I Don't Know-September 24, 2008

I copied this flag from my friend Mindy. But I don't know, I'm not so sure I like how mine turned out. It just seems too plain. What do you think?

Fall Into Reading 2008-September 23, 2008

Yesterday was the first day of fall and I happened to stumble onto a blog called Callapidder Days. The author of this blog is hosting a Fall Into Reading Challange and I've decided to participate. I absolutely love reading. I know some people might think its a waste of time, but there is something about books that just draws me to them. I usually only read for pleasure, almost always fiction. And more often then not, I read LDS fiction. So here is my list of books that I would like to read by December 20th (first day of winter and the end of the challange).

1. The Kingdom and the Crown Series by Gerald N. Lund;

X Fishers of Men-Finished September 28, 2008

Come Unto Me

Behold The Man

2. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis;

The Magician's Nephew

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

The Horse and His Boy

Prince Caspian

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Silver Chair

The Last Battle

There are so many others I want to read. But this will have to do for now. I don't want to overwhelm myself with a huge list of books. I know once I get to Korea things will be a little crazy for a while. So this is it. 10 books in 13 weeks. Wish me luck!

The Dentist-September 23, 2008

I went to the dentist today to get some cavities filled. Yes that was plural. I had 3. You just gotta love the dentist. So much fun! They stuck some Q-tips with anesthetic between my gums and lips, so I had 3 Q-tips sticking out of my mouth. I felt like a saber tooth tiger or a vampire. Then they stuck a huge long needle into my gums in about 4 different places. How does a need that long go into my gums? I don't get it. Once I'm numb they start drilling and I see tooth dust flying in the air in front of my face and I'm wondering, "why is he drilling a hole? I thought there was already one there?" Then they push and pull and poke and yank until my skin is crawling and I think my tooth is about to be ripped out of my head! Aaagghhh.

My dentist is actually really great. A good family friend. He's been my dentist for like 10 years. Minus the 4 I've been married. But I came back to him. He's very nice and gentle (as gentle as one can be) and funny and fast. I'm glad its over though. My goal for the rest of my life is to never have another cavity!

B-Day With Friends-September 17, 2008

I should have posted this last week, but didn't get around to it. On Wednesday the 17th I went out to dinner with my awesome friends. I have been friends with these girl since I moved into their school boundries in 1999. Almost 10 years. I love them and I realize what a blessing they have been in my life. We ate at Buco de Beppo (I think thats how you spell it) and then we roasted marshmallows and ate smores around a fire pit. Thanks girls, it was a blast!

Me, Stephanie, Christine, Amber, and Morgan

For sweet memories sake, I'd like to share some things about these girls. I lived in Layton, Utah from 1997-1999. My mom got remarried the summer of '99 and we moved back to Salt Lake. I started 9th grade at Wasatch Jr. High because that's where my step brother was going.

I met Stephanie first out of the these three. We met in our Earth Science class, taught by the coolest science teacher in the history of science teachers, Mrs. Potter. We did a dinasour report together on Velociraptors. It was awesome. We recorded noices off of Jurassic Park on one of those ancient tape recorders and played it for the class. At the time Steph wanted to be an Archiologist and I wanted to be a Volcanologist. Oh how things change.

My first memory of Christine is funny. I always got dropped off at school early because my parents had to take me on their way to work. Or maybe it was my brother. Anyway, Stephanie and I would walk up and down the halls waiting for school to start. I remember her introducing me to Christine one morning and Christine wasn't very friendly. She wasn't rude, I just thought she hated me. It took a while, but I finally got through that hard outer shell and discovered the nut inside!

I met Amber in our Geometry class. I think she sat right behind me. She was one of those really cute girls that you're super jeleous of and wish you could haver her hair and shoes and clothes. She was always so nice. It turned out that my friend Katie who I met in English, and my friend Bekah who I met in Cross Country, had been friends with Amber for a long time. It had to be fate that I met these girls, because I met them all in different places at different times, but they were all friends with each other too. Come to find out, several years later, Amber thought I was the big dweeb in math class because of my big huge nerdy glasses that I wore.

I Am A Child of God-September 21, 2008

I am a child of God,
And He has sent me here,
Has given me an earthly home
With parents kind and dear.

I am a child of God,
And so my needs are great;
Help me to understand His words
Before it grows too late.

I am a child of God.
Rich blessings are in store;
If I but learn to do His will,
I'll live with Him once more.

I am a child of God.
His promises are sure;
Celestial glory shall be mine
If I can but edure.

Chorus
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with Him someday.

Today in our sacrament meeting we sang hymns for the entire hour. The bishop would stand up in between each one and ask for someone to shout out their favorite. Then we would sing it. For some reason I Am a Child of God really touched my heart today. Especially the 2nd and 3rd versus. I didn't know about the 4th verse (its in the Children's Songbook). Anyway, it got me thinking about some verses in the Book of Mormon;

3 Nephi 11:38
"And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God."

and Mosiah 3:18
"...but men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become as little children..."

So then I got to wondering, what does it mean to become "like a child"? I look at Morgan and I see perfection, innocence, pure love, grace, beauty, holiness, mercy. How does an adult, with all of the evils in the world around them, with all of the stress, pressure, temptations, and mature emotions, become as perfect as a child? The next verse in Mosiah answered that question for me;

Mosiah 3:19
"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

This is going to be my focus this week. Learning to become like a child. Not perfect, but more like a perfect child.

*As a side note. While all of this singing was going on at church Morgan was sitting on her Grandma Lanny's lap and she was singing too, sometimes at the top of her lungs, and even when it got quiet for a few seconds. It was quite entertaining. I wish I had it on video. Also, during Sunday School, she was looking at a book on my lap and talking in a soft voice, like she was reading the book. It was so cute. I loved the whole day today. Morgan was an angel through all 3 hours of church (a first) and all 3 meetings were very inspirational. I hate missing church.

September 16, 2008

Yesterday was my happy birthday. On Sunday Clint's grandparents had me over for dinner and then Clint's mom and 2 sisters gave me a little party. It was a lot of fun! Thanks you guys!

Playing the piano with Great Grandpa Paul

Clint and Kristen, the happy newlyweds

Yes the candles say '21'. We didn't have a number 4 candle, so we compromised.

Grandpa Paul and his 2 great grandchildren, Morgan and her cousin Carson

Yesterday for my actual birthday my mom and stepdad took me to a place I've been craving for over a month now, Cafe Rio. I love it! Good bye Costa Vida, its all about the Rio now! Thanks for dinner guys! Afterward we went to RedMango. If you haven't been there....GO, GO NOW! It is oh so delicious!

This picture is proof that I do Mo's hair every morning. Complete with gel and everything.

My brother Otto at dinner

You can't really tell but her hair is completely flat by the end of the day. How do I make it stay? People think she's a boy even when she wears pink!

Just Wondering-September 15, 2008

I've been thinking about something a lot lately. And I'm wondering what every one's thoughts/feelings/opinions are on the subject.

Almost 3 years ago I had a miscarriage. I was only 7 weeks pregnant when it happened and after doing an ultrasound, the doc said the blastocyte probably never made it past 3 weeks, even though I didn't start bleeding until 7 weeks. Which means it may have never been considered an embryo. For a long time after that miscarriage my thoughts were mostly occupied by questions of whether or not that baby was considered, in a spiritual sense, one of my children. Although I only new I was pregnant for 1 week before the miscarriage happened, I felt very connected and attached to that little clump of cells. It was my baby, something I had been looking forward to my entire life.

As far as I know, there isn't a whole lot of Doctrine on exactly when a spirit enters a body and what happens with miscarried babies. I was reassured by many people, and non-gospel doctrine books, that I will have the chance to raise that child in the next life, regardless of how early it was miscarried. And the thought of that got me through most days. It took another year for us to get pregnant again. Since the day I found out I was pregnant with Morgan I have wondered if she is the same spirit that would have come to us had I carried our first baby. Or if she has an older brother/sister with whom she was with before she was sent to us.

I know this is not of great importance, that all things will be revealed in their own due time. Its not something I dwell on, its not something that brings me sadness anymore, its just something I'm curious about. Especially this month, as the child would be turning 2 years old. I have faith that our Father in Heaven has a plan and that our experience of loss was part of that plan. I felt comforted during that time and still do. I know that either way, whether Morgan is that same spirit or there is another spirit waiting for us in heaven, that child is where he/she is supposed to be.

I'm just awfully curious what others think about the topic. So leave me your thoughts and feelings. Don't worry about being offensive. If you think that baby was just a lump of tissue with no purpose or significance, that's okay. I want to know your honest opinions.

Clint-Sept. 13, 2008

Talking on the webcam

Once again I have to say how much I love technology. Clint and I played tic tac toe and checkers on the internet while we talked on the webcam. It was so much fun!