caterpillar

dear green caterpillar,

first off, i think i owe you an apology. i begged and pleaded with brian not to buy a standard. the concept of driving a stick shift is something that was completely foreign to me until we bought you. i'm sorry for being so snobby, and refusing to drive you for the first couple of weeks. brian had to drive me to work insanely early so he could to school on time just so i could avoid the painful process of learning how to wield the powers of a standard. when i finally stopped being such a sissy, i realized what a nice little car you are.

i'm sorry that i made you stall. like, a lot. especially those first couple of weeks. i'm also sorry for making people honk at you; i know its not very nice. i'm sorry i always drove the long way around instead of learning how to back up.

but now that i've learned to drive you, we're good friends, right?

thanks for never misbehaving when brian wasn't in the car with me; car problems worry me so. thank you for keeping your trusty little tires on the road when it was really really icy. also, thanks for taking us on so many fun adventures. and a really big thank you to your tires, which were pretty bald when we bought the car, that managed to last until this week when we finally had the time & money to put new ones on.

way to go, green caterpillar.
we promise to take good care of you, if you keep doing the same for us.

love,
-l & b

sunday will come

"I think of how that dark Friday was, when Christ was lifted up on the cross. On that terrible Friday, the earth shook and grew dark, frightful storms blasted the earth, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus both were overcome with grief and despair; the superb man they had loved hung lifeless upon the cross. I think of all the days since the beginning of this worlds history,

that Friday was the darkest.

But the doom of that day did not endure, because on Sunday, the resurrected Lord burst the bonds of death. He ascended from the grave and appeared gloriously, triumphant as the Savior of all mankind. And with that sublime act, He softened the devastating, consuming sorrow that gnaws at the souls of those who have lost their precious loved ones.

Each of us will have our own Fridays, those days when the universe itself seems shattered, and the shards of our world lie littered upon us in pieces. We have all experienced those broken times, when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays, but I testify in the name of the one who conquered death, Sunday will come. May we understand and live in thanksgiving for the priceless gifts that come to us as sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father and for the promise of that bright day when we shall all rise triumphant from the grave, that we may always know

no matter how dark our Friday,

Sunday will come."

-Joseph B. Wirthlin

easter is a glorious time of year. with the arrival of spring and the new life that comes along with it, we also celebrate the resurrection of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. i add my testimony to that of this great apostle; i know that Christ lives. i know He was resurrected from the grave and that through this selfless act, He conquered death for all mankind. He heals & helps and He loves us all. i know that Sunday will come.

Grateful

I don't mean to double-post in one day. I just wanted to add my two cents to what Lauren posted below. Yes, I am done my first year of Engineering. Its kind of a surreal feeling. For the past 8 months I have dedicated some 60-70 hours a week to school... and now, nothing... YEEEA!! Lauren is making a list of things for me to do. Lots of fixin' and cleanin' to do. Then I start work for IBI engineering on May 2. So exciting.

The real reason I wanted to post this is because I am so grateful to the people who helped me through the school year. I have an awesome, big family, and I have received lots of words of encouragement. I have made some good friends at school, and it always helps to have a group of people who can help you study and learn different concepts. I was fortunate enough to have some amazing professors this year, their dedication and passion for learning was truly a blessing. I also thank my father in heaven for blessing me with the energy and motivation to carry on. Most of all, I am so thankful for my darling wife. She cooked for me, cleaned up after me, gave me back-rubs if I was stressed, packed me lunches, and motivated me constantly with encouraging words. I love her so much. She is the force to my acceleration (nerdy physics line).

Thank you.

we're going downtown

brian is done exams! he is done the semester! he is done for the summer!
no more school until september.
we couldn't be more giddy. all day yesterday, brian kept shouting for joy and then exclaiming, "i'm done! i'm done? I'M DONE!"

first year engineering proved to be intense. brian did hours & hours of homework, all of which were worth it; he finished up this year at the top of his class. i am so proud of him. i brag about him all the time. he has worked so hard and has the marks to prove it. he's applied for the mechanical engineering program at the university of alberta for next year. we're so excited! he went to an info night a few weeks ago to learn about the different classes he'll be taking over the next four years and hasn't stopped talking about it since. robot competitions and myth busting are just a couple of examples of all the fun stuff he'll be doing. awesome!

we celebrated by going for a walk downtown and eating at this delightful little place, 'blue plate diner.' we like finding tiny little restaurants that make us delicious food and this place is a gem. i ate my first ever veggie burger and fell in love. the patty was made of mushrooms, rutabagas, wild rice, sesame seeds and beets. i'm obsessed with beets. brian ate the mac & cheese, listed in 2009 as one of the 25 best things to eat in edmonton. holy moly. it was so dang good. we sat by the window and enjoyed people watching. come visit me, and we'll go eat there. we'll go again. the sweet potato fries need to be re-visited. yum.

after filling ourselves with delicious food we came home and watched 'tron.' well, brian watched it. i watched about half of it; i really and truly have the worst track record for staying awake all the way through a movie. yes, i have fallen asleep in a theatre.

ah. welcome summer! we can't wait for warmer weather and more adventures.


from spring '09.

i'm twitterpated

oh, how my heart bursts when i look at this photo.



it bursts in a really happy, gushy, lovely and non-life threatening way.
i love that man.

once, when we were about 13, i spotted brian holding a baby at church. i remember, so clearly, looking at him that day, as he cradled the child in his arms. although slightly unsure, he was so gentle with the baby.

i.
was.
absolutely.
twitterpated.

i still am.
i'm such a sucker for my bri holding a baby.

anyone?

who wants to fork out a couple grand to buy me this awesome chair?



found here.

the best part about it is the name; 'bibliochaise.'

i really really love it.

i'm kidding about purchasing it...but is there anyone who wants to try building me one? i would pay you in cookies and love you forever.

...i'm also kidding about paying you in cookies. i would pay you with real money.
but i'm not joking about the love.

have you heard?

did you hear? the big news?

my mama is getting married!



we are so excited!
mama & tim are coming to visit us at the end of the month, and we can't wait!
congrats, you two. we're looking forward to sharing lots of years and even more happy times together as one gigantic family. we're so happy for you!

potty mouth

have i ever told you how much i love garlic?

my mama raised me on garlic. i can't remember very many meals that didn't include garlic. past roommates used to determine whether or not i had made dinner yet by the smell in the kitchen; if it smelled of garlic, chances were good i had already eaten. i seriously can't think of a single day in memory when i didn't eat garlic.

last night, as i was chopping garlic, brian walked into the kitchen. i turned to him and said, "i think i cut up too much garlic." he replied, "whoa now! watch your mouth, young lady. 'too much garlic' is a swear in this house."

that being said; have i ever told you how much i love my husband?

he makes my heart go pitter-patter.
he loves me and he loves garlic.

sharing my secrets

really great secrets. like, how i got my husband to eat spinach, chickpeas (otherwise known as garbanzo beans), quinoa and beets; all wrapped up neatly into one delicious salad.

this salad is delicious. we've eaten it pretty much every day for over a week. at first, brian was a little wary; he called it "alien salad." but he loves it now. he had three helpings at lunch yesterday!

-salad bowl full of spinach
-couple handfuls of chickpeas
-several spoonfuls of cooked & cooled quinoa
-beets. beets that have been roasted in the oven with a little bit of butter & salt & pepper. cooled and chopped.
(please note that this part of the salad is open to creativity. love chickpeas? add more. crazy about beets? beet to your hearts content. we like it heavy on spinach and beets.)

the salad dressing is a homemade balsamic vinaigrette, a variation of a salad dressing i made for my mama nearly every day growing up...
-3 tablespoons of olive oil
-1 overflowing tablespoon of balsamic vinegar (i love the taste)
-dash of salt & pepper
-a couple garlic cloves chopped up real tiny
-about a teaspoon of dijon mustard
mix it. i usually put mine in a little mason jar and shake it up!

pour over salad, toss, and voila! delicious and intensely healthy.

beets are incredible. did you know eating beets can lower cholesterol, normalize blood pressure and increase the elasticity of arteries? beets have also been know to treat and prevent different types of cancer! but be careful of 'beeturia'. ha! it made me giggle to find out that it actually has a name. look it up.
chickpeas are super high in protein and quinoa has lysine in it, which is needed by the body to grow and repair tissues.
and we all know what spinach does for you, right?




happy eating!

we stood in the doorway

there are few things that evoke my emotions the way a baby does. really, there is nothing else that makes me feel quite the way i do about babies. our family has been blessed with babies; lots of them. sixteen, to be exact, with the seventeenth coming in july. we welcomed the sixteenth, a new nephew, just last saturday; baby tadeo. baby's mama had the baby at home, with a midwife, and even from our outside view, the experience was incredible. we have never seen or felt anything quite like it.

we arrived at the apartment just minutes after baby arrived, bringing with us his big sister. as we opened the door, a rush of feelings came over us. the apartment was dimly lit, the air was warm. no one was yelling or scurrying about; there was a smile on everybodys face. my sister in law, who was first my friend so many years ago, was calm and happy; she radiated light. she clutched the baby, a beautiful boy with a full head of dark hair. she turned to smile at me; i'd never admired her more than i did then.

i felt brians arm around me, and we looked at eachother and cried. we stood in the doorway of such beauty and strength, mere witnesses to such a miraculous event. the spirit was so strong in the home than night; it was completely unclouded.

we are so thankful for babies; for all of our babies. we're so thankful we have big families and that we get to share in the joy of the children, of our nieces and nephews. we can't wait to have one of our own someday, and add to the ever-growing number of cousins. we stood in the doorway of a place we look forward to being in someday, hopefully soon.

welcome baby tadeo. we love you!