Nielson Family: #52 weeks Childhood home

What was your childhood home like? What kinds of things did you collect and display in your childhood bedroom?

I loved my childhood home.   Dad built the home I grew up in.   I was two when we moved from Parowan, Utah to Spring Glen, Utah. My earliest memory is spinning and spinning in circles till I was sick.   I remember mom putting me into the crib, located in an unfished bedroom by the kitchen, and I threw up.   I must of been two or three.   I also remember sitting on the front room floor watching the other kids play a board game.   I had an accident in my pants and mom asked Patty to change me. I remember the plywood floors and the unfinished walls.   I am not sure what year dad actually got them done. Mom told me years later the reason we didn't have any flooring for so long was so dad could buy Grandma Bates a house.

I loved the front porch and the front door. The door was an old wood one with a circle window. As you came in the front door you entered the living room.   At the bottom of the steps was a planter that mom always had beautiful plants in. The front room was a good size with two big windows. Mom would always pull the drapes open and let the sunshine flood in. At night she would roll our hair in rollers, if they weren't dry in the morning she would have us sit in the sunshine coming in the South window.   I always loved this, for some reason it made me happy. I remember the pink couches but I don't think we had them long. The couch I remember the most was a very long green, Spanish style couch. A black velvet wall hanging with a very colorful ship hung above it. The carpet was a blue commercial style carpet. The old Piano sat against the North wall with a tall wood plant stand in the corner. We spent many hours in this room. It is where we watched TV played with puppies, and dingo dogs, made Barbie houses, and had rodeos. Christmas's were also celebrated in this room always with a fresh cedar tree decorated with homemade ornaments and lots of tinsel.

Next you walked into the Dining area.   To the right was a desk, to the left was a door to the basement. The walls had a pale green formica on them. We had many delicious dinners here.   We always sat down and ate dinner together. Dad did not like and talking or noise during dinner but after we often discussed the gospel, or many other things. Mom was a wonderful cook, some of my favorite dinners were fried chicken with mashed potatoes, roast beef with wonderful brown gravy, fried potato's cooked to perfection (done on the inside but crispy on the outside), Chicken noodle soup, chili(I still cook chili like she did it is my favorite). Lunches were often grilled cheese with tomato soup.   This room was always a pleasant place to be. I remember at Christmas time I would stand at the big picture window and pray for snow.

The Kitchen was to the right of the dining area. We had brown appliances(I think) I don't think I spent much time in this room but I remember mom in her dress with her apron on. She would usually be baking bread, making brownies or cinnamon rolls. I remember the curtains were a brown country look. The East side of the kitchen was where mom had Grandma Bentley's treadle sewing machine.   I learned to sew on this machine. I always loved sewing and I loved using the treadle.

To the right of the basement door was a bedroom. This was the bedroom I remember sleeping in as a toddler.   I think all of us kids shared this room for a while till the upstairs was finished.   I don't remember the walls being done when I was little.   When I was about 12 or 13 this became my room. I had a beautiful white bed spread with colorful butterflies on it.   Mom had made me a paper mache , Mary had a little lamb lamp. I still have Mary but the rest fell apart. I loved this room as a teenager.   I would take mom's record player in my room and listen to her 50's music. I always kept my room nice and tidy. I have never done well with chaos of disorganization.

Down the hallway to the left was a bathroom. I spent many hours cleaning this room.   I remember when I was about 4, I wrote my name on the white vynyl hamper with a blue marker. Mom asked me if I wrote that, and I replied, "that I didn't". We used that hamper for years and my name never went away. Always a good reminder that I told a lie. Mom would put us girls all in the tub and wash our hair. I remember that at times when we had no shampoo she would use vinegar. It always made my hair so static.   I always hated using the toilet, hit had a north window above it and I always thought someone was looking in.

Further down the hallway was mom and dad's bedroom.   Mom had a white chenille bedspread on it. She always kept her room so neat and clean, never an unmade bed.   I also don't think we were invited to play in there.

Later on dad finished the upstairs attic. This was my favorite room. The South side had a large bedroom with wood floors. It held three twin beds, mine, Carol and Kelley's. We each had a small closet at the end of our beds. There was no heat the chimney was always warm. I remember sitting by it quite often. We usually kept our own toys under out beds. Sometimes we had built Barbie houses and left them up for many days or weeks. It was fun to play with each other.

On the North side of the attic , across the stairs was a smaller bedroom. Patty had a full size bed in her room. There was no wall and it was left open. Some times at night when I would get cold or scared I would end up in Patty's bed, usually with a few others. Later on I think Patty moved down to the bedroom by the kitchen and the boys moved upstairs. Kelley and I eventually moved downstairs and shared the front bedroom. I loved the view out of the North side window of the attic. You could see the mountain and in October I would always look for the tops to receive a covering of snow.

In the 70's dad added on a laundry room. It had a back door out to the garage. Mom also had her sewing machine in here and a big iron that had some levers you squeezed with your knees when you ironed. I was so happy when we actually had a laundry room. Going to the laundry mat was not one of my favorite things to do.   It was always so boring and we would usually get in to trouble because we would start pushing each other in the laundry baskets.

Also in the 70's dad built a big family room out the dining room wall.   I missed the big picture window. The carpet was a orange brown shag. We had a 50's style brown couch in the room with Grandpa Bates old rocking chair. At the East end was a huge rock fireplace where we had many fires. It felt so good to warm by the fire. The TV was moved in here and it was now where we spent a lot of our family time.

To the left of the family room was mom and dad's master bedroom and bathroom.   It was so nice to finally have two bathrooms. Mom and dad also had a big fireplace in their bedroom. one of my most favorite memories was sitting on dad's lap watching a lightening storm out his bedroom window.

Last but not least was the basement. I hated the basement. It was actually used to live in before the house was done so it had a kitchen down stairs. The bottled fruit and food storage was kept downstairs so we would often have to go down and get it.   I was always scared and felt like someone was always following me. The furnace was also downstairs. I remember having to help get the clinkers out of it. It always scared me. Dad kept the horse tack downstairs so we would have to go down to get it when we rode horse.

When I was seventeen dad sold the house the horses and all the animals and we moved to Price in the Redd home. It was a pleasant house but I didn't live their very long. Steven and I were the only ones left at home so we each had our own rooms. Mine was done in blue. I really liked it.

Mom always made our home beautiful and pleasant to be in . I feel like I had the best childhood ever. Not because of the homes we lived in but because we had parents who loved us and cared enough about us to teach us and guide us. I am so grateful that we had the gospel in out home. My memories are filled with family prayer, scripture study, gospel discussions, fun and laughter and lots of experiences to make me who I am.