We've had a wonderful December! We started by going to see Santa. The kids told him what they'd like to have and he certainly didn't disappoint!
We went to Brayden's first Cub Scouts pack meeting and he received his first award. Tim and our friend Luis picked Brayden up and flipped him up-side-down so that I could pin his badge on him. Brayden was so proud to get his first badge and we were very proud of him for his accomplishments.
We had a wedding in our family. My cousin, Landon, married his sweetheart, Jessica, in the Orlando Temple. They had a beautiful reception at Uncle Glen's home. It was so much fun to see friends and family that I hadn't seen in quite a while. 
On Christmas Eve, we all went to Uncle Glen's and had our annual Christmas Eve party! There were lots of people, both family and friends, lots of food and lots of gifts. We sang, played the piano, read about Christ's birth in the scriptures and told everyone what we were grateful for. It was wonderful to see my cousins that I hadn't seen in a while and to spend time together as a family.
Christmas morning was fun and filled with surprises! We all received wonderful gifts and spent the day at Noni & Papa's house. It was a fun day and we were grateful for all the blessings we received.
I hope each and everyone of you had a wonderful Christmas and received all the blessings that you deserve. I hope that we will all have a awesome New Year's and accomplish all of our goals for 2009!
Love,
Jessica
December Events
Thanksgiving
Okay, so I'm a total slacker when it comes to blogging! We've been so busy lately, with Thanksgiving, work, school and of course the pain in my neck (literally)!!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving lunch with my Mom & Dad. They brought back lots of presents from their trip to Tennessee...where they froze their tails off in 27 degree weather..while we were hot hot hot here in sunny Florida! By Thanksgiving night, after Mom & Dad went home, we were bored...so, we went out to dinner to Chevy's (our favorite Mexican restaurant) and then took the kid's put-put golfing on I-drive. We had so much fun...it was a little chilly out that night which made it even more enjoyable!
Update of my neck...I went to the neurologist and he told me that my MRI showed 2 bulged disc's and 1 herniated disc in my neck. And...suprise!!...he diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia and said all of that combined is why my neck and shoulder are hurting so much. He doesn't believe that I have cervical dystonia, although I do have a lot of the symptoms. I had an EMG which came back negative, so I don't need surgery on that disc for now...thank goodness! But, he said in the future it's likely that I'll need surgery. That didn't suprise me though since my mom and her sister and my dad's brother just had neck surgery done about a month apart from each other...and degenerative disc desease is hereditary. So, surgery is pretty much inevitable down the line.
Anyway, we are looking forward to Christmas and spending time with our family over the next couple of weeks...with a wedding and all of our family Christmas festivities to come. Have a great week!
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...
