Mountains to Climb (In Africa)

For the next few weeks, Christian and I will be joining

 a team of burn survivors, medical professionals, and donors to

 climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. 

Christian and I had to climb some pretty steep mountains in the burn center

 with some pretty amazing doctors, nurses, and staff by our sides

 keeping us alive and cheering us on. Climbing Kilimanjaro 

with those same people, and other burn survivors,

 will bring us full circle in our recovery. This time we’re climbing

 a mountain that we can choose to climb, 

and we’ll be cheering each other on. 

We’re so excited to conquer this mountain and prove to the

 the world that our scars can’t hold us back.

You can follow along daily with our climb HERE.

My Little Oruguitas

I love the song Dos Oruguitas from the movie Encanto.  

It's such a beautiful song; I cry every time I hear it because

 it reminds me of my two beautiful girls, 

Claire and Jane, and our love story together.

They are my two caterpillars who are learning to grow,

change, blossom, and eventually fly away

as they serve missions, begin a new life, live away, 

leave the nest and the family, and find their own life journey.  

Ahhhhh, I can't!

This part:

"Don't you hold on too tight

Both of you know

It's your time to grow

To fall apart, to reunite

Wonders await you

Just on the other side"

Here are the full lyrics. 

 It's just. Too. PERFECT for how I feel:

Two oruguitas

In love and yearning

Spend every evening

And morning learning

To hold each other

Their hunger burning

To navigate a world

That turns, and never stops turning

Together in this world

That turns, and never stops turning

Two oruguitas

Against the weather

The wind grows colder

But they're together

They hold each other

No way of knowing

They're all they have for shelter

And something inside them is growing

They long to stay together

But something inside them is growing

Ay, oruguitas

Don't you hold on too tight

Both of you know

It's your time to grow

To fall apart, to reunite

Wonders await you

Just on the other side

Trust they'll be there

And start to prepare

The way for tomorrow

Ay, oruguitas

Don't you hold on too tight

Both of you know

It's your time to grow

To fall apart, to reunite

Wonders await you

Just on the other side

Trust they'll be there

Start to prepare

The way for tomorrow

Two oruguitas

Cocooned and waiting

Each in their own world

Anticipating

What happens after

The rearranging?

And so afraid of change

In a world that never stops changing

So let the walls come down

The world will never stop changing

Ay, mariposas

Don't you hold on too tight

Both of you know

It's your time to go

To fly apart, to reunite

Wonders surround you

Just let the walls come down

Don't look behind you

Fly till you find

Your way toward tomorrow.

I love you, Clane!!!!!

Good Kids

This afternoon after church Ollie was my ministering companion,

 and we visited a dear sister at her apartment complex.  

This time Oliver prepared and blessed the sacrament for her 

since she is homebound.

I've seen this done many times and have even had 

the sacrament blessed and handed to me in my own home, 

but watching my own son give the sacrament to my friend was an honor.

I am so thankful for good children who take seriously and understand 

 their covenants and responsibilities to the Lord.

And, who comes with me to minister to my sisters. 

Stay in the Tent!

This weekend the Nielsons went camping in the beautiful smoky mountains

 to celebrate the end of school (which, for Lottie, is actually on the 8th).

 And we tried out of Nie-Pee for the first time; 

let me tell you, it was EPIC!  

Before heading out, we made one last stop at Krispy Kreme for

a few dozen donuts because roasting donuts by a campfire is amazing.

Also, it was national donut day which also meant free donuts.

The weather was perfect, not too hot and not too cold.

We set up camp and ate the veggie tinfoil dinners I had put together 

earlier that day.  We ate more donuts and roasted marshmallows, then 

had a little fireside chat.

We talked about our new tent and how putting our sleeping bags

 close to the center of the tent

will protect us from water or dew that could get on the sides 

and get us wet and cold.

This is also a metaphor for staying close to God, His gospel, and His people.

We read in the Old Testament that tents were tabernacles for the people,

places of refuge and worship.

Similarly, today we find refuge and peace by staying close 

to the Lord, centering our lives around Him.

Through covenants, we can enter God's tent and receive 

the blessings of His love and mercy, a place 

"for a defense and for a refuge from the storm."

We want our kids in the tent, especially in the center of the tent

where they can focus on the Savior, hear his guidance, and love,

where keeping His commandments and where following His prophets is easiest.

We know lots of people who are in the tent but insist on staying near

the edge where outside influences continue to sway them, making

it difficult for them to keep the commandments and hear the voice

of the Lord.

They're not happy and always seem conflicted.

We don't have to be conflicted.  We can be happy, we can have peace,

and the faith and confidence in God and His plan for us.

"We need to stay close to the Lord every day if we are to

 survive the adversity that we all must face."

-By President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

In the morning, we went on a 5-mile hike and

Christian and I packed our bags full of gear for our Killi prep.

We saw spiders, remarkable rocks, a tree with bear scratches, annoyed each other,

and got lunch and ice cream on the way home.

Next stop:

Kilamanjaro!

But I wasn't in my car...

Today was Lottie's field day at school.  Ahh, the end of the year festivities. 

Good times!  I loaded her with sunscreen,

 packed her bag with snacks and water, and then

sent her in the car with Jane, who dropped her off before work.

I had an appointment in Chapel Hill that morning 

and couldn't be a parent volunteer

for the much-anticipated field day.

And she desperately wanted me to.

I'll send treats, money, or whatever; I just hate field day!

As I was driving home from my appointment later that morning

I started to feel guilty for being the worst mom and not volunteering

at field day, so I decided to ride to her school to see if I could see her.

The parking lot was closed off and surrounded by a few police cars 

guarding the park since there was a

strict no parent or car rule.

But I wasn't in my car; I was on the motorcycle and was easily able to

go to another area of the parking lot and squeeze my way through 

the trees just to see if I could see Lottie, and sure enough, she was

practically right in front of me, just

about to embark on the giant bouncy house slide.

I yelled to her, and she yelled back and pointed at me, telling all 

her friends that I was her mom on the motorcycle!

She came running up to me, and we hugged; then, I could see out of the corner

of my eye, a police officer headed my way.

I told Lod I had to hurry and go, and she hugged me again 

and thanked me for coming.

"Maggie, this is my mom," she yelled to her friend who

was with another group of kids watching us.

I quickly fixed her hat and added one more blob of sunscreen under her eyes

then jetted out of there just as the officer was getting closer.

It turned out that I'm not the worst mother in the world,

but perhaps the coolest?

Probably would

 Happy June!

One of my favorite things about living on the golf course is when

it's dusk, and all the golfers are gone; we can go outside and putt

around on the 6th hole.

Tonight was extra special because Gigs was working and called me to tell me

he would be driving past the house to do his end-of-the-day sweep-through.

We all ran outside just as he zipped past us in his cart.

I yelled,

"Gigs, Gigs!!!! I'm coming, wait, WAAAIIITTTT!"

He zipped right on past me with a wave.

And this was the only photo I got:

Later I asked him why he didn't stop, and he told me

that he was with his buddy, and he knew I'd probably make

a big deal about him working, and I'd probably take tons of photos,

and probably make him feel stupid.

All factual statements, and I couldn't argue with him.

Dad! I went kneeboarding again!

 To celebrate this memorable Memorial Day holiday,

we went to the lake, boating with our good friends.

The water was so warm and the weather amazing.

We went pretty early and beat the crowds, and perhaps the

the very best part of the trip was when I fulfilled the dream 

to kneeboard again!!! 

The last time I was on a kneeboard was Lake Powell, 2000

when Christian and I were dating.

Kneeboarding seems like an 80's sport, and maybe it is,

but it's so fun, too! And I've been doing it since I was five.

My dad was tireless with us kids, taking us out and encouraging us

to keep trying. Those were some of my favorite memories as a child.

Twenty-two years (and an airplane crash) later, I got back on

and was doing 360s like the good 'ole days!

Laughing aside, right after the accident, I had made a list of all

the things I wanted to reclaim and do again because I was determined NOT

to let the accident dictate my life and my abilities.

There are only a few left on my list of about 75 things.

Kneeboarding was on there. 

Well, it ain't any more!

Now I have bruises and cuts up and down

 my paper-thin skin knees and shins.

But it was totally worth it.

Next time I will wear my wet suit.

Because there will be the next time.

(And someone to take my dang photo!)