Outraged!

This is one of the saddest things I've ever heard.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/27/earlyshow/main4130288.shtml?source=mostpop_story

Banana Poll Results

So surprisingly to me the majority went to eating bananas with green on them which I don't like because they're almost crunchy to me, but it was followed by a close second with my favorite, yellow bananas with no spots. And in tribute to King Elvis, who Jeremy shares a birthday with, I like to eat them on a sandwich with peanut butter. :)

Thankful

Ok, so now I've whined in my last post and I feel guilty since there really are starving suffering people everywhere, I will make my thankful list.

1. David works so I don't have to. Working through the last pregnancy was difficult.

2. David takes care of everything around the house so I can feel better.

3. Jeremy is so easy and flexible with our plans. He's just as happy to stay home and play and let me read to him in my bed as he is to go to the library or swimming. He's so sweet, full of love and kisses.

4. A budget that allows me to buy food from a restaurant sometimes when nothing else sounds good to my picky belly.

5. My home has been a sanctuary, warm or cool or whatever I need.

6. My friends and family have been understanding when I can't be very dependable.

7. We are only pregnant for 9 months unlike the 22 month gestation of elephants.

Whining Session

So this is your warning, I know there are starving children in Africa, but the following is nothing but whining, so if you don't want to hear it, stop reading NOW!

Ok, so I am so sick of being sick!!! This has been a rough week for me. My belly is so upset and feeling nauseated all the time is just no fun. My sister is coming from Utah for a visit tomorrow and I really want to have fun with her but it's looking like we'll spend the day lying around. Jeremy has a talk on Sunday in Primary which I was so excited about but I've done nothing to help him prepare for it. People just don't get it; I feel like I should be wearing a sign that says, yes, I'm still sick, get over it! They're always asking me questions like "you're still sick?" "But it's only in the morning right?" NO! I am sick at any given time of the day or all day like this week. No I don't really throw up very much but feeling like you need to and not actually doing it is almost worse, since there's no relief. I'm lonely and bored, but I don't want people to come over because then I would have to get dressed and that makes me sicker. And the thing I've figured out is that the pregnancy sickness actually is harder on me emotionally and mentally than physically. Something about your body not feeling right and not being able to perform normally is really upsetting. I look at things coming up and feel like I'll always be sick and not able to do anything again. It's like I'm not logically able to realize that there really is an end to the sickness. Well for those of you who actually made it to the end of this post, thanks for listening.

Double Appointment

Yesterday we had a double appointment. First we saw our regular dr. lady and she was so busy, we waited an hour! Then we had an ultrasound and they got us in super early. The sonographer lady was a little grouchy because she thought I should have been in there 4 weeks ago and then she was grouchy because they were checking to make sure my placenta had moved out of the way and it didn't matter because I'm having a c-section. I told her I don't know, I came when they told me and I never turn down the chance to see my baby! It was fun, after David came in she got a little happier and we got to see the baby yawn a couple of times and swallow and try to eat her hands. It was REALLY fun! And apparently it's still a girl, which is good because the pink things are multiplying in our house! She said the baby has hair and she's about 5 lbs. already so she's shaping up to be a big girl!

Poll Results

So the majority of you eat 2 pieces of pizza at a sitting, but the numbers were close on 3 pieces and more. I guess it kind of depends on the type of pizza and where it came from and everything. Be sure to vote in my banana poll!

Aquarium of the Pacific

So yesterday we were supposed to go help my SIL with her Heritage Makers scrapbook but then she needed to go on a field trip with her daughter to the Aquarium of the Pacific. I really wanted to get out of the house and I'd always wanted to take Jeremy there, so we tagged along! Jeremy had fun and there were some cool things to look at. We were only there for a couple of hours, but that was plenty. We saw pretty much everything and my big belly was heavy. Jeremy was a trooper and carried our lunch in his backpack, that's my good boy!

Jeremy loved watching the seal

The petting tank for sharks and rays

Jeremy and Mama in front of the big shark tank

Lorakeet

Jellyfish

Jeremy making friends with the puffins

P.S. Poem

For those of you who asked, I did write the end-of-pregnancy poem myself. It was inspired by actual events. :)

Mud

My mother had us memorize a lot of poetry when we were growing up. This is one of my favorites that I thought of today while I watched my sweet boy playing in the mud.

Mud is very nice to feel

all squishy squashy between the toes.

I'd rather step in wiggly mud
than smell a yellow rose.

Nobody else but the rosebush knows

how nice mud feels between the toes.

Myanmar

I am in love with the Internet. I just love to find out exactly what I want to know at the touch of a button. So I had never even heard of Myanmar until this cyclone hit it. Myanmar, pronounced me-un-mar with the emphasis on mar, has 109 languages, 108 living and 1 extinct. The country was renamed in 1989 and was formally known as Burma, a name I more readily recognize. There are 50 million people living in this little country, and with the expected death toll at an astonishing 128,000 people, this only wipes out .002 percent of their people. I found out that a cyclone is the same thing as a hurricane, but the storms are called different things in different parts of the world. It's really amazing to me to find out how advanced our country really is when a disaster happens. Our loss of life and property is so much less and the aid is more quickly available compared to these other countries. I'm interested to ask God when I see Him why some countries advanced more quickly and how our country was supposed to play a part in relation to the other countries of the world.

Smores!

Jeremy and Daddy went camping at the father/son campout for our ward last Friday night. Jeremy had a blast! One of his favorite things was the smores. Here he is telling us how to make them.

Earthquake in China

The loss of life in China from the earthquake on Monday is huge and the reports of the casualties keep growing. In looking at the pictures of the devastation, this one touched me especially. This is a mother in the rain looking for her child among all the bodies recovered from a school that was destroyed. How minor my trials seem after feeling through this photograph her grief and anxiety.

Cleaning Out

So I'm trying to clean out and get ready for the new baby but it's hard in Jeremy's room because he goes through phases. Dinosaurs one week, pirates the next. I don't feel like packing up the toys and rotating them; I would just rather get rid of some stuff! Today I put his big train table on Craigslist. It was the toy I always wanted him to have that took up so much room in the room! It was fun for a while but ended up being a dumping ground for other toys more than a train table, so it had to go. Besides the baby bed has to go somewhere, and I am loath to give up the office/sewing/scrapbooking/everything else room. I am convinced we don't need a bigger house just less stuff. If there's anything you wanted out of my house, just come on over and I'm likely to part with it!

Worrying

If worrying were an Olympic sport I would be not only a gold but a platinum medalist. In fact, they wouldn't be able to create an award impressive enough to match my endless professional worrying. I worry about the most ridiculous things according to my husband. Of course I know they're a little far-fetched sometimes but they seem perfectly valid to me since of course anything is possible, right? I should be concerned about more consequential things, like did I do enough service today? Did I learn from the scriptures? Did I make someone's day a little brighter? Sometimes I think I've learned so much and I still don't know anything.

Crazy Japanese Train Loaders

Okay, I'm NEVER taking the train in Japan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE35onlIySk

The End of the Pregnancy Poem

A poem devoted to the last of my pregnancy:

The time has come to celebrate
the last of this quite yucky state.
Though thankful for this little sis
there are some things I will not miss.

Eating with much indigestion
and not so helpful suggestions.
Vitamins made for a horse
and all the doctor visits of course.

Pregnant clothes are not quite cute
I'm ready to give them the boot.
Clothes too tight and stretchy panels
Underwear too big to handle.

Lying down until it passes
and the burps and stinky gasses.
All the food I've loved and lost
and the cookies I have tossed.

This miracle is not all bad
and I am thankful I have had
the chance to grow this little friend,
but I'm sure glad that it's the end!

Bookport

For those of you who know me, you know I love to read. I especially have loved reading LDS fiction. I love novels, but don't like all the sex and nonsense that comes from most authors, so the LDS authors provide a clean alternative. Well, I've been going through this get-rid-of phase and decided to get rid of my huge collection of these books. I needed more room and I've read them once or twice or sometimes more. So I took them down to the Bookport and sold them for their used book section. It ended up I had 159 books and I got 450 dollars store credit for them! Isn't that exciting!? So now I have all this credit to use for gifts for everyone. That will be so nice and I have room on my shelves. LOVE IT!

Words

I have learned much this last week about the power of words. The power they have to harm and the power they have to heal. In the book of Proverbs it says death and life are in the power of the tongue. The 3rd chapter of James tells us that just as a great ship is turned by a very small helm, the tongue also is a small member with great power for good or evil. I remember growing up and saying that rhyme about sticks and stones breaking bones but words will never hurt me. That's a great affirmation, but I think I would rather have sticks and stones than harmful words used against me that cause fear and uncertainty in my heart. On the other hand, the words of friends and family have been so powerfully comforting to me more than anything they could have given me. As words have crushed me, kind words have built me up and strengthened me. I repent of the harmful words that I have spoken to and about others, and I promise to start fresh with a resolve to speak kind words and build love and confidence in everyone my life touches.

Valentine's Day

For me there were pluses and minuses to being homeschooled, but one thing I always thought would be fun was the Valentine's Day party at school. Just the thought of receiving 20 or 30 valentines seemed like so much fun, since I have this need to be verbally validated that people love me. So for Valentine's Day this year my awesome sister Cherish decided to make my day and sent me LOTS of cards. It was really fun, and I felt so loved. We were cleaning the house the other day and I found them and wanted to share my favorite.

4 Things

Four things about me that you may or may not have known...in no particular order.

1. Four jobs I have had in my life: Exercise class babysitter, Receptionist at a midwife clinic, Missionary, Mom!

2. Four Places I have lived: Garden Grove, CA; Ardmore, OK; Hemet, CA; Westminster, CA

3. Four Shows that I watch: 48 Hours Mystery, Ugly Betty, Without a Trace and Backyardigans of course!

4. Four Places I Have Been: Disneyworld; Roseville, CA; Coronado Island, Oklahoma City, OK

5. Four Blogs I Read Regularly: Way more than 4!

6. Four of MY Favorite Foods: Tacos, Smoothies, In-n-Out Burgers, Salmon

7. Four Places I'd Rather be right now: Asleep, getting a facial, snuggling my family in bed, or at the hospital having the baby.

8. Four things I look forward to in the next year: Baby, beyond that is bonus!

Now I tag: Cherish, Susan, Cory, Jamie

Poll Results

So twice as many of you would rather live in a hot place than a cold place. The heat makes me grouchy and I can put on more clothes when I'm cold, but I can only take so many clothes off when it's hot.

Scripture Study

Last night we had the Phillips over for Family Home Evening. Jon taught the lesson on Family scripture study. I was really glad because I had just been thinking we should get into that again. It's hard when the kids are little. At bedtime we read a verse with Jeremy and then say our family prayer, and David and I read the scriptures separately, but we haven't been reading them together. We used to read together every night, but it was a little less effective because I would say to David, "Read to me," and then I would fall asleep. So I would like any suggestions you have on how you make scripture study work in your homes. Thanks!

Like Mother, Like Son

When I was growing up, one of my favorite things to do in our backyard in Hemet was to dig a big hole in the dirt and fill it with water. Then I would sit and wallow in the mud pit. I still think it would be fun today! Jeremy loves mud just as much as me and I love taking pictures of him enjoying it.

Pray at the Pump

I love to read the news headlines on Yahoo, because I can pick and choose which ones I want to know more about. Today this one caught my eye:

Tired of high gas prices, some Americans pray at the pump

I'm reminded of the scripture that admonishes us to pray over all things, both temporal and spiritual. I am humbled by the faith that these people have to pray over something that seems unrelated to God, but is very much affecting His children. Lately my prayers have been full of thankfulness for my family and friends and pleas for us to be kind and loving to all we come in contact with and foster peace and understanding in our relationships. President Hinckley said Heavenly Father would be pleased if we would mention the less fortunate in our prayers, and I am reminded again of how fortunate I am that I don't have to choose between gas and food.

My Painful Mansion

A few weeks ago in church a speaker used the following quote from C.S. Lewis:

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of — throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.

I love the religious musings of C.S. Lewis, and I have always loved that analogy because I know it to be true. The trials I experience don't make sense and are so painful at times. I try to remember others, whose lives are far worse than mine; after all I am very blessed. But sometimes, it's hard to trust God to rebuild my house and I long for that simple cottage.

Poll Results

So overwhelmingly you would rather be deaf than blind. That's what I would choose. Those of you who know me well know that I am very jumpy and the slightest little thing can scare me. I feel scared to think of one of my senses being taken away that would make me less aware of what was going on around me. But, I think it would be harder for me and more panicky to be blind than deaf. Plus I learned sign language a long time ago, so I think I could pick it up easier than Braille. Why did you vote the way you did?

Tagged!

How did you meet your spouse? At the Golden West Institute of Religion, though it's funny because I went to his band performance and high school graduation without even knowing it.

How long have you been together? We've been married 8 years, and have known each other since 1995.

Who eats more? Him.

Who said I love you first? I don't remember.

Who is taller? He is, just enough.

Who sings better? Toss up.

Who is smarter? We each have our strengths. I think this question is a bit offensive.

Who does the laundry? I used to have this one until I got pregnant, now he has temporarily taken over.

Who does the dishes? Both of us.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I've always been confused by this question. It depends on if you're looking at the bed or in the bed. How does that work?

Who pays the bills? Me

Who mows the lawn? Him

Who cooks dinner? Both of us.

Who drives when you are together? It really varies but it's more frequently him.

Who is more stubborn? Another toss up.

Who is the first to admit when they’re wrong? Me

Who kissed who first? Pretty much had the same idea at the same time.

Who proposed? He did, at the Los Angeles Temple.

Who is more sensitive? Me, but he's a closeted sensitive.

Who has more friends? Him

Who has more siblings? Full siblings - him. Half/step - there's no beating me!

Who wears the pants? Waistbands make me sick to my stomach, so I'll say him.