Magic Soap

In the Nelson household, we are addicted to Magic Soap aka Purell Hand Sanitizer. We've trained Ms. A to use it after every dog she pets and after playing on the oh-so-fun-to-play equipment at the park. We {HEART} Magic Soap. :) So when I saw this adorable idea on my fabulous friend's blog, thanks M, I had to try it out. I love the way they turned out.

I think I may have to make a few more for some of my friends to give away on Valentine's Day. :)
Nothing says 'I love you' like clean hands. :)

Tender Mercies

I love the talk by Elder David Bednar entitled "The Tender Mercies of the Lord". This weekend was full of tender mercies.

We had a wonderful weekend visiting Reed's family. All four of his sisters, their families and his parents were together. It had been a few years since that last happened. We had a fabulous time visiting and catching up with each others lives.

The two highlights of our weekend was watching Reed's sister, Laura, and her husband, Russell, and their two daughters were sealed together for eternity in the Mt. Timpanogas Temple. The ceremony was beautiful. I don't think their was a dry eye in the room when they brought Ms. S and Ms. C in. I was touched by the depth of emotion Russell showed as he was sealed to Laura. It was a perfect moment in time. After the sealing we went out to lunch at the Olive Garden Yum! We went to Russell and Laura's afterwards. We visited and let the cousins play together. Thanks Laura and Russell for sharing your beautiful experience with us.photo of Mt Timpanagos from LDS.org

The second highlight was watching Ben, Reed's brother-in-law, bless his and Cindy's new little daughter, Ms. H. I was touched to see a large group of men holding tiny, little Ms. H in their arms as Ben gave her a name and a blessing. I remembered Ms. A's blessing and how grateful I am to have her in our family. I am so grateful to have the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to know the priesthood is available to us. Another perfect moment!

I loved watching Ms. A playing with her cousins. She was laughing, giggling and having a grand time.

Other tender mercies:

• We drove approximately 1788 miles for 30 hours without any major problems despite fog, snow, wind and ice.
• Ms. A was the perfect little passenger with all the driving we made her endure and the cold that she caught the day before we left. She entertained herself and was very patient with us. As we drove into the driveway at 3am, she very tiredly said: "That was a LONG drive." :)
• We enjoyed having a safe place to stay (thanks Stephanie and Sean) and family to visit with.
• How fortunate I feel to have an eternal family and that we can be together forever.

Ms. A-ism

Ever since Ms. A graduated into the Sunbeam class she's been obsessed with the concept that Reed still is in Nursery. She asks me repeatedly "Why is daddy in my old Nursery Class?" I typically respond "Because it's his job at church." Tonight as I was cuddling with her in bed, she asked the Nursery question again. I responded by saying I didn't know. Never missing a beat, she replied: "But you USED to know!!" Sometimes I can't win. ;)

Keeping Myself Distracted

I have so many better things to do with my time, but I made them anyways. :)









A blogging friend of mine posted this delicious calendar on her blog. I fell in love with it and since we needed a calendar I decided to try out her idea. I love her's a bit more, but I wanted Ms. A to learn about calendars and the days of the week.
This one is a bit more hands-on. I laminated it for wear and tear or if I want to write on it. I stamped two sets of numbers and then added monthly decorations.

Ms. A loves to craft and cook, so after cleaning her clothes from all her crafts, I thought an apron would be beneficial. She picked out the fabric and chose the style and then I went to work. I had extras so we made an apron for her cousin, Ms. E. :) I'll have to find some boy fabric for Mr. P. :) (Maybe Green and Yellow will work.)

Another Attempt at Kristina's Card CC#38

I had to try again with Kristina's Color Challenge.
We found the bucket at Target and filled it with Heart Shaped Cookies for Ms. A's friend. She was so excited to take it to him. :)

Stamps: Love Matters, Polka Dots & Paisley
Paper: Ruby Red, Pretty in Pink and Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black and Pumpkin Pie Ink, Pretty in Pink Marker
Misc: Coluzzle, Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain Ribbon, Flower Fusion

Kristina's 38th Color Challenge

I love Red and Orange together! Imagine my delight when I checked out Kristina's New Color Challenge - Ruby Red and Pumpkin Pie. She had to throw a wrench in my joy by adding Pretty in Pink. I love pink as well, but I had a DIFFICULT time with this one. I didn't like the baby card as much, so I made another one. I have another two card bases made, but that pink wouldn't work with me. Oh well, that's why it's a Challenge.

Here are the cards. Enjoy!

Supplies used:
Stamps: Bundled in Love
Paper: Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black
Misc: Scallop Punch, A Perfect Day Rub-ons, Merry and Bright Simply Scrappin'


Supplies used:
Paper: Ruby Red, Pretty in Pink and Pumpkin Pie
Misc: A Perfect Day Rub-ons, Pumpkin Pie Striped Ribbon, Flower Fusion and Fire Rhinestone Brads

I was hiding out in my closet stamping so I wouldn't disturb Ms. A, but somehow she sensed I was stamping. She wanted to make an "I Love You" card for her friends.

A New Hair Style

Last week when Ms. A was getting ready for the day I asked how many ponytails she wanted. She excitedly said 'Ten'. I tested it out yesterday and it worked alright. She's now old enough to sit still with the proper motivation. When I asked if she wanted the new hair style for church and she was properly motivated. :)

Christmas Through the Eyes of a Three Year Old

Ms. A is loving her new camera. She takes it everywhere and we she's done with the picture taking, she'll ask me to put it on our blog. Here are a few of my favorites that she took.

A Star is Born

Ms. A received this cool microphone for Christmas. It has become a very popular toy. One evening she started singing "I Am A Child of God." I was so impressed that she remembered all the words.



During my mother's visit, she and Ms. A performed a song for us. It was fun watching them.

New Year, New Color Challenge

Kristina posted a new Color Challenge and I fell in love with the colors!!! I went a little overboard and created four cards. :) It didn't hurt that I have some birthdays coming up and a wonderful friend who needs a 'Thank You' card.
Ingredients: Pretty in Pink, Old Olive, Whisper White and Rose Red Cardstock.
Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Chocolate Chip, and Summer Sun Markers.
Birthday Whimsy and So Many Sayings Stamp Sets.
Coluzzle
Ingredients: Pretty in Pink, Old Olive and Whisper White Cardstock
Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Chocolate Chip, and Summer Sun Markers
Birthday Whimsy and Simply Said Stamp Sets
and Kristina's curvy template.

Ingredients: Berry Bliss DSP, Old Olive and Whisper White Cardstock
Rose Red Ink. Simply Said Stamp Set. Scallop Circle Punch. Felt Flowers. Old Olive Ribbon.
and Kristina's curvy template.Ingredients: Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red and Whisper White Cardstock
Scallop Square Punch. Felt Flowers. Old Olive Ribbon. A Perfect Day Rub-on. Flower Eyelets
and Kristina's curvy template.


For Thanksgiving, my mom made a card for Ms. A. the card had a 'belt' around it. She loved it so much, she wanted to make a card just like grandma's.