I had an appointment today with my nurse midwife. And I LOST 2 lbs. I was on cloud nine once I stepped off that scale because this surely should have been my 10 lb. visit. It included the entire month of December where I did the majority of eating for the year. And I felt like I ate a lot of garbage this month with all the holiday treats and dinners and parties. So I was shocked that I lost weight. At 26 weeks and 4 days, I am losing weight. I’m not sure why this pregnancy has been so different than the others. I know that I eat more consistently and do less binge eating and I work out regularly. I don’t think I ate consistently with my other pregnancies, and I never worked out. Maybe those things have something to do with it. I’m not a big eater, and I’m not constantly eating. Perhaps that is why I have gained a total of 5 lbs. thus far. If I weren’t eating or I was nauseous and pukey I might worry but that’s not the case. So I will take this weight loss and smile, as any woman would when she feels like a big fatty.
I walked Easton to school with some ladies from my ward this morning, the ones I usually walk with – Melissa and Camille. It’s a total of 3 miles round trip, and I love when I can do that in the morning to get my exercise over and done with before 10 am. Then I have the whole day to not worry about it. After I have the baby, I’ll do more than just walking, but for now walking 3 miles with nearly 1 of those miles being uphill is sufficient with this pregnant lady. I was going to the gym in the evenings before, but I just feel like it takes up the time where other things need to be done. I much more prefer morning workouts or working out while the kids are awake so that I can still get some alone time after they go to bed.
My car wouldn’t start today so my sweet Jacob came home from work, jumped my battery, and then drove it to Auto Zone to get a new battery. So he was off work a bit early today, and that’s ok because I like having him around. After dinner this evening we took a family trip to the library to get the boys some new books to read. I read books to them every night, and when we don’t go to the library, we get tired of the same old reads. The boys love the library, and I love encouraging them to have a love for reading instead of a love for television. Because they do love television, and I’ll admit that I let them watch it too much. But that is why restricting their TV watching and spending more quality time with them is on my To-Do list for the year. I have been doing well with my time management for the past 2 weeks, and I love how I feel each day. I have been consistent with my cleaning schedule and scripture reading and prayers, and life just feels like it’s flowing as it should be. Not without troubles or problems, of course, but I just feel like my time is being used so much more efficiently, and I’m getting done all the things that I need to and should be doing each day. My floor still has crumbs on it, but I’m not stressed over it. And I feel like the Lord is pleased with my efforts to make the best of the time He has given me. I feel so productive, and I love the feeling of productivity. Plus my kids get a better mom, my husband gets a better wife, and the Lord gets a better disciple.
I read the first presidency message in the Ensign for this month by President Monson, and there are some quotes in it that I really loved. It’s called Living the Abundant Life and focuses on the ABC’s of gaining an “abundant life – a life filled with an abundance of success, goodness, and blessings.”
A – Attitude. Have a positive attitude. One of my favorite quotes is by Harold B. Lee, and it says, “Happiness does not depend on what happens outside of you but on what happens inside of you.” I love it because of the simple truth in it. Be happy because you choose to be. Don’t let your happiness depend on outside influences or circumstances. I really learned that while going through my divorce with Adam. Somebody had told me one day, “You are one of the happiest people despite what you are going through.” And I hadn’t realized it, but I hadn’t let Adam take my happiness away. I was unhappy about the situation, but not unhappy overall. My happiness wasn’t in Adam, and when that person said that to me, I realized that I already knew that and that I was still happy and hadn’t given that over to Adam. I still have to relearn this lesson, of course, but this past year I’ve really reflected on where my happiness truly comes from and that so much of it depends on what I choose to feel about my circumstances. Of course people can suffer from depression and anxiety and not always be able to control the level of their happiness – I know that firsthand. But what we can control, we must. President Monson said, “We can’t direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails. For maximum happiness, peace, and contentment, may we choose a positive attitude.” And that is so true. We absolutely cannot control so many things that happen to us in our lives, but we can control what we allow to happen inside of us. When the winds hit, we can adjust the sails and know that Lord will help us to get to where He wants us to be. Ultimately, our happiness is in our hope in Christ and His promise to provide for us and deliver us. Our happiness is in knowing that no matter what we go through or what plans change or fall through that as long as we are living righteously we will be blessed abundantly. With all the good things we ever hoped for and more. Ultimately our happiness is not in knowing the meaning of all things, but, as Nephi says, in knowing that the Lord loves His children. If we can remember that and trust that love – really trust it – then we will know that everything will work out as the Lord wants it to. And we don’t have to know the why’s or the how’s – we just have to know that the Lord loves His children and will bless them with more than they envisioned for themselves. That is where my happiness comes from. Nobody can take that away.
B – Believe. In yourself, in those around you, and in eternal principles. One thing that I really liked in this section was the quote that President Monson used by Thomas Fuller: “He does not believe that does not live according to his belief.” This is such a true statement and one that we ought to apply when we say we believe in something. If we don’t live it, then we don’t believe it. It’s a simple way of looking at it. President Monson also said, “Don’t limit yourself and don’t let others convince you that you are limited in what you can do. Believe in yourself and then live so as to reach your possibilities. You can achieve what you believe you can. Trust and believe and have faith.” I limit myself all the time, and I love to be around people that say they can do something and then they just try it until they can do it. I want to be one of those people. I want to have higher expectations and then live up to those expectations.
C – Courage. Face challenges with courage. I love what President Monson said about second attempts at our goals. “Courage is required to make an initial thrust toward one’s coveted goal, but even greater courage is called for when one stumbles and must make a second effort to achieve. Have the determination to make the effort, the single-mindedness to work toward a worthy goal, and the courage not only to face the challenges that inevitably come but also to make a second effort, should such be required. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, ‘I’ll try again tomorrow.’”
I loved his article and thought it was a great one for the new year when everyone is making resolutions to do better and try harder and accomplish various goals. It certainly helped me to remember to be happy whenever I have the ability to control it, to live according to my beliefs, and to have courage to face my challenges.
Two other quotes I came across tonight are from an article by Spencer W. Kimball titled The Abundant Life.
President Kimball quoted Arnold Bennett: “The real tragedy is the tragedy of a man who never in his life braces himself for his one supreme effort, who never stretches to his full capacity, never stands up to his full stature. To lie down and moan and whine about limited opportunities is the part of weaklings. To grasp the opportunities at hand and walk forward is the way of the strong.” I feel like this goes along with having a positive attitude. Quit complaining about what you don’t have, and move forward with the opportunities that are in front of you.
And then another quote from the same article: “If we are not careful, we can be injured by the frostbite of frustration; we can be frozen in place by the chill of unmet expectations. To avoid this we must—just as we would with arctic coldness—keep moving, keep serving, and keep reaching out, so that our own immobility does not become our chief danger.” It’s an anonymous quote, but I love that it says to not become immobile with self-pity because things didn’t go like you wanted them to. Keep moving.
I had a productive night of reading, and I love the quotes that were shared. I am always on the lookout for good quotes.
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