My Prized Possessions

There are items I have aquired over the years that are my prized possessions. Things that aren't prized without the loved ones that gave them to me...

When I was getting ready for Miss Utah I had to find the "perfect" interview suit. Mom and I looked and looked and only found one that "worked." I was sick of the whole thing anyway, so we bought it and figured it would have to do. a few days before I headed up to compete, my Aunt called with one of her infamous "finds." She said, "I don't think you'd be interested in something bought from DI, but I have this suit that is darling...wanna take a look?" Not only did I take a look, but I hucked the stupid suit that we bought at Dillards and this suit became my new interview suit. I was so proud when they asked me about my "stunning" suit in my interview so that I could PROUDLY tell them my aunt bought it for me at the DI. Love it!

If you know my dad, you know what a skilled (even that word doesn't justify) carpenter he is. He has always made us furniture growing up, but nothing quite as beautiful as the cradles he has made for his grandchildren. When I was pregnant with Connor, he set up shop in our toy garage downstairs and made this stunning cradle from plain planks of wood. I am so proud everytime someone asks me where I got it to tell them that my dad made this for my babies.


Who could forget the genuine leather coat Heather carted all around New York on her mission to bring back to me? Not only is it SOOOOOOO cool for being from New York, but it wouldn't be NEAR as cool had she not found it in the trash on the street. Maybe someone got murdered in it!!! SWEET! I love it because it reminds me of all the things I love about my sister. Her thriftiness, her corkiness, her personality, and her love for me. I felt so proud that she'd give it to me instead of keeping it for herself knowing how cool she thought it was too. I look up to her and love being her little sister.

When Aurelie got engaged I had heard that she was making her own wedding dress I had my doubts. Not very many homemade dresses look as beautiful as Aur's did. So when I got engaged I called Aurie knowing I would never find a more perfect dress in the stores. She said, "No you can't borrow my dress, I want to make you one of your own!" I described to her on the phone what I wanted and she sketched out a dress and faxed it to me. Then took scraps of material, pieced them to me and created the pattern from that. She then spent over 150 hours in hand beading alone along the top to have these gorgeous silk flowers that had crystal beads as stems that went down the bodice. She then had all the women that I love in my life (and some little ones!!) handbead the symbol of eternity along the bottom. I loved this dress. I remember when I used to watch Cinderella over and over again when I was little I used to tell my mom when Cinderella swished her skirt beside the fountain that I wanted a skirt so big I could lay on it....it was that and then some. She got the silk from Taiwan and it was the most stunning one of a kind dress. It was so heavy I wore three large petti coats underneath. I loved it because it was beautiful, but I loved it most of all because it was made from their hands to my heart. I won't tell you the part where the dry cleaners ruined it when I gave it to them to "preserve" it. It is costing them $5000 to replace it because of all the work Aurelie did for free.








I remember when I was little I used to love sitting next to my mom during church because it was the only time she let me try on her rings. I always tried to get her to pay attention to something else as soon as the closing prayer was offered because I DESPERATELY wanted her to forget about them so that I could feel glamorous in primary....never worked. When I graduated from high school I never in a million years would have guess she'd give me this ring that I coveted as a child. It meant so much to me because I knew what my dad sacrificed to give it to her. I HATE that my camera doesn't give this ring justice!

Of course my girls' blessing dress. I've watched my mom make dozens of these and longed to have a girl so that I could have one too. It is gorgeous, but unless you watch the tedious and anxiety inducing crocheting she does it won't mean as much. These take her months, sometimes a year to make. If she makes a single bad loop, she has to unravel it sending her back dozens of hours to start again. She will never ever know what this dress means to me. The yarn is so thin and delicate. I can't thank her enough for it, I hope she knows what it means to me and to them one day.

These TINY bracelets symbolize my step mom Karen's sweet heart. Every one of her granddaughters have one for their blessing day. I love it because it reminds me of what I love about her the most....her selfless kind heart. When I lived with them in high school she'd stock the fridge and the pantry with all the goodies that I loved to eat, even though she didn't care for any of it. She sends all her grandkids random notes to make them feel so special and loved. She spends every friday night with my kids and they love every minute of it. They don't come much better than Karen.

This is the picture Jim emailed me BEFORE we got engaged to tease me knowing that he had it! Mean! It symbolizes my best friend, my soulmate, and our eternal marriage.

I love that these things aren't worth much to anyone else what they're worth to me because of where they came from. I love that they mean more to me than most anything else I own. I am so blessed