He Knows Us and He Loves Us

Lately I'm finding myself frustrated in life, over old things and new things, and I question why now? Why do things not go as smoothly now? Have my life plans always gone smooth because I wasn't able to handle what trials I go through now then? That what I want and what I get can't be the same? And I'm finding myself turning to prayer and begging for what I want, and then coming to the realization that it's not meant to be right now, maybe never. But what I do know for sure is that through all these rough patches in life, Heavenly Father knows us, and He loves us, and he only does what's best for us. The hard part though is not seeing what He can see. Sometimes I find myself begging for a glimpse of the "Whole Plan" because if I can see where everything fits in I can deal with it all. But that would defeat the purpose of faith and humility. So I turn to him knowing that He loves me, and that He will never leave me, and face each day with faith and humility knowing that everything comes into place at the right time.

A New Year

A new year always brings reflections of that past year, the good things and the bad, the happy times and the sad, and always brings wondering of what will happen in the future. The last couple of weeks I've thought a lot of 2010, of how much I'll miss it, even though it was pretty darn tough. On New Years Day we sat at the cemetery, sharing our time with another man who came to share some donuts and hot chocolate with his young angel grandson. His comment to us was how hard it is sometimes to not have these "little guys" here with us, and so true that is. As we sat for a while there Mike made the comment about how 2010 was a year that is bittersweet. One we are excited is over and yet hate the thought of it being over. I'm still stuck there a little bit, not quite wanting to move on yet, still clinging to the familiarity of 2010, not wanting to forget how great our year was, even with all the pain. 2010 was a year to learn eternal principles, like faith, and prayer, and the principle of eternal families, and that those we love are never far from us. 2010 was a year that Heavenly Father poured more blessings upon us than we could have imagined. He truly became our best friend because he knew all. Last year made us strong, it made us realize we can do anything with the help of God, and we know we can face all trials that lie ahead of us. So although it's a bittersweet good-bye to 2010, we look forward to our year in 2011, with all the blessings and trials we know we may have.

December Recap

Better late than never! Our December was a whirlwind! It started with Michael coming home from Hawaii. Then Mitch was baptized the next day! Wow, where has the time gone, he's not a baby any more!

Then we had a Nelson Family Reunion at Lava Hot Springs followed by Michael's welcome home the next day!
We somehow squeezed work in there and then got ready to go to Hawaii!
We went to Temple Square to see the lights before we left for Hawaii, they were beautiful as always! And there's always such a good spirit there.
And we finally got to Hawaii! We hit the beach,
Santa found us there,

Enjoyed a few different beaches

Went to the Polynesian Cultural Center and got tattoos, and loved the show!

And we hit quite a few other places like the Laie Temple, Leonard's for Malasadas, Pearl Harbor, the Swap Meet, ate lots and lots of food, and met lots of great people!

And we wrapped up December by making it home just in time for New Years Eve! We have had quite the year this year, full of lots of ups and downs, but one things for sure and that is that we love our family and friends! We're grateful to know that families are forever and that we are so blessed by a loving Heavenly Father! Now off to a new year!