Good Friends

Do you recognize that guy in the plaid shirt?  

It's our good friend Carter!!  We were so blessed today to have a visit from Claire, her mom Mary, and Carter for lunch today.  Ruby was absolutely beside herself with excitement which quickly turned into shyness which faded into delight to be with her best friend.  Max was right in there with them the whole time and we all had a wonderful visit.  Jared even got to be here for lunch since the power went out at work (we're having day 3 or 4 of heavy rain).  

We'll be getting together again soon for a weekend of T-ball in Charlotte, then again for camping out our direction in May.  We're so blessed to be near our good friends again.  God is so good to us it's amazing.

It was inevitable...

I discovered this  little surprise yesterday as I sat down to check my email.  When confronted, Ruby admitted immediately that "yes" she had given herself a little trim.  The good news is that she seems to have a knack at haircutting (not that we're telling her that!).  She somehow managed to make some very nice framing layers right around her face.  

What a girl.

Our New Home

I finally got some photos off of the realtor's website yesterday to show you a bit of our new home in Pisgah Forest... enjoy!

This is the view of the house from the road. We are in a subdivision with a natural waterfall at the entrance! We also have a speedbunp right before our drive, which is great! The house is on an acre of land and has a creek in the front section. As you can see-- it's not exactly flat land, but pretty good for around here.

According to the current owners the landscaping is like living in a fairy garden. We have about 100 rhododendron plants and many more flowering bushes, etc. Jared is excited to build an outdoor kitchen off the back of the house here. We need to move the sidewalk anyway since there are some minor drainage issues by the sunroom.

This is one of my favorite rooms--the sun room! It's four season and even has a gas fire place in it! We'll be putting up some curtains or nice blinds so that it can be used as a guest room. Our realtor thought it would be a great place to drink coffee and do your quiet time in the morning too, which I totally agree with. (If I could get a great Starbucks drink in my kitchen that is!)

Our kitchen isn't totally modern, but not disturbingly outdated either (in our opinion!). Something we're thankful for. Eventually we'd love to do some updating, but it isn't critical. We also love all of the skylights and solar tubes in the house. It really brightens up the house a lot and also dampens the effects of the darker rainy days on my psyche!

This large family room was converted from a garage (there is a large 2+ car detached garage now) and is going to be a wonderful space for our family. There is also a living room with fireplace upstairs, so we have lots of great entertaining space. Off of this family room is an office--something I have loved from our rental and I'm so glad we don't have to give it up.

Not pictured are three bedrooms and two baths. PLUS, there's a bonus toilet in the laundry room! I know- it's weird! But, it is kind of nice in that the kids can just come in the sliding glass door into the laundry room for bathroom breaks. We'll have to keep it well stocked with Purell though, since there isn't a sink in there.

Well, I hope you enjoyed your first peak at our home. I'm sure it will look a lot less country a and lot more like us when you come to visit. And please, DO come to visit-- you won't regret it!

You've Never Seen Keith Green Like This!

I have to say, I LOVE the high kicks with the big ol' purple slippers.  That girl knows how to shake it.  Yee haw!

Poor Boy Filet Mignon

Today's recipe is a favorite of mine from my mother-in-law, Kay.  Happy Birthday, Kay! Spring on thereal stuff for tonight.  You deserve it!

Poor Boy Filet Mignon

1 lb. ground beef

1 jar mushroom pieces

3 tbsp. stuffed olives, chopped

2 tbsp. green pepper

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 tbsp. onions, chopped

6 slices bacon

1. Spread ground meat out on wax paper. Sprinkle next 7 ingredients on the meat. Using wax paper as support, roll meat as you would a jelly roll. Carefully slide roll onto cookie sheet. Seam side down. Refrigerate 2 or 3 hours.
2. Cook bacon until transparent, not crisp. Slice the roll into 1 1/2 inch thick slices. Wrap bacon around the hamburger. Secure with a toothpick. Grill or broil 8 minutes on each side.

For MawMaw

I tried to capture the kids in their adorable matching outfits from MawMaw this Sunday, but from the look on Max's face you can tell he was just out of juice.  According to Ruby, those "naughty teachers" at Sunday School forgot all about snack!  Imagine that.  

For the Girls

Last Thursday I left my two little hooligans in the capable and loving hands of my mother-in-law, Kay, while I hit the road for a trip to visit my gal pals from Wheaton College.  I think it's interesting to note the difference between the way that I left them (photos one and two) and what they were transformed into on Sunday morning (last two photos)!  Max is always full of mischief and rarely stops moving (note the blurry photo!).  He is also desperately in need of a haircut--poor thing. 

Ruby has a unique fashion sense and general quirkiness about her.  She loves wearing rubber boots, especially when it isn't raining!  She also has quite an affinity to opening umbrellas inside the house.  I guess she hasn't ever heard about the all the bad luck that goes along with that.  Although, now that I think about it, she really should have caught on after all the times I've hollered at her for scraping up the walls with her crazy umbrella.  Ugh.  I digress.

Anyhoo, the point is that I was a real lucky duck last week.  I flew up to Boston Thursday night and met my good friend, Jenn, at the airport.  Then we stayed up far too late gabbing with the lights out just like slumber party days.  Friday morning, we flew together to Kansas City, Missouri (NOT Kansas!) for a Women of Faith conference.  Once the five of us met up (Lindsay, Rachel, Kate, Jenn, and I) we headed to our chic hotel.  We all agreed we'd never been in a room so charged with estrogen as when everyone was trying to check in at once.  Eventually they started handing out champagne to calm all the frazzled nerves.  A move which could really go either way with a mass of women heading to a Bible conference!  Luckily, it seemed to work.

The conference itself was really wonderful with the concerts from Steven Curtis Chapman and Mandisa (from "American Idol") and wonderful messages from Lisa Whelchel (from TV's "The Facts of Life"), Sheila Walsh, Patsy Clairmont, and Marilyn Meberg.  I laughed and I cried and I came home feeling better equipped to be the mom, wife, sister, and friend I've been called to be.  

The time with my friends was wonderful.  With half of us married with kids and the other half still single, our lives are by no means identical.  Believe it or not I'm the only mom who doesn't work!  (I know, stay-at-home moms do work, but lets face it--it's different.)  Our Wheaton days seemed like yesterday to some of us and a million years ago to others.  We still felt the bonds of friendship though and were encouraged to hear about each other's walks.  Most of all, we reconnected in such a way that we feel like we actually know how to pray for each other and how to encourage each other better.  

Monday night, I came home to a sight I had longed for for four days-- Ruby on Daddy's shoulders shouting when she spotted me coming and Max running into my open arms just smiling and rubbing my face to make sure it was really me.  It sure does feel good to come home knowing you were missed and loved.  

So, we're back at it again and I am refreshed.  

P.S.  Thank you, Kay, for teaching Max to sleep in 'til 8am!  I am in heaven!

Sycamore Flats

Wow!  It's been a busy month.  I'm certain my lack of posts has NOTHING to do with the new DVR we have... no siree!

Really, we've been busy.  Did I mention we're buying a house?  Did I tell you I found a preschool for Ruby?  Did we cover my trip to the Midwest to visit my college friends?  I guess that would be a "no"!

Since I don't actually have photos of any of the aforementioned happenings, here are a few that Kay took while she was here taking care of everyone while I was gallivanting around the country.  These are actually from the day before I left playing down at Sycamore Flats on the French Broad River.  Don't be jealous it's so perfect here.  Just visit us!

Rock hoppin' with Nana.  

Ruby shouting with joy!  She just LOVED playing in the water, even if it was glacial...

Splish, splash!  Max is havin' a blast! 

We got a bit wet.  Here's Ruby sunbathing in her undies.  Thank goodness Nana had a few towels in her car!

Yes, I let him run around in a diaper.  It's better than sopping wet jean shorts!

Stay tuned for more from the Nutty Nelsons.  I'm going to try REALLY HARD to get back into the swing things.  I promise.

Dinner at the Grove Park Inn

This past Saturday we took our first TWO trips to Asheville.  The first was for a "Spoil Mommy" shopping trip at the mall!  I got the cutest outfit and some great shoes (though I do have a few blisters today from them--I still love them!).  It was really a treat to pick out something that made me feel good and comfortable!

The kids were thrilled to pieces to discover that there was a play area at the mall.  Jared and I were relieved as well because it allowed me to shop in peace without worrying about hurrying.  I tend towards hurrying anyway and really needed a moment to myself without Max crawling under the changing room doors to visit Mommy (or someone else!).

The second outing, for dinner at the Grove Park Inn with everyone from Pharm Agra was amazing!  Three rooms full of wonderful, spoil yourself food.  I got to take Max on several walks (he was a bit bored!) and explored some of the hotel and enjoyed live music in front of a humongous fireplace.  I even managed to embarrass Max by dancing with him in public.  He was NOT impressed!  We also got to meet some of the people Jared works for and with and I'm happy to report it's a great group of folks from all over.  Many with little ones just like us.  

So far North Carolina is wonderful and getting better every day...