Leaping!

It's Leap Day! 

I wanted to do something special for today to commemorate

this every-four-years special day, but ALL the Nies were working

late, including Christian, who was at a church meeting.

So, Lottie and I had off-brand Lucky Charm cereal for dinner.

(Which, in my opinion, is better anyway).

We painted nails and watched "A Walk to Remember" in my bed.

I think we sufficiently celebrated Leap Day.

In four years, when the next Leap Day will occur, 

 Lottie will almost be SIXTEEN years old!  Could that be?

Talk about Leaping! 

All In Good Time

 This afternoon, Jane and I sat on the front porch in 

the glorious Spring weather

and waited for Lottie and Gigs to get home.

My Spring daffodils are popping up everywhere!

Minutes later, the car bumped along the dirt road and into the driveway.

Out of the car popped two happy-to-be-home-from-school kids.

Lottie immediately picked up hen, Muppet, and brought her on the porch,

dropping her backpack and sweater on the lawn.

Typical.

 Then she told us about all the 6th-grade "tea."

It was good.

One of her friends was dared to kiss (on the cheek) a boy.

Lottie was so animated as she told us how her friend actually did it!

She couldn't get over it!

"Mom, she actually kissed his cheek, like in front of all of us!

Can you believe it?"

"I didn't have my first kiss until I was 16," I told her. 

"Can you believe it? That's a lot older than you right now! 

There's no rush."  I said half-teasingly. 

She squealed back in response, 

All in good time!

Right now, she's still a baby, isn't she?

Snoots And Books

 When Lottie came home from school today, 

she was holding a little fuzzy creature in her hand

and smiling ear to ear, and she couldn't wait to tell me all about it.

It's basically a fuzzy worm with two googly eyes glued on.

And she's obsessed.

One of her friends gave it to her, which changed her life.

Then she spent 15 dollars of her babysitting money to buy a 40-pack

on Amazon.

I couldn't stop her.  I tried.

They come in the mail on Saturday.

Tonight, around dinner, she pulled out some of her dollhouse furniture

for her little snoot (that's what she's calling them).

He, too, enjoyed the homemade ramen and tofu I made for dinner.

I love Lottie and the weird little things she loves so deeply.

Speaking of weird...

Earlier today, Jane and I went to our storage unit to retrieve boxes of her stuff

I discovered a book in a box called 'The Jupiter Game.'

It's an older book; I think it was written in 1991

I picked it out at the book fair in 1994 in 7th grade, and my world changed,

which is weird because it's about magical, mythical powers

and could possibly be borderline witchcraft, but as a 7th grader, I was enthralled.

I also think I was into it because it was the first book I ever bought with

my own money and in the library at the book fair.

I felt really grown-up.

Anyway, it had been a while since I had seen it, 

so I brought it home to read to Lottie.

Suddenly, There They Were

This girl.

I love this girl.

She is faithful and strong and works hard.

So hard!

"The prettiest flowers I’ve ever seen were among rocks near the tops of mountains. 

That must have been partly because I worked so hard to get there, 

for something else. And then, suddenly, there they were."

Henry B. Eyring

Suddenly, Claire, you'll go 

to the places you've wanted to go, with the people you 

want to be with, and do what you want to do

because you have a pure heart with pure intentions,

and I know the Lord trusts you.

You're going to do only good with what He blesses you with

because you look ahead, you plan, you prepare, and you 

"Wait upon the Lord" with a patient and willing heart.

You deserve a nice long nap!

Oliver in Brazil: February 2024

Elder Nielson is in a new area with new companions, 

and teaching new people and families.  

He's amazing!  

I miss him so much! 

 Here is what he's been up to in February:

Meeting families/people:

Working:

Baptizing:

Flying Kites (this is a big thing in Brazil):

Food:

On the move:

Randoms:


His area in Brazil:

One Lucky Lady

 Once, I saw a really cool photo of a super long ivy plant draping
 down from the top of a kitchen cupboard.
I showed Gigs, my personal horticulturist, this photo and my hope to copy it.

THAT NIGHT, he gathered the same ivy plant at the photo

(that he just happened to have growing in his personal garden in his room), 

and planted it in my planter; then, he 

placed it at the very top of my floating shelf in the kitchen

and said to me,

"It should take a few months to get growing and flowing over the edge,

 but there you go, Mom."

You are going to make a lady very happy one day, Gigs!

Mandy

Sometimes, after school, Lottie goes to an old, fallen-down barn that sits

hidden in the woods on the Stillestead property.

 You'd never see it if you weren't exploring.

The old owner said it was a mining barn from the 1940s.

It's pretty cool.

Lottie has been spending months cleaning up the

 dirt floor and adding some blankets along with a stash of Coke 

in cans for when visitors stop by.

It reminds me of the book 'Mandy' by Julie Andrews, 

which tells the story of a little girl who discovers an abandoned

 cottage and restores it, turning it into her own special place.

I've read it a few times to my girls; it's one of our favorites.

(I read it as a little girl!)

In the last few weeks, Lod's recruited Gigs to help her gather

logs from nearby fallen trees to enclose the exposed area.

On the days Gigs doesn't have to work, he goes outside after school

with Lottie, and they spend hours together fixing it up.

Today, Christian visited the hidden barn and 

couldn't help himself, so he helped them with some construction.

Yay for Dads!

At dinnertime, I rang our bell, and everyone came home.

I know I've talked about this several times throughout the years 

in my blog, but here I go again,

I used to have a playhouse on Fir Avenue in the backyard of my childhood home.

  I painted, cleaned, and decorated it.

I spent almost my entire childhood inside it.

When I got older, my cousin Katie and I renamed it

"The Flower Pit".  We'd pick flowers and dry them by hanging them inside

the playhouse.  Dried flower bouquets were really hot stuff in the 90's

 

I even ran an extension cord from the one window it had

to the nearest plug on the outside of the main house, about 25 yards away

with a little lamp so I could be there at night.

It was the best at night.

Looking back, it's kind of a miracle the house didn't burn down.

It was such a sketchy set-up.

But nothing bad happened in the 80s.

I didn't know what Hygge was in 1986, 

but I was definitely living it.

When I was in school, I used to daydream about going home 

so I could escape to my playhouse. It was my special spot where

 I could dream and imagine anything I wanted. 

I loved being able to close the door to the playhouse because

 it allowed me to enter my own world where I could use my imagination 

and become anything I wanted.

This is such an essential feeling for all kids.

They need a place, a retreat, somewhere in their lives

to escape, relax, think, and create in.

Well, at least my introverted self needed this,

and Lottie does, too.

Love Thy Neighbor

Last Sunday, Claire, Jane, and Gigs all

spoke in church.  I was brimming with pride throughout their talks as

they shared their love for Christ and how He changes lives.

Here are some gems from their talks:

Claire:

One of my favorite stories of Jesus is found in the Book of Mormon. 

It is a well-loved story. After Christ’s resurrection, 

He came to minister to and teach His faithful disciples 

living on the American continent. 

After spending some time with them, sharing truths and praying, 

He told the people He was to leave but that He’d be back the next day.

As He looked back on the people around him, Jesus saw that they were in tears. 

They wanted Him to stay with them a little longer. Jesus said: 

“Behold, my bowels are filled with compassion towards you. 

Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. 

Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are 

withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? 

Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; 

my bowels are filled with mercy.”

And we read later that Jesus healed everyone. 

Jesus heals broken hearts, broken families, broken bodies. 

There is no wound beyond the healing power of Jesus Christ. 

There is no person beyond the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

Jane:

"On my last day as a full-time, set-apart representative

 of Jesus Christ and missionary 

for His church, my companion and I were knocking an 

apartment building with an open stairwell. 

We went up to the very top and stood on the balcony; 

it was a beautiful sunny day and surprisingly warm for January!

We looked out over Queluz, which is the name of the city 

where we were serving and we just quietly stood there. 

My heart filled up with an overwhelming love.  

Love for God's children in Portugal, and not just Portugal,

but also Angola, Capo Verde, Brazil, Guinea Bissau, 

Mozambique and Sao Tome - the people 

I had the privilege to meet, teach, and testify with. 

Love for my Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Love for His restored gospel and for the great privilege I had to share it!

Gigs:

"In Matthew, we read, 

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, 

and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

Am I a good neighbor?  

Sometimes, I drive too fast on the dirt road on my street, 

which makes a dust cloud behind me for miles, dusting the houses along the way. 

I could probably slow down.  Am I a good neighbor to my friends?  

I could invite them to youth activities, invite them to know the Savior as I do, 

and elevate my conversations and actions.  

I can stand up and be different.

Am I a good neighbor to my siblings?  

I can’t imagine having a roommate with a snake and a 

Tupperware full of hissing cockroaches, 

among other critters that make noises and smell funny 

and occasionally get lost in the house.

 Why is “love thy neighbor” the second great commandment?  

It must be pretty important to the Lord, so it's important to me."

*Mom, yes, I sent their talks to you! 

Check your e-mail!

 

Cotton Candy

This evening, Claire, Jane, and I (with Angus) walked to meet up

with Christian and Lottie, who rode the motorcycle out to the 

pastures to check on the cows.

It was so brisk out that it made our noses turn rosy red.

The cotton candy sunset was stunning, and I wondered if I had 

ever seen a prettier sunset.

It blew my mind.