Saturday, December 4, 2010

Where I Stand

There have been a couple issues on facebook that have been bothering me for a while. It's finally come to the point where I feel I need to "declare" myself and put it to rest. WARNING: These issues are sensitive. If you get offended easily, you should probably stop reading. Please note, however, this is just MY opinion and where I stand.
The first - whether or not to have your boys circumcised. Josh and I made the decision with Braxton to have the procedure done. I think the deciding factor was that it was a procedure done in the scriptures to show obedience to Christ. I know that there is no religious affiliation today, but we felt good about our decision and went ahead. He didn't cry any harder during the process than he did when he was getting immunizations. Dustyn was a little different. We were in the middle of changing pediatric clinics when he was born. By the time the issue came up, he was too old to be circumcised in the office. However, he was declared to have what's called a penial torsion, which made it "medically necessary" to have his foreskin removed. He was 11 months old when it was done. He was put under general anesthesia and came out of it just fine. From the research I've done, there may be a few more pros to having it done, but those pros don't really mean anything stacked against the cons. My problem stems from others who have very strong, aggressive opinions that suggest that I am an unworthy mother for letting this happen to my sons. Here's my thought on the matter. Whether you do, or whether you don't it's up to you. Don't act like you're protecting your son from a fate worse that death because you're not comfortable with the procedure. Claiming that your son is still "intact" suggests that my sons are missing something; that they are no longer whole. Bull. There are greater risks to having our children immunized. They cry just as hard. The effects of an allergic reaction could be deadly. I have to disagree to those who feel circumcision is barbaric. Come on, really? It's not like the doctors and parents come together for the intention of putting these boys threw "unspeakable pain" and laugh as the procedure is done. There is nothing wrong with parents who choose this for their sons...there is nothing wrong with parents who don't. There are greater injustices to blog about - how to protect our children from sexual predators; how to protect our nation from others who feel we are undeserving of all we have been blessed with. I understand that there are some who have had terrible experiences, and their sons may have not healed as well as mine. Share your story, share your opinion, but STOP looking down on others who choose differently than you.
Second - Babies: The Movie. I have seen about five seconds of this movie, and that was five seconds too much. Any movie with exposed body parts is not ok in my book. Some feel it is an accomplishment to let your children watch it and "not freak out" that there are naked women in it. This is where I stand. I am trying very hard to raise two worthy priesthood holders. Allowing them to see women baring all to nurse their babies is not going to help me in my quest. In my opinion, it's an innocent form of pornography. I understand that this movie was not made with the intention of arousing sexual feelings. It's simply a documentary on how mothers nurse in different cultures. But my sons are old enough that these images could stick in their heads, and have some very damaging effects later. This is also why we will never have Barbies in our home. My boys had the chance to play with cousins last weekend, and they were all playing with barbies. Watching them dress and undress these dolls was a very uncomfortable experience. They will have the opportunity to explore the female body when they are married. Naked dolls with a nice rack is not what my boys need to see or be around.
Alright, those are my issues and getting them out makes me feel much better. I'm not trying to start a debate, or cause hard feelings. I just felt I needed to declare where I stand. Now you know.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Mr. Braxton

Thursday was NOT a good day. I was trying to get the house clean, and needed to go grocery shopping. I had a parent/teacher conference I needed to attend also. My three sweet angels were not helping. I went to the conference, very pleased to hear how much Braxton is progressing. His school was having their book fair, so I bought a few books thinking about how my kids love getting new books. I handed them out in the car on the way to buy our groceries. We didn't last five minutes before contention hit. One wanted to trade, the others didn't. I made them share, and the others would get upset. We turned around and came home. I knew going anywhere with these feelings was only going to end in disaster. I made the kids come inside, and I locked myself in the bathroom and had a good cry. I've been battling a cold for about a week, and that combined with third trimester discomfort, sleep has been scarce. Braxton let me cry for about 10 minutes before he knocked on the door and told me we needed to talk about it. I unlocked the door, and we sat on the couch to talk. He let me know why he was upset, and I did the same. I had a thought that maybe part of the problem was that, since Braxton has been in school, I have felt disconnected somehow. So, I arranged for Dustyn and Emily to wait at Grandma's until Dad was done with work. Braxton and I went out. We ate Chinese food, and then he became my "big helper" and we got the shopping done. After we got home, he continued to shine. He made sure all the bags got brought in. I really needed that 1 on 1 time with him. He is such a sweet, caring boy, and I am so thankful to have him as the "Big Brother" to the rest of my children.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Pregnant...

Alright, so I was planning on getting my pre-pregnancy body back before having another baby. Ummm...too late! I discovered I was expecting Wednesday, June 23. I am SO tired. I can't remember being this tired with past pregnancies. I feel like there is something different about this pregnancy, and I can't really explain what. It's the same way I knew I was pregnant, even when the blood test came back negative. I just feel so different with this one. Maybe it's twins, maybe this baby will have special needs, maybe I'm just crazy...who knows. I'm just super excited to have another little one in our family. I think I'm the most excited about having a newborn. That is my favorite phase. I love how tiny babies are, how cuddly and dependant they are on their moms. I'm sure some people think we're nuts for having another one, but I know it's time. And I can't wait to find out the gender and feel him/her start kicking. I love how excited Braxton is and how he asks me about the baby every morning when he wakes up. I love this time of my life. I am not looking forward to getting old!!!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Music

I LOVE music. I love all different kinds of music. The only music I really don't like is rap, hard rock, anything raunchy and jazz. I have music everywhere...on my computer, on my phone, in every room of my house. Braxton and Dustyn fall asleep every night to primary songs, and as a result, they love to sing and know many songs by heart. Emily is starting to pick up on it, even though she doesn't know all the words. I am so grateful that I was born into a family who is musical, and that I inherited some of those gifts. I love that I can pass that onto my children. I'm glad that even though there are many members of my family, and we are all very different, the one thing we will always have in common is music.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Sisters

I really miss my sisters sometimes. I miss all the stupid things we use to do and talk about. I have 5 sisters. We are all married now with children and lives of our own. We don't keep in touch very well, and sometimes it's really hard. I miss living close to Venessa, who is one of my hero's. I miss living in Rexburg and spending quality time with Katrina...and our Sonic runs. I miss weekends in Salt Lake with Monique and Chinese food and all the things we use to do together. I miss sharing a room with Alicia and buying Totino's pizzas when the parents would go out of town. I miss cheering with Gayla, and being the dynamic duo. (Strange how most of my memories involve food...) We don't get the chance to get together very often, and when we do we're always chasing kids and dealing with the craziness of family. I hope they know I miss them, and love them very much. You could say I'm sappy and sentimental, but that doesn't change how I feel. I remember Alicia, Gayla and I were up talking one night about how when we got married, we would bring our husbands and all have a slumber party in our old room...boy were we naive!!!! I don't think any of our hubby's would agree to that now!!!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Saturday

Saturday is a special day, it's the day we get ready for Sunday... We all know this song. But it's so true! It's amazing how different I feel when my house is clean on Sunday morning. It doesn't usually end up staying clean, but that's what Monday morning is for, right?
Tomorrow we are celebrating Dustyn's 3rd birthday, but it's really on Monday. I can't believe he's already 3! He is such a sweet boy. His big, chocolate brown eyes just melt me. He has his moments, as we all do. But, he is a good boy and I would trade him for anything!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Hey Mom?!?!?

"Hey Mom, Dustyn kickeded me!" Geez...really? After having the most amazing over-nighter with my husband, I really don't have a lot of patience today. I'm totally sleep deprived and freezing! I'm thinking a hot shower sounds good, but there's no point in taking a shower before I exercise. That hasn't happened yet because I'm lacking motivation thanks to my sleep deprivation. It's a rather vicious circle of emotions. Hopefully I can pull out of it long enough to make dinner!

First time blogger

I never thought I would ever start a blog. Here's to starting something new!