Yes, I "stole" this from my sister's Facebook, but it's SO cute, I couldn't resist sharing it with all of you! Aren't those kiddos just about the cutest you've ever seen? Thanks for sharing, Suzi...we LOVE your family's pictures. ;)

Skyler, Micah, Eddie, Patrick, and Hans...

Saying goodbye isn't very easy for us to do, but God certainly gives us an abundance of opportunities to learn how. Earlier this week we had to say goodbye to our friend Patrick. We've spent quite a bit of time with him these past couple of months, and will so miss him--especially the little boys, who've decided that wrestling with Patrick is the greatest thing in the world!

Beginning to look a li'l bit like Christmas...

Christmas decorating at the ITC is nearly finished! We can hardly believe it, but after too many hours to count, the end is in sight! We're continually amazed how the Lord faithfully provides for ALL of our needs, even down to the little details of giving us extra energy to endure sleepless nights when we had all-night decorating to do. And it looks so lovely. These pictures obviously don't do it justice, but for those of you coming to the Christmas Conference, you'll be able to see it then. =)

Growing Up...

One down...four more to go!

Stefanie setting up on the 13th floor...


Ruth arranging desserts in the kitchen...


More of the faithful culinary team...


The servers...taking pictures while waiting. =)

A Special Day

November is birthday month for our family, and today we're celebrating our dear mother's! We're so grateful to the Lord for blessing us with a mother who loves the Lord, her husband, and her children. I decided I would post something that I wrote about my mom a few years back, because these are all reasons why I still love her--I've thought of quite a few more to add to this list too (I guess those would be included in the "million more things"), but for sake of somewhat-brevity, I'll just leave it the way I first wrote it!

What I Love About My Mom...
I love that she looks younger than she really is
I love her beautiful, long hair that’s only just beginning to turn gray
I love that she’s always been there for me, no matter what
I love her passion for her family
I love her desire for the blessing of children
I love that she wishes she could have 9 more children
I love her patience with me
I love that she forgives me when I’ve broken her heart
I love that she encourages me to be feminine
I love that she absolutely loves ice cream
I love that she puts pepper on everything but her ice cream
I love that she collects books that I love to read
I love that she always smells beautiful
I love that she is particular about bathing babies
I love that she taught me to be particular too
I love that she has embraced a vision for biblical, beautiful womanhood
I love that she always encourages me to pursue excellence in everything
I love that she praises me, even when I fail
I love her fondness for coffee lattes and Krispy Kreme donuts
I love that she taught me to cook when I was young
I love that she can still cook everything better than me
I love her taste in decorating, even if my own taste is different
I love that she can style my hair better than anyone
I love her courage and willingness to learn something new
I love her courage and willingness to teach me something new
I love that she says I will never marry until all of my unfinished projects are completed
I love her hospitality and gracious, quiet spirit
I love that she lets me borrow her clothes
I love her way of making me smile when I don’t feel much like smiling
I love her for glorying in who God made her to be
I love that she still kisses me goodnight
I love her because of a million more things
I love her just because…

Happy Birthday, dear Mother!

November Update

Hi there! Remember us? We're the Nelsons, and this is our blog...just in case you may have forgotten.

Since we're making a great effort to post once a month [ahem], we thought we better get a move on it before November is over. ;) Actually, life for our family has been very busy, very full, and very...well, challenging lately. So we have some pretty good excuses for not blogging (we always do, you know!).

Finishing up the last large event at the ITC left the staff here worn pretty thin. Our family somehow managed to avoid the flu that kept numerous people here in their beds for days, so we thought that we would have somewhat of a respite for a few days before jumping headlong into more work and event preparation! But then we received news of the death of our dear Great-Grandfather and made sudden, unexpected plans to head to Pennsylvania for a few days to attend the funeral and be with Josh, Suzi, and our extended family... We all (except for Stef and Sara, who stayed behind because of work responsiblities) greatly enjoyed being away and visiting those we love best back home!

And then this last weekend we had the delightful privilege of visiting our dear friends in Chicago! We were almost not going to go--as exhausted as we all were, trying our very hardest to keep our bodies from getting sick, and having just traveled so far!--but we're so grateful that we did! It was a very restful, encouraging time for our family...we are always so blessed by the friendship and hospitality of the Paine family!

Some pictures of the Heagy Homestead and the happy little children who live there...how we all miss them!

"Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are toward us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered... Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love they salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified." Ps. 40:5, 16

Revival Conference

It was such a joy to serve our guests during the Revival Conference this past week! It had been seven months since our last conference, so we were all eagerly anticipating this event for quite some time. So many people expressed their gratefulness for our service in providing what they called a "sanctuary" for them during such a time, and we know that's most certainly the work of the Lord!

Our family's responsibilities were greatly varied this week, but they included over 15 hours of washing dishes, 60 hours of front desk work, 20 hours of dining room preparation, and...the list goes on! Although it was a lot of work for our small staff, we witnessed firsthand the Lord's compassionate faithfulness in sending so many dear friends to help during the conference and cleaning up afterwards, making it an almost-stress-free event for some of us. =) We're learning that when God plans events for us, He sufficiently provides for all of our needs! You can view some pictures of the Revival Conference here.

Yesterday we turned over nearly 80 rooms (I've never seen so many rooms cleaned in a single day!) in preparation for the National FFA Convention begining on Sunday. That means that directly after one event of 280 people, we're about to begin another event of 510! So we'll be just a little busy this weekend and the coming week. ;) We'll let you know how it goes!

God bless you all...

"...Showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength, and His wonderful works that He has done. That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments." Ps. 78:4,7

[We didn't want to forget to mention how grateful we are for our dear mother who, although not able to assist on the "front lines" during the conference because of other responsibilities, made it entirely possible for the rest of us to do so. And no one else could have provided such a place of rest for us after all of our long hours like our mother does in our home. Thank you Mommy.]