"It Works Wonderfully!"

This past General Conference, I was prompted to be better at sharing my testimony.

I've never been one to share my testimony often. 

Not in church, not with my family... 

I guess I'm just a bit more private that way.

But I got a very strong feeling that I needed to share it more.

And I came up with this idea to share my thoughts and 

favorite parts from conference talks.

We are reading them together as a family each week...

well, that's the goal at least.

But I thought I'd write a few things here for myself too. 

And anyone else that wants to read it ;)

(I don't really keep a journal like I used to. 

This blog kinda documents our lives and I think I'll post here for a while 

and see how it goes. haha) 

I thought it was best to just kinda go in order.

So we started with the Saturday morning session.

The first talk is from President Uchtdorf, "It works Wonderfully!"

This was actually one of my most favorite talks of all of conference. 

 He said so many great things that I needed to hear.

I've been feeling a bit discouraged lately, so this talk really inspired me. 

This quote especially: 

"Sometimes we feel discouraged because we are not "more" of something-

more spiritual, respected, intelligent, healthy, rich, friendly, or capable. 

Naturally, there is nothing wrong with wanting to improve.

God created us to grow and progress. But, remember, 

our weaknesses can help us to be humble and turn us to Christ,

who will "make weak things become strong." 

Satan, on the other hand, uses our weaknesses to the point that

we are discouraged from even trying."

"God will take you as you are at this very moment 

and begin to work with you.

All you need is a willing heart, a desire to believe,

and trust in the Lord."

Such great words of inspiration for me.

I have truly been humbled lately and find myself turning to Christ for 

strength.

Two kids is no joke. 

Most days are pretty good, but sometimes it is so hard.

 And I've been so discouraged at times. 

This reminder from President Uchtdorf was exactly what I needed to hear.

And that's all I'm going to write today.

Trying to keep it short, I guess.

Feel free to leave any of your thoughts here! 

I love hearing other people's testimonies and thoughts on the Gospel!

Have a happy Wednesday! 

 This girl is off for a sleepover with her Grandparents! 

Hooray for a little break from at least one of the little people in the house :) 

25

Today is my 25th birthday! 

The last year has been quite a ride. 

In case you didn't notice, I basically gave up on my list of 25 things to do before I turned 25.

I did get a few of them finished, but having a little one-year-old was much busier than I expected.

haha

But it has been a fun year! 

And here's picture of baby me:

We are planning on a relaxing day at home (I need it) 

and some yummy Cafe Rio for dinner!

love

I saw this today floating around the internet and loved it!

I just wanted to share!

One great thing about being a mom is that for the first time 

that I can remember I feel 100% myself all the time.

And I feel completely comfortable with myself!

(You know those times where you're out with friends/new people and 

all the sudden you're thinking, "who is this person and what is coming out of my mouth?"

That has happened to me a few times in the past :) 

and definitely more than a few times.
But not much anymore.)

Its so nice to feel comfortable in your own skin.

I guess that's something pretty awesome that I've been blessed with.

While I still struggle with some self-esteem and body image issues,

I am happy with who I am as a person and who I continue to become.

Be who you are! 

on motherhood

Now that I have been a mother to Piper for a year (almost)

I feel like I can officially write a post on my motherhood experience so far. 

First, this was mostly prompted by this post by one of my favorite bloggers, Lauren.

She touched on one of the things that I have struggled with the most over the last year; 

feeling important.

Obviously I know that Piper needs me and I feel important to my little family, 

sometimes I found myself doubting my importance in the world as a whole.

Its not a daily struggle, but is something I found myself praying about on a regular basis.

I really liked what Lauren said in her post. 

I think she said it perfect!

This year has been amazing! 

It has also been one of the most difficult years.

As noted in my earlier post, nursing was difficult for Piper and I

and, honestly, the first few months of her life were extremely difficult.

Since she has grown up and learned new things, 

my days are much more fun! 

I have loved being her mom and I will continue to enjoy it,

but I must confess, it is drastically different than I thought it would be.

(Remember how I was going to do jetBlue and the same time?!?! Good thing I gave up on that! haha)

I have been blessed with a great baby girl. 

She is so sweet and so playful at the same time.

Piper kinda likes to beat up her Dad a little :) Poor guy!

We have a lot of fun everyday and make friends everywhere!

Our trips to the store are about 20 minutes longer than they need to be because Piper waves at 

EVERYONE so we get stopped a lot to chat with strangers! 

I love having such a happy, kind, friendly baby.

It has been one crazy year but I wouldn't ask to change anything!

She's the best tiny best friend!

 photo from earlier today

Love you all! Thanks for all your support, help, and love over the last year of Piper's life!

 

Dear Internet

I don't usually post about this kind of stuff, 

but this is something that has been really bothering me lately, so I thought I'd write it down...

This is a post about nursing. It won't be long, but you don't have to read it.

Nursing did not go well for Piper and I. 

We had to start supplementing her with formula the day after she was born while we were still in the hospital. 

I didn't think that it was going to be a big deal, since I already wanted her to be taking at least one bottle a day...

We got home and things were going pretty well.

Kinda.

When she was about 2 weeks old, we got thrush. (OUCH!)

It was awful.

I couldn't get her to nurse at all.

It cleared up quickly and things kinda went back to normal for maybe 3 weeks.

But she hated it.

She didn't like being restricted and wanted to feed herself!

Soon, I started giving her 2 formula bottles a day just to give myself a break from all the wrestling matches we were having.

We were ending most feedings in tears and I was hating every minute of it and so was she.

I went back to work and she started getting more bottles.

All she wanted to do during feedings was play and talk to me.

It is still the case. 

If you've ever been around her, you know.

It takes her about an hour to eat a 6 oz bottle.

She will eat for about 20 seconds and then take off and play for 10 minutes and then come back for more.

We nursed for a little less than 4 months. My goal was 6. 

At first I was more than OK with it.
I decided not to pump, which has been pricy, but whatever.
I'm still OK with it... I'm just sick of people asking me about it.
 

To all the people in the world who have given me a hard time about not nursing for at least a year:

 Every mom is different and every baby is different. 

You do not get to judge me for not nursing my baby anymore.

She is healthy and strong.

And those 4 months were some of the hardest times that I've had.

Please don't judge me.

Or anyone else for that matter! 

That's all folks!

Today I have a lot of thoughts...

most of which I won't write here.

I just want this to be a place where I share things about my family and my simple life.

But as we are all gearing up for General Conference 

I just wanted to share how grateful I am for the simplicity of the gospel. 

People think that there are a lot of rules, but it really is so beautifully simple.

I try my best, and I am far from perfect. 

But, I love it!

We are really looking forward to hearing from our Prophets this year! 

 And... because no post is complete without a picture.. :)

I should have an 8 month photo shoot of my girl up in the next few days

with some fun updates! 

I swear she learns something new every day and feels so much older every night before we put her to bed.