And so much more

My Anthropologie catalog arrived in the mail today..........oh glory be!

I am passionately in love with every single item in that blessed store. I know it's not good to covet or long for material possessions, but everything is so frilly and beautiful, and so tempting!

I counted 5 pairs of shoes
5 cardi's
3 blouses (who uses the word blouses anymore?.....I do!)
4 dresses
2 jackets
2 rugs
6 comforter sets
and
1 pair of curtains, that I must have.

And that was only in the catalog.

Anthropologie is delicious, it is feminine, it is unique..............and it is pricey. That is why my passion has to be held in reserve for that future place where I have all the money I could ever dream of. That place does exist.....I know it does. People tell me it is imaginary.......but it can't be. I'm never going to give up hoping, because dreams really do come true. If you don't believe me.....remember this post? These beauties are sitting in my cupboard as we speak!! Oooh, I think I'm going to go pour myself some creamy chocolate milk right now!

Here's to pretty things! clink clink!

*wink*

Messy

Am I a messy person? I don't know. It feels like it most of the time.

I don't like that feeling.

When we were young, Amber's side of our room was always so neat and tidy, her bed made to perfection. I recall her disgust with her messy older sister whose clothes were dropped here and draped there and piles of stuff, books, important papers, and sentimental items covered nearly every surface....I guess I can't really blame her.

Clutter is so unhealthy. I'm serious! Studies have been done.......there is proof. I try to clean things up....I try, but I'm not like my mother or my sister. Within the day of a good cleaning, piles are forming and clothes are draped and dropped. I must say, it drives me crazy! It makes me sad. I am so easily distracted by books and blogs, creative ideas, projects, cuddles, kisses, delicious food and good conversation. Chasing messes all day is too much, it distracts me from my distractions.

They say that cleanliness is next to godliness...............*long sigh*...........I want to be next to godliness. I do.

Sometimes I wonder if my outward mess is just evidence of cluttered surfaces on the inside. If that is the case, perhaps I just need to clean off those surfaces and then all of the physical ones will stay clean too.....finally. Perhaps there will then be enough of me to chase messes AND do the things I love.

Prayer, fasting, meditation, study, self reflection, energy clearing, focus, humility and the power of Christ's atonement. It sounds so simple. The solutions do exist. I am lucky, no, blessed to know what I know......it doesn't make it easy though.

Heavenly Father loves messy people, fortunately for me. My beautiful babies love their messy mama, and my Tyler loves his messy Michelle. They give me permission to love my mess......and I guess I do. My mess is glorious. It is mine to sort through and purge......and eventually let go of for good.

Some day I will be completely clean. My heart and my home.

Until then, please forgive my mess.

The lady around the corner

Around the corner from my Parents, lives a saint of a woman. She is the sweetest of sweet and as thoughtful as they come. Nearly every family occasion we have, finds her there, like a devoted aunt or cousin, offering help, treats, and a heartwarming compliment or word of encouragement.

She is from Holland, and she speaks with a slight accent.....you know, the accent where the "th" is pronounced more like a "d".

I love this lady around the corner.

She rides around town on a pretty bike with a basket out front. She cheerfully waves as you pass with her enormous dog on a leash and her basket filled with bags from the local grocery.

She is a little bit of Europe and I love a little bit of Europe.

I can't really pin her appeal to anything as silly as a pretty bike with a basket, though they do add to her charm. The real reason she is exceptional in my eyes is her apparent quest for Charity: the pure love of Christ. I am not a part of her inner circle. I do not know her daily struggles, but I do know she handles people with care and sincerity. She has a gift for looking at you and seeing who you REALLY are, not just your silliness and imperfection. Trust me, everyone needs a neighbor like this.

I must admit.....I do want a pretty bike of my own. I want to ride the country roads of my new home town. I want to scatter sunshine, and cheer. I want to handle people with care and sincerity, and most of all, I want to be gifted with Charity, and I want to share it with everybody.

Just like the lady around the corner!

This beautiful photograph is taken from one of my favorite websites Hello My Name is Heather!

This Gorgeous Life

We travel into the city, or "up north", as it is referred to here, about once a month. We usually stay with my family in Springville and hit up Costco, Wal-mart, and any other necessary stops.

It tends to be rushed and filled with the constant predicament of wanting to relax and enjoy family and friends and the need to get all of our errands done before heading back out to the desert.

I love it, and I hate it.

It's a price that we pay living way out in the unknown lands of the west. People think we are crazy, but.....we love it out here. I guess you could say, it is a price we are willing to pay. Besides Tyler and I haven't gone to rehab for our fast food addiction yet, so if it wasn't for our extremely remote location, we'd both weigh 300 lbs.

All that aside, I want to let you in on a little part of why I love Tyler. First of all, he loves his girls. I've mentioned that before, but I don't think you really get it. I mean he really REALLY adores them, and he wants to give them experiences that make them happy. Experiences that give them fond childhood memories. And I love him for that!


Last time we went to town we found a nice spot to stop on our way home. We pulled out our diaper boxes to use as tables, dug through our coolers and pulled out the hot dogs. Our hero daddy built us a fire, and hovered over the open flame roasting hot dogs for his hungry family. Emilee ran wild in the open air. She jumped up and down waiting to eat her hot dog, and then smiled like crazy while she smeared ketchup everywhere! Adeline cooed in the fresh air, and my heart swelled with love and contentment as I observed my little family.


This last trip was long and tiring. I built a cake, there was a wedding, Tyler rafted a river, we shopped and shopped and then finally late Saturday afternoon we set off for home. We were pooped....all of us. As we approached Delta, Tyler mentioned something about an ice cream cone, but I was in no mood to haul the babies out of their slumber, and away from the cool car in order to watch them smear ice cream all over kingdom come. No thank you!!

But, just as my sweet Tyler was about to move on, I had a change of heart......Yes!, I cried out......let's do it! Let's live our lives......let's eat ice cream! He smiled and circled back into the parking lot of the Delta Freeze. Once again our hero daddy saved the day. He reminded mommy that even though life makes us tired, it is still our life.......the only one we have. Today will never come again.



Thank you my love, for showing our girls that it is okay to have fun!!!

Love you a million x a million!

I'm practically a professional now

Here it is.....wedding cake no. 2! This time for the lovely Marnae!

(To see cake no. 1 go here.)

I realize I need to take some cake decorating classes and learn the secrets of the trade, otherwise there is an awful lot of praying and muttering bad words under my breath, as I try to patch holes and cover up cracks.

Probably not the most effective combo.

Marnae loved it though.....and that's all that really matters!

(So thanks for answering my prayers.......and sorry about the bad words!)

Congratulations Rick and Marnae!!

Hello Summer

Hello Summer.

Welcome to my world again! I've never forgotten you, with all of your flirty laughter and friendly invitations to come outside and play. I've always had a thing for you. Your warmth is sweet, but I've been burned once or twice, and well....sometimes I ignore you because of that, and instead give my affection to the cool indoors.

Burns do heal though and freckles do forgive, and somehow every year when you make your appearance, I realize that I have really truly missed you.

And now.......I want to introduce you to my girls. I want them to love you and play in your warmth. I want them to miss you when you are gone.

Just like me.

Good Morning Sunshine

Most mornings Tyler gets out of bed first. When the morning cry sounds from the room across the hall, he's the one to rescue our little ladies from their slumber, and whisk them off for some sweet daddy-daughter time before work, which means I usually get to steal a few more minutes of sleep!

Mornings are not my thing.

Before marrying me, Tyler had grand visions of us arising early, me at the stove, preparing a warm breakfast to send him on his way, my face all aglow with love and the warmth of the rising sun.

Boy, did I ever disappoint.

Most mornings you'll find me tossing in our bed, inwardly screaming...nooooooooo! I can't go on!

It is sad....so very, very sad.

I'll admit I had grand visions too! I've always wanted to be a morning person, but I struggle.

I love the comfort of my comforter. I adore the sweetness of my sheets. I long to linger on my pillow. To go on, or not to go on......that is always the question!

This is just another area where I need to change. Uggg! You know that old adage....early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise? Well, I really don't want to be left out of all that sweet action!! Health? Wealth? Wisdom? Yes please!!!

Oh the price! Can I afford it?

Hmmmmm..........it looks like it's time to stop spending my energy account on late night netflix, because, darn it all........It really is leaving me broke in the morning.

Minding your Pees & Poos

Isn't it great having a child who knows what to do with a potty chair? When diapers are replaced with pull-ups and princess panties, and every surface of the house is covered with sticker rewards for a job well done, you know that the big girl train is in town.................and we are all aboard!

The down side is, Emilee is a go-getter.......a wham-bam-thank you mam, kinda gal when it comes to using the potty! She races in there, drops her drawers and is almost off and running again before she finishes the job! This means there are dribbles everywhere leaving our home with a slight pee pee aroma. It also means I have to chase her down to give her the good wipe and clean.

Oh pa-lease! Who has time to be bothered with such inconsequential things as wiping?

Not Emmy.

She was doing so well, and still is, but it feels like the excitement has worn off, and we're having more accidents than we did in the beginning!

Ems......I am so proud of you though! You are such a smart, capable, beautiful girl. So what if you have an accident here and there. You are amazing, and at least chasing you around the house with your pull-ups around your ankles gives me a good laugh every day!

Just like always, you will get better as you go.

Someday my girl....... you'll have it all figured out.

Running out of time!

These shoes are made for running,

and that's just what they'll do.

One of these days these shoes are gonna run a mile or two!
(Or hopefully 3.1 on July 5th)

Wish me luck!

Screamin' Coupons!

You might notice I have a new widget on my sidebar! It's for Screamin' Coupons! They are new to Utah, and their deals are awesome!

Here's how it works! Each day they offer a "deal of the day". My widget shows the deal for Utah county. Within the next few months they will be expanding throughout the state and will have a different deal of the day for Davis/Weber County, Northern Utah, Salt Lake County, and Southern Utah as well.

It is free to sign up! Just click on the widget to get to their site, enter your email address and choose your area. It's as simple as that! You can even sign up to receive a daily alert!

For the next 30 days, if you sign up through my blog, you will receive $5 in screamin' credits to use on your account! So tell all your friends and family to come to my blog and sign up to get great deals and, of course, their $5 credit!!! This offer lasts until July 11th! After that anyone can still sign up, but the $5 credit will no longer be available!

Screamin'Coupons donates 5%-10% to help local schools, so let's give them our support!

Who doesn't love to save money?

Digging In

The other day while I was out digging in the garden I thought of my dad. I thought of him puttering around his yard (he is a senior citizen you know, and puttering is what he does in his old age. *wink). I thought of him working in his garden.

I love my dad.

He is trying to figure out this life just like the rest of us. I realize the older I get that he is just a man.....an imperfect man.......but he is wise. He is the kind of dad who knows the answers to most everything. Something about that makes me feel safe.

For some reason I am really longing to sit down and talk with him, just like we have done so many times during my life. I want to ask him some serious questions. I want to hear his answers.

I had a short conversation with my mother-in-law on Sunday in the hall of our tiny church house. She mentioned something about how the next 15 years of my life I will change and age, but I will not appear a whole lot different than I am now, however; in the passing of those same 15 years, she will enter her 70's. For her everything will be different. She was speaking more of the physical changes, but it made me think about how much potential for inward change is waiting in those 15 years.

Time is passing. I wonder if I'm allowing it change me for good.

The scriptures tell us that now is the time to prepare to meet God, and yet I act like that day will never come. When you are preparing for something important, you don't just lie around in your PJ's surfing the internet eating cold cereal while your children scream through the house.

No, you focus on what is coming, you plan for it. You study it out. If it is something you really want, you do what it takes to get it.

I have been praying and pondering a lot about who I am. What did I covenant to do in this life? Am I doing it?

Do any of you wonder about these things?

This is a pivotal year in my life! At some point we all hear the call to change.....to leave behind our childish things and grow up. Why is it so dang hard to grow up?

My heart is being tilled up, raked over and prepared for a new start. Just like our little tomato "starts" we plant each year, it may go through a period of transition. During this time the young plant is trying to take root in its new home. It struggles to survive. It gets exposed to the hot sun and the strong wind and often times looks like giving up, but most of the time it does not. It digs in.....deep, and holds on tight. It chooses to fulfill its purpose and it becomes fruitful.

Somehow.....I know I can do the same.

*photo taken from Country Gardens Magazine

Just looking at you

It's impossible to ignore the flutter in my heart when I see you being daddy. You love your girls with everything you have. And I must say there is nothing more beautiful to me than seeing the man I love taking care of the girls I love.

Your manly heart is strong and unfailing. A safe and comfortable home for all of your girls......including me!


Yes, families can be together forever, and I thank you my love, for wanting it all just as much as I do!