FPP: Family life

 This week I want to talk about supporting family members and the subject of “Honor Thy Father”.

We all know that we need to support each other in a family. We need to be there for our sibling’s sporting events, weddings, blessings, etc. But I am not going to discuss the nuclear family support system, but the extended family support system. I think that most of us care very deeply about our nuclear family. We talk to our parents and siblings often, but what about our grandparents, our cousins, our aunts? You do care about them. Why don’t you do anything about it?  Is our relationship with them as strong as it could be? I know that I need to improve. My grandparents live in another country and I talk to them maybe around 6-8 times a year. That is so sad to think about. Sometimes we get too caught up in our own lives that we forget about our extended family. President Ezra Taft Benson said,

“We encourage families to give their elderly parents and grandparents the love, care and attention they deserve.”

I think that many of us fall into the trap of thinking that our parents or grandparents are too old, they can’t remember things, they say hurtful words, etc. Those things are probably true. But we have to remember that because of the things that they did or didn’t do we are the person we are today. We need to learn to love them and truly care about them and their needs. Sometimes elderly people need us there just so they know that we care. They don’t need us to bring them anything; they just want us to love them.

My grandparents

My next subject is “Honoring Thy Father”. I am going to do this in a different perspective. I am not going to discuss the ways that we should honor our fathers, but what it is needed from fathers to be honored. Parenthood is not easy, but it is one of the greatest joys! Fathers need to preside in preside over their family. Fathers are “a powerful spiritual figure in the family.” Children need their fathers to share their spiritual experiences with them. Sometimes we leave that up to the mother, but it is essential that children know that their father has a testimony.

A father needs to be present. Most of our fathers work really hard during the day and sometimes we don’t see them until the next morning. But make sure that when you have time, you spend it with your family. Children need their father and they will respect you because of that. Be there for them. My dad is a busy individual with work and church. My mom wasn’t able to always be there when I had dance competitions because she had to take care of my little sister. But my dad was there. I loved that! He would always yell my name and embarrass me before a performance with his whistling. But I loved that he was present!

The last points are that fathers are supposed to provide for their family and to be partners with their spouse. Fathers don’t just need to provide financial means but also emotional as I’ve mentioned before. Lastly, fathers and mothers will work better in the family unit if they are united.  As children we should have respect for our parents. But parents need to things that children will admire, always remember, so that honor can increase daily.

My parents and Keally

That is it for this week! I hope you all enjoyed it. Sorry for the spelling errors. Have a great weekend :)

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 :)

Fun in the sun

Yesterday, we went to the park and had lots of fun with Lea. Lea stayed home all last week because she was sick, so it was time for her to enjoy the beautiful sunshine. She loves being outside! She got to go on a carousel ride and play at the park. 

Carousel ride with daddy :)

My sick child :(

Lea has been sick for the past few days. She has a stuffy nose with a terrible cough. Although she is sick, she has been the happiest little girl. During the day she is fine, but at night she wakes up a few times crying hysterically. So I go to her room to calm her down and feed her.

Lea goes to bed around 7:00pm and wakes up around 6:30 the next morning. I usually go into her room around 3 or 4 because I am hurting really bad (You have to love breastfeeding).  Around 1:00am last night she woke up. I went in there and I fed her. She then woke up at 3:00. I was so tired that I had to let her cry it out. I felt so bad, but I knew that she wasn’t hungry because I had just fed her 2 hours prior and she usually goes 7-8 hours at night with no food. Eventually, I went in there to calm her down. She wouldn’t… So I cleared her noise and gave her some medicine with Jason’s help. She eventually feel sleep and slept in today until 9:00. This means that I also got to sleep in. I hadn’t slept in since I had her; 8 months.

This is her first time getting sick, so I’m just trying to figure things out. Today she did feel better and her nose wasn’t as stuffy. Hopefully it doesn’t last any longer! 

Lea 1 month           Lea 8 months

I miss being at home with my baby girl although I still had a load of online classes it was fun being at home with her. I am taking 15 credits this semester. They are all upper level classes. Mostly Criminology related. I love them! So I am pretty busy. I was looking at pictures that lea and I took the past couple semester when I was home. I miss it… The good thing is that we are almost done with school, I can’t wait. 

 Here are pictures that we took with the Mac.

Thank goodness for the Mac!!!

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...

Called to Serve!

My friend Genna has being called to serve a mission in Ogden, Utah. I am so excited for her. Genna and I have been really good friends since my first semester at BYU-I. We were roommates our first semester and our friendship has been strong since then. Genna was also my Maid of Honor at my wedding. She is an amazing girl and will be a great missionary. She went through the temple on Thursday and I was pleased to join her. 

Genna and I being roommates!!

Genna and I getting ready to go to the temple our first semester

Genna, her mom and friends at the temple.

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**

Ce(IO3)4 + H2C2O4 --> Ce2(C2O4)3 + I2 + CO2 + H2O

Kiwi Loco has a great deal on Tuesdays ( buy one get one free). We love it. We walked with Chelsea to get some delicious yogurt and for her to get some exercise so the baby can come faster.  It was a beautiful day! But the best part of it was that we got to see where Chelsea's husband (Alex) works.   

The Lab at the Benson. 

 It is such a cool place. Jason got to do some nano droppings. I don't know what it is... but he had lots of fun. He was like a little kid. The whole time he was saying "look at me, I'm a scientist!" There is a dark room in there. And what's amazing about it is that you have to go inside this black tube that rotates to get to the dark room... a little scary, but awesome. Chelsea and I also matched that day. We were both wearing  V-necks with a black tank-top. (According to Jason we were twins). Lea did amazing on the walk and got attention at the Lab from all the scientist. lol.

Jason really interested on what Alex is doing!!!

My beautiful baby

Twins