Monday, November 30, 2009

Dorinda is in the News!

On November 27, our local paper, The Bull Run Observer ran a story on Dorinda and her amazing couponing skills. The reporter was so impressed with Dorinda's system that she changed her own shopping habits after the interview. I've scanned in the article and posted it below. click to see a big enough version to read.

Dorinda, I am so proud of you! this is very, very cool. Not only have you saved us hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars on groceries but you've drawn the attention of the community. First you were invited to be a guest speaker at your local Moms of Multiples club and now you've received a newspaper article. I can't wait to see what you do next! Way to go! Thanks for all you do and know that I love you, my little "coupon queen"! :)

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!!



Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends! I hope you too have a list of things to be thankful for - I know I do :)

- I'm thankful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who has forgiven me beyond measure and for whose glory I live!

- I'm thankful for a husband who is beyond compare - whom I love very much and am so grateful to be married to. Kirk - you are the best and I love you!

- I'm thankful for 5 beautiful and sweet children - kids I thought I'd never have and now I have in abundance - how could I be more blessed?

- I'm thankful for parents who are not only willing to babysit all five of my kids so I can go on a cruise but who also love me and my family every day of the year - love you mom and dad :)

- I'm thankful for a home to go home to, clothes to wear and food to eat - the Lord has provided for my every need I could not ask for more.

It's not the things we have that we are ultimately grateful for - the amount of money we have is not important but the people we love are. Cherish your family even when you don't like them!

Happy Thanksgiving 2009 with much love the Nelson Family.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Back On U.S. Soil

Yep, they let me back in the country :) Not sure if that's good or not - I mean if they didn't let me in I could've gone back out :) I would've missed my kids because I certainly missed them after a week. But what a great trip! We had a fabulous time.

The brief cruise run-down:

Left Tampa Sun. 11/15



At sea Mon. 11/16 - hung around the ship, played mini-golf, got my nails done, dressed up for dinner at the steakhouse (it was formal night) and Happy Birthday to the triplets - they are officially 3 - hey, we had to celebrate something :)



Cayman Islands Tues. 11/17 - no excursion - just shopping :)



Yes, that's Kirk. Yes, it's a tattoo - he designed it - says my name - very cool :) Our ship is behind him.



Our view from the tender boat - very blue water.



Just being goofy - we're on vacation after all!!



Cozumel, Mexico Wed. 11/18 - this time we're docked - Carnival next to Princess - little jealousy forming - I liked the Princess ship better (we cruised Princess last time) but Carnival had a better stateroom - hmm...



Looks like what I imagined Mexico to look like :) Notice they're getting ready for Christmas.



Ate at a real Mexican restaurant - it even included entertainment...



After lunch went rock-climbing and on a zip line then snorkeling - managed to climb one wall shaking - don't want to do it again. The zip line I could do again any day - repelling too - as long as I can climb stairs to get there!!



Kirk makes it look easy... (I think that's the 45 foot wall - no one tried the 60 foot wall - wonder why!)



After cheating death we snorkeled saw lots of fish - a few baracuda - then relaxed by the pool and the beach - doesn't get better than that!



Belize (borders Guatemala) Thu. 7/19 - off the ship just after it "docked" - another tender boat from ship to shore - then a two-hour bus ride into the country - plenty of time to see the countryside:

A house.



A supermarket.



After two hours we made it to the Mayan ruins - crazy people I tell ya - human sacrifices - getting high to talk to their "gods" - bizarre - but they had a cool "temple" that we got to climb. Couldn't be scared of heights - no hand rails and we were a good 100 or so feet up (750 feet above sea level at the top).

We're heading up to the top were the guards are - yep, those are people up there and they have pretty big guns - I don't think they like tourists as much as the tour guides :)



Fresco design on the side of the pyramid - we're now half-way up.



View from the top.



Straight down.



The guys with guns - told you they didn't like tourists - we got up there and they bolted - also gave us a hard time for not knowing the difference between Belize and Guatemala - um, how are we supposed to know?



See that tiny road - closer to the camera is Belize - further away is Guatemala - yep, I knew that!



Life on the edge.



Not the best picture of me but that's how close to the edge we were - with no hand rails!



Kirk's being dangerous :) Okay, it doesn't seem so when you look at the photos but everyone who was afraid of heights clung to the walls or didn't even make the climb!



Side view - coming down.



Two hour bus ride back - small siesta for all of us (meaning the tour guide didn't talk the whole way back) - then leaving Belize - slightly late - we arrived back to the ship just minutes before it was scheduled to pull away - oops!



Our ship is so far away! (on the far left)



Closer up - we pull up to the side and climb on board.



Honduras Fri. 11/20 - last stop - super hot - felt like the ship pulled right up to the parking lot - no excursions again - just a bit of shopping - not many stores and they all seemed American.

Notice the ship in the back!



Isla Roatan - a shot of the actual island and not just the port.



The shops.



Don't ask cause I have no idea. Wondering about my hair? Flat irons were contraband so I used mine sparingly (hey, formal nights I HAD to look good!) - made for a lot of bad hair days...



View of the port from the ship.



Saturday - another day at sea - no ports 11/21 - just relaxing - taking pics of the ship :)

Waterslide - oh yea, I went on it - at least 12 times - would've gone more but there was a line and who wants to wait?!



In the buffet dining hall - view from the steakhouse.



Returned to Tampa WAY too early yesterday morning. I'll miss our room and balcony the most - we propped the door open every night to hear the waves. It stayed that way until about 7:30 the next morning when our next door "neighbors" went out for a smoke - boy they were LOUD!

Okay, maybe that wasn't as brief as I intended but hey, it's not ALL the pictures we took :)

Overall it was a great trip - lots of relaxing and renewing with Kirk which was much needed. Missed the kids but I'm so glad that Kirk and I made the trip.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

From The Middle Of The Ocean

Kirk and I are halfway through our cruise. Hard to believe that it’s almost over! We have been to the Cayman Islands and today, Cozumel. We have enjoyed the beach and the warm weather – even a waterslide! Of course, we love the ship and the food.

I have very limited internet connection – meaning it costs a fortune just to use so I am posting a very brief post just to let me kids know that I love them and miss them. And to say thanks to my parents for watching them these past few days. I haven’t been able to call them because of my lousy cell phone. I wasn’t even able to call home on my girls 3rd birthday.

Instead Kirk and I celebrated surviving three years with our beautiful daughters at the steak house on board.



And this is us today in Cozumel. We had a great time – went on our first excursion which was a zip line and then snorkeling – loads of fun!



I will have plenty of pictures and stories to share when I get back but for now I just want to say hi to Kaitlyn, Caleb, Julianna, Rachel and Alyssa! I love and miss you all so much. We’ll see you in a few days – enjoy your time with Grandpa and Grandma.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

No Longer Babies

While my girls aren't officially 3 till Monday at their birthday party today it was clear that they are no longer babies. Instead of walking toys and Fisher Price they were showered with My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake and dress-up clothes. I think they are officially girls!!

Ready to party:



Eating comes first - though I use the term eating loosely since the girls don't eat much and most of what they ate was Doritos :)



Party guests - mostly family here in Florida but quite a few friends too - so fun to celebrte my three turning three!




From food to cake:



So excited for cake.





Cake faces:







Time for presents:





And time to play.









The girls had a fabulous time celebrating their birthday and playing with their gifts. And didn't you love their shirts? If you missed it they say: "I'm the Birthday Girl, now gimme some cake!" That fits them :) The tutus they picked out themselves and wanted to wear the second I bought them but they were too perfect for today so they had to wait.

My teeny, tiny babies have turned into beautiful individuals who happen to share the same birthday. Three three-year-olds - it's going to be an amazing year!

Happy 3rd Birthday (on Monday) to Julianna Mabel, Rachel Gabrielle and Alyssa Elaine - I'm so glad each of you is in my life!

Kirk and I leave tomorrow for the cruise so we will not be home for their actual birthday and I will be off the blog for a week but I will have tons of pictures to share when I return.