On Your Marks...

Been awake half the night with contractions which have since stopped. Now just waiting for the rhythm to kick back in so we can get this show on the road. Is October 1st just wishful thinking??

How Long is a Piece of String?

Back from the doctor's office...

He says I could go into labor any time, possibly tomorrow but almost certainly by the weekend. If not, he is happy to schedule an induction any time

The baby has descended just a little further (now about -2.5cm). I'm 90 per cent effaced just as last week. Beginning to dilate but not yet at a measurable point. He says that once labor kicks in that will happen pretty quickly though in my case.

He says the bottom line is that my situation is the most favorable for a first time mother that he's seen this month.A+ for me!

Now just waiting and trying to squeeze in some extra tasks in the meantime.

Fun With the Lunts

Just got back from lunch and a trip to the thrift store with Natalie and Judy Lunt. Had fun and found a few bargains--a few winter outfits for baby and a Fisher Price baby bathtub (sells for about $20 new, but I got it for $7). Not bad.

By Popular Request...

39 weeks! Take a look now because this belly will not be around much longer...

This may well have been our last Sunday at church pre-parenthood...

37 weeks with no need for a dinner tray--the belly serves a dual purpose although there's no guarantee of staying crumb free...

36 weeks

September 2009 Update

The procrastination ends here--I'm finally writing.

The first news is that our baby is due in just two weeks! All seems to be going well. I’m not hating the third trimester as much as I could be… I’m still in pretty good health and the baby seems to be doing well too. She’s pretty active and those lungs seem to be developing—as evidenced by her daily hiccoughs. I wonder if she’ll be as hiccoughy when she reaches the outside...

I’m down to weekly doc appointments now. Got my first ever flu shot. Last appointment the doc did an impromptu sonogram to check the baby’s position; her head is down but her body is a bit oblique. Her butt is sticking out towards my left hip and her feet are pointing over to my right hip. Doc says it’s nothing to worry about, but we’ll keep an eye on it. Also, I’ve been pretty steadily gaining weight at about three pounds per week for the past month. That’s probably more than expected (by me), but I’m still within normal ranges. Last of all, I’ve been having some pre-labor contractions for the past four days or so. So far it doesn’t hurt, but it seems to wake me up in the morning and happens several times a day for maybe thirty seconds at a time. My belly just tightens up and gets uncomfortable for a bit, makes me a little out of breath, and then it slips away again. I’m pretty sure this is the “dropping” phase since the baby seems to be sinking down a bit lower.

Oh, here comes another little contraction…

In other less exciting news, our renters in our San Antonio house have been having trouble paying their rent. This hasn’t been a very fun situation for any of us, least of all for them I’m sure. We’ve prayed for them every day this month I think. We’re feeling bad for them but learning that we need to be a bit tougher so we can avoid falling into their situation. Paying rent here and mortgage there isn’t sustainable for too long. Still, I consider this month’s mortgage payment like tuition in a real estate class. It’s just like Grandpa Walch says “Well then, that’s your thousand dollar education!” Shucks. Also, I think I’ve gained a better understanding of the gospel concepts of justice and mercy. I sure wish some savior would come to give our renters mercy, and to satisfy the justice our bank account demands. Still, the more time goes on and the more we hear about their financial woes, the more it becomes apparent that mercy for them might be to have them move into a cheaper place. As for us, we’re grateful to be feeling the peace and protective power of paying tithing.

Lastly, just to mention a little something of our life in Fort Worth this month, we finally tried out Uncle Julio’s, a Mexican restaurant close by that always has a full parking lot. After a beautiful walk in the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens, we went to Uncle Julio’s and pulled out all the stops with a lobster and fajita platter and they gave us a complimentary plate of sopa pillas. So delish. I think that’s about the most we’ve ever spent on a meal, so it’s lucky our grocery bill came in well under budget this week. You know, if it weren’t for our usual diet of rice, beans, cereal and PB&Js, I think I’d feel guilty. Instead I’ll just settle for feeling grateful.

Cottage Cheese & Apple Sauce

Louise: This cottage cheese and apple sauce is so tasty. You should eat some too.
Joe: I probably will when I'm older.
Louise: ...What? You mean only when your choices are more limited...

Pork: The "Other" White Meat

Joe: (singing in the kitchen while making tacos with some leftover roast pork) Pork-pork-pork-pork. Pork-pork-pork-pork...
Louise: You're starting to sound like a chicken.
Joe: Pork-pork-pork-pork. Eat more pork.

Occasion to Laugh

A few weeks back, Joe had just gotten back from a run and was finishing up with some pushups. Meanwhile, I got a little ambitious and decided to drop and do a few myself. This immediately triggered my laughter because from this stance, a minute bend to the elbows caused my belly to be on the floor. Shucks... No pushups for me.

I'm blind – and I'm a good mother

The following article was published in the British newspaper, The Guardian, on Saturday, 8 August 2009. This is for any of you who might have been wondering...

"Amie Slavin lost her sight in 1997 and has brought up her two daughters by touch. This, she promises, is easier than you might think. Being blind does not make her an incompetent mother – and yet people assume that she must be."

Amie Slavin with her children Sophie (three) and Jihana (15 months). Photograph: Fabio De Paola

"Hard labour, as a lifestyle choice, has more to recommend it than I could have guessed. From those first few hours of holding Sophia, my firstborn, curled on my forearm learning to breastfeed, to the most recent round of pre-breakfast Ride a Cockhorse, bouncing two "fine ladies" on my tired knees, I have been a fan.

But I always knew that parenting would present different challenges for me, compared with more mainstream mothers because I have been blind since 1997.

The practicalities of bringing up children without eyesight are not, for the most part, nearly as hard as you might think. Changing nappies isn't especially difficult if you're used to doing everything by touch. There's no mystery about it. I don't explore faecal matter with my fingers, neither do I leave my baby half-cleaned. I simply use a combination of touch and smell to determine how cleaning is progressing, and if it gets out of hand and I begin to lose the will to live, well, 10 minutes suffices for a bath and change of clothes: foolproof.

Feeding is also achievable, if slightly more exciting. In the early days of weaning, I would collect a spoonful of food with my right hand while lightly resting my left hand on her right shoulder. In this way I could monitor the position of her head and use my thumb to assess the in (and especially out) flow. I didn't aim the spoon directly in but used my fingertips to detect her mouth and its degree of openness.

Next would come the lightning transition from obliquely hovering spoonful to precisely administered tasty mouthful without jabbing the gums, touching the soft palate or twanging the lips or tongue.

Running my household is more complex, yet still not impossible. Recently, for instance, while sorting laundry, I flicked the corner of a duvet cover into Sophia's abandoned water cup, tipping it on to the floor. I reached for the kitchen roll and knocked over a brand new bottle of multi-surface cleaner which, defying its "sealed" status, sloshed its contents liberally over the kitchen's cork tiles.

Throwing kitchen roll on to the spilled water, I set about wiping up the surface cleaner. My wonderfully helpful (and terrifyingly valuable) new guide dog instantly joined in, diving first into the surface cleaner (to my panic) and then, on my rebuff, seizing the water-soaked kitchen roll and dancing off with it.

Flustered and swearing by now, I chased and caught the dog and paper, sending one from the room and the other to landfill; mopped up the surface cleaner, recaptured my laundry and began to congratulate myself on a household crisis averted.

Brimming with competence, I returned to make the supper I should have started half an hour earlier. Deftly chopping three huge garlic cloves in record time and hurling them at the hot pan … I missed completely!
Still, avoidance of these annoying minor disasters is possible by taking extra time and using forethought.

I am working hard to establish good enough relationships with my daughters that they don't get any ideas about taking advantage of my blindness. So far, I've come down hard on Sophia's "I've finished my food but I don't want you to feel," (obviously unfinished food then), and her plaintive aside to her father, "Don't let her touch my wrist because she'll make me wear long sleeves," and it seems to be paying off. I'm hoping to instil in them the understanding that I am able to detect bad behaviour by means more sophisticated than mere eyesight.

I'm unlikely to win future battles with my girls along the lines of "You're not going anywhere dressed like that." I'm actually quite at ease with the reality that they must be taught to respect and value themselves enough to make their own good decisions on dress and behaviour as they grow into their teenage years.

But the most difficult thing to deal with is not changing nappies, or feeding and cooking, or the exhausting minefield of sightless household management (even the most difficult of such things are possible to overcome by letting go of pride sufficiently to ask for help, if all else fails). No, the really difficult and demoralising challenge I face is other people's attitudes to impairment in general, and to blind parents in particular.
There aren't many blind parents and we are consequently marginalised. My health visitor tells me that while she can easily get me the free Book Start pack in any of 26 languages, there is no possibility of getting it in braille/print, a combination of print and pictures with braille text that allows blind parents to read with sighted children. There is, in fact, no source of such books for sale in the UK, despite the fact that they are relatively easy to produce.

Equally shocking to me was the absence of any of the NHS pregnancy and birth information in either braille, audio or electronic formats. I embarked on motherhood blind, in more than one sense.

B ut all of this pales into insignificance when compared with the way people treat me. Traffic slows down to watch me walking with my guide dog and children. Strangers, and even friends, will seize the slightest chance to ask my husband if I can cook and change nappies. People gawp shamelessly every time I wipe a nose or tie a shoelace and openly express surprise that I am not oblivious to my children's actions when they are not physically attached to me.

As Sophia grows bigger and cleverer, the suspicion among the general public that she is my carer is becoming almost tangible. Just last weekend, for instance, her adherence to the highway code prompted an admiring comment from a passer-by. I turned to smile at the onlooker, pleased that our road safety training was being appreciated, only to find the words being hurriedly bitten back, the person moving swiftly away, as they apparently drew the conclusion that the careful road-crossing was not for my three-year-old's benefit, but for mine.

I am regularly quizzed about my ability to feed and clean my children, the sceptical tone of the questioning barely concealing the suspicion that it's really my husband who does everything. Some people will even ignore my girls' cries for mummy, assuming that, with a mother like me, they must be meaning daddy (which has led, on several occasions, to a gratifying clarification as their screams intensify until they are returned to me).
The truth is that some aspects of blind parenting are a frustrating slog. It is, of course, harder for me than it is for other mothers to do all sorts of things. This is life as I know it, though. I am not surprised by struggle and difficulty. They are old adversaries for anyone determined not to be excluded from life by a severe disability.

There are bonuses too, such as my older daughter's burgeoning vocabulary, born of the necessity to make her meaning clear to me, and the extraordinary gentleness my reared-by-touch babies regard as the norm.
The only real killer is the assumption that I must be a lonely inadequate, incapable of functional living and normal family life. Sometimes, when I tell people about my children in their absence, I sense a moment's pause while they try to decide if it can be true that I have children. There is a drawing back, as though I may be in the grip of psychosis. The pause will end with a querulous countering: "But you can't see. How can you have kids?", as though I may not be aware that I am blind.

This was summed up for me recently when, escaping the mayhem of a family Saturday at home, I slipped out for an hour's quiet shopping. Lurking guiltily around the designer perfumes, I overheard a woman telling her child (with no attempt to lower her voice) how lovely it was for me to have a guide dog as, "It's company for her."

My response to this was, I confess, somewhat crisp."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/aug/08/blind-motherhood-disabilitye

32 Down, 8 To Go

Today we took a tour of the Andrews Women's Hospital which is part of the Baylor Medical Center in Fort Worth. I came to find out that I'm going to deliver this baby in the poshest hospital I've ever seen, with all private rooms, private bathroom with some kind of jetted shower, TV, DVD, personal mini fridge, a plush sitting area and bed for Joe. It's like a fancy hotel room minus the carpet. If I weren't nervous, I might actually be looking forward to it.

The doc says I'm measuring exactly right -- 32 inches at 32 weeks. So far this looks like an average sized baby and I've gained 21 pounds to date. Sorry to bore my readers with the details (which I mainly write for my own benefit).

Horror Stories Please

I had to receive my dreaded Rogan shot today because I have A negative blood.

Well, it wasn't so bad after all. I went in thinking that "Intra Muscular" was a polite way of saying they'd have to give me a big needle stick to the butt. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised that it was only a smallish needle in the arm. Hopefully labor will be the same way. Just tell me the horror stories so I can prepare for the worst and then... hopefully... be pleasantly surprised.

PS At 30 weeks I've gained 20.5lbs, which is only a fraction of a pound more than I weighed two weeks ago. Apparently that big growth spurt has leveled out for a moment.

PPS The baby has the hiccups right now, and Joe felt it for the first time last night. It's intriguing, but also a bit distracting.

Farewell Friend

It's been a month since I said farewell to my doggy friend Penny. I'm still sad that I had to give her away when we moved, but hopefully she's too busy having fun with her new owners to feel the same way I do. Here is a picture of me and Joe with Penny, Uncle Rocky (Garrett Taylor's dog who is not really her Uncle, but they look like twinners), and P-dog's new owner, Ernest Flores. I think this was the first time in Penny-Rocky history that they both stood still while in each other's presence, and Joe's mom, Anne Taylor caught it on camera.

July 2009 Update

I've been in and out a lot this month. Just five days after moving into our new apartment, I was off to Detroit for the annual NFB national convention. I felt the baby hiccup for the first time on the night of July 4th while in Detroit. I didn't feel it again for a long time, but for the last few days those hiccups have returned like a little pulse in my belly. As for Detroit, the city was pretty shabby in my opinion, although the Detroit Riverwalk was a pleasant surprise. I stayed in the Marriott Renaissance Center Hotel (a.k.a. the GM Building) and my room had a view of Canada across the river. Had fun with friends and got some work done including administering the braille exam yet again. Here are a few pictures from the week, although I wish I had more:

This is the Detroit Renaissance Center on the Riverwalk where we stayed.

This is me with my Cambodian/Californian friend Terri Rupp who is due to have a baby a few weeks after me. She's married to a fire-fighter and they live in Vegas but we were once neighbors at the Louisiana Center for the Blind.

This is me at lunch with my buddies Heath, the country boy from Louisiana, and Deja my old friend from Utah. I was feeling under-dressed.

Just a day after arriving home from Detroit, we drove back to San Antonio for Amanda Taylor's wedding. Amanda is Joe's littlest step sister. The wedding was beautiful and it was nice to see so many friends. I stayed a few extra days to hang out with the family. My sister-in-law Ashley and my friend Lori were nice enough to throw me a baby shower. Here are some pictures that Ashley put together to remember the event:

Thanks girls! I'm so blessed to have so many wonderful family members and friends.

Back in Fort Worth, Joe was able to take me out on a Saturday night in "Cow Town". He drove me past where he works in the city and he took me to see the new Harry Potter movie. We found out that Fort Worth is a pretty happening place at night. All the trees are lit up with lights and there are plenty of people and live music around. We're looking forward to spending a few more Saturday nights out.

We also took a second trip back to San Antonio this past weekend because Joe had to give a presentation at an MD/PhD retreat. Now we're back "home" in Fort Worth for a good while I hope. I say "home" because with so much coming and going it's been a slow transition into feeling like it's actually home, but I think I'm getting there.

Speed Blogging

Just got back from Maryland. Joe and I went to our friends' wedding (Mary Jo and Jesse) and visited Joe's sister, Kristen and her family who just moved out there. Now we're back and madly packing boxes for our move to Fort Worth. Definitely in a crazy phase, so this post will be brief.

It seems like over the past few weeks I've gone from looking possibly pregnant to unmistakeably pregnant. I weighed in at the doc's office this morning at 17.5lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight (8 or so of that appeared over the past five weeks). I'm at 25 weeks right now, and almost done with the second trimester. Also, for the first time today I noticed that I can actually tell where the baby is generally positioned after the doc pointed out that I am bulging out on the right side today. Never really noticed that before... maybe I'm a bit of a dummy. There's about a pound and a half of real baby inside me by now. Other observations are that for the past two weeks I've had a sore belly button where the skin is stretching -- weird -- and this week I've had those small (fake) contractions -- weirder. Overall, still feeling pretty good though.

25 weeks down.

Another Joe-ism

Joe: Should I wear a tie?
Louise: No, just a pair of nice pants and a button-up.
Joe: Jeans and a button-up?

23 Weeks

My friends were noticing my belly about a month ago, but now their husbands are actually noticing too. I guess I've reached a milestone.

Classic joe-ism

Louise: I have a headache.
Joe: Me too... Actually, I don't. I'm just trying to be sympathetic.

Oink, Oink!

I'm finally full; Just ate two half bagels with ham, cheese, avocado, and salsa, two banana chocolate chip muffins, two glasses of milk... and a popsicle.

Ideal Weekend

This weekend passed pretty close to my ideal. After Joe finished his qualifying exam on Friday, we ate pizza and went out to see the Pixar movie "Up" in 3D. On Saturday we went out to lunch with our friends Pam and Roland Allen, and Norma and Glen Crosby who were visiting from Louisiana. We went to Tomatillo's Cafe and stayed well past the main course for sopa pillas and flan, and we sat around talking even after the dishes were taken away. I love not being in a rush.

Joe and I were so full from lunch that we ate frozen yogurts and fruit for dinner. Joe took me out to buy a few extra pieces of maternity clothing. I'm in love with my new $12 jean capris from Ross. There's nothing like a good deal to make your day bright. We finished up Saturday at home on the couch watching Spider Man 2.

Usually my ideal weekend would involve hiking, but on Sunday morning we took the dog on an extra long walk on the school field instead. At church we got to sit together the whole time because neither of us had to teach lessons and we had a combined Priesthood/Relief Society meeting. After church we had a banana split night with David, Ashley, Kristen, Aaron, Lily and Gunnar.

Perfect.

House Rented: Prayers Answered

God ALWAYS answers our prayers. More than that, it seems like he typically answers in the way we want him to. We must be asking for the right things at the right times (at least 93 percent of the time).

Memorial Day weekend just passed and our house is now rented. A family from Virginia found us on the rental website. He works in construction and his brother-in-law, an airforce guy, lives in the neighborhood behind ours. Together they are particularly handy and there's no doubt they are going to look after the house even better than we would ourselves. They want to be the man-power behind all the little projects (like installing gutters, fixing the bathroom leak, and landscaping the backyard) like we've been meaning to do for a long time. We couldn't be happier to know that our house will be in the hands of people who will care for it. They also have a plan to move at the same time as us, so no worries about inconveniencing family or storing furniture. Now maybe I can sleep (so long as this baby stops squishing my insides -- Not a chance).

Baby Gymnast

If this baby kicks as much when she's bigger than 12 oz., then I'm really in for it! Well, maybe I exaggerate a little, but she does seem to be cbouncing off the walls in there lately, and this can only be a good thing I suppose. Joe felt it for the first time last night.

The Good Life

I always like hearing the news from home. Talking with Mum and Dad is generally sprinkled with interesting tid-bits about Dad's most recent fishing trip, catching half a dozen flat head in his boat off Birdy Island, or Mum having coaxed a local kookaburra and a pair of magpies to eat out of her hand. It's easy to miss Australia.

This is a picture of Dad showing off the big-fella sunflowers he grew this year.

THINK PINK!

The 20 week ultrasound revealed that IT'S A GIRL! I'll post her little portrait soon, but for now, here's the long-awaited picture of my growing self: I've gained 9 lbs so far (which I'm told is about right), and according to the ultrasound, 12 oz. of that belong to the baby (but don't ask me how that was calculated).

When I called to tell Joe's mom the news, she asked if we had to stock up on "ribbons or band-aids?" This was somewhat reminiscent of Joe's call to announce our engagement; He was calling to answer her previous question of which picture to use in the family Christmas letter, "the one with or without Louise?".

It's All Happening at Once

Took a surprise trip to Fort Worth... After researching apartments online, we decided at about 5pm Thursday evening that we'd drive up and check them out. So, we threw a few things in a bag and off we went, stayed in Waco over night, and cruised in after breakfast Friday morning.

We were kind of like Goldy Locks; The first batch of places were too dumpy (although we considered it for a while on account of the possible savings). The second batch was too ritzy (hmmm... tempting...). But at about 2:30 in the afternoon we found the place that was JUST RIGHT. It's a two bedroom apartment in a gated complex in an established neighborhood with lots of trees and -- best of all -- it backs onto a riverside jogging track. I think we'll like it.

Also, today we got notice that some people want to rent our house in San Antonio. We've been scrambling to write up a contract for them to sign on Monday. They want to move in as soon as possible, so that means a lot more scrambling is about to occur on our end. It looks like we'll have two weeks to get the heck outta here! We'll put our furniture in storage for a month and find some living arangement for ourselves while we tie things up here. Life is about to get crazy.

PS Joe had to change a tire in the rain today. He gave me the job of holding the umbrella.

660!!!

I can hardly contain my glee! What's all the excitement you ask...? My neighborhood is now served by a BUS! I don't know how long this has been going on without my knowledge, but suddenly I feel reconnected with the world. Realisticly, I might not use it in the month or so we have remaining in San Antonio, but we'll be back, and it makes a big difference knowing that if I can't organize another ride, the 660 bus will be there!

Goldfish?

People have told me that when you feel your baby kick for the first time, it feels like butterflies. I'm not so sure. Here's how I think it feels:

When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to do was to buy a new goldfish for my pond and each fish always came home from the petstore tied up in a plastic bag. It was such a funny feeling when I felt the fish bumping the bag. That's what my baby feels like to me.

Guessing Game

So, if this baby is a girl, I already have the cutest outfit for her from Children's Place, but if it's a boy, I have the cuddliest puppy-print blanket picked out ready to buy from Target. My bet is that it's a boy. Most people seem to think so too. In two weeks and two days we should find out if we're all bad guessers.
NB I have a little pot belly now that people are just beginning to notice. I tried taking a picture yesterday, but apparently I broke the camera...

Rissoles

Last night we had our good friends Jan (my sewing buddy) and Ben Francisco over for dinner. They are moving this week and I'm very sad. I made rissoles with mashed potatoes, gravy, and carrots. a.k.a. a good Aussie meal. Rissoles are kind of like savory meatballs.

Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef (mince) or turkey
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup breadcrumbs (or cornflake crumbs or oats)
1/3-1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup chopped onion (or to taste)
onion salt, to taste
fresh ground pepper, to taste
sea salt, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce (to taste)
vegetables (you can add any leftover veggies you may have on hand, if desired) (optional)
olive oil (for frying)

Directions
1. Place all ingredients in mixing bowl; mix well.
2. Roll into golf ball size meatballs.
3. Heat oil in heavy frying pan.
4. Cook meatballs in oil over medium heat, turning as needed, until each side is quite well done and very browned.
5. Serve with beef gravy.

Just as a side-note, in my 7th grade agriculture class, we had a cow that someone named Rissole. So funny.

Another Anniversary

I don't always remember, but this year I did; Today is the seventh anniversary since our first date! Here's a picture.

Sonogram Scheduled

My first sonogram has been scheduled for May 20. I'll be twenty weeks along and I can't wait to know if this baby is a girl or a boy. By the way, at present, I can't zip any of my pants but I don't quite look pregnant just yet.

Today Makes Eight

The trip that was going to be for eight months has now stretched all the way to eight years (and still counting). It was eight years ago today that I arrived in the United States as a little eighteen-year-old, bound for Brigham Young University. When I left home that day, I couldn't have known how much a semester or two away would change my entire life. It's mind-boggling! Each little choice can take us far.

Bread and Butterflies

I think I felt the baby for the first time today, although I can't be entirely sure it wasn't just my lunch. However, I'm told that if I feel a fluttering sensation inside, it could be the baby. I'm almost at sixteen weeks, so if that wasn't the baby, it won't be long before it is. By the way, if you think the bread and butterfly was a cute idea, congratulate Lewis Carol, not me. I'm sure LC never thought to apply the term to pregnancy though. Also, I want this cupcake.

That's Why They Call 'Em Boxers

My dog got a little over-excited at the prospect of walking yesterday, and gave me a nice upper-cut to the jaw with the top of her head. Thankfully, no lasting damage.

Tropical Fever

A giant bag of frozen mangoes called my name at the store today, so I brought them home with me. I'm gonna make smoothies outta you guys!

30 Ways in 30 Days

You'll likely be reading Dennis Prager's name a lot on my blog. I listen to his radio show most days of the week. His guest for this hour, Rebecca Hagelin, has a new book called Thirty Ways in Thirty Days to Save Your Family. I wouldn't mind reading it. I'm going to skip the whole reading books about pregnancy phase, and move onto the parenting books. Of course, I'm sure the scriptures are the best parenting books around, and I'd better get reading those too.

I recently heard someone say something like "If you read the scriptures as religiously as you read your e-mail, you'd be a lot better off". The first person who can find the exact quote on lds.org will win a mystery prize. I'm reasonably sure it was said in an LDS General Conference in 2008. On your marks... Get set... Go!

Starting Out

There's nothing like a pregnancy to stir a person to start a blog. Joe has been encouraging me for years to start posting... Tah-dah! Here I am... Finally. I've enjoyed reading blogs of family members and close friends and it's past time for me to start returning the favor. I'll do my best.