Merry Christmas from the Nelsons! Welcome to our 2010 Christmas card and photos online. 
Phoebe (7), Annika (6), Tanner (2)
New Christmas artwork from myself and the kids
from Tanner
from Annika
and from Phoebe
"Eureka" sums up the Nelson year pretty well, I am thinking. As in , "Eureka!" the year passed so quickly and the holidays were here in no time, as I am sure it was for many of us.
And as in, "Eureka!" a good exclamation to science experiments. How I, Nicole, a verbal artistic sort, ended up in a household of science aficionados I am not quite sure. But a year of science experiments it has been. Literally: the kids always have some crazy concoction, gadget, or animal exploration of some sort going and the Discovery and National Geographic channels are a must in our house. And as I thought through our year, figuratively also. Lets take a look at the lab book, shall we?
The physics of plastic particulates (bouncing balls and polymers): This would be Jeff's experiment of the year. He bounced right out of GMAC and into Crating Concepts (his own business in the moving industry of all things, so ironically funny). An interesting mix of components makes this experiment volatile at times, difficult to predict, but mostly fun and rewarding. You never know where that ball is going to go, and adjustment has been a major factor in our life. But he is the happiest he's been in years.
Electric stimulus: That would be Annika. Much like thunderbolts, batteries, and all electric currents I would describe her year as a combination of huge stores of energy, sparks, and power outages. This fun, and often hilarious, child definitely likes to mix it up, constantly messing with the generator and various power lines. Preschool was fun, kindergarten too easy and a hard social adjustment in some ways. Gymnastics was an even flow current, softball had interruptions in service. Swimming was a fun jolt of wattage that she got a kick out of. She was highly efficient when it came to friends, and chose two: Graham her best buddy and Mrs. Ferry the school secretary. Both excellent power sources.
The worm farm: Phoebe. Are you surprised? You shouldn't be. This one is definitely literal and figurative. This girl can catch and contain more bugs in more plastic containers than anyone I have ever met. And like her cups of bugs, it takes a while to see what is inside this shy creature, but it is quite fun and fascinating when you get there. She still loves dance, art, books, her friends, giggling, and school. Not to be outdone by little sister is becoming a trend though: you should see her dive and swim like a water beetle and ride her bike. A big achievement: she was honored as one of six kids in her grade at a school board meeting for good character, and the cool part is that this was the third year in a row.
Mold infestations: This would be Tanner. He just keeps growing and growing, changing colors, sometimes stinky and fuzzy, somewhat difficult to contain, but always interesting. Trust me, though, this is good mold. Like bleu cheese or penicillin. You have to adore this affectionate, lovable little guy who is either super happy or mad at the world. He LOVES construction. LOVES it. His life is ruled by forklifts, diggers, dump trucks, and tools. But that's not all he likes. He does like garbage trucks and the chipper machine. And books and cutting. Really likes to cut stuff. And making messes. And staying up ridiculously late at night. Yeah, definitely mold. But he did manage to rock potty training at 2 1/2!
Baking soda and vinegar volcano: That would be yours truly. I tried mixing it up a little this year with fairly volatile results leaving a trail of lava, ash, and gas in my wake, and a few art projects :). Babysitting was a pretty big explosion. And trying to volunteer has been a pretty close second. I am realizing I need to slow down, adjust to not being able to control anything, accept life for what it is, and stick to what I know (I just have to figure out what that is). It is helping that I found a great doctor a month ago that is finally listening and getting to the heart of some issues.
Nature vs. Nurture: We experimented with separating the family for vacations several times this year with good results. Jeff and I went by ourselves for a fantabulous week to St. Maarten. I went scrapping for a weekend. Jeff trained in Cincinatti for two months. The kids went to week long grandparent camps in Illinois and Iowa. We looked at marine species at the Shedd Aquarium and the human species of Chicago (its' own breed that is for sure).
There I think that sums it up. I am not even going to hypothesize what next year brings. I can merely continue to observe and gather data and watch our experiments grow.
I do know one TRUTH: that Jesus was born to be the Light of the world. I will continue to seek that Light in my life, and I hope that his Love fills yours with joy and peace.
Merry Christmas to you all!
Phoebe (7), Annika (6), Tanner (2)
New Christmas artwork from myself and the kids
from Tanner
from Annika
and from Phoebe"Eureka" sums up the Nelson year pretty well, I am thinking. As in , "Eureka!" the year passed so quickly and the holidays were here in no time, as I am sure it was for many of us.
And as in, "Eureka!" a good exclamation to science experiments. How I, Nicole, a verbal artistic sort, ended up in a household of science aficionados I am not quite sure. But a year of science experiments it has been. Literally: the kids always have some crazy concoction, gadget, or animal exploration of some sort going and the Discovery and National Geographic channels are a must in our house. And as I thought through our year, figuratively also. Lets take a look at the lab book, shall we?
The physics of plastic particulates (bouncing balls and polymers): This would be Jeff's experiment of the year. He bounced right out of GMAC and into Crating Concepts (his own business in the moving industry of all things, so ironically funny). An interesting mix of components makes this experiment volatile at times, difficult to predict, but mostly fun and rewarding. You never know where that ball is going to go, and adjustment has been a major factor in our life. But he is the happiest he's been in years.
Electric stimulus: That would be Annika. Much like thunderbolts, batteries, and all electric currents I would describe her year as a combination of huge stores of energy, sparks, and power outages. This fun, and often hilarious, child definitely likes to mix it up, constantly messing with the generator and various power lines. Preschool was fun, kindergarten too easy and a hard social adjustment in some ways. Gymnastics was an even flow current, softball had interruptions in service. Swimming was a fun jolt of wattage that she got a kick out of. She was highly efficient when it came to friends, and chose two: Graham her best buddy and Mrs. Ferry the school secretary. Both excellent power sources.
The worm farm: Phoebe. Are you surprised? You shouldn't be. This one is definitely literal and figurative. This girl can catch and contain more bugs in more plastic containers than anyone I have ever met. And like her cups of bugs, it takes a while to see what is inside this shy creature, but it is quite fun and fascinating when you get there. She still loves dance, art, books, her friends, giggling, and school. Not to be outdone by little sister is becoming a trend though: you should see her dive and swim like a water beetle and ride her bike. A big achievement: she was honored as one of six kids in her grade at a school board meeting for good character, and the cool part is that this was the third year in a row.
Mold infestations: This would be Tanner. He just keeps growing and growing, changing colors, sometimes stinky and fuzzy, somewhat difficult to contain, but always interesting. Trust me, though, this is good mold. Like bleu cheese or penicillin. You have to adore this affectionate, lovable little guy who is either super happy or mad at the world. He LOVES construction. LOVES it. His life is ruled by forklifts, diggers, dump trucks, and tools. But that's not all he likes. He does like garbage trucks and the chipper machine. And books and cutting. Really likes to cut stuff. And making messes. And staying up ridiculously late at night. Yeah, definitely mold. But he did manage to rock potty training at 2 1/2!
Baking soda and vinegar volcano: That would be yours truly. I tried mixing it up a little this year with fairly volatile results leaving a trail of lava, ash, and gas in my wake, and a few art projects :). Babysitting was a pretty big explosion. And trying to volunteer has been a pretty close second. I am realizing I need to slow down, adjust to not being able to control anything, accept life for what it is, and stick to what I know (I just have to figure out what that is). It is helping that I found a great doctor a month ago that is finally listening and getting to the heart of some issues.
Nature vs. Nurture: We experimented with separating the family for vacations several times this year with good results. Jeff and I went by ourselves for a fantabulous week to St. Maarten. I went scrapping for a weekend. Jeff trained in Cincinatti for two months. The kids went to week long grandparent camps in Illinois and Iowa. We looked at marine species at the Shedd Aquarium and the human species of Chicago (its' own breed that is for sure).
There I think that sums it up. I am not even going to hypothesize what next year brings. I can merely continue to observe and gather data and watch our experiments grow.
I do know one TRUTH: that Jesus was born to be the Light of the world. I will continue to seek that Light in my life, and I hope that his Love fills yours with joy and peace.
Merry Christmas to you all!
