Stepping away.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will hold its 188th

General Conference session on Saturday, October 6-7th.

It is one of my favorite times of the year.
For me to prepare spiritually for the conference, my family and I
will be taking a social media fast.
Our family tried it last April and loved it!

Last June at a youth fireside the Prophet, Russell M. Nelson

 encouraged youth to take a break from social media.

“My first invitation to you today is to disengage from

 a constant reliance on social media by holding a seven-day

 fast from social media,” said President Nelson

Social media can certainly be a wonderful tool to connect

 with others and share goodness, but if you’re paying more

 attention to your Instagram feed or favorite

 YouTube videos than to the Spirit, it’s a problem.

“[The] downside of social media is that it creates a false reality,”

 President Nelson said. “Everyone posts their most fun, adventurous,

 and exciting pictures, which create the erroneous impression that

 everyone except you is leading a fun, adventurous, and exciting life.

 Much of what appears in your various
 social media feeds is distorted, if not fake.

Give yourself a seven-day break from the fake!

This social media fast can be just between you and the Lord,” 

said President Nelson. “It will be your sign to Him that you

 are willing to step away from the world.

I am stepping away from the social media world now.
 I will see you in a few weeks, and highly recommend
this "fast" to anyone.

After a lot of thought....

A few days ago I got a text from my brother Matt,

who he said:

"Baboon way to top the list."

(Did you know my brother Matt calls me "Baboon"?

He nicknamed me that the second he lay eyes on me

in 1981 when I was just hours old- and he was about 12 years old).

Matt added this link in his text.

(And I feel truly honored!!).

* * * * *

I've been really reflecting on my experience as a blogger.

 After a lot of thought, I've decided to make some changes in 

the way I blog and publish my life, feelings, and ideas.

These changes will help protect myself, my family, 

and seriously, my anxiety levels.

Blogging for me has always been to keep a record for my posterity, 

glorify God, and do His work.  

Through blogging I have met some incredible people and organizations.  

I have been places, tried new things, and have

helped provide financially for my family. 

And perhaps you'll notice these changes-- and maybe you won't,

 I've put in a lot of thought and prayer into these decisions.

I will continue to try and "publish peace"

 with "tidings of great joy" (1 Nephi 13:37)  

as I write about families, love, Jesus Christ, 

God's plan for His children, homemaking, 

rearing, raising, and teaching children, learning, growing

enduring, hardships, and the scriptures.

I believe I will find greater purpose in the "blogosphere",

and exactly where I fit into it.

Most importantly, I want to stay true to myself,

my beliefs, my children and family. 

I am sure I will write more about this effort as the days go on.

It has really been occupying my thoughts for some time now.

* * * * *

Happy weekend!

Did you KNOW (I'm trying to contain myself),

 the first DAY OF FALL IS ON SATURDAY!!!!!!!!

I'm planning to make chili and cornbread for dinner,

 whip put my Star Anise candle,

and pull out the Halloween books to celebrate!

But....come on heat and humidity: 

give a girl a break already!!!

(Fall in NM)

* * * * * 

Spiritual Enlightenment: Help with the emergency fund efforts

for Hurricane Florence HERE

Jane's Progress

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon),

 girls at twelve enter into the Young Women program (YW).

The purpose of YW's is for girls to develop a relationship with 

Jesus Christ, prepare for her future roles and keep her covenants with God.

Another great thing about YW's is a program called Personal Progress

, which gives her opportunities to develop her skills, 

grow, stretch, and learn to become a leader. 

Young Women who enter the program are challenged physically, 

mentally and spiritually to find ways to understand who Christ is, 

and how they can rely on Him and His example. 

They learn more about themselves as daughters of a loving and almighty God.  

They make goals for themselves, their futures, and their families.

The Young Women program is for girls ages 12-18, which means

they have six years to complete the program.

Some girls finish right away, and some take all six years to complete (like me).

I told Claire and Jane (Lottie, too!) that Christian and

 I expect them to achieve this honor by the time they are 16.  

Claire finished her Personal Progress last October,

and tonight we honored Jane, who completed hers.

(She turns 16 in February). 

She will also be recognized in church on Sunday.

Jane has kept a very concise and beautiful journal full of entries

 that record her feelings and her goals and how she accomplished them.

She complied and collected the names of her ancestors to know more about who she is,

where she came from and can connect with

 them and complete temple ordinances.

I am so proud of my Jane Bug!

 I wanted the girls to have something nice from me and Christian 

once they have completed the program. 

We decided to commission my brother-in-law Andrew to make "name necklaces."

These beautiful necklaces are solid gold and sit on a dainty chain.

When my girls wear their necklaces and see their names, 

  I hope they remember what they have accomplished to always remember His name.

You can learn more about the Personal Progress Program HERE

 (BTW: you don't have to be a member of 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 

to participate!).

-Mormon.org HERE

-Andrew Beesley Studio HERE

The great garage clean-up.

About a month after we moved into the Harlow House, 

our garage became "the dump."

Since our cars don't fit inside the garage, 

we began treating it like storage space.

We threw things in there that we didn't know what to do with.

You know, like camping and beach gear, dress-ups, 

bikes, motorcycles, tools, holiday stuff, and I also came across a can of corn.

I decided I would finally tackle it and wrote on our family wall calendar:

"THE GREAT GARAGE CLEAN-UP. "

I dedicated my whole day to the cause.  

The North Carolina humidity was a killer in my hot garage.

While working, I listened to a new book on audio called Saints.

It's about the inspiring true stories of the women and men who dedicated

 their lives to establishing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 

all over the world.  It has been fascinating and eye-opening.

I am so thankful for my heritage and the men and women who sacrificed

so much so I can enjoy religious freedoms.

Then I asked Mr. Nielson to help me put together shelving, and then 

take me out to lunch on his motorcycle.

I needed a little break, and foooood to keep me moving

because I was fading fast. And super hot.

 And I was beginning to feel grumpy.

We changed clothes, and off we went.

Good news!

I finished THE GREAT GARAGE CLEAN-UP 

just minutes before I needed to pick up Lottie at the bus stop.

Canceled

 

The rain continued off and on all day, and as

 I type this; the rain is still coming down.

On Sunday night, the school district called to make us 

aware that they had canceled school for 

Monday because of severe flooding in our area.

Last night around 7:30, we got a phone call again informing

 us that school would be canceled again for Tuesday.  

It feels weird to be excited when so many are suffering.

Mr. Nielson spent part of his workday in the garage oiling up his

 chain saw and getting tools together so he and some other

 members of our neighborhood church congregation (me too!),

can go to the hardest hit areas in the state to help relieve suffering and remove

fallen debris and trees in homes, yards, and roads.

Outside water pours down the streets, ditches are clogged, and erosion

has eaten away at many roads and riverbeds.

The boys spent the day inside doing this:

I don't even know what this is.

But it kept them busy for a good portion of the day.

Tonight as I was setting the table for dinner, I happened to look

out my window because, for the first time in almost a week, the sun

poked out of the thick clouds and, with her, a beautiful rainbow.

* * * * * *

GO away Florence!

Since Hurricane Florence canceled school we 

decided to take The Little Nies and the sister missionaries over to 

Durham to visit the beautiful Duke campus.

The weather has been a little windy and rainy, 

but nothing to really talk about- yet.

There has been no mandatory evacuation in my area.

We are OK and praying for those living near the coastal areas.

We are going to hunker down this weekend, keep the candles and board 

games handy, and pray the storm takes it easy on our friends.

Spiritual Enlightenment: Why we follow the Prophet

Unbelievable destruction

In preparation for Hurricane Florence, about 30 Mormon missionaries

 were evacuated to escape its wrath.

Our family is hosting two beautiful sisters who are serving in Swansboro

 (a quaint small town on the North Carolina Atlantic coast).

 The sisters will be with us for however long

 it takes for the hurricane to pass by, and it's safe for them t

o go home- if there is a home left to go home to.

Gas stations around me are officially all dried up and closed.

We are ready to just hunker down and wait.

I had the weather channel on all day, listening to updates and alerts.

They say this storm will cause "unbelievable destruction."

I feel safe in our home, knowing we have two of God's servants

under our roof.  Maybe Florence will just pass us by.

Florence

 As some of you may have heard, Hurricane Florence is expected

 to land in the Carolinas (specifically my neighborhood) 

sometime on Thursday night.

It is a category 4 hurricane and is projected to be one of the 

deadliest in history.  

Already over a million people have been

 evacuated from their homes.

Boy, we moved here just in time!

Schools have been canceled for Thursday and Friday already, and

Mr. Nielson went to Walmart at 4:00 am this morning to intercept 

a truck carrying a shipment of water to the store.

Water is flying off the shelves, people!!

It's mayhem around these parts.

 Water, bread, and gas are sparse.

That makes me a little nervous, but we

have a generator, extra batteries, candles, food, hand wheat grinder,

and all the Dr. Pepper anyone could ever need.

 And thanks to Mr. Nielson, we now have plenty of water.

The Little Nies are excited, but that will likely

 last until the power goes out; then, it will be the worst.

"This will likely be the storm of a lifetime for portions of the Carolina coast,"

 the National Weather Service in 

Wilmington, North Carolina, wrote in its 

Tuesday evening area forecast discussion.

Send us cowboys over here your prayers and warm thoughts,

we are not super equipped for this kind of event.

Bang-Bangs

I hate getting my haircut.

I always have.

I think the worst part is that I leave the salon looking cute

and can never recreate the look and it's disappointing.

A few years ago my friend (and hairstylist), Amber told me that

she thought I'd look cute with bangs.

Before I knew it I was in her kitchen getting bangs.

The thing with bangs is that they need to be trimmed, like all the time.

To keep my bangs in tip-top shape, 

Amber gave Christian a little crash course on bang trims.

Then I let him cut my hair.

Most trims were good!  Some better than others, and

  after living at the ranch I could clearly see where

he was getting his inspiration from:

Did you know cows have bangs?  Like super cute short bangs. 

 And when I say super cute, I mean super cute for a COW.

Sometimes after a bang trim, Christian would say:

"This is seriously the best cut I've done!".
Then I would get out of the shower and not leave the house for
 approximately 5-7 days until the bangs grew out a bit.

I asked my new friend Sarah who
 works at a Salon to refresh Mr. Nielson on bang trims
(but we call them bang-bangs around my house thanks to
Claire who started calling them that around age five).

Anyway, it was a very educational evening for all of us.

* * * * * * * *
I remember very distinctively where I was on September 11, 2001
when I heard of the attacks back east.
I remember turning on the TV and watching live as a plane crashed
into the second tower in New York City.
  I will never forget how sick I felt.
I remember feeling confused and mad and then totally overwhelmed.
I was 8 months pregnant with Claire and worried about bringing
a beautiful innocent baby girl into the world after such hateful acts.
I love how time can heal wounds and heartache- 

it can't take it away, but it can certainly help.

"Remove any of your fear with faith.
Trust the power of God to guide you"
-RMN

Looketh on the heart.

Yesterday at church, a lovely woman came up to me 

because she wanted to tell me a story.

I noticed she had some facial burns or at least obvious pain 

in her face because it was swollen and red.

To me, it looked--well, it looked familiar.

I've been a member of our church congregation here in NC long enough now

that I know pretty much everyone, but I didn't recognize her.

She told me she was just visiting our congregation. 

She told me that earlier, she wanted a photo of her in front of the church, 

but that the only person around to take her photo happened to 

be a young man (Oliver) who was watching his younger sister (Lottie)

in the foyer of the building.

She walked over to the boy to ask him to take her photo, and before 

giving him her camera, she apologized for her "weird-looking face."

In the hallway of our church, she told me that Oliver 

confidently took the camera from her and said:

 "It's OK--it's not the first time I've seen that.

It's not a big deal where. Do you want to stand over there?".

She told me she was confused at his response but seemed 

visibly relieved as she shared the rest of the story with me.

She was having some procedures done, which caused

her face to look different than what she was used to seeing in the mirror.

To me (and Ollie), it wasn't that big of a deal,

 but it was new, scary, and super embarrassing to her.

I love Oliver's transparency. I love his honesty,

and I love his heart.  

I am reminded of the beautiful Bible scripture in Samuel:

 "The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the

 outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."

The world will be better if we can do that for each other.

Then I told her that she couldn't have picked a better kid to take her

picture and what a good boy he was.

 We talked about the tender mercies 

our loving Father in heaven extends to us each day- small and big.

Sometimes I think about the accident and all the pain and suffering

I experienced, and when something like this happens, it makes

it's all worth it- a million times worth it.

Also, I receive lots of questions about where

I get my girl's Sunday dresses.

A LOT of their dresses come from Roolee Boutique.

They are modest, comfortable, and darling.

And while I am here, I'll answer some other questions.

1. YES, Lottie wears shoes to church. She always takes them off 

as we leave the building. She's just a free spirit.

2. YES, the boy's shoes fit them.  

They just look gigantic because of the angle of the photo,

ahhh, thanks for asking?

3. As a personal way of keeping the Sabbath day a little more holy 

and different than every other day of the week, 

I don't share or tag anything in our

Sunday #afterchurchnies photos.

Someone....

Someone forgot to reapply sunscreen on her lips over and over and over 

and over again when she went boating on the lake.

Someone got FIVE giant fever blisters on her bottom lip.

Can you guess who that someone was?  Yes! ME!

It has been the worst best week of my life. 

Well, maybe not the worst, but...

I've shut myself up in my house, leaving only when necessary.

I've only talked when I absolutely HAD to, probably

lost 50 pounds because I can't eat, 

and I haven't kissed Mr. Nielson in what feels like months.

Good news, I'm on the mend.  

I hope this weekend they disappear FOREVER!

Happy Weekend!

Spiritual Enlightenment: To the Women of the Church

Seasons and Change

My friend and fellow North Carolinian (is that a word?),

 texted me and asked how I was doing.

I told her honestly that I needed some change- in the weather.

It's been about 96 degrees with about 93% humidity for what seems

like 100 years.

 I think I'm suffocating.

If it wasn't so darn beautiful here, it might really be hard on me. 

As I see photos of siblings and friends back in Utah, they are

 wearing sweaters and the leaves are changing on the mountains.

 I started to feel a little anxious about my own autumn.

She gave me some good advice after my Debbie Downer text:

"Stephanie, you know how the first day of fall is September 20,

and the first day of winter is December 20 etc etc?  

NC weather literally follows that calendar.

 So fall is right around the corner!! 

Then we can bring the tea bin out of the pantry again, 

and enjoy it until March 20th."

I like the sound of that.

Why is it that I am so connected with weather and seasons?

Why do I need change so badly?

And why am I so drawn to children's storybooks about seasons?

Looking back on my life and childhood everything wonderful
 and memorable was connected with the weather.

Swimming, boating, sleepovers on the tramp,
and Lake Powell in the summer.

Leaves changing, school starting, new school supplies, new clothes,
warm days/cold nights, smoky air, and spotting the first
snowfall on the mountains in fall.

Skiing, hot tubs, car rides, Christmas lights, fireplaces,
Christmas music, Hygge,
drinking tea, short days, everything cozy, cooking warm meals,
and boots in the winter.

Fresh flowers, colors appearing, school winding down,
and the smell of dirt,

rain- lots of fun, chilly rain in the spring.

As summer takes her last breaths (I hope), we are hoping to squeeze

 every warm moment we can outside.

 I made tin-foil dinners, and along with friends, we cooked our

dinner on the warm, open fire.

I asked Lottie to take a few photos of everyone there.

This is what I got:

Amazing job, Lottie!

 It was hot and humid- but the company was fantastic

and the food is delicious.

(Hurry up, September 20th!!!!)