Texas!

So I am safely back in the Great State of Texas! It makes me happy to say that! Okay, so I got here Saturday afternoon and have been super busy! I unpacked, went through all the boxes that I left here, trimmed down my closet space (of boxes) down from three full boxes and a laundry hamper, down to one box. I am so proud of myself!

So Dad keeps bugging me about finding a job, which I do want to do, really badly, but I feel like I just need some time to breathe. I need time to come up for air. I just took finals exactly one week ago, and the only down time I've had since then has been reading this new series of books that mom and Rachel are all into. I also read the new Stephanie Plumb book. But that's it! So, I am starting to look online for a job.

Oh, the apartment is very nice. Mom has made it look all homey. It's great. The neighbors are real friendly. I have met a lot of them already. And in the new ward, there are quite a few really nice people who have introduced themselves to me. It is weird being known as Rachel's sister, though. I think I might go to the single's ward instead of the family ward. Mom and Dad have told me some weird things about it, but what I hear from everyone else has been all good things. Plus, I saw them coming out of the chapel on Sunday and there were some very nice looking boys, with not a lot of young ladies. That made my day.

Well, here's hoping I'll get a job off the internet and not have to do the whole door-to-door application thingy. Plus, I find out my final grades tomorrow. Wish me luck with that!

All my love, Bekah

rachel loves everyone except retards.

hey guys its rach.

k funny story. so mom has to tell her funny cop story dont let her forget to!!!! ok so we are safely at home n me n bex have basically cleaned up the disaster that was our room n so now it looks very nice if i do say so myself. ;) so bekah is wearing a shirt that says "a little drama never hurt anyone." i kno ironic bcuz she is NEVER dramatic at all. *heavy sarcasm if u couldnt tell* well we r gonna see harry potter tomorrow YYYYAAAAAAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so yeah i love all of u n laina especially. :) u need to email me. superunner@sbcglobal.net.

LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

news from the theater

hello again from afghanistan!

it has been a very busy couple of weeks, and i apologize for not having written sooner, but life out here is very hectic. i was sick yesterday, but i'm feeling much better today. i think it was mostly just the schedule that ran me into the ground, but i got a day of (mostly) rest, and today is friday, which is the muslim holy day, so usually it's not too busy around here on fridays, so i should be able to rest a little more today. i can't get into too much detail, but i usually work between 12 and 15 hours per day here in my office and around the FOB as need be, plus any missions i go on (usually about 3 per week), and then on top of that i have night guard duty once every three days, so sleep and relaxation have been in short supply lately. i think it'll get better after a couple of months when my body gets more used to it, and i get better at my job so stuff doesnt take me as long. (intersting side note, i have now been in theater for almost a month, one down, eight to go)

there are some perks to being here though... yesterday 5 of the Patriots cheerleaders came and visited the base, signed some pictures, and talked with us a bit. of course it was the day i was sick, so i wasnt looking my best, but it was good to talk to them for a few minutes, and tell them the cowboys were going to crush them in the superbowl this year!

i am trying desperatly to find the right way to handle humanitarian aid. i dont want to give handouts to everyone who comes to the base seeking help, in fact, i would prefer not to give away anything from the base, but rather have the afghan govt give it away, in order to strengthen their appearance and actual capability. but if i do find a way to give it away through the govt, i need to train whoever it is that will be in charge of giving it away. how should the process work? how can they prove they have real need? how can they earn the help they need and not just get a handout? i would love to model it after the church's welfare system, but i dont have access to any church manuals or anything. dad, maybe with all your experience in bishoprics, you could advise me on how to do this. any other sources of advice are welcome as well.

in other news, i am contemplating transfering to utah state when i get back and going through the ROTC program there with a good friend of mine here in afghanistan. let me shed some light on the reasoning behind this move.

first, the army owns me outright until 2011, but still technically owns me until 2016, and can deploy me as needed anytime until june of 2016. and as my job, civil affairs, is highly needed all over the world, it is highly likely that i would be pulled back out of civilian life at least once, and probably more like 2 or even 3 times during that 5 year gap. and they could deploy me with any unit, as any job, as they need at that exact moment. so instead of being powerless those 5 years, if i go back, and go through ROTC, use that scholarship money to finish school, and then become an officer, return to my unit, and then when i deploy once or twice or three times, it is with my own unit, doing my own job, and as an officer to boot. then i would be done with all army obligations probably in 2016 or 2017, and would probably be a captain, with with almost 10 years of experience in real world international relations, dealing directly with governors, generals and smaller local leaders all over the world. and this is a long way off, but my long range plans would then put me working in the state department as a foreign affairs officer after my time in the military is over. i know, lots of stuff, but none of it is decided, and is subject to change, just wanted to let you know what i was thinking about.

well, i gotta run, but i did get the address for letters/packages:

John O Nelson

PRT Kunar, Asadabad

Camp Wright

APO, AE 09354

and you can get flat rate apo boxes from the post office for like 10 bucks, so it shouldnt be very expensive to mail anything here.

lots of love,

john

BABY BUMP!!!

Okay well I thought that I would give you all an update on my little baby boy. He is definitely getting bigger, especially after I eat. So I don't know for sure if it's just me and my fatness or if its the baby happy with what I'm eating. I am officially 21 weeks along and we're just waiting for Steve to be able to feel the baby. It's weird every time the baby kicks and I put Steve's hand where he just kicked and then the baby stops kicking. It's like he knows that someone else is there besides me. How do babies know that? Well, we went to some of our friend's house for dinner last week and they taught us how to make sushi from scratch! It is soooo much cheaper than buying it, let me tell you. AND it was absolutely delicious!!! We just had a vegetable sushi with fresh vegetables like red pepper, carrots, cucumbers, fresh jalepenos, cream cheese, that one thing you put in salsa that gives it it's umph. It starts with a c... chopped up it looks like parsley, but its not. That was the absolute BEST sushi I have had in my entire life.
Okay, mom, Leah, I am not really liking this always uncomfortable stage of pregnancy where I can't wear any of my old cute clothes because it hurts my belly too much every time I sit down. Whoever thought of maternity clothes is an absolute genius! My last day of Arctic Circle is on Thursday! I am excited. I am tired of working two jobs, I want my nights back even though I am only working two days a week, I am exhausted and maybe it's the pregnancy thing because I get soooo tired from just working two hours there. The good thing is that after we have the baby, if I do need to work, my boss offered me my job back anytime. So we will always have a back-up plan if need be. Well we are having speghetti tonight as Bekah's last Sunday meal here in Rexburg, ID. I am about to go and pick her up. Thanks for everything you guys have done for us, we love you! Mom, I'm glad to see you this week!

Sigh

So, Harry Potter 6 is coming out tonight! I can't go because I was too wrapped up in silly school things to buy a ticket beforehand. When is school finally gonna figure out that I have a social life, too? Hello!

So, there's one week and one day left of classes. This semester has really flown by! I'm so glad I've been able to keep up with my assignments for the most part. Jennifer left assignments undone until now, and so she's frantically trying to do massive projects. It does not look fun at all. So, I have no idea how I'm going to get everything done in time, in terms of cleaning and packing and still studying, and watching Harry Potter, and eating, and sleeping, and moving yet again, and everything else I need to do over the next week. Oh, mom, I still don't know how things are going to work out when you get up here, sorry. I have been thinking about it, I just haven't been able to tell yet. I am so not looking forward to my math exam and my world foundations exam. They're going to be brutal.

Oh, by the way, did you know David W. Patton saw someone who claimed to be Cain? It's recorded in The Miracle of Forgiveness.

Well, sure love all of you!

Bekah

Hello everyone!
For family night tonight, mom and I are writing in the blog. What would I write you might ask? I hope there is little doubt, that given an audience and a few minutes of your time, I will talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ! (and hopefully have fun with my family)
In my personal scripture study lately I have been reading in the topical guide under "Jesus Christ, Atonement of". It has been interesting, I have read Romans chapter 5 several times trying to understand it. I sure love the New Testament.
Sunday night we went to a fireside where Elder and Sister Gibbons. He is a member of the Second Quorum of 70, and lived in our ward (Richardson 2nd) before his call to the 70. They just finished serving in the area presidency in Moscow, Russia. So their talks were about the church and life in Russia. They made one very interesting statement that really was amazing. He said that one family that has been sealed in the temple can change a city, 10 families that have been sealed in the temple can change a country!
We are living so very far below our privileges and opportunities. We need to do so much more with what we have, and learn to open our mouths and share what we have.
The gospel is true, life is good, and it's just a great ride along the way!!
I love you all, it is so great to spend time with family.
Dad

youth conference

its rach. so the ropes course was way fun and very high. u should b proud that i actually went on one of them! ur 20 bucks was not wasted! so it was really really high n i was very scared. mer tried to go on one and she didnt make it past the ladder so hah! ok so i am having a blast here n we r about to go so i love you all!!!
p.s. i printed off a copy of johns letter for grandma.

I'm sorry Mommy!

Okay, so mom, I won't be getting every single jar back to you...I was getting in the fridge for some root beer (leftover from our 4th of July party), and I accidentally knocked a jar of kidney beans out of the fridge, that landed on my foot and then shattered. Sorry! I know that was your one condition on giving us the food storage, and I broke it, quite literally.
Okay, on to happier times. Sara's belly is getting so big! It's so adorable! She's now at that stage to where you can't tell if she's just getting fat, or if there might be a little more to it. Love it!
So, my last day of class is on the 23rd, so I am frantically trying to get everything done, and study, and pack, and clean...It's kind of tiring. Talk about pressure. Oh, so I really wanna know what all is going to go on at the end of the semester, are Rachel and I flying home, is Mom picking us up, or what?
So, right now I am at Sara and Steve's, enjoying my time with them before I have to go. They are so nice and hospitable. Generous as well. Sara's sending me home with a half of a lasagna, can you believe it? Such nice relatives I have. Tee-hee, Sara won't drink milk today because they don't have enough chocolate to make it taste good. I think that's funny!
So I'm having mixed feelings about the end of the semester. I'm excited for the tests to be over. I'm excited to go back to Texas, where they know that a proper cold front gets you to about 87 degrees. But I don't wanna leave the atmosphere here. As in, the spiritual atmosphere that pervades life here. This doesn't seem like a good place to end things, but I have nothing else to say.
I'll talk to you later!
Much Love, Bekah

complaints?

okay, so i have had some complaints that you can't see the picture very well on this blog. if you want to see a bigger picture of my baby boy go to my blog. lifeasakofoed.blogspot.com. I am one of the followers. actually, i'm both. i can't help it if you can't tell that it's a boy in this picture. bigger one is on my blog. plus you can click on the pictures to make them bigger. have fun looking at my boy. love you
sara

GENDER OF BABY!

Okay so if you can't tell, WE'RE HAVING A BOY! YEA! SO that means another nephew/ baby boy to add to the family. I'm glad that we're having a boy first. So he can protect his younger siblings! I am so excited.
Love you!
Sara and Steve

hey!!! its rach so i am a lot better now for those of u that didnt know i had a 102 degree fever for about 2 days. :/ but i am feeling a lot better now thanx for all ur concern and help. btw bex n sara would make excellent nurses. they were so nice and kind to me while making me take an extremely cold shower. bbrrrrrr. :D yeah so i am having a BLAST here with my sisters/roomates they are awesome i love them. ok so give mia a big hug and pet for me love you guys!!!!

It's Bekah!

Hey, from your favorite sister/daughter! It's me, you need wait no further! I know some of you were just holding your breath waiting for the moment when I would make me appearance onto this scene! Ok, but in all honesty, thanks for doing this Sara! I really like that I can catch up on my whole family on one blog! It's just so convenient!

Ok, so I cut my hair! Well, Jessica (my roommate) cut it, but I really like it! She cut it for me yesterday, and so now my hair doesn't really touch my shoulders at all, and it's in sexy, messy, yet somehow organized, curls! I love it! I'll try and get a pic as soon as I can.

So, the 4th was amazing! ...Mostly... Rachel woke up not feeling well, so she spent the whole day laying in my bed, and I went to the store to get fruit and buns for the best fruit salad E

VER! (Buns not included) and after we got back I couldn't find my baby (laptop) anywhere. At first I just thought I was being absent-minded again, so I didn't say

anything. Then, Jessica cut my hair, I made the best fruit salad EVER (pineapple (fresh), bananas, apples, oranges, grapes, strawberries, kiwi, all in a delicious sauce made of cream cheese, powdered sugar, and cool whip), then we sat around waiting for the picnic since we were all starving, but we had to wait another hour and a half for food. After we got there, we ate and went and played on the playground a little bit. We started talking and decided that we didn't want to go all the way to Idaho Falls just for fireworks, and we had started this story about us (as roommates), and we really wanted to work on it. Plus, we weren't sure we would be back in time for curfew. Oh, when I went to bed, guess what I found under my pillows? If you're thinking $1 from the tooth fairy, you'd be wrong. It was my laptop! I wonder how that got there?

So, I guess I'm gonna have to check the blog every single day to get all my updates without having to read A LOT all at once. Oh, and thanks to whoever posted all those pictures individually. That was really cool.

Love you!

Bekah

John & Rachel

John, Joe & Kevin just before a father's blessing.

mom's contribution to the war effort

John with Grandpa & Grandma Nelson

a little twig ball, anyone?

the cutest hiker on the whole mountain, in the whole park, well, pretty much anywhere!!!

mystic falls hike. . .what memories :)

some days are just like that. . .

large diapers come in handy sometimes. . .

Cannon & Grandpa (the original watermelon head)

Nanette playing in a dirty diaper :)

our trip home

So, this is my first post. Feel free to welcome me into the 21st century :) we had such a great time with all of our family, I just wish we had an airplane--or could waft places so the travel didn't take up so much of the time we could have been playing with someone. . . anyway, each day was great & I wish we could have spent more time (just another complaint about Kevin working during all of his vacation. . .) now I'm done.

I'm sad that Rachel is sick & away from home, but I appreciate her sisters (& Steve) taking such good care of her when I can't be there. the mom is supposed to take care of you when you're sick, so it's hard to be so far away from your children when they need help. thanks for stepping in & showing how great you understand how a family works :)

our trip home was great. thanx for all your prayers in our behalf. there was little traffic after we left Price (Utah) -- just more congested around the bigger cities & just a bit of rain here & there. travelling on the 4th turned out to be a great idea. just outside of Oklahoma City we picked up a young man who needed a ride (when I say "we" I mean Kevin invited him & I supported my husband by not declining). His appearance was just what you would expect from someone who was hitchhiking for several days & he was not very articulate. we had stopped for gas & since I was driving we headed over to sonic for breakfast. he sat in the back with mia (I don't think he shared his hamburger, but I was driving so I could have missed it). Kevin talked to him for the hour he was with us & his story was a sad one = 26, divorced, 6 yr. old son that he hasn't seen for 3 months. .., no job, all his things "taken" by his own father. he likes to golf, but didn't really seem too interested in having a job of any kind if he could get by without one. no idea why his wife wanted to leave & was reluctant to have him see his son. not really into the "Jesus thing" . Kevin tried to share the gospel with him, but he ended up just telling him that letting God be a part of his life had mad all the difference. how rite he is. knowing who you are, where you came from & where you're going makes all the difference. I'm so thankful for the gospel in my life. there is nothing better than seeing your children gain a testimony & sharing the blessings of the priesthood and the temple with them. you guys (& gals) are the best & I'm so grateful for each of you in our family. all of you are amazing & I love you.

Primary was great, but I'm just too unorganized for my comfort. so, I'll spend this next week getting things done & cleaning carpets in the apt. (they cleaned them when we moved in, but. . .) in sharing time today we built a house (lincoln logs) & dug a trench around it (symbolizing family prayer). next week we'll build a fence (popsicle sticks = fam. scripture study) & then the watchtowers (paper cups = family home evening). we are strengthening our families so satan can't get in so easily :) saturday we have a primary swimming party. wish me luck.

well, Kevin is asleep in the chair, so it must be time for bed. hugs--mom :)

these are a few of my favorite things from our vacation

Can you say "twirling ballarena"? Yellowstone was great!

Hi everyone, this is dad (Kevin - as there are multiple "dads")

I just wanted to write to tell everyone how good it was to all be together this past couple weeks!! It was so fun to see you all.

I really enjoyed going up to Rexburg to see Steve & Sara's; and Bekah's apartments. It gives you a good feeling as a parent to be able to picture where your kids are.

I loved spending time with Cannon! What a happy little boy he is, I just can't get too much of his grins and squeels when you call his name and play with him. I'm really looking forward to the next two additions this fall - what a great blessing it is to see our little family grow.

It was great to spend more time with Leah and Steve - thank you both so much for marrying into our family and being willing to join this group of strange people - FOR EVER! It is so cool that as a parent you love your children's spouce's just as if they were your own. It's no wonder that as kids grow up in the family they have to be taght which aunt or uncle is by birth and which by marriage. The bonds of the priesthood that unite the in-laws into the family are the exact same as those that unite parents to children, so all have equal rights and priviledges. I hope I worded that so you can understand what I mean.

I think my favorite part of the vacation was the father's blessings that were given and received. What an amazing thing it is to have the priesthood on the earth, and the prophetic power that can come from the righteous exercize of it. I gave Joe a blessing before his MCAT exam, then I gave John a blessing prior to his leaving, and then I received a father's blessing from my dad just before we left to drive back to Texas. Each of those blessings was unique and prophetic and powerful.

I love you all!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!

Tiffany and Evan are in the back with the sweatshirts on and Rheah and Dustin are in the front.

Preston and Becca with their "children"

Hey Happy 4th of July! I am so mad at the Rexburg Police and City. Whoever is in charge of signs for the parade. SO I am on my way to Arctic Circle for work and to drop some medicine off at Bekah's for Rachel and I am going my usual route, when there are a bunch of cars and people, so I am going slow and there isn't a sign ANYWHERE that says, "Hey you can't drive down this street there is a freaking parade going on." So I get to the light and there is absolutely no way out, or to turn around, or anything, and this cop comes up to my car and asks me what I'm doing. He was the typical cop, sunglasses, mustache, you know the drill. So he asks me and I'm like, well I'm trying to get to work, but it seems I can't. And he's all well, yeah there is a parade going on you're going to have to back up and turn down this street. SO I do, but the whole time I'm thinking, DUDE put a sign up or something! So it takes me forever. I didn't have it in gear all the way and he's all come on hurry up. HOW in the WORLD am I supposed to hurry when there are little kids everywhere that I don't want to hit and people everywhere?! Someone tell me please! So I'm mad when I get to work which is never good. And the day was slow because it was the 4th and the parade and everything.
So we had a picnic that night. I made potato salad, the best I have ever made, if I do say so myself. We also brought the meat for hamburgers and hot dogs and a grill. Bekah brought fruit salad, plastic stuff for plates, utensils, cups, and the buns. Her roommates came too which was fun. And then Becca Farr and her husband came, and Tiffany and Evan, and Rheah and Dustin all came later. So we ended up feeding like a million people. We still have leftovers if you can believe it. After the picnic, Bekah and roommates decided they didn't want to go to Idaho Falls to watch the fireworks so they stayed in Rexburg while the rest of us went to Idaho Falls. Rachel wasn't feeling good, so she stayed at my house during this whole time. Which was fine cause it ended up that she had a fever and I wouldn't have wanted her out as late as we were... The fireworks were great. They lasted for about 30 minutes and were very fun. They started at about 10:00pm . Becca and Preston brought their dog, Tucker, and their cat, Luna, to the fireworks. I got to hold the kitten. She is only 3 months old so she is still little. And believe it or not she has a green tint to her fur. Weird I know. But way cute. Sorry I didn't take pictures of the picnic, I didn't even think of that. But we do have some of the fireworks and who we went with. I will label so you know who is who.

The Park...

Okay, so the other day Rachel, Bekah, and I went maternity shopping at Wal-Mart, Deseret Industries (D.I), and went to Arctic Circle for lunch while we waited for our movie to start that night. We went and saw Ghost of Girlfriends Past. Don't see it. Way more riskay than I would have liked or thought possible. But anyways, we didn't find anything at those locations we were just chillaxin' till the movie and hanging out with each other. After all of that, it was pretty hot here and we decided to go to the water park and play in the water and take pictures. So we get there and they hose down in the shower to get ready, come out, I take a few pictures and the city turns off the water! What the HECK?! So a city official comes over and tells us that they caught some kid peeing in the water and they have to shut the whole system down and refilter all the water. Which is going to take 12 hours... so what do we do? We went to the playground, took some more pictures of the girls in thier beautiful swimsuits, and played on the playground to dry off. I was smart and did not get wet. Smart Sara is what they should call me. Or maybe just lucky Sara... But it was so much fun. At about 6 Steve and I went to the temple to do some sealing assignments. I just about passed out doing them. How embarrassing. I thought I was going to feint on the spot. Which just goes to show you that thirsty, hungry, tired, hot, and pregnant is not a good combination. What happens you ask? You get sick and almost pass out. Okay then we all, Steve, Bekah, Rachel, and I, went to Wendy's for dinner. OH MY GOSH!!! We are never doing that again. They have the WORST system ever for service. Okay here is what they did...
You stand in line to get your order taken, but they only take one order at a time although they have 2 cash registers, and they won't take the next persons order until the previous person's order is out to them. So it took us like 20 minutes in line and then they didn't have baked potatoes ready for another 15 mintues and I knew that whatever I ordered I knew I wasn't going to like. So that was a HUGE dissapointment. Other than that the day went pretty good. I FINALLY GOT MATERNITY CLOTHES!!!!!! They are so much more comfortable than regular pants. I love the stretchy stuff. Does Lycra shrink in the wash? Well I will have more later about the 4th of JULY!!!

hello from afghanistan!

HEY EVERYBODY!!
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!
I'm here at Bagram Air Base in central afghanistan, waiting my turn to go out east. they have kindly given us some "refresher" training while here, and so far we're just waiting, probably for the next week or so, until we can get out to where we're going. sorry there isnt more to report, but i'm stuck here with not much to do, so i'll talk to you later!
love,
johnny

hey wuts up mom? i love you!! i will talk to you later!
rachel

First...

Okay this is Sara. First of all, we will change the profile pic as soon as we get the new family picture. That way it won't always be about Steve and I or our wedding.

This is the family blog. Mom asked me to make one so that the family can all get on and post the different events that are going on in our lives. Make sure that you take pictures and post those so that we can all see what is going on.

Rachel is having a pretty good time while she is here, I think. We have been hanging out and having fun so far. She went to a Lost and Found Sale today with Steve while I was at work. Bekah is over and doing laundry, which is fine with me because I don't mind having family over to keep me company while Steve is gone at work. This weekend I think we are having a picnic at a park with everyone and lots of people. And then going to Idaho Falls for the fireworks show. Fun Times. Have a Great 4th of July!!!!