What is your favorite scripture?

The second topic for national blogging month was “what is your favorite poem?”. I am changing it to Scripture quote instead.

Its been weeks since I have sat down and read my scriptures for hours like I used to do. In fact my books have been sitting in my truck; where I left them after church one Sunday awhile back. As much as I hate to admit that, I have to say that I have found myself reading more often in the past few days than I have read in the weeks prior to that. I have found myself reading in the parking lot while waiting for a store to open, or reading at the Ruckus Room on Toddler Tuesday while Charlie slept in her seat and Sam played until he could barely stay awake a minute longer. I think that maybe its a good thing my scriptures have been in my truck so much recently. Its given me the opportunity to read during my rare “downtime” moments because I honestly don’t have much time at all to read while home. If there is any time at all that isn’t spent breastfeeding, homeschooling, diaper changing, cooking or cleaning it seems to fill up with other mandatory tasks that need completing – like taking defensive driving for two nights in a row this week to avoid having to go back to court AGAIN. Or going to the doctor. Or shopping for groceries. So having the opportunity to read, if only a chapter or two at a time, has been a great blessing and has helped me remain calm in some of my most recent stressful times.

I have been reading in 2nd Nephi, and have found a few new favorite verses, but I’d like to take this oppertunity to ask YOU for your favorite verse from either the bible or from the book of mormon or from both.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

This is the first topic for national blogging month. I’m behind by three and hoping to catch up today.

The direct, most simple way to answer that question is to say a wife and mother. I also wanted to be a secretary pretty bad for some reason, and occasionally wanted to be something awesome, you know, like an astronaut or something. There was a short period of time I wanted to be a doctor and a lawyer too, but that didn’t last long. A teacher had crossed my mind too, several times, i’m sure. No matter how many times I changed my mind on the topic, my answer would eventually always come back to being a wife and a mom. That’s what I am now, a wife and a mom. I got what i wanted, but honestly, sometimes I feel trapped here. I love my husband and i love my kids, i don’t feel trapped with them, but I DO feel trapped in my house. I miss working. I miss it ALOT, but I know I’m a better person, and more importantly a better wife and mother, because I’m not working right now. I’m not as distracted by the worldly things that held such a grip on me before. Its been hard overcomeing the desires I used to have – the things extra money can bring you – but I’m getting better, with the Lord’s help, and wanting these things less and less each day. I know my place is in the home, and I have always known that. I am very thankful to be blessed with the opportunity to watch my children grow up – to see their milestones with my own eyes instead of through their nanny’s reinactments, to be solely responsible for their education and for the opportunity to be the best wife that I can be… and I make sure to thank my Heavenly Father each and every night when I pray for also.

What did YOU want to be when you grew up? Are you serving in that profession now? I’d love to hear from you!

a new goal:

Apparently, the month of June is national blogging month. Who knew? Well, some of the blogs I follow are blogging on the same topic as other bloggers each day for the entire month. I’m going to try and blog daily this month also, following the same topics as they are but with a spiritual twist. I do hope you’ll join me for the fun!

I am 3 days behind, so I’ll try to post today’s topic along with the other 2 today and post  one per day moving forward. Wish me luck!

Charlie’s birth story

So, i know i’m a little late posting all the details… but, ya know, i’ve been busy.

As I type this my baby girl is already 3 weeks old! So, to catch you up, I guess I’ll start with the night before her birth. I received a priesthood blessing and was anointed that evening while my husband was at school. He had finals that night and that is why we scheduled the birth for the next day. He’d be able to stay with me at the hospital and at home with Sam without having to worry about school. My parents kept my eldest baby overnight and so my husband decided to take me out on a little date. We went to the Cypress Station Grill. I had been craving steak and fried pickles for days, and this was the only place that was near-by and open that had some. We didn’t talk too much at dinner, we just hung out and enjoyed each others company. Afterwards we came home and prepared for the morning. I finally got around to packing my hospital bag and got in one last snack before my mandatory pre-op fast began at midnight.

We woke up early, loaded up the truck and left. I think my husband had his usual cup of coffee that morning, but politely skipped breakfast knowing that his pregnant wife was on a mandatory fast. Nice, right? We arrived before the public entrance to the labor and delivery ward was open, and had to use the emergency room entrance. The nurse on duty said with a smile on his face “oh! is it time?!” I remember that the nurse on duty when I had Sam said the same thing. I told him that it was time, but that i was not in labor. He escorted me up to labor and delivery where I was taken to the pre-op room and asked what seemed like millions of questions before being wheeled off to the operating room. My husband was required to wait outside of the room until I had received my spinal, but was allowed in before Charlie was born. Now, I have had a c-section before, as well as other abdominal surgeries and I honestly don’t remember being as uncomfortable as I was with any of them as I was for this. I didn’t complain, though, because I didn’t want them to put me completely under. I just laid there, shaking and in pain, waiting to meet my little girl. As soon as she was born they allowed casey to take as many photos as he wanted before they cleaned her up and eventually handed her to casey while they finished my surgery. After My first son was born he was rushed away to the NICU and we weren’t allowed to hold him for 3 days so to have them just hand Charlie to us almost immediately after her birth was pretty awesome and very unexpected. There is alot of details that are just a blur to me, but I know that eventually they took Charlie to the nursery for a bath and to put her under a heat lamp for four hours to get her body temperature up to where it should be while I was in recovery and Casey was meeting up with our family that had already arrived. I think they were allowed in the nursery with Charlie, but I’m not really sure. I do know that after her four hours under the the heat lamp was up they brought her to my room, and she rarely left my side for the remainder of our hospital stay. The whole birth and hospital experience was completely different from what we had with our first born even though we had the same doctor and we delivered at the same hospital. The whole pregnancy experience was different too. I guess what they say is true – each baby is different!

At the time of her birth she weighed 6lbs 10oz, and measured 18 inches long, and her birth was at 7:57AM. She was full term and very healthy, just incredibly small! Sam, at almost a month premature, weight closer to 9lbs and was almost 20 inches! We were preparing for a large baby because of my gestational diabetes, estimating her to be around 10 pounds, and were shocked at how tiny she was. In fact, that is one of the only reasons that I decided on another c-section, I figured she’d be too big for a VBAC. It ended up being a blessing in disguise though, because the same day I registered for my c-section I found out that I tested positive for Group B Streptococcus, the leading cause in infant fatality, and its less likely that a newborn will catch itand get ill or pass away, from their mother if born via c-section. All is fine though, she is super healthy… so no worries!

We stayed at the hospital for a full 3 days, shorter than my stay following Sam’s birth, and had a pretty good experiance. I did have two seperate allergic reactions to two seperate drugs, but overall nothing negitive happend. I’m still shocked at how smoothly the pregnancy and delivery went.. I honestly feel as though its too good to be true and I keep expecting something bad to happen, but everything keeps going great!

My husband is a great help when he is home, and Sam is independent enough to let me shower or clean while the baby sleeps. I make sure to get in my Sam-Time each day and tell him how much i love him. He’s adjusting well too.

Happy Memorial Day!

My favorite (sniper!) vet is over today cooking outside with my husband. I went to the gun range (alone!) for an hour & i live in the land of the free with my husband and children. I have a lot to be thankful for! Enjoy your day & be safe, ya’ll!

PHOTOS: weeks 1&2

i have 2 draft posts saved that ill try to publish later today… so come back soon!

As you have probably already guessed I’ve been busy with my new mommy duties, but in addition to a newborn who is 100% depended on me for everything I also have a 3 year old running around who needs my attention too. He is potty trained and very independent, but he still needs his mommy time and his homeschool lessons. Admittingly, We have fallen behind in homeschool. I’m giving us a “summer break” while we adjust to having a new baby in the house. We have slowed down on our book work, but have still done our educational activities as best as we can considering the horrible heat and humidity that has already taken over the gulf coast. We have had temps in the 90ies (F) and its not even officially summer yet! To give Sam a fun outside play day – with the added benefit of being an educational trip – we went to the zoo last friday. We went early and he really enjoyed it, but charlie was a little annoyed that she had to sit in her stroller with a sunshade over her most of the day. We left before the heat got to hot, and overall it wasn’t a bad trip. Sam had a BLAST and none of us got sun burned. My only complaint about venturing out by myself with two kids was the loading/unloading all of the baby and toddler gear that such a trip requires me to bring. Even that wasn’t that bad, so all in all i’d say Friday’s outing was a success.

I also took a poll on facebook where I got the advice of some of my friends who had children. Growing up I was not allowed to have pierced ears (or anything else that altered the way God made me, for that matter) and had to wait until I was a teenager before getting my first holes done. I wanted to get Charlie’s ears pierced as a baby for several reasons, but also did not want to “alter” her body without her first giving me permission. After my poll I decided I would either take her now before she discovered she had ears and would pull on them, or wait until she was 8. If she is old enough to decide to get baptized she is old enough to decide if she can pierce her ears and take care of them while they heal. I decided that I’d do it now – for reasons of my own that aren’t really important – so i packed up the car and headed out to Claire’s, a local boutique that pierces literally millions of baby ears each year. I almost chickened out, but didn’t, and the end result was worth it. Too cute. She did already loose an earring though, and thankfully I was able to get a new locking back replacement and get the earring back in before it closed and she didn’t even fuss while I did it. Here is a photo taken just seconds after she got them pierced.

For being such a TINY baby she is super strong and is already holding up her head and even rolling from side to side. She was born much smaller than Sam was, even though I had gestational diabetes with her, but i elaborate on that in her birth story that I plan on posting later today.

Sam is really enjoying being a big brother for the most part. He has said only 3 mean comments about his baby sister (I’m going to feed her to the dinosaurs, ect.) but for every mean comment he says there are at least 20 nice ones. So i’m confidant that we don’t have to worry to much about her getting fed to the dinosaurs or anything along those lines.

She also had a very good two week check up with our family doctor (we have decided not to use a traditional pediatrician for our children for several reasons). She gained weight and got two inches taller in her first 2 weeks of life! The doctor did notice that her left leg is twisted (developed in-utero like that) and that she may need a leg brace when she starts walking, but has us doing some “physical therapy” at home to help straighter her leg out naturally. The doctor you see in the photo below has been my husband’s doctor for 14 years. He loves our country and God and natural cures. He has lots of non-politically correct reading material in his waiting room, and i LOVE that . He’s an awesome guy and I’m going to be really sad the day he chooses to retire.

All in all adjusting to be a family of four has been much easier than I think any of us had anticipated. I would like to get a little more sleep, but even that isn’t that bad. Casey helps out alot with house work and loves our family. He plays with Sam and Charlie all the time and does house-hold chores with out even being asked. He works his butt off during the day and is about to start a new semester of school at night. I couldn’t have been blessed with a better husband & father to my children. Oh, and as overwhelming and exhausting as it is to have a new baby (or children in general, for that matter!) I am still pretty sure I want more. Like 4 or 5. Yep.

Photos! (because i’m too tired to write words)

I promise i’ll get around to writing about everything that’s been going on. Lots of good changes have been made in my family that i’d like to elaborate on, and not so good things also – like falling behind in my scripture studies (by alot!) and missing church several times over the past few months. Things have been super-hectic around here, but are calming down much faster than I had originally anticipated… so i’m going to try and get into a new schedule (and stick to it!) over the next week or two. Keep coming back though, i’m going to try and do *somekind* of post several times a week.

(if i look a little high in that last photo, its because, well, i was kinda high from my c-section drug mix-up. One of its contents was morphine. so… yeah.)

oh, and my husband left for a few hours today and came back with a “Taylor” tattoo next to his Sam & Charlie tattoos. He is going back soon (next week, i think) to get the three of them blended together. I’ll post pics afterward instead of now.

she’s here!

Charlie Grace born at 7:57AM weighing in at 6lbs 10oz and measuring 18 inches

It’s baby central here at Chasing Conviction –

Ok, so its been a few weeks since my last church-related post, and for that i honestly apologize. Sadly, I am behind on my scripture studies (as i am behind in just about everything else in my life right now) and i have just not taken the time to write out a good blog post. I HAVE been touched by some scriptures and quotes recently and that there have been several really good Mormon Messages videos I have wanted to post, but, again, i haven’t gotten around to it.

Tomorrow morning, May 12th, at 5:30AM i’ll be getting admitted into pre-op for the birth of our newest little addition. I’ve invited family and friends who regularly would not be reading this blog here for birth updates and photos as they become available and as time/health/energy permits me to post.

So, again, there will be no church related posts over the next few days, but I am hoping to gain some readers… and better use my blog towards my goal of being a better missionary later this year.

So, I do hope ya’ll will stop by for updates as they become available. I plan on taking my netbook to the hospital, and posting as often as I can. I’m not sure how often that will be, but i’ll try to post at least once daily.

Thanks for all the well wishes, and prayers!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the great and wonderful Mommies out there – you have the toughest, most demanding, most blessed job ever! Its hard for me to believe that in just 3 days I’ll be welcoming the newest little addition to our family, Charlie Grace, into the world. Wow!

Here’s me and baby Sammy on my first Mother’s Day back in 2007: