So very much to BLOG about!!!

First and foremost:

PLEASE WELCOME

RYAN HOWARD LUND

 

Ryan was born on Saturday.  I am completely in love with this baby and cannot believe how incredibly easy it is to love something so precious and small.  I should have known the feelings would come.

He is adorable and sweet, and has a very peaceful disposition.  I will save you the details of labor....but it was a little scary at the beginning.  We were talking about doing an emergency C-section, in fact, we were planning on it.  We had to wait a little while before we went that way and as we waited, things settled down, and we were able to have a normal labor.  Ryan was 6 pounds 7 ounces, 19 inches long, at delivery.  He is loved and doted on by all of his siblings.  We are so very grateful to have him join our family.

Second, on Sunday, they called Drew to be the Bishop of our ward.  We have done it before.  It will be plenty of work and the phone began ringing on Sunday night and hasn't stopped.  My husband is truly amazing.  The calling took both of us by surprise.

Third, Johnathan leaves on Wednesday morning for the MTC (Missionary Training Center).   He will be there for two and half weeks and then he heads off to Florida for his mission.

So, it has been and will continue to be a very emotional couple of weeks.  I forget all the hormones that accompany the birth of a child and all of the adjustment that comes with it.  We are still in the honeymoon period of the process.  As we move into the full swing of things, I am sure there will be more stress and adjustment, but for now, I am completely happy and in awe of the entire process.  And for those of you who are wondering.....check out this hair:

It is a frosty blonde color.  Most of my babies have very little black hair....but not Ryan....lots and lots of yummy frosting on top of my cute little cupcake.

12 days and counting!!

Yep....we are down to the wire...for Johnathan and our new addition (still no name).  I went in yesterday for an ultrasound.  Very little boy, who sucks his thumb and has a round face.  The crib is set up.  The clothes are washed.  The diapers are here.  It is really setting in that he is coming and soon.  I imagine that after he gets here there will be less and less time for blogging until I adjust to having a new little person in our home.  I am getting a little excited to welcome him home.

And feeling a little sad for sending Johnathan off.  It has been so fun to have him home for these last few months.  (Although the food bill is higher and all of the leftovers are gone!)  I know he will be a marvelous missionary!!  I cannot believe we will have two missionaries out in the field and a new baby.  I did feel a little better about the whole thing when I learned that Elder Maxwell's mother had a baby while he was serving his mission and President Monson's mother had a baby three weeks before he was married, after he had graduated from college, been engaged for a year and also had an older sister.  I decided maybe it was OK to have a baby this old.

Well.....that is my quick update.  Hopefully everything will go well with this delivery.  Wish me luck!!

This Photo is for you, Diana!!

Sorry the quality isn't so hot.  I guess that's what you get when you try to pull photos off of your phone!!  Johnathan received his endowments last weekend.  So here he is, our prospective missionary and his very pregnant mother.

I read THIS article the other day and thought it was amazing and have been pondering it ever since.

There are wonderful things about having a new baby---but there are difficult things too.  I recognized recently that I have been sad about the timing of this baby.  I have been so excited about the possibilities of working with the youth, which I have done a little over the last six years and which is hard to do with an infant.  Our new baby will make this possibility difficult to say the least.

The timing of our baby is completely the Lord's choice.  This year, my attitude and disappointment about not serving with the youth is a weed in the garden of my life.  (Refer to the above article for a frame of reference for this comment.)  It will interfere in my growth and development as a mother and my ability to bond with this baby.  For whatever reasons, the Lord in His infinite wisdom and love has sent this child to us and we have the blessing to embrace the opportunity and completely welcome him into our home and our hearts.

How often do we look at the gifts our Father in Heaven has given us as stones and serpents because they are not what we want or they do not look like we think they should or they do not happen when we think they should?  Do we not remember that the Lord only gives bread and fish??? [Read HERE--vs. 8-11, to understand this analogy.]  He doesn't give stones and serpents....only good gifts, bread and fish.  The negative aspects of some undesired events or circumstances in our lives may be more a product of our attitude and view point than is truly the case. 

Difficult circumstances and events are usually tailored to us individually and minister to our growth and development, our understanding and compassion, our faith and hope.  We cannot avoid negative experiences..they happen to all of us.  [more on this topic HERE--another GREAT article!]

What experiences have you had that you originally thought of as negative, but later came to realize were a blessing or helped you learn??

There is no doubt in my mind that I will learn a lot.  I already have, even though I have not fully appreciated the lessons, at this point.  I hope I can open my heart more to the process so that I can truly learn the lessons the Lord is choosing to put before me.