Welcome Home Zaden!!

Zaden Ryan Andrus is finally home with us!! He is such a blessing in our lives. Lea is totally in love with him. She loves to give him kisses and to hug him. She is still a little rough, but is such a great helper when it comes to Zaden. I'm so happy that she is adjusting so well!! 

The delivery went very well. It was completely different than the first time. He arrived on his due date, August 5th, 2013.  He was 7 lbs 9 oz and 21 inches. We were very surprised at how long he was! 

He is such a joy in our lives. Having two kids are home is so rewarding. I am able to see how Lea is adjusting to the Zaden and how her love for him grows more and more every day. It is truly amazing to watch! Having two kids are home is a little crazy at times. Instead of being able to clean the house in an hour, it takes like four because you need to stop to feed, get lunch ready, change a diaper, feed again, change another diaper, etc. But that's ok because there is nothing more rewarding than being a mother! I'm truly blessed to have Lea and Zaden in my life. They are teaching me so much!

3 years

We celebrated 3 years of being married on the 16th. Time has just gone by so fast! I couldn't have asked for a better husband. Jason is everything that I wanted and more. I'm happier when I am around him and I love how he makes me laugh every second that we are together. I love our little family and how great he is with Lea. This past three years have been full of new experiences and I can't wait to spend eternity with him. 

These are the beautiful flowers he got me!

FPP: Parenting Principles

This week in our class we discussed parenting and its purpose. Parenting is such a powerful subject. As a parent I have to admit that it is hard. It is not easy. After you have a child everything changes. Your priorities are not the same and you become more selfless. There is little sleep, little time for yourself and tiredness. Parenting is the greatest gift that Heavenly Father has given us.

Heavenly Father has a great plan for each one of us. I remember when I got pregnant with Lea, I received many comments such as “You are too young” or “How are you going to do it”. I have to admit that I am a young mom. I had Lea at 19. You know what… I could have waited until we were done with school, but Heavenly Father had something greater for me.  Lea is such a great blessing in our lives. I do not regret it.  The great thing about being a young mom is that I’ll be done having children by age 26. Isn’t that great?!!

How was I going to do it? I don’t really know. Everything came together perfectly. I am going to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in what I love and my relationship with Jason had grown. I I know that we couldn’t have done it without Heavenly Father’s help. I know that He was there every step of the way. He truly does love each one of us and I have seen His works in my daily life.

I believe it is important to talk to your spouse and determine what kind of parents you want to be. He or she may have a different view and it is essential to address those before. I have to admit that being parent is not easy, but I promise that if you work together with your spouse it will be much better.

Once you get married the next big step is to try to have children. Sometimes it is a longer process. Getting pregnant does take time. In some cases you’ll get pregnant right away, but most of the time it will take lots of fun/ tries  (If you know what I mean) lol. Heavenly Father does love you. He cares about you, He knows your needs and knows you better than you know yourself.

I hope you all have a great weekend. I am having a blast here in sunny California. I can’t wait to post pictures of all the fun :)

FPP: Marriage Preparation

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I was going to write a blog post for one of my classes. Every week, I will be blogging on the subject that we are discussing in class.

These are the things we did before we got married :)

This week we talked about marriage preparation and incorporating continued courtship during marriage. We read several talks. If you have the opportunity, I will recommend you read the talk by Elder Marvin J. Ashton called “Becoming a Quality Person Now”. It is really short and won’t take more than 7 minutes to read it. It was a very powerful talk about becoming the type of person that we would like to be and our relationship with Heavenly Father. 

In class we had the discussion of why dating is on the decline these days and why people are getting married later in their lives, especially in our LDS community. “Hanging out” has a lot to do with this. There is a huge difference between hanging out and dating. In dating you get to know a person. You get to see their reactions, you get to hear them express themselves, and you get to learn more about them.

Dating shouldn’t stop after you get married. Courtship is very important in marriage. Elder Lance B. Wickman said, “Courtship is a time for two people to get acquainted. It is a time to get to know someone, his or her interests, habits, and perspective on life and the gospel. It is a time to share ambitions and dreams, hopes and fears. It is a time to test someone’s commitment to gospel living.” After an individual gets married, priorities change and courtship allows those new dreams and perspectives in life that you have to be spoken of. Courtship is a time where spouses can communicate their new dreams and desires. Courtship is not sitting in front of the TV and watching a movie. It is more than that. I know that we have fallen into that trap, but it is so much better to courtship each other with no distractions.

Today we live in the age of finding our “soul mate”.  We believe in super relationships that are effortless with no conflicts filled with romantic intimacy and emotional togetherness. But as we all know marriage is not that easy. It requires “work, patience, personal growth, compromise, commitment, and sacrifice.” I love what President Kimball said, “Soul mates are fiction and illusion; and while every young man and young woman will seek with all diligence and prayerfulness to find a mate with whom life can be most compatible and beautiful, yet it is certain that almost any good man and any good woman can have happiness and successful marriage if both are willing to pay the price.”

Many of us have unrealistic expectations of our soul mate. We have to let those go and become the quality person that we would want our future spouse or current spouse to be. As President Kimball said we have to be willing to pay the price to have a happy and successful marriage.

Well… That is all for this week. Sorry if I have spelling errors. I hope you all have a great weekend. 

These are the things we do now...

FPP: Marriage

For one of my classes, I have to do project about the family unit. I have decided to write a blog post every week on the subject that we are discussing in class that week. I think it is important for my friends and family to learn what I am learning.

This week, I want to share a video that we watched in class. It only 5 min. It is about marriage and how marriage is viewed today.

We all know that marriage is not easy.  President Spencer W. Kimball said,

 “While marriage is difficult, and discordant and frustrated marriages are common, yet real, lasting happiness is possible and marriage can be more an exultant than human mind can conceive. This is within the reach of every couple, every person.”

Sometimes we go through trials and think that we can’t do it, but we can. We have to work together as a unit to make it work. You can’t just have one spouse work at it and the other just sit there and do little or nothing. It won't work that way! That is where humility comes in. We have to humble ourselves to work together to achieve the things that will make the marriage work.

It is important to make sure that intimacy is involved in marriage. Not just sex (although, it is fun and that is how you make babies), but emotional intimacy is so important. We have to be friends with our spouse. Share the little things that happen to us during the day and make connections with what the things that your spouse say to you. Our spouses need to know that we care about the little things. We need to communicate and be an active listener. Don’t just agree, but talk back. Communicate your thoughts and opinions.

Many of us have heard that we all have different “love maps”. We have to find out our spouse's love map. Some people like when their spouse gives them gifts, other like when their spouse serves them, etc. It is important that our spouse knows our love map. If they don’t know our love map then we won’t be satisfied with our relationships. Sometimes it is embarrassing or upsetting to tell your spouse what you what you need... But you have to do it, if not you wont be happy.

--Well... That’s it for this week. I probably have lots of spelling error, but It’s ok. I just want to get my point across... I hope you enjoy it :)

** I just have to say that I love my husband. He is the best**