Forget-Me-Not

 Back in May, my girlfriend, Amber, came to visit me and together we went on a photography spree over at the Edsil Ford Mansion in the Detroit area.  Within the walls of the beautiful gardens, I was mezmerized by these beautiful, tiny, blue flowers.  They were so cute and tiny!!!  I had no idea what they were called but I couldn't resist taking some shots.  Or a hundred.  The photo below is my favorite from that day.

Then...as most of you know...last night I found out what my little tiny friends were called - "Forget-me-Nots."  {meaning: true love, hope, rememberance, memories}  My face was beaming as President Uchdorf spoke to us about my little friends and what each of the five petals can stand to remind us of things never to forget. 

As with everyone else, this talk has resonated with me in ways that are unspeakable, only felt.  One must actually view the video rather than read the talk - it's just way too important to see with the eyes - but until the video is available, here is the written talk.  What a blessing to hear these words - I needed this.

SO...this is my own personal photo, my own personal creation - feel free to use it (or not) however you'd like.  

Happy Sunday to all!

Fall Baby Shower

Just comin' up for air briefly to show you another fun baby shower that Kadie and I put together today. We went with a Fall theme and it was SO much fun!!!  

 I'm glad to have this week over because maybe now I can get to some Fall projects!!! {gasp!} My Pinterest files are getting filled up with some great ideas--can't wait to tackle some.   I'm no longer in denial about summer being over {sniff} --- and getting excited about Fall (not totally there yet)!! 

...but on with it now...

This cute girl I've known for a few years is having her first baby and I offered to help out with the shower.  And when I mean help out, I mean: call BFF Kadie, put our heads together, come up with something fun, and make it beautiful.  And we did.  Whatta team.  AND...what amazing weather we had today!!!  (thank goodness, because we planned an outdoor party) There was a teensy Fall crispy coolness, there were just a few leaves on the ground, the sun peeked out and was shining on everything---it was glowy and magical!  Thank you, nature, for giving us perfect weather for today. {I love you, nature. Please go easy on us in winter.} 

On the menu: 

Caprese skewers (toothpick with tomato, fresh basil leaf, seasoned fresh mozzarella balls. These were Kadie's gorgeous creations with everything from her garden. Except the cheese. These were so fresh and delicious.)

Harvest Chicken Salad (rotisserie chicken, nuts, dried cranberries, diced apples, celery, and whatever else is harvesty. Also scrumptious.)

Mixed Berry Popovers (pie crusts cut out in circles, filled with: semi-thawed package frozen mixed berries, sugar, cornstarch, topped with powdered sugar)

Pumpkin Pie we bought this one. shhhh. don't tell.

Chocolate-Dipped Carmel Apples (apples cut in slices, soaked in ginger soda, dipped in carmel...what an adventure..., then dipped in chocolate, then dipped in crushed nuts, coconut, sprinkled with mini chocolate chips...these deserve their own post...)

Water.  with apple & lemon slices. We can never have boring water. Ever.

Lanterns, pumpkins, and autumn leaves.  ahhhhhhhh.....

Kadie and I got an education whilst making these dipped apples.  The secret: don't make the carmel too thin--just water it down a smudge--and it will most likely only stick to the skin of the apple, not the flesh.  Maybe if you dried the apples off really, really, really well, the carmel might stick to the apple flesh, but don't count on it.  Let the carmel set and harden before you dip the apples in chocolate. 

We made these the day before--I loaded up a couple of cookie sheets lined with waxed paper, covered them, and put them in the fridge overnight.

Our favie fave flavor of the apples were:  carmel-dipped white chocolate, dipped in coconut, sprinkled with nuts, drizzled with carmel.  The chocolate-chocolate ones just weren't as good as these ones were.  Go figure.  I could use one right now.

mmmmm.....Kadie knocked this chicken salad out of the park.  It was SO good!!  We scooped it onto toasted baguette rounds.  Perfect.

...mmmm....berry popovers.  Gosh.  I'm getting hungry doing this post.  This is getting ridiculous.

Sunflowers clipped fresh from Kadie's front yard.  Aren't they gorgeous?! Sunflowers are stunning.

I love fall.

Remembering...

Ten years ago, our family lived in Gilbert, AZ, my son was 2 1/2, and I was so excited to find out that we were expecting our 2nd baby.  My husband was working a job he didn't like while applying for medical school, and our little family was sort of in an unsettling phase with some uncertainty about our future.  My happy days were filled with sunshine, playing with my little boy, and taking care of our first real house that we had recently purchased.  I LOVED that little house!!!

On September 11th, I remember getting up early with Brandon, making him breakfast, sending him off to work, and getting on with my morning with our little boy.  I was doing all of those mom things like cleaning the kitchen, switching out the laundry, and making sure my quiet, self-entertaining little boy was fine.  (he was the EASIEST kid we ever had...so mellow and easy-going)  Brandon called me during his morning commute after listening to the radio and told me to go turn on the TV because some big news was happening in New York.  I turned on the Today Show (back when I didn't utterly despise it) and saw the horror unfolding.  We were 3 hours behind New York, so by the time I tuned in at 6:30ish a.m., it was 9:30ish over there, and although the 2 towers had been struck, we didn't know anything about the Pentagon and the Pennsylvania Flight 93 yet.  Moment by moment was slowly unfolding on the news and I couldn't understand or believe what was happening.  A news correspondant, who had an office at the Pentagon, was talking live when all of a sudden there was this explosion and shaking of the screen.  He wasn't sure what just happened, but they thought it was some sort of bomb.

I sat on my brown sectional in the living room, with morning sunlight streaming through the large windows, completely silent and sad, watching.  I hugged my little boy when he came into the room, and sat him on my lap, grateful that he didn't have any idea what was going on.  I thought about my unborn child - and counted my blessings.

Ten years ago today, on September 12th, I couldn't get to the news fast enough to see more of what was going on.  The stories poured out; the events unfolded; the streets of New York were vacant and eerie; there were people looking for loved ones; message boards on the streets of New York were plastered with messages and photos.  I couldn't tear myself away from the news for DAYS.  There was so much talk of prayer, of God, and of uniting together.  This tragedy brought us to our knees in prayer, and though I'm not glad it happened, I'm glad that as a country, we prayed.

God Bless America.