A bedroom fit for a King (size)

Over the past month we have decided that our Queen bed was not cutting it so we started shopping for a King Bed. We found a bedroom suite we liked at Ashley furniture and it was delivered yesterday. It gave us a great excuse to change the colors of our wall and steam the carpet. We also found bedding we liked. We have not decorated, done curtains, etc, but we do have a much larger and softer bed and an updated look to our bedroom. The picture above is the company picture and the ones below are our room. I couldn't get a great angle of the furniture without it making our room look small which is weird because it makes it look wider. Who knew? Anyway, yay for Cody and me!

Goodbye to Oprah

After 25 years, Oprah is off the air. Her last epidsode was last week. People either love Oprah or they hate her. "She thinks she is God". "She thinks she is SOMETHING SPECIAL, so prideful, so full of herself." Whether you agree or disagree that is up to you. I really enjoyed her show. She brought thought provoking topics, told stories that needed to be told, and dealt with issues with as much dignity as I believe possible. She asked good, tough questions. For the most part she with held judgement, and she told poignant stories. Of course I applaud her generocity and her love for education. For the past several years, I can't even remember how long, I have recorded her show and watched it after work. I didn't always watch every moment, but I did watch part of every show, and most of the time, I did watch the show in entireity. She gave a voice to many causes that did not have a voice. Just because I did not agree with every cause, doesn't mean that they did not deserve a voice. I will miss her show, her book club choices, and her voice each afternoon. I admire her phenomenal sucesss, her personal story of triumph, and her belief that we can all make a difference. Thank you for your show Oprah. You were one of a kind.

Carley's Dance Recital

Carley was a Rappin' Tapper this year and she was such a cutie in her costume. She had been really sick for 5 days and I was afraid we would have to pull out, but she got better just in time! She has learned a lot this year from Ms. Rhonda. She has been challenged SO much! We are really proud of our girl.Our dear friend, Ms. Susan came to rehearsal with Nana and me. She brought Carley white daisies and lots of love and encouragement. Susan and I will not be working together next year and it BREAKS MY HEART.The Spann clan made it to her recital. They are such a sweet and supportive family. We are so thankful to belong to them.


Nana and Papa came and were a huge hit. Of course Carley's biggest fan was her little brother, Corey, who yelled, "Sister" and waved all during the dance.

Cody gave Carley pink lillies and she loved them. She had such a great night.

This, That, and the Other

I am behind on blogging again. We have had a busy few weeks at our house.

1. Corey had his first trip to the ER. We lifted him by his arms and his elbow came out of socket (basically). It is called a nursemaid's elbow. Poor little guy was hurting until we got it fixed. Broke our hearts!

2. We had serious spring cleaning one Saturday at the Nelson home. We threw away and donated a ton. We also took apart our bed and vacuumed underneath it and cleaned it out. We did the base boards, the vents, and our closets. It was EXHAUSTING but very worthwhile.

3. Carley got really sick. She started running a fever after her graduation on Thursday and was sick all weekend. She had a UTI and a virus. Her fever got up to 105.6 on Friday. I almost had a heartattack. Cody came home and we got her in the bath. Poor girl had 102-103 all weekend. Monday it went down. I haven't seen her that sick in a long, long time.

4. Our poor, neglected, sweet dog Ali finally got a new bed on Spring Cleaning day. She has been sleeping on the same pillow for years. It was yucky. We threw out her old bed and got her a new one. It was so funny, as soon as we put it down she walked right in and fell asleep. The kids love her and she is SO good with them. It is just hard to give love and attention to all the Nelsons plus sweet Ali.
5. The end of school for kids and teachers is Friday! 48 hours! YEAH!!!!

Carley's PreSchool Graduation

Carley's Graduation was Thursday. We are so proud of her. She earned every award they have and had a great year. For their little assembly they said the Lords Prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and The Star Spangled Banner. It was pretty cute! She will miss her friends and her teachers so much!Papa and Nana with the Graduate

Her teacher in the Owl Class, Ms. LauraThe director Mr. Bill and Assistant Director, Ms. Debra
This is Carley's face when she saw her brother. Hilarious.
Getting her diploma from Mr. BillHer best buddy Nadia

Carley Preschool Graduation Pictures

Time is going too fast! Can't believe I will have a graduate on Thursday. I am so very thankful for my little girl and the young lady she is becoming.

Mother's Day

* this is my 5th new post in the past 30 minutes! Lots of blogging catch up!*

I had a really wonderful Mother's Day. I am so thankful that God blessed me with Carley and Corey. I longed for our family of 4 for a long time and it is so precious to have my two babies. I never take them for granted. They are such treasures. And of course my mom is amazing! The best Nana ever and the light of my kids life. She is such a rock and so supportive. I am so very thankful for her kind, genuine, loving heart.I am also so very thankful for Oleta Spann who Cody calls mom and who is so very loving towards our family. She is a true angel and her accepting and giving nature is something incredibly aspiring.

Also Alyssa's sweet Mother-In-Law, Mimi(Bettie) was here this weekend and she is always so sweet and kind to our family. Carley asked her to be her honorary Mimi this weekend and Mimi accepted. She is so sweet.

And I got to spend the weekend with my sister who parents with such ease and grace. She never loses her cool or raises her voice with her girls. She is such a great mom and such a special example to me.

Cody spoiled me rotten. I asked for my car to be detailed for Mother's Day and he took care of that for me. It was SO nice to have a clean car. The kids gave me a Willow Tree Jewelry Box and a sweet new Willow Tree figurine entitled "Tenderness". Then Cody SURPRISED me with a beautiful new charm bracelet. He is the most thoughtful husband.

The O'Rears Visit

Oh my Goodness! What a fun weekend! The O'Rears came to town and it was SO good to be with them. It was a short, fast, and furious weekend, but we definitely got some precious time in with our favorite family.

Addison is 5 months of sweetness. I love that chubby little girl so much! How precious are her little hands and feet! She and Corey "played on the floor" together and after he got over his jealousy of her, he really loved watching her and talking to her. But Corey LOVED Lauren. He called "Oh Oh" (Lolo) ALL weekend and wanted her to carry him everywhere. It was so sweet. Camryn and Carley could not get enough of eachother.

Newest Nightly Ritual

The kids newest thing to do at night is sit together on the couch in pajamas and watch Curious George. It is so sweet to see them really interact and love each other.

Muffins with Mom

Friday was Muffins with Mom at school. I loved going and eating with my sweet boy and girl. Carley was hilarious, she kept patting my hand. Corey just thought he was SO big because I brought him to Carley's room to eat so I could eat with both at the same time. He loved sitting at her table. Being a mom is such a joy and a gift.

Serious Fingerpainting

Carley is really into finger-painting right now which really wears me out. It is just not my thing, but she LOVES it! The artist in our family is obviously my talented husband so Carley asked him to do some "Serious Finger-painting" with her. So they planned their serious fingerprinting night as soon as Corey went to sleep. I thought they looked so cute when they were working.

Here are some pictures Cody whipped out in 2 seconds. The first is just a pretty landscape and the second is the beginning of the Emerald City in Wizard of Oz.