Gratitude Brings Heightened Awareness

I read this LDS Gems thought for the day and thought it was so wonderful that I'd share it with everyone!

"Gratitude is a Spirit-filled principle. It opens our minds to a universe permeated with the richness of a living God. Through it, we become spiritually aware of the wonder of the smallest things, which gladden our hearts with their messages of God's love. This grateful awareness heightens our sensitivity to divine direction. When we communicate gratitude, we can be filled with the Spirit and connected to those around us and the Lord. Gratitude inspires happiness and carries divine influence."

(Bonnie D. Parkin, "Gratitude: A Path to Happiness," Ensign, May 2007, 35)

Relationship Tag...

Relationship Tag

How did you meet your spouse? At a Family Home Evening at the Institute in Tallahassee...we were both late...surprise, surprise!

How long have you been together? We've been married for almost 3 1/2 years, known each other for almost 4, lol.

Who eats more? Um, it depends on my pregnant state...non-pregnant I do; pregnant, he does - he gets all the leftovers I thought I was hungry enough eat!

Who said I love you first? He did...over the phone, halfway across the country.

Who is taller? Ha! Him, by like a foot.

Who sings better? Interestingly enough, we both sound our best when we're singing together!

Who is smarter? I think we both hold our own. But he is the one going to school...so I guess he gets this one :o)

Who does the laundry? That'd be me.

Who does the dishes? Again me, I prefer it that way. Actually, I'm a little OCD about it.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does...I like being on the side opposite the door.

Who pays the bills? Technically he does, since he's the one that works. But I do the point-and-clicking that actually gets them "paid."

Who mows the lawn? Um, we've always rented, but I'm sure he'd love to!

Who cooks dinner? Although post-baby it had been the wonderful sisters of the Anoka Ward, I do. Most of the time anyway :o)

Who drives when you are together? He does. And as long as we're not late for something (ha...) he even opens the door for me!

Who is more stubborn? DEFINITELY me, unfortunately!

Who is the first to admit when they’re wrong? Him. Only because I'm never wrong...lol. ;o)

Who kissed who first? It was a mutual thing after all, but I guess he kissed me first...he says he couldn't help it...I was making "kiss-me-eyes" at him.

Who proposed? You know, I believe we were engaged before there was any proposal. We had talked about it and decided to get married...but about a month before the wedding, he did propose. Very sweetly too, may I add.

Who is more sensitive? We are both pretty sensitive. But, if we are talking emotional, that would most definitely be me, I'm like a roller coaster!

Who has more friends? Hard to say...maybe me, just because I have more time to socialize than he does.

Who has more siblings? He does...and 4 wonderful sisters-in-law on top of that!

Who wears the pants? Ummm, I think I have to go with Marquesas' answer on this one...I think we share the pants!

I'm taggin' JoDell Seaman and Andrea Anderson...have fun and I can't wait to read them!

Introducing...John Morgan!

Here he is! Our little John Morgan!

He arrived April 7th, at 11:51 pm. And surprise, surprise...we got our VBAC! Woo hoo! We went in for the C-Section, and the doctor checked me and decided that I was favorable for an induction, so she asked if we wanted to try. Of course I was super nervous, due to all of the precautions we'd been given about him being a big baby and the complications that could come with, but she assured us that they'd keep a very close eye on me and if anything seemed wrong, they'd do the C-Section right away.

Well, after 5 hours of pitocin, I'd only dialated 1 cm, bringing me to a whopping 3 cm. Then they broke my water...and holy cow! Shortly thereafter came the epidural which I had been SO avidly against...I'm convinced this was the best decision I've ever made (save being sealed to my wonderful Joe-Z). In the next 5 hours I dialated to a 10 and I was ready to push! Woo-hoo! They turned off the epidural (they said they needed me to be able to feel it b/c they needed all my help since he was bigger than the average bear...great), and after 2 hours and 11 minutes of pushing we had our beautiful baby boy...and he's just splendid!

He came in at 9 pounds, 5 ounces and 21 inches long. His head was 14 1/2 inches. This puts him 7 ounces lighter than his big bro, exactly as long, and with a 1/2 inch larger head. And they look like they could be twins...I don't know if it's that way for everyone that has two kids of the same gender in a row, but boy, it's like looking at my little Levi all over again!

And can I just add in how wonderful it is not to be pregnant anymore?!?

Friends Are Fun...

Hi everyone! Pictures to come soon, but in the meantime, here's a cute video of Levi "holding" John Morgan for the first time. Enojy!

P.S. After watching it back, Joe-Z was embarrassed with the amount of baby-talk going on :o) So, he made this new version for you to enjoy!