The Beginning

At the start of my Personal Progress journey I had a lot of questions. I didn't know where to start, or how to go about the process. In the booklet that you get when you start the program its starts by saying that you need to read the Book of Mormon daily. My husband and I do that regularly but I don't think that just reading will give me the most out of it. I wanted to really study it. But how?

How do you study scriptures and get as much out of it as possible?

Honestly, I had no clue. There are a million ways to study the scriptures but which one is the best way? With that I thought my Personal progress was finished before it started.

I was lost. I still read every night with my husband. We have these great scriptures that were gifted to us when we were married. They have definitions and insights and even questions for you to ponder on. I still never thought that was enough. Then one Sunday my father in law was visiting and he asked me to go to a class that our bishop was holding. I said I would go and take notes for him since he would be back in Arizona.

This class was on Personal Scripture Study, and I am so glad I went. I had the most valuable and amazing experience there. He first has us read a list of sayings from past conference talks and had us mark the "hows" and "whys" of studying the scriptures. At first it was a normal lesson until he asked "What is it your looking for when you open your scriptures?"

He talked about ASL

ASK...ask questions that are in your heart

SEARCH...study, "feast" the scriptures

LISTEN

He had us ask one or two questions on our hearts. Then he had us turn to section 7 of D&C and we were reminded that we need to have a desire in order for ASL to work.

Then it was on to section 8:2 " Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart."

This verse taught us the two ways that Heavenly Father teaches us: mind through our thoughts and heart through our minds.

Then we silently read section 8. He had us replace (cross out) Oliver Cowdery's name with our own and man that made a big impact to me. Then he asked us to pick the word, phrase, or verse that stood out to us.

Mine was verse 8 " Therefore, doubt not, for it is the gift of God; and you shall hold it in your hands, and do marvelous works; and no power shall be able to take it away out of your hands, for it is the work of God."

I came into this not thinking it was for me. I was there to take notes for my father in law. I was wrong.

The questions I asked were what I should be doing with my life and how I could be more active. Like I said before I have felt lost. Until I read that.

That night I learned what my gift was; my testimony.

And I plan on using my gift to do marvelous works. 

For sometime now I toyed with the idea of graduating from institute and becoming a seminary or institute teacher. Never really thought it was option number one for me but it was a small option. So that's what I am meant to do. I no longer feel lost and I have purpose.

So I ask you ,

What is your gift?

Links:Personal Testimony

Learn more about my religion.

Learning from the Youth

Recently in my life I've been needing something to work towards. I graduated from college so that part of my life is over. I have a child now so I cannot do things that are 1. expensive or 2. dangerous. I have already found the love of my life so I am not searching for love. What do I do next?

Well before I tell you what I have chosen to do I want to give you all some information. In my church there is a program called Young Women. It is for young ladies from ages 12-17. The goal of the program is to help young women "grow in their testimonies of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the restored gospel." Within the young women's program they do what is called Personal Progress. Personal Progress helps each young woman who participates develop daily righteous routines and holy habits.

That leads me to what I plan on doing. Personal Progress. I joined the church when i was 20. I never went to young women, I was to old. Now I am almost 27, I have a child and have been married for over 5 years now. I am far from being a young woman. But I want to take this journey.

Why you might ask? You can never get to close to Heavenly Father. I want to know what they are learning about themselves, I want to know what they are learning about Heavenly Father. I want to know the fullness of the Gospel. I am going to document my Personal progress here and in my personal journal. 

If you have any tips or websites that I should be aware of please let me know! Also if you have any questions about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints please go to https://www.mormon.org/.

It's Been Awhile

I know, Its been a long time.

I got your hopes up, made a schedule, and promised that it wouldn't happen again.

Sorry,but not really. 

Since I've been gone here is what has happened:

I started school again. I am an intern at Wasatch Mental Health working with the homeless.

Mitch has started a new job at home. He is also in the final semester at BYU.

Will is the one that changed the most. He is one now. His birthday was "Oh the places you'll go" themed. He is walking all around our house and screeches as much as he can.

This is a short Blog but I will be back.

Our Routine

So some new moms may have a hard time getting their little ones on a schedule. I know I am.

I don't want Will to get in the habit of snacking all the time. At first I didn't want to be on a feeding schedule, I wanted to be that mom that would feed on demand. Turns out that was a bad call on my part. He loves to snack and that's not easy on me. I want to get things done and not worry about how much he just ate and guess when he will be hungry again. 

 What I want to touch on in this post is what I am doing as our schedule. If you know anything that could help or what works for you please let me know in the comments!

Here we go:

8 am: Is when we wake up. If he is already awake he stays in his bed until 8. then I get him up and dressed into a daytime onesie. Then it is time to eat.

9 am: That's when I stop feeding him if he doesn't finish his bottle. This is also the time that I let him "play". He isn't quite old enough to actually play but he does tummy time and "kickie" time. He has a play mat that has a piano at the feet end that he loves to kick.

10:30 am: Feeding number 2 of the day. Also the start of nap/quite time. if he doesn't fall asleep right away I'll usually ready a book while he just hangs out on my lap. 

11:30 am: Now this is when I actually start getting him to go to sleep. I will usually rock him and give him his pacifier. 

1 pm: Lunch time! I'll get him up and feed him for the third time. 

2 pm: Again I will usually stop feeding him. He is a slow eater and/or usually falls asleep while eating. I'm not to sure how to handle that.

3:30 pm: Feeding time number 4. This is his hard time to wait for a bottle. This is also his 2nd nap if he actually takes it.

6 pm: Daddy gets home for this feeding. It helps that he feeds him from the time he gets home at night till he leaves for work in the morning. Then I have time to make dinner and do other things like write on my blog or edit a video. 

7 pm: It's play time with daddy! he loves to play and laugh with dad.

8 pm: Bath time! As much as he loves his bath he doesn't do much so they don't last longer than 5 minutes. 

8:30 pm: This is what I call the last feeding of that day. He still eats more but I am not awake for them. It is also bed time so when he falls asleep eating we put him to bed.

3 am: Night time feeding. We don't change his diaper at night if we don't have to. Will is not the one to poop while sleeping. It wakes him up if we change it.

So that's it. If you would like to see more of the daily happenings check out our family vlog! 

Why Being a New Mom Is the Best Job Ever

Some women wonder why in the world other women would want to be a mom. Why would we put our bodies through such a dramatic change with weight gain and stretch marks included. Why would we want to care for a screaming tiny human.

The love I have for this child is beyond any other love I have felt before. You might be wondering "what about Mitch?" It's a different kind of love.

This isn't sleep deprivation talking. I am being honest. I love being a mom.
As I look at him in his most peaceful state I realize that this is what I've always wanted.I want someone to be 100% dependent on me.


I wrote that about three months ago. Man oh man I had no clue.
I had no clue that this amazing little baby would cause me so much hardship.
I was in bliss, or sleep deprivation more like it.
I of course love William more than anything but now i know the struggles that I am facing.
I still have a ton to learn but i am more aware of how hard it is to be a mom. Even at the moment of me writing this I have a wriggly baby in my lap trying to shove his whole fist in his mouth.

I still wouldn't trade it for the world. I love my seemingly constant crier. His gummy grin makes all the hard times melt away in an instant.

Now the title of this post is " Why Being a New Mom Is the Best Job Ever" and here is why:
1. They don't know of anyone more important. Yes there will be times where they won't let you put them down, no matter what you are doing. But in their eyes you are their number one.  You are the one they can rely on 100% of the time, even those times that you want to give up.
2. It's in our biology. Literally females are biologically made to be mothers. Wither you you think you are good with kids or not you are meant to have offspring. Your DNA says so. Motherly instincts are connected with that.
3. There is no other Joy. After hours of playing the game of "oh good you're asleep now I can put you down and do things, just to have them wake up screaming 10 minuets later" game you would think it's time to give up. And you're right, it is time to give up, time to give up trying to get anything done and just sit there holding your little one while they sleep. The peace it will bring to your heart will last you long enough to get you through the rest of the day.
4.You finally learn that life really shouldn't be taken for granted. There are so many worries and scary times as a new mom. If my husband could earn a dollar for the times I've asked him "Is he breathing?" we would be living comfortably.But once you know that they are okay just the way they are you tend to thank your higher being much more for the life that has been entrusted to you.
5. Finally, You learn what real love and sacrifice is. I don't mean motherly love I mean love from your family and friends. You learn Christ like love. My husband works full time, goes to school part time, and then comes home and takes care of Will. He gets up with him in the middle of the night to feed him, he stays up with him until he falls asleep, when he gets home form work he takes him from me so I can have a break. If thats not love I don't know what is.

Thats it for now. Please visit our family vlog to see the (almost) day to day happenings

Bumpdate???

So week 39 and 40 didn't really happen.

I never made it to week 40, but here is what happened in week 39...

I had my doctors appointment on Monday and got checked.

I was the same. Which was super frustrating because like I've said before I was in so much pain and discomfort and it felt like it was for nothing. 

Tuesday was my last day of work but I honestly thought I could have stayed a bit longer because I figured I wouldn't have the baby until I was 42 weeks or something.

Mitch and I were both preparing for another two weeks of pregnancy. As discouraged as I was, Mitch was still keeping things positive. He would comfort me as I rocked in my glider, crying because all I wanted to do was hold my baby. 

As far as how I felt, I was okay. Pains had actually lightened up, which verified to me that I was going to have this baby later then wanted. I wasn't swelling as much any more because it had started to cool off. So all in all I was great. It was all the calm before the storm... but thats another post.

Will was doing great. It seemed that he was very comfortable in mommy. I would feel him every morning around 8 and then mid day he would get the hiccups and then at night he would move right after dinner. It was a comforting feeling.

Mitch was doing great. He was excited but patient at the same time. He just wanted everyone to feel happy and healthy. He had started a new position at work that came with a much needed pay raise. But other then being my personal driver everywhere he was just living everyday life.

Thats all for what was week 39.
If you want to know about the birth story just follow the link.

Pretty soon Mitch and I will be starting a new project that we are so excited for so be sure to look out for that!

Birth Story

August 21,2015  10:30 pm

Mitch and I had just started to get ready for bed. I was laying there a I felt the weirdest "kick". It felt like a water balloon had been popped but no water was present, while I was laying down that is. I got up to use the restroom and as soon as I did a bunch of liquid came out. My water had broken.

Side note: (TMI for some but its important) My mucus plug had slowly been coming out all day but I had read (a no no) that it would mean that I had a couple days till I went into labor.   

I looked at Mitch and told him my water broke. He was full of excitement and surprise with a hint of denial. He felt like he needed to get me to the hospital asap, but I told him that the baby wouldn't come in the next 15 minutes so there was no need to rush. I wanted to not feel stress and he understood. 

By the time we got to the hospital I wasn't feeling any really bad contractions so I felt good enough to walk into labor and delivery with Mitch. The contractions were so small that they just felt like period cramps. 

Once they got me into our delivery room they did a test to make sure that it was my water that broke and not just that I peed myself (it happens), and of course it was my water. 

Now I will say it, I am and never will be superwoman. Why would I put myself through pain to show how strong I am? I think just the fact that I can push a human being out of me is a pretty good sign of strength. That being said, after I was checked how far along I was (3cm 75% effaced), I asked for an epidural. 

The epidural wasn't bad at all. It just felt pressure for a mere second. After the epidural they were checking me again so they laid me flat, which wasn't a good idea. My blood pressure went up more then I needed it too. I got really nauseous and had thrown up. This put a little bit of stress on the baby but once they sat me up everything was fine. 

As much as I am thankful from the pain relief that the epidural gave me I hated not being able to feel ANYTHING. My right leg was 100%  numb but I could still slightly feel my left. I hated it. It was embarrassing not being able to move it . They had to move me from side to side every hour and a half or something and when they would move me and I would lay there spread eagle not being able to move. 

So after a while they gave me pitocin, a drug that gives you contractions to get you to dilate more. After that it was awaiting game. I watched like 3 episodes of I Love Lucy, and Mitch slept. At about 5 am they checked me and I was at an 8. about half an hour later I started to push. 

I pushed about 8-10 times and our little one was in the world. 

Our Sweet William Ezra

born 8/22/2015 at 6:19 am

Weight: 6 Lbs 11 Oz

Height: 18 inches (with a cone head)

We could not be happier!

Thank you for reading!