Easter

In the wisdom that comes with adulthood, my affection has migrated towards springtime and Easter has become my favorite holiday. As with most Christian holidays, the modern world has transformed and commercialized the day. But as the world awakens from winter and bursts into the color of springtime it's hard to ignore the symbols all around, reminding us that the snow will melt, the sunshine will warm, and "Sunday will come." Daffodils and hyacinth blooms spring from the earth once frozen.  Warm breezes replace biting wintery winds.

As my life continues to fill with more people to love, I also feel a renewed sense of life's fragility.  Every time we open our hearts to love, we open ourselves up to disappointment, grief, pain, loss.  But the miracle and celebration of this season is that the fragility of mortality is finite. We will endure no disappointment, depravity, doubt, disability or death forever; nor alone.  Because Christ came and because He lives, we can burst through every trial triumphant.

For me, the Easter season with it's eternal reminders came at the perfect time this year.  Days before, I left a doctors office trying to hold back the sobs that were aching to come out.  Trying to be strong in front of my two year old whom I naively brought along thinking it would be just a quick well check for my two month old.  I went into the appointment with a few concerns that I thought would be resolved as "no big deal," or "she'll grow out of it."  I left the appointment with a doctor I trust thinking my baby might not be able to see.  That parts of her skull could be fused prematurely, a condition that would require a craniofacial surgeon to break her skull apart so her brain could continue to grow.  That she may be aspirating milk.  That she seemed developmentally delayed and stuck in the "newborn blob" phase.

There is nothing like news affecting your child to change the depth and sincerity of your prayers.  We did everything our doctor recommended - the blood tests, the visit to the opthamologist, the chest x-ray, the CT scan, the MRI, the evaluation with Early Intervention.  We were so blessed with mostly fantastic news: blood tests were normal, optical development is normal, chest x-ray was normal, CT scan showed open sutures between the plates in her skull (normal), but her brain looked like it needed further testing (hence the MRI),which was also normal.  Early Intervention determined that she is delayed in a few areas, but we're hopeful that their services will help her "catch up."

Good news on the medical front is great, but perhaps even more encouraging was the gentle reassurance that we consistently felt even when we didn't know what would come of it all.  Our journey with all of this is not over.  Betty will meet with a pediatric neurologist, continue to receive therapies from Early Intervention, and have more extensive follow-ups with her pediatrician. We have no idea what the future will hold for Betty (or us, or any of our children, for that matter), but we do have that reassurance.  And if we choose to access it, we can feel that our loving Father is over all.

Halloween Recap

I just realized I never finished my post last year (2011) on Halloween.  Oops!  I think I may have to go back and do that, because Clara was such a cute little cow.  This year was even more fun, since Clara really got into it and we had all kinds of Halloween events to attend.

Every year, my dad grows huge pumpkins.  Clara loved seeing them on their porch and couldn't believe how big they were.

We carved pumpkins for family night on the Monday before Halloween.

Two weekends before Halloween, Clara had her photos taken in her costume.  We paid $15 for a 10 minute micro mini session with a cute setup and while I think it was worth it, I don't know that I'd do it again.  I really like the photographer's style generally, but I was a little disappointed that we received highly edited photos, and nothing with bright, vivid colors.  Last year we did halloween pics at Sears (they were free! including lots of prints) and I liked that they were more of a true representation of Clara and her costume.  But enough on that.  Their setup was super cute and we got a couple of darling photos.

On Friday, the 26th, Spencer's office had a Halloween party and it was really fun!  They had bags the kids could decorate for trick-or-treating, cookies to decorate, a conference room all decked out and full of snacks for everyone, a room to help assemble hygiene kits for a local shelter, and of course trick-or-treating all around the office.  Clara caught on right away, and filled her little jack o lantern bucket right up.  She was not shy about choosing treats from strangers' cubicles and offices.

Riding the elevator up to the 15th floor!

Roaming around daddy's office

On Saturday, my friend Lindsey and I put together a neighborhood trunk or treat.  It was pretty low key (and last minute!) but I think we'll consider it a success.  With little kids, half of the fun of Halloween is seeing all of their friends in their costumes - which doesn't always happen on Halloween night.  So we planned our party in the afternoon so they could see each other in daylight and run around and play.  The kids who came cleaned up candy-wise and I think everyone had a good time.  Next year we might add a chili cook-off or some other element to round out the party a little.

Whit, Maggie and Lindsey (I stole this from your blog, Lindsey!)

One cute thing, at the trunk or treat, Clara went up to a 5 year old in our ward (whom she's never really met) and gave her a big hug.  Then I heard the girl run over to her friends and say, "you guys, there's a baby over there and she just gave me a hug and said, 'huuuuugg.'"  Haha - that's my girl.  She is not shy about offering affection.

Clara hugging Lottie

Clara and some friends - Scarlett and Lottie

On Halloween day, Clara spent the morning trick-or-treating around Aunt Carol's office at Utah Housing and got lots of treats!  Halloween night was spent entertaining grandparents and handing out candy with a few visits to some of our older neighbors who we knew would want to see Clara in her cute costume (heaven knows we didn't need any more candy from a full evening of trick-or-treating).

Holidays are just getting more and more magical as Clara discovers what they are all about and can enjoy them more fully.

Happy Halloween!

This year I took Clara to have her pictures taken in her costume by Effie Grey Photography.  It was almost 80 degrees that day, hence the sandals.  She's the cutest little butterfly ever! We've had a lot more going on with endless Halloween festivities, so I'll be sure to post about everything when it all settles down.  In the mean time, have a Happy Halloween!  (Clara just woke up and is shouting, "Mama, where arrrrrre you!?" from her crib. Love that girl!)

Autumn Bucket List

One of the popular things floating around pinterest last year and this year are seasonal bucket lists.  I decided to make one for our family for this fall, and it's something that I think will be worthwhile for the holidays and next summer too.  Time just passes so quickly and I want to make sure we make the most of it, especially while our children are young and we have lots of opportunities for family time.  Here's our fall bucket list for this year - it encompasses some goals, some chores and some fun things we want to do.  Some should be no-brainers (like home and visit teach, go to the temple, watch conference) but I included them so they can stay fresh in our minds and we can make more meaningful efforts in those areas.

I had this printed up as an 8x10 and framed it so we can check things off with a dry erase marker as we go.

Picking Peaches

Last fall there was a groupon for our local nursery and their fruit trees were drastically reduced.  So we got a super steal on a couple of fruit trees and planted them in the backyard.  The apricot tree had beautiful blossoms and even had some fruit, but none of it fully matured.  The peach tree gave us an unexpected gift of a handsome harvest for such a tiny little thing.

Today, Clara and I ventured out to the yard and [she] picked every single peach from our tree.  There were about eighteen peaches.  Because the tree is so tiny, they were right at her level and several of them went straight into her mouth!  The peaches have tiny teeth marks to prove it. :)  She loves helping in the garden and has been wanting to pick the peaches for several weeks thinking they are tomatoes (ta-toes) or apples.  Hopefully next year we'll have an even bigger harvest!

I may have to frame this and hang it in my kitchen!

When the Bough Breaks

Front porch light, check.  Breezeway lights, check.  Back door light, check.  Locks -- check, check, check.  I looked out the window as heavy snow fell Monday night and huge flakes swirled fast and furious, piling on the ground.  Then, after checking on Clara, I headed to bed.

Spencer was out of town for the week, making it a little more unsettling than usual when I heard strange noises outside during Clara's 3 am feeding.  I wondered if there was someone in the backyard, but the last thing I wanted to do was look and find out.  Not wanting to scare myself, I chalked it up to icicles falling off the gutters and headed back to bed when Clara was done.

Morning came with blue skies and sunshine and 15 plus inches of snow on the ground.  I headed out to shovel and immediately noticed that something wasn't right.  Sure enough, our two large backyard trees had each broken under the weight of the snow. 

It was just too much for them to bear. 

I was nervous for the large branch resting on the house right over the dining room, and heartbroken at the thought of losing these trees - even if it were just a branch at a time.  It might sound strange, but these trees were part of what I loved about this house.  They each had a branch for a swing and one seemed like it would be a perfect treehouse tree someday.

Thankfully my dad came over after work with his chain saw and relieved the trees of their sagging limbs, and our home of any potential danger.  So far we haven't realized any significant damage from the incident, other than to the trees themselves.  Needless to say, I am ready for spring.

here comes autumn

The only thing I find moderately depressing about autumn is that the days start to get noticeably shorter. The rest, I can definitely live with. My love affair with autumn is no secret. I savor every chance to bask in the glory of the season we call fall. The crisp air, the cooler days, the beautiful rusty colors of pumpkins and apples and gourds, the celebration of harvest and smell of spice, the foliage, the fresh start of a new school year... I just love it all.

Back when we got married, some generous soul gave Spencer and I a gift card to Williams Sonoma. Of course nearly everything in their store is delectable and tempting, but I knew I'd probably end up spending the gifted money on something more spontaneous than practical. When I stumbled across these pocket pie molds yesterday, I knew I had found my treasure. {I bought an apple peeler/corer too, for good measure. I'll be a mini pie making fiend!}

Winter Song

A few Saturdays ago, Spencer and I went snowshoeing! We both knew it would be one of his only free Saturday mornings for the next few months, so we needed to take advantage of it. It was the perfect day for it: fresh snow, plenty of sunshine, and virtually no one else on the trail. We headed up Elbow Fork in Millcreek Canyon and me, oh my, it was beautiful! I think it's so great that with the right gear, you can feel perfectly warm despite the snow and cold temperatures. Two gadgets (both gifts from Spencer) made the trip even more fun. We used the insulated thermos he got me last Christmas and had steaming hot chocolate at the summit. I was also super excited to try my new Garmin Forerunner 305 on the trails. It's a heart rate monitor with GPS. When we got home I plugged it into our computer and it gave me a cool map of where we went, along with all the stats about speed, pace, heart rate, elevation, etc. I'm a geek for such data.

-Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson-

Rain

Praise the spells and bless the charms,
I found April in my arms.
April golden, April cloudy,
Gracious, cruel, tender, rowdy;
April soft in flowered languor,
April cold with sudden anger,
Ever changing, ever true --
I love April, I love you.

Poem By OGDEN NASH (1902 - 1971)

-Bishop Allen-

Maybe I'm Crazy

My Bishop and I organized a team from our ward to run the Wasatch Back Relay in June. It's a race from Logan to Park City (that's 178 miles) and takes approximately 24 hours to complete. Yep.

-Gnarls Barkley-

The New Year

Wow. 2007. I don't think a year has passed so quickly in my entire 26 year history. It was a huge contrast to last year, where I was experiencing so much transition and constant change. But it's been an interesting invaluable year none the less. Here is my year in review:

Best Things 2007:
1. Spencer!
2. Got my first full-time, salaried, grown-up job
3. Moved into an adorable house in Salt Lake with great roommates!
4. Several weekend excursions helped me keep some form of sanity
5. Took a day off of work to attend the IKEA grand opening and then drive to Boise and back to see a Brandi Carlile concert (totally worth the 10 hours of driving!)

Not So Amazing Things 2007:
1. Just a lot of confusion
2. Michael Scott as a boss
3. Went into debt for the first time (for a car though, I think it's a pretty worthy reason)

Places I visited in 2007:
1. San Diego, CA
2. San Francisco, CA
3. Portland, OR
4. Los Angeles, CA
5. Boise, ID

Realizations of 2007:
1. You'll never work more hours than when you're not getting paid by the hour
2. Utah's a pretty good place to live. For now.
3. I am really terrible at making decisions. Especially big ones.
4. The best thing you can do as a young employee is get there early. And stay late.

Concerts I attended in 2007:
1. Snow Patrol, The Great SaltAir, Magna, UT
2. Damien Rice, McKay Events Center, Orem, UT
3. Brandi Carlile, The Big Easy, Boise, ID
4. Regina Spektor, In The Venue, Salt Lake City, UT
5. Sondre Lerche, Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, OR

Things I checked off my list in 2007:
1. Get a job, a real one
2. Keep up my personal history
3. Stay fit

-Death Cab For Cutie-

20 Years of Snow

Trying to catch up. It's barely winter and we're moving into our fifth storm of the season... Here are a few photos from the first, when shoveling was still fun and snow seemed a little more enchanting. {1 Dec 2007}-Regina Spektor-