Anxious for our new arrival

Last week our stroller/car seat travel system arrived. We put it together and then adorable husband proceeded to push the stroller through the entire apartment with a little-boy-on-Christmas-morning grin on his face. Every other day or so since then, he pulls out the stroller and takes it on another walk through the apartment, smiling from ear-to-ear the entire time. Just wanted to document the cuteness!
This is one anxious daddy.

Good Read

My friend Katie bought me The Read-Aloud Handbook in preparation for baby and it has been a most engaging book. The basic premise of the book is one I am already aligned with: Read aloud to your children on a daily basis from the day they are born. I am so grateful though for such a thoughtful gift because without some of the back story, the research, and the evidence in favor of such a practice as daily read-alouds, it would be easy to dismiss it as just one more good, but impractical idea. The author, Jim Trelease, presents fact as well as anecdotal story from his personal experience as a father, as well as 20 years of positive affirmation from the thousands of parents and teachers around the world who practice what he preaches.
The idea is especially palatable to me because he isn't trying to push a program or sell a product. Any parent or teacher of any socioeconomic standard can make this a reality! The author recommends just 3 Bs: books (thank you public library!), a book basket in the home so that books can be very accessible, and a book lamp in the child's room. To aid in the read-aloud process, the last 115 pages of his book is his "Treasury of Read-Alouds", an impressive collection of more than 1,000 recommended books for all ages and genres that are especially well-suited to reading aloud. If you have the desire, and a library card, you can't go wrong!

Mr. Trelease stresses the fact throughout the book that the goal of reading aloud to your children from infancy is NOT to produce super-babies, or 2-year old readers. In fact, he encourages that that not be the goal at all. It could be a possible result, but the main crux of the daily reading is simply to create parent-child bonding, and a love-affair with books. No more, no less. It is that simple message that resonates with me because it aligns very well with the church's counsel for daily family scripture study and consistent gospel instruction in the home.

As a personal aside, when I went to visit my family over Christmas, my youngest sister, who is a teenager, requested that I read-aloud to her from a picture book during my visit. She has been a voracious reader since she was an infant and had the marked advantage of six older siblings and parents who were willing to indulge her in regular read-aloud sessions. When I think of her and her interest even now, as a teenager, to be read to, I am inspired and encouraged to start early and do it for my children.

Quick Stop-Over

My brother, sister-in-law and my nearly three-month old niece (who until today I had yet to meet) had a long layover in the Denver airport. Dallin and I had a nice, though brief, lunch visit with them. Their daughter, Camryn, is just adorable, wide-eyed and incredibly content with observing her new world. So glad we could get together!

Say hello to cousin Ezra!

Creativity Central

Over the fourth of July weekend, for the last 21 years Denver has hosted the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, which attracts artists from across the country. The husband and I braved the 90+ degree weather for a look-see. The 200+ outdoor booths of eye candy in a five-by-two city block area was worth some sweating and swollen feet. Here is just a sampling:

Jack Rabbit on a tricycle was my favorite of this artist's creations (his other companions included bats, grasshoppers, fish, turtles, etc.)

This artist is a Denver local in her mid to late 20's. The top left piece is called "Cherry Blossom" and it truly gave a Japanese feel. Each "flower" is individually constructed of special paper, varnished, and wired in. I love the layers!

Not quite sure what the symbolism is, but I love the counterbalance and unexpected juxtaposition of objects.

At first glance, an interesting mixed-media sculpture,

but get a little closer in and notice an artist with a quirky sense of humor.

The Prophet Said to Plant a Garden...

"Where you have a plot of land, however small, plant a garden. Staying close to the soil is good for the soul." --Spencer W. Kimball

Well, we are trying. We have a patio garden in pots, and for right now that is the best we can do. This year we are trying spinach, butterhead lettuce, bell peppers, cilantro, basil, dwarf tomato, cucumber, and a strawberry plant. Last night we harvested some greens for a salad, which feels awesome. Since our planting day on June 5, there has been some noticeable growth. The first little cucumber has started to form and the pepper and tomato plants are twice as big.

Garden at planting: Garden progress as of today:

Rocky Mountain High

Last week Dallin and I took a driving tour through some mountain high country in Colorado. We had so many blessings of good timing and safe travel during the trip that were more than just coincidental. For example, the day we spent in Maroon Bells outside Aspen was a perfect clear blue sky day. The next day was cloudy and cold and the view of the peak was obscured for a good part of the day. What a blessing that we planned our trip to go when we did and enjoy such a beautiful view.


We visited Glenwood Springs and planned to try the mineral hot springs (at a safe pregnant-mommy 94 degree temperature) and discovered to our surprise that the admission price was significantly reduced in the late evening, which is when we chose to go. We enjoyed the pools, the cool mountain air, had no danger of sunburn, and saved money--beautiful.


In three different cities large festivals were planned just a day or two later than our planned stay. This was a very good thing because although the BBQ Street Festival in Frisco, the Strawberry Days Festival in Glenwood Springs, and the Wine & Food Festival in Aspen may be desirable for some, our idea of vacation does not include large crowds. We enjoyed a vacation of relaxing, beautiful natural scenery instead.


We went on two hikes, both of which required some gradual, or in places not-so-gradual elevation climbs over rock piles and/or snow piles. Baby and I handled it just fine. No elevation sickness, no nausea, no cramped muscles, just the benefit of finishing and enjoying the views. Again, I felt so blessed.


On the last day of our trip, we took Independence Pass across the continental divide, which finally peaks at 12,095 feet. The recommended speed limit for most of the trip was 25 mph, the road was narrow, the drop-offs fatal, and in some places the guardrails non-existent. On certain hair-pin turns the speed limit dropped to 10 mph, and for good reason. But, the views were outstanding and so worth the trip. In all of our driving, in all types of weather, we were safe. What a blessing!

Did I mention that we also had perfect luck in our choice of restaurants? Among my favorites was an artichoke bisque in Glenwood Springs and decadent desserts in Snowmass.

Favorite Place

Over the weekend all the Colorado family plus a cousin visiting from California got together for a garden excursion to the Denver Botanic Garden. The weather was perfect and after several weeks of on-again/off-again rain the plants were looking fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, as did Dallin, but then of course we would, we were in a garden! I love that my sweetheart loves a garden almost as much as I do. I am one lucky girl.
Just for fun we took another picture at the moon gate in the Japanese Garden. The first picture was taken in late August of last year when we were very newly-weds; in the second picture I am a 6-month + pregnant mommy-to-be with my ever-handsome husband (wow--pregnancy changes you alot!) Our one-year anniversary is fast approaching and it is amazing to think of all the adventuring we have had in that amount of time. Life is very good!

Seamless Transition

The bishop of our ward was released today and a new bishopric was called. The previous bishop is moving out of state, hence the change. Sacrament meeting was especially meaningful for me, as a member of the congregation, to see this transition take place. During the meeting, one of the members of the stake presidency related a conversation he had with a friend of another faith. This friend was quite shocked to learn that during such a leadership change, there is neither jockeying for position nor resistance by the congregation to adapt to new leadership.
I consider it one of the great miracles in the gospel of Jesus Christ that each member may, individually and personally, receive a witness by the power of the Holy Ghost that such a change is inspired.
Personal revelation is one of my favorite principles of the gospel, and I testify that in our meeting today, I felt and knew for myself that the new bishop had indeed been called of God. I know very little about this new bishop; in fact, we have never once had a conversation, but by the Spirit I felt a personal ratification of his call, and could, in all sincerity sustain him as the man the Lord had chosen. What a miracle! What a blessing! And so the work of the Lord goes forward in a similar manner all over the world.
As the stake president gave his closing remarks on the meeting, he taught a beautiful principle. He taught that only as we sustained this new bishopric could his time of service be truly meaningful. He needs our prayers just as much as we need his inspired leadership. The two work in tangent with one another, and neither our success as a ward, nor his success as bishop can be separated.

Conspicuous Motherhood

24 has always been one of my favorite numbers, and it seems that in this pregnancy 24 is also my magic number. As of week 24 I finally developed a baby bump. I am now in week 25 and decided it was time for another picture update.
In other updates, I realize that I have been very short-sighted in all of this motherhood stuff. Case in point: Two of my sister-in-laws and a few friends send cards or well wishes for my first Mother's Day and I was shocked. Wait...me? Really? I guess I am still processing the fact that after 30+ years of being single, I am no longer in that stage of anticipating motherhood, or desiring motherhood, but officially in the thick of it.
And now with a baby bump I am also in the realm of conspicuous motherhood, where people, sometimes strangers, ask me when I am due and what I am having. I am still processing that too.
I am loving this stage of pregnancy though, the "magic window" of feeling good and having energy has been true for me lately. I have started doing some yoga safe for pregnancy, with great energizing results. I also finished the baby quilt. The best news though, is that my taste for sweets is coming back! This is most exciting because summer just wouldn't be summer without enjoying ice cream, frozen yogurt, or gelato. Boulder has a good collection of local fare frozen treat establishments that I can now patronize! And, Blue Bell ice cream recently made its debut in grocery stores in Colorado, which for a girl who grew up in Blue Bell country is very good news.

Book Nook

When Dallin received assurance of a new work rotation that would keep us local for another year, and would not require a move, we decided that we could start getting baby things. When the crib arrived I got a wild hair and in one day rearranged all but four pieces of furniture in the entire apartment to 1) make a place for the baby and 2) make some needed improvements. One of my favorite spaces now is this little book nook in the family room. Previously, the armchair was in our bedroom, and the end table and bookcases were in the dining room. There is something very comforting to me in a cozy armchair, a table holding a good lamp and a pile of books. When I was younger, books were some of my best friends. I was often found up a tree with a book in hand, perfectly content to have a bit of sky, a leafy view and reassuring words. One of my earliest memories of my second year of preschool was the "reading pit", a sunken area in one of the corners of the classroom filled with pillows and books. My mom was a collector of picture books and I was favored as a youth by her convenient hobby. My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Braun, read aloud to our class every Friday and the sound of her voice recounting the exciting adventure of Brian in Hatchet remains a strong memory. Much to my parent's dismay, I would sometimes find a book so captivating that sleep was postponed in order the finish the next chapter (or three). Falling asleep with the light on at 2:00 am, book in hand, was a frequent occurrence.
I look forward to sharing that love for a good book with my children. Perhaps without realizing it, I created this space in anticipation of cuddle time and story time with them.

Picture This

It is 1:27 a.m. and you are in bed fast asleep when you are suddenly jerked awake by intense pounding on your front door. Husband groggily gets up, opens the door and greets two policemen at the doorstep. They ask if he is the owner of a silver Honda Prelude, answering affirmatively, the policemen escort him to the parking lot. Before even leaving the internal hallway of the building, some kind of incessant alarm can be heard. The alarm, as it turns out, is coming from aforementioned silver Prelude. It seems that the rain has somehow triggered the horn to blare nonstop of its own accord. Unfortunately, said horn is loud enough to wake every neighbor within a half-mile radius. And is, apparently, annoying enough to prompt some roused neighbor (or three) to call the police and complain. Policemen track you down and help you remove fuse for car horn.

The ridiculous part about all this? It happened to us last night. It appears we have a possessed car horn. So, in the event of an emergency, in the absence of a horn, we will be the weirdos waving our arms and shouting out the car window.

It took me awhile to stop chuckling and fall back to sleep after that one. What are the odds!

From a Colorado Garden

I had a lovely surprise earlier this week.

I took a trip to the Denver Botanic Garden and found a plethora of plant life budding, blooming, and leafing out. Colorado horticulture early spring has an abundance of color and variety to share, I just needed to know where to look. It would appear, therefore, that much of the local public lives far beneath their horticultural privileges. In my frequent walks around local neighborhoods and parks I see the same twenty plants that are nice, but not terribly unique. I was beginning to think that the altitude, the winds, the dry soil, and low rain fall would not allow any great diversity of plant material to thrive. Not so!

Here are some favorite mid-April bloomers from the botanic garden, which are well-adapted to Colorado and could very easily be added to a residential landscape for some extra pizazz.

Daphne x burkwoodii 'Carol Mackie' Burkwood Daphne (shrub)

Pulsatilla vulgaris Pasque Flower (rock garden perennial)

Anemone blanda 'White Splendor' Greek Anemone (from a rhizome-like tuber)

Chinodoxa forbessi Glory-of-the-Snow (bulb)

Aubrieta intermedia Rockcress (rock garden perennial)

Viburnum carlesii Korean Spice Viburnum (shrub)

What is leafing out right now? Silver Maple, Hedge Maple, Honeylocust, Green Ash, Peony, Filbert, Ninebark

What is blooming right now? Lilac, Tulip, Crabapple, Pearlbush, Quince, Flowering Plum, Serviceberry, Redbud, Hellebore, Fritillaria, Bleeding Heart, Currant/Gooseberry

Good News!

Today was my 20-week ultrasound, and we are having a BOY! Everything is perfect--he has textbook measurements and weight and all organs are functioning well. He was super wiggly and active during the doctor appointment, but we did get this nice profile shot with his hand near his face.
And this one with his feet side by side, all cozy--look at his little toes!

As of the middle of week 18 my nausea went away. Hip-hip-hoorah! I have been feeling his bumps and wiggles more lately, and today when baby had the hiccups I could feel it! Fun!

Reason no. 8

Dear Dallin,

You make me smile. (And, no, this is not the beginning of a cheesy Iowa tourism commercial.)

You make my day. You make me laugh every day. I love your silly songs, your spontaneous stories, your characteristic Dallin-isms, your jokes, your sense of humor. I love you for your carefree, happy ways. I knew long before I met you that I needed to marry someone who could do that for me; you are my perfect combination.

How grateful I am for a gentleman husband, for a kind husband, for a hard-working husband, but also for a husband who knows when to be silly. I love that you keep things light and lovely.

"In all living, have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured." -Gordon B. Hinckley

Here's to many, many years of fun and laughter.

Love always, Liezel

An Aunt and Uncle Weekend

This past weekend was the annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I look forward to this time every year because I love to hear from the leadership of the Church and gain instruction on the things that matter most. This April conference was another miracle as some of my personal needs were met through the words of the Prophets and Apostles called by God. I know that revelation continues!
This weekend was also a unique chance to spend time with my sister-in-law and her two children visiting from Wisconsin. Other than some brief encounters during our wedding last year and talks on Skype, I have not been around this niece (4 years) and nephew (19 months) at all. Dallin and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We played in the park, blew bubbles, had piano concerts, and snuggled. My niece is a doll and so loving, talkative, inventive, and talented. My nephew is a whirlwind, a blue-eyed charmer, so contented, and also very loving. We had hours of fun and play, and a few precious moments, like when my nephew began to understand how to fold his arms for prayer time. He was also intensely interested whenever the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang a number during the conference.
On the way back home Dallin and I realized that we had just seen the next five years of our life. And then we realized that we had just seen the next five years of our life! There is no doubt that the stage of life we are about to enter has its unique challenges and that parenting is demanding and exhausting, but at the same time so rewarding. I look forward to beginning the adventure.

Minus the Drama

It has taken me some time to appreciate Colorado horticulture. Spring has arrived here, but only tentatively so. I suppose I had become accustomed to the whiz-bang circus performance of a Georgia spring that this tiptoe-in-with-satin-slippers approach has been a little disappointing. Georgia, on the other hand, reminds me of an impetuous child who wants it all now; it is a true spring fling. In less than two weeks the landscape can become a bonanza of color and fragrance. It is a plant lover's paradise, and a pollen-allergy nightmare.
Colorado seems to approach the whole season with guarded grace, showing measured restraint, and demanding patience. There are few "stop-the-car" moments to admire some blooming tree or shrub; we have instead subtle color palette transitions. So, I am learning to slow down a little more, to savor spring in stages, and appreciate the signs of renewal and awakening that do exist. Besides, this is Colorado and there is no reason to rush in headlong; it will probably snow in April.


What is leafing out right now? Willow, Lilac, Crabapple, Hawthorn
What is blooming right now? Crocus, Daffodil, Aspen, Birch, Red Maple, Forsythia

What's in a Name?

Dallin and I have the interesting challenge of choosing names for baby. A challenge because everyone seems to have their idea of the "100 best" or "most popular". Do we want a name of a certain origin? A celebrity name? A hipster name? A name inspired by mythology? A name inspired by nature? The lists are endless and exhausting.
Honestly, I just need a name simple to spell and pronounce that works with our last name. And it would be nice if our child happened to like the name too. We have some ideas, but I have been stumped on middle names for a girl, which is important to me.
My own middle name has a family history connection on both the maternal and paternal sides of my family. Margaret was my maternal great-grandmother's middle name and my paternal grandmother's first name. I did not care for the name Margaret much when I was younger, but I did like that my name came from something more than just a baby book at random. I also happened to know both women in my lifetime, which helped the name mean more to me.
My great-grandmother passed away a few days after my sixteenth birthday. She was a very short woman, 4'11" on a good day, and was quite spit-fire. She was independent and sassy. She spent her childhood in Nome, Alaska with gold miners in her father's road house in the early 1900s. After high school she did a nurse's training/lab work program in Portland and Astoria. In her later life, I was sometimes allowed to stay with her in her little apartment. We played cards and pool in the community center during my visits.
My paternal grandmother was confined to a wheelchair for all the time that I knew her. When we visited her she would call for us to come to her for a kiss--and by "kiss" I mean a deluge of smooches all over the face. She was a very loving, affectionate grandmother, in spite of her lack of mobility. In the first grade she contracted rheumatic fever and spent six months in bed with a leak in the valve of her heart. Her physical activity was greatly restricted after that. Despite somewhat fragile health she and her husband raised a family on an Idaho homestead farm site that featured sage brush, scorpions, rattlesnakes, anthills, and powerful windstorms.
I don't know that I have "become a Margaret" just by having it as part of my name, but I can appreciate the Margaret's from my family history and make good with the name that we share.
And, between now and August perhaps inspiration will strike and help me find that right name with some kind of important significance for our baby.

School Days

If I go the (scenic) back way into the city, I have a lovely drive past organic produce farms, grazing cows, horse pastures, a tree farm, and this old schoolhouse. The sign above the front door reads, Valmont School, District No. 4, 1911.The building is sadly dilapidated: a patchy, worn shingle roof, weathered wooden elements, boarded-up windows, and a bell tower with no bell. But, for a 100-year old building, the stairs and the exterior walls seem to made of much sterner stuff. I love to drive past this school because I can still get a feeling of school days of 1911. I can still imagine the students, probably all grades together in one room filing up those steps with primers and lunch pails. There is still a sense of place, even from a bygone time, because the schoolhouse is surrounded by farms and livestock pens that have likely remained unchanged for the last 100 years. I can imagine the young boys attending this rural school thinking about milking the cows and feeding the chickens as they walked home from school. The little girls, amongst their idle tittle-tattle, probably hoped mom wouldn't have too many corn husks waiting for them to shuck. I love scenes of rural America; therein are unadulterated scenes from a historic past.

For Hire

I have done much babysitting, house-sitting, some dog-sitting, and can now add to the list plant-sitting. A friend at church asked me to watch her vegetable garden seedlings for two weeks while she vacations with her family in California. I am thrilled to help!

And, I think I have found my new calling.

Plant sitter: For hire. All potted plants accepted up to nine feet tall. Nice indoor light from south facing windows with good company amongst other friendly plant-mates. Watering, supplemental fertilization, good nurturing, and plant/sitter conversation part of normal fee. Outdoor sunbathing on good weather days. Plant massage upon request. Bedtime stories extra.

My (non-update) update

I feel like I should have some updates about my pregnancy, now in week 16. Trouble is, there isn't much different to tell.
I still have nausea as my daily companion. I still hate eating, but of necessity must eat every two hours. I still stand in front of the open refrigerator, bewildered. I still struggle to be in a grocery store. I still have no joy in cooking. I still have no food cravings. I still gag on anything sweet, even remotely, like LaraBars, sugared dried fruit, or flavored yogurt.
Interestingly, eggs and dairy are what is working the best right now. I find this intriguing because I hardly ever ate eggs or dairy before pregnancy because they didn't work for Dallin, so I never bought them. Right now, scrambled eggs on an English muffin or string cheese are my old standbys.
All is well with baby, of that I am constantly assured. Most of the time when I mention continuing nausea the doctors tell me it means a good amount of required hormones and a "robust placenta." So when I throw up in a parking lot, or a public restroom, or on the stairs, or in the car, or the kitchen sink for the twelvth time, I just keep thinking robust placenta: good. throwing up: not so good. but robust placenta: good.
And while I have gained an appropriate amount of weight at good increments, I do not have much of a baby bump, which is actually a little disconcerting. I guess I expected some outward sign by now of all that my body has been doing. So, I give you photos from week 7 and week 16, respectively. Baby is very well, mommy is mostly well, and daddy is a saint.

In Order

This morning in the communal laundry room one of the washers was marked as "OUT OF ORDER", meaning unusable, or non-functioning, as opposed to it being IN ORDER and fully functioning. Over the weekend I had an insatiable bug to rectify the "out of order" guest room and make things right again. The room was something akin to a tornado-just-blew-through-disaster zone.
With the help of an amazing husband who went and bought me a heavy duty chrome shelving unit after just a brief consultation, and the purchase of several new storage containers, "out of order" became a very tidy "in order" and regained its functionality as a usable space.
A place for everything, and everything in its place. Hooray!

Family: Some Favorites