the most wonderful time of the year!

Christmas has seemed to have come and gone much faster this year!

we had so much fun with jillian. it's been a blast to see everything through her eyes, and i can't even imagine how much more in the next few years!

jillian was so sweet all day. we were a little nervous that she might be in rare form because she was so exhausted! but she was such a trooper and just went with the flow wherever we were!

on christmas eve, jillian missed the memo that she was supposed to be asleep with sugar plums dancing in her head.

she was up allll night! finally around 3 am, she fell asleep for good in our bed.

then woke up at 7:30!


so with very little sleep Christmas morning, we had our little Christmas with just the 3 of us. it was so sweet to watch jillian love every little thing.


then we went to the nelson's for breakfast and festivities.





doc and gigi got jillian the little tykes car, and she was quite a fan! you can put a "floorboard" in it, so she won't fall out and we can just push her around in it. which makes it perfect for her right now!


mom and dad got a few fun things too!

then we went to lunch at my parents.


we had the annual "vote" by andrew to see if we take naps or open gifts after lunch, and somehow gifts won again! hmm..

we tried to get a picture of all the grandkids and that is always an adventure.


these kids love each other so much! it's so fun to watch them all together!


jillian (and izzie and haylie) got these big chairs and jillian has played in hers soo much! she'll climb in, sit for 10 seconds, then climb back out, and repeat 100 times! it's so funny to watch her. i think she feels so big to have a chair her size!


after all the craziness was over there, we went to the shaver cousin christmas (the nelson cousin christmas was the week before).

we ended the night back at my parents watching the cowboys embarrass themselves on tv!

we were so exhausted by the end of the day, but i wouldn't have changed a thing! we all came home and crashed and slept till 11!

(jillian woke up at 8, but we moved her to our bed and she slept 3 more hours, praise the Lord!)

our first Christmas with jillian was a huge success! i can't wait for the next few years when we can start traditions where she really understands the true meaning of the holidays.

i say i can't wait, but i most definitely can, i'm not wishing any time away. at all!

each day is so sweet right now.

i hope this finds each and everyone of you just as happy!!

catching up..

it is somewhat difficult to keep a blog updated when our internet does not work 75% of the time.

i'll be ready to sit down and update, and that is the time it doesn't work. but then it always magically works when i'm ready to go to bed.

i'm trying to see this inconvenience as a good thing (i'm sure kyle would disagree with this statement), because i spend waaay to much time online, reading blogs and what not. and it's not even that i'm doing/reading negative things. it's all things that are beneficial spiritually, or to raising kids, or cleaning house, crafting (that's a positive!).

i think that super large amount of time could be better spent doing some other things. like actually using the tips and getting my house clean!

but i still want to blog also.

this post is just going to be some pictures and what not of stuff we've been up to since thanksgiving! (good grief, it's been a month).

we had thanksgiving lunch with the nelsons and dinner with my family.

then kyle went hunting and i went to work, so jillian got to spend the night with ammaw and papa.

i only took a few pictures that day. (none at my parents, because i was only there for about an hour, and kyle wasn't there at all!)



jillian's bow makes her look like the chiquita banana lady.


a bunch of nelsons and shavers went to the a&m - baylor football game in waco. heated rivalry in the family!


the little nelsons (us) went all as aggies.

i pretty much love this picture!

kyle had a class for work down in austin, so we all went as a family on a mini trip. this is jillian's first time to stay in a hotel in like 5 months, and she didn't do quite as well as she has before, but we made it through.

the luggage it takes to get that girl out of the house for just a few days!!

we didn't know it, but there was a lady from kyle's class next door to us at the hotel, and one morning in class she said, "i didn't get any sleep, because there was a baby next door that kept crying!"

oops. i didn't think it was quite that bad!

we were there 3 nights, and by the third, she was doing really well!

jillian and i just hung out and played most of the day while kyle was in class. it was a nice break from home.

ashleigh and i opened up shop selling baby and toddler clothes! (more on this to come).


we're just working from home making custom stuff, and we had our first booth at a craft fair at the hospital, and did pretty well, so we were excited! that has kept us pretty darn busy!

kyle hung our christmas lights and jillian had fun watching. this endeavor included kyle falling off the ladder. no hospital trip was needed, just a couple bruises! (and jillian was not sitting there when he fell!)

now we're into all the christmas craziness and having so much fun with jillian! it's so fun to do this with kids now! (although a lot more tiring at times!)


so this has been a very "cliff's notes" version of the last month, but we're still here and trucking along!

happy thanksgiving!

happy thanksgiving everyone!

we'll be hanging out with all our family and eating lots of food!

then, kyle leaves to go hunting, and i go to work, so jillian is spending the night with ammaw and papa. (not the traditional ending to thanksgiving, but we're making it work!)

i hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving!

i love this day!!

sclero-what?

we love our life, every single ounce of it.

but recently, we have been thrown a couple curve balls, and we're learning to love those now.

several months ago, kyle started having these weird symptoms of swelling and stiffness in his extremities. (hands mostly). so that took us to the doctor, and they weren't real sure, but thought it was probably carpal tunnel.

so kyle started wearing wrist braces, and taking anti-inflammatory meds. nothing.

back to the doctor, which took us to a neurologist, who said yes, you have carpal tunnel, but it's caused by something else, and he didn't know what.

well, then his lower legs started swelling, back to the doctor.

then to a rheumatologist, and dermatologist, and anything else that ends in -gist.. and trying every kind of anti-inflammatory and antibiotic.

about a month or so ago, we finally got a diagnosis!

SCLERODERMA.

sclero-what? we put our degrees in google to work, and researched like nobody's business, trying to figure out what the heck we were dealing with.

not the best idea when you've just been given a rare diagnosis. it kinda scares the heebeegeebees out of you!

scleroderma is a rare auto-immune disease where there is an over production of collagen in the tissues in the body.

what does that mean? kyle's skin is becoming very thick and hard, which is immobilizing his joints. which stinks!

the downside with an upside?

it can get into all your organs, doing the same things to your heart, lungs, throat, etc. which really stinks!!

kyle has been through umpteen million tests (lots of needles involved. not kyle's fave), and it has been determined that it is not in any organs! PRAISE THE LORD!

the doctors are fairly certain that kyle has "limited scleroderma", which means it should stay in his skin, so we are praying daily, that is the case.

this is a "for the rest of his life" kinda thing, so there will be appointments from now on checking all those organs to make sure it hasn't spread.

so the treatment for scleroderma? well, that's the kicker. it's so rare, that people don't know how to treat it.

when we got the diagnosis, the doctor said, "you have scleroderma, and honestly, there's nothing really to do for it." awesome!

but, alas, we have found a way!

kyle is going through experimental treatments at southwestern medical school.

he is on several different medications, and he "tans" 3 times a week. yes, you read that right, he tans. it's not a traditional tanning bed, it's got different kinds of lights, but he is getting tanner as we speak! kinda funny. the lights are hopefully going to be able to "break down" the collagen.

he has to go to dallas to tan at 7 am, three times a week, which is lame and tiring, but if it works, it will be totally worth it!

and praise the Lord, we are not going to dallas several times a week for chemo, or something equally as terrible.

we are so tired of doctor appointments (especially kyle, i just tag along), but truly trying to be thankful that the diagnosis is not any worse, even if it does stink. like a lot.

God has a way of opening our eyes, to show that we are not in control. nor the perfectly healthy little family like we "think" we should be.

it's been a tiring journey, but we do rest in the fact that God is sovereign, and will not give us more than we can bear.

so yeah, we're doing well, and still loving this life. curve balls and all.

and because no post is complete without a picture.. here's kyle and jillie bean at one of the many appointments. yes, she tagged along to many appointments, because i want to be there, too! all the doctors know her well =) and she actually behaves quite well there, which makes it a lot easier!

a buzzy little bee

cheesy, huh?

i'm coming out of my blogging funk, so i'm having to back track a little, which brings us to..

halloween!

gasp! halloween!? yes, i actually said that and not "fall festivals". am i even still a Christian? =)

which brings us to our little bumblebee!


we thought this was a very fitting costume for her, because she is so BUSY!
(if i had a dollar for every time i heard someone say, "wow, she's really busy for her age!)


KILLER BEE!! (one of my favorite pictures!)

this is the huge bucket of candy at heidi and brent's house. we all gather there, hang out, and give candy. we think it's more fun to all be together, than all at our separate houses!

we may have passed out some slobbery pieces of candy! just maybe..

all the cousins (minus haylie, who was also a very cute bumblebee). aren't they all so cute!? we're so lucky to have kids who all adore eachother! i just love to watch them all play together. even with the age difference, the older kids are so sweet to the little ones, and they all have a blast!

i was dressed up as a nurse/myself, because i had to go to work later that evening. kyle dressed up as a rangers fan.

we went and trick or treated at gigi and doc's.


we took all the grandkids to trick or treat at my dad's fire station, and they got a call and had to leave while we were there. the kids thought this was way cooler! as they were climbing on the truck, dellie yelled, "is it a cat stuck in a tree!?!?" true story. that girl cracks me up.

here's a picture of all the grandkids together with my grandpa (my mom's dad).

one more picture of our little bumblebee. just to soak up her cuteness..

can you look at this and not smile? i think not.

7 months!

we have been in a bit of a blogging funk around the nelson house.

and by we, i mean me.

jillie bean boo bear is seven months old! which i believe is a little too old, but we'll move on! this is actually like 2 weeks late. maybe i should just do a 7 and 8 month post!

our sweet girl is still a very busy sweet girl. she is EVERYWHERE! and into EVERYTHING!


we love to watch her explore, and then intervene before she endangers her life. or eats a bug.

yes, she has eaten 2. TWO. bugs. bleh. probably my least favorite part of motherhood, so far!

she can wave now and it is so cute. she waves at everyone. the average joe may not notice she is waving because it is a little..erratic. but she is definitely waving, and she thinks she is big stuff!

yesterday she took several steps behind a walking toy. goodness gracious.

she is still a very good eater! she eats every 4 hours in the day. usually eats a fruit or vegetable once or twice a day. we're trying to be better out doing food twice a day, but she spits up so much after, that i dread doing it.

she is still a spitter. we recently started zantac, which has helped a ton, but the last couple of days have been spitty again. bleh.

{after this picture, she may have flipped over the edge. maybe. good thing there is a big pile of pillows on the other side of the chair. just sayin'..}

jillian may be one of the happiest babies i have ever been around! she is constantly "pumped about life!" she will just bust out laughing at nothing and it is so sweet!


i think she's going to have a little sense of humor. her facial expressions are to die for!

{this may be my favorite picture every taken of her!}

she's been sleeping pretty well lately. i think we are finally out of the "waking for no reason" phase from about a month ago. she usually sleeps from 9ish to about 6ish.


this is how she ended our 2 1/2 minute photoshoot. she never stops moving, so she offers lots of poses!

avocados!?

jillian tried mashed up avocados at tamolly's the other day.

she was not a fan.

first thing we have found that she doesn't love. i don't know if it was the taste, texture, or what!

"you want me to eat avo-what?"

"i don't know, mom.."

"oh, i don't think i like this!"

"it's coming back out!"

"yeah, that's gross."

"i'm trying to be polite, but please stop feeding me that.."

happy birthday kyle!

i took this picture of kyle at the gcs homecoming game on saturday. and i kinda love it.

he's such a good dad, and embraces the "dorky dad" thing.

he turns 24 today! we went to church this morning, then spent the day watching the rangers and cowboys (both lose!) we're hoping for a rangers rebound on tuesday!

on friday we went out on a date to four winds steakhouse. it's in the middle of nowhere in wills point. it was kinda nice to get away, just the two of us.

saturday, kyle got to sleep till noon while i took jillie garage sale shopping. then we went to our homecoming football game and watched the rangers game.

anyways...

jeffrey, jillian and i are so lucky to have you! we love you so much and hope you had a great birthday!

we love you crazy!

the great state fair of texas!

last week, we went to the state fair!

the weather was perfect, and we had a lot of fun!

jillian seemed to soak it all up.


i think her two favorite things of the day were the petting zoo and riding on dad's shoulders!

jillie would just grab at the animals faces and laugh! she wasn't scared at all!




the rare picture of mom and dad these days.


she cruised all day with her feet on the "dash"


kyle's state fair corn dog


this is jillian's "corn dog"


i love this picture! jillian kinda likes her dad!



this was at the end of the day, and jillian was getting tired of the stroller. when kyle put her on his shoulders, she just squealed out of pure joy the whole time!