Delicious

I just love Nigella Lawson! She happens to be the super gorgeous host of "Nigella Express" on the Food Network, and her love affair with all things edible is something that speaks to my heart and my tummy. She makes being a woman appear so delicious! I love that she enjoys food and doesn't apologize for it. She isn't a stick figure, but she doesn't care. She would rather enjoy some late night left overs than obsess over the size of her hips.

Back when we had the Food Network, I loved to listen to her poetic descriptions of each ingredient added to the skillet. Her unique use of language and her beautiful British accent had me in a daze, dreaming of ice cream jeweled with pomegranate seeds, or golden clouds of fried dough with a magical dusting of confectioner sugar.

If I had a fairy godmother, It would be Nigella. She could wave her magic wand and poof.....a beautiful fudge chocolate cake smothered in chocolate butter cream would appear on my table. We would eat it guilt free, as we talked about whether or not it would be better with strawberry or lemon filling.

Thank you Nigella for taking me to a world of candle lit parties and late night trips to the refrigerator. I'll get back to my diet tomorrow!

Photo from www.nigella.com

A Goofy Kind of Love

Thanks for always making me laugh!!

Welcome Home Mikey!

Hello brother! How quickly the time has brought you home. Tyler and I cherish all of the time spent with you prior to your awesome mission! Remember our Saturday nights in the basement apartment in Provo? Your poor car was so abused out on our street. Despite that, we enjoyed several late night Taco Bell runs, and drink refills at the near by Chevron! Remember that creepy ward we would attend on Sundays when we didn't get up early enough for our home ward! Yikes!! Good Times, Good Times.

Then we have our summer in the desert. We didn't party as much as we should have......darn it! But memories were still made watching The Colbert Report, eating homemade burgers, I believe there were some axe throwing adventures, and a certain incident where I practically destroyed your mini bike. Oops! Sorry about that.

I don't know if it is your generosity, or your laid back attitude. Maybe it's the fact that your dance moves are capable of drawing a crowd and making the ladies swoon. It could be your good example, your quiet confidence or your inexplicable obsession with bowling! Whatever it is, I am so grateful to be your sister and friend.

Welcome home brother!! I have no doubt that you will do amazing things with the years to come. I love you with all of my heart!!

Happiness is...this little face!

Hello little girl. Have I told you lately how much I love those beautiful blue eyes! One of my fondest and earliest experiences with you happened a couple of nights after we came home from the hospital. We were staying at Grandma and Grandpa Bernier's house while daddy finished the semester. All three of us shared a room in the basement, and you were not in the mood for sleeping. I sat up with you in the quiet night, your beautiful eyes beamed up at me in the dark. Everything was quiet and very still. You didn't make a peep, you just gazed up at me with those big beautiful eyes! I felt like you had so much to say, but unfortunately no words to say it with. The sad thing is, by the time you learn the words it will be too late for you to remember that night and all you were thinking and feeling!

I want you to know that I cherish every day of your life! You and your big blue eyes, teach me patience, selflessness, love and of course happiness! Let's love life together okay. Be good, and don't grow too fast. I love you!

Love,
Mommy

It's a Wonderful Life!

Is 2009 flying by for anyone else? I know it's only January 24th, but it's already been a month since Christmas and the promise I made on Christmas eve to "not be a procrastinator anymore" hasn't been kept very faithfully. I shouldn't be too hard on myself. I'm not a procrastinator anymore, I just need practice with my new skill!

Christmas was so meaningful to me this year! I know it is hard to believe, but I saw the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" for the first time this year (unless I saw it when I was younger and just don't recall). What a beautiful story! Our marriage and life are by no means perfect (whose is?), but we have a strong and unfailing love for each other. Most of the time, we understand that this life is meant to teach us about love. Charity is a topic that has intrigued me for years now. It is one of the only things that really "never faileth". I thank my Savior for so patiently influencing me to do good, to love myself, to fully and fearlessly love others.

Our Christmas holiday was spent here on the ranch with the entire Iverson family! I felt so warm, and satisfied being there with Tyler and little Em. We put on the live Nativity. Emilee had the honored role of baby Jesus, Tyler and I were wise men. It turned into a more comical rendition than some, with Corbin's flamboyant interpretation of King Herod. What a fun memory!

Sharing Christmas with Emilee for the first time made me so excited for a life time of Holidays with her and all of the other babies that will someday join our family. I have decided not to worry about what the world tells me to worry about. Who are they to decide how I should feel? As far as I am concerned.....It IS a wonderful life!

Garrison

I've been coming to Garrison all of my life. I remember childhood summers spent at grandma and grandpa's house. I looked forward to them more than almost anything! We spent hours with cousins riding horses, rabbit hunting (which made me squeamish), dutch oven dinners, exploring, dress ups, mother-may-I, long walks on dusty roads, bonfires at the lake, hanging out at the Border Inn, Labor Day dancing...I could go on an on! Even now grandma's house is like a childhood memory suspended in time. Very little has changed in her home since I was little. If you visit, you will find her vintage toaster (my favorite) still sitting on the kitchen counter. Glass grapes adorn her coffee table. I love her guest room with the old wall paper, antique dressers and vanity, even down to the glass door knobs.

Just like anything in life, not everything was perfect there, but what's done is done and I am left with a warmth in my heart when I think of my childhood summer's in Garrison.

Now, all these years later Garrison has become my home. Tyler and I decided early in our marriage to move out here and work for the family business. It has been a wonderful and rewarding decision for us! Now we are making more Garrison memories!

Isn't it beautiful! (Photo taken from our deck)

The Man

Hello my love! Just wanted to take a minute to tell you how full my heart is at this very moment. I was looking through our photos and saw some of the sweetest pictures of you and mini. You are the greatest daddy, and it means so much to me to see you take such good care of her. Remember when she was feverish for days? We felt so helpless watching her lay around, but at least she was a super snuggler! Even though she was not feeling well, we cherished our late nights spent in the make shift infirmary (living room) Watching Conan O'Brien and tending to our tiny girl.

You make us feel loved and safe, and I thank Heavenly Father every day for your love. Please know that you are "The Man".....you are my man and I love you with all my heart!

Mighty Mini

Emilee (aka Mini) is a "super baby" as far as I am concerned. She is a tiny wonder darting through the house at lightning speeds! Making messes faster than I can clean them up. She dances to commercial jingles, kisses stuffed animals, walks along furniture, speaks the most beautiful foreign baby language, and literally lights up our world!

She is charming, flirtatious, strong willed, sweet and sassy! To sum it up.....she is our dream come true!

Must Have Cake!

A few months ago I made a cake. It wasn't anything special, just a yellow cake with butter cream frosting and maybe a few pink sprinkles! I cut a piece for myself and a piece for Tyler, when all at once this overwhelming feeling came over me! I MUST HAVE CAKE! I grabbed a hand full from my dish and shoved it into my mouth. Mmmmmm! Tyler stared at me with a look of confusion. I can't quite remember, but I think he simply said, "Wow"!

Okay, so it was a little gluttonous and very out of the ordinary for me. I certainly don't go around grabbing handfuls of things I must have, shoving them into my pockets, mouth, or where ever I can fit them, but once in a while it's fun to do something just a little unexpected!

Celebrate

My life is so blessed and beautiful! I know that sometimes the day to day of life turns into a blur of dishes, laundry, homework, business, practices, groceries, or whatever we have going on at the moment. We all feel like we don't have enough hours in the day! It is amazing how much joy Emilee can find in the simplest of things. It inspires me to be more happy about everything I take for granted.

I hope my blog will encourage you to stop once in a while and have a celebration, even if it is just a celebration in your heart. Find something beautiful right where you stand! Slow down and enjoy your life for heaven's sake. It is a choice we all have to make.

For me, this is going to be a year of celebrations! I am going to celebrate everything that brings me happiness and maybe even the things that don't. I think that celebrating is simply an acknowledgement of something good. We celebrate the fact that we were born, marriage, promotions etc. Why not celebrate the coming of spring, the full moon, or a good hair day?

Come on.....let's celebrate!