This happened a little while ago and I want to write it down so I don't forget.
Fasting is hard for me. In fact, I don't usually do a typical, 24 hour, no food, no drink fast. I have blood sugar issues and headaches and other problems that make it so I physically collapse if I don't eat for several hours. So, I try to modify my fast to either skip one meal, or forgo something I like, like treats that day, etc.
Over the summer, I was visiting my family in Oregon, and while we were at church, a woman made a comment about how she hadn't been fasting for years because of migraines, but then she felt prompted to pray the night before Fast Sunday and ask Heavenly Father to bless her to be able to fast. Since that time, every time she did that, she was able to fast the next day with no problem.
I was floored. It had never occurred to me to pray to be physically able to fast. But as the next Fast Sunday approached, I decided to test this idea out myself. I expressed my desire in prayer to be able to have the strength to fast, and I went to bed. I continued that prayer in my heart the next day, and miraculously, I was able to fast the whole day until dinner, even with wrangling my kids at church and doing everything I needed to do- and no fainting, throwing up, dizzy spells, or headaches. Wow. Not to mention the other blessings I was able to receive by fasting. That tells me that Heavenly Father wants to help us obey and receive all the blessings He has in store for us. (Not that we can't modify our fasting when medically necessary, but if we have the desire to do it, I think Heavenly Father will help us to make it work.)
Showing posts with label rochelle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rochelle. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Rochelle's musings
I think I will try to get BJ to write his own post about what he has been up to, and here is mine. This is sort of a journal kind of entry for me, so please excuse the ME-ness of it.
Most of my life right now is taken up by caring for Gabe and Luke, and trying keep everything at home running smoothly (which I am sometimes successful at, sometimes not). I have an intense desire to be Martha Stewart and have a perfectly clean home and fresh baked bread, and sweet-smelling children all dressed and fed playing quietly together. I want to feel like everything in my world is organized and clutter free. I find myself wishing that I could have at least 2 more hours in every day (after the children are asleep) that I could use how I please, and that I would be motivated to do laundry and mopping and stuff. Alas, I am not Martha, and my house is far from perfectly clean and organized, and all too often my kids (and myself) remain pajama- clad all day long, or at least until 3pm. I haven't figured out a way to get a couple extra hours every day, and I still have a huge pile of clean laundry that I cannot motivate myself to fold. BUT- I did bake bread today. :D I have been working on the most cluttered spots around my home, trying to get rid of unused, unwanted, and unloved items (Fly Lady, anyone?), and generally just cleaning up the same messes umpteen times a day. I feel good about the fact that I went from being very intimidated by and unmotivated to cook dinner (um, for about 5 years of marriage- ouch) to feeling pretty comfortable and confident in the kitchen (not that I am an awesome cook, just that I am not afraid to try new things and branch out a bit) and putting a hot meal on the table most nights by the time BJ is home from work. It is something I always wanted to do, but just couldn't get the motivation or courage to do. Sounds a little silly, right? I suppose I had a complex about cooking and baking for a long time. But I made a goal last year, a little after Luke was born, and I have stuck to it, and it feels GREAT!
When I have some free time, I usually choose one of my "go-to" activities. Two nights a week, after the kids are in bed, I go to Zumba. I love Zumba. It is good exercise, and it is fun! I don't feel like I am exercising, but I usually go home drenched in sweat. I can't wait until it warms up outside and I can add in some of the other exercise- like things that I like to do. Being outside is good for me (when it is a reasonable temperature).
Of course, my other go-to is anything crafty. I have been blogging about my crafty adventures on my other blog, Home Sweet Homebodies. A few months ago, I was thinking about how I could better meet my goal of being service and giving- oriented all year long (spreading the spirit of Christmas over 12 months) and it hit me that I could connect it somewhat to craftiness and invite others to join me. I decided that I want to do one project each month that is dedicated to "making the world a little sweeter".
For January's project, I whipped out my crochet hook to make hats for the Caps For Good project- a really worthwhile organization that distributes hats to moms and babies in other countries as a part of their newborn survival program. Because I had a really hard time reading crochet patterns, I decided to make a tutorial on making a really simple baby beanie. If you want to see that post and tutorial, click here. I have also been working on several sewing projects, none of which are finished...
The other thing that takes up my time is the Cub Scouts. I am the Assistant Cubmaster. Sounds really fancy and official, right? Not so much. Mainly I get to plan and record and do administrative type work. Right now I am working on the Blue and Gold dinner which is coming up really soon. We are doing a "Scouting through the years" theme with Wild West decorations. I am in charge of coming up with thank you cards and decorations, and I have a pretty small budget to work with. I bought a few materials, but mostly I am going to work with recycled things like cardboard boxes. I hope it ends up looking cool and not crappy. Wish me luck.
Right now my life is all about trying to find balance. How do I be a good mom, wife, and everything else I need to be and develop myself as a person at the same time? It seems like in order to be a good mother you must lose yourself to a degree (but perhaps not such a bad thing after all, as "whosoever will be willing to lose his {or her} life for my sake, the same shall save it"-JST, Luke 9:24 -that's a different way of interpreting that, I know.). I am ok with losing parts of myself, like especially all the less desirable parts, but I don't want to forget who I am, or not know what makes me, well, me. So, it is back to balance- to spending good, quality time with my kids and husband, and taking a healthy amount of time for myself, to do other kinds of things which I also love. I am still trying to figure it all out. It seems like as soon as I start feeling comfortable with the way things are, a change occurs that forces me to re-adjust. Like the births of my children, or simply when they reach new stages in life. It causes me to re-examine my life and what I am doing so that I must constantly progress.
Well, that's all I've got for now. If you are still reading this, are there any moms out there that have thoughts on finding balance between motherhood, wifehood (is that a word?), and personal development?
Most of my life right now is taken up by caring for Gabe and Luke, and trying keep everything at home running smoothly (which I am sometimes successful at, sometimes not). I have an intense desire to be Martha Stewart and have a perfectly clean home and fresh baked bread, and sweet-smelling children all dressed and fed playing quietly together. I want to feel like everything in my world is organized and clutter free. I find myself wishing that I could have at least 2 more hours in every day (after the children are asleep) that I could use how I please, and that I would be motivated to do laundry and mopping and stuff. Alas, I am not Martha, and my house is far from perfectly clean and organized, and all too often my kids (and myself) remain pajama- clad all day long, or at least until 3pm. I haven't figured out a way to get a couple extra hours every day, and I still have a huge pile of clean laundry that I cannot motivate myself to fold. BUT- I did bake bread today. :D I have been working on the most cluttered spots around my home, trying to get rid of unused, unwanted, and unloved items (Fly Lady, anyone?), and generally just cleaning up the same messes umpteen times a day. I feel good about the fact that I went from being very intimidated by and unmotivated to cook dinner (um, for about 5 years of marriage- ouch) to feeling pretty comfortable and confident in the kitchen (not that I am an awesome cook, just that I am not afraid to try new things and branch out a bit) and putting a hot meal on the table most nights by the time BJ is home from work. It is something I always wanted to do, but just couldn't get the motivation or courage to do. Sounds a little silly, right? I suppose I had a complex about cooking and baking for a long time. But I made a goal last year, a little after Luke was born, and I have stuck to it, and it feels GREAT!
When I have some free time, I usually choose one of my "go-to" activities. Two nights a week, after the kids are in bed, I go to Zumba. I love Zumba. It is good exercise, and it is fun! I don't feel like I am exercising, but I usually go home drenched in sweat. I can't wait until it warms up outside and I can add in some of the other exercise- like things that I like to do. Being outside is good for me (when it is a reasonable temperature).
Of course, my other go-to is anything crafty. I have been blogging about my crafty adventures on my other blog, Home Sweet Homebodies. A few months ago, I was thinking about how I could better meet my goal of being service and giving- oriented all year long (spreading the spirit of Christmas over 12 months) and it hit me that I could connect it somewhat to craftiness and invite others to join me. I decided that I want to do one project each month that is dedicated to "making the world a little sweeter".
For January's project, I whipped out my crochet hook to make hats for the Caps For Good project- a really worthwhile organization that distributes hats to moms and babies in other countries as a part of their newborn survival program. Because I had a really hard time reading crochet patterns, I decided to make a tutorial on making a really simple baby beanie. If you want to see that post and tutorial, click here. I have also been working on several sewing projects, none of which are finished...
The other thing that takes up my time is the Cub Scouts. I am the Assistant Cubmaster. Sounds really fancy and official, right? Not so much. Mainly I get to plan and record and do administrative type work. Right now I am working on the Blue and Gold dinner which is coming up really soon. We are doing a "Scouting through the years" theme with Wild West decorations. I am in charge of coming up with thank you cards and decorations, and I have a pretty small budget to work with. I bought a few materials, but mostly I am going to work with recycled things like cardboard boxes. I hope it ends up looking cool and not crappy. Wish me luck.
Right now my life is all about trying to find balance. How do I be a good mom, wife, and everything else I need to be and develop myself as a person at the same time? It seems like in order to be a good mother you must lose yourself to a degree (but perhaps not such a bad thing after all, as "whosoever will be willing to lose his {or her} life for my sake, the same shall save it"-JST, Luke 9:24 -that's a different way of interpreting that, I know.). I am ok with losing parts of myself, like especially all the less desirable parts, but I don't want to forget who I am, or not know what makes me, well, me. So, it is back to balance- to spending good, quality time with my kids and husband, and taking a healthy amount of time for myself, to do other kinds of things which I also love. I am still trying to figure it all out. It seems like as soon as I start feeling comfortable with the way things are, a change occurs that forces me to re-adjust. Like the births of my children, or simply when they reach new stages in life. It causes me to re-examine my life and what I am doing so that I must constantly progress.
Well, that's all I've got for now. If you are still reading this, are there any moms out there that have thoughts on finding balance between motherhood, wifehood (is that a word?), and personal development?
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Happy Birthday Rochelle
It's time for my monthly post here on the blog, and I would just like to devote this particular blog to my wonderful wife. Rochelle has been a blessing to me ever since I've first met her. Rochelle's birthday has special significance to us as well because it was also the day on which we became engaged. And I can honestly say that every year has been my happiest year yet. As this time of year comes around, and as we celebrate Rochelle's birthday, our engagement, and our anniversary, I think back to our first summer together. I say "together" but really, we didn't spend much time physically together that summer, but rather we spent a lot of time talking to each other on the phone, and sending emails back and forth. We got to know each other from a distance that summer. I remember that I had a hard time saying goodbye as we talked on the phone. At times I knew that it was time to go, but I just couldn't bring myself to saying goodbye or hanging up the phone until I was certain I had heard the "click" on the other end. That feeling has never gone away for me. Even now, as I leave work at the end of the day, I will often call Rochelle just to talk to her for the 15 minutes until I get home. Rochelle has always had a way of making me feel at home in her presence. She is a peace loving person, with a desire to please and help those around her. I am very grateful for Rochelle, and I love her more every day.
It's never easy for me to find voice for my feelings for those who are close to me, but it is especially so for Rochelle. Let me just say that I am grateful that God has sent this angel to be with me.
Happy Birthday Rochelle.
It's never easy for me to find voice for my feelings for those who are close to me, but it is especially so for Rochelle. Let me just say that I am grateful that God has sent this angel to be with me.
Happy Birthday Rochelle.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
I passed!
I'm an official Registered Nurse! I took my board exams on Thursday and found out this morning that I passed them! Yay! What a relief!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Coming home
Well, this has been an exciting week for sure. We are glad to be back in the comfort of our own home, and are excited to have baby Gabe. Let me fill you in on some of the details of the past week.
Rochelle has had pregnancy induced hypertension for the last few weeks. About a week before she had the baby, it was bad enough that they put her on strict bed rest, but not bad enough that they felt that they needed to do an emergency induction. That said, they planned an induction for Monday the 7th, and had her continue on bed rest. Rochelle was not wanting to be induced. We were hoping to go natural (using hypno-birthing), and being induced makes that very difficult. So we hoped that she would go into labor on her own before that time, but it was not to be. Sunday night she had a bit of a false labor, but come Monday morning, we were on our way to the hospital for the induction.
We arrived there around 7:40 in the morning, and she was hooked up to the pitocin by 8:30. For a while she continued to do the hypnobirthing techniques that we had learned, but as the contractions got stronger, she started to feel sharp pains in her back. The baby was turned, which caused Rochelle some heavy back labor. After about five hours of trying to relax and breathe, we decided that it was time for the epidural. The midwife was recommending the epidural on the account of Rochelle's high blood pressure, and the back labor was beginning to be unendurable. Rochelle was restricted to laying on her left or right sides, and was forbidden (again because of her blood pressure) from using other positions that might help reposition the baby and increase her comfort. So she got the epidural, and pretty soon was able to relax again. Hours came and went and Rochelle slowly progressed to completion. At times it seemed that she all but stopped progressing, but the doctor and midwife were patient and thankfully were not too anxious to do a c-section. It was determined that the baby was pretty nearly stuck- with his head turned sideways, a position more difficult to get out than if the baby were posterior (facing up) So around 11:30 at night they decided that it was finally time to get this baby out. He wasn't coming from pushing alone, and so it was going to be forceps or a c-section. The The doctor we had is very good with forceps, and decided that it was worth a go. He was able to turn the baby's head just enough that he thought that a c-section wouldn't be necessary. So everyone gathered around, and with some heaving pushing by Rochelle, and heavy pulling by the doctor, they finally got the baby out. Once out, we could see that the baby was fairly large, 8 lbs. 6 oz. We were grateful that the doctor was able to get him out with just forceps, even though the birth itself was far from what we had planned.
The baby was healthy from the start. He had quite a big cone head, but within a couple of hours, it was barely noticeable. He also had some bruising from the forceps around his right eye and his left ear. Otherwise, he was a happy and healthy baby.
Rochelle was also a bit battered and bruised from the forceps, but the doctor and midwife were more concerned about her high blood pressure that didn't seem to be reducing at all, which should have happened within a day of giving birth. So they had her stay an extra night at the hospital. She has been quite sore, but has been recovering steadily. We are all home now, and doing well.
Thursday afternoon Rochelle's mom came down from Portland and has been staying with us ever since. She's staying for a total of 10 days with us. We are grateful for her company as well as the advice and help she has given us already. We're glad she'll be here a while longer.
Below are some pictures. I'm sorry they took so long to get here, but we have had much to do, and are adjusting to our new lack of sleep. ;-) Thanks for your well wishes everybody. We are grateful for your support.
Rochelle has had pregnancy induced hypertension for the last few weeks. About a week before she had the baby, it was bad enough that they put her on strict bed rest, but not bad enough that they felt that they needed to do an emergency induction. That said, they planned an induction for Monday the 7th, and had her continue on bed rest. Rochelle was not wanting to be induced. We were hoping to go natural (using hypno-birthing), and being induced makes that very difficult. So we hoped that she would go into labor on her own before that time, but it was not to be. Sunday night she had a bit of a false labor, but come Monday morning, we were on our way to the hospital for the induction.
We arrived there around 7:40 in the morning, and she was hooked up to the pitocin by 8:30. For a while she continued to do the hypnobirthing techniques that we had learned, but as the contractions got stronger, she started to feel sharp pains in her back. The baby was turned, which caused Rochelle some heavy back labor. After about five hours of trying to relax and breathe, we decided that it was time for the epidural. The midwife was recommending the epidural on the account of Rochelle's high blood pressure, and the back labor was beginning to be unendurable. Rochelle was restricted to laying on her left or right sides, and was forbidden (again because of her blood pressure) from using other positions that might help reposition the baby and increase her comfort. So she got the epidural, and pretty soon was able to relax again. Hours came and went and Rochelle slowly progressed to completion. At times it seemed that she all but stopped progressing, but the doctor and midwife were patient and thankfully were not too anxious to do a c-section. It was determined that the baby was pretty nearly stuck- with his head turned sideways, a position more difficult to get out than if the baby were posterior (facing up) So around 11:30 at night they decided that it was finally time to get this baby out. He wasn't coming from pushing alone, and so it was going to be forceps or a c-section. The The doctor we had is very good with forceps, and decided that it was worth a go. He was able to turn the baby's head just enough that he thought that a c-section wouldn't be necessary. So everyone gathered around, and with some heaving pushing by Rochelle, and heavy pulling by the doctor, they finally got the baby out. Once out, we could see that the baby was fairly large, 8 lbs. 6 oz. We were grateful that the doctor was able to get him out with just forceps, even though the birth itself was far from what we had planned.
The baby was healthy from the start. He had quite a big cone head, but within a couple of hours, it was barely noticeable. He also had some bruising from the forceps around his right eye and his left ear. Otherwise, he was a happy and healthy baby.
Rochelle was also a bit battered and bruised from the forceps, but the doctor and midwife were more concerned about her high blood pressure that didn't seem to be reducing at all, which should have happened within a day of giving birth. So they had her stay an extra night at the hospital. She has been quite sore, but has been recovering steadily. We are all home now, and doing well.
Thursday afternoon Rochelle's mom came down from Portland and has been staying with us ever since. She's staying for a total of 10 days with us. We are grateful for her company as well as the advice and help she has given us already. We're glad she'll be here a while longer.
Below are some pictures. I'm sorry they took so long to get here, but we have had much to do, and are adjusting to our new lack of sleep. ;-) Thanks for your well wishes everybody. We are grateful for your support.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Closing
So, Rochelle and I were finally able to close on our condo. The funds transfer Monday, so thank goodness that it is over. I suspect that I will be spending the next couple of weeks doing things that we didn't want to do until we owned it, like putting nails in the walls, and getting the utilities in our name. We are going to be getting cable as soon as possible, but from the sounds of it, comcast is procrastinating, and hasn't even been to our complex yet to install the cables. So hopefully we can have internet in the next couple of days, but that is pending on comcast. So, for now, we are still just using my office and mom and dad's house for internet.
Rochelle is with her family this week. They are throwing a shower for her at home. But mostly, she is just excited to see family and friends. I imagine she will blog of her experiences at some point or another.
Work has been very busy for me the last couple of weeks. We are going through PCI compliance auditing this week, and have spent the last several months preparing for it, in addition to all the normal work we already do. It has been fun to learn many of the things required to be PCI compliant. And many of the things that we have done to be PCI compliant will be helpful for just general security anyways, and I plan on securing other servers (the non PCI ones) after the whole project is over. I have to say, I love learning new things. I love working on new projects. That part of my job is very satisfying to me. The parts I don't like are disagreeable people, and situations, but I think most companies have those.
Rochelle is with her family this week. They are throwing a shower for her at home. But mostly, she is just excited to see family and friends. I imagine she will blog of her experiences at some point or another.
Work has been very busy for me the last couple of weeks. We are going through PCI compliance auditing this week, and have spent the last several months preparing for it, in addition to all the normal work we already do. It has been fun to learn many of the things required to be PCI compliant. And many of the things that we have done to be PCI compliant will be helpful for just general security anyways, and I plan on securing other servers (the non PCI ones) after the whole project is over. I have to say, I love learning new things. I love working on new projects. That part of my job is very satisfying to me. The parts I don't like are disagreeable people, and situations, but I think most companies have those.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Happy Birthday Rochelle
Well, I know this is a few days late, but we have been pretty busy lately, and haven't had much time to blog. I got off work early on Thursday to be with Rochelle, take her to lunch, go see the Potter movie, and then have dinner with mom and dad. It was certainly a good day. On Friday, after I got home from work, we spent the evening with a couple who are good friends of ours (Scott and Danielle) who are leaving Utah for grad school. (We will miss you guys!!!) On Saturday, I went to work to make up the hours I took of on Thursday, and afterwards met Charles and his date and ate out and went ice skating.
All and all, today has been my first chance to say to Rochelle HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! on this blog. So... having said that... may I just add to that, that it has now been 3 years since we got engaged (that is our unofficial engagement). I believe our unofficial engagement started with these words: "I want to marry you someday." Well that 'someday' happened to be a month and a day away. Much sooner than we expected when we first contemplated marriage. But since that time, I have been happier than ever. Rochelle has been a great blessing in my life, and I am very grateful for her.
I love you Rochelle!
Saturday, February 24, 2007
My wife is a GENIUS
I'd like to take a moment to brag about my wife, the genius. She was notified today that she's on the dean's list, and she's too humble to write about it herself, and with a little help from dictionary.com, I'm going to take a moment to brag about her genius. ;-) Please excuse the run on sentence.
My wife has an incredible ability to absorb things she reads, she is full of accomplishment, she has a miraculous acumen in nursing, she observes her patients at the hospital with great acuteness, not to mention how adept she is in her homemaking and taking care of me, she has a great aptitude for reading, in fact, her aptness in reading give way to an astuteness in conversation, she is constantly bent over backwards trying to get everything done, she’s got a brain worth two of mine, and her brilliance can be seen from miles around, she has a great capability for love, she has a wonderful capacity for creativity, she has a discernment for feelings, she has an endowment of beauty, she is an expert in ‘Public Health Nursing’ in which she works with the faculty of nursing in interviewing people with a flair of her own, she’s got a great grasp on all things gustatorial, she’s got a great head on her, she has a wonderful imagination, and an inclination to help everyone around her, she has a great ingenuity for solving problems, and she is always my inspiration, she is full of intelligence and inventiveness, she has a knack for conversation, she is maestro at the flute, a master at crafts, a mastermind in family economics, and she was more mature at 18 than I was at 24 when we met, she has a great originality, her percipience keeps me in awe, and her perspicacity keeps me on my toes, she has a power to lift me in my darkest hours, and her precocity makes my brightest days brighter, listening to her parents talk about how she devoured books, you know she was a prodigy, she has a propensity for crafts, she has a prowess in card making, while she may not be able reach the chocolate on the top shelf, she has the sagacity to know the right moment to ask me to get it, she has a superability to do anything that she sets her mind to, she has a great talent for making every turn a good turn, she has a deep understanding of what is important, she is a virtuoso of all things good, and best of all, she has the wisdom to keep me around. :-D
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