Quote of the Day

Sometimes we may ask God for success, and He gives us physical and mental stamina. We might plead for prosperity, and we receive enlarged perspective and increased patience, or we petition for growth and are blessed with the gift of grace. He may bestow upon us conviction and confidence as we strive to achieve worthy goals. And when we plead for relief from physical, mental, and spiritual difficulties, He may increase our resolve and resilience.

David A. Bednar

Read the full text here.

“I Will Not Fail Thee, nor Forsake Thee” by Thomas Monson

At times there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel, no sunrise to end the night’s darkness. We feel encompassed by the disappointment of shattered dreams and the despair of vanished hopes. We join in uttering the biblical plea, “Is there no balm in Gilead?”¹ We feel abandoned, heartbroken, alone. We are inclined to view our own personal misfortunes through the distorted prism of pessimism. We become impatient for a solution to our problems, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required.

The difficulties which come to us present us with the real test of our ability to endure. A fundamental question remains to be answered by each of us: Shall I falter, or shall I finish? Some do falter as they find themselves unable to rise above their challenges. To finish involves enduring to the very end of life itself.

Whenever we are inclined to feel burdened down with the blows of life, let us remember that others have passed the same way, have endured, and then have overcome.

The history of the Church is replete with the experiences of those who have struggled and yet who have remained steadfast and of good cheer. The reason? They have made the gospel of Jesus Christ the center of their lives. This is what will pull us through whatever comes our way. We will still experience difficult challenges, but we will be able to face them, to meet them head-on, and to emerge victorious.

From the bed of pain, from the pillow wet with tears, we are lifted heavenward by that divine assurance and precious promise: “I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”⁷ Such comfort is priceless.

Our Heavenly Father, who gives us so much to delight in, also knows that we learn and grow and become stronger as we face and survive the trials through which we must pass. We know that there are times when we will experience heartbreaking sorrow, when we will grieve, and when we may be tested to our limits. However, such difficulties allow us to change for the better, to rebuild our lives in the way our Heavenly Father teaches us, and to become something different from what we were—better than we were, more understanding than we were, more empathetic than we were, with stronger testimonies than we had before.

This should be our purpose—to persevere and endure, yes, but also to become more spiritually refined as we make our way through sunshine and sorrow. Were it not for challenges to overcome and problems to solve, we would remain much as we are, with little or no progress toward our goal of eternal life. The poet expressed much the same thought in these words:

Good timber does not grow with ease,The stronger wind, the stronger trees.The further sky, the greater length.The more the storm, the more the strength.By sun and cold, by rain and snow,In trees and men good timbers grow.⁸

Only the Master knows the depths of our trials, our pain, and our suffering. He alone offers us eternal peace in times of adversity. He alone touches our tortured souls with His comforting words:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”⁹

Whether it is the best of times or the worst of times, He is with us. He has promised that this will never change.

(Read the full text here.)

Observations of a new mother

I didn't want to post such hum-drum on Silas's dedicated blog, but I did want to note some of the things I have observed in the last month as a new mother:

• if you get a c-section, the following will help you recover quicker:
• walk a lot (easy if you have a baby in the NICU)
• drink lots of fluids
• drink lots of prune juice - LOTS
• make sure they are giving you stool softener
• sleep as much as you can (not easy if you have a baby in the NICU)
• breastfeeding, pumping, and bottle-feeding
• breastfeeding really can be challenging
• spend as much time with lactation consultants as you can
• it's all about hand expressing in the first few days
• make sure you're using the right size flanges if you are pumping. This makes a HUGE difference
• Dr. Brown's bottles are great: less gas
• if bottle feeding, get an occupational therapist to help - side lying position rocks
• cloth diaper burp cloths: so awesome and my very favorite
• MVPs of the layette include:
• side snap shirts with mitten cuffs
• gowns with mitten cuffs
• sleep sacks. Especially this one

What I'm surprised I haven't used:

• onesies
• sleepers
• hats
• swaddlers

As many of you know, our baby Silas was born on Wednesday last week and is in the NICU at Lucile Packard right now.

We have created a blog where we will be posting pictures & updates for those who want to follow:
http://silasraymond.tumblr.com/ 

I am recovering well from my c-section and have been home since Saturday night. Silas is doing great and we expect to have him home relatively soon. Many thanks to all who have been remembering Silas in their prayers!

love
Karren

Go read these posts. They are awesome. The end.

p.s. baby is coming soon. I'll let you know when he gets here!

Quote of the Day

Anger is the most impotent of passions. It effects nothing it goes about, and hurts the one who is possessed by it more than the one against whom it is directed.

Carl Sandburg

24 Weeks

We had our fourth prenatal appointment today and everything went really well. My weight gain is good and I am probably about as comfortable as I'll be until after this baby is out of me :)

A week ago today (President's Day), early in the morning when I was still half-awake, I started feeling some pain in my side (not uncommon to have growing pains), and when I put my hand down to massage the pain I felt a sharp kick! That was the first time I KNEW that I felt the baby moving. I grabbed Bruce's hand and had him put pressure on to my tummy so that he was able to feel the baby, too! We loved that we both felt the baby together. Since then I feel the baby move often, which I like -- I like knowing that he is well.

We went to a really nice wedding last weekend in Seattle (Bruce's cousin got married), stayed with some of his best friends, and then spent President's Day in Portland with my father-in-law and two brothers-in-law. We got to meet our newest nephew Sam while we were there. Bruce and Sam were cuddle buddies immediately, as you can see in the picture below.

Bruce and Sam (via Amanda's blog)

We were sad that we missed seeing my mother-in-law who was in Connecticut with Bruce's sister helping with her new daughter Daisy (just a few weeks old now!). In March we will go meet Daisy in person and we are really excited!

On my birthday =)

I have always felt that a woman has the right to treat the subject of her age with ambiguity until, perhaps, she passes into the realm of over ninety. Then it is better she be candid with herself and with the world.

Carl Sandburg

Each life that touches ours for good

My sister called me today to tell me about a dear family friend's passing this morning. Our friend Hiro was quite young (in his 30s) and it was a shock to hear the news. I didn't know of his heart condition, as others did, and was saddened to hear of his death.

My mind thinks back to my dear friend Kate who passed away in November 2010. Like Hiro, she was young and a person of pure heart. While I grieve the loss of these friends, I'm grateful for the time I got to spend with them and for the influence they continue to have in my life. They were both great examples of faith and sincere kindness to others.

Hiro - his name means "generous" 

Kate - a kindred spirit

Hiro was in the singles ward with my siblings for years while I was at BYU. He was their home teacher and, more than that, a true friend. Hiro seemed to always include me (and all of my family) in his service to my siblings. Hiro was often at my family's house spending time with us and was always smiling and full of humor. On one occasion I remember him going so far as to bring me a souvenir from one of his trips to Japan - a magnet to add to my magnet collection :) Hiro, as a wedding present to my sister, drove the limo for her wedding. He was consistently thoughtful and generous. I know so many had similar experiences with Hiro.

I'm grateful for each life that touches mine for good and hope to express that gratitude often when given the opportunity. I love you, Hiro and Kate! Thank you for your friendship and may God bless your families who miss you every day.

Related to prior posts here and here.

20 weeks! (halfway there)

Wow! I can't believe I am halfway through this pregnancy. The first trimester seemed to drag at times, but mostly it has just flown by.

Here I am at almost 20 weeks

I feel pretty good overall (especially compared to the first trimester), so I guess the 2nd trimester truly is the promised land! I have some discomfort sleeping, but I did this great workout DVD last night that included some stretching that really helped. The other least comfortable symptom I have is heartburn. Sadly, the 'prescription' is to eat a small bowl of ice cream every night. HA. (I'm not even kidding, by the way, and the amazing thing is that it actually works.)

Bruce and I have been working on changing the layout of our bedroom and clearing out our storage unit to make space for this little guy. So far, so good!

For those of you who are interested, here are some of the ultrasound pictures from our appointment last week:

You can see his profile on the left. The little black spot in his middle is his heart  :)

Oh, and here's a little foot :)

Drum roll, please!

Well, it's official! "Squirt" is a boy! We are so delighted - this is the third generation oldest son in Bruce's family and we are so happy to know our baby a little bit better now :)