Baby #1

We are excited to welcome Baby #1 into our family in October! We found out we were expecting exactly 4 years from the day PE proposed. In March, I went to my first doctor's appointment and I was able to see our baby for the first time. You can't tell much from the picture, but it was neat to see the little heart beating. Based on this ultrasound, my due date was set as October 16.

Baby at Week 9

In March, I also started experiencing the joys of "morning" sickness. About the time I started feeling sick I had to go to a national biological engineering conference in Indianapolis to present my research. The first time I threw up was actually in Indianapolis (fortunately it happened while I was in my hotel room and not while presenting my research). From about week 8 to week 15, I was pretty sick. PE was a saint and took good care of me. There were many days he would come home from a long day at work and find me lying on the couch, too sick to even think about dinner. So he would find or make something for dinner without any help from me. Towards the end of week 15 I started to feel a lot better. I still have some bad days, but it is more manageable now than it was during the first trimester.

PE and I decided that we would wait until people asked if I was pregnant before we told them (with the exception of a few people). My family finally guessed on Mother's Day that we were expecting. The thing that gave us away was the gigantic bruise I had on my arm from where the nurse took a blood sample for the 16 week screening tests. And Mother's Day was during week 18. It actually took 3 weeks for the bruise to disappear. We also told PE's family on Mother's Day since we didn't think it would be fair for one family to know way before the other family.

Yesterday we had our big ultrasound! It was fun to see how much development has occurred since the last ultrasound. We are going to have the gender be a surprise. I actually almost forgot to tell the ultrasound specialist that we didn't want to find out the gender. Good thing that the first thing that showed up on the ultrasound was the baby's face! The measurements from this ultrasound actually showed that I am 4 days further along, so the due date has been moved up to October 12.

Baby's Profile at Week 21

Baby's Foot at Week 21

So far, I would not consider pregnancy a "fun" experience. But we are very grateful and excited to welcome this little baby into our family in a few months!

Tulip Festival

On Friday, PE had the day off work, so we went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point. It was nice to get out of the house and see the beautiful gardens!

General Conference

I'm a few weeks late in posting this, but I really enjoyed this session of General Conference. I especially loved the talks about family. I loved Elder Ballard's prophetic counsel that the strength of our society is a result of the strength of our families. If we really want to fix our societal problems, we need to first focus on fixing families. This year being an election year, there is of course a lot of  debate over the problems in America and who is the right president to fix them. But really, I believe that the power to "fix" our country is in the hands of mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, and children everywhere in America.

Thought for the Day

I read an article on KSL today that made me remember this talk from General Conference. I couldn't remember when it was, or who the speaker had been, but I had remembered the message. I did some searching on LDS.org and found the paragraph I had remembered.

"Yet sorrowfully, on occasion, some are willing to set aside the precious gospel truths restored by Joseph Smith because they get diverted on some historical issue or some scientific hypothesis not central to their exaltation, and in so doing they trade their spiritual birthright for a mess of pottage. They exchange the absolute certainty of the Restoration for a doubt, and in that process they fall into the trap of losing faith in the many things they do know because of a few things they do not know. There will always be some seemingly intellectual crisis looming on the horizon as long as faith is required and our minds are finite, but likewise there will always be the sure and solid doctrines of the Restoration to cling to, which will provide the rock foundation upon which our testimonies may be built."

-Elder Tad Callister, Oct. 2009 General Conference

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints because of the truths that I know, because of the sure and solid doctrines of the Restoration. I know that God lives, and the He is my Father. I know that Jesus Christ lives and is my Savior. I know that Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that the First Presidency and Twelve Apostles are true prophets of God. I know that true happiness comes from obeying the commandments of God. But I also recognize that I do not know or understand everything. But I can't sacrifice the great truths that I do know for doubt about something that is not central to my exaltation.


My Grandma shared this scripture years ago at the funeral of my great-grandma, and I still remember it vividly. 

"Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend."

-Mosiah 4:9

We have to believe that God comprehends more than we do. We have to believe that we can't and won't understand everything in this life. But there are things we can understand and know in this life, and the rest is where faith comes in. Heavenly Father sees the big picture, and while I can't see all of it, I can see enough to know who He is which makes me willing to place my hand in His and let Him lead me.

One in Heart and in Name?

To our 2-year old nephew, PE and I are both the same person. He calls both of us by my name. Now my name may be easier for him to say, but he can actually say PE's name. The other day, he accidentally hit me with one of his toys and his grandparents told him to tell me sorry and give me a hug. He did say he was sorry and gave me a hug, but then he also said sorry to PE and gave him a hug. It was pretty funny.

While his mom and grandparents are trying to help him identify PE with the correct name, we actually find it flattering that our nephew considers us to be one person. Even at his young age, he knows that PE and I are a packaged deal. On the rare occasion when only one of us is there, our nephew will keep looking out the door or window waiting for the other to come in.

The bible teaches us that a husband and wife should cleave unto each other and become one flesh. We feel like we must be doing something right if even our nephew can't tell us apart. :)

Joy

I have been blessed with amazing friends in my life. Growing up, there were 4 girls who were (and still are) my core group of friends. We grew up together, experienced life together, and were always there for each other. We helped each other's testimonies grow as we experienced seminary and young women's together. Today, I was pondering how (come May), all 5 of us will have been married in the temple, sealed to a loving husband for time and all eternity. As I pondered this, a feeling of great joy flooded over me. While I have found joy in our friendships before, knowing that we will all have celestial marriages brought me indescribable joy. We will have all made the covenants needed to return to our Father in Heaven. And I know that we will continue to help each other live worthy of those covenants.

There is a quiet joy that comes from seeing friends and family in the temple.When my little sister went through the temple, it was wonderful to see my parents, grandparents, and cousins there. Just before she left on her mission, I went to the temple with her and my parents. While we were there, I saw and talked to one of my young women leaders and one of my orchestra teachers. I can't really explain it, but it felt so good to see them in the temple. It's a feeling I have only ever felt at the temple. There is joy in seeing others in the temple, knowing that you are each living temple worthy lives.

Last Wednesday, we dropped my little sister off at the MTC. She will be serving the people in the the Anchorage, Alaska mission. There were tears shed as my family dropped her off, knowing we won't see her again for 18 months. As I have been thinking about her in the MTC this week, I have been filled with joy. Joy in knowing my little sister is sacrificing 18 months of her life to serve the Lord. Joy in seeing what a wonderful example she is to my family.

I am grateful for my family and friends. I am especially grateful for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and that we have temples again upon the earth where we can be sealed to our loved ones forever.

Proactiv

Right now I am extremely annoyed at Proactiv. Now, it has been about 5 years since I have used their products. I stopped using them because they didn't work for me, and they were expensive. Honestly, I have found that washing my face with Dove unscented soap works so much better than any acne product. And it's a lot cheaper.

So why am I annoyed with them? Because for some reason my Proactiv account was reactivated after 5 years of inactivity. And they sent me products I didn't order, and of course charged me for them. And it was set up to keep sending me products every three months. Well, the credit card they charged it on is linked to an old checking account that I still have, but seldom use. A week ago, I was checking my bank accounts, and I felt prompted to check that old account (which I rarely check). I opened up the account summary and saw that I had been charged $50 by Proactiv that very day. It was still pending activity, so I quickly called Proactiv to try and fix it. But unfortunately, Proactiv had already shipped the products and could not refund my money until I returned their products. I asked why my account had been reactivated, and they had no idea. I asked them to close my account so that this would never happen again, which they agreed to do.

Well, I finally got my Proactiv in the mail today, so I took it back to the post office and had to pay $8 to ship it back to Proactiv. So it will probably be another couple weeks before I actually get refunded my $50, and I am also out $8 for returning a product I never ordered.

Proactiv wants your money, and they have set up a "convenient" automatic delivery system to make sure they can continue to take your money. I logged into my account before I called Proactiv, and I found that I could not stop the automatic delivery. The only way to get out of the system was to call customer service and close my account. And when I called to close my account, the lady asked me if I was interested in buying a new product. Why do you think I'm closing my account??? Seriously people.

And the other thing that really bugs me...how in the world did they get my current address??? The Proactiv was delivered to my apartment door. We have lived here for less than a year, and I have had no contact with Proactiv for 5 years...

So while I am frustrated with Proactiv, I am grateful for a Father in Heaven who is looking out for me and gave me a prompting to check my bank account that specific day.