Indianapolis Temple

Indianapolis Temple

My Grateful List

8/09/2013 03:11:00 PM Edit This 0 Comments »
Instead of giving a detailed account of the past week, I decided to make a grateful list because there are a lot of things to be thankful for!

I am grateful...

1.  That Reed was home when I had the miscarriage.  He had been out of town for the past 3 days and I don't know what I would have done.

2.  That it started while we were at church.  OK, so that sounds weird.  We were able to leave the girls in good hands and not drag them to the ER though and that was a comfort.

3.  For all the wonderful hospital staff.  Between Sunday, and then my Tuesday through Thursday hospital stay I met a LOT of nurses, OB/GYN staff, ER doctors, PSA's, and then all the surgical staff.  I especially found the mixture of business and caring interesting during the actual miscarriage Sunday.  The ER doctor who gave the diagnosis was very business-like and gave it to me straight.  Not totally uncaring, just straight.  I appreciated that because I don't think it would have made a difference either way.  Then it was the nurse who held my hand and made sure that I was OK.  It was like that through the whole week and I really appreciated all of the staff.  And a special shout-out to Brother Nagel who is an ER doctor at Riverside and stopped in just to check on us and say hi.  Which brings me to my next grateful point...

4.  For our ward family.  They have been wonderful.  We had meals, flowers, boxes of tissues, chocolates, offers of babysitting, etc for the whole week!  And all the thoughts and prayers, it has just been wonderful.

5.  For our immediate family.  My mom was able to come on Tuesday to stay with me overnight in the hospital so that Reed could go be with the girls.  She was a great strength to me, especially on Tuesday which was my worst night.  My mother-in-law had Mariella and Vivi all week and I know that it gave them some sense of stability.  My dad brought me a chocolate peanut butter milkshake late on Wednesday night before I had to start my surgery fast at midnight.  He made it right in time at 11:40 :)  I know that all of my siblings have kept us in their prayers and that was awesome to know.

6.  For all of our friends.  We have had such support with thoughts and prayers from all over the US.  Facebook is wonderful for that reason :)

7.  This next one sounds really weird- I am actually grateful for my hospital stay.  It was really hard when I ended up in a labor and delivery room on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning to have what I call another "clean-out".  I started crying because I didn't think I would be in that room without a baby.  I think though that is when I realized that I wasn't going through all of the pain for my baby that died.  I was doing this to make sure that my body was safe for other babies.

8.  For our knowledge of the gospel and the wonderful plan of Happiness that the Lord has set-up for us.  I don't know all the answers to my questions.  I don't even know the gender of the baby although Reed did see the baby during the miscarriage.  I don't think either of us was in an emotional state to ask.  I do know that the baby is eternally ours and everything will be sorted out later.  I do know that my Heavenly Father loves me, loves Reed, and loves our family.  Some days may be harder than others and he will help me get through them.

9.  I am especially grateful for all those who have shared with me their stories of going through a miscarriage or other loss.  During the actual miscarriage, Reed and I made a list of all the people we knew who had gone through this.  It was quite a list and now it has gotten longer!  I have found it a comfort and strength to hear all the stories and see that this is not the end or a permanent problem.

Another huge thanks to everyone who has kept us in their thoughts and prayers!!!!

My Pioneer Heritage

8/02/2013 01:55:00 PM Edit This 0 Comments »
Our ward had a polynesian luau in celebration of Pioneer Day.  Of course, I thought this was a wonderful idea because my pioneer heritage is not what one thinks of usually.  None of my ancestors came across the plains in the early days of the church.  In fact, all 4 of my grandparents are first-generation members (or very close to first-generation) of the church.  One of my favorite pioneer stories is that of my grandpa who is full-blooded Samoan.  I may be a bit fuzzy on the details so if anyone knows more facts, just let me know.  From what I remember, Grandpa joined the church as a young boy in American Samoa and became less-active as a youth.  He joined the military and came to San Francisco where he met my grandma (who is Chinese).  Grandma joined the church and both he and my Grandma became active to the point where Grandpa decided that some of his cultures customs and traditions got in the way of truly living the gospel.  He pretty much gave up his status in the family to live the gospel as he thought was right.  I think it paid off for him!  All of his sons served missions, 4 of his grandchildren have served missions, 1 is currently serving, 1 will be leaving on her mission in November, and 1 more will be putting in his papers shortly, 8 of us cousins have been married in the temple, and he has 8 great-grandchildren with more on the way.  I am pretty sure none of us would be where we are if Grandpa hadn't made the sacrifices he did and I sure love him for that.

I was asked to come up with some dances for the luau and so I asked two of my sisters to join me.  Being in Ohio, we are far from polynesian culture and I really wish there was a dance studio around here.  Ah well, YouTube to the rescue and we found this dance to a Lilo and Stitch song.