Mourning

I am so sorrowful over the horrible school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. Whenever I lay down to sleep it's all I can think about. I think about those innocent children and their families. And I try not to think too much about how it all happened. It't just too, too terrible. 

I am so grateful for my understanding of God's plan for our lives-- that life is not the beginning or end of who we are as individuals. I have a firm belief that those sweet children and brave teachers and administrators are peaceful and happy in a state of spiritual paradise (Alma 40:12). 

And, like the article that has been circulating social media, I think we need to better address the needs of the mentally ill in our communities. 

Christmas

Have you read The Christmas Scene by Neal A. Maxwell? It's a very small book written to explain the true majesty of the Christmas story-- the type of book that one could read every year and keep learning. I read it some time ago and for the first time really thought about the paradoxes of Christmas. For example, Jesus Christ, who is the creator of the earth-- who was the most intelligent, obedient, powerful spirit ever to be born-- came as a fragile infant in the most humble of circumstances.

Unfortunately I lost my copy, but I was reminded of it this week when I found this quote:

“God’s gifts, unlike seasonal gifts, are eternal and unperishable, 

constituting a continuing Christmas which is never over!"

(Neal A. Maxwell, “The Christmas Scene,” Bookcraft 1994, pp. 4)

Although the cakes, cookies, candy, and sweet breads will either be eaten or thrown away; although the toys will eventually break or be discarded; and although the new tech gadgets will eventually become obsolete, the atonement will never be used up, worn out, or stop helping us. 

Because Christ willingly came to earth to be our Savior, we can have the greatest gift of all-- eternal life. The true purpose of Christmas never ends. 

Beyond Time-Out

Has anyone read this book?

I just wrote a review of it here. I would love to hear your thoughts about it.

11 Months

Isaac took his first steps on November 4th. We were at church, where I let him crawl around the back of the Primary room when I'm not conducting or teaching sharing time. He stood up (like he's been doing for months now) and took two tiny steps towards a chair. Yay! Since then, he's been taking a few more steps each day. He's still crawling quite a bit-- and does his Mowgli crawl too. But the more he walks the more he seems like a grown-up boy. And this outfit makes him look even more grown-up! 

In the last month Isaac has also found a new friend-- who lives right across the street. They've been playing together quite a bit and are so cute. It's just been in the last month that I've noticed Isaac really interact with his friends. He'll crawl away and look back giggling, asking to be chased. And when a friend goes over to a box and starts hitting it, he'll crawl over to join in on the fun. It's so cute to watch his social skills just beginning to develop.

Because the weather is so great right now in Houston (in the 70s-- yay!), we've been spending a lot more time going to the park and going on walks. One of our favorite spots is the Tanglewood walking trail, just a block from our house. 

Isaac loves pulling books off the shelf, exploring the safe cupboards of the house, pointing at everything, and turning off light switches. He just barely learned how to clap, which is so cute. And he points to the picture of Jesus when I ask him "Where's Jesus?" He's very interested in animals now and will point at birds, cats, and dogs. Our neighbors have a porcelain bunny rabbit on their porch and Isaac points to it every day. I'm not sure if he thinks it's real or not. All-in-all, Isaac makes life pretty fun! 

Here are a couple videos of him. In the first one, he takes a few steps. In the second, he does his Mowgli crawl. 

Hypothyroidism

Last week I went to the doctor for the first time in Houston (besides going to my midwife while I was pregnant). I was worried about a swollen lymph node in my neck-- so I got some blood work done and a prescription for antibiotics. The next morning I woke up with a cold so I figured it was just something that had been dormant in my body.  My doctor said she would call on Saturday with the results of the blood test. But she didn't call, so I thought I was good to go.

However, I got a voice mail from her Monday morning saying that I had a hypothyroid. What? I quickly did some internet research and found out that hypothyroidism is when your thyroid doesn't produce enough thyroid hormone. And one of the common causes is pregnancy and/or giving birth. The symptoms include fatigue, hair loss, weigh gain, dry skin, and cold hands and feet. I've been tired, but not that tired. I had no idea.

Then my doctor's secretary called and said they wanted to get me in with a endocrinologist that very day. I asked her about my blood work and she said that they tested for TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) that is produced by your pituitary land. It is what tells your thyroid to make more hormone. The normal range for TSH is 0.4- 4.5. My blood test showed I was at 20.53. Yikes! She said she made an appointment for me to see the endocrinologist at 12:30. I knew that the fact a specialist would see me so quickly meant this was no laughing matter.

At my appointment, the doctor felt my thyroid (which is NOT the lump in my neck I had been worried about), talked to me about my history and symptoms, and ran more blood tests. He gave me a low dose of hormone to start with and I'm slowly working up to the level my body needs so I don't put my body into shock. He said that it is totally safe to take while nursing and that it is also safe to take while pregnant but my doses will need to be monitored closely during any future pregnancy because pregnant women need more thyroid hormone than normal.

I asked him how bad a score of 20.53 was. He said, "Well, that means your pituitary is shouting loudly to your Thyroid to get working." But then he said he had seen patients whose TSH levels were over 300. Those people, he said, were like tortoises--large, slow-moving, with very dry skin.

I asked if this was temporary or chronic and he didn't really give me a straight answer, but his nurse said that there is pretty much a 95% chance I will have to take pills for the rest of my life. Whew. But, she said, this is a much easier condition to deal with than so many others out there. And that is true.

The next morning my regular doctor called to check up on me and told me that the reason that they wanted to get me treated so quickly is because if I were to become pregnant and were untreated, there is a very high risk of having a baby with mental retardation.

Even though being diagnosed with a chronic disorder is not fun (I feel like I'm turning into an old woman!), I am so very grateful I was diagnosed now. Now, before I inexplicably gained a ton of weight, before I lost a ton of hair, and before I got pregnant and put a baby at risk. It's a miracle that I went in to get checked and that this problem was found so early. To me it is clear evidence that Heavenly Father is willing to bless me-- even when I probably don't deserve it.

A Political Post

I usually don't talk politics. But I thought I would share my thoughts since it's what is on everyone's minds today.

Although there is a lot to complain about in the American political system, there is so much to be grateful for. The truth is derisive party politics have been with us since Jefferson and Adams. And although there may be a better way, our system has stood the test of time (so far). I always feel grateful after an election cycle (even when the candidate I voted for doesn't win) that our country maintains its stability through elections. There are so many places in the world where elections spark riots and even civil war. Thank goodness we live in a place were we have the freedom to vote and can retain relative stability no matter who takes office.

This election cycle I have also felt a renewed sense of duty to pray for our nation and president. I really do love our country, and I care deeply about it's future. Yet, there is rarely evidence of this in my prayers or actions. It's easy to point fingers, but more important to do something. I really feel that the decline of our nation has more to do with the collective decisions of each individual than it has to do with our leaders. Although I didn't agree with the bailout, I don't think that's what ruined the economy; in my opinion, it was a million greedy people who lived beyond their means.

Although many Republicans may be despairing today-- thinking that President Obama taking office for the second time is the end of the world-- I think the source of our county's problems is on a much lower level. It's the moral decline of our nation that troubles me most. If everyone would commit to being honest (especially fiscally), commit to being faithful to their spouses, commit to properly raise the children they've conceived, and commit to spend every day in a productive manner (even if they are unemployed), I think many of our country's problems would solve themselves.

So I'm committing to do these things myself. And I'm committing to pray for our nation and for President Obama.

Halloween

Brent loves Halloween. My feelings are so-so. It would have been great to have coordinating costumes as a family, but I just didn't do it. Brent has wanted to be a Samurai for a few years now, so maybe eventually we do Japanese-themed costumes. This year, I found that cute pumpkin costume for Isaac (featured in the last post) at Kid to Kid for $7!  But it was a little on the warm side. So when we went to a Halloween party, we dressed him up as a cowboy. I went as a hula dancer and Brent was e-mail (e-male) . . . . corny, but cute and easy!

He didn't really like the hat - - - 

Just look at those cute, round eyes!!! They melt my heart. (He got them from his dad.)

Pumpkins

In October we took Isaac to a pumpkin patch because I wanted to get some cute pictures of him in his Halloween costume. I definitely think he was the cutest pumpkin there! 

Look at his little pointing finger: 

Emily and Andrew came along for the fun. 

The newlyweds: 

You Can Also Find me At . . .

I wrote a couple posts on ateachermom.com this month. You can find them here and here.

What Happens When I'm Not Looking

I was four feet away from Isaac when this happened. I was reading an article on the computer and was obviously very distracted. Luckily, I think he had only taken one bite of dirt. I'm not sure if the plant will survive though. I guess I should recommit to my goal of not using the computer while Isaac is awake . . . 

But I have to admit, this did make for a good laugh!

Poster Child

This is a poster my mom put up on the wall at work. She is an elementary school librarian. I think it's adorable. 

10 Months

Isaac is a professional squatter. He squats, stands, squats, crawls; squats, stands, squats, crawls. He does this all day long. How he can squat so low while flat on his feet is amazing to me. My mom says it's his Japanese genes coming through, because no one in our family can squat like that. Brent can do it (not quite as low), so maybe it's true.

He has not taken any steps on his own yet-- probably because he usually stands with his feet very wide apart like in the picture above. But we've started doing a little finger walking with him. I love the "I'm so proud of myself," look on his face in the picture below. Too cute!! (And you'll notice I finally bought him some shoes. He looks too grown up.)

 

He still has just two teeth, but he has been drooling more than usual lately, so I wonder if he will get a few more soon. He continues to enjoy finger food: cheerios, peas, raisins, and pieces of peaches, grapes, and sweet potato are his staples. He also can take sips of water from his sippy cup, but usually gargles and thinks its a game. I'm not sure how he is ever going to be weaned. Thankfully, I enjoy nursing, so it looks like we'll be continuing through his first birthday.

His new trick is looking through his legs like he is about to do a somersault. He also walks around on his feet and hands like Mowgli from The Jungle Book. And he loves to play "I'm going to get you," our crawling version of tag.

He really is such a good baby. He didn't cry when I left him with any of his babysitters during the wedding weekend and let all of them put him down for naps/ to bed without fussing. He is such a cutie and truly the light in our lives.

As for me at 10 months postpartum, I still feel exhausted most days. I'm still getting up to feed Isaac 1-2 times at night, but I think the real problem is falling to sleep at a reasonable hour, which has been harder for me to do lately. I got a jogging stroller for my birthday, so I've started to be more active, but it still really hard for me to get up, get out, get going, get active, or really do anything. I've mastered being unproductive. Any advice from friends out there?

Emily and Andrew's Wedding

This last weekend, Emily and Andrew got married in the Houston Temple. It was a beautiful weekend and so nice to spend so much time in the temple. Here are some pictures of the day:

I realize I have very few pictures of the actual wedding couple, but they were being photographed by their photographer, Kimmy. I also realize I didn't get any pictures of my sister-in-law, Jeanette, who flew in from UT. (It was SO wonderful to spend time with her-- and she looked beautiful!). But I know Kimmy got some good pictures of us together. I can't wait to see the actual wedding photos!

We're so lucky to have Emily and Andrew here in Houston. So now we can't say we don't have family here anymore. They live just 10 minutes away and are in our same ward. Yay for babysitters!! :-)

Emily's Bridals

I got to help Emily with her bridal photos, which was so much fun. Kimmy Williams (moderncharmphotography.com) was the photographer and the pictures turned out amazing. I shot a few of my own, which don't compare to the professional ones, but they can give you a feel for how beautiful Emily is: