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Garden d'Lights

2009-12-12T21:32:00.001-08:00

Excellent time at the Garden d'Lights in Bellevue this evening. It was worth the full $5 suggested donation, despite our original doubts. Not bad considering all the lights were done by volunteers.

The only challenge was the "look, but no touch" policy for the Joel. Aside from that, a solid family outing. Certainly more fun than a botanical garden without Christmas lights.

Gloria Ruth Nickerson

2009-10-31T18:28:00.001-07:00

At 10:14 AM on Friday, October 30th Gloria Ruth Nickerson was born. She was a very healthy 9 lbs, 19 inches. Melissa did amazing, and Gloria came after just 30 minutes of pushing. We're home now, and praising the Lord for his graciousness to us!

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Psalm 34:8-11

The Main Thing to Rejoice About in Ministry

2009-05-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

I (Melissa) just read this post from the Desiring God blog & thought it was great. If I post it here, I'll have it to refer back to. Enjoy.

Our big boy is two!

2009-05-13T19:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is my first blog post & I have no idea what I am doing! But I had to get in on the fun & what better day than Joel's second birthday?

Dustin had important meetings & youth group tonight & Joel & I had our morning community group this morning, so we did a birthday breakfast at McDonald's. Dustin & I enjoyed egg McMuffins & espresso while Joel enjoyed an orange juice & a bite of hash brown. We were basically the only people there & had had a lot of fun. We tried to get a photo of the three of us, but gave up after 3 bad attempts.

This was one of the attempts & proves that Dustin was there.

It seems we get the best photos of Joel while he is drinking something.

I love Joel's face in this one.

It has been a wonderful two years. Joel, you were born with a ton of neck control; I'm convinced it was mainly because you spent the last month or so inside of me trying to back arch your way out. You have always been so curious & once you could move you would immediatly go to whatever was out of place in our living room each morning. You were a chunky boy from birth & we literally sat on our couch for the first month of your life as I recovered from having you.

Now you love "guitars," "drums," & "drum steaks," & constantly want to play. Your air guitar & air drums are hillarious & you take them very seriously. You also like to go "outside" & play "golf," which you aren't very good at, but still enjoy.

Now when you wake up & I come to get you you say, "Dad? Church." wether or not Dad is home. You kind of understand that you have a sibling on the way & like to say "momma baby" & "baby momma" which is especially funny.

Your name means "The Lord is God" & we dedicated you with Habakkuk 3:17-19.

"Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food,the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places."

We can't imagine life without you Joel & are so thankful for this time with you. Happy 2nd birthday!

An event so big, it warrants a t-shirt

2008-08-08T12:58:00.000-07:00

Family Vacations...whew, where do we start?

We recently returned from the Hoglund variety of family vacation, one that came complete with matching t-shirts (designed by Melissa, zealously support by Grandpa Dave, rebelliously protested by April, and nonetheless worn by all). We spent half the time in Yosemite, and the other half in Lancaster, CA. Despite feeling right at home in Lancaster, needless to say, Yosemite gets the nod.

The round up of the trip includes some high-highs, and some low-lows. Back-to-back birdies on the golf course one day, a 24 hour flu bug that rampages through the family the next. Enjoying a good read on the couch while the baby is sleeping one moment, flooding the kitchen due to putting the wrong kind of dish soap in the dishwasher the next. Throw in some great times at the pool and beach, being electrocuted while trying to get a free game on pinball, lots of games, and some epic thrift store shopping...well, it's hard to ask for more.

Seeing family that we don't see nearly enough was, by far, the highlight. Jon, Andrea, and Joy being back from Ukraine, Sarah returning from her recent trip to Japan and China, seeing April right before she heads to Tunisia...with a family running around the world like that, it's a rare treat to all get together. We enjoyed it almost as much as Joel enjoyed the below fruit smoothie.

Looking forward to next time.

-the Nickerson's

Catching, throwing, surgery, serving...and oh yes, a first birthday!

2008-06-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

Well, we can't brag about our 'post something every 4-6 months' blog, so instead, we'll brag about Joel showing off his catching and throwing skills in the video below.

And don't mind that big-nasty boot Dustin is wearing. His anti-arthritic ankle surgery on May 21st went well, and he's thrilled to be done with the hard part of the recovery. And despite all the pain and nausea, he wouldn't have traded places with Melissa for a second, who faithfully took care of a very needy baby and an even needier husband. Praise Jesus for her!

And oh yes, on May 13th, Joel turned one!

Yes, it was over a year ago (on Mother's Day) that God gave us little Joel. It's been such a joy to watch and grow, and of course, be stretched and grown alongside him.

We had some friends and family over, and Joel participated in what seems to be an unofficial American tradition. That is, mom throws down a piece of cake on the tray of the high chair, and 1-year old dives head first into a sugary bliss. How much of the cake ends up in their stomachs? Not much, at least compared to the amount on their face. Fun for all involved, and what a photo-op.

Dreaming of a green Christmas...

2007-12-15T18:30:00.000-08:00

...that is, green because we're doing a Christmas blog as opposed to sending out Christmas cards. You paper-wasting mongrels...Merry Christmas to you all!

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy. The first of Joel in his Christmas sweater (that's a little too big, but we only get a couple more weeks out of it), and the other a shot of us at the Mars Hill Staff Christmas Party at Hotel 1000 downtown.

Hope all is well everyone. Love you all.

Dustin, Melissa, and Joel

Señor Joel's First Halloween

2007-11-06T19:43:00.000-08:00

The day came and passed, and Joel never left the house. He did, however, get to sport his authentic poncho from Grandpa Don. But, as the video below shows, he was more interested in this new toy than he was any costume.

Roll on over, roll on over baby

2007-09-30T14:41:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in the previous blog, Joel has been rolling over...a lot. It's pretty much all he likes to do now. And here is some documented proof, though it took some convincing on mom's part.

4 months later, we're still alive and kickin...

2007-09-09T13:13:00.001-07:00

If there is ever a span of time when it's OK not update your blog for 4 months, it's the first 4 months of your first child's life. Agreed? Well regardless, that’s our reasoning.

To recap, here’s a list of 10 important things that have happened between then and now:

Joel’s first poop
Joel’s first smile
Joel’s first roll over
Joel’s first teething experience
Joel’s first sleep through the night
A Mars Hill road trip to Lake Tahoe with 50 high schoolers
Joel’s first trip to Lake Tahoe (via plane), and more importantly, his first meeting of Grandpa Dave (right, getting some chores done)
The Husky football team beat Syracuse and Boise State
Miss Teen South Carolina
Our three year wedding anniversary

Links, pictures, and videos; they're the new writing.

Joel Taylor Nickerson

2007-05-15T14:40:00.000-07:00

On Mother's Day, May 13th, at 1:10 PM, Joel Taylor Nickerson was born to us. He was born a healthy 8 pounds, 10 ounces, and 20 1/2 inches long. Mel and Joel are both doing great, and we were all sent home by the nurses the next day.

We praise the Lord for His exceeding goodness in blessing us with this child!

Pregnant wife, cupcakes, and a Neon Bible

2007-04-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we had a bunch of folks over to warm our new (town) house. An awesome time it proved to be. Mel slaved away to make plenty of cupcakes for the guests, and I had to drive all the way to Starbucks to get some coffee. Whew. As you can imagine, by the end of it, we were both exhausted.

And I think the whole ordeal left us a bit emotionally vulnerable—or perhaps it was the televised Forest Gump we watched on TNT—but it was enjoyable to reflect on this next stage of life the Lord has graciously led us into. Taking a picture in front of our first (town) home, with our first baby on the way, both working our first jobs that had perks like insurance and retirement plans instead of free coffee and bloomin’ onions—it was all a bit surreal.

Thinking of 1 Peter 1:8, “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible…” This becomes more and more true in our lives, as we struggle even to aritculiuate how good Jesus has been to us. We are living blessed lives, and rejoice in the Lord’s exceeding graciousness to us.

Now, how does a Neon Bible fit into this? Well, the new Arcade Fire album is awesome.

That’s it.

-Dustin and Mel

Welcome

2007-01-28T14:16:00.000-08:00

It's official. We've sold out.

Dustin and Melissa = THE MAN.

We have a blog.

Well, I guess it isn't that bad, but it is somewhat ironic as we've been firm advocates against blogs in the past (I mean really, does everyone need to have their own year round, easy accessible, easily manageable Christmas letter?), but hey, it's just a blog. Everyone's doing it. And if that isn't reason enough, here are some other justifications.

1. We have a baby on the way

And we hope to document him well. Pictures, videos, stories, and the like you can anticipate posting on our fancy-pancy little page here. So stay tuned.

2. Sometimes cool stuff happens in our life and we like telling people about that cool stuff

Maybe, for example, like having a baby.

3. I don't know, why not?

Blogs aren't that bad, and there is a certain level of modern sophistication that one feels by being able to hit a button (like the orange one that says "publish" right below my screen right now) and one's words indeed being published for the world to see.

So there it is. Take it or leave it. The Blog of Nickerson's.