Baby Lucia Arrives!

We are so grateful and happy to announce the birth of Lucia Mira Mee.  She was born on November 19th at 35 weeks old.  We were hoping to make it to 37 weeks and have a nice, scheduled C-section, but Lucia had plans of her own.  On November 19th around 5:30pm, as we were sitting down for dinner, I suddenly started gushing blood.  Chris ran outside to get a neighbor to watch our kids, while I grabbed some towels to wrap around me and put in the car.  Thankfully, our sweet neighbor was home and we were able to rush to the hospital.  I was in tears as we made the 35 minute drive to the hospital.  I was so afraid that our baby had died inside.  We called our specialist on the way (fortunately, he gave us his personal number the day before); he said he would let everyone know we were on our way.   We finally arrived at the hospital, where they wheeled me straight up to labor and delivery.  As they hooked me up to all the monitors, I was so relieved and grateful to hear my sweet baby's strong heart beat.  She was going to be okay!  She was truly going to defy all the odds.  She was actually going to make it! 

The specialists had said she was one in a million; they had never seen such a miraculous turn around in their 50 years combined experience.  At 22 weeks, she was practically given a death sentence, not expected to survive to 24 weeks...and even if she did, she was way too small to have a chance.  (One of the doctors even gave us the option to abort the baby...the situation looked that bleak.)  Our only hope was that the oxygen, pool therapy, and prayers would keep her alive.  And to everyone's astonishment, they did! After a few weeks, fluid levels increased, brain sparing stopped, and she started gaining weight at exponential rates. 

Finally, after months of seeing the doctors and specialists 3 times a week, baby Lucia decided she was done! Two hours after we arrived at the hospital, baby Lucia was born via C-section.  When they pulled her from my tummy, she let out a nice, healthy cry.  I couldn't help but cry too, I was so overcome with joy.  I was able to see her briefly before Chris and the nurses took her to the NICU.  Lucia weighed exactly 3 lbs and measured 15 1/2 inches.  After being held in the C-section recovery room for a couple of hours, they wheeled me into the NICU to see my little baby girl in her isolette.  I was surprised to see a head full of dark hair.  She was absolutely gorgeous...perfect in every way.   A few days later, Chris and my Dad were able to give her a priesthood blessing.  Chris put his hand through the isolette window and blessed her with great health and strength. The spirit in the room was so sweet.

So, here we are four and a half weeks later.  Lucia is still in the NICU, but doing fabulously!  She is in her own room, in an open crib.  She weighs 4 lbs 3oz.  She has handled everything so well, and just needs to be able to take all her feedings by bottle before they will discharge her.  We are hoping she will be home for Christmas...but, we shall see :)

I am so grateful that there is a happy ending to all the struggles we have gone through this year.   It has definitely been the hardest year of my life, but one of the most glorious...as I have witnessed and been a part of a miracle.  I have felt Heavenly Father's love so strongly through the kindness of dear family and friends, as they have watched over my children, provided dinners, delivered random treats to our door, and offered countless prayers in our behalf.   We have witnessed first hand the power of the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ!  These women have been incredible!  Not having any family close by, I don't know what I would have done without them.  Their service will never be forgotten.

After all we have been through, I feel more grateful than ever to be a mom.  I am so grateful for my four children.  I never want to take them or any day I have with them for granted.  Life is too precious.  Building our little family has been the best thing Chris and I have ever done and ever will do.   

 

33 Weeks and Counting!

We have now reached week 33 of pregnancy!  Lucia measured a little over 1000 grams (2 lbs 4 oz.) at her 32 week growth check, which is more than we or the doctors ever expected!  I think she is in the first or second percentile for growth, but hey! she is still on the charts!  Chris has been making a cheesecake every week to fatten up this little baby (hopefully it's not just Mommy who is getting fat).  Amniotic fluid levels have remained constant at around 15 for the past few weeks and my placenta has moved up (no more placenta previa)!  We are still going in three times a week to be monitored, but so far she just keeps surprising us all.  I am still terrified that something will go wrong, but I do have this small glimmer of hope in the back of my mind that maybe, just maybe we'll be able to take Lucia home with us with zero or at least a relatively short NICU stay.  That might just be too good to be true, but one can always hope right?  We are just praying that she will have some major growth spurts in the following weeks.

I was able to attend church last Sunday to see Nina's first primary program.  I absolutely loved it.  Although she was terrified, Nina did so well with her one line.  She was the only Sunbeam who didn't need any help.  She said, "I love my family because they are so good to me."  After Nina said her line, Miri, who was on my lap, happily cried out, "She did it!"  We were all so proud of her.  Weston stood up on Daddy's lap for all the songs and conducted the music. After church, Chris made Nina a bright blue cake with bright yellow frosting and sprinkles to celebrate her success.       

Halloween was different this year...at least for me.  I wanted to go trick or treating with our adorable kids, but alas, I had to miss out.  Not being able to do much of anything for the past 5 months has been hard; each week feels like an eternity.  Anyways though, the kids had a blast.  Nina dressed up as Ariel...with butterfly wings.  Miri was a purple bat, Weston was a lion, and Chris was a Jedi.

We were all able to attend the Phoenix Temple Open House this past week.  Nina has been looking forward to this for a long time.  She planned out what dress she was going to wear months ago. The temple was lovely inside and out.  I got to be wheeled around in a wheelchair while holding my portable oxygen tank.  The girls could hardly contain their excitement as they walked through the rooms.  Nina's favorite room was the baptistry and Miri's was the sealing room (at least that's what they told me a few days later).  Chris and I have been so excited to have a temple less than 20 minutes away from us...but now that we are moving in two months, we will hardly have time to enjoy such a luxury.  Once we move, we will be about 2 1/2 hours away from the Nauvoo temple.

Weston has been a bit slow on picking up words, but he is such a smart boy. His first real word has been "cheese," which is something he loves to eat.  And lately, he has been saying "Dada" and pointing to Chris. He figured out this week how to get out of his bedroom.  Apparently, if he stands on his pillow pet, he is tall enough to reach the door handle and get out.  We have since taken away all pillows from his room. He is such a problem solver...just like his Daddy.    

Yay! 28 weeks!

We have been on pins and needles for the past 15 weeks wondering if Lucia would ever get this far....and she has!  Lucia has proven herself a true fighter.  She may be tiny, but she is mighty!  This week, she measured 605 grams (1 pound and 5 oz.).   The specialist was shocked with her impressive growth rate over the past two weeks (he was expecting a little under 500 grams...if she didn't stop growing altogether).   I warned Lucia over and over again that if she didn't totally amaze the doctor with how much she has grown, then they would take her out of there :)  She sure showed them!  The doctors have no explanation for the sudden improvement, other than it's a miracle.  She is only measuring 4 weeks behind now (as opposed to almost 6 weeks behind).  Fluid levels are up to a 13 and the bleed is much smaller.  The specialist said we are in uncharted territory now and have no idea what to expect in the coming weeks.  Will Lucia continue to grow at exponential rates, or will she hang on for just another week or two?  We have no idea, but we will continue to be monitored with 2 ultrasounds a week.  And I get to stay hooked up to the oxygen, and continue my pool therapy and modified bed rest.  One thing I know for sure is that she is in the Lord's hands and that the power of prayer is real.   I feel grateful and humbled this week and more hopeful than ever.  (Nina took the photo of the ultrasound picture below and Miri likes to pretend she's Mommy...hooked up to the O2)

Now for some random cuteness:
Nina was sucking on a red and white peppermint the other day.  She pulled it out of her mouth and was shocked to see that it had turned pink!  "It's a miracle!" she declared.

Miri turned 3 yesterday!  Chris made her a Rainbow Dash cake and decorated the kitchen with My Little Pony streamers, tablecloth, dishes, etc.  When Miri walked into the room, she was so excited, I thought she was going to burst into tears.  She cried out, "Oh, thank you!  Thank you so much!"  Throughout the night, she kept repeating, "Thank you!  Thank you for all!"  It was just the sweetest thing ever.

 

27 Weeks and Counting

Today marks 27 weeks of pregnancy!  Five weeks ago, the doctor said we would be lucky if we made it to 24 weeks and a miracle if we could get to 28 weeks.  Baby Lucia has surprised us all.  She has a tiny body, but a very strong spirit!  Around 21 weeks, fluid levels began to decrease rapidly, but never dipped below 4cm.  Two weeks ago, fluid levels suddenly started rising again to 6 cm, then 8 cm, then 10 cm as of Friday!  I truly feel that all the prayers and fasting from friends and family have helped tremendously.  Thank you everyone!    According to our 26 week ultrasound, she measured 404 grams (about 14 oz).  I am sure that by next week, she will be over a pound.  The doctor has tentatively scheduled to take her out on September 30th, at 28 weeks.   We are terrified and excited at the same time.  Whatever the outcome may be, I feel blessed and honored to be the mother of such a strong, little spirit.

  

  

Illinois, here we come!

I am now entering week 23 of pregnancy.  I can't believe I have made it this far.  I believe I have felt a few of Lucia's little movements today, so I know she is still hanging in there!  The ultrasound this week revealed that she is about 230 grams (almost half a pound).  We are praying that she will make it to at least 450 grams.  The amniotic fluid is low (about 4cm), but the doctor seemed pleased that there was still fluid present. No signs of brain sparing appeared on the ultrasound, so maybe the oxygen and hydrotherapy is actually helping?  We hope!  Walking around the house with my 50 foot long oxygen cord has been a bit comical.  Poor Weston, new to the whole walking thing, keeps tripping over the cords and getting his feet caught in them.  The girls like to pick up the cord and put it up to their nose, imitating what mommy looks like. 

Thursday, Chris came home unexpectedly for lunch.  He brought us some food from a work luncheon and announced that he got the job in Illinois!  Hooray!  He applied for this job way back in April and was finally selected for the Budget Analyst position.  We are excited for a new adventure in a new place!  I am starting to feel very anxious though about the cold weather.  I have truly loved being able to wear flip flops all year long in Arizona.  I love never having to bundle the kids up to go outside.  I love never having to worry about driving in the snow or on black ice. I love not being cold.   Oh Arizona, I shall miss thee.  Yes, I get tired of your blue, cloudless skies, your 8 month long summer, your brown desert rock formations, your scorpions lurking in the dark, your rocks, rocks, and more rocks....but despite all that, I have loved it here.  I wouldn't be surprised if we decided to move back someday :)  We are all excited though for a change!  We love moving to new places!  Fortunately, we don't have to move till closer to the end of the year.  Depending on what happens with baby Lucia, I may have to stay behind for a few weeks if she is still in the NICU.  There are so many unknowns about how the next few months will play out.  We just have to take it one week at a time. 

22 Weeks - CAOS

I have now reached 22 weeks.  As I mentioned in my last post, things just keep going from bad to worse.  We had an ultrasound and consultation with the specialist last Tuesday.  He said that the baby is suffering due to CAOS (Chronic Abruption Oligohydramnios Sequence), which is highly uncommon and either results in a very premature baby or fetal death.  He said he sees this in maybe two to three patients a year.  I wish I understood more about CAOS, but basically it is characterized by large bleeding episodes, where baby appears to be fine and grow normally until suddenly amniotic fluid begins to decrease rapidly without any evidence of ruptured membranes.  At 15 weeks, the baby and fluid levels were totally fine after my huge bleed (SubChorionic Hemhorrage) at 13 weeks.  The specialist seemed very optimistic and said that unless CAOS happens, baby would be alright.  Sure enough, five weeks later, CAOS happened.  Baby isn't getting the nutrients and oxygen she needs from my placenta.  She is way behind on the growth charts.  She is in "brain sparing" mode right now, sending all that she has to her most vital organs (the brain, heart, and adrenals).  In an effort to help baby survive for a few more weeks till she can be delivered, the doctor prescribed oxygen and hydrotherapy.  So, now I am hooked up to oxygen 24/7, and I use my neighbor's pool to do hydrotherapy for 15 minutes twice a day.   We go back in on Wednesday to see how she is doing.  The doctor's goal is to get me to 24 weeks and then from there, who knows...maybe we could possibly make it to 28 weeks....which would be a miracle.  Even if we did make it to 24 weeks, Lucia is so small, not even a pound yet, that the outcome would not be good.  I am praying that she can hang on till she gets bigger and has a good chance of leading a good life, or that Heavenly Father can take her back home. I think she is such a fighter...the fact that she has hung on this long... she just might surprise us all :)  Right now, we are doing what we can to give her a chance, and leaving the rest in the Lord's hands. 

..."let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power, and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."  - D&C 123:17     

I have now made it to week 21!  Every week we go to the doctor, they give us something new to worry about.  Chris and I are starting to realize that these frequent doctor visits aren't very helpful: they just bring us down.  At this stage in the pregnancy, there is not much they can do to help with anything...all we can do is wait and see.  The latest ultrasound showed that Lucia is only measuring 17 weeks (3 weeks behind).  The ultrasound tech sounded very grim about the whole thing and had us waiting for several minutes to talk to the specialist.  After 15 minutes, she came back in and said the doctor just wants us to schedule another ultrasound in two weeks.  We were like "what!? we don't even get to talk to the doctor about this!?"  Oh well, I am sure the only advice he would give us is to just wait and see.  We are still hopeful though!  I believe Lucia might just surprise us all!  The past few days, I have felt a strong assurance that whatever happens will be for the best.  Heavenly Father sees the bigger picture.  We can trust in him.   I have been reading and re-reading Elder Uchtdorf's talk, "Grateful in Any Circumstance."
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/grateful-in-any-circumstances?lang=eng

Quote:

We can choose to be like the Prophet Joseph Smith, who, while a prisoner in miserable conditions in Liberty Jail, penned these inspired words: 

“Dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.”

We can choose to be grateful, no matter what.

This type of gratitude transcends whatever is happening around us. It surpasses disappointment, discouragement, and despair. It blooms just as beautifully in the icy landscape of winter as it does in the pleasant warmth of summer.

When we are grateful to God in our circumstances, we can experience gentle peace in the midst of tribulation.


I am so grateful for my family.  I am grateful for my three beautiful, healthy children.  I am grateful for a dear husband who spent over an hour today making peach cobbler for his first time...just because I had a craving.  I am grateful that my children have a daddy who does shark hairdos on them: he divides the hair into sections representing the dorsal fin on top, the pectoral fins on the side, and the caudal fin in the back.  I am grateful we live close to the city and close to a great h.ospital.  I am grateful we were inspired to move out of Cordes and closer to Chris' work.    I am grateful that I am not in any real physical pain or feeling sick all the time.  I am grateful Chris is healthy and able to take care of us all.  I am grateful for fantastic health insurance and Chris' flexible work schedule.  I am grateful for the amazing ward in which we live.  Over 30 youth from the ward have come into our home over the past month to help watch our children. Their service has been incredible.  I am grateful for sweet neighbors who check in on me frequently and bring treats and toys to the little ones.  We are surrounded by so much love and support.  The words of President Uchtdorf's talk ring true: we can be grateful in any circumstance! 

  

I will be 19 weeks pregnant in a couple days!  Almost halfway there!  I consider each new week a blessing and one step closer to having our sweet baby girl :)  This past week, I have been listening to Christmas music every morning. I have also received a few emails about Christmas clothing and toy sales!  With every Christmas song and email, I am reminded that, "Yay!!  Christmas really is just around the corner!!"  Now, given any other year, I would be mortified by Christmas songs and sales in July, but this year, Christmas time means baby time...and it's coming sooner than you think!  Bed rest will not last forever...although some days feel like an eternity.  Sometimes I almost feel like an outsider, as I am not fully participating in the minute to minute care of my children and my house.  In a way, this has been a blessing. Stepping back from it all, I am able to see how sweet my children really are.  They are so easy to love when I don't have to deal with the tantrums, or make and serve their food, or clean the house with every spare moment.  I am able to just observe the cute things they do, lie down with them, read to them, and love them!  Don't get me wrong, I certainly wouldn't want to be a less active participant in the raising of my children forever.  But for this brief moment of time, I feel it has given me a new perspective. 

The kids have been so sweet.  Baby Weston is easy going and happy.  I think he knows now that Mommy can't pick him up, so he'll come over to the couch and give me hugs and kisses every so often...or he'll just lay his head down next to mine. He is my favorite little boy in the whole world.  Daddy mentioned a few weeks ago in Family Home Evening that Mom needs more hugs and kisses from everyone.  I think Miri really took that to heart.  She comes up to me throughout the day and gives me big kisses and Nina likes to lie down next to me and cuddle.  Today, Nina told me I was the best Mom ever.  :) And Chris has been a Superdad and husband through all of this.  He takes such good care of us and the house.  I feel so blessed to have such a man. 

Okay, now for something random and funny:  Yesterday, we watched a documentary about blue whales and other sea creatures.  I said, "Wow girls, did you know that blue whales are the biggest animals on earth!?"  Miri got all excited and asked, "Bigger than you Mom?!"  I laughed and explained that yes, blue whales are even bigger than Mommy.  :) 

Both Miri and Nina really want to name the baby, Cherry.  They are so  set on it.  I think that no matter what we name her, they just might continue to call her Cherry.  

Did I ever mention that we found out it's a girl?  Well, it is!  Another emotional bundle of drama and cuteness!  Oh, how we love little girls :) 

Quite a bit has happened since I last wrote.  About three weeks ago, we rushed to the ER due to a major bleed.  I was about to walk into the movie theater with the kids, when I felt blood rushing out of me.   I frantically called Chris and picked him up from work.  We dropped the kids off at a neighbor's house and made our way to the hospital.  I was sure it was a miscarriage...but after hours of tests and ultrasounds in the ER, they informed us the baby looked fine.   Not all good news though...I do have a large subchorionic hemorrhage.  They told me there's a 50/50 chance of a second trimester miscarriage...so be prepared!  My doctor was quite concerned and put me on modified bedrest until the hemorrhage heals...which could take the entire pregnancy...who knows?  I have to go into the doctor's every week for an ultrasound to monitor the bleed and the baby's growth.  I am hopeful that everything will be okay!  Being on bedrest has been quite interesting thus far.  I feel so helpless. Some days are better than others...some days, I feel downright depressed.  But, we will get through this the best we can!  I try to occupy my time with good books, family history, and naming contests.  My sweet parents and niece, Vera, traveled all the way down here to help with the kids, since I cannot do much.  Sadly, they have to leave in a couple days, at which point my ward family will be coming in to help.  I am so grateful for the Relief Society and their eagerness to serve.  I have felt great love and support during this time.  Sixteen weeks and counting.    

I don't know what it is with my two little girls lately, but man, they are crazy, hyper balls of energy!!  I don't know whether to get upset or to join in the craziness.   They run around the house while giggling their heads off, sing at the top of their lungs, race across the room as fast as they can, twirl around and around and around.  They like to put shirts on their heads and sing Follow the Prophet.  They grab wooden blocks and put them under their armpits and run around saying "I've got my funny bones on!"  I get so exhausted watching them.  I keep thinking to myself, okay, they can't keep this energy up for too long right?  But, they can!  They go on and on and on.  Today, I just had to grab Nina and hold her down in my lap for awhile, while she played with a small toy, just so we could have some peace around here.  But hey, I will take happy giggles and joyful craziness over crying, whining, and fighting any day!  Today, they found me lying on the bed and decided to bury me in pillows and blankets.  I didn't mind a bit.  I enjoyed the chance to lie down for awhile...even with a mountain of stuff on top of me.  I occasionally stretched my arm out from the blankets to pretend like I was trying to grab them...which kept them giggling and happy for a long time...with minimal effort on my part.

The other day, Daddy started up a familiar conversation with the girls: "I am going to the moon, and I am taking Mommy with me!"  Nina then said, "I am going to the moon, and I am taking Miri with me and cakes, and chocolates, and we will go shopping and then we will rot our brains."  We all laughed.  Oh how easily our kids pick up on certain phrases that we use.

 I made a tail for Miri's Ariel Barbie today.  She's been feeling pretty jealous of Nina's Ariel Barbie doll, which has a tail that is permanently attached to her.  I sewed up a cute, blue tail within a matter of minutes.  She was so excited and happy.  Now, Nina is jealous of the homemade tail that can come off and on.  You can't please everybody!  Nina is now begging me to make tails for all her Barbie dolls.

  

 The latest big news: we are expecting our fourth little bundle of joy!  (This explains why I haven't written for a month!  Severe demotivation sets in when I am pregnant.)  I am a little over 9 weeks along.  Baby is due December 22nd.  Talk about the best Christmas present ever!! We are so excited!  The girls keep kissing my belly and talking to the baby inside.  Miri is obsessed with the fact that the baby is naked inside my tummy.  She keeps telling me that we need to put clothes on him.  Hahaha :)  I continue to reassure her that when he comes out, we will put clothes on him.

We celebrated Nina's fourth birthday yesterday!  Daddy took the girls to see the movie, Bears, while I stayed home and made a big teddy bear cake.  It turned out so cute.  Nina had so much fun and sugar on her big special day, that by 5:30 she was an emotional wreck.  We quickly served the cake, opened presents, and sent her to bed.  Chris and I decided that if the party doesn't end in tears and tantrums then we didn't do a very good job :)    Every birthday and every holiday is a fun-filled, yet emotional experience for our girls.

Weston is learning how to climb up and down the stairs.  He is getting pretty good actually.  I spend a lot of time every day, going up and down and up and down with him. He thinks it is the funnest thing ever.  He is still so sweet and cuddly.  He is my only baby that has preferred to turn inwards, rather than outwards when holding him.  He likes to rest his head on my shoulder and give me little pats on the back.  I like to think he is saying, "good job Mom...good job."

We watched a clip from Dancing With the Stars the other night (one of the couples was doing a Cinderella waltz and the girls wanted to watch it.) So as we were watching the clip, I noticed Donny Osmond was one of the judges!  I exclaimed, "Oh, I love Donny Osmond!!"  To which Miri replied, "and I love Thomas S. Monson!"  It was so cute and random :) 

The girls have made up their own version to the song, "Savages"  from the Disney movie, Pocahontas.  Instead of singing "Savages!!  Savages!! Barely even human!!"... they sing, "Sandwiches!! Sandwiches!! Buried in the car!!"  They sing it all the time! 

I just want to vent for a second... I can't even make a simple grocery list without the girls climbing all over me!! On the bright side though, my children are all healthy and happy!  Poor Miri had a high fever of 103.7 the other night.  I was so worried, but after a day, she was back to normal!  Weston decided to start communicating with us through clicking noises.  He loves to click his tongue.  It is so cute! 

Today marks the 7th anniversary of our first date together!  April 6th is a special day in our family for so many reasons :)  This weekend was also General Conference!  General Conference is a big event at our house. We love it and look forward to it every April and October.  Not only were our souls fed by the good word of God, but our bodies were nourished by big, homemade sub sandwiches, chips and dip, cookies, chocolate milk and other snacks.  Even with all of our kids taking turns screaming and whining (I swear they take turns), we were still able to feel the spirit of Conference.  I feel a renewed desire and determination to be true to my beliefs, to be more focused on the things that matter most, to be more grateful, to rely on my Savior more, to lay up treasures in heaven, and to show forth more love to people. I loved Sister Jean A. Stevens talk.  She said that  "The gospel is not a checklist of things to do, rather it can live in our hearts."


Tonight, as we put our girls to bed, we did our usual routine: scripture study, prayer, and primary songs.  Nina requested the song: "My Life is a Gift."  Chris thought he would be super awesome and hum the piano intro to the song (Lately, Nina has been doing this...before she sings the song, she will hum the piano part.)  So, Chris started humming the introduction and then all of a sudden, Nina got real upset, and started crying, "Daddy, that's not how it goes!"  "There goes my chance at being awesome," Chris thought to himself.  So sad.  So, Chris asked Nina to show us the right way.  She then proceeded to hum the introduction with great precision. She knew every note and hummed it perfectly.   We were both amazed. It was heelarious!

Poor Miri keeps getting hurt.  Last week, she was trying to pull a toy bin off of another bin.  She succeeded, but the toy bin knocked her down and hit her in the eye.  She ended up with a black eye :(   Then today, she was climbing all over the couch and fell over the edge, smashing her face into the hard, tile floor.  She now has a bruised cheek on the other side of her face.  So sad.  Nina smashed into the tile as well today.  She was goofing around on the kitchen chairs, while eating her lunch, and fell, smashing her body onto the hard floor.  What is happening to our girls!?  They are getting to be so clumsy!? 

  

Chris just returned home from his first Elder's Quorum Presidency meeting in this ward.  He said it was humiliating!  Apparently, everyone in this ward has smartphones, netbooks, tablets, smart watches, etc.  Everyone except us :)  Chris doesn't even have texting on his phone!  So, Chris showed up to the meeting with a pen and a giant binder, full of notebook paper.  Everyone else had their techy gadgets, sharing lists and event information at the click of a button.  Poor Chris with his notebook paper, taking handwritten notes, as if he was stuck in the 60s.  The only thing left to do is for him is to make sense of his chicken scratch, type it up, and then email it out on a giant laptop with a screen covered with big black splotches.  His fellow presidency members, making fun of the whole situation said: "What?! You called him to be your secretary!" and other such comments as: "Why don't you just Xerox the meeting notes!"...basically dating him to that old fossil of a company, Xerox.   It was all in good fun though!  Hahahahahaha.  Heelarious!  We are definitely going to get texting on his phone later this month.  As for the rest, ehhh...     

I listened to this talk the other night and loved it so much, I thought I'd post it here so as not to forget it!

Covenant Marriage
Bruce C. Hafen 
Of the First Quorum of the Seventy

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1996/10/covenant-marriage?lang=eng

I often find myself thinking about the scripture from the book of Matthew, chapter 25:

“Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

“When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

“Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matt. 25:37–40.)

Almost every morning, shortly after the crack of dawn, Nina and Miri storm our bedroom, jump on our bed and repeat over and over again: "I want food!  I want food!"  I drag my tired body to the kitchen and make them breakfast.  Breakfast is just the beginning to a day full of preparing food, serving food, feeding the baby his food, and cleaning up food.  

"For I was an hungered and ye gave me meat."

 

Every day, our home is filled with the shrill screams of baby Weston wanting his milk. "Give him some milk Mom!  Feed him!  Feed him!" the girls will cry.  Sometimes, I just can't make those bottles fast enough!    

"I was thirsty and ye gave me drink."  

I welcomed each of my three babies into this world with open arms.  I felt more love for these little strangers than I ever thought possible. 

"I was a stranger and ye took me in."

 Ah yes, and the daily struggle to dress all three of my children.  First, I have to find matching clothes in the huge pile of laundry on the floor...then I have to deal with the girls' complaining about how they don't want to wear that color today...or that the tag is itchy...or it's too hot...or there are no princesses on that shirt, etc.  Once I have managed to dress the girls, it's baby Weston's turn.  Dressing baby Weston is like trying to dress a squirming baby octopus.  He wiggles his arms and legs and body, trying to get away, while at the same time screaming and crying.  Then, after you get them all dressed, you have to do their hair, which is a story for another day.  And then, you have to find their shoes!  Shoes that actually match!  The whole task is almost more than I can bear at times.   

"I was naked, and ye clothed me."

 I feel very blessed to have three healthy children.  They have all had their sick days though.  I think I am a much better parent when they are sick.  I tend to be more patient, calm, and full of love.  We've definitely had our share of sleepless nights, helping the girls get to the toilet in time to throw up (they usually don't make it)...cleaning up the vomit stained blankets and washing it out of their hair. Running hot showers in the middle of the night, while holding each of my babies in the steamy bathroom to help them breathe better.  Checking temperatures every few hours and administering medicine.

"I was sick, and ye visited me."   

There is a sense of the divine in the daily struggles of feeding, dressing, and keeping my children healthy and well.  Every time I feed, dress, or care for my children, I am not just serving them, I am serving my Savior.  

"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least (or the littlest) of these my  brethren, ye have done it unto me."  

I find great purpose in my calling as a mother.  I feel privileged to lay down my life, every hour, every day to serve these precious spirits, and ultimately, to serve my God.  This is the great blessing of Motherhood.  Now, if I could just keep this perspective in mind at all times!