My attempt to start up...again.

A year and a half is way too long between updates on this blog. When I think about it, that is how my actual journal entries are. Well, maybe a little more sporadic. hehe I am also hoping Eric will post here as well.

We will be going to our church's Trunk-or-Treat tonight and we are all excited for it! I am a little stressed because our costumes are not quite done yet, but I will do the best I can to complete them. Keira really wanted to be characters from the Splatoon video game called Inklings. More details and photos to come afterward. :) It's a little crazy how quickly the holidays came. The rest of this year is going to fly by!

Keep smiling!
~Gina

The Torturous Process Of Being Prepared...At Least It Is To Kaylee.

We were told of a fingerprinting drive that was put together as an Eagle Scout project. We have been working on being prepared for an emergency and I have always thought it would be a good idea for us to have our kid's fingerprints on hand, just in case (heaven forbid) something should ever happen to them.

Eric had a meeting and he was not able to make it. I had thought to bring a camera to take pictures of the girls getting fingerprinted. But knowing I couldn't hold Kaylee and take pictures, I left the camera home. I'm so happy that a friend came by the table to take the following pictures!

After the office spoke to us, he suggested the youngest ones go first. We had first gone over to a young lady we know, Teagan Hansen. Kaylee was determined to not be fingerprinted! The officer offered to step in and try.

She was NOT happy. You'd think he was breaking her fingers with how she was acting. 

I, on the other hand, couldn't help laughing. I tried keeping it in so she wouldn't think I didn't care for her feelings, but there were times I couldn't hold it in.

While Kaylee was crying and pulling, the officer stayed calm and was able to get the job done.

I did not get any pictures of Keira being fingerprinted, but she went did it with flying colors.

~Gina

Kaylee Laughing

It has been a veeeerrry long time since we have posted anything.  There have been so many life changing events that have happened.  The most important event was the birth of our second daughter Kaylee Danielle Nielson.  She arrived on January 10th of this year and has been an amazing blessing in our lives.  She brings many smiles and much happiness to our family.  We are all having so much fun with her.  I don't have a whole lot of time to post much right now, but here is a quick video of her laughing.

Fun, Fun, Fun

I had an eventful and fun weekend. I packed quite a bit into this trip. I have had a trip to Phoenix planned for a while. Due to my last post, you know I retook the test for my next work certification. I decided to mix a little bit of work with some pleasure.

I have some friends and family that live in the Phoenix area. I arrived in Phoenix on late Wednesday night. I wanted to have Thursday to study and refresh myself for the test on Friday. So, I studied from 8:00 A.M. to noon. I called up my friend Josh John who I haven’t seen since we attended school together at Eastern Arizona College. I think the last time I saw him was 4 or 5 years ago. We were able to go out to lunch and I thoroughly enjoyed the visit.

After lunch I studied for several more hours and then decided to go visit my sister Jana and her family out in San Tan Valley (Queen Creek). It was so nice to visit with them. I haven’t seen them in 5 years. The last time I saw them was when their son Nick was ordained a Teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood. He had just turned 14. He is now 19 and has grown a lot. I didn’t realize how much I missed them until I saw them. I just wanted to keep visiting, but I knew they needed to get up early next day, so I left after visiting for a couple of hours.

I was able to sneak one other visit in before I retired to bed. I was able to visit with Joel and Shauna John, two more friends I made while attending college. I sang in a barbershop quartet with Joel during the good old college days. It was so nice to hear that Joel got a job teaching music and Shauna is able to stay home with their children. They are such fun people and I really enjoyed the visit.

Friday I started my test at 8:00 A.M. I finished at 1:00 P.M. I caught a 2:30 P.M. flight and flew to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Talk about a close call. I wondered if I would catch my flight. My brother Dan and sister Julie picked me up from the airport and we drove to the great metropolis of Bluewater, New Mexico. (Bluewater has just under 1,000 people according to the 2000 census).

I was able to help celebrate at my brother David’s reception on Friday night. David married Elese James. She was really gorgeous that night. David and Elese seem very happy and they absolutely glowed the whole night. I wish them the very best in their marriage. May the future bring many good things to them. Way to go you two!

It was fun to have most of the family in Bluewater. A lifelong family friend just moved back to Bluewater and it was really fun to see Taylor Payne and his family. My brother Aaron and Taylor were best friends growing up. They did everything together until Taylor moved away to Texas. It was so much fun to hear the funny and scary stories of when they were younger. We had also heard that another friend was in town from Arizona. Aaron, Taylor, Lars, and I drove to Milan and visited with Winslow McNeill and his family. It was so nice to see him. Winslow is now a chiropractor and he and his family are really flourishing.

On Sunday I was able to attend church and then I was able to visit with another friend Edward Romero. Edward and I met in Middle School and have been friends ever since. It was so fun to hear that he is now married and his wife is expecting a little girl in April. I wish him the best of luck!

Wow! What a weekend. Lots of great visits and a few fun memories to take with me. I am reminded of how blessed I truly am. I have many great friends. I am also blessed with a really great family. The best part about my family is that each and every one of my siblings are unique and real. They are who they are and I love them for it!

~Eric

Sometimes we are humbled

I have been humbled once again. I was hoping to post back in December that I passed the test I took in November. I guess that is why I have not posted anything else for a while. I am reminded of a scripture in Ether 12:27:

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

Taking tests have always been a weakness for me. I wonder if they will ever become one of my strengths. I seem to work and study really hard and then I don’t pass. I have taken several tests with these same results. I seem to learn something every time. This time I decided to retake the test in February. I studied a little bit every week and better prepared myself. I just found out that I did something right. I passed! What a big sigh of relief.

So, what does this mean? I am now a cathodic protection technician. Huh? Most don’t understand this terminology. It just means that I earned another certificate for my work and will most likely get a raise this year.

NACE CP2

Where I took my CP 2 Class.

Most people never know about corrosion. I didn't when I first started in this industry. NACE is the National Association of Corrosion Engineering. They provided a course that I signed up for this week in San Francisco, CA. I took the CP2 course, which is the second of 4 certifications in my industry. If I pass the test I will most likely get a raise which is always a good thing. So, after a long week of studying, I finally took my test. I will find out next week how I did.

An Attitude of Gratitude

I have been hearing several talks in church, in general conference, and in stake conference about gratitude. I attended stake conference today and our good stake president spoke about gratitude. He mentioned a story of when he was on his way to work. He had recently challenged the stake to have an attitude of gratitude. Then one day a nail lodged its way into the rear tire of his car. He noticed he had a problem and pulled into a parking lot. Instead of looking at this as a negative experience, he chose to think of all of the things he was grateful for in this instance. First, he had a car to get to work in. The nail had placed itself in the tire so it was a slow leak, this allowing him time to reach a parking lot to pull into instead of a busy freeway. His father had taught him to change a tire. He had a spare tire to place on the rim so he could make it on time to work. He had so many things to be grateful for. Another gentleman had pulled into the parking lot and had responded to his predicament by saying “What a lousy way to start your day.” The stake president responded with a smile, “This was the best flat tire I have ever had.”

As I heard this story and stories from President Monson and other people I realize that I have so much to be grateful for. I am so grateful for this month of November coming up. What a beautiful time of year this is where we can enjoy the changing of the leaves and all of the many other wonderful things fall has to offer. I always love the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday Season of which we are fast approaching. Maybe it is because, as a general rule, people are a little more focused on Christ. What an amazing time we have to be alive in. What an amazing gift of atonement the savior gave to us so that we can repent of our sins and move onward and upward.

I am grateful for the things I have learned this year and the experiences that have brought me where I am today. While I had a very rough time at my last job, I was gainfully employed and was able to keep my bills paid and help others when I could. Even though it is hard to admit at times, I am grateful for the trials in my life that help me grow stronger. It is through our weaknesses that we can be strong if we allow ourselves to make our weaknesses into strengths. I know that the Lord is truly mindful of each and every one of us. That has been evident to me as I made a big move from Utah to California. He blessed us with so many things. I felt his loving hand every step of the way. I am truly grateful for my job I have now that allows me to support Gina and Keira and allows Gina to stay home with Keira.

I am grateful for Gina and Keira in my life. They bring so much joy to me. I love being able to see them every night when I get home. I love it when Keira gets excited to see me when I get home. The first thing she says with a smile almost every day is “Daddy!” I then give her hugs and kisses. I also love the kisses and hugs that Gina gives to me. I am so blessed to have a happy wife and daughter to make my day even better. We have an amazing ward and have made some good friends that make our lives better. I am grateful for their hands in helping us move our stuff into our apartment.

I have so many more things to be grateful for that I will not mention. I will leave with my testimony that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true. Jesus Christ is our Lord, Master, and Savior. The Book of Mormon and other scriptures are true. Joseph Smith is a prophet. Thomas S. Monson is the Lord’s prophet at this time and he leads and guides this church. We live in a wonderful time for which we have to be alive. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and can think of things you are grateful for.