What to Bring for Labor

In just a few weeks, I should be holding my second baby boy in my arms. As such, the whole idea that I'm actually giving birth again has officially sunk in and likes to freak me out. To manage the concept of being a mother to two boys under the age of two, I've been making lists and over-preparing and in general, making my husband worry more than me.

I've been thinking of my last labor, delivery, and recovery hospital visit and came up with a more in depth list as to what I need to bring and why. Hopefully, this will be helpful to some of you.

Camera. Make sure you bring one and make sure it's charged before you go. Bring the charger too as you'll probably take so many photos of your new little one, the battery life will be short. Doesn't matter much in my opinion if it's a phone camera or a more professional one, just make sure you bring one.

My Baby Boy and I

Comfy Bedding for Husband. We own a memory foam mattress topper for a twin bed. It's hardly ever used at the moment, but we brought it with us to the hospital along with sheets, cover, and pillow, and my sweet husband was able to comfortably sleep on the chair beds the hospital provided. Granted, he only slept when I was asleep, but he was able to actually get sleep. Mom's need husbands who have had a good night's rest.

Toiletries. Shampoo, conditioner, hairbrush, hair ties, makeup, face wash, body wash, razor, etc. You will be able to take a shower after giving birth. Having these toiletries makes you feel human again after going through an incredible feat. Plus, you can then look nice for pictures and feel nicer even when you are sore everywhere.

Adult Disposable Underwear/Diapers. Sounds weird. I know. But they save you. You just had the most insane period ever. You will be recovering for a while. The hospital usually will provide huge giant pads, but this way you don't have to worry about leaking so much. Plus, they can better hold cooling pads. Better to heal with especially if you had stitches. Just bring some.

Comfy Clothing. You are not required to wear the hospital gown while recovering. Bring a couple of comfy shirts you can nurse in (button-up PJ shirt or nursing shirt) and loose, comfy bottoms that you could have worn in your 2nd trimester. You won't go back to your former size immediately after giving birth, so don't pack skinny jeans. You could also bring a robe to wear. Bring some slippers or sandals too, you might be more swollen after giving birth than before due to pushing a child out of you, so walking the halls to a nice, wonderful jacuzzi tub would be easier in sandals.

Nursing Supplies. For women who plan to nurse, bring nursing bras, nursing breast pads, and your nursing pillow. Nursing can be kinda hard to get a handle on. It helps to have everything you need to make it easier. Took my first child and me about 3 weeks to figure it all out, so I'd also recommend bringing an electric breast pump and bottles. They aren't necessary, but when you're really struggling with the latching and feeding, you can at least pump to encourage milk supply and feed your child the 'liquid gold' that's only there at the beginning of your child's life. I'd really invest in an electric pump, not a hand pump. My hands about fell off with how much hand pumping I needed to do. Bring lanolin cream for your breasts as well, they'll be sore.

Baby Hand Mittens
BedBath&Beyond.com

For Baby. Of course, bring the cute outfit for going home in, but bring them in a couple of different sizes: pre-term, newborn, 0-3 month. My son was born 9 lbs, so he only fit in the newborn size for about 2 weeks before he outgrow them. You're never sure how big he'll be until he's arrived. Bring some baby blankets too. I'd also highly recommend to bring baby hand mittens and baby fingernail clippers. Your child will be born with fingernails. They will accidentally scratch themselves unless their hands are swaddled in blankets. It also will help prevent your baby getting sick from people playing with his hands and then having your child put that hand into his mouth. Bring your child's baby book! You can ask the nurses to help get the baby's hand and foot prints. Make sure you bring the infant carseat. You will not be allowed to take your child home unless you have one.

Entertainment. Bring your laptop, a book, card game, or something. You'll be recovering for a couple of days and have some downtime.

Snacks. I was always hungry in the middle of the night. While the hospital food was amazing (seriously), the cafeteria isn't open in the middle of the night. I wasn't allowed to eat during labor (which lasted at least 12 hours), and right after you don't always feel like eating a lot either. I was starving by the time my first breakfast arrived. Your husband will probably be hungry too. Our hospital had a snack bar in the hallway stocked full of yummy snacks. However, sometimes the snacks were all gone because all the other couples grabbed some too. Make sure you bring snacks.

Other Advice. You don't need to bring diapers and wipes for your little one, as they usually provide those while you are in the hospital. Our hospital will leave the child with the parents unless otherwise requested, then they'll bring the child in for feedings. While some mothers want to be near their newborn 24/7, I personally recommend you request for the nurses to take your child at night. Not during the day, just at night. They will still wake you up and bring your child in to eat every 2 hours. But you're in the hospital to recover as much as you possibly can, in my opinion, that means actual sleep rather than being woken up from a restless baby who doesn't actually need to be feed yet, but you aren't sure. The more you're able to recover, the more you will be able to be there for your child when you are the only one there. You can trust the nurses, they know how to take care of newborns; it is their job, so you can rest easy. Check your hospital's website for any other advice they have on to what to bring or not bring to make your stay comfortable for all of you.

Mourning with Those that Mourn

LDS.org

Life is naturally full of death.
It's a unavoidable part of life.

And even when you understand and really know the truth of the Plan of Salvation, it doesn't make it much easier when a loved one dies.

Yes, having the knowledge of the promises of eternal relationships, knowing you will see your loved one again helps. But it's a promise that will be fulfilled in the future. At the moment, death hurts. You miss them. For the rest of your mortal life, you won't see them again. You won't be able to make new memories with them. Past memories can be both a comfort and a pain.

Elder Russell M. Nelson said:

Mourning is one of the deepest expressions of pure love. It is a natural response in complete accord with divine commandment: “Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die” (D&C 42:45).

Part of our baptismal covenant says we "are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort" (Mosiah 18:8-10).

It can be awkward knowing how to comfort those that need it. Sometimes it's just important to mourn with them. Some ideas for us to mourn and comfort with others are as follows:

• Enter the world of the grieving.
• Be sure to visit.
• Tell me that she loved me.
• Let me talk. Listen.
• Tell me I look great and I'm doing great.
• Understand that I don't feel normal in social situations.
• Compliment me if you believe that I am a stronger person for having endured this trial.
• Love us.
• Visit frequently (not just around the funeral).
• Extend a helpful hand.

However, sometimes the ways we try to comfort can be insensitive. Here is a list of things we should really avoid:

• Don't tell me how to feel.
• Don't tell me to be strong.
• Don't expect me to "get over it."
• Don't tell me you understand.
• Don't give me a time limit on when I should be "better."
• Don't tell me to get married.
• Don't make me do anything.

Sources: "Willing to Mourn with Those that Mourn . . ."; "To Mourn with Those That Mourn"

Gossip

I've always defined gossip as talking negatively about an individual who isn't there. What if it's the truth though? Or what if it's to make sure someone gets the help they need because they're taking drugs or something? Would it still be gossip?

I've learned to examine conversation with four questions to help me define whether it is gossip or not:

1. Would it be better left unsaid? (If yes, it's gossip).
2. Is it personal information about another that you don't have permission to share? (If yes, it's gossip).
3. Does it harm the reputation of the subject of conversation? (If yes, it's gossip).
4. Is your intention to help the individual and are you informing someone who is in a position to help? (Answer has to be yes for both halves of this question for it not to be considered gossip).

It doesn't matter if want you say is true and factual; if it can cause harm, it causes harm. There is no positive to gossip. It destroys. It never builds.

Harms of Gossip

There are three individuals gossip ravages: the gossiper, the listener and the victim.

Elder Gene R. Cook mentioned that before the Savior arrived in the Americas that “Satan did stir them up to do iniquity continually; yea, he did go about spreading rumors and contentions upon all the face of the land, that he might harden the hearts of the people against that which was good and against that which should come” (Hel. 16:22). Gossip is an effective weapon against good. It really does harm everyone it comes into contact with.

One writer said, "Cooperation and good feelings among those who work together in Church callings are also iced over when gossip occurs." That's within the relationships between members of the Church. Imagine how destructive it could be in friendships and family relationships.

LDS.org

Why does the gossiper gossip? There are a few reasons. Sometimes when we feel insecure about ourselves, we pick, poke, and prod at others because if they are worse than we are, we must be better. Other times individuals have been gossiped about, so they gossip too. In some cases, gossip has just become a habit of conversation. Gossiping may feel like a great way to bond with others, but it's not.

Gossiping actually makes the gossiper more and more isolated. Gossiping makes people feel uncomfortable. It also causes them to not trust the gossiper with any personal revelations. Relationships cannot be built or strengthened if you can't trust one party to retain information given in confidence. The same writer mentioned earlier also said, "When we refrain from repeating cruel or careless words, we not only are able to serve more effectively but we also build a foundation for closeness and friendship." If the gossiper is talking about someone else in such a manner, you can't trust that anything they learn about you won't be shared too. People start to withdraw from the gossiper. The gossiper may sense this and so try to strengthen then relationship by gossiping about others. In the short term it may feel as if bonds are strengthening, but in reality it only worsens. Gossiping hardens your hearts towards people.

Our relationships are again affected as we alienate ourselves from others. We feel a cold, hollow hypocrisy as we greet or deal with people we have talked about negatively. Our own feelings of worth and our outlook on life are affected as we expect others to talk about us with the same lack of regard. We become nervous about appearing less than perfect because others might talk about us. After all, how can we expect others to act more nobly than we ourselves are acting? Worse, we pull ourselves away from Heavenly Father and cannot feel the warmth of his approval when we are being unkind to his other children. We alienate ourselves spiritually and thus feel even more shut out. "The Frigid Wind of Gossip."

The listener becomes an injured party too. Generally you don't want to hear gossip. It can be uncomfortable to listen to and you might learn things about others you just didn't want to learn. It skews your perception and judgment. It will harm the relationship you have with both the victim of the gossip and the gossiper. You start to avoid the gossiper and you have no idea how to communicate to the victim now that you know "things."

Obviously the victim is harmed. Gossip harms the relationships the individual has with others. Those that hear the gossip treat the individual differently, even if they know it's not true. Gossip isn't something that can be taken back. It's also not something easily confronted as it's said almost in whispers and behind hands. It cuts that people would participate in gossip. Gossip is only focusing on the victims faults. Knowing that people are poking at real or imagined faults causes the victim to become insecure and to focus so much on their own faults they might overlook what is wonderful about themselves. When people are insecure it harms their mental well-being and their confidence which overflows in all aspects of their lives. No one should want to cause this kind of harm in others.

Gossip can destroy friendships. It can destroy families. Gossip is not something you ever want. It only destroys.

Stopping the Gossip

Gossip is sneaky. You don't always realize it is gossip when arrives in conversation (thus the questions to ask yourself mentioned earlier). Gossip can be difficult to stop once it starts. Each individual involved in the gossip can do their part.

Gossiper. If gossip is a habit of conversation, it's important to learn new conversation topics and habits. If you find you're gossiping because it makes you feel better about yourself in comparison, you need to find confidence in who you are without involving any comparison. You should learn to look at yourself and realize how good you are as you. Don't involve anyone else other than Heavenly Father in gaining self-esteem. If you have been told things in confidence, keep them confidences. Sometimes people need to have someone to talk to about personal issues, but it doesn't mean you share what they shared with others. 

Listener. Gossip can surprise the listener. You don't plan to hear it. But there are three things you can do to not be a participant. For every negative quality being mentioned about an individual, you should start listing two positive qualities. It's important to recognize faults are not all that people are. When positive qualities are listed, you find yourself not wanting to focus on their faults. If that doesn't work, you could just ask them to stop. Tell them you're uncomfortable. That can be difficult to do. It may even feel rude, but it would be worse to let such conversation to continue. If gossip still continues, physically leave the conversation. If you let gossip continue then you are allowing harm to come to everyone involved, especially the victim and yourself.

Victim. How can you stop gossip when you aren't even present for the conversation? There really isn't much you can do. Being in such a situation would be a true refiner's fire. It's far from an ideal situation. What you can do is focus on yourself and your own responses. Gossiping in retaliation only worsens the entire situation. You have to really learn to “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matt. 5:44). Such a tough challenge that will definitely strengthen your character. The other thing you will have to do is recognize your divine worth. Recognize you are a child of God. Recognize your great qualities. Recognize your faults and where you can be better, but don't ever let it get you down. Always strive to be better, but recognize who you are today is a child of God. You will create a strong character that can be a foundation for others.

Create a Safe Haven

Become one of those individuals that people know would never reveal confidences. Become one of those people no one will gossip around because they know you won't accept it. Become the warm, safe, caring shelter for those who need it. Especially the most important people in your life: your spouse, your children, your relatives, your friends.

"For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). If that's what our Heavenly Father's and Jesus Christ's goal is for all of us, then we should desire to be a part of it. Gossiping about others is a sure way to work against God's goals. We should be helping each other up, not tearing them down. "Therefore, strengthen your brethren in all your conversation, in all your prayers, in all your exhortations, and in all your doings" (D&C 108:7).

Resources:

Family Home Evening Resource Book

Q&A: We are warned against gossiping. But is it gossip if what we talk about is true?

Q&A: The scriptures warn us against gossiping. But what should we do if someone starts gossiping to us or spreads gossip about us?

The Doctrine of the Salvation of Little Children

"Jesus loves and blesses children. They are the companions of angels. They shall be saved. Of such is the kingdom of Heaven" (Bruce R. McConkie)

My greatest fears and worries are not being able to have children, having miscarriages and stillbirths, and experiencing a death of a child. I believe those are worries all potential mothers have. I'm surrounded by young couples who are building and strengthening their marriage, pregnant, and with children. However, there are several who have, at this young age, suffered loss of children already.

What comfort can we receive and give to those that worry about and experience such a terrible loss?

Family Mission Statement

A Family Mission Statement is "a written statement of what you want your life and family to be and the values by which you will live your life" (Families with a Purpose).

I've been learning about this in my online Parenting class. One of my assignments required me to write one for myself, or with my husband if I was married. Obviously I am. So for Family Home Evening we began work on a rough draft.

A family mission statement involves the whole family in its creation which means that the whole family has a clear knowledge of what the family values and what the family's goal is. Ideally this means the whole family works together for the goal.

Married: Now what?

I've given Advice To Fiancées and the Phase 2 of Wedding Letters: The Thank You Cards. But now that I'm finally married to a wonderful man and more settled into my life, I thought I would share a few things I've learned.

Before arriving at your home, make sure the utilities are on and working. It depends on the deal you have with the owners, if you are paying utilities yourself or not, but make sure the water, electricity, gas, and plumbing are on. Make sure you have garbage services as well. This way, when you arrive, you can get a drink of water and anything else as needed.

The first thing to do upon your arrival in your new home is to buy a new mattress. This way, if nothing else, you have a place to sleep at the end of your first day settling in. Hopefully, you and your spouse have already gone to different mattress stores to get an idea of what you wanted and how much it would cost. As newlyweds, you generally receive a nice amount of cash that could help purchase the mattress you desire. I would recommend looking at outlet stores where the mattresses are brand new, but have a random dent or something that cuts down the prices several hundred dollars.

You don't have to unpack everything immediately. Sometimes you don't have a place for things yet. For example, a dresser or hangers for your clothes. It's okay to still use your suitcase of stuff. Don't feel rushed. You'll get there. Just do what you can each day.

Phase 2 of Wedding Letters: The Thank You Cards

I've been working on Thank You cards in response to the wedding gifts my husband and I have received a few months ago. There has been a few things I realized while I've been working on them that I wish to share with those who aren't quite sure what to do for Thank You cards.

1. Don't rush. You want the person receiving the card to know how much you appreciate them and their gift. Time is one of the greatest gifts you can give to someone. Take time on each card. Don't try to get them done in a short amount of time.
2. Be sincere and honest. My husband and I loved all of our gifts. Occasionally we had duplicates of things, but we were so grateful to have too many than to not have one at all. When thanking the person for their gift, really mean it. Find something you love about every gift and mention it to the person who gave it to you. For example, "I just wanted to say how grateful we are for the colander you gave us! We've love using it for our pasta nights or quickly rising vegetables for a stew. Thank you so much." Don't make up a fake reason why you are thankful for it; it reads falsely, and you want to show your sincere thanks to someone.
3. Thank them for who they are, not just what they gave you. This takes longer, which is why time is valuable. It can be hard to know all of your guests. But call your parents and your in-laws. Ask them for some basic information on those you don't know. Mention your gratitude for their presence in your life, in your spouse's life, in your parents' lives, in your siblings' lives, and why. Thank them for always being cheerful. Or always having an open home. Or guiding you. Or being a wonderful example. Etc. Make it personal. Express your gratitude for them.
4. Handwrite them. It doesn't have to be much. Write three or four sentences. But write them by hand. It expresses more of the time you were willing to give to really thank them for what they gave you.

My favorite part of writing these cards is the response I receive from them. "I wanted to send her a thank you card for the thank you card." You can brighten someone's day if you take the time and opportunity. And that, well, it brightens your own.

Advice To Fiancées

I'm getting married in 22 days. As I'm sure many of you that are married or engaged have realized, the wedding date is very apt at sneaking upon you like a lightening-fast ninja. I've been blessed enough in my own life to have had a little over three months from the moment I was engaged to the date of our wedding.

In my engagement time period, I've had numerous friends who have also gotten engaged or are on the verge of doing so. Having friends riding in a parallel engagement boat as you is a relief; my own little support group. That's what I think the world needs, support groups for fiancées and fiancés. It's helped so much. Each couple have discovered knowledge and tips about the process of getting married and share it so we all benefit. It works especially well when all the couples are in the same location during the engagement, even if they are getting married in different states.

You know how I mentioned that I have friends at the very beginning stages of being engaged? Well, these friends are starting to freak out (totally reasonable) and know that since I was a totally rational person during my own engagement (not), I've found they've come to me for information and wisdom, as if I knew all there is to know about being engaged.

Let me warn you now that I am no such source. Yes, I have definite experience in this area, but only for myself. I have no idea how helpful it would be to others. While this information will hopefully be helpful to all brides-to-be, it's more towards brides-to-be that are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

But I'll share with you what I've discovered in hopes that it helps.

My Brother's Shared Life Lessons

I've asked my brother, an Elder serving in South Carolina, to share the life lessons he's learned on his mission so far. I've already posted a few responses from other Elders and Sisters serving missions previously, but I'll be continuing to do this every time I receive a response from those currently serving or those who have returned. But this is what my brother shared with me:

I have a testimony that the best things in life comes as a result of enduring the hardest things. 

If you seek for temporal happiness, you'll find it, but down the road you'll come to realize you could have had something better. Seek for the relations that lead to eternal happiness through trials and tribulations and patience. 

When you're having a hard time appreciating somebody, pray to God and ask him to show you why He loves that person so you can love them in the same way. 

A full understanding of the Gospel includes wisdom and knowledge of all things, both spiritual, such as the Nature of God, and physical, such as sciences. Prioritize God's commandments above all else, he will guide thee to come to a knowledge of all things. 

We need more Faith. President Holm, my brother's mission president, said, "Most people expect to fail but hope to surprise themselves and win." We need to have that faith or expectation to achieve what we set our minds up to accomplish.

I hope that we can each incorporate them into our own lives and become better as a result. Don't forget to write your friends and acquaintances on missions. They'd love it, and you can take is as an opportunity to grow and to become better friends.

Communication: Councils

Yesterday, I spoke about Symbolic Interactions and Listening. Today, I'm speaking about Councils.

Councils. They are meetings where people get together to discuss and plan how things should run.

Generally, in both politics and the business world, each council member has his or her own agenda they are trying to push forward. They're a bit biased. The ideal council would be where people of different backgrounds, different experiences, and different opinions gathered together often to truly and honestly discover the best things that should be doing and the best direction they should be headed.

However, even then each has his or her agenda thinking that their way is the right way.

Thus, you want a council where they are searching for the best of all the possibilities. Which means they have their opinions but they are open to change. The best councils don't compromise, they have a consensus at the end of the meeting. If there isn't a consensus then a decision hasn't been reached and it will be put off until the next meeting.

Communication: Symbolic Interactions and Listening

We are always communicating. Even when you're not talking you're communicating. What is communication? Communication is the successful conveying or sharing of ideas and feelings. When there is a miscommunication it means the conveying or sharing of ideas and feelings failed. Such a miscommunication happens for a variety of reasons, but one way it happens involves symbolic interactions. Every interaction we have is immersed in symbols.

Generally, a handshake means the deal is sealed, we have an agreement, hello, welcome. When someone doesn't give a handshake when you expect it, you may think the person is rude, doesn't want to shake your hand, or many other explanations in the negative. However, perhaps this individual just doesn't shake hands at all.

The handshake is an example of a symbolic interaction. Doing it or not doing it has meaning to each individual involved. But perhaps the meanings are not the same.

Why Traditions?

Traditions. I've talked about them once before back in June 2010. They are fascinating. Traditions can truly shape a family.

Donald L. Hallstorm said: "Traditions, established patterns of behavior transmitted from generation to generation, are an inherent part of culture. Our culture and its related traditions help establish our sense of identity and fill the vital human need to belong" (Cultivate Righteous Traditions).

The traditions can be positive or negative. If there are traditions that lead a family further away from the path of happiness those are bad. Then there are those traditions that can lead a family on the path of happiness.

When a new couple come together to form a new family, they should decide what traditions they wish to have. Have a reason for each tradition.

Think about Christmas. Do you open present(s) on Christmas Eve? Do you have a big Christmas dinner? On Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? Do you give away a present? Do you go Christmas caroling? Why do you or don't you choose to have those traditions? What do they teach your family?

When you think of what traditions you want in your family, think about what you want for your family. You might want a family that is service oriented, that has Charity for everyone. Perhaps a family that loves to read. Or a family that spends time together and can turn to each other for support. Maybe you may want a family that values music. A family that values work. A family that values developing skills.

What traditions would best serve your goals for a family? If you want a family that is service oriented, then traditions that involve serving should be created. If you want a family that values music, then come up with traditions that encourage it within your family. Perhaps you sing to your children every night. Or you play music while doing chores. Or you just always have music on and encourage musical presentations. Or some such.

Traditions. They are vital to help your family become what you wish them to be.


Here are some articles on traditions:
"Righteous Traditions" by Cheryl C. Lant
"The Traditions of Their Fathers" by James T. Duke
"Traditions Worth Keeping"

Date: It's Important

Hanging out:

"Consists of numbers of young men and young women joining together in some group activity. It is very different from dating."

Dating:

"Is pairing off to experience the kind of one-on-one association and temporary commitment that can lead to marriage in some rare and treasured cases."

(Elder Dallin H. Oaks. "Dating versus Hanging Out." Ensign, Jun 2006.)

Here are some questions for you to ponder: How many times have you done something this week that you'd call "hanging out"? Have you gone with a group of people to go bowling, have dinner, watch a movie or played games this week?

Now, have you gone on a date in the last month?

Hanging out doing activities with a mixed group of guys and girls is not dating. It's certainly not the best way to find a boyfriend or girlfriend and figure out if you'll work together. Hanging out allows for flirtation with everyone. It also allows you to be more relaxed and doesn't make you a better person. It allows you to be lazy. It's not good for society. In truth, it's helping to destroy it.

Dating has a role in society. It really does.

Marriage: The Institution of God

Originally for this blog post I was going to type something about social class in relation to families. However, I then stumbled upon the following video and I felt I had to say something about this.

I believe he's on to something. He has some truths in here.

The diagram to the right is something I've learned. When a husband and a wife are both striving for the goal of reaching Heavenly Father, striving to become closer to Him and His son, Jesus Christ, they automatically become closer to each other. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ is what you should build your foundation on. A husband and a wife are partners.

Family Dynamic Theories

There are four types of theories or explanations of how marriage and the family works that my Family Relations class studied in our textbook, Marriage & Family: The Quest for Intimacy.

1. Systems Theory: focuses on social systems and how their interdependent parts maintain order. Or in other words, the different unspoken family rules your family has.
2. Exchange Theory: views social interaction as a cost-benefit analysis in which people try to keep their costs lower than their rewards. Instead of keeping track of exactly what's owed me, I expect to have my investment returned to me in some way in our continuing relationship.
3. Symbolic Interaction Theory: views humans as cognitive creatures who are influenced and shaped by their interaction experiences. Different actions, words mean different things to separate individuals because of the way it was used in your family life; basically a difference in family cultures.
4. Conflict Theory: focuses on contradictory interests, inequalities, and the resulting conflict and change. People want or need different things that sometimes come into conflict, so compromises or arguments could result. 

Scams

In my family, we just let the phone ring unless it's a number we recognize and our parents are home. Because generally it's for them anyways and the message will usually be something along the lines of "tell your mom (or dad) that on blank-day, so-and-so needs this or that and that the meeting on this blank-day has been changed to this time." Etc. We leave it for the answering machine so our parents can actually get the message.

So the other day, when we were all together in the family room lounged on the couch, draped over chairs, or sprawled on the floor chatting about life while the television was paused, the phone rang. It was one of those numbers we didn't recognize, plus it was an unknown caller. My dad actually asked that we pick it up. We normally don't, because usually those numbers are trying to sell us something. But we did, and gave him the phone.

And guess what? Someone was calling from India! My family doesn't know anyone personally who lives there, just so you know. This person was telling us that we have a problem with our Windows on the computer and thus he called us so he could help, or whatever. Now, this guy called the wrong house. First, I think that we have only one non-Mac in the house. Secondly, we haven't had a problem with our computers. Thirdly, my dad's a computer scientist and so actually knows what computers can and can't do. Receiving a call from India about the fact that one of our computers is having problems and so reached out to this guy for help and then from that learned our actual house number to call to help was highly unlikely. Apparently impossible as well.

Learning from Ancestors

Family History. I love it. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it's part of what we do. It doesn't just mean genealogy work. I means really getting to know your past relatives. In the church, we also use it to discover which portions of our ancestors' ordinances are done.

For me, however, I have to go back a great many generations to find someone without their work done. All lines of my ancestors joined the church back in the 1800s. They've pretty much been doing Family History work ever since then. As a result, I don't focus all too much on that aspect of it. But I do love to follow the doings and stories of each individual. I learn of their struggles to America back before it was a country. I learn of their struggles across the Great Plains to Utah and from there to other parts of the West. I learn of the hardships they faced in the Great War and the Great Depression. I learn how much technology has changed. I learn of their daily lives, their hopes and dreams. It's truly fascinating to me. Much of the lessons my ancestors have learned through their trials are simular to the ones I face now. You learn much wisdom from studying your ancestors' lives.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

It's that time of year again!

Thanksgiving!

I love Thanksgiving. It's the time when families and friends get together and think of all the wonderful things we have in our lives and express our gratitude to our Heavenly Father for them.

Time for Registering!

Wow. It's already time to sign up for my next semester. That's just a bit crazy to me. It was July only a few months ago! And now, it's the week before Thanksgiving and practically a month before Christmas. Then the week after that it's time for me to return to Rexburg, ID and freeze to death.

What Rexburg, ID practically looks like in January

I love Rexburg, don't get me wrong. I really do love the town. It's just the snow that is a little crazy. Oh, and the wind. I'm a Cali girl! Cold means it's 60º outside! Though once I'm there for a month and a half, I start thinking that 34º means it's warm... but that's a whole other issue.

But I'm excited to return. I get to learn some new things. I get to be productive every day (hopefully). I am able to see friends whenever I'd like to (when I'm not crazy busy with homework). I even get to be a Junior this time around. That's the oddest thing. To realize that I'm a Junior. It represents that I've been at school for the past two years. That I graduated high school 2 1/2 years ago. It's odd to look back on my younger self and realize how much I've changed and grown in those years. It makes me so grateful that I have grown, but it's just surprising at how much fast the years are passing me by.

I remember when I was in grade school that every year was so very long. From Christmas to Christmas or birthday to birthday. It was forever. Now? It feels like we just had Christmas. Not that I'm complaining. I absolutely love Christmas. However, they do seem to come more frequently than before. Maybe it's because when I was 8 years old, a year was 1/8 of my life. That's quite significant. Now it's only 1/20 of my life. I expect that Christmas will seem to come closer and closer together as life goes on.

In the next two years, I'll (hopefully) be graduated. My one brother will have returned from his mission to South Carolina and the other will have been out for at least a few months. I plan on using this blog for the both of them. I'm so clever. My sister will be a Senior in high school (that's a scary thought...). And my youngest brother will be in the midst of 8th grade. That's not too bad. Scary. But it wouldn't be high school.

Time. Goes by fast, and slow. and everything in between. "Time is relative." It's true. Albert Einsein was a pretty smart man. Time is time. It's hard to really pin it down. and it's always changing. It never stays constant.

I love it. I've got a lot to look forward to in life!

My Sister's English Teacher is an Alien

My sister was given an assignment in her English class to write a persuasive essay about why they should or should not have phones in class. He informed them they could create and use any facts they'd like to. My sister took it to heart. Her essay was the discussion around the dinner table the other day and so I wanted to read the entire thing. She hurried over to the computer and emailed me a copy. Hope you enjoy it just as much as the rest of us!

"Cell phones should not be allowed in class. They are disruptive, distracting, and the signal from so many cell phones would tell the hostile aliens where we are. No one wants to be captured by those little purple things that live on Venus. They cut people up, tinker with their organs, then put them back together however they want to. These aliens, unlike the mythical illegal immigrants from Mexico that try to steal over the border, mythical because it has never happened before because the United States’ security is awesome, are real. It can be proven by the United States through their top-secret facility, Area 51.

From "Stargate SG-1"

"The aliens know that the youth of today are obsessed with cell phones. They prefer children to adults, and so then they see a mass of cellular signals, especially around schools, they know it is children they have found. These aliens have such high technology they could hide anywhere, or be anyone. English teachers especially are likely to be aliens because they abhor the grammatically incorrect use of any language while texting. Aliens hope to ride our world of cell phone use, so they don’t have to worry about using languages incorrectly, and so people cannot communicate easily with one another when they come to invade our planet. While they might have superior technology, we are more intelligent, especially since the only place they tend to look for cell phone use is during school hours, in school classrooms.

"Many people say there are no such things as aliens, especially aliens from Venus. It was those people who were taken first. As the aliens put their experiments back together, they install an alien self defense mechanism, ASDM for short. How it works is if the person with an ASDM is in the room when someone suggests that aliens are real, the mechanism kicks in and the person is tricked into disbelieving anything that is said. Those who say aliens aren’t from Venus, but from Mars, have a more complex ASDM installed in their brain. Those people were the people who already knew about the existence of aliens, and truly believed it and tried to do all they could in ridding the Earth of the aliens, but were unfortunately captured in battle. The original ASDM, which works for most people, wouldn’t work for them, so the aliens had to modify it. The newer ASDMs make it so human’s anger of aliens is directed at Mars instead of Venus.

"Since aliens are at war with humanity, it is important to know the telltale signs of an alien. First, aliens like to be English teacher, as sated before, so they can fix all the language issues. Not that all English teachers are aliens, only the majority of them are aliens. Second, aliens like their human impersonations to be male because they are the soldiers and the spies, while the females are the ones in charge and back on the ship and on Venus conducting the experiments on people. The aliens also like to have beards so they can more easily high the seam of their disguise under the beard. The biggest sign is when someone tells you they need to keep their phones on in case their young child needs to call them in case of an emergency, even though 9 out of 10 times the phone rings, it is a wrong number. That is a lie. Their cell phones aren’t cell phones because they loathe those ‘infernal contraptions’. Rather they are communicators used in speaking with the alien head quarters. Their ‘phones’ cannot receive wrong numbers because first, they aren’t cell phones, and second, they can only communicate to one place, alien HQ. When they say is it a wrong number, wait to see who gets asked to see him after class. Then notice, you will never see that student again. If you do, they usually come back with a cold, the side affect of the ASDM. What happens is that the alien receives instruction to get a child alone so they can beam him or her up and prepare them for dissection. If anyone has a male English teacher who has a beard and keeps their phones on for emergencies, run away screaming."