Jane has RED hair.

Jane woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
She woke up in tears. Claire had kicked off all of the covers
{even though they have separate beds, Claire still insists on sleeping with Jane}.
Claire stole Jane's belt.
Claire made a "face" at Jane.
I put Jane's hair in a pony and it had "fishies"
{which are bumps on the top of her head}.
Jane cried- no scratch that, Jane whaled.
She hates school, she hates her long hair,
she hates her sister,
and she most definitely hates when I put her hair in a pony tail.

{Me with my sweeet 5 o'clock shadow}

I tried to patch thing up, so I put my 5 O'clock Shadow on when opening the garage to get their bikes for school. {That thing is genius. My scars are super sensitive to the cold,
and my "beard" always helps relive that sharp sting}
She laughed. When Jane laughs, she really laughs.
I made Claire give Jane her belt, I told her to stop making faces at her sister.
I let Jane go to school with her red hair wild and free minus a bow or headband.

Everything was going fine that day until it was ballet time this evening.
It began again.
Jane kept telling me that she hated ballet.
Jane wouldn't wear her pink leotard and skirt.
Jane wouldn't take off her bracelet for ballet.
Jane insisted she wanted to quit.
Jane wouldn't put her coat or boots on.
Then the worst part.
Jane wouldn't let me put her hair up in a "bun".
Bad news. The hair HAS to be in a bun...Ballet rules.
I gave up.
I made Mr. Nielson take Jane to ballet without her shoes or coat on.
Jane's hair blew in the wind as I watched Mr. Nielson drag her to the car.

Overtime I felt guilty, so I called her while she was in the car.
In a very sweet voice I told her I loved her and that she was going to have
so much fun dancing with her cousin's.
Then she told me she wasn't going to ballet.

And she didn't.
Minutes later she and Mr. Nielson stomped through the door.
She is as stubborn as her father and just as much- if not more than her red hair.
Why do those two go together?
When Jane was born my father said that she was going to be a
"wild flipper" Now I know what he means.

*****
Praying for Boss Nielson this morning.
Boss has a cancerous tumor growing in his jaw glands.
The skilled doctors are Removing it today.
Praying and loving you Boss Nielson!!

{Boss with Jane}

Paperdolls, birds and bees.

I was doing the laundry today {just one load mind you- I am still in "hiding days"} this load was completely out of necessity.
Claire wandered up to me and began a conversation that went like this:

Claire: Mom, when can you have another baby?
Me: Well, I hope really soon. Dr. L. needs to check me out and make sure again
that everything is going to be OK, and my tummy will be a nice home for our baby.
Claire: How will you know if you are pregnant?
Me: I will know when I start to get sick and I can also take tests.
Claire: How do you do that?
Me: Well, sometimes to know, you have to tinkle on a white stick that tells you if there is a baby growing inside you.
Claire: How DOES the baby even get inside of you?
Me: With lots and lots of love.
Claire: What does that mean? How does it get inside though?
Me: Well.... I will tell you. Lets go downstairs to the office with Dad and we can talk about that.
But after I do this load of laundry.

Then I hoped she would forget about this little piece of life and go resume playing with her
new paper dolls.
But I also knew if I didn't take this opportunity to tell her where
babies come from now, the world will force it on her.
It it will most likely be wrong. SO wrong!
I want my children to understand that the power of procreation is beautifully divine and a Godly.
I also want to be the one to tell them when the appropriate time is that they can enjoy it.
That appropriate time will be after she is married to the man she loves.

After Mr. Nielson and I told Claire, she sat in her chair for a minute trying to take it all in.
She then looked at us and asked us if she could tell Jane.
I could tell she really wanted to.



After I felt like collapsing in Mr. Nielson's arms crying.
I didn't want my first born, my baby, to know about this.
I didn't want her innocence taken away. I wanted her to keep fantasizing
about the adorable little white stork who drops
babies in loving homes in diapers and fuzzy blankets.



I went upstairs and saw Claire on the couch she was cutting her paperdolls clothes out.
I wondered what she was thinking.
She had set out all of her dolls on the couch.
She wasn't thinking. She was just happy and safe.
That is all her mind cares about right now.
All of that other stuff with come, {and sooner than I want.}
But to me, as long as she is playing with dolls and dress-ups and school,
she will be little.

Thank heavens!

{These adorable paperdolls were given to me as a gift. My girls LOVE them. They are unique and magical. My children {even the boys} love and spend hours with them. The best part is that they come in a package with a keepsake pair to save. The package also comes with a disc that includes extra clothes and print-outs to cut, color, and use.
find them here}

Hiding

{This is me. I am trying to hide in my muff. I just had recently gone through another round of laser treatments,
and feeling more ugly than usual. It makes me want to hide}

I am hiding in my home in the "tree streets"-the place I grew up and the place I am raising my children. I love it here. I love the mountains that stand over me.
I love the trees that line the road.
This is my home and always will be.

I am giving myself a few days of nothing. Nothing. No meetings, no doctors appointments, no interviews, nothing. I am really enjoying it.
Today I woke up, ironed, planted flowers, and got in the tub with Nicholas.
Fun times.

It snowed for about 30 minutes today. It was actually very pretty laying softly on my newly planted pansies.
I love Spring. I love new beginnings. I love spending time outside with my children
and motorcycle rides with my man.

So, even though I am hiding for a little while, I am also dreaming of things I want to do and
things I wish for {a baby} so when I am all done hiding I will be back at it.

{Sometimes when I hide, I park like a idiot. Look at this sweet parking job I did}

Happy hiding!

Summer shoot/nie asks on blogher

It was a fun weekend. Here's why:

*Ms. Jones visited me all the way from the 90 degree weather in Arizona for a few days.
*She brought her boyfriend Bear along.
*Matthew Mead and gang were in town shooting for the new Summer with Matthew Mead magazine.
*The shoot took place at the beautiful Alice Lane store here in Utah.
* All of my sisters and best friend Ms. Jones were at the shoot. We laughed and maybe cried {laughing so hard} while the shooting commenced.
*You can only buy this issue online. Go here to pre-order yours now.
*Shabby Apple donated some very beautiful dresses for the shoot as well!
*Matthew had some genius ideas for all of us sisters, and for the rest of the magazine too.
I am so excited for you to check it out!!

*Below are some photos from the day-behind the scene.*

{The shooting begins}

{Lucy shows off her summery dress and Ms. Jones and Lindsay talk on the couch}

{Cjane holding Lucy's Freddie}

{Suze, Katy, and Meg pose. Beautiful roses in the middle of the table}

{The girls wait in Alice Lane while shooting continues}

{luscious food and drink. Below, Lisa and Lindsay show off the yummies}

{Lindsay and Lisa tasting the delicious goodies}

*******

Check out a new week of Nie and You. Nie in Utah and You in South Africa.

And, go see what is going on at Nie asks on blogher
Q: What do you love to do with your children?

A: Here I am taking silly photos together at the photo booth

A Lucky weekend

{These pictures were taken on St. Patrick's Day this year.
I am planning on having a lucky weekend.}


{Bear, Nic, and Ollie play before bed}

Ms. Jones and I had a boring day today.
{after the photo shoot...more on that later}
I have just decided this: I am boring.
I pretty much just like sitting around all day.
I am lucky to have Ms. Jones kicking it with me here- and her boyfriend Bear.
He is adorable.
I hope we get to lunch tomorrow-at least before she leaves.

We watched Jimmer take the Cougars this close to the elite eight.
We love you Jimmer!!

{Jimmer, taken shamelessly off the TV}

Check out Jane's adorable baptism bracelet from The Vintage Pearl.
It is similar to Claire's here.

Have a good weekend!!!

Spiritual Inspiration here.

Running out of gas

Ms. Jones is here visiting.
She is rooming with her boyfriend "Bear" next to me and Mr. Nielson.
We tried staying up late to talk, but I am a wimp and can barely do it past 10:30.

Mr. Nielson has had to pull most of the load this week.
I just feel kind of tired. Mentally and physically.
I really needed Ms. Jones here to tell me that she misses me,
and thinks I am still funny and still her best friend.

Ms. Jones, Bear, Lucy, Freddie and I went to Banana Republic this evening,
and the woman who worked there asked me if Lucy and Ms. Jones were my DAUGHTERS!
I came home and asked Mr. Nielson if my "new face" aged me. Hmmmm.
I am officially out of gas.

What's for breakfast

Tinfoil, brownies, crayons, yogurt, and toast with butter. Hot and fresh from the oven.

20/20

My wonderful family gathered at my home for a family dessert party.
I served giant double chocolate brownies, delicious vanilla cream and hot chocolate sauce.
I am now pretty tired.
We have been filming for a special 20/20 program in May.
Elizabeth Vargas came to my house!
She gave me a hug, used my kitchen sink and bathroom mirror,
walked up my front step and sat on my kitchen stool.
It was kind of unreal.
She is so graceful and my children fell in love her.
Ollie followed her around with a hand drawn picture.
Jane asked me if Elizabeth could come to her wedding.
I was just stunned at her big beautiful brown eyes.
She was kind and very sweet.

Now, I am exhausted talking about my accident.
No matter how many times I talk about the accident, it never gets easier!
I do though, have such a huge swelling in my heart when I talk about my sweet
Mr. Nielson and our trial together.
I love looking into his brown eyes and see his love for me.
He is amazing.

Jimmy {my 11 year old dog} causally walked around during filming.
He dodged under cords, sat behind camera tripods,
and jumped up on couches while we chatted on camera.
I was so embarrassed. The crew were so kind and patient with our old, limply and stinky dog.


{all adorable accessories for my home, which added the perfect touches to everything were handcrafted by EmersonMade.}

Somthing is going on/Nie asks on Blogher

I am filming today for something kind of cool, and kind of big.
Busy all day.




***Nie asks on Blogher***

What book has changed or helped your life?

{me, I love Ree Drummond's new book: from black heels to tractor wheels. I love her love story}
Go here to answer...