Recently I was listening to the song Let Us All Press On and I was struck by the line in the chorus, "Fear not, though the enemy deride." It reminded me of 3 Nephi 9:2: "For the devil laugheth."
Specifically, the line reminded me how Satan enjoys making us miserable by counterfeiting the Holy Ghost.
Like most moms, I often feel like I don't know what I'm doing. A message I sometimes get from the Holy Ghost is, "You know, you've been a little hard on your kids lately. You should spend more quality time with them and give them some grace." The message I get from Satan is, "You are really messing this up. Your kids are going to be scarred for life because you are completely messing them up by doing such a terrible job." When I worry it can be hard to remember how to distinguish between those two messages. The difference is that the Holy Ghost's influence is a loving reminder that motivates me to change, whereas Satan's influence fills me with despair and strips away my confidence so that I struggle even more. This is why the line, "though the enemy deride," really stuck out to me this time. I know that the devil really wants me to fail and that he will attack our family and try to bring us all down. But I also know that God has given me the resources I need to raise these children, and he's not going to let me fail if I do my best. I know enough. (I was just looking over that blog post again and I had to laugh out loud, because although I was aware that motherhood was going to have its challenges, I can see now that I had no idea what I was getting into!)
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Utah 2014: Day 7
On the 7th, we decided to go see the Willow Park Zoo in Logan. It's a nice little zoo and admission for adults is only $2.50! We especially enjoyed feeding the ducks. You could get duck food for a dime, so we bought a couple of handfuls, but then we just told the kids to pick up all the duck food that was already all over the ground, and they were able to get quite a lot that way. We must really be cheapskates to not even fork over a dime for a handful of duck food, but we figured we might as well use what was on the ground. Kevin liked to throw entire handfuls into the water at once and see the ducks go crazy trying to get the food. We got a video of the maniacal laugh he gave every time he did it (see below). It was also fun to see the mama peacocks (i.e. peahens) with their babies (the peachicks, but we thought it was funnier to call them chickpeas).
We were feeling pretty hot after walking around the zoo, so we decided to try to find the Wendy's where Kira works and get some frosties. We found the right one and luckily she was in the front, so it was exciting to see her again.
We were feeling pretty hot after walking around the zoo, so we decided to try to find the Wendy's where Kira works and get some frosties. We found the right one and luckily she was in the front, so it was exciting to see her again.
Utah 2014: Day 6
On Day 5 we had family pictures taken. I haven't seen them yet, but hopefully there are some good ones.
By the evening of the second day I was starting to have a sore throat. At first I figured that it was because I was a little tired, but it was getting worse by the end of July 3rd. Ryan said is was probably because of the dry climate and it would probably help to drink more water, so I made an effort to drink a lot of water even though it hurt. I was probably drinking 80 ounces a day, but with no improvement. Ibuprofen barely helped. It hurt to move my head and I couldn't open my mouth very wide. Finally I woke up early on Sunday morning in a lot of pain and said a prayer asking to be healed. I was really frustrated that I had been dealing with this pain for most of the time with my family. I started wondering if I should go to Urgent Care. I googled my symptoms and concluded that they would probably just say, "Yep, you have a sore throat," and send me home. Then as I thought more about it I realized that it was my left lymph node on my throat that was swollen and sore, not my throat. Dr. Google said that could be a symptom of allergies, so Ryan handed me some suphedrine that he had brought and suggested I try that. I took one and also asked him and my dad to give me a priesthood blessing. A few hours later during sacrament meeting I realized that I was feeling a LOT better, and immediately the Spirit witnessed to me that this was because I had sought God's help through prayer and the priesthood. The interesting thing is that Ryan wasn't planning to bring the suphedrine, but when he was packing he had a feeling that he should leave it in his bag. I was able to keep the symptoms at bay by taking suphedrine sometimes over the next few days until eventually I didn't need it anymore. I was very grateful that I was able to be healed and fully enjoy the time with our families.
Kevin went to primary with my sister Ellen and did pretty well. Heidi was tired and ended up staying with Ryan for most of Sunday School and Priesthood. Ryan said the teacher in Priesthood gave a history lesson about the Boston Tea Party instead of talking about the gospel, so that was odd. The Relief Society lesson was great, though. We talked about what would be included in a happy pill, based on 2 Nephi 5.
In the evening we had family home evening and wrote letters to my sister Michelle, who is serving as a missionary right now.
By the evening of the second day I was starting to have a sore throat. At first I figured that it was because I was a little tired, but it was getting worse by the end of July 3rd. Ryan said is was probably because of the dry climate and it would probably help to drink more water, so I made an effort to drink a lot of water even though it hurt. I was probably drinking 80 ounces a day, but with no improvement. Ibuprofen barely helped. It hurt to move my head and I couldn't open my mouth very wide. Finally I woke up early on Sunday morning in a lot of pain and said a prayer asking to be healed. I was really frustrated that I had been dealing with this pain for most of the time with my family. I started wondering if I should go to Urgent Care. I googled my symptoms and concluded that they would probably just say, "Yep, you have a sore throat," and send me home. Then as I thought more about it I realized that it was my left lymph node on my throat that was swollen and sore, not my throat. Dr. Google said that could be a symptom of allergies, so Ryan handed me some suphedrine that he had brought and suggested I try that. I took one and also asked him and my dad to give me a priesthood blessing. A few hours later during sacrament meeting I realized that I was feeling a LOT better, and immediately the Spirit witnessed to me that this was because I had sought God's help through prayer and the priesthood. The interesting thing is that Ryan wasn't planning to bring the suphedrine, but when he was packing he had a feeling that he should leave it in his bag. I was able to keep the symptoms at bay by taking suphedrine sometimes over the next few days until eventually I didn't need it anymore. I was very grateful that I was able to be healed and fully enjoy the time with our families.
Kevin went to primary with my sister Ellen and did pretty well. Heidi was tired and ended up staying with Ryan for most of Sunday School and Priesthood. Ryan said the teacher in Priesthood gave a history lesson about the Boston Tea Party instead of talking about the gospel, so that was odd. The Relief Society lesson was great, though. We talked about what would be included in a happy pill, based on 2 Nephi 5.
In the evening we had family home evening and wrote letters to my sister Michelle, who is serving as a missionary right now.
Utah 2014: July 4th
On the 4th of July we went to the Golden Spike monument. We got to see them drive the trains out and then look up close at the trains, and then they did a reenactment of the day the Union and Central Pacific railroads joined at Promontory Summit. Some of the regular volunteers were not there that day, so my dad got recruited to play the role of the Reverend Dr. Todd and read the dedicatory prayer. He had a great voice for the part. Ryan played the part of the mayor of Ogden (he just had to stand up when the master of ceremonies acknowledged him). He was sitting on a bench with my sisters, my mom, and me, so when he stood up the master of ceremonies joked, "Are these all of your wives, Mr. Mayor?" (You can read the reenactment script here.)
My mom found the matching shirts that some of us wore for the fourth of July when we were little and thought it would be fun if Ellen, Kevin, and Heidi wore them.
In the evening Ryan put on a little fireworks show. We let Kevin stay up to see it, and he did a good job of listening and being safe. We did a lot of sparklers and Ryan set up a lot of bigger fireworks, so we had a good time. As we were running out of fireworks, the neighbors down the street started setting fireworks off. We weren't too pleased when one of their Roman Candles went out of control and shot down the street in our direction. Thankfully it stopped before hitting the next door neighbors' house.
In the evening Ryan put on a little fireworks show. We let Kevin stay up to see it, and he did a good job of listening and being safe. We did a lot of sparklers and Ryan set up a lot of bigger fireworks, so we had a good time. As we were running out of fireworks, the neighbors down the street started setting fireworks off. We weren't too pleased when one of their Roman Candles went out of control and shot down the street in our direction. Thankfully it stopped before hitting the next door neighbors' house.
Utah 2014: Day 2
Ian and Ellen were very kind to share their rooms with Kevin and Heidi. The kids generally did pretty well with the sleeping arrangements, although Heidi cried every time we tried to get her to take a nap (and fell asleep eventually most days).
Kira came back and spent the entire day with us, which was great. She and I are about the same age and we have always been good friends, so it was great to catch up and do a lot of chatting. I think this was the first time we had seen each other since I got married.
Ryan, Kira, Ann Marie, and I went to Walmart to get some fireworks and a pacifier clip (Ann Marie's favorite fell on the floor five minutes into the first airplane flight, and I decided right then that I was going to get a clip to try to prevent that happening again). Then we went to Smith's to compare prices for fireworks and get some fruit and milk. Ryan bought a variety of fireworks.
Kira made some amazing bread bowls to go with the cheeseburger soup my mom was making for dinner. It was really yummy. I think it was during this dinner that Kevin came in crying because he got stung by some wasps, which was pretty sad. There was a wasp nest in one of the swings on the swing set, but my dad took care of it that night.
Heidi is about 80% potty trained. Sometimes she did really great, and other times there would be a lot of tears because she didn't want to use somebody else's toilet, so sometimes there were interesting problems.
The order of when things happened is a little fuzzy now. I think Melissa arrived late on the 2nd. Mom threw a birthday party for Kevin and Heidi at some point. We had dinner with my grandparents on the 3rd. It was really nice to get to see them and talk for a while. Kevin and Heidi had a good time playing with the dance costumes (which was one of my favorite things to do at Grandma's house when I was little). Kevin came upstairs in some sparkly pink clothes and informed us that he was a princess, so we told him he looked very handsome (which was true). At some point during the week Ellen and Heidi helped me fill up water balloons and the kids had a water fight, which was fun.
Kira came back and spent the entire day with us, which was great. She and I are about the same age and we have always been good friends, so it was great to catch up and do a lot of chatting. I think this was the first time we had seen each other since I got married.
Ryan, Kira, Ann Marie, and I went to Walmart to get some fireworks and a pacifier clip (Ann Marie's favorite fell on the floor five minutes into the first airplane flight, and I decided right then that I was going to get a clip to try to prevent that happening again). Then we went to Smith's to compare prices for fireworks and get some fruit and milk. Ryan bought a variety of fireworks.
Kira made some amazing bread bowls to go with the cheeseburger soup my mom was making for dinner. It was really yummy. I think it was during this dinner that Kevin came in crying because he got stung by some wasps, which was pretty sad. There was a wasp nest in one of the swings on the swing set, but my dad took care of it that night.
Heidi is about 80% potty trained. Sometimes she did really great, and other times there would be a lot of tears because she didn't want to use somebody else's toilet, so sometimes there were interesting problems.
The order of when things happened is a little fuzzy now. I think Melissa arrived late on the 2nd. Mom threw a birthday party for Kevin and Heidi at some point. We had dinner with my grandparents on the 3rd. It was really nice to get to see them and talk for a while. Kevin and Heidi had a good time playing with the dance costumes (which was one of my favorite things to do at Grandma's house when I was little). Kevin came upstairs in some sparkly pink clothes and informed us that he was a princess, so we told him he looked very handsome (which was true). At some point during the week Ellen and Heidi helped me fill up water balloons and the kids had a water fight, which was fun.
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| My parents have an awesome backyard for kids. Ryan likes making these pictures of Heidi and her clones. |
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| Kira and Ann Marie. |
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| Ellen was very obliging. |
Utah 2014: Day 1
This year we really wanted to make a trip west to visit our families, and because of various things it worked out so that we could fly there and see both of our families in Utah. We hadn't seen them for about two years. It was a two-week trip that flew by, and it was such a blessing to be able to go.
We left our house early in the morning on July 1st. Our home teacher very kindly offered to drive our van home from the airport so we wouldn't have to pay for parking. Things went pretty smoothly at the airport. Kevin and Heidi were really well behaved and did a pretty good job of staying with us. One of the things that I hadn't expected was how helpful Kevin would be. Without even being asked, he pulled the carry-on suitcase while Ryan carried Heidi's car seat and I pushed Heidi in the umbrella stroller (Heidi actually walked most of the time). I brought my boppy nursing pillow onto the plane because I really like using it and I thought it would be helpful to have it on the plane. If I fly with a nursing baby again I will just take a regular pillow. It was nice to have the nursing pillow, but it was too wide. So the arm rests got in the way and I felt bad because the pillow encroached on the space of the person sitting next to me.
The kids were all great on the plane. I had brought a bag with some matchbox cars, plastic animals, coloring books, and crayons for them to use, but I never ended up getting them out on the way to Utah or on the way back. Kevin and Heidi were interested enough in everything that was going on and all of the things in the seat pocket that they didn't need any other entertainment.
Once we got to Salt Lake City there was the usual ordeal of getting all of our bags that we had checked. Then Ryan went to the rental car area to get a car while I stayed with the kids and our bags, which was a little crazy. Then Ryan came back and we had to figure out how to haul all of our stuff across two streets and through the rental car area to get the car. Again, Kevin ended up being really helpful. Ryan had the car seats, I had suitcases with the umbrella stroller folded up and hooked onto one of them, and Kevin had the carry-on suitcase (the baby was in the Ergo Baby Carrier). Ryan and I didn't have any hands to help Heidi cross the street. So we asked Kevin to hold her hand and we were able to get across the streets and get to the car okay. Kevin was a great helper.
We had reserved a full-size car, but they didn't have any full-size cars there, so we got upgraded to a small SUV (a Chevy Captiva) that had five seats. We brought a backless booster for Kevin to use during the trip so that we could fit the kids on one row and save money on a smaller car. The Captiva looked fancy and pretty new, but after driving the car for less than two minutes Ryan said, "I can tell you right now that I will never buy this type of car." It was hard to drive and wasn't as smooth of a ride as our Chrysler Town and Country. But it worked fine for our trip.
Our second flight had been delayed because there wasn't enough help to load checked baggage into the plane, so we got to my parents' house later than we had planned and we were very hungry. We had some snacks and dinner and the kids played. My brother Ian showed us all of the cool lego things he has built.
In the evening my Grandma and my cousin Kira came for a while. They held the baby and we chatted for a while.
We left our house early in the morning on July 1st. Our home teacher very kindly offered to drive our van home from the airport so we wouldn't have to pay for parking. Things went pretty smoothly at the airport. Kevin and Heidi were really well behaved and did a pretty good job of staying with us. One of the things that I hadn't expected was how helpful Kevin would be. Without even being asked, he pulled the carry-on suitcase while Ryan carried Heidi's car seat and I pushed Heidi in the umbrella stroller (Heidi actually walked most of the time). I brought my boppy nursing pillow onto the plane because I really like using it and I thought it would be helpful to have it on the plane. If I fly with a nursing baby again I will just take a regular pillow. It was nice to have the nursing pillow, but it was too wide. So the arm rests got in the way and I felt bad because the pillow encroached on the space of the person sitting next to me.
The kids were all great on the plane. I had brought a bag with some matchbox cars, plastic animals, coloring books, and crayons for them to use, but I never ended up getting them out on the way to Utah or on the way back. Kevin and Heidi were interested enough in everything that was going on and all of the things in the seat pocket that they didn't need any other entertainment.
Once we got to Salt Lake City there was the usual ordeal of getting all of our bags that we had checked. Then Ryan went to the rental car area to get a car while I stayed with the kids and our bags, which was a little crazy. Then Ryan came back and we had to figure out how to haul all of our stuff across two streets and through the rental car area to get the car. Again, Kevin ended up being really helpful. Ryan had the car seats, I had suitcases with the umbrella stroller folded up and hooked onto one of them, and Kevin had the carry-on suitcase (the baby was in the Ergo Baby Carrier). Ryan and I didn't have any hands to help Heidi cross the street. So we asked Kevin to hold her hand and we were able to get across the streets and get to the car okay. Kevin was a great helper.
We had reserved a full-size car, but they didn't have any full-size cars there, so we got upgraded to a small SUV (a Chevy Captiva) that had five seats. We brought a backless booster for Kevin to use during the trip so that we could fit the kids on one row and save money on a smaller car. The Captiva looked fancy and pretty new, but after driving the car for less than two minutes Ryan said, "I can tell you right now that I will never buy this type of car." It was hard to drive and wasn't as smooth of a ride as our Chrysler Town and Country. But it worked fine for our trip.
Our second flight had been delayed because there wasn't enough help to load checked baggage into the plane, so we got to my parents' house later than we had planned and we were very hungry. We had some snacks and dinner and the kids played. My brother Ian showed us all of the cool lego things he has built.
In the evening my Grandma and my cousin Kira came for a while. They held the baby and we chatted for a while.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Even more Ann Marie
This swaddling blanket is one of the things that is helping me get some sleep at night. I wish I'd had one when Kevin was a newborn. It's called the Miracle Wrap, and it's basically a straight jacket for babies. On the inside it has two flaps that you put around the baby's arms and then under their back, and then on the bottom there is a pocket to tuck their legs into, and you wrap the rest of the blanket around the baby. Kevin had a huge problem with startling awake when he was on his back, and I think this would have helped because it would have kept his arms from flying into the air. I invested in the Miracle Wrap when I was pregnant with Heidi, but I didn't use it much with her because she was such a good sleeper from the beginning. Anyway, it's been helping Ann Marie because she gets upset when she can't find her thumb (yes, I think we have a third thumb sucker here), and with her arms inside the swaddling blanket she tends to calm down and go to sleep.
And here are some pictures of Ann Marie after church on June 23. She's been smiling from day one, which we have really enjoyed. We love how expressive she can be.
At birth Ann Marie was 8 lbs. 6 oz. Three days later she was already 8 lbs. 8 oz. (Most babies have not regained their birth weight by that point.) At 2 1/2 weeks old she was 9 lbs. 10 oz. At almost 4 weeks old she was 10 lbs. 6 oz. So she is growing fast. A lot of her onesies are already too small. Sniff.
Oh, and you might have noticed that her hair seems lighter than Kevin and Heidi's hair was/is. Right now most of her hair is red! I would love it if it stayed that way!
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