brayden's Special Day

Yesterday was Brayden's Baptism. Everything turned out so well and we had a blast! We had most of our family there and a few friends, which made Brayden's day so special! Tim baptized and confirmed Brayden a Member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We are so very proud of him and his choice to choose the right and be an awesome example to everyone he knows. We love Brayden so much and know how blessed we are to have him as our son. We hope you enjoy the pictures that captured a few moments on Brayden's special day!

Brayden's 8th Birthday!

I can't believe our little boy is now 8! November 3, 2000 was the 2nd happiest day of our lives...the day Brayden William Nelson was born. He was such a beautiful and tiny baby...only weighing in at 4lbs 14oz and 18 inches long. Brayden was born 5 weeks early and was the smallest baby I had ever held. He was so tiny until he stayed in premie clothes until he was 4 months old. He had blue eyes and the little bit of hair he had was dark brown. He loved to grunt when he was sleeping..something that really freaked me and Noni out on several occassions, until we learned that it was just Brayden's way of talking in his sleep. He was the most beautiful baby I had ever laid eyes on and I loved him so very much. We had numerous nick-names for him when he was a baby....Bubba, Bubbalicious, Peanut, Doodle-buggy and the list just keeps going. Brayden is one of the smartest kid's I know and he has a genuine love for the gospel and for our Heavenly Father. He is such a special part of our family and we love him so much!

Brayden LOVES his Sony PSP and so for his birthday, we bought him a couple games and an accessorie for his PSP. He was SO excited to see what he got!

Brayden is so excited to be Baptized! His baptism will be this Sunday and we are so happy for him! We are going to have a wonderful baptism and party for him and I can't wait!! Check back next week to see the photos from his baptism.

We Love You Brayden!!

Halloween!!

Yea!!! It's Halloween!!! This year we went Trick-or-Treating 3 times!! (1) Sea World, (2) The Fall Festival at Church & (3) The usual Halloween Trick-or-Treating around the neighborhood! Holy cow, I'm exhausted!! We have enough candy to feed a third world country!! Brayden dressed up as a Cowboy Sheriff..."like the olden days" as he put it. But, we told him he looks like "Walker-Texas Ranger". Baylee was Tinker-Bell this year and was so very cute! Our baby puppy, Remy, wore a very cute Halloween sweater! He looked so darn cute! Here are some cute pictures from the Fall Festival at church.

What Tim Would Have Looked Like Back When!

I thought it would be funny to yearbook Tim, so here's what he would have looked like back when! Enjoy!!

Here's what he would have looked like in 1968...



1970...


1976...


1988...


1994...


2000...

What I Would Have Looked Like Back When!

Recently a lot of my family and friends have been on the site Yearbookyourself.com. So, I decided to try it and it turned out to be hillarious! The hair and eye brows just crack me up on some of the pics!! Wow, it sure makes you think....

Here I am in 1960...


1964...


1966...


1978...


1984...


1990...


1996...

Sea World Spooktacular!!

Saturday, the kids and I went to Sea World with our friends, Terri & Courtney and their family. We had so much fun, because it's Halloween time and every year they have "Spooktacular" aka: trick-or-treating at Sea World. The kids got so much candy that Brayden was literally sick in the car on the way home! He was sneaking candy when I wasn't looking, so he paid for it by the end of the night...that'll teach him! ehehe It was so hot, but we had lots of fun! Hope you enjoy the pictures!

PAIN IN THE NECK!

So, 2 weeks ago when we went to Sea World, I was not feeling good at all. I had a migraine that had been going on for 2 days and my body just ached. But, the kiddo's wanted to go to Sea World and I didn't want to disappoint them, so we went anyway.

The next morning, when I woke up I couldn't move. My body hurt so bad and my neck and shoulders were just killing me. My wonderful bishop gave me a priesthood blessing and used a few of his self-taught chiropractic maneuvers on me to crack my back, which temporarily relieved the discomfort in my spine. However, I began to get gradually worse throughout the following 2 weeks.

Then, this past Saturday morning, I woke up in excruciating pain with my neck and shoulders..mostly my right shoulder and could not turn my head to the right at all. My shoulders were drawn to my ears the spasms were so bad, and it felt like a knife stabbing me in the neck. I had no strength in my neck and if I leaned my head back, it felt like my neck would just snap. So, Tim took me to the emergency room by Saturday afternoon because I was completely hysterical in pain.

Although the experience was not up to par, they did give me the diagnosis of "Spasmodic Torticollis"....I know, "say what?" Apparently, I have a form of Cervical Dystonia which I'm learning so much about now thanks to the Internet! I went to my primary physician today and she was clueless on this subject and wants me to go have a cervical MRI done this week. However, I just found a Neurologist today here in Orlando that specializes in this type of "movement disorder", so I will be calling his office tomorrow!

And get this, the treatment for this disorder includes "botox injections" to the neck and shoulder muscles! Very interesting!

I will keep you all posted as to what happens next. I just pray that this doctor will help me and that I can get the relief that I so desperately need. In the mean time, Vicoden will continue to be my best friend!

ANSWERED PRAYERS

Our prayers have been answered! We went to the doctor today and Tim DOES NOT have breast cancer! Thank you Heavenly Father!
But, here's the kicker...Tim gets heartburn all the time and has for years. He's pretty much always taken an over-the-counter medication called Ranitidine for acid reflux. They have just discovered that Ranitidine and Cimetidine both cause Gynecomastia, which is over development of the male breasts and causes lumpy swelling of breast tissue. So, Tim is understandably mortified, but it's something that can be treated and he's going to be just fine! The doctor said that he can no longer take over-the-counter acid reflux medicine and gave him a prescription for that and said that everything should work itself out over the next few months. Thanks to everyone who prayed for Tim and for all of your love and support throughout this scary time in our lives.

A GREAT DAY AT SEA WORLD

We spent a beautiful day at Sea World yesterday. We had so much fun and it was great to just relax and spend the day as a family without any worries or cares. We love Sea World, because there is so much to see and do and it's only 30 minutes from home! Sea World is just one of the many reasons we are so happy to live in the great State of Florida!

PRAYING FOR TIM

A few months ago, Tim noticed that one of his breasts (Man-boobs as he calls them)was very sore. He brushed it off as being slight trauma from a police scuffle with a suspect. Then last month, he complained of feeling a slight lump in the same painful area. So, I went with him to the doctor and he was told not to worry, that men usually don't have these issues and he was probably right about the police scuffle causing the pain. The doctor sent him for a mammogram and ultrasound, which he was slightly embarrassed about having such a womanly procedure done...as you can well imagine! We were told that if it showed anything that we needed to worry about, we would receive a phone call...no news is good news. Then yesterday, we received a letter in the mail from the Radiologist that had several categories that they could check off showing the results, from nothing to worry about, all the way to definitely having cancer. Well, Tim fell into the category of "we see an area of concern that will require further testing and blood work." GREAT! So, now we're just a little freaked out! Tim hasn't said much about it, but I know he's just as worried if not more than I am about it. So, I'm asking that all of you please keep Tim and our family in your thoughts and prayers. We love our "daddy" so much and want him to be around for a very long time. I will keep you all posted when we find out more on October 2nd.

REMY'S FIRST HAIR CUT

Remy-rootie-patootie got his first haircut today. Isn't he so cute?

He was trying to pose for his momma to take his picture! What a little model he is! He's such a momma's boy!

SATURDAY MORNING BOWLING

Today, I took the kids bowling with our friends Terri & Courtney. They had so much fun!

POOR REMY!

Poor Remy! Momma & Daddy brought Sadie (Remy's wife) to our house this weekend and I found out that they bought 2 pair of "doggles" for Sadie...a pink pair and a purple pair. So, I couldn't resist...I had to try them on Remy...and boy did he hate me!! He was fighting like the devil to get those things off his face! But, aren't they SOOO cute?? Maybe mommy can find him a blue pair!?!? hmmmm....

BAYLEE'S NEW HAIR-DO!

So...my beautiful bright young daughter decided that her bangs were bothering her at school last week, and so she decided to give herself a haircut! I got this frantic phone call from school with Baylee screaming in the background warning me that she had chopped off her bangs and I should be prepared! Baylee was crying in the background, because she knew how mad mommy would be at her new hair-do! Well, here's the evidence!

As you can see, I had to do a "comb-over" with the long parts of her bangs just to cover up the one's she chopped off! Thank goodness for hair-clips! And, this Thursday is picture day at school...go figure!

Tonight, we went to Moe's for kid's night and there was a clown painting the kid's faces. Baylee got a butterfly...be sure to notice her bangs!!

Brayden wanted "Spider Man"...isn't this scary?? It kinda freaked me out when I first saw him!