Thursday, July 16, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
A Daughter
We found out in March that we are expecting a little girl. I was geared up to hear that it was another bouncing baby boy on it's way to join his brothers. However when they said it was a girl I was overcome with the emotions of relief. I had been preparing to say good bye to all those things you invision yourself doing with a daughter...girlee things and pink and having a daughter to be around when your sons are grown and are oblivious (let's hope I can be a great mother-in-law so my DIL's will want to come over often!!).
So when a girl was announced I felt tears run down my cheeks with relief. I had no idea that it meant that much to me, especially since I have loved being a Boy mom. Jeff was excited too and squeezed my hand telling me how excited he was for me to experience having a daughter. Jeff is such a softie when our boys are crying or hurt or even sometimes acting spoiled...so there is danger of this little girl having daddy wrapped around her finger!! I can't wait to see Jeff hold his daughter! (Which sadly may be when she is a few to a lot of months old since Jeff will be deployed when she is born.)
The boys were given a gift which they opened to find pink booties and pink hair bows. Elijah yelled "I knew it was a girl!!" and Ammon smiled. They are very excited! They did protest a little when I broke the news that they may have to watch girl movies now every once in a while..("What?!! Why would we EVER watch girl movies?") Elijah has been a crack up. Before we knew what the sex of the baby was Elijah told me "If it's another boy I am going to freak out!!" He saves anything pink and tells me it's for "the sister". He was given a unicorn pencil at school, which was too girlie for him so he asked me to put it away for our sister. When picking out blanket fabric for the baby Elijah begged me to choose the one that had all the princesses on it. Patrick is still young enough not to fully understand. He just enjoys the comfort of using my huge belly as a pillow. I have shown him my bare belly when the baby is moving and he pulls my shirt down and says "close it mommy" then lays down again on my stomach. It is neat to see their acceptance and love for their sister.
I now am still adjusting to the idea, and won't believe it until she is in my arms. Choosing a name feels 100 times harder because it's the only girl name we will pick so it has to be the right one!
Most of all when I pray at night I echo the same prayers I have for my boys with a slight variation. I pray that she can be a girl, then a woman with a strong purpose of self, knowing that she is a treasured daughter of God. I want her to know that while many in this world de-value womanhood, motherhood and purity I want her to know of her divine worth. This is my prayer for my daughter!
So when a girl was announced I felt tears run down my cheeks with relief. I had no idea that it meant that much to me, especially since I have loved being a Boy mom. Jeff was excited too and squeezed my hand telling me how excited he was for me to experience having a daughter. Jeff is such a softie when our boys are crying or hurt or even sometimes acting spoiled...so there is danger of this little girl having daddy wrapped around her finger!! I can't wait to see Jeff hold his daughter! (Which sadly may be when she is a few to a lot of months old since Jeff will be deployed when she is born.)
The boys were given a gift which they opened to find pink booties and pink hair bows. Elijah yelled "I knew it was a girl!!" and Ammon smiled. They are very excited! They did protest a little when I broke the news that they may have to watch girl movies now every once in a while..("What?!! Why would we EVER watch girl movies?") Elijah has been a crack up. Before we knew what the sex of the baby was Elijah told me "If it's another boy I am going to freak out!!" He saves anything pink and tells me it's for "the sister". He was given a unicorn pencil at school, which was too girlie for him so he asked me to put it away for our sister. When picking out blanket fabric for the baby Elijah begged me to choose the one that had all the princesses on it. Patrick is still young enough not to fully understand. He just enjoys the comfort of using my huge belly as a pillow. I have shown him my bare belly when the baby is moving and he pulls my shirt down and says "close it mommy" then lays down again on my stomach. It is neat to see their acceptance and love for their sister.
I now am still adjusting to the idea, and won't believe it until she is in my arms. Choosing a name feels 100 times harder because it's the only girl name we will pick so it has to be the right one!
Most of all when I pray at night I echo the same prayers I have for my boys with a slight variation. I pray that she can be a girl, then a woman with a strong purpose of self, knowing that she is a treasured daughter of God. I want her to know that while many in this world de-value womanhood, motherhood and purity I want her to know of her divine worth. This is my prayer for my daughter!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Called to Serve...How we can help!
I have been feeling sick lately so I have actually had time to check out everybody's blogs and facebook pages! It's so fun to see where everyone is in their lives and what cool things they are doing now. I just finished reading the January issue of the Ensign. Here is something that I thought was really awesome (found in the back under news of the Church)
"The church(LDS) sent more than 1.4 million pounds of Atmit-special food for the severely malnourished-to drought stricken Ethiopia in late 2008.
At least 14 million Ethiopians were in need of assistance. While the crisis stemmed from a drought that destroyed the entire spring crop in some places, the country has also dealt with high food prices, a number of disasters, and a rebellion in the Somali region that disrupted food delivary.
Remembering the aid the Church provided during the 2003 famine, government officials in Ethiopia requested help. The Church sent more than 30 containers of Atmit....Atmit is a mixture of oat flour, powdered milk, sugar, salt, vitamins, and minerals that is mixed with water and cooking oil and has been proven to be a successful resource for feeding the serverly malnourished."
Here is a short clip from a seperate article about the measures to create fresh clean water sources
"The Church's clean water initiative is providing remote communities like Makueni (Kenya) with hand-pump wells to reduce water-borne diseases. But by allowing villagers to spend less time fetching water, the wells also enable families to spend more time together and children to attend school more frequently.
With an estimated 23 projects in progress for 2008, the clean water initiative continues to touch hundreds of thousands of lives. Since 2002 the projects have provided more than four million poeple in 50 countries with access to clean water."
Wow! I am so impressed with the good that we can do in the world. There were many other articles about how the church has been helping with natural disasters right here in the U.S. Often times we get boggled down by all the negative towards one another. Yet with these kinds of efforts, and so many more done by the LDS church and it's members, plus all the good that other Christian faiths are doing, there is so much to be hopeful for! I want to take the boys on a tour of the Humanitarian Aid Building in SLC where they can all the food, and bundle all the clothing that gets shipped out. I think it would be cool for them to see! It is amazing the quantities of food that is being sent all over the world, or to local bishop storehouses!
I often wish I could take a summer off and head to South America, Africa or where ever and assist in these efforts. But as a mom it is not my time- every thing has a season. So I must be content with my donations in tithes, humanitarian aid and fast offerings for the time being! But I truly am looking forward to the time when Jeff and I can join hands as couple missionaries and serve where ever the Lord sends us!
Have a happy day!
"The church(LDS) sent more than 1.4 million pounds of Atmit-special food for the severely malnourished-to drought stricken Ethiopia in late 2008.
At least 14 million Ethiopians were in need of assistance. While the crisis stemmed from a drought that destroyed the entire spring crop in some places, the country has also dealt with high food prices, a number of disasters, and a rebellion in the Somali region that disrupted food delivary.
Remembering the aid the Church provided during the 2003 famine, government officials in Ethiopia requested help. The Church sent more than 30 containers of Atmit....Atmit is a mixture of oat flour, powdered milk, sugar, salt, vitamins, and minerals that is mixed with water and cooking oil and has been proven to be a successful resource for feeding the serverly malnourished."
Here is a short clip from a seperate article about the measures to create fresh clean water sources
"The Church's clean water initiative is providing remote communities like Makueni (Kenya) with hand-pump wells to reduce water-borne diseases. But by allowing villagers to spend less time fetching water, the wells also enable families to spend more time together and children to attend school more frequently.
With an estimated 23 projects in progress for 2008, the clean water initiative continues to touch hundreds of thousands of lives. Since 2002 the projects have provided more than four million poeple in 50 countries with access to clean water."
Wow! I am so impressed with the good that we can do in the world. There were many other articles about how the church has been helping with natural disasters right here in the U.S. Often times we get boggled down by all the negative towards one another. Yet with these kinds of efforts, and so many more done by the LDS church and it's members, plus all the good that other Christian faiths are doing, there is so much to be hopeful for! I want to take the boys on a tour of the Humanitarian Aid Building in SLC where they can all the food, and bundle all the clothing that gets shipped out. I think it would be cool for them to see! It is amazing the quantities of food that is being sent all over the world, or to local bishop storehouses!
I often wish I could take a summer off and head to South America, Africa or where ever and assist in these efforts. But as a mom it is not my time- every thing has a season. So I must be content with my donations in tithes, humanitarian aid and fast offerings for the time being! But I truly am looking forward to the time when Jeff and I can join hands as couple missionaries and serve where ever the Lord sends us!
Have a happy day!
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