is this heaven?

(click on the title)


my new favorite picture of our future.

dr. palmer

on march 13, 2008 james' life long dedication and hard work finally paid off when he was officially accepted to medical school at Des Moines University in Iowa! yes, its true... if all goes as planned the palmers will become iowan's this august. aside from my threatening phobia of tornados, we couldn't be more excited. james has spent approximately 22 hours in iowa and i have yet to grace the great state of corn fields, but we are sure that it will be a grand adventure.
here are some pics of our future stomping grounds.

this is james' future med school where he'll learn to be the best doctor in the world.

here's a corn field. james and i are excited for long walks through the corn fields and old fashioned country dinners of beef and corn on the cob.

i can secretly picture james looking like this when he's not in his white lab coat and latex gloves.

i'm excited to finally meet these people in person. the woman is probably our relief society president! and he's just got to be the organist.

and last but not least... the ever-popular "field of dreams" takes place in our beloved iowa. though i read somewhere that it was actually filmed in boston or some cornless city like that.

my first baby shower ever...

this past saturday i was given a baby shower by my old locker partners, marta and allie. it was such a hit and i'm just positive that more people came because of marta's cute invitations than because of me.
i actually stole these pictures from marta's blog that describes the shower with so much more eloquence... its almost poetic. but i thought i'd copy some of my most favorite pictures that she took and post them here too. (i hope that's ok mart)
(first photo above: allie, marta, me)

marta and allie served delicious quich and warm cinnamon rolls along with fruit and cookies. it was all so delicious.

my favorite part was marta's subtle little touches. i didn't discover the cute jelly beans and baby fact cards until the end, but once i did i filled my mouth full of the yummy tasting treats.

anyway, big thanks to allie and marta. it was truly a baby bash! there were girls in attendance that have influenced every stage of my life (including my mom... who has influenced all of my stages of life)

list of attendees:

marta [halverson] dansie

allie holtkamp

mom [christine keyser]

mary irene [homer] allen

kira [steadman] bingham

katie [macfarlane] wolfert

jenny [osborne] bullock

chelsie [choles] brady

maresa madsen

tanya tapp

ashleigh [mee]

jenn henry

alysia rathbun

michelle paskett

vivian smith

and in answer to those who are surprised that i'm still so close to my high school locker partners.... all i can say is, some friendships are just meant to last.

in loving memory of dad...

i've been thinking about this blog post for a while... wondering how i could ever do it justice. my dad, scott j keyser, passed away last week - feb. 12 - from cancer. what more can i say to desribe him than the best dad i could have ever asked for? i've had a few request for the letter that i read at his funeral. so i thought i'd post it here.

dad's letter to me while i was on my mission:

Dear Natalie,
Just a quick note to let you know that you are never far from my thoughts. I pray all is well with you and you are enjoying your MTC experience. We keep getting reminded that you aren’t here. Yesterday, while preparing dinner, your mother had to make the white sauce for the cauliflower, and you weren’t here to help with the dishes. Bridger seemed lost without Natalie to play with. I miss hearing about the drama in your life (your mother is sleeping better now) and I eagerly wait your first letter. Checking the mail has much more urgency now. Natalie, please remember how pleased the Lord and your parents and family are with the decisions you have made and your preparations for this period of your life. We love you and we pray for you continually. I look forward to reading a detailed description of what is happening in your life.

my letter to dad for his funeral:

Dear Dad,
Just a quick note to let you know that you are never far from my thoughts. I know that all is well with you and that you are enjoying your spiritual experience. We keep getting reminded that you aren’t here. The VCR that wasn’t working last week still isn’t working today, and the chair that you always sit in is empty. And we all seem lost without dad to play with. I miss telling you about the drama in my life and I eagerly wait to see you again someday. Dad, please remember how pleased the Lord and your wife and kids are with the decisions you made and your preparation for this period of your life. We love you and will always remember your example of righteousness. I look forward to giving my children a detailed description of you and your life.

segment from another letter i received from my dad while on my mission: (dad's testimony)

I know that the Joseph Smith Story is true. The book of Mormon is true. Christ atoned for our sins, He was crucified and resurrected that we may someday live as resurrected beings with our Father in Heaven if we will humble ourselves and do his will.

he was truly a man of faith...

in memory of President Hinckley

james makes fun of me because i always say that President Hinckley and I are amazingly alike. laugh if you will but its true. here, see for yourself (and if you're lucky enough you may even find that you too share some similarities with this remarkable man):

top ten reasons president hinckley and i are alike...

1- both born in utah

2- we both served a mission to england

3- his first assignment was to Accrington, England. Accrington was in my frist area.

4- President Hinckley is famous for his time in Hyde Park, London. I am famous for my time in Hyde, Manchester (and i'm sure there's a hyde park somewhere in that town).

5- we both graduated from the university of utah

6- we both majored in english

7- we both wanted to be journalists though i got confused and ended up as a buyer in the purchasing department.

8- we both married extremely well.

9- he has five children. i've always wanted five children.

10- he's LDS. and so am i.

its ok, you can admit it. i am basically his twin. but the truth of the matter remains, that i am a completely insignificant person compared to him. he lived his life in a manner that i could only hope to come close to someday. and i am so grateful to him for leading a life so full of love and hard work that has inspired me to live better. and hopefully someday, even though i won't be as well known as he is (and mike wallace probably won't want to interview me) i'll still be able to look back on my life with satisfaction, knowing that i didn't hold anything back. because if anyone can say that...he can.

butler bruin 11 year reunion - ikea cafeteria

i got this picture from allie (red shirt) and i know that its posted on a few other blogs, but i couldn't let the chance pass for me to say that this was one reunion that was truly good.
i noticed that the whole time i was in the presence of these long lost friends...my voice was higher. and i talked like i talked in ninth grade. and i got excited about things that i got excited about in herr otto's german class. and i laughed so hard that my cheeks hurt. and i was suddenly interested in the lives of people who's names i haven't heard since yearbook signing day. the point is, for one magical afternoon i became fifteen again. and though i wouldn't change my current life for anything in the world, it was so nice to know that this teenage, carefree, loud laughing, high talking girl still exists. somewhere. even if she only makes herself present in the ikea cafeteria.

(l-r: mary irene, kyle, allie, marta, me - looking pregnant as ever, lisi, melissa)

great scott!

ok, so i realize that the voting period isn't over yet, but lets be honest, we've only received 2 votes in about 2 weeks and it doesn't look like we'll ge getting more popular anytime soon. besides, whoever voted, voted for the wrong name! actually, luke used to be our #1 but lately we have been strongly leaning towards scott. and now it has been officially decided (well, as official as we can get 4months before the baby is due).

our first son's name will be.... -> scott james palmer !

we're naming him after my dad (and of course james for the middle name) but don't be alarmed if you here james calling our son with a scottish accent for the first -oh i don't know- 18 years of scott's life... i'm hoping he grows out of it by then (sigh). he kind of has a strong affinity for bagpipes which occasionaly makes him break into fits of speaking scottish. i can all too vividly imagine him ending up like the dad in 'so i married an axe murderer'. maybe our child will even look like an orange on a toothpick. who knows.