Sentimental Value (I am Thankful Day 3)

Today I am grateful for things that are so small they would fit in your pocket but take up a hundred times that much space in your heart.

One time when we were at a campground for a family reunion Travis and a few people went into town. Travis brought this back for me. He had made it at a little gift shop they found. I always get compliments when I wear it and I absolutely love it but what I love even more is the fact that Travis thought of doing something like this for me.
My mom used to wear these little silver loops ALL the time. A friend of hers got them in Indonesia and I always loved them and begged to borrow them. One time when I was home for a visit she gave them to me. They are super precious to me- I thought I lost them once and I cried and cried.

One afternoon I went to the movies with a friend. When I was getting in my car to go home I noticed a note on my windshield. Luckily Travis has very recognizable handwriting LOL! I think it is totally adorable and it is one of my prized possessions. I carry it with me wherever I go.

My mom bought me this beaded wallet at the Apple Blossom Festival. It totally reminds me of something she would have or use and I treasure it because of that.

Do you have "little" things like this in your life that mean the world to you?

"Make them laugh, make them cry, but most of all make them wait"- Charles Dickens (I am Thankful Day 2)

Ever since I was a very little girl I have loved books. The first "series" I ever read was The Little House on the Prairie. I was in the first grade and since that time I have read hundreds if not thousands of books. I remember reading the same books over and over; Arthur's Honey Bear, Beauty and the Beast and The Velveteen Rabbit, Frog and Toad are Friends, Just For You and A Bargain for Francis. I have bought and read all of these books to my children over the years and they still bring me the same joy they did when I was younger. I wish I could find the Beauty and the Beast book I had as a little girl. The pictures were so amazing and the beast turned into a beautiful unicorn at the end.

I will never forget the first time I read Charlotte's Web or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and once in the fourth grade my teacher spent a little time each day reading The Oregon Trail out loud to us. It was a very humbling emotional experience and it made a HUGE impact on me.

In Junior High I read as many Choose Your Own Adventure or Babysitter's Club books as I could get my hands on and I also developed a deep love for poetry. In High School I went through a Jack London phase, I would be sitting in the library curled up in one of their chairs bawling my eyes out. I also read That Was Then This is Now and The Outsiders every chance I got. I don't remember owning many books back then but I remember several of the books that I was assigned to read for English class and how I felt about them. I need to go back and read some of those again like Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities.

I love rummaging through piles of books at yard sales and used book stores. I love book fairs and Book of the Month Club, the library and Barnes and Noble.

I love being taken to new places and being shown new ideas. I love books that make me question things and search for answers. I love the whole gauntlet of emotions that often come when I am reading, the twists and turns and ups and downs. I love it when something so shocking happens that I have to slam the book shut and catch my breathe. I love reading out loud and being read too. I am extremely grateful for books and the significance they have had in my life.

Thankful

One of my family members is blogging 30 days of thankfulness and I thought with Thanksgiving right around the corner I would do the same. There are technically 35 or so days left until Turkey Day but I figured I would start today so I can make sure and get 30 posts in by November 26th. Anyone want to join me?

Yesterday Kailyn and I attended a dress rehearsal for the NC Symphony. The second piece of music they played was very dark/eerie and not super pleasant. I leaned over to the guy next to me and said, "I don't think I would listen to this for pleasure it sounds like it belongs in a horror movie." He laughed and agreed. He ended up talking to me a few more times during the song and I found out that he was actually one of the members of the Symphony (he played Clarinet!). He complimented Kailyn on her concert etiquette and me on my ability to home school.

I am thankful that wherever my kids go people are quick to tell me how polite and sweet they are. Kailyn and Allias have both flown alone (Allias several times) and each and every time someone has come up to me at the baggage claim to tell me how charming and delightful my child was to have on the plane. My aunt and uncle said people couldn't tell them enough what a charming, sweet boy Allias was and how it was rare to find a teenager with such great character these days. It is no different with Tyler- his teachers, church leaders, extended family and even arresting officers and district attorneys have all adored him. I remember the first few weeks Tyler was away his letters often talked about how the people he was at school with had no respect for authority. I am glad he wasn't one of those kids. The staff at Tarheel Challenge think he is amazing and they are so proud of him.

So today I am grateful for kids who, even though at home they can talk back with the best of them and drive me insane on a regular basis, know how to behave in public.

Some pictures from the symphony

"Season Six is going to be sic"

Seriously I am pretty sure this is my FAVORITE top 20 EVER!!!! I cannot wait to see these kids dance!
I already don't want anyone to go home. I usually have a few favorites right from day one but this year it is sooooo hard to choose because I like them all. I think they did the perfect job of balancing talent/heart/personality. Last season I thought they focused way to much on just talent and that doesn't make me "like" the dancers. I want to see a good show!
My three favorite girls so far are Eleanor, Mollee and Karen (Paula was totally my favorite but I guess a movie contract is a pretty big deal). The guys are a lot harder I don't think I can pick just three this early. I am liking Russell, Kevin, Nathan, Billy, Legacy and Ryan. I cannot wait to see who everyone is paired up with. I don't think I have been this excited for a show to start EVER!
I am also wayyy excited that they are doing a "meet your top 20" kick off show on Monday!!!!!

After reading each of the dancer's bios I have found out that Ashley (she and her husband both made it) graduated from BYU, Ariana is from New Bern, NC and Noelle Marsh (who seriously annoys me) is from Sanford, NC. Several of these dancers have already done amazing things in their dancing careers and I cannot wait to see what they bring to the show.
As Russell said last night "The show has just begun!"

Design on a Dime

Well I never did find the pictures I was looking for. Honestly now I am thinking I never even took them. I must have just thought about it. LOL! The bonus is that ALL of my pictures are at least organized now by year and then by month. And they are all in one place!!!! The next step is going through each folder and deleting the ones that are garbage (too dark, blurry etc.) and then backing everything up. I am on a roll!!!!

Last spring Travis did some AC work for some friends of ours (Jeff and Deia). Despite his protests they really wanted to repay him. It just so happens that Deia is a brilliant painter with brilliant ideas and that we had bought some paint for Kailyn's room months ago but hadn't gotten around to actually painting (typical for us), so I suggested that she she come over and paint Kailyn's room as a "trade" for the AC work and she agreed. I wish I would have gotten a good before picture but this is all you get. Sorry.

Here is the only credit I can take for the room- I bought and painted the wooden letters, flowers and dragonfly.

We bought the paint to match a bedspread we already had, the only problem was that the fitted sheet had torn. When I was talking to Deia about needing to get new sheets she asked me if I still had the old ones. I was pretty sure I had thrown them away but after a few minutes of searching I found the top sheet AND the torn fitted sheet. I guess procrastination and disorganization have some benefits after all.

Here is where the brilliance comes in (not mine)- Deia suggested that I have someone sew a valance for the window and a curtain for the loft bed from the sheet.

Another sister in my ward is an amazing seamstress (she just recently repaired my favorite dishonest jeans) and so she not only made the valance and curtain but made covers for two throw pillows as well. She is going to use the rest of the material for these darling jean skirts she makes.
Here is the valance! Didn't it turn out perfect? I LOVE it!
The inspiration- doesn't the little throw pillow add just the right touch? Kailyn would love to have someone paint some flowers similar to the ones on her bed along the bottom of one wall- ooooo and I just thought of an idea as I was typing this. I can take some sort of tracing paper and make stencils of the flowers- draw them on the wall and have Travis paint them. Nice! Here is the curtain- Kailyn has a little lamp under there and spends lots of time reading, writing and hanging out with her stuffed animals.

This picture not only shows just how adorable the little throw pillow is, it shows off the new paint color nicely as well.

The only thing I have left to do is get some prints of the tutu pictures Shannon took of Kailyn for the walls and I am thinking a shaggy purple or orange throw rug would be pretty cute.

Awhile back I saw some super cute orange, purple and green frames at Ross that would have matched perfectly and I totally should have bought them because they are gone now. I also saw some long mirrors at Target that came in both orange and purple and I didn't get those either!

I keep waiting for the room to be "done" to post about it but who knows when that will be (this is where procrastination and disorganization do not come in handy) so hopefully you get the idea from these pictures.

The total cost for the room (not counting Travis' traded labor and the bedspread, pillows etc. we already had) was around $90

here is the breakdown

Paint and painting supplies- $40

Decorative rod for valance- $20

wooden letters and flowers-$15

(this cost would have been a little less but Molly ate half the flowers and two of the letters plus Travis broke one. I am sure if we hadn't taken a month to hang them up we could have avoided the damage.)

Orange sheets- $15

Small Treasures Little Wonders

While I was searching for the pictures I took of the design on a dime makeover we did in Kailyn's room I realized my pictures were in desperate need of organization. I also reminded myself that none of my digital photos are backed up onto disks or flash drives so I need to do that as well. I still haven't found the pictures I was looking for but I did get all of 2006 (the first year we had a digital camera) organized into folders. While I was moving stuff around I came across these little gems.

Brace Face and Band Geek (or in other words catching up with Allias)

We have known for a few years that Allias would need braces at some point. Once he lost all but two of his baby teeth we took him to the Dental School at UNC to be examined. You have to be a learning case in order for them to accept you into the program. If you are accepted the cost is substantially lower then if you went to a regular orthodontist. They looked at Allias for all of five seconds that first appointment- it turns out he has a severe cross bite that will cause him serious jaw problems if not corrected early. He has had his braces for a week now and is starting to get used to them. Playing the clarinet causes him some discomfort and he couldn't really eat anything for the first few days but all in all things are going okay.

Here he is waiting to find out his treatment plan (this was our second appointment). He was really thrilled to be getting braces.
One side of his mouth. The orthodontist said that very back tooth is one of the strangest he has ever seen in his life.

Here is the other side. (probably not that exciting for most of you but I know my mom will like it). Allias went in the bathroom and pulled out his last baby tooth while we were at the appointment.

The pictures they took- they said his face shape and jaw line will change once he is done with his treatment plan- crazy!

Honestly I think he looks pretty adorable with or without braces but I am happy we caught the jaw issue early enough and it is being corrected.

Since school started and even part of the summer Allias has been crazy busy with marching band. I have loved every minute of it but him not so much. He would like to quit after this season and only do concert band next year but I am hoping by the time they go to march in the Indianapolis Colts Stadium for Nationals in November he will change his mind. I am not sure exactly what it is that he doesn't like but I sure love watching him march and perform. This weekend was one of the busiest he has had so far. Thursday was early release but the band stayed and rehearsed until six o'clock- ate dinner at the school and then performed during the half time show at the football game. He got home around 11.

(sorry the picture is a little blurry it is a snapshot from a video).

Friday was no school but the band had a mini camp all day- then up bright and early Saturday to march in the Mule Days parade-after the parade they headed back to school to rehearse- they were supposed to compete that night at Clayton High School but it was canceled because of rain. Allias was bummed they didn't get to compete. I was bummed too because most of the competitions will be out of town and I was looking forward to watching this one.

Allias is the cutest clarinet player for sure!!!

This horse stood perfectly still- even when the cowboy was cracking the whip!

The Band Parents didn't have it much easier. Thursday I was up at the school helping to set up and serve dinner for the kids then I helped clean up. Travis went to the game to watch Allias march and I came home to get some sleep but ended up staying up until they got home. Friday morning I was up by 5:30 making lunches and then Kailyn and I headed to Mule Days to sell t-shirts- came home briefly and then dropped Kailyn off at a friends and headed to the RBC Center to work at a concession stand (we get part of the profit to help pay for band travel fees). I got home around 11 and then was up again Saturday morning to sell refreshments on the parade route. Luckily they were fully staffed and I was able to just sit and enjoy and the parade although it was nothing like Apple Blossom.

Just for fun here are Cutie K and I waiting for the parade to start

Kaister

My baby girl is growing up and for the very first time in my life I am wanting time to slow down.
When I was pregnant with Kailyn I specifically remember promising Heavenly Father that if he would let me have a little girl I wouldn't stop having children just because I got my girl. At my ultrasound when they told me I was having a girl I kept asking them over and over if they were sure.

We had picked out a name for our first girl years before. We were listening to The Grateful Dead and there is a song with a line that goes- Sweet Ann-Marie she's my heart's delight. We knew that when we had a little girl that is what we would name her and that she would be our heart's delight. We moved to North Carolina when I was six months pregnant. During those last couple of months Travis and I decided we didn't like the name Ann-Marie anymore so we started searching for a new name. We had it narrowed down to Megan or Kayla but then I saw the name Kailyn in a baby name book two days AFTER my due date and fell in love with it. Travis liked it as well. He wanted to keep Ann-Marie as the middle name but I thought it was too long so we decided to go with just Marie. Even though we didn't name her Ann-Marie she still has always been our heart's delight.

She was due September 1st and because Allias had come early I was sure she would as well. Ten days after my due date I was still very pregnant and very ready for the baby to come. The doctor set an induction date for September 14th. I wasn't nervous as I had been induced with both boys.

On the afternoon of September 13th I was walking around the mall with my mom when I had a contraction. Now this was very unusual because in three pregnancies I had never had as much as a braxton hicks. I was soooo excited about the prospect of going into labor on my own. We headed home and during dinner I had a few more contractions. By eight o'clock that night they were a minute apart and we decided to call the doctor. We headed to the hospital and by ten pm I was ready to have the baby. Unfortunately there weren't any doctors in the hospital and so I had to hold back pushing for almost thirty minutes. By that time I was telling the nurse that the baby was coming whether a doctor was there or not. The doctor arrived just in time.

Kailyn Marie Nelson was born at 10:27 PM on September 13th 1999
She weighed 8lbs 9oz and was 22 1/2 inches long.
She was sooooo dry from being overdue that her little toes were cracked and bleeding but she was sooooo beautiful and so sweet from the get go.
I was in such awe that I had a daughter.

She was such a loving baby always happy and smiling and always giving kisses and cuddling. We always said if all babies could be like Kailyn we would have had 20. I never got the chance to fulfil my promise to have more children but I am so thankful Heavenly Father blessed me with three beautiful (inside and out) children and with a daughter like Kailyn.

Her first word was Hi

She didn't walk until she was 17 months old

She used to scoot around on her bottom talking away

She carried a baby doll (or two) with her wherever she went

She would scoot around holding that baby on her shoulder rocking it while talking on her toy phone

She has always been a very interesting little person with lots of quirkiness

She LOVED her binky- I honestly can't even remember how we got her to quit sucking it. I do remember that she was over three.

She NEVER wore shoes. Her first day of Kindergarten was the first day she wore shoes and to this day we never know where her shoes are. I think she has one of several pairs of flip flops in our shoe closet. Everyone at church knows if they see shoes lying around somewhere they belong to K.

We are constantly giving her nicknames- KayKay, Princess, Boo, Monkey, Kaister, Kaister Marieski, Kaister Monkey, Kay, Lover....

She has always been AMAZING at entertaining herself- she will play in her room for hours just talking away.
She has a fantastic imagination and writes wonderful stories.

She loves her dollhouse, roller coasters, Webkinz, Build A Bear and her dog Molly (she is always saying "I just can't believe it I have my own dog")

She is very very good with little children and will be a wonderful mother someday

School and homework have always been a struggle-

In spite of her academic challenges ALL of her teachers have LOVED her so much and have said she is so sweet and a GREAT friend.

Happy 10th Birthday Kailyn- we are sooooo lucky to have you in our lives!

Trashed memories

Travis, Kailyn and I were out running an errand yesterday. We had a pretty interesting conversation while we were out. It went something like this.
K- "I wish my dollhouse had more rooms. I mean the rooms it has are HUGE and great but I just wish it had MORE rooms."
Travis- "Does KC have a dollhouse?" (Kailyn had KC over to play yesterday)
K- "yeah she has two."
Travis- "WoW two???"
K= "yeah I used to have two until mom threw all my memories away."


Speaking of dollhouses. Travis built one for my niece Lily. It turned out fantastic but I didn't get any pictures of the finished product. Hopefully Brittney will post some soon and I can steal one. My friend Shannon used it in two photo shoots when it was pretty close to being done. The first one is Lily's baby brother Owen and the second is a set of boy girl twins.

When Brad and Brittney got all settled in at their new place out in Utah Britt asked Lily what her favorite part of the new house was and she said "my dollhouse". Before they left she was dragging the dollhouse over to her bed at night so she could "sleep" with it. We got lucky when a few months before Travis finished the dollhouse I found a HUGE bag of dollhouse people and furniture at a yard sale. Lily was sleeping with those as well.
Lily is just like Kailyn in a lot of ways- one being that a dollhouse will keep her entertained for hours. The memories that I trashed were in the form of a Fisher Price dollhouse I bought used on Ebay when Kailyn was two. After over six years of constant use it was falling apart so we bought her a new one larger wooden one for Christmas. I guess we should have kept the old one in the garage or something.
Here are some pictures of Lily's dollhouse when it was a work in progress.