Oh, Special Day

Just one day shy of three weeks, Mister Steven was given his name and blessing. What a lucky boy to have his father, two grandfathers, and six uncles in the circle.  And yes, he screamed through the entire thing, even after I nursed him for 20 minutes.  (I guess someone is a mama's boy!)

Little White Dress

On Sunday, Clara's father gave her a name and a blessing.  

It was a very special day for our little family.

Clara was blessed by her father, two grandfathers, a great grandfather, and a whole slew of uncles.  Mother, two grandmothers, two great grandmothers, a lot of aunts, and even more cousins were waiting to smother her with kisses.

Grandmother, in particular, was smitten.

And I think Clara felt the same way.

Give Me Your Best Roar

No (Mormon) Halloween is complete without a trunk-or-treat, so we made our way over to the church building on Saturday night.  Our leopard cub was pooped before the party even started.

She eventually woke up and broke into a Halloween sweat.  

(Why do we live here again?)

Minus the sweaty baby, we all had a great night, even though Anson axed my idea to wear our Popeye costumes two seconds after I googled Sweet Pea.  (Granted, it was 45 minutes before the party started.)  I hope to override my Scrooge husband next year and have a family costume.  (I think he might agree to a Star Wars theme?)

I hope you had a great (dressed up) (true October weather) Halloween.

Our First Sunday

As nice as it is to have a legitimate excuse to skip church, after 5 weeks we started to feel a tad bit guilty.  (A tiny, tiny tad.)

So, I woke up extra early, put on the one cute, boob-accessible outfit that fit and did my make up.  Clara demanded that I feed her instead of do my hair, so I happily obliged.  Then, I changed her diaper, pulled out the cute, vintage-inspired dress that Grandma had picked out, and nursed her until she passed out.  

Picture (not taken, darn it) perfect.

Then, I realized why people with kids are always late.  I mean, really, these little people have their own dang schedules and you better just learn to work with it!

Choosing a seat nearest the door, we prepared for the service to start, but not before they asked us to give the opening and closing prayers.  (Really?)  Needless to say, Clara and I made it halfway through Daddy's prayer and well... we were in the Mother's Lounge nursing during the closing prayer (and pretty much the rest of the time after taking the sacrament in the foyer).

Ah, the Mother's Lounge.

Does the fact that the majority of meeting buildings have Mother's Lounges mean that Mormons have a lot of babies or what?  Probably.  I'm just happy that I can go to church, escape from everyone, take off my shirt (okay, not quite), and sleep in a recliner.  I mean, it's pretty awesome.  

Holy goodness, she is lovable.

New Beginnings

We have officially opened a new chapter in our book of life. Our newlywed apartment has been emptied out, cleaned up, and the utilities have been shut off.

During the final walk through, the landlord suggested that we scrub the stove and tub a little bit harder, in order to get more of our security deposit back. On Saturday, I headed over to our Tempe digs with bottles of newly-purchased Scrubbing Bubbles and Lime Away.

It was over 100 degrees outside and there was no electricity inside the little apartment. Being 38.5 weeks pregnant, scrubbing bathtubs with abnormally short arms and legs, and an abnormally large stomach, in a small sauna, was a pain.

Holy perspiration!

All that’s left to do now is turn in the keys and say one last farewell… to Dunkin Donuts, that is. We really didn’t take advantage of having a DD within two minutes of our apartment.

I will really miss those strawberry frosted donuts.

More than that, though, I will miss the Tempe Ward, especially the Young Women girls and leaders.

At our new ward yesterday, I was feeling rather lonely in Relief Society.  An older women was talking with me when a lady that I'd met at our pool sat down behind us.  I thought she might move up to chat with me, after the woman left. 

Opening exercises began and suddenly, the Young Women were dismissed from the room.  The neighbor lady went with them and I couldn't help feeling a little pang in my heart.

The only person I knew was going to the only place that I wanted to be.

Your Belly is in the Way!

Wednesday night's Mutual activity was one of my favorites so far. That’s why I’m writing about Mutual for the first time in this blog’s life. It was that good!

One of our leaders is a folkloric dancer. She has taken a few of the girls, especially my sweet Beehives, under her wing and taught them to perform. They have danced all over the valley and have even been on the news!

After a performance by Shania and R'Angela, all of the girls donned long skirts and assembled themselves in a circle. I sat on the stage, wondering whether or not I should participate. On the one hand, I was guaranteed to look ridiculous, as I have 0% Latin flavor and 100% pregnant belly. On the other hand… well, I realized that I am a dancer to the very core and would not miss a chance to shake my groove thing.

I got my pregnant self out on the dance floor and felt that Latin music right in my very soul. I don’t speak Spanish, but apparently my body does (or wants to)!

Needless to say, I succeeded in getting my Wednesday workout, as well as providing comic relief for the girls. Swinging my invisible skirt (yeah, didn’t want to try squeezing into a salsa skirt) had me as worn out as the days when I would do 50 high kicks at a football game or a set of challenging floor work in an advanced dance class.

Boy, am I out of shape!

I loved the chance to dance again. I have found that it doesn’t matter whether I’m in a company class or prancing around in a circle of non-dancers - the feeling is still there in my heart. My dreams of becoming a professional dancer have long since passed, but that doesn’t stop me from experiencing the joy of dance, whether I’m the student or the teacher.

The activity was a wonderful send off for my two Beehive girls, who both moved out of the ward this week.

I will miss them so much.

Same Outfit All Weekend

For the sake of my marriage, I will not tell you about the latest bathroom riot between myself and “The Pooper.” It is filled with too many olfactory details, bodily functions, innocent wives trying to wash their faces, and husbands who demand that their families bow down and worship bowel movements.

Besides the minor bathroom blip on our Richter Scale of Happiness, the weekend was absolutely fantastic, especially the rain.

On Friday, I was distracted by a huge fire that I watched from my skyscraper, then I devoured some veggie rolls and panang curry with Husband, and then we attended the (free) ASU Symphony! It was my very first symphony and the music was stellar, except that Mercury’s song was not the coolest, which it should have been, since he is my favorite Greek god. Also, I swear that the first chair (I think that’s the technical term?) almost poked his neighbor in the eye with his violin bow (another technical term?) like 14 times. It was slightly distracting for someone as uncultured as myself. 

Saturday was busy for me. I woke up, cleaned, didn’t kick Husband out of the bathroom for showing up on the toilet while I was washing my face, had an eye appointment at Costco, dropped stuff off at Goodwill, visited family, and hung out with a chubby baby for the rest of the night.

I would like to add that:

Costco is the best place for an eye exam because it is affordable, efficient, quick, you don’t have to wait in a dumb waiting room or be shuffled around, you can buy your contacts at the same time, and then you can wander around eating free samples! If I could own an optometrist/warehouse/$1.50 polish sausage joint, it would definitely be Costco. Also, I got 3rd place out of 4 while playing Scrabble, which is pretty much my record and pretty much why I hate Scrabble.

On Sunday, I did a lot of church stuff, some family stuff, and some laying around stuff. More importantly, I found my church twin. She was wearing the same exact outfit as me, which is a huge compliment, especially since she is about 60 years my senior. Also ironic is the fact that she was up on the stand directly in front of me, so I spent all of Sacrament Meeting looking into my future. Talk about spiritual enlightenment!

Goodbye, Best Ward Missionaries Ever

Last weekend, we had a farewell party for a great friend-couple of ours. They are moving all the way to the land of Twilight. I’ve been to Forks and Port Angeles and let me tell you, those vampires were on to something. It’s beautiful, it’s green, and Seattle is within driving distance. They also have farmer’s markets!

(Another grudge I have against Arizona is the lack of farmer’s markets. Seriously, if all of the grocery stores shut down, the only thing to eat would be sand and some kind of cactus jelly. But, that’s in rural Arizona. In metro Arizona, where I live, I’d be eating concrete and asphalt.)

Without further ado, I introduce you to the friend group, as well as my Chocoflan (thanks to Amy), which I thought was ruined, but actually wasn’t. (Credit for the pictures goes to Ashlee.)

He Loves Us

For the past few months, I have been prompted to bear my testimony about the protection that the Gospel has given me throughout my life.

Like the story of a cow in a fenced-in pasture, the fence can be looked at in two different ways: a barrier that takes away the cow’s freedom or a protective shield. The story goes on to tell that the cow broke through the fence and ate so much grain that the poor cow died.

What does this mean? Are the “rules” of the Gospel a curse or a blessing?

Upon further contemplation, I realized that not only does the Gospel help me avoid trials; it helps me to deal with them when they do come. I know that I can turn to my Father in Heaven for help and that I am never alone.

The protective force of the Gospel goes even further, thanks to the glorious gift of the Atonement. This gift allows me to progress, both in terms of my spirituality (being forgiven of sin) and in terms of moving through life. As long as I employ the power of the Atonement, I can grow and progress. There is no hardship that can hold me down forever. I can forgive myself and others.

To let go of malice is a beautiful feeling.

Through the volunteer activities in my life, I have had the opportunity to meet some wonderful young people, people full of hope and strength. These children have a testimony of the Savior and want so badly to live their lives to the fullest potential.

What kills me is the roadblocks that are in their paths, many times as a result of their families. No stability, no responsibility (or too much responsibility), dangerous environments, bad examples, no supervision, no encouragement, and very little love.

How was I so blessed to have grown up in a home that was clean and furnished? To have had food on the table and in the cupboards? To have parents who cared enough to punish me? To have been given encouragement and love? To be taught that I am a daughter of God?

I wonder, are people aware that they have the tools to make their lives better? Or do they choose to wallow in their terrible situations because they think it’s easier or more fun or too hard to pull themselves up?

I will probably never understand. But my heart aches for the children, who are products of these environments, who have dreams, dreams which are so much harder for them to achieve.

I guess what this comes down to is a realization that I am blessed beyond belief, more than I could even count or express.

Heavenly Father loves all of us so, so, so much. He wants us to be happy, even though life is hard.

He wants us (that includes you) to be happy.

I am so thankful for my life, my blessings, the Gospel, and the Atonement.

Thankful for the Youth

In preparation for the holidays, I decided to host a Thanksgiving Extravaganza night for my Young Women.

Sparkly, leaf garland and turkey-looking cupcakes are just what we needed.

I Yam What I Yam

Finally, here are the picture's from our ward's Halloween Party!

5:30-6:30 - Eating delicious corndogs and homemade root beer.

6:30-7:30 - Carnival in the gym, run by the youth.

7:30-8:30 - Trunk or Treat!

It was really a lot of fun.  I enjoyed running the "Banshee Blow up" booth with Husband.  Two kids would race to blow/pop their balloons by pumping, pumping, pumping on a bike pump!  It was really cute.