Two weeks of sickies

I'm pleased to announce that Exhibit A (to the left) has finally left the building! Not the child, but her expression and the cause!

We have had a rough go of it the last two weeks with stuffy heads, upset tummies, soaring fevers (up in the 105F range for poor Cornelia), and lots of coughing and sneezing to boot.

Our miracle child, Ruby, managed to get through it all with just one day out of school--even Jared fared worse than that! We are so thankful that at almost 6 years old she has managed to never have one dose of antibiotics! Wow!

Poor Maxwell had a somewhat miserable 4th birthday last week, down with a very bad ear infection. We still managed to squeeze a little bit of fun out of the day-- pictures to come.

Cornelia definitely had it the worst though. She's still on antibiotics and has a crusted up nose. She also has introduced us to the thrilling world of breathing treatments. Poor baby!

All in all, we are so thankful to God for our health. We are almost all better and finally able to enjoy all of this beautiful spring weather. I better get outside and take some photos of these beautiful blooms because if I blink it's going to be July... seriously.

Hope you are taking a moment today to enjoy the wonder of creation and the majesty of our Creator. See you soon!

Wedding Day Favorites

I finally attacked the photos yesterday from Heidi and Kelly's wedding. I know... it took a month, but better late than never, eh? I have soooo many photos, here are a few of my favorites from the big day...

Happy (belated) one month anniversary, guys! We love you!

Three Years

Dear Dad,

It's been three years since you went on home to Abba Father. There have been many things I have wished that I could share with you--meeting Maxwell and Cornelia, celebrating holidays together, Sunday afternoon chats, and finally getting along!

Most of all, I hope you know that I love you. Life is hard, but God is good. Thanks for being my Daddy. None of us are perfect, but you taught me how to live better than most. Thanks for believing in me and supporting me, even when you didn't agree with my decisions. I look forward to the day when we meet again--perfected!

Love, "High C" / "Queen B" / "Beaverlee"

Wedding Teaser!

Things got busy, as often happens around here, so instead of wedding photos galore we have a bit of a teaser! These pics were take the day before the wedding. The first three were taken at Heidi's bridal shower dinner at The Siding in Peru. We enjoyed delicious and huge dinners-- the guys all enjoyed our leftovers later that evening! :)

It was a special time together as we prepared for the busy day ahead and most importantly showing Heidi how special she is to all of us. We love you, Heidi!

Christina and Heidi.

Heidi and I

Heidi and Anne

This photo was taken at Heidi's final dress fitting.

A beautiful teaser for what's to come!

A Walk in the Park

A few weeks ago we took a weekend trip to Durham to visit our good friends, Brett, Sarah, and Andrew Byram. It was a fun blast back to the early days with Ruby-- though I must say Sarah and Brett seem to be much less frazzled with early parenthood than I was.

While Sarah, Andrew, and I hit the mall, Brett, Jared and the kiddos hit the park...

Max in a tree.

Miss Ruby-kins

Cornelia on the move

Max the collector

Just hangin' around

Peek-a-boo!

Goin' to the chapel...

This gal's getting married on Saturday... so I've been busy, busy getting ready to leave my family for a few days to celebrate in Indiana. (Read: This is my excuse for not blogging!)

Please pray for Heidi and Kelly as they start their life together as husband and wife!

My Famous Hubby

For all of you who wonder what my sweet husband does all day, here's a snippet you might enjoy!

Jared's company, Pharmagra Labs made the news last night and there's even a little soundbite from Jared at the end. We sure are proud of you and the work that you do, honey!

Uh-oh!

Well, it's official, Maxwell has his first scar!

I got a phone call yesterday around 11:30 that Maxwell had fallen on the school playground and cut his head. My initial reaction was, "Oh, well, these things happen!" and said I'd get there as soon I could, thinking that school was about to let out at noon anyway. The director then told me I better get down there quickly as the cut was very deep and would need stitches. Gulp.

After a quick call to Jared, I got Cornelia up from her nap and raced out the door. Max was SUCH a trooper and wasn't even crying by the time Jared got to him. We met at the ER where we waited around with tummies growling for Max to get fixed up. Seven stitches later he was ready to roll. The doctor and nurses were all so impressed with how well he did and we were very proud of our brave boy.

Maxwell's mantra for the last few months has been one of his memory verses from Sunday School, "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid!"

Thank you, Jesus, for protecting Maxwell yesterday and for giving him courage. Thanks, too, for giving Mommy and Daddy peace. We needed and felt it! Amen.

Is it really Febraury?

I realize that it may be cruel and unusual punishment for my dear friends and family in the Midwest and New England to be posting this photos, but maybe you can see it as incentive to come visit us in balmy North Carolina instead of a "haha, we don't have snow" type of deal. That said, proceed with caution, fun in the sun ahead!

This past week has been glorious-- we're talking 60s and even low 70s! So we decided to head outside for a little fun in the sun. Ruby set up the kiddie pool as a playpen for Cornelia and loaded it with all kind of toys. The whole lot was/is filthy, so baby girl still hit the tub as soon as we went indoors, but she sure had fun!

Yes, you are seeing correctly. Maxwell is bare-chested, with swim trunks on... in February! The kids begged to put on their suits and I figured I'd let them figure out that it really isn't THAT warm outside. Max never did figure that out. He just said, " Wew, I do have my undaweaw on Mama." :)

Ruby was forced to admit that it was a bit chillier than she had originally thought, so she went for the sweater plus swimsuit look. I think it works for her!

For those of you that are digging out from yet another blizzard, have hope! This will be you in three or four more months! Hahahahahaaaaaa! (Okay, that last part was just mean.) But seriously, the daffodils are poking up a good 4" and it's beautiful. Thank you, Jesus, for spring!

NC Mountain Fair with the Johns Family!

We were so blessed to have Michael, Julie, and Asher Johns come visit us last weekend! We had about 24 hours packed with fun, including a trip to the fair. Needless to say, Maxwell and Ruby have been begging to go back to the fair ALL WEEK LONG. I'm so glad we went at the end of the fair because I had the excuse that they fair has moved on and we'll have to wait til next year! Here are a few memories from the day.

After a long morning nap in the stroller with Asher, Cornelia spent the afternoon in the Baby Bjorn. She loves chewing on the cloth in front so it was drenched by the time we got back to the van.

Ruby and I took a spin in the bumper cars and gave Max and Julie quite a few good bumps!

The petting zoo was a big hit with all of the kids. How many times in your life will you have a chance to feed a camel!? We had to seize the opportunity!

One year old Asher is a real cutie! I think he was a bit overwhelmed at times with the noise level and flurry of activity around the Nelson house! At the fair he just soaked it all in.

Thinkin' about sleep... boy, that sun is hot!

Maxwell and Ruby driving a jeep at the fair.

Julie and Maxwell getting ready for some bumper car action!

Ruby is our little dare devil! She and Michael had a great time time on the Pirate Ship! Thank goodness it didn't go upside down. Mommy's not ready for her little girl to grow up that fast!

Max, Jared, Michael, and Ruby went on the Black Widow. That was a mistake that Jared and Max won't make again any time soon! It was the first ride of the day and Jared said, "No more spinning rides for me!". Max huddled in a ball for the whole ride, poor guy! At least he didn't lose his breakfast!

Michael and Ruby on the chairlift.

Maxwell and I on the chairlift. This is the wildest ride I can handle these days. Motion sickness and sun beating down on you for hours on end are not a good combination!

We had a great visit at the fair: seeing the animals, riding the rides, and eating some greasy food. Most of all we enjoyed the relaxing day with sweet friends and family! Thank you, God, for your amazing blessings!

Sky Top Orchard with the Danfords!

A few weeks ago we met our good friends, the Danfords, at Sky Top Orchards for some apple picking! Somehow I didn't manage to get even one picture of sweet Annalee, but I did get a few good ones...

Ruby ready to pick some apples, rain or shine!

Carter, Max, Ruby, and Danny with apples in hand!

We're down with the apple picking!

Apple picking 2010 with our new family of five!

Whoa! That's a lot of apples!

Did I forget to mention...

Our sweet baby girl, Cornelia Grace, was welcomed into our family May 26th weighing in at 7lbs 8oz and 21.5" long. She is a joy and big brother and sister love her to bits. Here's her one month photo shoot by Samantha Austin...