Help Baby Aspen Fall Asleep

Click on the play button to begin. If only getting Aspen to sleep was this easy.

Family Keeper

I am the family historian. There is one in every family and I appointed myself probably at birth. I remember as a child climbing to the top shelf of our closet pulling down old pictures of dead ancestors, gazing at them wondering about their stories. At night I would read their journals and listen to them tell their stories. I sat for hours with my grandmother soaking up all her years of wisdom. At night instead of a bedtime story I begged my dad for a story about his past. It is hard for me to pin point this fascination but it seems to stem from a need to connect with the past, present, and future.

I need to understand where I came from. Why was I born to my parents, in America, in the state of Utah, in the city of Bountiful. It is definitely not a coincidence. What were the events leading up to this? Many of my ancestors are Mormon pioneers who left their homes and families to join a new church. What made them risk their lives to travel across the plains of the United States only to settle in a desert? These are questions that I have always had a desire to find the answers to. I think if I understand my past maybe I can understand myself just a little more.

Presently, my family stories are my life's compass. My ancestors have taught me gratitude, faith, and compassion. When I complain about our one bedroom apartment with AC, a washer and dryer, and plenty of closet space. I think about my grandparent's first home with walls that creaked as the wind flowed through them all the way to the wallpaper that they watched sway back and forth for hours of entertainment.

When I wonder about God, I think of my grandfather dying at the young age of 39 leaving behind a family with young children and never denying his faith in God and Christ.

I treasure every moment with my child when I think about my great grandmother pulling the lifeless body of her toddler from the creek.

I am grateful for disposable diapers as I picture my own mother living in Africa with her first child and washing his diapers in the bathtub.


I hope to carry on this great legacy to my own children. I hope that they will enjoy our family history as much as I have. Maybe my posterity will marvel at my own struggles like surviving chicken pox and life without the internet and cell phones , so if your family is without a historian then maybe you should appoint yourself. It will enrich your life and also generations to come.

A Women's Company

As I walked through the door and spotted a foosball table and two arcade games I wondered if maybe I had time warped into a Nicklecade instead of entered into a internet company who's networth just peaked in the billions. I guess games like this make a building look inviting and like a fun place to work at; however, as a woman these toys just wouldn't energize me. It made me wonder what type of amenities would be mandatory in a company run by women.

First the lounge would not be filled with silly games, instead there would probably be a lot of comfy couches where we could sit around and talk. We could talk about our children, the weather, fashion, our husbands, and our feelings. We could complain about problems and talk about all the possible solutions and instead of implementing a plan we could sit on the couches and talk some more.

There would be soothing background music that seemed to not have a beginning or end and flowed like a fountain. It would be uplifting without being indulgent. Most likely Chopin or some other Classical music from the Romantic period.

The candy machines would be filled with a variety of chocolates. From dark chocolate that is so bitter it almost burns your tongue to the sweetest creamiest milk chocolate that melts in your mouth. Of course any chocolate made in America would have to be banned because although we do so many things right chocolate just isn't one of them.

Now these would be some perks I could get used to. If you worked for a Women's company what would you add??

to be continued....

The Greatest Safety Features

My mother in law desperately wants me to get a new car. One with the latest safety features; however, what is difficult for her to see beyond the pealing paint, tape deck radio, and sun damaged interior is that my car links me to my past. I feel safe in it. It reminds me of home, my mom, and many other fond memories.

I remember the day my mom first pulled it into the drive way. This was her first car. She didn't have to share it, it was not an ugly station wagon, and it was the newest car she had ever owned. For Christmas everyone pitched in and bought her a custom license plate TCwriter. She proudly drove this car for several years and I was lucky enough to borrow it when I went to college.

While in college it reminded me of the kindness of strangers as I was stranded on the road with a blown out tire. This was before I had a cell phone and I was left at the mercy of people that passed by, luckily a nice elderly couple helped me put on a spare tire, which at the time I didn't even know where it was located. I drove to the nearest fix it shop and I was quickly back on the road.

At Utah State University it drove me to my first teaching job in the bitter Logan weather. Every morning I woke up to a car frozen in ice. I scraped the snow off the window in -10 degrees. While inside it took several minutes for the car to warm up. It was so cold my CD player was even frozen. I would hold it up to the heater until it was warm enough to play music and then celebrated by eating my breakfast bar.

This student teaching job soon turned into a real teaching job in Salt Lake City. I remember the note I found placed under my wiper blades by my boyfriend as I left from work one day. This was the first of many kind acts and our friendship soon became an eternal commitment. This same car decorated with oreo cookies, white paint, and the words "Just Married" drove us home as Mr. and Mrs. Erickson. The car became ours as a Wedding gift.

I watched as my car was chained to the back of a moving van headed to California. My husband was headed off to graduate school and I took a teaching job in a low income area. There it continued to accumulate miles to and from work, the grocery store, and now the beach.

Soon the car held my most precious possession a new baby placed carefully into a car seat in the back. Trips now include visits to the doctor, park day, and the zoo.

So, my reply to my mother in law about a new car, "I am just going to have to drive this car until it dies which I'm sure will be a sad day, then maybe we can talk about something new."

Birthday

I enjoyed celebrating my 29th birthday.  Some of the highlights included a trip to visit David at Stanford, Chinese take out, and a rum cake for dessert.  My favorite part was  a love letter from David.  I ask for one every year and so far he has delivered

Going to the Store

Taking Aspen to the store is one of my favorite parts of the week.  She is so happy looking at all the people and riding in the cart.  I thought I would snap a picture.

Newborn Video

I finally started my video editing.  I love this video and the funny thing is that Aspen loves it to.