I Did Get On The Plane

Today I got a text from Claire with a photo of 

her and Nate in their backyard in Mesa.

As it turns out, I was wearing THE SAME OUTFIT as she was 

seventeen years ago, in Mesa while visiting Christian's sister, 

Charity's graveside, almost to the DAY in 2008!!!!! 

That skirt is still going strong.  

Here I am with Christian's sisters, parents, and 

my little dude Gigs behind me with bleached blonde hair.

I felt a little homesick for those days.

In nearly 3 months, my life would completely change.

It's unfathomable.

I look at myself here in this picture, and I look so happy with my healthy body

from teaching yoga, slender neck, freckles, cute hair, 

 super busy, happy life in Mesa with 4 little children, and I want to yell, 

"Just don't get in the plane!!!"

But then a bigger part of me wants to just hug

her and tell her that it's all going to work out, and I love her

and what she's going to overcome and face, and how it will

change so many lives and teach resilience and growth.

The truth is, some days I wish I hadn't gotten on the plane,

but the reality is, I did, and I am proud of who

 I am, and what I went through to fight for a happy life.

Our Morning Routine

Minnie and I have a morning routine.

We wake up, and I let her kick naked on my bed for about 5 minutes,

any longer than that, and she'll tinkle.

Then we go to the kitchen, and I take my vitamins and fill up

my water bottle.  Then we go outside, and I put

her in her little seat on the porch swing, give her a push, then

check my flower garden, and water my hanging baskets and porch pots

all while she is swinging and kicking her legs.

I think she likes listening to the cardinals nesting in one of my fern pots.

Then we go back inside for a tub & body massage.

Then I nurse her, and she's ready for her first nap.

Minnie is not a great napper...yet.

I can lay her down after nursing, but she usually wakes up 10-20 minutes later.

I am hoping that as she gets older, she'll sleep longer.

I PRAY she'll be a good napper.

It’s such a bummer when I gently lay her down, rush for a quick shower, 

and with shampoo in my hair, hearing Minnie’s little cry just moments later. 

Snoozing With Lottie

This afternoon, I asked Lottie if she'd hold Minnie while I made dinner.

After about 25 minutes had passed

I went to check on the girls since it was pretty quiet in and saw the

 cutest sight ever! Lottie had rocked Minnie to sleep.

Lottie assured me she was fine and so 

I went back into the kitchen to finish preparing dinner 

and silently offered a prayer of gratitude for this unexpected life 

I'm living, for my beautiful children, and for our health. 

I am always so thankful for good health!

Eat Her Up!

Today, Minnie and I joined Christian to rotate the tires in my car, 

make a Costco stop, and of course, the best part, get lunch.  

Usually, when Christian needs to run errands and wants me to join him, 

he prefaces the invitation like this,

"I was thinking of grabbing lunch tomorrow. Want to come?"  

and then I say, 

"Oh my gosh, yes I do!  What errands are we going to run, too?"

I usually don't care what it is; Minnie and I are in!

And Minnie is starting to love being in the car.  

When she gets fussy, we roll all the windows down, and she likes the sound.  

My 4-Runner's rear window goes down, too, and she loves that the most.

While we were getting the tires rotated, I called Claire in Arizona

and I sent pics of Minnie and me, and she sent us photos back

of the adorable garden that Nate planted for her, and 

on her front porch eating a smoothie.

I told Claire I wanted her and Minnie to FaceTime once a day 

so Minnie will know her biggest sister.

I love watching Minnie observe the world around her.  

She is growing up every day, and I can visibly see it!  

She is starting to reach for things, and her chubby fingers

 get wrapped up in my hair, 

and she pulls on my necklaces when we nurse.

She drools a lot, too.

I got her some cute little bibs that make her look

like a little flower.

Ohhhhh my goodness, we could ALL EAT HER UP!

4 Months Old

Hello everyone! 

It’s me, and I’m alive!

 I don’t know if you’ve noticed, 

but I’m gradually returning to blogging with sporadic posts starting 

in December, from where I left off. 

I have so much to share, and I want to make sure I don’t forget anything 

because my life has been truly surreal.

Having Minnie has been so cool- especially with all my

older children around who want to be involved and are so helpful.

 I have always known that having a baby teaches some of the 

best lessons in life about love, selflessness, patience, joy, and

 especially about the Savior. 

But being a new "old" mom has put these lessons in a new light for me-

and it's been challenging, too.

 Christian and I marvel at this sixth chance 

with a new, perfect baby that we get to raise and care for.

It's mind-blowing!

Minnie is officially 4 months old now and doing the cutest things like

rolling, smiling, drooling, and producing the cutest little giggles.

We ALL love Minnie!

MinNie Dialogues

 Hey all!  

I am working on updating my blog.

I'm about three months behind if you haven't noticed.

Feeling horrible during pregnancy for months really

did me in, plus having a newborn has been a huge change.

Literally the only thing I do is nurse.

I'm not complaining, but, well...it's all I do.

But my goal is to update and catch up.

For now, an update on baby Minnie, also known as Nielson six:

she arrived safe and sound on January 21st, at 3:21 am

7 pounds 1 ounce, 19 inches, and is beautiful

 and amazing and fussy all at the same time.

Or maybe I forgot what newborns were like?

Or maybe I'm just old and tired.

Whatever it is, I can't wait to share more.

I only take 50,000 photos of her a day,

so buckle up, pretty soon this blog might sound more like

 the MinNie Dialogues.

Happy New Year 2026!

Happy New Year!!!!

I didn't get going until later in the afternoon.  

My poor legs and feet are so swollen, and I'm so over feeling nauseated all day long. 

 We finally got out for a late lunch, then drove to our favorite inlet on 

Jordan Lake to jump into the icy water for our annual NY polar plunge, but alas, 

it was not meant to be this year.   

Honestly, no one wanted to do it.

I wasn't planning on doing it anyway.

We were all exhausted and unmotivated. 

I think my mood affects the family.

When we got home, I got into a tub, then went to bed.

I think everyone had popcorn for dinner.

I really don't know.

New Year's Day was a blur.

This is going to be such a wonderful year!

I know it.

Something wonderful is coming...very soon!

Happy New Year!

Today is New Year's Eve.

Whoopee.

That was me being really sarcastic.

I was so sick today, the only thing I did of note was glue

 confetti on our bubbly bottles to make them more festive and fun.

I do this every year.

 Then I went to bed.

I got back up when it was about 7:00 to play games with

the family until midnight.

I didn't think I was going to make it.

Of course, Christian made a delicious fruit/cheese/nut board,

and Jane mixed up some drinks and made burritos.

I can always eat a burrito- I always could with every pregnancy, too.

Beans, rice, and tortillas are pretty basic.

I also made a loaf of sourdough bread because I can eat that, no problem.

It's just having the energy to do it.

I made myself do it this year because everyone loves it

and I am so worried (overly worried) that everyone will remember me 

being a pregnant blob, and I hate that thought.

We wrote down our new goals and placed them inside a bottle,

 as we do every year. 

Using Christian's handgun, Oliver shot the bottle for 2025, 

which had our goals.

When I reflected on my goals from last year,

I was not expecting to be PREGNANT this year. 

My entry was focused entirely on me—being successful at Barre3, 

working hard and making the business thrive.

God sure works in mysterious ways.

I stayed up until midnight, then kissed Christian, and the Nies

then went back to bed.

The Nies stayed up later doing who knows what:

Welcome 2026!

I have been waiting for you!!!!!!

Farewell, Sanders!

This morning, Claire and Jane taught one last barre class together in 

the studio because Claire and Nate are going home this evening

and I am feeling so sad about it.

It has been SO MUCH FUN having them here.

Claire will be back when the baby is born next month, 

so that is super exciting 

but I'm sad about having to say goodbye.

I hate goodbyes.

This whole holiday together has been nothing but magic.

Before they left, we went to get biscuits-

a favorite Southern treat, and then they left for the airport.

I went home and climbed into a hot tub.

I was exhausted and swollen, and was regretting the biscuits.

Welcome To Come On Out

 I woke up this morning SUPER SICK (shocker).  
I couldn't get out of bed, and I vomited all morning, 

which lasted into the late afternoon.

 It was the worst.  I'm so sad because Claire and Nate are leaving tomorrow, 

and I hate spending their last full day in bed.

Christian took everyone to lunch and then to 

 Jenni's ice cream in Raleigh.

I heard it was delicious.

I stayed home and basically barfed and stared at the ceiling.

It's hard to even watch TV, and forget about reading.

Everything is just the worst.

I started feeling a little better around dinner.

We made another board for dinner and played games.

It was so funny, and such a good distraction for me.

Goodnight!

I'm so exhausted, but I pretty much spent ALL DAY IN BED.

Hey, baby girl, you are welcome to come on out

any day now!

Gigs In Slovakia #3 December '25

What is Elder Nielson up to in Žilina, Slovakia?

Super fun that we were ALL home in the same house to chat to him.  

Christmas just wasn't Christmas without THE GIGS!

Enjoy:

Friends:

Baptisms:

Country/Culture Outings:

Missionaries/Activities:

Can you spot Elder Gigs:

Being Gigs:

Here is Gigs with his fingerboard, which he made the night

before he left on his mission preaching and shredding

on the street while random people take pics:

 A Missionary Christmas:

I guess eating carp (from the pond somewhere near his apartment...gross!)

and keeping it in your tub until Christmas is a Slovakian tradition????

Merry Christmas, Starší (Elder) Nielson!