From Our Home...With Love

Watch Adeline's eyes in the following photos.

too cute!

Here's to a magical & meaningful Christmas!

Serenity (My First Ever Give Away)

As much as I love motherhood and the joy of being with my two little girls day after day, I must admit that there are moments I feel like I can't go on.

There are days when I feel void of patience...when facing their bickering, whining, and temper tantrums feels like more than I can handle.  

I have, on occasion thrown things.  I have yelled and carried on, scaring my children and adding to the chaos of those moments.

Then there is the inevitable regret that overwhelms me, and tempts me to label myself as a horrible, unfit mother.

The truth is I am  not horrible, nor am I unfit to care for these precious little girls.  I AM weak, and I am learning how to love and nurture both myself and my family, but the learning is not without mistakes.

Along with prayer and a few minutes to myself, I have discovered some amazing essential oils to help calm these feeling, and allow me to deal more peacefully with those I love.

There are three main oils I have used in these situations.  They are doTERRA blends, and they have become dear friends and a real support system in the middle of the occasional madness.  Elevation - a joyful blend, Balance - a grounding blend, and Serenity - a calming blend

The way I usually apply these oils is a drop or two of Elevation and Serenity on my chest, over my heart and then a drop or two of Balance on the bottoms of my feet.  It does wonders to calm me and it helps in my desire to be gentle with myself and with my children.

I have used this same combination on my girls when they are having a temper tantrum or wake up crying in the night.  Applying these oils to my girls and even my husband has helped them feel loved and nurtured.

My girls love having Lavender and OnGuard (another oil blend) applied every night before bed.  We have been learning how to incorporate these oils into our daily routine and they are blessing our family, and even improving our outlook on life!

So...I have decided to share the doTERRA experience and give away one of my favorite oil blends...Serenity!!

You can use this calming blend in any situation that causes you stress!  First day of school, or a new job.  You can apply it before giving a presentation to a group of people, or before a big test.  Use it for anything and everything, and then let me know what you think!!

In order to get in on this giveaway here's what you do...

Become a follower on my blog

Share the giveaway on twitter or Facebook

Leave a comment, sharing your own experiences with doTERRA essential oils

Leave a comment with your name and email address

You will be entered once for each of the above entries.

I will be choosing the winner on December 31, New Years Eve, and will mail it out to you on Monday January 2nd!

Here's to a new year filled health and wholeness!

Love, Michelle

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*doTERRA*

Cardigan Empire

It has been over a month since I was featured on Cardigan Empire, and I totally forgot to post it on my own blog!  Sheesh, I must be distracted by a million other equally awesome things. 

So even though it's old news, I'd love for you to follow this link and check out Reachel's beautiful blog and support her weekly celebration of beauty!

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Like a Queen

Tiny shoulders wrapped in fairest skin.  The lightest wisps of wavy hair.  Clear eyes and rose bud lips flutter and twist with the wonder of excitement.  There are dreams in these hearts and big ideas in these little heads!

I sit day after day watching this beauty of girlhood whirl all around me, and I hope with great confidence that one day these little infant goddesses will find a man like their father who will recognize who they are and treat them like a Queen!

I remember as a teenager feeling so angry and embarrassed when my dad would give my boyfriends that "disapproving" look.  What I didn't fully grasp at the time was this innate sense of protection and desire for your daughter to have "only the best". 

One of my very fondest, most tender moments with my father was in the Salt Lake Temple after I was sealed to Tyler for eternity.  He took both of us in his arms, and with tears in his eyes, told us how proud he was of us that day.  I could sense the difficult surrender of handing my care over to another man, but I could feel even more, his respect for and confidence in this man who just covenanted with God to treat me like a Queen!

While we were dating, Tyler handed me a note in church one day that said, "If you marry me, I will make all of your wildest dreams come true".  It was a funny note, but I knew he really meant it.

We just celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary and my sweet husband surprised me with tickets to see Andrea Bocelli in concert!  A dream of mine for 13 years now!  I first heard him sing on a PBS special while I was a nanny in California.  I was 20 years old at the time, and my young adventurous heart was spell bound by the powerful voice of a man who could not see his audience.  The beauty of his performance was not only in his voice, but in his presence.  He is blind, and if you've ever seen him sing, you will know that his disability is a part of what makes him great.  He is not a theatrical performer.  He stands in one place, hands to his sides and simply sings.

Being there in the same space as Andrea Bocelli was exactly the dream I envisioned it to be.  It was an experience, a witnessing of greatness -- something I will never, ever forget.

After the concert, Tyler and I sat in a romantically lit restaurant, surrounded by our fellow concert goers.  There seemed to be a collective reverence and excitement for what we had all just experienced.  I heard a gentleman sitting next to us whisper to his wife, "I hadn't expected to feel the emotion I felt as I heard him sing."

Our perfect evening was punctuated with the most perfectly delicious meal we have ever shared, and I knew, as I looked across the table, that my dad's wishes for his daughter were coming true.  Not just in fancy concerts and fine dining, but in a heart that is willing to give and sacrifice for my happiness.  A heart set on keeping his most sacred promise to love me, protect me, and "make my wildest dreams come true."

Happy Anniversary My Love.

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Christmas Light

I have many memories of squeezing into a minivan filled with teenagers from my church youth group, cruising I-15 to the SLC, and laughing all the way there and back.  It was our holiday visit to the Christmas lights at Temple Square.  It would happen every year, and it was the event I looked forward to more than any other youth activity we had.  

I would wander around with my friends in the frosty air, surrounded by crowds of people smiling and laughing beneath the millions of twinkle lights, and every year there would be that moment my heart would swell with complete contentment.  It was the familiar feeling that told me it was finally Christmas!  

When cheeks were ripe with winter rosiness, and every site had been seen, we would load back up and beeline it to Crown Burger for cheese burgers, french fries, and my favorite part...fry sauce!

 The ride home would always be slightly less comfortable, but only because our bellies would be stuffed full of fast food and our toes were in that tingly defrost mode, but the warmth...ahhhh...the warmth was so comfortable.  The warmth of sitting shoulder to shoulder with my friends.  The warmth of belonging, and the warmth of having something to look forward to, something to celebrate, and something to believe in.

I love that Christmas is so full of tradition.  These traditions are little gifts wrapped in memory and filled with light that we can't wait to open year after year.  Even though we know what's inside, the surprise of how we feel never gets old.


What is your favorite Christmas tradition?

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doTERRA

I want to talk about my new passion...doTERRA!  

doTERRA is fairly new company (about 3 years old) specializing in certified pure therapeutic essential oils.  They are the only essential oils company delivering a COMPLETELY pure product, double testing every batch they produce to guarantee the highest level of purity.  

In April of 2010 I attended my first class with my mother-in-law and purchased a Family Physician kit and the Modern Essentials book that night.  I didn't really know what I was doing at the time, but have since discovered what a blessing these oils are in my home.  doTERRA means "gift of the earth", and though  I believe the medical profession is inspired and saves lives everyday, I also believe that God has provided the ingredients needed for health and healing in a more natural way.  In fact many pharmaceuticals are synthetic attempts at recreating the healing elements found in nature.  I figure why not go straight to the original source!

The mission of doTERRA is to have a healer in every home.  How empowering is it to know we can take matters into our own hands when it comes to the health and well being of those in our own homes!  We don't have to run to the doctor's office every time we are sick, and in fact, regular use of these oils can prevent illness and restore our bodies to a more whole and healthy state.

I am going to get really personal here for a second.  When I made my first doTERRA purchase over a year and a half ago, I felt something stir inside of me.  I knew I needed to have these "gifts of the earth" in my home, and I needed to learn how to use them to benefit my life, and the lives of those around me...but I kind of let that feeling fade over time.  I purchased only a few more oils, and tried to use them with limited education.  I felt their impact in my life, but never used them very consistently. 

All through the fall and winter months, and into the spring, my girls battled cold after cold, and flu after flu.  They were literally sick with something every couple of weeks.  On top of all of that there was a heavy and dark energy that seemed to hang over our home like a gloomy dark cloud.  I felt helpless, and struggled with feelings of guilt when it came to my family's health.  I knew some major changes needed to take place in our home, and so I prayed and prayed.  

My good friend and mentor, Cherie Burton, asked me one day if I was familiar with essential oils.  I told her I was, and that I had been using them on and off for a few months.  Over time she taught me about the gentle yet powerful influence these oils can have in our lives.  She explained how they have brought about miracles for her family, and she taught me how to incorporate them more fully into my routine.  I felt that subtle stir in my heart again.  I knew that in some way, these oils were calling to me, but I still didn't pay a lot of attention to it.

Cherie offered to come out to my small community to teach a class on the oils, so we made arrangements and held a very small class at the Garrison Elementary School.  Not many people showed up, but she kept telling me that in her experience those who need to be there, always show up, and she is willing to do a class, even if it's for one or two people.  I remember thinking, "Wow, what a generous attitude!", but she explained that teaching others how to heal their lives and their families cannot be a self serving effort.

After that class the stirring continued, and I asked Cherie if she would teach a class for my family at my parent's house.  She said she would, but asked if I would be willing to teach a part of the class!  I agreed to do so, but I was set in my mind and knew that selling doTERRA was not for me.  doTERRA is a multi-level marketing company, and I've tried my hand at a few of those over the years with no success, and knew I would never try that again.  I hate the feeling of trying to sell things and the pressure that always seems to make all of your friends, family and strangers feel uncomfortable in your presence.  No thank you on that!!  Not for me!

A couple of weeks before the class I started to study up for the part I would be teaching, and in the process I stumbled across a video of Natalie Goddard, one of the most successful distributors of doTERRA essential oils. If you'd like to watch it, here is the link http://vimeo.com/25579965.  I was struck by her quiet non assuming way, and I felt like I was listening to my own struggle in her story.  That stirring in my heart became a whisper in my ear and I knew in that moment, that teaching others how to heal their lives is what I am here to do.  Suddenly it all made sense to me with the book I am writing, and the mentoring business I am starting.  Sharing the natural healing power of essential oils falls right in line with the kind of healing tools I am hoping to share with women.

We held the class at my parent's house last week, and once again only a few people attended, but that didn't trouble me at all.  Education was gained, oils were purchased and lives were changed, and the warmth and contentment I felt at being a part of it all overwhelmed me!  I was at my mom's house sitting across the table from her when her order arrived.  She pulled out all of her oils and opened them up, smelling them and reading about their healing properties in her new Modern Essentials book.  She rubbed some Deep Blue over her arthritic hands, the pain evident in her face as she rubbed it in.  Helping her arthritis was one of the main reasons she purchased the oils and I said a little prayer that these oils would be a solution to her need.  Within one minute, I noticed the expression on her face change.  She looked at me and said, "Oh my goodness...I can feel a noticeable change!  Oh my goodness...I can put pressure on my hand...look at this!"  Right there at her kitchen table, we witnessed a little miracle...we witnessed the beginning of healing, and I am so grateful to have found such a powerful tool!

I know these oils can do amazing things and I am on a mission to share them with everyone!  If there is anything that ails you, physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually, it can be helped and I would love to come and share doTERRA with you!!  If you'd like to learn more and possibly host a class in your own home, please contact me at mere.elle@gmail.com.  I am going to be working to set up a bi-monthly class out here near Garrison, and then I also want to begin doing a bi-monthly class in Utah county, so let me know if you are interested and I'll tell you when and where they will be held!

Baby Adeline

Ever since Addy was born, she has been referred to in our home as "baby Adeline", but recently she has started to protest saying..."I not a baby, I a big girl".  And it's true, she is a big girl.  

She follows Emilee around night and day, skipping, dancing, pretending and daydreaming - keeping up with all of the activity just as any "big girl" would.  I love to see the changes and the growth, but I begin to feel panicky, wondering if I will always remember the tiny squeaky voice and the petite-ness of her frame.  Has my heart fully captured the depth of her softness and sweetness?  I hope so, because someday when she is all grown up, stressing about life, money and love, I will need the reminder of these days when her greatest struggles could be cured with fruit snacks and squeeze hugs and a story with mommy on the couch.