Monday, August 29, 2011

No Fear

Some days are just better than other when it comes to scripture study. However, I will say that this read-through of the Old Testament is not nearly as tedious as I remember past times. Yes, I've made it through almost all of Deuteronomy. I found a verse that I really like.

"For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you to fight for you against your enemies, to save you." (Deut. 20:4)

Isn't that great? This verse really struck me during a quiet moment on my family vacation this weekend. Don't get me wrong, I love family time, but I need my own space as well. This verse me made think about one of my biggest enemies: fear.

Getting ready for a trip for my own little family and being pregnant in the first trimester makes for a lot of worries before the trip actually happens. How will I get enough sleep, and where will Joseph sleep in the hotel room? What food is actually going to taste good after sitting in the cooler? What if I feel terrible whole time and don't have fun because of it? What if I forget to pack something important, like diapers?

The Lord has helped me fight my enemy of fear. Now that I am home, those worries seem less important, yet still valid. I was very tired because I didn't sleep well, but I survived and had enough energy for the important things. Joseph was able to sleep just fine in the huge bathroom. The food I brought was reasonably palatable, though I still had plenty of nausea to deal with while riding in the car. Thankfully, I was inspired to bring my Zantac, and thank goodness I did. A headache was cured by a swim in the nice pool. I even brought twice as many diapers as Joseph ended up needing.

Where did we go? To Boise! James's cousin, Anna, got married on Friday in Twin Falls, since the Boise temple is being renovated. After a long car ride, being a part of a temple wedding is soothing for the soul. We then drove to Boise from there. James and I had a chance to look around Nampa to see what it's like, and we like what we see. There actually are places to avoid, but we found several good options for areas to live in. No more driving 30 min. to get groceries! The city is much easier to navigate than I.F. or Pocatello, even though it's almost twice as big as either of them. Even the drive to Boise isn't long, only about 20 min.

Anna's reception was Saturday night. They had shaved ice, cheesecake, Swedish meatballs...the works. I love wedding receptions. It's crazy how much work a wedding is, and how much people think that they have to be so extravagant. It's definitely the time to get married, I guess, because Sam's wedding is next weekend, and James's friend Nick's is the week after. Guess what I'll be doing on my next two weekends? I love weddings. It's pretty exciting to get a new sis-in-law as well, because that doesn't happen every day. :)

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Creation

There is power in being able to create things. It amazes me how limitless the opportunities are for me to create things, whether it's growing a tiny garden, cooking a meal, or discovering music theory on the piano. With all of these things, there are established rules and patterns to follow. Rules have to be there, but what about patterns/recipes/etc? All they are is someone else's creations that provide the example for us to follow. Once we know what we're doing, we don't really need them anymore. We can come up with our own, more suitable version or invention.

If that's what constitutes mastery of a talent, then I have a long way to go. That's okay, though, because I have a lifetime, however long that may be.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Fail

Don't you hate it when the rice burns?

That never happened to me until I started using brown rice. Since it takes twice as long as white, I forget about it. So it runs out of water and burns. Or, at least it has yesterday and today.

No, I don't think I'm going to buy a rice cooker. If there's a magical one that can cook brown and white rice together, then fine. Maybe I'll get it one day. I resent the fact that most people cannot cook rice without freaking out unless there's a rice cooker involved.

But life goes on.

I have eaten far too many sweets this week, though not every day. I have not eaten ramen every day either. That's what counts, right? I'm still surprised and delighted at how good I feel for being first-trimester pregnant. I haven't needed any saltines to get me out of bed, though I've got plenty of fatigue. I fall asleep easily at 9:30, and Joseph, bless his heart, has been sleeping until 7. That is not too much sleep! 9.5 hours? I bet I could sleep for 12.

James and I gave a little tour of BYU-I to the Gibsons (from Apex Ward). Funny how Sis. Gibson was James's aunt's roommate in college. It's a small world. We stopped by the fair and looked around. Ha. Free chocolate milk. (Now tell me the point in having fat-free chocolate milk?) It's one of those nutritional paradoxes or something. Make fat-free, watery milk. Then, since it tastes like water, make it all sugary and add some seaweed to thicken it. Seriously. That's what carrageenan is. But I will get off of my soapbox about that. It sufficeth me to say that I am a die-hard whole milk fan. Nothing else will do. :)

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

It's Official

We're having another baby!

My calculations say that my due date is Mar. 25th, my birthday. At my ultrasound today, the baby measured a week younger than that, so they calculated a due date of Apr. 2nd. As cool as it would be to have my bday be my due date, I will go with the later one, since James will actually be done with student teaching by then! I'd rather not have him still in school (and the very last week of it, too) when the baby's born.

So far, I feel great! I don't think that many pregnant women say that. I've had almost no nausea unless I go 3-4 hours without eating or if I wake up and don't eat right away (or if I eat junk on an empty stomach). So far, I have NOT had to depend on saltines to make it through the day. :) My cravings so far? Cornbread. And beans. That's pretty weird. I still crave ramen, just like last time, which is also weird. No fear, I know I'll never crave pickles and ice cream. I think pickles are disgusting, and that will NEVER change. :)

We are very happy to be having another baby. In some ways, it's like, "What? Didn't I just do all of this?" Seriously, the time has really flown by. Walking into the dr. office felt like seeing a bunch of old friends. Haha. Anyway, time to go pay attention to my other baby!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Secrets

I've never been one to keep my own secrets (though I will for others, don't worry!). It's tough. There's always that moment when a good friend tells you something, then says, "Oh...and don't tell anyone else!" Doesn't that just make it more tempting to tell?

I guess it depends on the secret. There are the deep, dark, secrets that maybe you've never shared with anyone. Maybe they are past sins, or maybe they're irrational fears. I feel like I share everything with James. He hears about all of those silly things, which don't really surface unless I'm having a very emotional day. I've had friends share those things with me as well. They aren't tempting to share with other people. I have no reason to discuss pieces of my friends' souls with anyone else.

As for good news, that's a different story altogether. It's extremely hard not to share good news, whether it's mine or someone else's. Needless to say, I do have some good news.

But I'm going to wait until Tues. to share. Is that horrible of me? Maybe. But I think we will survive until then. :)

Monday, August 8, 2011

Starting Over

Do you ever have days that you wish you could start over?

Today is one of those.

I feel (and I'm sure this is just my perception) that everyone is just pushing me to side, like they don't care because they've got more important things to do. It's like that feeling when you have a best friend that doesn't consider you their best friend, and upon discovering this, you feel really lame. So yes, I feel lame today. I know that I'm not actually lame, but I'm temporarily thinking it.

Tomorrow will be better. And it won't be Monday anymore.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

We're Back

I love being home.

The more I travel, the more I love NOT going anywhere.

A summary of this week so far...

Mon. We went to NC State for James to look around a little at the history building. He talked to a person about grad school and got a pamphlet on how it all works. It was hotter than Hades, so we didn't end up walking around much outside. The campus is probably 3-4 times bigger than BYU-I's, plus, half of it was walking uphill. No thanks. We went swimming at the pool and then to a movie with Brinson and Myles, Captain America. It was a little on the violent side, though no worse than LOTR. I really enjoyed the movie. I think that Capt. America probably has the best personality out of any superhero.

Tues. We went to the temple with Myles. It was really nice. Brinson and Sarah stopped by to say goodbye. I got all of our stuff packed up.

Wed. was another travel day. I've already said how I feel about that. I had Panda Express again. Our last flight got delayed, so we didn't get home till midnight. I was grouchy.

Today has been great for getting back into my normal, quiet life. It's quite a good life. Being around so many people is wearing on me. I have no idea what I'll do once I have several children begging for my attention, but I'm sure that I'll figure something out. As for now, I'm enjoying the sound of my AC and otherwise, silence, as my grouchy baby takes a nap. Poor little guy went to bed 1.5 hours late but didn't sleep in quite enough to make up for it. We are really blessed to have such a good traveler. He kept turning around and saying, "Hi!" to the people behind us on the plane. They definitely thought that he was a hoot. I love that kid.