Merry Christmas Family & Friends! 2018
We enjoy sending out a yearly greeting and hope that
all finds you well. We have had many challenges this year but also many tender
mercies and blessings.
A long story, but Matthew lost his job (of
almost ten years) back in August. We feel blessed to have followed the counsel of
prophets to get out of debt and to prepare for the unknown. We have a testimony
that preparedness is a blessing. Although currently he is looking for a job, Matt
does look forward to the day he can retire. (Prayers would be much appreciated.J) He did enjoy his trip to Bermuda in
June (and Trisha got to come along too). He continues to play basketball every
week either late at night or bright and early in the morning. We’ve all enjoyed
his handy man skills at home.
Trisha is currently on
her fourth year of homeschool and has both Brayden (6th grade) and
Brielle (4th grade) home. It has been yet another medical year as
she connected to the RTD community (cureRTD.org) and continues to become
educated about the rare genetic disorder that the boys have and how to best
treat it. The boys are on a new regiment of vitamins and have had an influx of
dr. appointments. (Many friends and family have asked, “what can I do?” If you
have face book, find the cureRTD page and like it. Share the page/info to
better inform others. Prayers are always welcome and appreciated.) Trisha
discovered High Fitness and enjoys going weekly—it’s a great way to relieve
stress.
Brayden(12)
was ordained to the priesthood and has been to the Houston temple for baptisms.
He enjoys Young Men’s with both the ward and the deaf branch. Recently, the YM
participated in laying wreaths on Veteran graves. He likes to measure himself
next to his mom and he can almost look her in the eye. He discovered the swap
shop at the Houston Zoo and anxiously awaits the free zoo day every month. We
could probably nickname Brayden “Santa Claus” b/c he enjoys wrapping up gifts
for everyone. He gets all the kids excited about it as well.
Brielle(10)
had her “golden birthday” this year as she turned 10 on December 10th.
She has the Harry Potter bug and owns a Hermione robe. She has become more
skilled playing the piano and now desires to play the flute. She and a friend played
some songs on the piano at a nursing home recently. She struggles with shyness
but we continue to encourage her. She has a book/activity club at our house that
she looks forward to every month.
Bryce(7) is getting
close to his 8th birthday in February and will finally be baptized.
He has wanted to get baptized since Brielle turned 8. Bryce is in second grade.
He enjoys school but has had behavior problems that have caused a lot of
concern and have been challenging. Recently, he, along with Brayden, had a
sleep study to see if sleep apnea is an issue. We hope to find out just after
Christmas. His scoliosis has also progressed. Ironically, that’s how we found
out about the cureRTD.org and connected with the RTD community. He now has a
back brace to help correct the scoliosis.
Brenlee(4)
participates in Joy School with four other girls. She loves it!!! It’s hard to
believe that she will be a Kindergartener next year. She’s looking forward to her
Mom teaching her to read (in the spring). She was evaluated for speech and will
start speech therapy to help with articulation (just after the Christmas break).
Ruby turned a year
old on December 18th. She’s Bryce’s alarm clock most mornings. He
absolutely loves her! Snowball is
a favorite and we just celebrated our second year of having her in our family.
Our
family decided to try something new this year. We saved up for a trip to Hawaii
and with Matt’s more “flexible” schedule our family went to Hawaii for two
weeks. We decided to go on this trip for an early Christmas. Matthew’s sister
lives there so like the kids said, “cousins” were their favorite part about
Hawaii. It was a wonderful experience (hence our Hawaiian attire in our family
pictures)!!! We also enjoyed our time this summer, in Utah and Idaho visiting
family.
We have been involved with LightTheWorld. It’s been a reminder to us to live as the Savior lived. It’s been a meaningful way to focus on Him--to honor Him at this time of year when we celebrate His birth. May we all remember the son of God, the light of the world, and strive to be like Him. Like the star that drew others to the baby Jesus, may our light draw others to the Living Christ.
Love,
The Nelsons
