Flower Power

Bread feeds the body, indeed, but flowers feed also the soul.
~The Koran

Yet another reason why I love the place where Allen works.

They sent me this beautiful bouquet with a note that read:

Get well soon! Sorry this took so long. Your friends at (Allen's work).

What is it about flowers? They make me a happier person just to look over at them. Is it the colors? The fragrance that fills the room? There is something grand about having a small part of nature and the outside world at springtime right here at my bedside in the middle of winter.

Whatever it is, they have brightened my room and my spirits since the day they arrived last week and once again I have been reminded of what an awesome company Allen works for.

Fifteen Years

Fifteen years ago today, I fell in love.


We were expecting our second child and had decided not to find out the baby's gender. We already had a boy, and I was secretly wishing for a girl. My wish was granted in the early morning hours of November 11, 1994 as we welcomed ElemenoB into our family.

I loved everything about her from the start. Her thick, dark hair, her pouty little lips and large, inquisitive eyes... every tiny feature seemed perfect.

It is amazing to watch the transformation of a human being over the course of fifteen years. She has grown from a small, completely dependent little infant into a confident, beautiful teenager. She has changed from the toddler with screaming tantrums and a love for nothing but elastic waistbanded pants to a young woman who is a fiercely loyal friend and shopaholic.

She is a kind-hearted, creative, generous, gifted, stylish, outgoing, studious, fun-loving individual.

Happy 15th Birthday, ElemenoB!

I am so thankful to call myself your mother.

Autumn Leaves

Today I am thankful for kids who love autumn as much as I do.

In Utah autumn is just a blink between summer and winter so we try to enjoy it fully while it's here. We play in the leaves, bake up pumpkin-infused treats and eat them until we almost turn orange, and marvel over the brilliance of the changing colors on the mountains that surround us.

The photo above is by Thumbelina, taken a couple of weeks ago just down the road from where we live. It is our favorite local tree, towering over a vacant field. In the autumn it transforms from green to the brightest of yellows and then slowly creates a blanket of leaves at its base until the winter winds have blown every last one away. The day Thumbelina took this picture she was admiring the sunset and suggested we see how it looked behind this tree. The word breathtaking comes to mind.

And then this morning I found a little orange booklet on the table, a Halloween book which All-a-Boy has been working on in his class at school, containing the following poem which he authored:

Leaves jump from the trees,
Diving into a suicidal fall,
Autumn has arrived.
Autumn brought its cold winds,
Autumn has brought its gray skies.
I hear the wind knocking at my door,
Like an anonymous guest,
Waiting to be let in.
Clouds hang overhead,
Threatening me with their ice and snow.
I smile.
Autumn is amazing.

Amazing, indeed.

Cascade Springs

There are not many things I love more than the changing fall colors up the canyon. We took the kids to Cascade Springs to see what Mother Nature had in store for us this year.

We were not disappointed.

And so, because a picture is said to speak a thousand words, I'll let them do the talking.

There Is Beauty All Around

As I was waiting for the kids after school one day this week I looked outside my window and noticed how beautifully blue the sky was. But even better than that were the white cotton candy clouds stretched across the endless expanse of azure. There was a gentle breeze pushing the billowy clouds along like a roller-box story, constantly shifting and changing.

I could get lost in that sky, I thought, finding new pictures in each cloud as they blew past.

Today as I dropped Princess off at kindergarten I noticed again how stunning the skies were. I went straight home and got my camera so the magic of this day would not be lost - the heavens were filled to capacity with brilliant white clouds set against the infinite blue.

I live in one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places on God's green earth!

Just had to say that, for the record.

It's a Beautiful Day.