Julia

So I've been slacking on updating my blog... I guess it's just been a matter of juggling all of the events in my life that take up my time. My number one priority has been miss Julia :). It's been wonderful seeing her grow and develop. I remember the first time I saw her smile, and now she's all smiles. She doesn't really like tummy time, but she's getting really good at standing (with me holding her, of course). Julia is truly a gift from God. On those days when I'm feeling down, she'll smile at me, almost as if she's saying "Cheer up, Mom. Everything will be ok," and I can't help but smile right back at her. I think babies are a way for our Heavenly Father to teach us of selfless service. The best service we can give is to do something for someone else that they can't do for themselves. Right now, there are many things that Julia can't do by herself, such as feed herself, change her own diaper, etc. Those times that she needs those things aren't always a convenient time for me. I am yet to have a shopping experience that doesn't involve her crying because she's hungry or has a wet diaper. But that's the whole point. Giving service isn't meant to be convenient for us. When we lose sight of our own wants and desires and reach out in the service of others, we can help others feel God's love for them, and in return, we feel His love for us as well. I have a long way to go in order to be completely selfless and service oriented, but I think Julia will help me complete that goal.

She Finally Came!!!

Well, after at least a month of contractions, she finally came. The night we ended up going into the hospital (the 6th time), we had been doing some dancing to try and get her out. At about 11:00 PM on June 23rd, I started having migraine symptoms. I had a headache, my eyes started hurting and were sensitive to the light, and I had a blind spot in my left eye. When we went into the hospital, the nurse said that I was in labor, and that I was dilated to a 6. Finally we were able to stay. They put me in the delivery room and I was able to sleep a little bit. They gave me some oxytocin to speed up the process, and when I was dilated at a 7, the doctor broke my water. Shortly after my water broke, I was asking for an epidural. I only had about a half hour to an hour of excruciating pain before I got the epidural. After getting the epidural, it was smooth sailing. We were able to sleep once again. Around 9:30 AM on June 24th, the nurse came in and told me it was time to push. The pushing only took about an hour. I ended up needing an episiotomy to better facilitate the delivery. I had the opportunity to watch the process in a mirror. I saw Julia's head starting to emerge, and the next thing I knew, her head was out. They pulled her out and clamped the umbilical cord. Jason was able to cut the umbilical cord. Then they got her cleaned up and handed her to me. I've seen cute babies before, but I have developed a bias toward my own. There can be no baby that is cuter than my Julia. The rest of the day was filled with people coming to visit. Our bishop stopped by for a few minutes as well as some of our friends and my family. It was nice of them to stop by. That night, we had a little bit of a scare. I woke up and saw that Julia looked purple. She had just spit up and started choking. I called for help from a nurse, and the nurse came in and took her to get her airways cleared. Apparently she had some amniotic fluid in her system that they had to remove. But everything turned out ok. She passed her hearing test and got the shots she needed. Around 6:00 or 6:30 PM on June 25th, we were able to leave. My sister came up and helped out for a few days, then my other sister helped out for the rest of the week. It was great having some extra help around the house. We also received a lot of help from friends with meals. We are now getting back into the groove of things and adjusting to being parents. So far so good. Julia is adorable, and I look forward to the years to come.

One of These Days...

For the past couple of months since the first scare, we've had Julia's car seat in our car. We've been to the hospital a total of four times so far and we've been sent home each time. We keep saying "one of these days, we'll come home with a baby in that car seat." This past time it seemed like they were considering keeping us at the hospital. But I wasn't dilated enough that they could deliver the baby. So we've been doing a lot of walking, cleaning, yard work... anything to prepare my body for labor & delivery. Water still hasn't broken and I haven't been having consistent contractions even though this last time they were fairly consistent and lasted about seven hours, but then they just stopped. Although I know Julia is coming soon, it's hard not to get discouraged every time we get sent home from the hospital. I know that taking care of Julia is going to be hard work, but we'll be able to eliminate the anticipation of her coming and adjust to the rhythm of life again. Hopefully my next post will include a picture of our precious Julia.

A few more weeks...

I haven't posted any updates in a long time. Julia is doing very well. She's a little bugger who likes to scare us, but she's nice and healthy. I'll have to post pregnancy pictures. I am now 36 weeks along, and Julia is coming in a few short weeks. Sometimes I wonder if I have what it takes to be a mother, but I'm sure that all new mothers feel that way. I just need to remember what I learned about humility today in scripture study. We are nothing without the Lord's help. He knows how to help me, so why not turn to Him for guidance? Anyway, everything is going well, and I'm excited for Julia to come.

Abase (See also Humble)

Today we learned a little more of what the word "Abase" means in the scriptures. Some of the famous scriptures with the word "abase" are Matthew 23:12; and Luke 14:11, which says:

"And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted."

So what does the word "abase" mean? The Merriam-Webster dictionary definition is "humble; degrade".

Doctrine and Covenants 104:82 says:

"And inasmuch as ye are humble and faithful and call upon my name, behold I will give you the victory."


Each of us have different victories that we are striving for, but as we humble ourselves before the Lord and submit our will to His, He will help us attain those victories.

Another scripture that we liked was in Philippians 4:13:

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

It is through Christ that we can do all things, but we must be humble and recognize that we can't do it on our own.

The Race of Life - Thomas S. Monson - April 2012 General Conference

Fear Not

It's been a while since I've posted anything, so I figure I should. Julia has been doing great. Every time we go to the doctor's, we hear that she's doing just fine. Today we just went to make sure everything was ok with Julia because I had started to feel flu-like symptoms. We got to see her with the ultrasound, which was exciting and relieving at the same time. It's good to know that she's still doing well.

This weekend we went to General Conference in Salt Lake. It was a great experience. I noticed that a lot of the talks were centered on family and repentance. I really enjoyed President Monson's talk that outlined the Plan of Salvation. Many people wonder where we came from, why we're here, and where we are going when we leave this life. President Monson's talk answered those questions. He truly is a prophet of God who receives revelation for God's children in these last days.

I also got to meet Jason's mission president from Brazil. I didn't really understand most of the conversation, but I could feel their love. It totally made Jason's day.

I guess that's about it as far as updating is concerned... I'll have to post some pregnancy pictures soon. I'll also have to post President Monson's talk. It was excellent.