June!

Welcome, June!

I can't believe it's been a whole year since I found out 

I was pregnant with baby Minnow! 

One entire year! 

I got Minnie a small swing called "the coconut" to hang on our porch, 

where we spend our evenings when the heat dies down and 

the fireflies buzz around in the dark. 

Summer in North Carolina is magical!

Christian is going to hang it next to the swing on the porch,

but for now it's under the cherry tree.

I put her in it and mowed the lawn.

Angus lies under her feet, and it's all very quiet and charming.

She hates when he barks, but I think she likes to watch him

wandering around.

We all like to watch Minnie.

She is the most incredible, adorable baby in the whole wide world!

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.

Like A Broken Vessel

On December 27th of last year, one of the greatest men to 

ever live passed away—President Jeffrey R. Holland,

 who was a personal friend of my family. 

He was an incredible minister to our family and the whole wide world.

I remember right after the accident, when I was still so very sick,

 listening to a talk he gave 

at a devotional at BYU called " Lessons from Liberty Jail."

I'd lie on my bed and listen to that talk on repeat, 

sometimes five times in a row for nearly a year.

It was incredibly comforting and soothing, and 

I knew every word he spoke was true.

 He spoke to my soul, and in those early dark days after the accident, 

his words made everything feel like it was going to be all right.

 That reassurance was everything to me. 

I will miss him deeply—his wisdom, his sense of humor, 

and his unwavering conviction in Christ.

"You can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experience 

with the Lord in the most miserable 

experiences of your life—in the worst settings,

while enduring the most painful injustices, when facing the

 most insurmountable odds and opposition you have ever faced...

So for every one of you in attendance tonight—here in this vast auditorium 

or in other locations around the world—I bless every one of you, 

each one of you in your individual circumstances, 

as if my hands were on your head. 

 offer that to you as honestly as I offer my testimony. 

I bless you in the name of the Lord that God does love you, 

does hear your prayers, is at your side, and will never leave you.

Later, he shared our story at the 2013 General Conference

which was one of his most memorable talks, like a Broken Vessel.

What an honor.

"Whatever your struggle, my brothers and sisters—mental or

 emotional or physical or otherwise—do not vote against the preciousness

 of life by ending it! Trust in God. Hold on in His love. 

Know that one day the dawn will break 

brightly and all shadows of mortality will flee.

 Though we may feel we are “like a broken vessel,” as the

 Psalmist says, we must remember, that vessel is in the

 hands of the divine potter. Broken minds can be healed just the

 way broken bones and broken hearts are healed. 

While God is at work making those repairs,

 the rest of us can help by being merciful, nonjudgmental, and kind."

Back To School

This morning, I went upstairs to help Ollie pack for his trip back to Idaho

after one of the most fantastic Christmas breaks to date.

Minus the barfs.

  The upstairs loft room, which housed Jane, Ollie, 

and Lottie during Christmas break, 

was a mess, and oddly enough, it really got my heart.  

I will miss this mess so much.

Having all the kids home for the last few weeks has been such a gift,

and seeing the Nies so excited about their sister's birth

 has been one of the sweetest gifts I could ever receive.

They are all going to be the best big siblings to their very much younger sister.

Later in the evening, after Ollie was packed up and the loft was back to normal,

 Ollie played cards with Jane and Lod, and then we all piled

 in the car and took him to the airport.

The last thing I said to Ollie as I hugged him goodbye was,

"This is the last time you will ever see me pregnant.

The next time I see you, you'll have a new sister, and I won't

throw up anymore!"

Late Birthday Dinner

I felt a little better this afternoon, and so we took Ollie

out as a late birthday dinner to one of his favorite restaurants.

He came home to us for Christmas break as a skinny boy; 

hopefully, this break has been full of good food and lots of it.

And I hope he's been able to relax and really enjoy his break from school.

It can get stressful.

I hope he's had fun with his siblings and connected with them.

I know Jane has really LOVED having her brother home!

Then we went home and watched a movie, and I took a Benadryl

and prayed it would help me feel tired and stay asleep so 

I wouldn't itch my body.

No. Such. Luck.

 

OLIVER is 21

 

Today, Oliver turned 21

And unfortunately, today was one of the worst days I've had in this pregnancy.  

Maybe because of the post-holiday blues, or because my body is 

gearing up for baby girl, and I'm extra puffy and extra uncomfortable.  

There are places on my body that can't stretch anymore, and I hurt.

 Plus, a bonus!  I am EXTRA ITCHY everywhere.  

I wake myself up in the middle of the night, scratching my legs through the thin skin. 

My sheets and blankets are stained with blood—it looks like a 

crime scene in the morning.

I woke up last night itching, particularly my palms and legs

 at 2:30 am and couldn't go back to sleep.

I was itching and crying and itching and crying.

I think I finally dozed off around 5:00 am.

Jane and Lottie took Ollie to get Boba in the morning,

they asked me if I wanted one, but then I remembered months ago

in the early stages of my pregnancy, when I was so hungry but so sick

and Boba was one thing that sounded ok.

I slurped down the whole drink and then immediately regretted it.

I threw it ALL UP (plus some) about 5 minutes after.

I don't think I'll ever go there again.

Then Jane made a peanut butter cheesecake.

I made a quick entrance, sang happy birthday, and then went back

to my lair, where I felt like a bad mom for the rest of the night.

God bless Jane, who has stepped up in so many ways!

We are all sad that Ollie is leaving for Idaho to go to school in a few days.

We are all so grateful that he'll be back when the baby is born!

Hopefully sooner than later!

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!