baked happiness

when we got married i received several pie baking related gifts.
but the truth is, i have never made a pie by myself.
until yesterday, that is.
i have helped my mom on thanksgiving several times, but she was always right there making sure it was ok and helping when needed.
{she is an expert pie making genius and the resident pie maker, that mom of mine.}

jordan has been asking me to bake a pie for about four and a half years.
and he specifically asked for an apple pie this father's day.

i'd say a successful pie baking experience was just what i needed to break in a new kitchen.
and it was even scrumptious and pretty to boot!


happy happy father's day to my sweet husband who is patient and kind and teaches me important things every day. i love you jord.

and a very happy father's day to our dads as well.

waiting, patience, and the perfect example

i read this post the other day and it helped me make sense of some things i have been sorting through in my mind. (if you want to read the article she was talking about, go here)

i feel like i am always praying for someone.
i often find myself very concerned for the well being of others.
and i have a very hard time knowing that in so many cases there is nothing that i can do that would make a difference.
(obviously in some cases there are things to do and when i see those i try to find a way to help)
it makes me grateful that when i watch others struggle and go through difficult things i can pray for them and find peace in knowing that as helpless as i feel my prayers are something.

i have posted about some of these concerns and it is amazing to me when i talk to some of you and you tell me how you have felt inspired to help in these situations.

today i am not writing to ask for your help, but rather to share something that i have learned.

in the article i shared above elder nelson teaches about the birth of Jesus Christ.
i have never really had the perspective that there were several pieces of the story that had probably not been a part of mary or joseph's plan for their lives.
it had never occurred to me that although they were chosen to be the earthly parents and caretakers of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, they were faced with changes and challenges.

how many times have i been faced with a challenge, a heartache, or even just a minor setback and complained to the Lord and thought "why?".

if our Heavenly Father would test and challenge even those He seems to trust the very most then of course He will continue to try and test me as well as those i think so highly of.
and it's not because He doesn't think highly of us.
it is because He believes in us and He wants something for us that is best, not just mediocre or alright.

hannah graduated!

my little sister, who is the youngest, graduated a couple weeks ago and we made one last trip  to see her and the rest of our families in idaho.
it was so good to be there.
and it was good for us to feel like we had an official chance to say goodbye.

we have such strong mixed emotions about our move.
jordan and i are probably the two who would be least likely to end up on the other side of the country.
we both are sentimental and love being close to our families.
but it's funny how most the time things you wouldn't choose for yourself seem to be exactly what you need and what you end up enjoying the most.
did that make sense?

anyway, congrats hannah!
we are so proud of you.
and seriously, when did all this growing up stuff happen?
(jordan and i have been graduated from high school for 9 years!! i mean, there's a lot to show for it, but still that seems so wild!)



at the graduation party eleanor just adored grandma great! they had quite the conversation with smiles and coos included.



lyla adores her aunt hannah. (and all of her aunts really.)



and here is one of the secrets as to why. hannah just let's this little girl drag her around.



balloons!



lyla saying "this". if you have been around lyla lately you have heard an awful lot of  "what's this?",  "what's that?" and my personal favorite "what's it?", because it sounds like something else and it really shouldn't be funny.



aunt aubree carrying lyla in the laundry basket. austin and aubree started this and now it's one of lyla's favorite things! she goes right over and starts climbing in and then expects to be carried around.

also who doesn't love a little girl in a fur vest?
i know i do!

castle finale party

when we moved to provo i was very excited about our neighborhood because one of my good friends, megan, who i student taught with, also lived there and she and her husband were in our ward.

they were so nice to us and invited us over for family home evening, which became a weekly tradition. 

then they introduced us to the television show, castle, which quickly became our favorite.

since then we have watched castle together every week. 

we look forward to it and it's a great time to catch up. 

we loved having the merrills as such a big part of our lives and we already miss them.

for the finale in may, the merrills threw a party and we had dinner and watched castle together one last time.

it was bittersweet to say the least.

this board only scratches the surface of megan's creativity, which is why teaching with her is the best.







they even got us matching 12th precinct mugs! now i can pretend to be Beckett.



themed pancakes



new york cheesecake. seriously, we always eat fabulous dessert when we are with the merrills.

hello from michigan!

there is so much to say and i don't know where to begin, so i will make a list and a promise that there will be more posts to come.

... we are in michigan in our rental house and we are really enjoying our new place, job, life, etc.
... jordan only has about a 25 or 30 minute commute. and we can say that our neighborhood and town are safe and comfortable, so we accomplished our goals in finding a good place to live.
... the new house is definitely an upgrade from our old house.
... we are finally starting to feel like we are settling in and i can't think of any other boxes that i need to go through.
... our ward is super nice and friendly; they have made us feel very welcome.
... we have very nice and friendly neighbors as well. after our first night we stayed here, we woke up to a pot of flowers on our front porch with a sweet note from our neighbor girl. it was so cute.
... lyla is doing really well. she is starting to sleep better and eat at normal times during the day. she loves the space we have here and scoots all over the house.
and lyla has been standing up on her own!
and!!! she took about five steps all on her own yesterday!!

also, jordan is really loving work. he came home after his first day and could not stop smiling. it is safe to say that this move was a good decision and we are finding that we are in a good place, surrounded by good people and we are blessed to have a great job.

with that said, we love and miss our families and friends. so please keep in touch and come back soon for more details and pictures!

the time to say goodbye

today we attended a wedding. a beautiful wedding where we got to see many of jordan's family and it was a great chance to say goodbye.

goodbye. i knew we would get to this point eventually, but i wasn't really prepared for it. i mean, how does one prepare to leave behind everyone they love and everything that has been their life?

a while ago, jordan and i planned out the last month or so of our time in utah and idaho.
we had a week for jordan's graduation, a week of idaho and visiting with friends, a week of traveling to our new home, a week of relaxing, another week of idaho, and finally the big move.
i am a planner and this plan caused my anxiety to cease and i was filled with the peace of knowing what was to come.
well, then things that were unplanned happened and our schedule got thrown off.
i had a hard time with this, but we ended up being able to spend more time in idaho and we got to see all of jordan's family and extended family because of it.
it truly was a blessing and we are very grateful for the way that things worked out.

but it postponed our detroit trip and caused our week of relaxing and visiting with all our utah friends to disappear.
and although i can't complain because things have worked out so wonderfully in the sense that we found a great place to live and we have peace of mind about where we will be in the detroit area,
i hate that the time has finally come where we have to tell our dear friends and some family that we won't have one more time together, and that this is it.

i visited my old school yesterday and i was nearly in tears as i said "see you later" rather than "goodbye" because i felt like my heart might break as i left some of my best friends.

and this brings me to a couple of conclusions:

first, i am convinced that in heaven there will be time to spend with every person who is important to me. somehow time won't be an issue. and neither will distance.

second, i am so very grateful for technology. without it i would not have the comfort of knowing that i will still be a part of my family and my friend's lives, even with a few miles in between.

third, life is about learning and growing and people are a very very important part of that process.

fourth, chances are that if you are reading this you are one of the people i wish i could hug and sit down  and share a chocolate cake with before i say "see you later", but i just might not be able to do that.
so consider this a delicious piece of cake and a heartfelt conversation and a big hug because i am so very happy to have you in my life. and i mean that, most sincerely.

also, i promise to update this blog regularly again, but for now i am really busy enjoying my family and friends and my current place.


 

ford's world headquarters.

 

taking a break from house hunting at a park. lyla squealed almost the entire time.

about attitude and a 'kind of funny now that it's over' story

do you ever have those moments/ days/ weeks where you just wonder what else is going to go wrong?
sometimes i start to feel that way after something as simple as dropping a spice bottle into my soup or having a bag of groceries tear and the contents spill out.

but other times the chain of events is a little more serious.
my sister is recovering on my couch from having her knee scoped -> we hear a loud crunch sound and get that pit in your stomach feeling -> look outside and see that said sister's car has been hit while parked in front of my house.

this is not really a big deal at all when you think about it or when you consider the extreme trials that others are currently facing.
but it's one of those moments where the possibilities could be to cry and get emotional, freak out and yell, or just laugh and deal with it in a fairly positive way.
i can't believe that i can say this, but i dealt with it in the laugh/ positive way.
{i am not always this type of reactor, unfortunately}
and i would like to really make this a starting point of a change in my attitude.

this topic makes me think of elder uchtdorf's talk from conference. although, i am sure that he was talking more about major trials and experiences, i think it can be applied to regular everyday trials and occurrences as well.

now i just need to remember and apply this.

dandelions

today was the coldest it has been in utah for a while.
the while is blowing.
i have chili cooking on the stove.
but for about 15 minutes lyla and i enjoyed the afternoon outside.

lyla loves to walk on the sidewalk.
we held hands and walked out front and said hi to neighbors.
then i showed lyla blades of grass and a couple dandelions.
then i picked a dandelion going to seed and showed lyla how to blow the seeds.
she was fascinated.
she squatted down and touched several other dandelions.
then we moved on to another patch and she saw the seeds and started to blow in the general direction.

we moved on to the tree and touched the leaves and the flowers and then we went to the backyard.
once again we walked on the sidewalk.
and then lyla spotted more dandelions.
the problem: she had to leave the sidewalk and walk in the grass.
this girl does not like to walk in the grass. even with shoes.
she hesitated for a moment, but then charged ahead, motivated by the sight of the dandelions.

it was such a beautiful few minutes to spend outside enjoying even the cold weather and watching my little girl take in the beauty and wonder of the world.

 

graduation!! part 2

friday was really fun because jordan walked and it just felt like this was really happening.





hailey was so awesome and came with us to all the graduation celebrations.




jordan's parents were so supportive and came down for all the graduation celebrations. and lyla loved having them here.





perhaps my new photo of lyla.

alex, blake, and eleanor were also so sweet to come down.

{austin and aubree totally would have been here had she not had jury duty :( but they made it down for the parties and we had one big sleepover.

and my parents and hannah had to take care of an injured horse so that hannah could ride at the mud lake rodeo and then go to prom. we missed you guys!}

i just love that this shows so much of the emotions of the day. proud parents. proud grandparents. confused/ sleepy baby.
it was a great day.



very handsome graduate rocking a bow tie.





the graduates applauding their families and friends.



engineering friends



our friends, the perrys







jordan with his parents.

thank you so much furness and egbert families for being so supportive and making the trip down for jordan's graduation.
we had a fun bbq at our house after graduation and then left lyla with her grandparents and in keeping with tradition, we hiked the Y.
it was a great way to celebrate!

graduation!! part 1

we have been anticipating this event for what seems like forever.
when we first mapped out how long jordan's major would take we both just looked at each other and were overwhelmed.
but it has been a wonderful four years.
we have really enjoyed being in provo.
we have met amazing friends who we will miss terribly.
and no one can say that we did not enjoy watching the cougars play.
well, it finally came and went.
and now it's a little bit sad.









lyla was so great on thursday and she loved sitting by her grandparents.









after commencement on thursday we had a little dessert party at our house.
we loved seeing so many of our family and friends.
thanks so much for coming and making this such a fun party!









lyla loves these two girls so so so much!



we'll finish up with round 2 tomorrow.