Forty

I was planning on making Mr. Nielson breakfast for his special 

40th birthday yesterday, but Jane called me from school in distress.  

By the sound of her voice, she was obviously sick, and then

she said she felt like she was going to die.  

This time she sounded serious and I couldn't just say "buck up honey pie".

So, I left Mr. Nielson in the kitchen and 

drove to the high school to pick up Jane.

  But you can't just pick up Jane and not Claire, 

(I mean who would sit with Claire at lunch for heavens sake?!),

so I checked out Claire too. 

("Mom, I promise I will clean up the house and take care

 of Jane if you just let me stay home tooooOoOOooOO." 

 You know, that type of stuff).

Mr. Nielson and I had his special day planned.

First we dropped his motorcycle off to get new tires,

 then to the mall to find him a new pair of jeans, 

then lunch, then back to pick up his motorcycle.

Finally we picked up the Little Nies who were all waiting

for us to come home to take them to dinner.  

One of my favorite birthday traditions is 

 going around the table and sharing one (or more)

reasons why we love the birthday boy or girl. 

Overwhelmingly the replies were:

 "Because dad helps me with my homework",

for which I too am eternally grateful!

Luckily Jane had slept most of the day and was able to join us

for the evening.  She didn't eat anything, but she was there!

We came home and ate the cake I had made earlier that morning;

double chocolate with an Almond Roca crumble on top- his favorite!

Have you ever heard of the cereal "Good Morenings"?

Well it's Christian's favorite and now it's unfindable.  

I've looked, I've searched, it's gone!

The Little Nies bought him this amazing spoon because Christian

LOVES cereal, but not just any cereal, he LOVES Good Morening cereal.

Instead he used his new spoon to eat his chocolate cake.

I love Christian so much.

I love his hands, his heart, his mind, his devotion to me, our family,

and to God.  I love his faith, and his compassion.

I am so glad it's the weekend!

All I want to do is lay in my bed (with my Christmas flannel sheets)

and read Christmas books with Lottie.

Sadly that will probably not happen.

* * * * * * *

Spiritual Enlightenment: Don't miss

2018 First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional  

This is how we Nielson's officially kick off

the Christmas season each year!  Join us!

Happy 40th Mr. Nielson

Today is a very special day in our home.

Today my Mr Nielson turns 40 years old.

FORTY YEARS OLD!

I feel like time is disappearing before my eyes.

Add 40 x 40 x 40 and then 

 add infinity to that number and that's how much I love Christian!

"If ever two were one, then surely we.

If ever man were loved by wife, then thee.

If ever wife was happy in a man,

Compare with me, ye women, if you can.

I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,

Or all the riches that the East doth hold.

My love is such that rivers cannot quench,

Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.

Thy love is such I can no way repay;

The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.

Then while we live, in love let’s so persever,

That when we live no more, we may live ever."

-Anne Bradstreet

Maybe Someday.

This year I bought three little Colorado Blue Spruce trees.

One for the boy's room, one for Clane's room, and one for Lottie's

 little area in the loft.

The Little Nies decorated their mini trees with tiny lights

 and a few of their favorite ornaments,

(these trees are so small they can only fit a few ornaments).

Sometime in January of 2019, we plan on taking these 

darling little trees to our lot and planting them near our future home site.  

I hope this will become a new family tradition, and

someday we'll have a Christmas tree forest filled with

years worth of our own little saplings.

Did you know one of my dreams is to farm Christmas trees?

I've read books and researched best farming practices.

North Carolina has good fertile soil to do this.

Maybe someday.

This isn't my house, but it is my home.

I was talking to my girls about the importance and

the sacredness of a home.

We talked about all the adventures our family has experienced,

and all the homes we've lived in along the way.  

Some homes were really, well...ugly while some of our homes

 were gorgeous, roomy, and bright.

We've lived in the mountains, on a ranch, in neighborhoods,

 and far away from our loved ones.

All homes have been functional and comfortable.

We have been so blessed!

Now I find myself in a very close (packed in) neighborhood renting a home.

There have been challenging times (it's really small),

but if I have learned anything from moving from house to house

it's that you can turn anything into a home.  

And when we look back on the time we've spent renting we wont remember

the ugly light fixtures, or the dark kitchen marble.  No, we'll remember

watching movies all together on the couch on weekends, or the time when the

power was out all night and we lit so many candles

 I was cleaning up wax for days.  

Or when school was cancelled for almost a week

because of hurricanes and flooding and we stayed in our PJs for days.

As a mother I've learned that I just need a 

place where I can cook for my family,

 set the table for dinner, nurture, decorate, do laundry, tidy-up,
sit on the porch during a thunderstorm, and at Christmastime,

 a place to put up a few Christmas trees.

I hope my children understand that life is constantly in motion

 and no matter where we go, or what we do, one thing can always be the same:

the spirit we bring into our spaces.

I know I won't be in the Harlow House forever,

 and our plan is to build a home in the near future on our 

gorgeous lot nestled in the countryside (I can't wait).

But whether we live in a 3 bedroom house, or our dream home-

we're home no matter what that looks like.

Thanksgiving 2018

As sad as I am that the Little Nies are back in school and our

 Thanksgiving break over, I am so thrilled to be entering 

"the most wonderful time of the year!".

And we are in full Christmas mode here inside the Harlow House.

My Hygge spirit comes into full force and my home is alive with candles

and lights!  Almost every room in my house is lit.

Welcome winter, welcome Christmas!

We had a very wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

My second cousin Chris, who is on my Jones side lives here in North Carolina

with his wife Nellie and their six children.

Including cute little PB who is exactly Lottie's age.

Lottie loves PB because she reminds her so much of her best friend

Ada who is PB's cousin. (Following me?)

So Chris is the older brother of my Utah bestie Amy's husband John.

And that all seemed way crazier than it sounds.

Basically we're all cousins and best friends.

(And I miss Amy soooooooooo much).

(Amy & John)

(Nellie)

Chris and Nellie invited all of us Nielsons over for Thanksgiving dinner.

It was lovely- and felt like home,(which I am so thankful for!).

Thanksgiving morning I woke up at exactly 7:05 because Angus 

 has a very strict internal clock and wakes me on weekends

and holidays at that time no matter what, sometimes I hate that.

Thanksgiving morning the boys met up with a group of

 guys from church to play a traditional Turkey Bowl football game.
  I think most people in America has a Turkey Bowl- right?

My girls stayed home to sleep in.

After my run, I came home made eggs on toast for everyone

because it's a family favorite!

We also watched the dog show which we love and 

skipped the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade because I can't handle the

lip-syncers on floats.  I'm sorry, I just can't do it one more year. 

On Thanksgiving morning I laid out all of my favorite Thanksgiving

books to read to the Little Nies.

When that didn't look like it was going to happen,

 I kinda hoped that they'd just happen to pick

up one of the books and browse, but that never happened either.

Better luck next year!

(But seriously, have you read Molly's Pilgrim?  The best!).

But back to dinner--dinner was delicious on all accounts!

 It was such a pleasant evening--

 until I came to the shocking discovery mid-pie that 

I had left a stove top potpourri concoction on simmer back at home.

We had to cut our evening short and head home.

On our way home we listened to our favorite Christmas music

and talked about what we had planned for the rest of our holiday break.

Thanksgiving in the hospital.

I've been in a few different burn units in the last ten years
from Arizona to New York.

But I will never forget the Thanksgiving I spent in the 

University of Utah Burn Unit.

It was the pits.

On this Thanksgiving in 2008, when most families were
spending the holiday together, I was miles away from mine.
I was depressed and in pain- physically and emotionally.

Out my door, I heard a man wandering the halls with his guitar and voice.

He sang beautiful songs about Thanksgiving and God's love and grace.

Another woman handmade and passed out blankets for all the patients on 

the burn unit floor. They were beautiful and warm.

I'll never forget my nurse covering my scrawny body

 with this gorgeous gift. I was humbled.

My heart was softened.
I didn't expect to guide through life unscathed and

I knew life was full of trials and 

pain, but I guess I just didn't think I would

ever have to deal with pain in this way.

As I was wrapped in my new Thanksgiving quilt, I had a glimpse of
clarity, and I realized that these trials were tailored to fit just me, and 

inside me, I had the capacity and capability to overcome and triumph.
And I did, and continue to.

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for a healthy body,
and trials that show us what we are capable of.
I am also so thankful for good people with good hearts
 who share their love and talents with others.

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends!

60 seconds

Last night I made pizza for dinner since we skipped out on our

traditional weekend pizza night.

 It feels kind of like the weekend for us anyway

since we are out now for Thanksgiving break.

 After dinner we all sat down for Family Home Evening. 

I passed out a piece of paper and gave everyone 60 seconds to

 write down as many things as they could think of to be thankful for.

Here is what we came up with.

Jesus Christ, God, health, shoes, peace, Christ's Atonement & Resurrection,

 toys, mom's homemade pizza, education, America, freedom, talents, experiences,

life, music, trees, prophets, sister Merayo in New Mexico, 

the gospel, The Book of Mormon, world leaders, 

my bed, good food, books, Hannah, seminary, Holy Ghost, house,

internet, forgiveness, repentance, hope, faith, charity, cars, grocery stores,

lotion, medicine, mom's work she does for me, ancestors, the Bible, shoes, mom!!,

President Nelson, the world we live in, cookies, animals, unicorns, rain,

my birthday, Ada and Riggs, Angus, Narwhals, Kevin the cat, church, 

friends, husband, Christmas, family, baby Jesus, 

candles to light our home, and Hygge,

Then we discussed what each of us had written down in that quick 60 seconds,

and found some common topics on all our lists, but their was

one thing we had all written down: Christ.

He is the reason we have a list of things to be grateful for in the first place.

To close my lesson I also read a beautiful scripture in 

The Book of Mormon (Alma 26:37)

"We see that God is mindful of every people, 

whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, 

and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, 

and my great thanksgiving; yea, 

and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen.

God, our Heavenly Father, loves all of His children wherever they are,

whatever they do, and whatever they believe. 

Yes, I think He is disappointed when people disrespect Him or disobey 

His commandments, but “God is mindful of every people, 

whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, 

and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth”

What a beautiful scripture and promise.

I am thankful for those words and for God's unconditional love

for me, and for my children!

Next Monday for our Family Night, Mr. Nielson and 

I will introduce the new Light the World (#LightTheWorld) 

campaign to the Little Nies.

We do this every year and it's a highlight of our Christmas season.

Check out the 2018 LightTheWorld and get ideas to

personalize your own family plan.

And then there were four.

We're dropping like flies over here in the Harlow House.

First Charlotte got a cough followed by runny eyes and earache.

 Nicholas woke up on Friday and complained about a sore throat.

Next thing I know, Oliver is sleeping all day with a high fever.

It's that time of year.

I've been loading the Little Nies up with immune boosters and vitamin C.

I'm hoping to keep any more sickness from creeping into the rest of us.

Yesterday at church a sister in our congregation shared a wonderful quote
by a wonderful Church leader and Apostle, Neal A. Maxwell,

and I keep thinking about it.
 "One’s life, therefore, cannot be both faith-filled and stress-free.
 Can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say,
 “Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain,
 not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken.
 Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made
 Thee what Thou art! Then let me come and dwell 
with Thee and fully share Thy joy!”

It has made me ponder about my trials and tribulations
and how I look at them.
I hope to find gratitude in every single life experience even-
and maybe especially, the hard ones.
Not just gratitude, but a change of heart too.
This time of year is a good time to share our gratitude for
everything we have been so generously given
both the good and the bad, and the joy and the pain.

Tonight for Family Night, I am going to have the Little Nies write
down everything they are thankful for in 60 seconds.
Then we will discuss.
Ever since the accident good health is always near the top of my list.
I am sooooo grateful for a healthy body that has been through soooo
much, but functions and performs beautifully.

Wake up!

Yesterday Mr. Nielson and I went into Lottie's class to talk to her 

classmates about my why we're burned. 

 Last month I was in the class helping out with the Halloween party, 

and there were a few very inquisitive children.  

They wanted to know what happened to me, why my lips were so fat,

 and where the heck my pinkie went.

I had one sweet little girl in particular who was so very curious

 about my accident she couldn't stop commenting about it. 

She didn't mean to be rude, she's only six for crying out loud.

 But it planted a little seed in my head and so I asked

 Lottie's sweet teacher if I could come to class at some point
during the school year.

So yesterday Mr. Nielson and I walked into the classroom 

to a room full of very well-behaved children.

They were sitting on the floor waiting for us to walk in the room

 and when we did they waved to us, and immediately my heart swelled.

Children are so good and kind and innocent.

The seek for truth and look to grown-ups for trust and learning, and 

honestly I felt honored to be there.

I started out asking if the children knew anyone who

 had a disability of any kind. All the kids hands shot up.

 I listened as the students told me stories about their uncle, 

brother, mom, neighbor, or fellow classmate. 

 I even had a student tell me he knew a vegetarian!!!    

We discussed about differences and the importance of

 loving and respecting everyone (even vegetarians!).

At one point I asked Lottie to tell her classmates what I tell her everyday

before school.

The kids turned around and looked at her and she said,

"Wake up?"

Christian and I laughed.

(Lottie is a tough one to get up in the morning.

It's kind of a struggle).

What I really tell her everyday before school

 is to remember that her heart is the most beautiful thing about her and 

if her heart is beautiful, then everything else in her life will follow.

But "wake up!" works too.

Spiritual Enlightenment: "Come unto Me" 

Dreary and Wonderful

North Carolina has really been killing it lately.

It's been overcast and rainy for the past two days and I'm in heaven.

Mr. Nielson and I stopped by the lot so he could do some work,

and I wanted to see what the property looks like when it's dreary and stormy.  

Well, it's amazing.

Any color left on the trees is fading fast and covering the woods

with a brown carpet.  

I probably could have wandered the area for hours walking around 

and smelling wet leaves and smoky air.  

Meanwhile back in the Harlow House I am slowly easing into Christmas by

concocting stove top potpourri with fresh apples, oranges, ginger, 

vanilla beans, ginger, cloves and Siberian fir essential oils.

That baby is on simmer from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm, youknowwhatimean?

I hung a little wreath on the wall, 

and there might be a jar full of Shiny-Brite ornaments

near the TV alongside miniature Christmas trees on platters and tabletops.

Also mingled among those little trees are the darling hand-painted wooden

 Nielson family pilgrims that my niece hand-painted.

(@painted.dolly)

But you know, nothing too crazy...yet.

Also a few photos of Angus because he's kind of a weird fella,

and I have equal amounts of Angus photos on my phone as I do Lottie!