Life is Good

The title of today's post comes from my dad. I have spoken with him a lot lately and every time I ask him how he is his response is everything going on and then, "Life is good". I think this is extremely fitting. Leo and I have been blessed beyond contemplation as I think of the choices that we have made, the people who have blessed us and the situations we have been fortunate enough to come through.

There is much joy in knowing that there is a person who loves you unconditionally and completely with a selfless heart. Leo does amazing things as he goes to school, studies, cooks dinner and for most of this pregnancy has taken it upon himself to do the dishes. He still manages to find time to spend with me and is cheerful even though he is being pulled in 30 different directions at once. In the midst of all this he even offered to do the laundry as well and during his week off, he cleaned our house. He pretty much rocks! There is so much joy and love in our home and we have been extremely blessed with a happy marriage and patience and understanding with one another at this time, though I am sure more him than me. I don't have to try to be patient with Leo, it is easy.

It is an honor to work with an organization that I can support. CARE focuses on helping the community and developing humanity within our neighborhood. The organization's head is loving and kind and goes about 3000 miles an hour. Running the food bank, the Santa shop, pediatric clinic, dental clinic, and after school program may seem like a huge enough feat, but she is still searching for ways to bring resources to her community. It is a privilege being a part of this organization and they have been so good working with me during this pregnancy.

This brings me to Baxter. Baxter is our baby. He is being named after my mom's parents who were strong, kind, faithful people. He started kicking 2 weeks ago and it is so much fun feeling him squirm in there and feel him getting bigger. Sometimes yes, I can get emotional, but I have been extremely blessed with an amazingly supportive husband who never complains and is never grumpy! Baxter is developing nicely and at his last ultrasound was in the 77% for size. This is not super news for delivery, but I am thrilled that he is healthy. Baxter loves daddy's voice and kicks when Leo stops singing or talking. Baxter also loves when daddy reads the scriptures to him or any of our other stories we read. Baxter loves upbeat music!

Preparing to become parents has been a lot of fun but a little stressful at times as we contemplate our financial obligations. We have been supported through our trials and relief has come when we didn't see a solution. This is a great blessing from our Heavenly Father who will not let us fail as long as we are trying our best. I am thankful for parents who taught me that the Lord will never forsake us, a husband who is faithful to his testimony and friends who listen to the Spirit and come to our aid to buoy up our spirits.

I have been extremely humbled and thankful as I look back on our year, the people we have met, the opportunities that have been made available and the closeness that Leo and I enjoy. Yes dear friends, Life IS good!

Thoughts on Pregnancy

At 10 weeks pregnant I am feeling somewhat tired and a little nauseated. I miss eating what I want to eat without fear of this child's retribution. I miss being comfortable and having a desire to do things. I will say I am not nearly as hormonal as I thought I would be, I think I am actually fairly tame, other than crying a little bit more but at least I am not a shrew!

I love checking websites for the latest developments and think it is amazing that a bit of me and a bit of Leo have come together to make an earthly body for this little spirit. Women who have been pregnant before have brought me joy by offering their advice and small insights. It is fun to hear about the differences in pregnancies. I have been thinking about the earthly discomforts of carrying a child and have to say that as far as pregnancies go, mine hasn't been bad. I figure that as we are bringing one of God's children in the world, we should be becoming better people, taking time to look at what we want our children to grow up believeing and being surrounded by. We think about how to create the best possible world for our family, this takes effort and growth. Growth takes time and stepping out of your comfort zone, as this is such a monumental event, why should it be any different. It is a blessing and a privilege to do what is necessary to welcome a perfect spirit to our home.

I do rather enjoy being pregnant all around. I love the differences my body is going through and how connected I feel to this unborn child. I love the increase of love and joy in our home as we are preparing for becoming parents. I love the conversations Leo and I have about what we feel is important and how we will teach our children and the roles each of us have. I love having Leo tease me about names he wants to use and putting his hand on my stomach and talking to the baby. Nicole told me that pregnancy is a spiritual experience and I love it!

Am I Alone on This?

Is anybody else concerned with the world we live in? I hear vulgarity everyday, I see borderline porn in commercials and on billboards around my house. On TV men are constantly undermining women or objectifying them. There are jokes and scenarios that undermine or criticize marriage and families. I AM TIRED OF IT! I am starting to get extremely vocal with those around me about their language and off-color jokes, not in a rude way mind you, but letting them know that I don't like that language. Leo and I turned the cable off. I emailed the company with the billboards, you know what happened? THEY PUT UP MORE!

I have spoken with several friends of different backgrounds and religions who have similar concerns with the direction the world is going. I don't want to be difficult, I want everyone to get along, everyone has rights. Thats fair. I have rights too! Stop encroaching on them! It is my right to live my life and walk on campus without hearing 4-letter words or having cigarrette smoke blown in my face. I have a right to drive to work or to run errands without being accosted by billboards of half naked men and women with strategically placed fabric on them. I have a right to come home after a long day and NOT have cigarette smoke coming through the vents into our unit. I am done sitting idly by while the world criticizes and mocks marriage, family and purity. I will no longer welcome the smut that is being fed as "appropriate". I will have the courage to turn off TV or radio shows that are not uplifting. I have a reason to stand up for marriage and familyto be treated with respect. I have a responsiblity to change the world if I do not like where it is headed. This is long overdue!

The time has come for us to decide where we stand and fight for the right, the good, and the edifying. It is time to make our voices heard and start seeing that the media and regulations coming into force that reflect our standards and stop settling for mediocrity! I have found my voice. Have you found yours?

My oh My

Hey all! So today leo and I played rock band. It was delightful! Usually I am on the drums because I am the best at it, this doesn't say much as I am still TERRIBLE! Today, however, Leo let me play the guitar and he sang. Now I am ok at the guitar, not as good as Leo, but better than I am on the drums, and Leo sang. He is amazing at it! We had so much fun learning new songs and hearing songs from Alannis that we haven't heard for a good decade.

Leo is still playing, he just invented a new band called Me&Me2. The two bandmembers look exactly alike. Quite the gimmick I know, that's my husband for you, one jump ahead of the lawman. He looks so cute with his barefeet, baggy pants, guitar in his arms, mic down his shirt and booty shaking as he belts out "Eye of the Tiger". I love my life! P.S. I also made sweet potatoe pie today. I make a killer one that everyone should get a chance to eat sometime. Send me a self addressed prepaid box and cooler, and one can be yours in 3-5 business days!

Our Anniversary

So looking at this loverly blog of ours, I realized that I didn't write anything about Leo and my anniversary, so I will be covering some of that tonight. Leo surprised me with a trip down to Branson, MO. It was loverly going to where tere are hills that you can't see over when you miss the mountains. We stayed at a really nice hotel, the Radisson I believe, it was GORGEOUS! It was fun to walk around at night and watch everyone, the traffic was attrocious though! We went and got sushi our first night there, it was served in a wooden boat, they called this the Love Boat Special. The next day we ventured to an AMAZING restaraunt called the Outback Oyster Bar and Pub. We had lobster tail, the first time in my life, alligator tail, venison, quail, and lamb chops. Not gonna lie, best food I think I may have ever tasted!

We went to a polynesian dance show and bought lava lavas and a flower for my hair. On the way home the next day we stopped at Lambert's the home of the flying rolls. It actually was pretty cool. Someone stands in the corner throwing rolls across the entire room and if you want one, you catch it, and it is really hot. Another server comes around with warm molasses to put on them if you want. You order your main dish which is served in a huge skillet and your drink is in a 48 oz mug. More servers walk around with collard greens, black eyed peas, roasted potatoes, macaroni and cheese, green beans and any other side dish you could imagine and you just dish up what you want. A very fun experience, but you wait for 90-120 minutes for the food. There are however giant checkerboards to play on out in the parking lot and tons of interesting people to talk to.

When we got home, Leo presented me with my present which was a gorgeous pearl necklace that is chocolate, sage, beige, cream, and light pink. It is absolutely breathtaking. I gave Leo a book called, Leonardo The Terrible Monster and a picture that I commissioned to be done of one of his favorite pictures of us.

Anywho, thats what we did, sorry for the late notice. I hope you had fun reading this and get ideas for your own anniversaries. Maybe I should open a bed and breakfast...

What? They're Real.

Hi everyone! I hope that you are having fun!! I am going to blog about nothing right now and there most likely will be a quiz afterwards, so please pay close attention. I would hate for you to get nothing on a test about nothing.

There is a plate next to me with crumbs on it, I believe from Leo's cheese and tomato sandwich. I love the game Little Big Planet. I am a little addicted to my cute little sockman, Leo says she looks like a naked molerat. This hurt her feelings, so I put a bow on her head. That diet coke that you are about to drink is flat, but when it had carbonation, it was really yummy on vanilla ice cream. Why in heaven's name is my lamp crooked? It looks like a knee that has been broken backwards at the, well, knee.

I don't know quite how I feel about Glee. I LOVE that the actors burst into song at least 3 times during the course of the show. But I am a little bugged that the pilot was so delightfully wonderful and then in the 3 subsequent shows a boy has come out of the closet, a girl cheated on her boyfriend, got pregnant, and then informed her boyfriend that he was the father when he never actually slept with her, but he is too stupid to realize that, and a washed out, crazy insane drunk has come and convinced the teens to drink in the morning, steal from a grocery store and tries to seduce the high school boys. That was a REHEHEALLY long run on sentence.

Don't even get me started on the stinking brats on Wizards of Waverley Place and Hannah Montanh. If I had daughters, they would not be allowed to watch these sneaky, conniving, mean teenagers who make bad choices, insult their family and friends, want the world to revolve around them and then all of a sudden everything seems to work itsself out with no one making up for their stupidity.

My TV is big and I love watching shows on it, but usually not the Disney channel. I do however LOVE Phineas and Ferb! I also enjoy watching Community and Grey's Anatomy.

There is a red shirt thrown haphazardly across the arm of the couch. Who left the ketchup out? Oh that was me. Good day. I SAID GOOD DAY!

Men Are Silly

Remember the Scrubs where Carla and Turk get into an argument because Turk doesn't know what Carla means when she makes a comment about dating, and Carla tries to explain what she meant and that Turk should know what she meant despite what she said. Later in the episode Turk says something that he shouldn't and Carla tells him, "I knew what you needed even though you didn't come right out and tell me."

That is how I have felt in my life somewhat. I sometimes feel like I am more intuitive than my male counter parts. Now to be fair, how is anyone supposed to know what isn't told to them? Also, let's be honest, sometimes the breasts get in the way. It's distracting! In my effort to be fair to the male species, I have tried to give them the benefit of the doubt and just be more vocal about what I think, desire, or need.

Ok, so here is the deal. I am trying to be more supportive and excited about all of the things that Leo needs and is trying to accomplish. Last night when we were tryinng to get ready for prayer, a small (seriously small) and lighthearted argument broke out. Somehow all of a sudden Leo tells me not to be grumpy. I explain to him that I am not grumpy, I am a little irritated and I feel that that the argument was not really an argument. I broke down my areas of irritation into three (3) parts telling Leo EXACTLY what was irritaiting me. After a few minutes, Leo says again, "Don't be grumpy with me." I asked him if he knew what I was irritated about and he informed me that "I really don't. What's botherinng you?" We just broke out laughing. We seriously laughed for 5 minutes straight. Leo still had no idea what was bothering me, that bothered me a little, but then I just went with it and enjoyed the fact that really, we are building memories and we have a choice which memories are going to be cherished and those we wish we could forget. I want to remember that as a moment that I realized one of the differences between men and women and thoroughly enjoyed the evening with the person I love most on this entire planet, my dear sweet eternal husband.

I am sharing this as a fun little antecdote. I told Leo that I was posting this, so hopefully he enjoys the laugh with me. Let us all remember that men and women are different and it is SUPPOSED to be that way. We can either fight it and be grumpy or embrace it and jump in the joy.