Check!

 

Conference checklist:

Food for the weekend (including the delicious cinnamon roll recipe

with delectable thick ooey gooey frosting): check

yard work done: check

House cleaned (including laundry): check

Easter project supplies to do while listening to conference: check

Pen & paper ready for note taking: check

Haircut/bang trim?  NO CHECK!

Fun fact about me: I HATE GETTING MY HAIRCUT!

And I always wait until I can't stand it any longer, then I make

an appointment.  I love my hairdresser; it's just...well...I don't even

know why I hate it so bad.  I just do.

Update: I called and have an appointment for next with (with Lottie!).

Harvesting

This morning after dropping Lottie off at school, I worked in my yard 

allllll day!  I pruned, dug, cut, planted, watered, and mowed

while chatting with Elder Ollie in Brazil.

(He's sooooo cute!)

I harvested the remaining daffodils in the flower beds and made the most

beautiful, dainty, and impressive bouquet for my coffee table in the living room.

It made me happy all day.

Before I went to bed, with my feet throbbing, my hands sore, 

and with sunburned lips and neck,

I told Christian how happy I was having harvested my work.

Now my hydrangeas are popping with bright, healthy leaves.

I am super, SUPER excited about conference this weekend!

Also, THIS!

 

She's my girl

After I picked up Lottie from school today

she walked straight into my room and snuggled into my bed, 

turned on the heating pad, flipped off her shoes, then

turned on her favorite show and relaxed.

Somedays you just gotta do that!

Today was one of those days.

It was chilly outside and we both have a little sore throat,

so what did I do?  I joined her!

 

Planets and branches

Yesterday after dinner, Lottie pulled on her rainbow boots and went

outside to the fields to wander around in the pleasant evening.

I love when she does that.

We were all on the lookout to catch the planetary alignment

 spectacle happening in the sky for the next few nights.

Across the field from the kitchen window is a single dogwood tree.

I've watched the tree become more brilliant with pure white blossoms.

Last week, I snipped a branch for my dining room table, and today wanted to replenish

them since they are slowly fading, 

so Gigs and I joined Lottie in the field.

Evenings at Stillestead are so magical, and when the last of 

the sun disappeared, we waited for the stars to pop out to reveal 

this much-anticipated alignment, we saw plenty of stars but no planets.

I think we may have too many trees surrounding the property

and making it hard to see further away.

Tomorrow we'll find a new spot and hopefully catch this 

beautiful space delight!

And, thanks to my tall Gigs, 

I got another beautiful bunch of dogwood branches!

 

DOGgone good kids

This afternoon after school, Lottie brought her little pink typewriter

into the kitchen from her desk in her room (with a photo of Ollie nearby),

 and wrote Oliver a letter while I made dinner.

I'm amazed she has the patience to sit and type

button by button, clank, clank, clank until half the page was filled

with a special love letter.

She told him how she was doing and about her 11th 

birthday party in a week; she told him about her friends, the mama cows,

and that mom STILL can't wash his bed sheets.

(I'm giving myself until spring break, which is next week).

She also referenced a few inside jokes about some cartoons they

watched together growing up.

I am so pleased watching the spring blossoms pop on the trees outside.

The Dogwood tree in the field looks like it's covered in snow!

The Dogwood is North Carolina's state tree, and for good reason, they are EVERYWHERE!  

And they are so beautiful!

We had a nice chat with Jane in Portugal today.

She's experiencing missionary feelings of inadequacies and challenges 

with a few of her relationships, but all in all, learning, growing, and stretching

herself, and relying on the Savoir to carry her and help her to develop into

a wonderful woman and missionary.

She's doing it!

I am SO PROUD of my adult-sized hardworking Nies!

Claire-bear in Arizona:

And, of course, my darling boy, Elder Nielson, in Brazil:

I'm just so doggone proud!

Jane in Portugal: March 2023

 What has Sister Nielson been up to, you ask?

Olá queridos amigos! 

My mom has been getting after me about not writing my weekly emails. 

(There's just not enough hours in the day, Mom! 🙄😉)

But I know I will regret not having these email journals one day,

 so shoutout to Mom for reminding me every week to write an email, kkk

Thanks, Mom; love you! 😘😜

This week was muito boa!! 🤑👌🏻

I was transferred! I served in Aveiro for two transfers and absolutely loved it! 

The ward was so good and supportive of us missionaries, 

I learned a little Spanish *🇻🇪🇵🇪*,

 and the work there was BLESSED 😇 🌊

But when it was my time to go, I was ready.

Now I am serving with Sister Evans in Linda-a-Velha! 🌸

Sister Evans is my kindred spirit! We laugh at the same things, 

have similar interests, and even discovered that we have some of the same clothes! 🤭 🍓

Presidente Barcellos and God were inspired to put us together for this transfer. 🙏

I love Linda-a-Velha! 💕

The ward is small (like 30 members who are consistently there little),

 and I love it! 

I have thought a lot lately about some of my life experiences

 that have pushed me to be here on the mission. 

And I think my time spent frequenting small congregations at 

home prepared me to serve and give in this little sacred space, 

this little church congregation, here. 🥰

I am so grateful to be here! And I am so excited! 

We have our work cut out for us in this area, 

but I can already see, Linda-A-Velha is going to 🔥🤑

Por favor, pray for us! 

I love being so close to Lisbon during this season and summer! 

We walk the cobblestone streets of this city, and in the evening,

 everything is golden and warm and breezy, 

and the air smells like orange blossoms. 🍊🤍

We have weekly planning on the lawn in front of the Torre de Belém -

 pastel de nata in hand. 💙☺️

Am I living in a dream?!

We are whitewashing this area! Well, actually, pinkwashing - 

so we inherited the apartment from the elders.

This means we found:

-A whole fish wrapped in plastic wrap in the freezer 🐟

-A pull up bar 💪 (new transfer goal?? 👀)

-The lights in our bedroom were rewired to be red and

 blue disco lights and ONLY red and blue disco lights. 

Don't know how to fix that. 🕺💃

-Cupboards full of empty food boxes 📦

-5 jars of opened peanut butter 🥜

-Lots of photos of Cristiano Ronaldo 😍

Besides these things, the apartment wasn't too bad. 

Good job, elders 👏🏻

Boa Páscoa! 🌸

I feel so immensely grateful for my Savior and His sacrifice for me 

- especially at this Easter time.

I know that Jesus Christ came.

He lived a perfect life.

He is the perfect example for us.

I know that He suffered for all of our sins and sadness.

I know that He died for us because He loves us.

I testify that Jesus is THE way.

And I KNOW that HE LIVES! 

I love this beautiful work. 

To show people that THEY have a loving Redeemer who already saved them. 

They (we) just need to accept Him - to follow Him.

Choose to follow Him with your whole heart this week! It will be powerful!

🖤

Love you all! 

Até próxima 👀✌🏻

Aurora

I love the sky!

It's fascinating to think about what is going on up above me.

 Did you know that last night certain parts of the US were able 

to witness the Northern Lights?????

I just about died when I read that because 

I WANT TO EXPERIENCE THIS SO BAD!

I researched when North Carolina could take in this phenomenon,

then we waited outside for the lights to dance across the sky.

I didn't see anything too obvious, but I still want 

to acknowledge that perhaps we saw different color hues in the sky.

Maybe?

But we DID see a few early-bloomer fireflies 

which was very exciting!

Note to Mr. Nielson:

Please take me to see the Aurora Borealis.

I mean, it's in MY NAME, and so it's in my blood.

Also, WHY! TELL ME WHY WE DIDN'T NAME ONE OF OUR

GIRLS AURORA? WHY?!!

Note to my kids:

Dear Nies, please name one of your children, AURORA

It's the most beautiful name in the world.

Love, Mom

I'm staying up LATE tonight to see if I can catch a glimpse,

as it is still happening.

On Thursday, another fantastic spectacle will happen:

A planetary alignment will occur, meaning that

FIVE planets; Saturn, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus, visible from Earth!

And this won't happen again until 2040!

Last month we saw the kissing planets...which was fun, too!

But everything above us is more fun in the middle of nowhere.

I love Stillestead!

Bagged

 

After my Barre3 class today, I slipped on my overalls and helped Christian

water the mamas.  We're just patiently waiting for babies!

A few mamas look "bagged," which is another way of saying that their

udders are getting swollen. 

And when one of them wanders off alone, leaving the herd, we watch patiently

as that is a sign she might be off to deliver.

We're on high alert!

 I often feel sorry for them with the pending 

labor and delivery, including soreness in certain parts...you know!

Feeling swollen and "bagged" sounds horrible.

But I'm excited to be the best farmhand out there!

Dingus

 This evening I followed Christian out to the pasture where

the cows are grazing, and Angus followed us, too.

Sometimes I call Angus "Dingus" when he is annoying,

like this evening; for example, he was super annoying and deserved 

the name, Dingus.  He teases the cows and drives them crazy.

It makes Christian mad because he doesn't want the cows 

to have any unnecessary strain or stress.  

Calm cows are better mamas and just generally healthier.

One of these times, I think Dingus will be sorry

he messed with these mamas...especially #11!

She's a beast!

New Shoes

Today felt like it was 48 hours long.

We left Arizona at 3:30 AM to make our 6:00 AM flight to Florida

where we sat in the airport for NINE HOURS!

What does one do for NINE HOURS in an airport?

Well, we ate crap food and slept on the mattress that Christian brought

(Thank you, honey!!) 

I read TWO books that I bought at the airport store.

We also watched a few movies, and I had a nap or two.

We finally flew home, and our plane landed in Raleigh at 1:00 AM.

We took the shuttle to our car to discover it had a flat tire, so at 2:00 AM,

we called an Uber to pick me, Lottie, and Gigs up while Christian 

waited for the tow truck (which NEVER CAME).

Around 2:45, we got home, everyone showered, and I turned on my mattress

heater, kissed Gigs and Lottie goodnight, then waited in my bed for Christian.

Around 3:45 AM, he called me saying the 

tow truck guy never showed up and he at driven

 5 miles an hour to the nearest tire store, where

he parked the car until the morning when they could fix it.

I got out of my cozy bed and picked him up 45 minutes away.

Around 4:45 AM, we finally fell into our beds just in time for the alarm

to go off at 5:45 AM for seminary.

We snoozed all alarms and took a mental health day.

Around noon I made a quick grocery list since we had ZERO

food in our house.  Christian and I left Lottie and Gigs sleeping in their

beds while we picked up groceries, checked on our car parked at the

tire store (it turns out it needs a new tire, so we opted to get all new "shoes"

for the car), then picked up fries and shakes from Chick-fil-A for dinner,

or was it lunch?  I honestly don't even know. 

My mind is fuzzy.

 

YOU ARE OLD

This morning we woke up all stuffed downstairs in the

 Joneses basement-turned apartment for Claire.

The Joneses are THE BEST friends for letting us bunk up with them

every time we visit Arizona, which seems like almost every month

recently!  They are so easy to be with; they're just an extension

of our family (literally, since Spencer and I are cousins).

We're looking for a place for Claire, but living with the

Joneses has been a huge blessing for her.

And we're not sure we can ever thank them enough, not just for 

this favor, but for SO MANY things!!

We visited Swig one last time, ate more good Mexican food, 

and drove around looking at houses and how much the valley

continues to grow!  We listened to story after story from Christian about

when he was a kid and the time his horse, Tiki, "bit straight through."

his tongue during a long-distant ride 

with his friend, Cody.

"We limped into the Circle K gas station, where I called grandpa

there was blood everywhere..."

(With a pay phone. This was in 1996).

The gas station still stands but is in the middle of suburban life with

hundreds of houses and businesses surrounding it.

"There was nothing, NOTHING out here!"

Be careful; one day, you'll wake up and find yourself  

talking to your kids like 

your parents and grandparents spoke to you when you were young

and they were old, and then that's when 

you'll realize: YOU ARE OLD,

 and there is nothing you can do about it.

(I still feel like this girl, though!)

Hans by Candlelight

 A few months ago, Claire sent me a text about a concert 

happening in Arizona while we are visiting.

It was the best of Hans Zimmer in candlelight, 

which would be played at the pavilion in the Phoenix Zoo!

That meant the concert was it was going to be surrounded

by hundreds of candles. How romantic, how charming, how HYGGE!!

It was right up our alley!

(We were also surrounded by tons of exotic birds, 

and just knowing the lions were around the corner

next to the alligators near the pond was thrilling!).

I promptly bought tickets, and tonight we attended.

It didn't disappoint. It was beautiful, and I admit, I cried

during the first few seconds of the first song they played because

it was from Inception and:

1. I love LOVE that music and movie.

2. It reminds me so much of Ollie. He LOVED that music!

He LOVES Hans Zimmer!!

Oliver in Brazil: March 2023

From Ollie:

"Olá, tudo bem?

I've felt nothing but joy, excitement, and ambition ever since

 I got here at the CTM.

 Less than a week left here, and I could not be more excited to leave. 

I love it here, and I've been really enjoying myself.

I've got a rad companion, an amazing district, and the best teachers, 

but I'm anxious to get out in the real world.

Portuguese is hard, as is all languages, but being fully 

immersed with Brazilian elders, sisters, teachers, faculty, staff, 

the presidency-everyone makes learning it so much easier and more effective. 

Our last week here is only português. 

We're not allowed to speak English, even to our fellow companions, 

district members, and missionaries. It's been tough, but oh well, 

I couldn't be happier to be at the Brazil CTM. 

Carbs, carbs, carbs. The food is actually not bad here at the CTM. 

Although it's the same thing every single day (I'm going crazy), 

We've gotten creative, making new variations. 

I'd say my favorite thing here is either pão de queijo or Guarana. 

We all drink Guarana like we breathe air. It's nuts.

My companion and our district are the best. We get along so well. 

We have the best time learning and teaching together.

We've met so many good people, 

including missionaries from Peru, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, etc...they

 obviously only speak Spanish, but português and 

Spanish have been close enough to play sports, games, and team-teach together. 

I've had so many spiritual experiences while here. 

Going to two different temples,

 giving blessings to fellow elders and sisters, teaching, watching conferences, etc...

But what always keeps me centered, focused, organized, 

and in tune with the spirit is...

1. Jesus is the answer to everything

2. "Be still" stop and listen to the spirit often.

3. The Book of Mormon is a powerful tool,

combined with the spirit, the best tool to teach and touch hearts. 

Reading the Book of Mormon, writing in my journal, 

and my teachers make me happy. 
I love the people here, my teachers and friends. 

It's gonna be rough to leave, but ready."