Two Week Update

These past few weeks have been busy, busy, busy. Mike and I got free passes at our local library to go to the Phoenix Zoo. I love animals so much and this zoo showcased an array of them. Here are some of the pics from our day.

After the zoo we went and saw the new movie Limitless—so cool! How amazing would it be to be able to tap into all of your brain power! The movie kept you on your toes, not knowing how it would end.

Mike has been busy working this past week and I have been creating two new blogs: Beckahm's Blog and Beckahm's Shop. I decided to start a tradition for all of my kids by making them their own blog where they can look at all things unique to them—factoids about them, my pregnancy/labor, traditions, family vacations, etc. I wish I could have all of this information to look back on and learn about the things I did when I was a baby/toddler, so I thought this would be fun/beneficial for them to have throughout their lives. I made Beckahm's Blog private and sent out some invites to those who might be interested keeping up with his life (that is where I will post most of his pictures as well). If you want to check it out, shoot me an email or leave me a comment here and I will send you an invite.

Mike started drawing/painting some boards that can be hung on the wall in your kids room. These paintings were of course inspired by Beckahm and personalized for him but we have decided to make them available to the public. Each painting can be personalized for your child. I love seeing Mike use his talents and create such fun pieces of art. We hope to continue adding to Beckahm's Shop with personalized books for your little ones, mobiles, etc.

The past 10 days we have been housesitting for my brother Dave and my sister in law Kimber. My siblings took my mom to Ireland for 10 days—something that has always been a dream for her. We took care of their dog Meeka—walked her daily, played ball with her, took her to the park, hosed her down to keep her cool, etc. We also took care of Ty one day. We went to the library, played in the park, took Meeka for a walk, watched a movie and read the books we rented at the library, went to dinner at Native New Yorker, and the next morning we took her to preschool before another sitter came to pick her up for the rest of the week. Ty is so funny to be around; she says some of the funniest things that make me laugh. She showed me her collection of "backons" (I don't even know how to spell them) and at some point I called them "those things" and she's like "remember not to call them "things", they are "backons". HAHA.

This past week I have been having contractions, aches in my back, feelings of pressure down below, a little bit of bleeding, and exhaustion. I seriously feel like Beckahm is going to come sooner than later with all of the pre-labor symptoms I have been having. I can't believe I only have 3 weeks left. We hope to make it to 37 weeks but we shall see. We had a Dr. appt this past week and he is doing really good; he is in the prime position. I am not as dilated as I thought I would be from all of my symptoms, but we go in for weekly check ups now so we will continue hoping he comes close to my due date.

Last four weeks

We had two dinners with friends/people in the ward this past week. It is so much fun getting to know people better; we love our ward so much! I also had my VT over Wed night who I always appreciate visiting with. I am so sad that both of them are leaving the ward and will no longer be my visiting teachers. They were sisters who had gone through divorces like I had and who I felt I could relate to all though they were much older than me. They will definitely be missed! I have such a testimony of visiting teaching, what an inspired program it is! How blessed we are as members of this church to be able to reach out and help other sisters in need and receive help in return.

Thursday was our relaxing day together, we laid out by the Dave and Kimber's pool, watched "Knowing" which I thought was pretty good, it made you realize how insignificant this world is and all the things we focus on and how important it is to make each moment count because who knows when the end will come.

We ended the evening making a yummy dinner and watching AI (can I just say I love Paul and Casey! Great verses, just enough quirkiness, unique style; I am rooting for them till the very end).

Saturday and Sunday we watched general conference, which I look forward to twice a year. The brethren of the church are so inspired; they always seem to uplift my spirits and encourage me to want to do better. A few of my favorite talks were Elder Anderson's about importance of women and motherhood (very uplifting and inspiring), and Elder Scott's about family and marriage and how both need to be a priority in our lives. I loved Elder Scott's suggestions, using the examples of his own marriage, about constantly showing/expressing love, affection, and selflessness towards our spouse. I also appreciated his strong testimony of the power of sealing families together and the significance of the temple in our marriages/homes. Mike and I are looking forward to being sealed together and to have Beckahm sealed to us this June, what a wonderful day that will be for our family. I also enjoyed the talks commemorating this the 75th anniversary of the welfare program in the church and the importance/benefit of service. I have felt so many blessings come into my life as Mike and I have dedicated ourselves to serving those in our community monthly. Each time I attend a service project I feel a greater sense of love and humility for those around me. I have such a testimony of the power of service and how beneficial it can be to not only those we serve but to ourselves. I also loved Elder Holland's talk about the importance of general conference and how we must know that each and every speaker is inspired by God when preparing their talks; no one is assigned a topic. You realize just how guided we are as members of the church, by those in authority, when you listen to each talk and see, unbenounced to them, a running theme for that conference session. For those who would like to read these inspired words, intended for the entire world, you can go to the church's website: lds.org.

Saturday, between sessions, Mike and I drove down to Goodyear and signed Ty up for soccer, then we listened to the second session and Mike attended the priesthood session that night. We ended up watching the movie "Fair Game" which totally opened up my eyes about what really went on when the U.S. decided to invade Iraq and the horrible atrocity that occurred not only for Valerie Plame and her family but many of her sources around the world. The movie ignited in me, once again, the importance of using our voice to stand up for things that are not right and making sure we constantly defend/uphold our democracy.