Absolutely in L.O.V.E

I've been meaning to post this for a while but I've gotten pretty busy with reorganizing and organizing and my house is still a disaster at the moment. But all this hard work is leading up to one very exciting thing...the arrival of our baby girl in January!!
I can happily say that at the moment, and for the last few weeks since my morning sickness has subsided, I am absolutely loving being pregnant! I love to sit and feel Aurora's little kicks. It makes me smile, and sometimes even makes me laugh because it tickles. I love thinking about being able to kiss her little cheeks and hold her little fingers in mine. I love seeing D smile at me and put his hand on my tummy & I know he's just as in love with her already as I am. I only wish he could feel her kicking more. She does most of her kicking while he's at work right now. We are getting very excited for the arrival of our baby. We feel so ready for this next step in our lives (good thing, because there's no going back now!) and can't wait to experience the adventure of parenthood together!!

This is HUGE!!

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we know the Church is growing and progressing throughout the world and will eventually fill the Earth before our Savior, Jesus Christ, can come to the Earth again and finally reign as its King.

I always get excited when I see the progress of the Church on the State, National, and International levels. The most recent news from this week is HUGE!! We're making progress with China! Yes, China! We do not yet have missionaries in China, but there are several Branches of the Church scattered throughout the country. It is my understanding that Chinese members and non-Chinese members of the Church living in China have not been allowed to worship together, due to Chinese law. During the earlier part of this year and continuing to now Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Elder Donald L. Hallstrom of the Presidency of the Seventy have been working with the Chinese government in "regularizing" operations for the Church in China. This really is wonderful news! See the whole story by clicking here.

We were discussing this progress in our Institute class on Wednesday night, and our Institute instructor, Brother Lewis, pointed out that not only is China not ready for the Church to send missionaries in, but the Church isn't ready to send missionaries in yet. He said that with as big as China is and how populated it is, we'd have to send our entire force of missionaries to China, which of course is not possible right now. Either way, the progress we are making throughout the world is exciting because it means that more people are embracing the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church on the Earth in these last days, and I am so grateful to be a part of the great work that is rolling forth!

Love free stuff!

A new website called DiamondEarrings.org has an innovative promotion going on. They’re not selling anything yet, but are spreading the word about their site by giving away free pairs of simulated diamond earrings set in sterling silver, and will ship them anywhere in the continental U.S. It works like this:

1) Mention the site DiamondEarrings.org on twitter, facebook, myspace, or your own blog.
2) Go to DiamondEarrings.org and click on “Order Now” on the top right of the page.
3) Fill out the required information and pay for shipping, only $3.77.
4) Wait for your earrings to arrive!

So excited to get free stuff :)

Tom Cruise: Home Teaching Motivation

A Prophet's thoughts on scripture study:

"Often we spend great effort in trying to increase the activity levels in our stakes. We work diligently to raise the percentages of those attending sacrament meetings. We labor to get a higher percentage of our young men on missions. We strive to improve the numbers of those marrying in the temple. All of these are commendable efforts and important to the growth of the kingdom. But when individual members and families immerse themselves in the scriptures regularly and consistently, these other areas of activity will automatically come. Testimonies will increase. Commitment will be strengthened. Families will be fortified. Personal revelation will flow."

-President Ezra Taft Benson
The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, 44

The Last Lecture

If you haven't read it, you need to. My dad lent his book to me a couple weeks ago. I started reading it yesterday afternoon and just finished it. I'm sure you've all heard of it, but if you haven't, it is the compilation of the life lessons and advice Randy Pausch learned throughout his life and summed up at the end when he was given just 3 to 6 months to live after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He would be leaving behind his wife and three young children, ages 6, 3, and 18 months. The book is truly inspirational and it helped me to put my life into perspective once again. There is a companion website to go with the book. Click here to go to that website. He has posted a link allowing viewers to watch the "Last Lecture" he gave at Carnegie Mellon before he died. I haven't watched the whole thing yet, but I have seen clips of it.

After reading the book and reflecting on things of a spiritual matter lately, I've again been reminded of the fragility of life. I know we all get wrapped up in the mundane things of life, the things we have to do, but because of that we often lose sight of what is really important. None of us know how long we will be on this Earth, and for that reason, we really need to be living life to its fullest. We need to figure out and grasp onto those things that are most importing in our own lives, not someone else's.

I am so grateful for the life I have been given. I have been so very blessed up to this point, far more than I deserve, but I am truly grateful for and humbled by all that I have. The things that are most important to me are not things, but the people in my life and the relationships I have with them. I truly try to be the kind of person people look up to and know that they can trust and rely upon. I'm trying to become the person I'm meant to become, even if I am a slow learner and feel like I often have to start back at ground zero. I want to reach my full potential. But I think that continuing to try is the key. I hope that I am always doing things in my life that make those who love me proud of the things I do. I hope that I never do anything I will look back on and regret. I am so grateful to have the amazing support system that I do. Especially my husband. I often wonder what I did to deserve to be so blessed to have him in my life.

I hope that I can always keep the perspective of what's important and what really matters. Life is shorter than we realize, and we need to make the most of every moment we have.

The Story of Stephanie Nielson

Thanks, Travis, for all of your hard work in putting this together! It's much needed inspiration to a lot of people!

Confession

First of all, I want to give a shout out to all the MOM's out there! HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY YESTERDAY!! I hope it was wonderful for all of you! And this is probably lame, but I'm going to mimic my Mother's Day post from last year by letting you read it again by clicking here if you so desire to read it again. This time I want to write about me. Lame. I know. But bear with me. I might get emotional. I know I've already written about it, and I'm going to write about it again, but it's not because I want people to feel bad. I just have a lot of things on my mind that I feel I need to write on here for some reason--maybe because someone else needs to read it.

Yesterday was a special day for me for a lot of reasons. It's the day we have set aside to remember the amazing, incredible women in our lives, and thank them for all they have done for us. But for me, yesterday was the first Mother's Day I was even close to being able to spend it as a 1st time mom. Yesterday was the day I was supposed to be having a baby of my very own. It was the due date we were so excited about because it was Mother's Day, and the day before my own mom's birthday. [HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY, MOM! I love you!!] It was going to be perfect timing because it was only 1 week after I officially graduated from college.

But, over the last 7 months since the miscarriage, I have learned that Heavenly Father's timing is perfect, even if it doesn't feel like it at the time. You hear about people having miscarriages and that it happens a lot (one stat I read said 1 in 4 or 5 pregnancies ends in miscarriage--not to scare anyone, it's just reality, and hopefully none of you ever have to experience it!!). I never really thought it would happen to us, but we tried to take the necessary precautions--like not telling anyone, except a couple people--that we were expecting. Just in case. We thought we were almost clear to tell our exciting news. 1.5 more weeks and we would have made it through our first trimester.

I don't know if any of you can tell, but "pregnancy" and "babies" consume a lot of my thinking now. I can't help it. And here's where the confession part comes in: I'M SO JEALOUS!! I admit it. I am jealous every time someone announces they're pregnant. I'm jealous every time someone has a new baby of their own to hold. I'm always so happy and excited for them, but so jealous at the same time.

I always appreciate others' attempts at kind words like: "Your time will come." "You guys will be great parents when it's your turn." and my all-time favorite, "Just stop 'trying,' then it'll happen." What the?? I seriously don't get how someone can say "you can't be trying" to someone who has had a miscarriage and wants so badly to have children. Where, in anyone's book, is that okay to say? I am especially sensitive to that one, if you can't tell. But honestly, you don't know what a miscarriage is like until you have one yourself. It has definitely been harder on me than it has on Dar, and that's okay. But he's hurting just like me, and I'm so grateful we have each other to lean on.

But, I never realized until this year, how many women actually hurt on Mother's Day. People like myself, my friend, Denise, who also had a miscarriage and is also still trying to get pregnant again, the many amazing Sisters in my ward who have never even had the opportunity to get married or have children and are now past child-bearing years, the many women out there who know they can't have children of their own, and mother's who have unfortunately had a child pass away before them. Yes, Mother's Day is a very special day. A day where we can honor our own mother's and grandmother's, aunts, sisters, etc. But I think some of us forget how many women out there are hurting when Mother's Day rolls around.

I sincerely hope no one is offended by this post. I only hope that who ever needs to read it has read it. I hope that we can all remember the happiness Mother's Day brings, but I also hope that we will all be extra sensitive to those amazing women out there who find themselves hurting on Mother's Day!

The Testimony of Job

Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

-Job 19:23-27

Powerful. And I have to agree completely. Thank you, Job!