We named her Charlotte.
I was so shocked that she had red hair! (Another one!).
After a friend visited my new baby, she
told me that she had an aunt Charlotte,
but that they called her "Lottie."
I thought that was just about the cutest thing,
so we started calling her that, and it stuck!
We drove through Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado on Charlotte's actual birthday this year.
I decided to not tell her it was her birthday and instead
pretended it was later in the week.
So on Thursday, after Claire made Lottie birthday pancakes
with whipped cream and strawberries,
Mr. Nielson and I took Lottie and her
best friend, Ada, to the zoo in Salt Lake City.
The zoo was super crowded since it was Utah's spring break,
but the girls didn't seem to mind.
After visiting her favorite animals
(elephants, rhinos, monkeys, tigers, cheetahs, and lions),
we took the girls out to lunch and then to get ice cream.
The girls had about three licks of their cones and then handed them to me.
So basically, I took myself out to get ice cream.
Charlotte shares her birthday month with my mom.
It is so fun to be in town to celebrate Mom and Lottie together.
They are 63 years apart.
My dearest friend Megan created the most beautiful pink cake
for the birthday girls!
We've been nibbling on the cake since. It's so SO good.
For my mom's birthday, I got her a doll house,
mostly for all of her 46 grandchildren (and 2 greats)
to play with when they come to visit their "Umi',
(that is what her grandchildren call her).
Thanks to Mr. Nielson and Lottie (and my dad for moral support)
for setting up this darling little house
Like me, my mom LOVES dollhouses, and we've
already talked about how we are going to decorate it for each holiday.
Tomorrow we will head back to the ranch.
We have been away for such a long time, and so much
has happened in the meantime.
Do you ever feel like your life is kind of like a puzzle,
but you just don't have all the pieces,
and you spend so much time and effort looking for
just ONE piece to help you see the picture?
That is how I feel right now.
The RV trip was a wonderful, beautiful family vacation,
and one I will remember forever- especially since we are headed into
some unknown territories with surgeries and health issues,
job changes, and moves, while keeping my little family together.
With so much going on, I am ever so grateful that I
can count on the Gospel of Jesus Christ
and His constant light in my life.
I don't know where I'd be without it.
* * * * * * * *
Teachings from RMN:
The Gathering of Scattered Israel, October 2006
"The choice to come unto Christ is not a matter of physical location;
"The choice to come unto Christ is not a matter of physical location;
it is a matter of individual commitment. People can be
"brought to the knowledge of the Lord" without leaving their homelands.
True, in the early days of the Church,
conversion often meant emigration as well.
But now the gathering takes place in each nation."
