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.

Excited for Julia to Come

I went to a baby shower today for a friend of mine. She received a lot of clothes, blankets, diapers, wipes, and bath supplies. It was the first baby shower I had ever been to, so it was exciting. I got a good idea for my own baby shower. When everyone walked in, they had to write down their addresses on envelopes so they could properly receive a thank you note. It made me wish I had thought of that at our wedding receptions. It would have saved a lot of time looking up addresses and asking people. I'm excited for Julia to come. We've been in the process of preparing her room, which has been a longer process than we expected, just because we have a lot of stuff that was never organized when we got married. I think it will look very nice when we're done with it. I know Julia will be a huge blessing in our lives.

A Book of Mormon Story

Testimony of the Book of Mormon

The Miracle of the Holy Bible

Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration

Special Witnesses of Christ Elder Ballard [10]

It's a Girl!!!

Today was an awesome day! We went in for the ultrasound to find out the gender of the baby. Most of the people we had talked to had predicted that it was a boy. Even when we were looking at the ultrasound, we thought it was a boy until the technician pointed out the indications of a girl. We had been thinking about the names Anna Mae, Julia Rose, or Kathryn Elizabeth if it was a girl. Our first thought was that it would be Anna May, but as we were looking at the picture, we both felt like this girl is Julia Rose. It was a neat experience. It was like Julia was telling us what she wanted her name to be. I guess Anna May won't come until later. I'm excited to be a mom!

Prophets in the Land Again

How Do I Love Thee?

Our True Identity

How It All Started (Whitney's Story)

Jason and I met April 2011 a few days before the semester started. My roommate and I decided to apply for jobs on campus at BYU-Idaho as custodians. They were only going to be giving out 100 jobs, and we were supposed to take a number and wait. I think I was number 73. Jason's number was 28. We were thinking that by the time they got to us, the only positions available would be early morning 4AM to 7AM, but surprisingly, all of those spots were filled before we went in. There were still a bunch of positions available on the night crew at the Manwaring Center from 8:30 to 11:30PM. This was the same shift Jason had chosen. For the first half of the semester, I hardly ever saw Jason at work, because he was working on the other side of the building. We had both served as missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He caught word that I was a returned missionary, so he decided to start talking to me before the shift would start. He had returned from his mission five days before I got home, so we were in the same awkward phase. I didn't really consider being more than friends at that point. He also had a class in one of the same buildings as I had one of my classes, so he would pass by while I was studying, and without fail, he would always say hi. After spending a year and a half in New Jersey where nobody said hi to anyone, I thought Jason was kind of weird.

About halfway through the semester, we were told to start washing all of the tables and chairs in the Crossroads (Cafeteria). This gave me the opportunity to get to know Jason a little better. We started sharing stories about our missions, and as the days went by, our conversations turned into how our days went, and then what our opinions are about different topics. I found it very easy to talk to him. Mostly because I knew I didn't have to do all the talking. I decided I was going to add all my co-workers on Facebook. At first I couldn't find Jason, but once I had added another co-worker, he showed up as a friend of a friend, so I was able to find him. We started having conversations on Facebook after work. The middle of June, we were both fed up with dating. We both had not so good experiences with dating, and we just wanted to find the person we were going to marry, so we can be done with the dating world. One of my co-workers who had recently gotten married said to me, "Being married is the best... you should get married." I asked him if he had any suggestions of people I could be set up with. He said he couldn't think of any off the top of his head, but he would think about it. That was about a week before the 4th of July.

The weekend of the 4th of July was when it all happened. Jason had invited me to a get-together the Saturday before the 4th of July, but I wasn't able to make it, because I had to perform in the University Concert Band for a fireworks celebration in Driggs Idaho. So Jason invited me on Thursday or Friday, but I told him I wasn't able to go. Friday, we were told to show up to work at 5:00 PM instead of 8:30PM. This meant that we would be done with our shift at 8:00. Nearly every Wednesday and Friday at BYU-Idaho, there are dances the students can go to, and they start at 8:00. Both Jason and I enjoy dancing, but because of our shift, we usually weren't able to go. Friday was our opportunity to go dancing. We had talked to our co-workers and tried to get a big group together, but Jason and I were the only ones who showed up. We ended up dancing with each other most of the night. After the dance, Jason invited me to go watch movies at a friend's house, so I decided to go. We were watching the movie, and the friend had placed a big bowl of popcorn between us on the couch. Part of me started imagining like a little girl that I would reach into the popcorn bowl and his hand would just happen to be there the same time. Well, it didn't happen like that, but when I was about to go back to my apartment, Jason asked if I wanted him to walk me home. I figured it wouldn't hurt, so I agreed. Jason asked for my number as he walked me home. He invited me to spend some time with him Saturday morning since I wouldn't be able to make it to his party. Even though we were still considered friends, the whole evening felt like a date. It felt customary to give him a hug when we got to the door of my apartment.

Saturday we spent some time together, and this was the day we both knew we were supposed to get married. But we didn't tell each other at that point, because we were just friends. I went to perform for the celebration, and he hosted his party. The whole time, I was wishing I was at the party. I found myself missing him. Sunday, Jason invited me to go stadium singing. Stadium singing is an event that takes place at BYU-Idaho. Nearly every Sunday, students have the opportunity to stand under the bleachers at the stadium and sing hymns. It sounds really cool because you can hear the singing a couple blocks away, and it seems like the  angels are singing. Stadium singing went well. I wanted Jason to hold my hand, but it still didn't happen. I invited Jason to a get-together that my ward (congregation) was having during the day of the 4th of July. Jason had invited me to go watch fireworks with him that night. He showed up to the get-together, and we were there for a little while, then we decided to go for a walk. We played the quarter game where you flip the coin, and it determines which direction you go, but we ended up going up to the temple grounds. We sat on a bench and had a nice long conversation. We then met up with our friends that were going to Idaho Falls to see the fireworks with. The whole night, I wanted Jason to hold my hand, but he didn't. We were in the back seat of the car driving back to Rexburg, and it finally happened. Our hands were nearly touching, and Jason finally held my hand. In the culture of the members of the church, that usually means there's some form of commitment. He walked me home that night, and we held hands the whole way.

Tuesday I texted him just to make sure that his interpretation of the hand holding was the same as my interpretation. They were the same: we were officially steady dating. Wednesday through Saturday, I had to request off work so I could attend the dress rehearsals for my band concert on Saturday. My parents were planning on coming up to Rexburg to attend the concert. Thursday, we went to the Gardens (a beautiful place on campus that couples usually go), and after a little while talking, we began to discuss marriage. We had both known on Saturday that we were supposed to get married, so when the topic came up, it wasn't a surprise to either of us. We decided that we would pray about it just to make sure and we would compare notes on Friday. Friday, we compared notes, and we had gotten the same answer. Saturday we both got a definite yes answer, so we started to go ring shopping. My parents came and met Jason. The concert went well. We went out to get ice cream after the concert, and when my parents dropped us off, my dad gave me a hug and he said with a smile, "We talked... I aprove." We had originally planned on getting married in November, but we both felt like we should move the day sooner. Sunday, we had discussed this, and we went up to the temple grounds near the place where we talked on the 4th of July. We prayed to know if moving the date sooner would be the right thing to do. We both got a confirmation that we needed to. Then Jason went down on one knee and proposed. Without hesitation, I said yes.

The semester was about to end, and Jason had made plans to go home to Minnesota and also to visit family during the break between semesters. This meant that all of the preliminary wedding stuff had to get done the week before finals. We got engagement pictures, our marriage licence, the rings, and made travel plans all in that week. September 2nd, 2011, we were married. Choosing to marry Jason has been the best decision of my life.