#3

I wasn't going to do a post about this pregnancy, but a friend helped me realize that I just might want some sort of official documentation on the blog in the long run. :)

My debate is on whether to be completely candid or not. As my husband will readily, and frequently, attest, "not being wanted" is a chip on a child's shoulder not readily brushed off. Even if he only "jokes" about it. 

I have another friend that has done retrospective blog posts about each of her children's pregnancys/births/coming to their family and it will bring a tear to your eye. She named them "Growing a family". They're darling. 
But I'm afraid I could never pen such moving chronicles.

The problem with me is, getting pregnant completely terrifies me. I don't want to do it. Before I ever became pregnant with Collin, I had knots in my stomach just thinking about it. I didn't feel ready. I was 24. I had a college degree, two years of teaching experience under my belt and a temple marriage to a fabulous man. We had been married for two years. By all {Mormon} accounts I should have been ready. But I wasn't.

I felt abnormal. All of my friends already had kids. All the girls I knew couldn't wait to get pregnant! It was all they had ever dreamed about and wanted. And it's not that I didn't want that, but when push came to shove, I didn't feel ready to start down that road. It's an enormous responsibility. Besides a successful marriage, raising kids is the biggest undertaking of your life. Maybe it's because I'm a perfectionist and I knew that I wouldn't be perfect at it?? Or that I knew I couldn't mess up. I mean, you can mess up here and there, sure. But in the big picture, you can't screw it up! There are people's lives at stake! 

So we decided to pray about it. 

I'm not sure how long we had been praying, but I do specifically remember the Sacrament meeting that we got our answer. 

It was an overwhelming, powerful impression that it was time to start a family. Travis felt it too. I couldn't deny it.

But I did. 

I still resisted. I can remember crying on my knees that it was too scary. I tried to tell Heavenly Father that it wasn't time. I had two more experiences. One when reading the scriptures and another when reading the Ensign. Again, I felt the impression that it was time. I even felt peace. But I fought the peace away and cried again that I wasn't ready. It was after reading the Ensign, however, that I went forward on faith. 

And how grateful I am that I did! I remember thinking later in that pregnancy that I wished I had gotten pregnant sooner!

And I LOVE Collin. Wouldn't trade him for the world. But oh, nothing prepared me for how hard being a mom was! How exhausted, stressed, fat and overwhelmed I felt. The child cried all the time. I had no idea what to do with him. I cringed when people asked to hold him. I knew he would scream. He never napped. He wasn't content. Other babies cooed and babbled on a blanket, spending hours examining a toy. Collin had to be held, entertained and soothed. I remember wondering when I'd ever be able to take a shower and not have to jump out early because his screaming would get so bad. You would think grocery shopping with just one baby is cake. Not with him. Again, memories of being at Wegmans, frantically rushing through my list while he's crying and screaming. Everyone is staring at the baby that is clearly in bad hands. I never made it through a shopping trip without having to take him out of his seat and bounce him or soothe him. I read book after book on what to do to help him. Nothing. Helped.

Add on Weston. Sweet, mild Weston. I still never got any sleep. I nursed all night for 10 months, before we made him cry it out. He had torticollis and had to go to physical therapy appointments downtown. He needed a helmet to reshape his head, which also required weekly appointments. He stopped gaining weight and went in for weekly weight checks. We were referred to an eating clinic. He wouldn't take a bottle. I spent months agonizing over how to get him to gain weight. I felt like it was completely my fault. Once again I was failing as a mother. He only nursed so I started eating like crazy. Full fat everything! No change. We tried different bottles, different nipples, different formula. I went away for a night so he was forced to drink a bottle from Travis. Drink or starve. He starved. I caved and nursed him again. I felt like I would be forever melting down coconut oil and adding it to his foods, coaxing him in vain to take even a few bites. 

And while Collin is funny, spunky, and entertaining, he never really got easier. 

I knew it would be a long time before I was ready for #3. Weston and Collin are 23 months apart. I thought a solid 3 year gap, at the least, between Weston and the next was necessary. I got pregnant the last day of November. They will be 2 years and 7 months apart. Now, I know that's not bad. It's not like it's something crazy like 18 months apart. But the point is, I wanted to plan this next one. I wanted to be in control. Two words that describe my personality... planning and controlling! (I'm not saying they're GOOD qualities, but they do accurately describe me.) I also felt very content with two children. My life is busy. There is always something to clean or do. There is always a long "to do" list. Someone always needs a drink, a diaper changed, a snack, a bath, a nose wiped or a shoe tied. I felt like I needed at least one child to be more independent before adding on another completely dependent one.

Needless to say, I didn't take it very well. Which I know only reflects badly on me. I reminded myself there are girls that would LOVE to be pregnant. I have friends that have gone through pain and heartache and testing and trial after trial, just to add to their family. So added on to my selfish sorrow was guilt. I knew it was nothing to be upset over. So I hated myself for not feeling happy. All I could think of was that babies are HARD. And while I don't throw up, pregnancy is HARD. I truly don't comprehend how girls can be nauseous for 9 months. Straight to heaven for them I tell ya! I just wish I got more of my mom's genes. In ways I love being a Mom, but in other ways I could cry at how hard it is to be a Mom.

Bless Travis's heart, he had a lot to put up with that day and the 3 months following. I kind of tried to pretend it wasn't real. My insurance didn't cover maternity, so I didn't even go through the process of finding and applying to new insurance until I was well past 3 months along. My first doctor's appointment was right after the 4 month mark.

They scheduled my first ultrasound for 20 weeks. It was last Friday. That was another thing I was worried about. I got a lot of, "Bet you're hoping for a girl!" Hmmm. It's true. I have wanted a girl, but I also love having boys. And what if it was another boy? I didn't want to be disappointed in the ultrasound room. So I prepped myself. I thought about it constantly. I went over it again and again in my head. It's a boy. How exciting! 3 boys! They will have so much fun together. I'll be the Mom with 3 boys. That's fairly unique. Lots of baseball and Boy Scouts. Travis does such a good job with telling the boys to treat me special and like a princess. To take care of me watch out for me. Why not have another boy?! 

And it worked. I truly knew that if I was pregnant with a boy I would be completely happy. I even looked forward to it. Only a small part of me still flickered with hope that it could be a girl. I had nearly stamped it all out. 

So, I think in the end I didn't do myself much of a favor! The technician made us wait almost the entire hour before she told us what it was. When she was looking at the legs I swear I almost had an anxiety attack. I could feel my body get warm and almost dizzy. Just tell us already!!

Finally, she turned the screen and had it typed out.... It's a girl!!!!

I seriously couldn't believe it. I don't think I even believe it now. I looked over at Travis's face and he was just beaming. I almost thought his eyes looked teary. That alone made me happy, but I couldn't figure out how I felt for myself! It was like I was confused. I knew I wanted a girl, but I had suppressed it for so long that I almost had to wonder... did I want a girl? 

Here comes another bunch of unknowns! And the technician made a bunch of comments about her seeming personality being drama already and full of energy. Uhhhh, thanks, but lets keep that to yourself, huh! If this female has any of the spunk that Collin has, I'm in real trouble! Take it easy on me please!

I am excited to do her hair. Biggest pet peeve is to see little girl's hair all ratty and in their faces. Playing Barbies will be fun! Cute summer dresses with matching bows. Princess movies and painting nails. Yes... I think I'm excited for this. :)

 

I've decided that for me, having kids is like getting on a roller coaster. I have NO desire to get on that ride in the first place. WAY too scary. Lots of hills and stomach drops and screaming. But when it's over, I'm so glad I did it! (As long as it's not those free fall drops. Those are not worth it. Uh uh.) Getting pregnant is, for me, one of the scariest things in the world. For some reason, I just don't want to do it. 3 times over, I haven't wanted to do it. And it IS hard and scary. But there also hasn't been a day gone by that I haven't been SO grateful that I did it. They are worth it in every way possible. I love them more than life itself and I'm excited to grow our family. So I really hope that sweet baby girl, OR my boys, don't take offense to this. I wish I could say I was full of confidence in myself and my mothering abilities and loved getting pregnant. It's just not the truth. I can say that I don't regret it. I can say that I would never change what I have or what I've gone through. I can say that I love my life and my children and the journey we've been on so far. My own family growing up was crazy and hectic, but I love all 6 of my siblings and wouldn't have it any other way.

It also doesn't hurt that I have the love of my life holding my hand and screaming with me on every ride. He is by far the most amazing husband and father. I got lucky to have a husband that anxiously awaits each new baby. 

We are half way there. 6 more months and we get to meet sweet #3!

From birthdays to tea parties

Uploading these random pictures from my phone made me smile. I'm such a lucky Momma. I love my little boys so much and am so grateful I get to be home with them every day. Moments during the day I'll often feel stressed, rushed, overwhelmed, or even annoyed, but at the end of the day I can never deny that I have an ideal life. I have the most amazing husband, two healthy, cute boys, the gospel and my health. I am so grateful! I don't know why I felt the need to say all that, except that my heart is happy and I wanted to acknowledge why. :)

So it was my mother's birthday last week, and then Christopher's and my dad's two days later. Party at the Lindblom house... and in Salt Lake. :)  

Spring has sprung (hallelujah!!!) and with it has come some creepy crawlers. I walked into our bathroom one night to this scene. It's just an air soft gun, but I had to laugh. The dang spider was too high to reach I guess! {Creative thinking outside the box}? Or {white trash pest control}? You decide. :)

Here was another moment that I sat back and decided that being a stay at home mom definitely has its perks. We were at Big Bounce and splurged on lunch so we could get to preschool on time. A slush puppy and nachos with my two favorite kids was a fine way to spend an afternoon. 

 Collin is fascinated by the "do not" signs on all the toys. He's constantly reviewing the pictures and telling me what is and is not allowed. "Mom, no shoes, gum, tall people.... " He doesn't always understand what they really mean.

It's not unusual for me to lie on the couch, then eventually by joined by these two snugglers. One time, my phone just happened to be nearby to snag a picture. It's hard not to feel loved when you have two pint sized fans. 

Weston and I got our teeth cleaned last week. I had a cavity. This dentist of mine is winning no brownie points, I tell ya! :)

I went first and Weston was SO concerned. He stood next to the chair the entire time and held my hand, watching with almost parental care. 

He was a champ when it was his turn!

 Aww, melts my heart!

This happens to be Rusty's shirt and pants, so I did a side comb over to complete the ensemble! Now I need a side by side shot with him and his cousin!

Weston was mighty hungry one afternoon when I turned around to see this:

I'm afraid I mislead some on Instagram. He did drink the "leftover" juice, but what I meant by "leftover" was that I had already drained it and so he got maybe a teaspoon or two at the end. Not so bad, right? Ew, it's still gross though, haha!

Sleeping like his mother.

More snuggles on the couch.

Painting the tub with bath paints... not poop. :)

Left to their own for 10 min., I reentered the bathroom to gleeful cries of, "Look, Mom! Our bum prints!!"

Ah, yes. So proud. My own little Picassos.

Trav walked in the door from work one day to this...

So I had to do a reenactment the next day. :)

Last year's slip 'n slide was still crumpled in the corner of the yard, covered in a winter's dirt and debris. Collin noticed it and decided that 69 degrees was perfect weather for a slide. It was shady and COLD, but he insisted. He did a really good job pretending like he wasn't freezing too. He almost had me convinced as he shook and screamed in the hose water, that he was having a good time. In truth, I think he actually was!

Last Friday we had ourselves a date night to go see Jurassic Park in 3D. It was the day after it came out, so I bought the tickets the day before and we arrived 40 min. early to get our seats. There was one other person in the theater when we walked in! Apparently the real hype was to go see Evil Dead. Ugh. 

It's the 20 year anniversary of Jurassic Park, which made me feel fairly old. I still vividly remember what a big deal it was the first time around and how exciting it was to see it in the theater!

Last weekend was conference, which is kind of a bummer when you don't live near family and all the get togethers inherent with such a weekend. So instead, we visited the park during the Saturday sessions. Turns out, there was a group of Medieval enthusiasts practicing sword fighting in the field. Armor and all. Collin was pumped! It's kind of hysterical to see the envy and admiration of a child over something that his parents mock and/or find strange at best. But of course we went over to let them watch. They were very nice and pulled out two, kid sized "swords" for them to hold. Oh my. Now we're encouraging this behavior. :)

To ease our lonely woes, I made cinnamon rolls for Sunday morning breakfast. This may need to become a tradition! They were divine, if I do say so myself.

On Monday, we tried to go to the gym in the morning, but the Kids Care was full. Bummer! First time that's ever happened. So instead we went on a "hike" in the desert in our neighborhood. Collin is a little mountain goat and revels in the dirt and "mountains". Weston whined "hold me" about 300 times.

The wind picked up and it got fairly chilly so they wanted hot chocolate when we got home. Then Collin one upped himself, and suggested a "tea" party. Man, I must have been feeling generous that day! So out came the tea cup and paraphernalia. Then Collin remembered all the way from last summer that we had dressed up by putting on "pretty" shoes... aka, my high heels. So he was off to our closet again with Weston in tow. This time, however, I overheard him telling Weston, "We need to pick BOY shoes. Cuz we're BOYS." Haha, looks like Dad is getting through to him after all. :) So out they clunked in Dad's shoes.

3D glasses plus remnants from the winter clothes box turned this two into the cutest hipsters I've ever seen! They did it all to themselves. We just gave Weston a hand with the scarf tying.

Sweet boy. I was lying down, when he came to join me. It was only 12pm, but the next time I checked he was snoozing. Lucky for him, I caught him an hour later before he rolled off the bed!

At the end of last month, they had their Well Child Exams at the doctor's office. Weston weighed in at 24lbs, which makes him 5% for weight. The doctor seemed pretty excited. I guess he was off the chart before. He's 25% for height.

Collin was 34lbs which is 25% and he is 50% for height. 

Weston got two shots and cried, but got over it. Collin got one and was still crying as we walked out to the car. Later that day he was still telling me his leg hurt. Which is funny because Weston will bump his arm and cry for a band aid. He's not too tough. Maybe the fact that he got his band aid pronto, was what made the difference.

Focusing on the Savior During Easter

So, as I mentioned, I had the opportunity to go to a class at the R.S. conference that taught how we can focus on the Savior during Easter. The woman who taught was so inspirational! The room was covered in displays. She had a packet for each of us with ideas, stories and websites. She shared how her family had been implementing these ideas for the past 7 years and how it had changed their family. 

She started out with a simple analogy. If you were to compare Christmas and Easter to a football game, Christmas would be the kick off, but Easter would be the victory at the end of the game. How important is the victory?! As a society we celebrate Christmas for an entire month. We transform our houses in decorations, we have family gatherings and ward parties. We have traditions galore. Which is wonderful. But what would Christmas even mean if Easter never happened? It really wouldn't have any meaning, because it would just be another baby born. But it WASN'T just another baby born, because that baby grew up and suffered the Atonement and died on the cross for  all mankind. The ironic simplicity of Easter's importance was a transformation moment for me. How had I not realized this before?! Recognizing and celebrating Easter will never be the same again for me. But I had a lot of work to do!

First, I appraised my decorations...

A Spring display, a {creepy} Jesus egg, a front door wreath, some egg banners and some plastic eggs hanging from my front tree. None of which says anything about the true meaning of Easter (other than said egg). This was pretty sad!

The teacher gave us some ideas for decorations for our homes, so I got right on Oriental Trading and ordered a few. My mouse hesitated over the purchase button when I saw how much it would be, but then I remembered we spent $100 alone on a Christmas tree this year. Spending under that for all the Easter decor I'd probably purchase in years would be OK. 

So, we now have a Palm Sunday set that depicts Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. 

And a Resurrection Set that depicts the scene outside the tomb when Jesus is not found inside. 

I also bought the 3 crosses and the "He Lives" display to complete the shortened time line, if you will. 

The best part was that it all came the Friday before Easter! It wasn't supposed to come until April 5, so I was about doing cartwheels when it showed up on our front step.

The next tradition I want to start is that we celebrate Easter for the entire week before actual Easter, starting with Palm Sunday. In the packet I got, it outlines scriptures, stories, events and activities you could do for each respective day. The idea is to go over the last week of Christ's life. 

I printed off a chart for each child, that we added a picture to every day. 

My kids are young, so we kept things very short. Basically, each night we'd gather the boys together and talk about what Christ did on that day, or a parable he taught. Then we'd watch a short bible video that went along with that day. 

Here is the link: http://www.lds.org/bible-videos/?lang=eng

Then I tried to have a small craft or activity to go along with what we talked about.

So on Palm Sunday we made "donkeys". We also went on a little walk to look for symbols of Christ's resurrection. i.e. Something prickly to represent the crown of thorns, wood to represent the cross, etc. 

On Monday, Jesus cleansed the temple, so our craft was to make a temple out of sugar cubes.

On Wednesday, Jesus taught the parable of the 10 virgins, so I bought some oven bake clay and we made oil lamps. This was really fun! Especially because it actually worked! I was a little shocked.

I was looking forward to Thursday the very most. This was the day of the Last Supper and Gethsemane. Again, the packet had a list of foods that would have been around Jesus's time and place, so I had ideas of what to make. This is also the traditional Passover night and there is a whole list of Passover foods for the Seder Plate. I only made two. Haroset (top right picture), which is basically just apples, walnuts, wine (grape juice), cinnamon and honey. I also made Matzoh (bottom left), which is unleavened bread. It is supposed to be placed within the folds of a napkin as a reminder of the haste with which the Israelites fled Egypt, leaving no time for the dough to rise. We also had fish, goat cheese, dried figs and honeyed yogurt. 

We shut all the windows so we could eat by oil lamp light. :)

On Friday, the Savior is tried and crucified. Even though we did discuss it, it's kind of a dark day to talk about. So to lighten things up for the youngsters, our activity was so have a glow in the dark egg hunt in the house. The darkness representing the 3 days of no light after Christ died. I don't know if I'll ever do this again! What a mess. After we turned the lights out, there were glowing splatters all over my kitchen from when I cut one glow stick and it sprayed out of my hand. I should have put tape on the inside of the eggs or something because there are little tiny holes in both ends of the eggs that the liquid leaked out of. There were glow marks on our hands and everywhere! The boys, loved it.

This also happened to be the day that wonderful Miss Rachel's package showed up. Oh boy, were the boys excited! They also got goodies from Grandma Evans, so it was a rather exciting evening. 

Saturday is meant to be {secular Saturday} ha ha. Meaning we did all the egg hunt/candy/Easter bunny fun on this day. Some friends invited us over for a big Easter dinner and the kids had a great time on their egg hunt. (Collin is sporting a side part. Be still my heart. I think he's yummy enough to eat.)

 I contemplated doing Easter baskets on Saturday, but ended up doing them on Sunday. I may change this for next year. All I heard about was the Easter bunny on Sunday morning and while I'm certainly not anti the Easter bunny, I'd rather have Sunday be just about Christ. 

Oh, and I forgot to mention I bought lilies to have on the table at the beginning of the week! The lily's shape symbolizes God calling his Son home with a trumpet.

I went to the Children's Place earlier in the week just planning on buying ties. They ended up with entire outfits. :/

This was the best I got with two, wiggly boys, right before church. They certainly steal my heart, though.

We had 9am church, which got us out right in time for a picnic lunch. Now, I know this is going to seem really weird, but hear me out. We drove to a local cemetery to have our picnic. This was another idea the teacher gave us and I really liked it. I wanted to explain to our boys that the cemetery is a real life application of what the Atonement has blessed us with. They didn't even know what a cemetery was, so first we explained that it's where people's bodies are buried after they die. (Oh boy, did that raise Collin's eyebrows. "You mean, there are dead bodies right here??!" *patting the ground next to him* Then I tried to explain that some people that don't understand the Atonement or know about Jesus, believe that when someone dies, that's it. That's the end. They will never see them again. I told them how we are so lucky because we know about our Savior and what he did for us. Because he suffered the Atonement and died on the cross, we will all be resurrected one day. We will live again, just like he did, after we die. We can be with our families forever. 

On paper it sounded like a great idea. But the flowers and pinwheels on graves were mighty enticing for two little boys. I'm not sure how much they really heard. Then I packed chicken salad sandwiches and after a few bites Collin started complaining that his "neck" hurt. Meaning his throat. He started to get more and more upset, when we remembered that he might be allergic to cashews. I had completely forgotten. He's only had them one other time a couple years ago and started throwing up and sweating, crying, etc. So all of a sudden we're throwing everything into the car and racing home to give him Benadryl. Sigh. I guess I get an E for effort.

My only other wish was that we could have gone to the Easter pageant!! My heart kind of ached that not only could we not go, but that it's been so many years since we've been able to go. I think that will have to change next year. 

At the very least, if the boys never remember any of this, it was a memorable week for me. A lot of the things I read or learned, were things I had never known before. It felt good to focus on the true meaning of Easter for an entire week. And as I thought about what I would say to the boys in the cemetery, I had an overwhelming presence of the Spirit testifying that what I wanted to talk about was true. I was grateful beyond measure for my Savior and his sacrifice. My testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel message was strengthened. I know that Christ suffered in Gethsemane for all our sins, sorrows and heartache. I know that he knows us individually and loves us. I know that he overcame death and rose on the 3rd day. And I have a deep and sustaining love for Him for doing that for me. It humbles me and makes me want to do better. I hope that we can continue this tradition for the years to come. In reflecting on the original football analogy, I really liked this phrase I saw over and over on Easter Sunday. "Death is conquered, man is free. Christ has won the victory." I can say with surety that I know that is true. Happy Easter everyone!

Family Home Evening

 A couple of months ago, I got a call from the Stake Relief Society president asking a favor. They have a big, stake Relief Society conference every March and they wondered if I'd be willing to teach a class for it. My topic: Family Home Evening for younger kids. I must have stammered or drooled or something before I got out a timid, "yes". 

I am ashamed to admit that on most Monday nights, our FHE consists of grabbing the nursery manual, flipping open to a random lesson, scanning the page then "teaching" a quick lesson. On Collin's request, singing "Once there was a Snowman" is usually thrown in there a few times. Other nights when we've completely forgotten, we'll reason that, eh we spent the evening together as a family. That counts, right? 

Not so much.

When asked to teach, I'm not usually one to go half way on it. So I spent the next 6 weeks feverishly reading about FHE, asking friends what they do, and putting together FHE packets. I didn't want to sound like a complete hypocrite, so I knew I needed to get some quality lessons in there with my kids before it came time to preach about it. 

I learned some important lessons. 

This quote spurred a few of them.

“I wish to mention … family home evening. We are fearful that this very important program is fading in too many areas. Brethren, there is nothing more important than your families. You know that. This program was begun back in 1915, 87 years ago, when President Joseph F. Smith urged the Latter-day Saints to set aside one evening a week devoted specifically to the family. It was to be a time of teaching, of reading the scriptures, of cultivating talents, of discussing family matters. It was not to be a time to attend athletic events or anything of the kind. Of course, if there is family activity of such a kind occasionally, that may be all right. But in the increasingly frantic rush of our lives it is so important that fathers and mothers sit down with their children, pray together, instruct them in the ways of the Lord, consider their family problems, and let the children express their talents. I am satisfied that this program came under the revelations of the Lord in response to a need among the families of the Church.

“If there was a need 87 years ago, that need is certainly much greater today.

-Pres. Hinkley

FHE is not only important, it's very near critical. 98 years ago, it was instituted by President Smith as a program that was NEEDED to strengthen and support families. I often find myself wishing I could have raised my kids in the 80's or some other decade that was more blissfully innocent than the one we're in right now. 98 years ago was before Leave it to Beaver, folks. And it was needed then?! How much more must we need it now?! There is nothing I can do about the time and age I was born in or am raising children in. But there sure as heck is something I can do about teaching and preparing them to live in it! 

This quote made me realize that throwing together a haphazard night of maybe playing a game or doing an activity together is not going to cut it. It's not necessarily bad , it's just not what this night was meant to be about. We should spend this time teaching our children and reading the scriptures. Of course it doesn't all have to be seriousness and no fun, but primarily this is our time to teach and instruct our children in matters of the gospel. 

Not every FHE needs to be an elaborate FHE packet either. But I found as I copied and laminated away, that putting some time and effort into a lesson made me that much more excited to teach it. I've prepared about 7 or 8 lessons via the "FHE packet" route and my goal is to add one a month to my collection. It's not something we'll use every Monday night, but it will be nice to use at least every month. Plus, the boys don't have the longest attention spans, so being able to see a visual or help put magnet pictures up has helped them be more involved during the lesson.

Since being asked to teach this class, we have also focused more on the scriptures. I ordered a couple of children's Book of Mormon stories books and we read those together before bed instead of telling other stories. And the most encouraging part is, Collin loves it. He looks forward to the stories and seems to be learning from them. In fact, the other night, I finished the story and went to put the book away, when Collin stopped me and prompted me by saying, "Mom! And what did we learn from this story?" Parroting what Trav or I usually say when we're done reading, but I had forgotten to do that night. It made me smile.

OK, the only reason I scanned and included the program was that if I'm ever in a presidency and need to organize something like this, I want to remember how they organized this one. It was so well done. Everything went smoothly and stayed on time. They had an amazing video in the opening devotional that spotlighted the theme, "Something Extraordinary" and the stake president's wife spoke during the closing devotional. The had a yogurt parfait bar for breakfast and chicken salad sandwiches on croissants for lunch. Besides the stress I felt from teaching my class twice, it was the most uplifting church program I had been to in a really long time. The Spirit was so strong and as cliche as it sounds, I felt so uplifted by the time it was over. It just made me really grateful for all the hard work that the stake put into it, as well as the presenters from the other classes.  

Here is my table spread for my class.

The only downside (you're going to think I'm really superficial!)... I had to wear this big, puffy pink flower on my dress the entire day! They had all the teachers and speakers wear these flowers and I felt really sheepish with it on. I already felt very spotlighted, I wasn't looking for anything else to draw attention to myself! 

I also need to thank my sweet husband for staying up with me WAY too late the night before, cutting out laminated pictures for the two FHE packets I gave away as door prizes. This is how he always was when I taught 5th grade. Grading papers, organizing crafts, helping in my classroom. He always wants to help, even if it's incredibly boring or way past his bedtime. :) Love that man. 

Now to preface my next post. One of the classes I chose in the morning, was the "Turning Our Hearts and Families to the Savior During Easter" class. Oh, I'm so grateful I did! The lady that taught it was so inspiring! She gave me a whole new perspective on a holiday I'd previously glanced over. So with that, be prepared for a whole lotta Easter pics coming your way! :)

Lindi Lou

Well, I might have taken it really personally if Lindi finally decided to show up the night after I left. She must have sensed this and decided to stay warm and cozy until the following week. 

I finally got the text I was waiting for on Tuesday morning! Oh happy day. Babies being born are the best. Even better when they aren't coming out of your own nether region. She is super darling and the first grandDAUGHTER on the Lindblom side!

We didn't get to find out her name until the next day though. I really thought they were prankin' us, by not having any names ready. Guess they were telling the truth! 

So Lind Lou it is, after the name Lindblom on our side and a Grandma Lou on the Goodman side. I kind of want to say Lindi Lou Who. :) 

I'm dying that I have to wait a whole other month to hold her! But then I remembered that nearly my entire family didn't meet Weston until he was 10 months old. So I guess one month won't be too bad! Congratulations Goodmans. Let the bow making commence!