Dream Come True

I did it! Tonight I did something that I have been wanting to do ever since I was a child. It was one of my dreams to play on the stage of Abravenal Hall for a large audience - and tonight I played six pieces on stage with the Maywood String Quartet. It was a thrill. I'm sad to say that I don't have any pictures to prove it, but this picture was the best I found of the inside of the hall. Abravenal Hall is the home of the Utah Symphony, and I can't believe I played where many of my idols have stood....Izak Pearlman, Yo Yo Ma, Hilary Hahn.....the list goes on and on. Okay, I'm done boasting in myself.

Dana Point

Last week we took a relaxing vacation to Dana Point, California. All we did all week was sit on the beach and soak up the sun (because we sure aren't getting much here in Utah). We stayed in an amazing beach home in Niguel Shores and loved being with the Griffiths family. The kiddies were soooo happy being outside, exploring the beach, collecting sea shells, running from the waves, sitting in our hot tub watching the sun set, and making sand castles. We plan to make this a tradition every year!

OUR LITTLE SNUGGLE MUFFIN

Can you get any cuter than that?

Living for Eden

This past weekend Steve and I played at a benefit concert for pianist, Paul Cardall. He is a good friend of ours and has lived with ongoing heart failures. He is now on the waiting list for a heart transplant. The concert was sold out with 3,000 people in attendance. There were artists such as Peter Breinholt, Colors, David Tolk, and Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband. It was very touching at the end of the concert when they invited Paul and his wife Lynette and 3-year-old daughter, Eden, up on stage. Paul then used all the energy he had to play one song for the audience. As you can see in this picture, Paul is quite sick and has little energy to do much - I believe his music and his love for his family has kept him alive this long. We are all praying for you Paul and are so grateful for your love and friendship! If you want more info. on Paul's condition, visit http://www.paulcardall.com/

LOVE STORY (Taylor Swift) meets VIVA LA VIDA (Coldplay) - Piano/Cello - by Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson! Watch and be amazed! That's my hubby!

Our new couches sure conduct a lot of static electricity as you can see her in these pictures!

Mesa Pics

Here are some fun pictures of our new house!







PLAY ROOM

MUSIC STUDIO
KITCHEN
MASTER BEDROOM

FAMILY ROOM
MOVIE ROOM
And here's a lovely picture of our ceiling where the worker fell through

Nelson Look-alike Meter

I just wanted to try this out. People have said Lucy looks more like Steve. Hey, that's what they said about Eli too. I don't think that's fair! I did a lot of the work too you know. Well, I took it to the Look-alike Meter, and what everyone has been saying is true - only by 9% though! Well, atleast my children have their father's looks!

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Welcome Home

Grandma and Grandpa Nelson are home from their mission! They have been serving as St. George visitor center directors. It's been a long two years without them, but we're glad they are back. This pictures just reminds us how much fun they are to be around.

Blogging

Okay, so I've decided that I'm switching to blogger because it is much more user friendly than the program we were using for our family website. So here it goes - I'm going to try to update you all a little better on daily events that happen in our lives....so please stay tuned!!!

Picture Perfect

Just a few pictures of Elias and Lucy that I thought you might enjoy!

Our New Home

We did it! We finally moved into our dream home! Okay, so it didn't start out that way. We first bought the home last year and have been renting it out until Steve's parents returned home from their mission. Have any of you ever seen the movie "Money Pit", well, our story comes pretty close! To make a VERY long story short, we bought this fairly new home being reassured that there are no major problems. One month later we fixed 7 large leaks in the home. Since then we had to nearly rip out all the walls and replace all of the pipes in the house, the water heater, put in a new central air and heating system....then the garage breaks - we need a completely new garage door. We then finished the basement, painted every wall in the home, re-carpeted, tore down a wall, replaced every light fixture, new kitchen wood floor and granite countertops..... To make it even more comical, last week a worker fell through our roof, leaving us a large hole in our ceiling to patch up.

Renting our home was also a disaster for the first six months. We had some wild renters that now are on the run because they have a warrant out for their arrest. They left the house a comlpete disaster and even pulled a gun on Steve (call me if you want more details)!

Well, we feel and peace and and home now! The home is gorgeous and just the way we like. I think we'll be here for a while, especially after all the effort we put into it. This is definately the right place for us. I especially love the view of the mountains and city from every window, the large rooms, the master bedroom, the deck and large backyard, the quiet neighborhood, and the spacious garage. Since Lucy and Eli share a room, we created a playroom, an exercise room and a music studio.

Wow, what a funny trial this was for us, emotionally, financially, and physically. But we are tougher now because of it and have a greater understanding of our Heavenly Father's love for us.

Thank you to everyone who stayed up late nights helping us in one way or another. We love you!

Aunt Ummy

Eli and Lucy love their aunt Camille. Eli had a hard time saying Camille's name, so he decided to call her Ummy. Well, this very talented gal has published her first guitar/vocal album "First Words" and had her debut concert last week. She was a star! We're all so proud of you Camille and love you for your hard work, dedication, and for living your dreams!

African Suite

For those of you who don't know, Steve recently finished the African Suite with Marshall McDonald. They were comissioned by the Southern Utah Orchestra to compose this piece. It has been so successful that it has received over 40 million hits. Steve never ceases to amaze me with all of his accomplishments and talents!

Horseback Riding

One of our favorite outings from this past year was horseback riding with Eli. Frankly, I was still quite a bit scared from a past childhood experience - Steve, on the other hand, rode like a champ, completely in charge of his horse!

Smile Bigger

Can you get a bigger smile than that?

What I want to be when I grow up

Eli turned to me the other day and said, "Mommy, when I grow up I want to be a Daddy AND a race car driver!" Hoping it's only a childhood dream, we decided to add this little picture we took of him at the car show.