Visiting the Grandparents in New Mexico

This past weekend we drove to my parents house in New Mexico. It was a wonderful weekend of rest for us! Malia enjoyed hanging out with grandma and grandpa and meeting quite a few of the neighborhood dogs! It was a nice time to get away, especially since our apartment is still filled with boxes and things put in "temporary" places. It will be nice when we get totally unpacked and settled.

On another note... Malia is now 4 months old! She's getting stronger and bigger everyday. While in New Mexico her grandparents bought her a little doorway jumper since she's now big enough to use one! We put her in the jumper, but she hasn't quite figured out how to jump! But she enjoys standing up in it! I'm sure she'll figure it out soon!

Colorado

Beautiful blue skies and gigantic mountains! I love Colorado! The past few weeks have been wonderful as we have settled into our new apartment. But with all moves there are always some challenges (finding your way around, finding a new church, making new friends), but thankfully Chris, Malia, and I are in it together. We love our new apartment and are getting use to the residents that live above us... yes they walk loudly but we get a good laugh from it. We discovered that they actually have two young boys which is probably where most the noise comes from. Best of all with this recent move is the peace and quietness that we find living in our new place (even with the loud walkers... it's much quieter than living next to a freeway). Every time I walk outside I am reminded of God's beauty. Nature has always helped me to feel closer to God, and I am excited to draw close to Him as I explore this new place. In the two weeks that we have been here I already find myself so much more at peace than I was before. Praise God for His beautiful creation that I so thankfully get to enjoy!

Honoring My Grandfather

This past week we did our first road trip with Malia to Oregon. It was a fun trip but also bittersweet given the circumstances. We gathered with my family to put my grandfather, Merritt Daniel Middaugh, in his resting place at the Willamette National Cemetery. The service was beautiful and it was so good to see all the people who gathered to honor him. My grandfather was an amazing man who I loved dearly, and it pains my heart that he is gone.

While at the funeral, I had the opportunity to meet the military chaplain who visited on a regular basis with my grandpa. My grandpa was of the generation where you didn't really talk about your faith, so we had very few conversations regarding our faith. After talking with the chaplain I felt more comforted knowing that my grandfather and him had many conversations about Jesus and his faith. I know he is with the rest of his family in heaven now, and I am at peace with his passing even though it hurts.

Yesterday at church we sang the song Your Beautiful by Phil Wickham. The lyrics moved me to tears as I thought about my grandpa.

I see Your face in every sunrise

The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes

The world awakens in the light of day

I look up to the sky and say

You're beautiful

I see Your power in the moonlit night

Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright

We are amazed in the light of the stars

It's all proclaiming who you are

You're beautiful

I see you there hanging on a tree

You bled and then you died and then you rose again for me

Now you are sitting in Your heavenly throne

Soon we will be coming home

You're beautiful

When we arrive at eternity's shore

Where death is just a memory and tears are no more

We'll enter in as the wedding bells ring

Your bride will come together and we'll sing

You're beautiful

I see Your face, I see Your face, I see Your face

You're beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful

I pray that someday we will all arrive at eternity's shore, and there we will no longer feel the pain of death that we experience when we lose someone we love. I am thankful that the God I follow loves us so much that He sent His son to die for us so that we could have eternal life. Someday I will see my grandfather again, along with the many others I loved who have died.

Gathering with my family was a special time. It was especially important for me that my daughter Malia could meet her great-grandma. One of my favorite things was getting a picture of the women in our family, four generations gathered together. My grandma, her three daughters, my cousin, my niece, myself, and my daughter.

Left to Right: Aunt Patty, Me (Lisa), Malia, Mom (Debbie), Grandma (Dorothy), Aunt Marilyn, Stephanie, Alyssa.

Malia Merri Grace Nelson

Malia Merri Grace Nelson finally made her appearance in the world on Sunday May 24, 2009 at 2:53 a.m. Chris and I were so happy to see her bright eyes looking back at us after she was born. She was so alert as she was taking in her new surroundings! What an amazing nine months it has been and now finally we get to welcome our daughter! 

Malia's middle name Merri is in honor of my (Lisa) grandfather Merritt Middaugh who passed away on Friday May 22, 2009. She also shares a very special birthday with her great-grandma Ruth Nelson. 

We'll continue to post pictures and updates as we are able to. Right now sleep has been a big priority, so when Malia sleeps we sleep! But I promise to keep writing and sharing the fun stories of our family! 

Thanks everyone for your prayers and support over the past nine months! We are so happy to share our lives with you! God Bless!

Malia with mom and dad. 
Malia Merri Grace Nelson: born May 24, 2009 at 2:53 a.m.
Weighing 6 lbs. 12 oz. and standing at 19 inches long! 

Getting Bigger!

So here is a picture of me at 35 weeks pregnant! We're on the countdown now until our baby girl's arrival. As much as I am enjoying being pregnant, I am definitely becoming more and more uncomfortable each day. The past two weeks I have measured around my belly only to discover that each week I have grown about an inch around! We had a doctor's check up at the beginning of this week and he told us that right now the baby is fully developed and would be perfectly fine if I was to go into early labor, but her main job right now is simply to put on the weight. So here I am growing outward while the baby keeps adding on the ounces. I think she gains about a half a pound a week right now! We still have a few more things to get done around our apartment before she comes, so we are praying that we are able to accomplish those things. Next week on our agenda will be to put the base to the car seat in the car. I'll feel more ready once that is done! But everything is in God's hands, so whenever she comes we will be happy and we'll take care of things the best that we can in the meantime! 

Officially 30!

I'm officially 30 years old! Yay! It's been a long journey to get here, but I have finally arrived! Turning 30 was not nearly as bad as I imagined it to be when I was younger. I had such a wonderful weekend leading up to it and a very relaxing and fun birthday! 

Over the weekend my friend Julie came to visit me. We've known each other for about 19 years, so it was fun to celebrate the incoming decade with her. Of course she also came to town because she wanted to see the pregnant belly before the baby comes! We had a fun weekend, Julie, Chris, and I went to the California Museum of Science on Saturday and walked the rose gardens. It was a beautiful day, but super hot!

On my actual birthday (monday) I went to lunch with my friends Yuki and Meghan. After lunch my friend Dayna took me out for a pedicure (which was amazing) and while we were out Yuki and Meghan delivered me cupcakes. It was a fun and restful day! To top it off Chris and I made fondue for dinner and then played my new game Carcassonne with Dayna and Matt! It was definitely a fun birthday! 

Thank you friends for the many birthday wishes! Goodbye 20's hello 30's! 

Baby's Blanket is Finished

I finally finished making my baby's blanket! I bought some pink yarn to compliment the pink speckles on the rest of the blanket and crocheted a pink boarder around the edge. It turned out really great! I'm excited about the blanket, but I'll be even more excited when the baby is able to use it. 

CPE Graduation Day

Today was my graduation day from the CPE program at Arcadia Methodist Hospital! It's been a long eleven weeks, but a good experience. At the beginning of the internship I never thought I would see the end of it, but the day has finally come! I will miss my group tremendously, and the many people I met at the hospital both patients and staff who have touch my life and changed me forever. I don't know where God will lead me next, but I wouldn't be surprised to find myself one day back in a hospital being a light that shines for God in the midst of suffering. I loved my experience and I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to learn what it means to minister in the hospital. 

The picture above is the walkway leading to the back entrance of the hospital. I walked this path many times! I love the cross on the top of the building, and this was the best picture I could get of it!

This is the hospital chapel decorated with beautiful flowers just before our graduation!

The stained glass with a mural of the tree of life. The alter with the cross and six pots of columbine flowers representing the growth which took place in each of the six students over the course of the internship. 

This is a picture of my group! Our supervisor was not in the room when we took this picture so Rev. Amy is missing from the photo. From left to right: Bob, Gihun, Robin, Angela, Debbie, and me! This was the best group to work with and grow with over the past quarter. I will miss them. 

The Quietest On-Call Night

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for my on-call nights to be quiet! Yesterday and last night were the quietest on-call times I've experienced! God was so good to let me sleep all last night. I woke up this morning so very happy!! 

Last Sunday I was on-call too, but sadly it was a difficult day and I had to deal with the worst situation ever. I won't go into details to spare  you and myself because it wasn't fun. But I am glad to have experienced it because it gave me a picture of the larger ministry of a chaplain. After Sunday I was ready to throw in the towel and quit, but Monday rolled around and I had probably one of the best days ever at the hospital. So I realized that I promised God I wouldn't make any life changing decisions regarding Chaplain ministry until I have completed the CPE program... and then continue to discern for a while after. So I haven't given up on this ministry. There is a great need for chaplains, and I love what I do in the hospital, even though there are things I wish no one ever had to deal with. But that's life, and God still calls us to minister in those difficult situations. 

So I now have two more weeks until I graduate the program. Thanks for your prayers this far friends! My experience although challenging and terrible at times has been amazing. God has opened my eyes to something new and I'm not quite ready for it to completely end. So we'll see how God calls me into ministry!

Nick Names

Names are fun especially nick names... at least when they are nice. So I've given my unborn daughter two nick names so far. The first is Little Bowling Ball, because she's getting so big and heavy that I feel like I'm carrying a bowling ball... and she rolls too! The second name is Anaconda, because at times when she moves I feel like there is a huge snake moving inside me! Pretty crazy huh? Anyway it's all fun and we get some good laughs out of it! 

So yes baby girl nelson is getting bigger each day and stronger too. She moves frequently which keeps Chris and I entertained. The other night she was moving so much that I couldn't stop laughing because it kind of tickled! 

Each day we get more and more excited to welcome our daughter into the world. As excited as we are, we are also trying to be patient because we don't want her to arrive to early for her own sake. But we are enjoying the time together as we await her arrival! 

My Baby's Blanket

My baby's blanket! Although it is unfinished....

So I completed crocheting the main portion of the blanket a little while ago and realized that I haven't posted a picture of what I've done so far. So here it is... it's folded in half in the picture. Chris and I are going to pick out another yarn so I can complete it with a colorful border. So stay tuned for the finished product! 

At The Half Way With CPE

So I've completed half of my internship as a chaplain now, and the past 6 weeks have been quite the journey. While I very much enjoy the ministry I'm doing in the hospital, I have to say... when it rains it pours! When I'm on-call I get worked! Yesterday was my first weekend on call, and I spent a total of 8 hours at the hospital. After having spent 5 hours in the morning helping a family with a viewing I was able to go home for about an hour and a half before getting paged back to the hospital. On my drive to the hospital I received another page from the hospital this time from the Emergency Department. So I say... when it rains it pours because I seem to get paged in waves. Things seem to happen in twos even though I can only be in one place at a time. Thankfully everything worked out! I have a great supervisor who welcomes calls at any hour when we need help! So she made some calls and was able to help take care of one of the situations, while I spent time with a family at the Emergency Department. 

I have another 5 weeks of this internship, and God has continually given me the strength to carry on when things seem so difficult. I really like working as a chaplain, but I'm still not certain if this is something I want to do with my life. I do feel like God could be calling me in that direction, but for now I'll take it one day at a time and finish this internship before I make any decisions! 

There are definitely things I dislike about this type of ministry... 1) I don't like waking up in the middle of the night to go into the hospital, 2) I don't like getting called back to the hospital when I just pulled out of the parking lot, and 3) There are simply some situations that no one really wants to have to deal with. (But I still do it)

But regardless of those things there are still plenty of things that I love about this ministry... 1) the smiles on peoples faces when they look at me in the midst of their dying and tell me they are going to see Jesus, 2) The joy I hear in people's voices when they tell me they feel like God is with them, and 3) The feeling I get inside knowing that even in the pain and suffering I see glimpses of God's beauty in the hospital. 

If you think of me... please pray for discernment as I approach the last 5 weeks of this internship. And also that God would continue to strengthen me in this ministry. 

It's a Girl!

Our doctor gave us a guarantee, it's a girl or the delivery is free!  The ultra sound above is of the ribcage on the left side and the skull on the right side, facing towards the camera.  In addition to finding out the gender I (Chris) was also able to feel our little girl kick for the first time which was needless to say very exciting.  The belly continues to grow and every day she (baby) begins to kick harder. At least her kicks are more noticeable! We're very excited to begin to prepare for her arrival. We'll keep you posted on more baby stuff to come! 

Sea Monkeys

My brother's girlfriend gave me Sea Monkeys for Christmas...they are pretty awesome.  Thanks Paige.

Sundance 2009

Taking Chance,

The Clone Returns Home,

Cold Souls,

Afghan Star,

Sin Nombre,

Arlen Faber,

Brief Interviews With Hideous Men,

An Education,

The Reckoning,

Push,

Dirt! The Movie,

We Live in Public,

and various short films

Feel free to ask me about any of them.

I survived my night on call.

Okay so last night was not the quiet night I was hoping for. I did get called back to the hospital around 1:40 a.m. and I'm happy to say I know I can wake up, get ready, and be at the hospital bedside in thirty minutes! Of course it does help that no one is really on the road at that time in the morning! 

So I survived being on call, but between yesterdays events and last nights, it was a rather rough day. Although I'm happy to be with families and help them find comfort in painful situations... I don't really like being called in during the middle of the night. I'm sure most people would agree it's not too pleasant being waken from your sleep. So I'm thankful that I'm only on call once a week! 

Today is a new day! And Saturday! Yay!! Even though it's grey and rainy outside, I'm happy to have the day off to rest. I love my weekends! 

On Call...

Okay so I can't actually put a picture with this post because Chris has the camera for the week while he's out of town. But if you'd like to see the hospital I'm interning at the link is: http://www.methodisthospital.org/

I know that's not as exciting as a picture but feel free to look. 

So Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) has been quite the experience so far. Tonight is my second night on call, and so far the first that I have actually been called back into the hospital. It's tough work being with families who are suffering and going through painful experiences and even loss. Every day I process the things I'm doing in the hospital and ask God to give me the strength to respond during crisis, and the heart to carry another persons pain but also the freedom to release that pain to God and not carry it with me. That has been difficult, but I'm working on it. 

I feel very blessed to be welcomed into the lives of some of the families I have encountered. And I feel that even in the midst of suffering I can see glimpses of God's goodness. There's so much I don't understand about pain, and suffering, and death, and I don't think I will ever fully understand it. But I know and I believe that God is good, and that even in suffering He is present. Even in the silent moments He is there. 

This internship is really helping me to determine if God could be calling me into a chaplain ministry. And right now I'm still uncertain. But I'm fully committed to this ministry for the next 8 weeks, and right now it's one day at a time. After this internship is over I'll reassess and ask God to continue to guide me in the discernment process. If you feel led, please pray for me during this time. I know God is stretching me and teaching me in a number of ways. In the meantime... Please pray I can get a good nights rest and not get called back to the hospital tonight! 

Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE)

This week I began my internship as a Chaplain at Methodist Hospital of Southern California in Arcadia. It has been quite the week of orientation, and I still have one week to go... which I am so thankful for! The first few days of orientation were pretty intense, packed with a lot of information and also a visit to the hospital morgue. It was a little overwhelming, but I know the Lord will give me the strength to minister in this setting to patients and families experiencing crisis. I think this internship will be one of the most challenging things I have done for my degree program, but I'm excited to be learning in this environment. Below are pictures of my first two days at work! I'll probably be posting more on my CPE over the next 10 weeks until I'm finished. 

Please pray for God's strength, grace, and protection over me and the baby as I continue to work at the hospital. I have my first on call next week and I'm a little anxious about that! Blessings to you all! 

Baby's first movements!!

Exciting news in the Nelson household!!! So around the middle of December I thought that I had felt the baby moving, but it was so infrequent that I wasn't sure. Well as of yesterday little baby Nelson was moving around a lot! After lunch I felt this repeated little poking on the right side of my belly and it lasted for about a minute then stopped. A few minutes later I felt it again and it was the same motion!! Then after dinner the poking came back and lasted a very short while. Then when I woke up around 3 a.m. for my nightly bathroom run I felt the baby poking me again but this time on my left side! It was so exciting!! It's kind of like a little bubble is bursting in the place where I feel the baby! It'll still be a while until Chris is able to feel the baby's movements, so we're both looking forward to that day. Until then Chris just asks me to describe it to him! 

Stay tuned... I'm sure I'll have more exciting baby news to come!

Happy New Year!

Another year comes to an end, and as always I'm amazed at how the time goes by so fast. This year was our last year to enjoy front row seats for the Rose Parade (thanks to Chris for camping out all night starting at 10:30 am on New Years Eve!). As fun as the parade was, I'm happy to say that Chris is letting me decide how we spend our next four New Years Eve's since the last four have been camping out for the parade... and we'll no longer be in Pasadena! Thankfully Chris didn't spend the night alone, our friend Matt joined him for the camp out and they kept each other company! 

I hope 2009 brings lot of joy and happiness to you all. Cheers to the new year!