Yuck

This is my 100th post! I should make it something special I guess, but this is all I've got. :)

Drew likes to have Darcy do tummy time on his stomach...until last night. She spit up right into his mouth. It was so funny to me how grossed out he was. Then he was trying to get me to keep doing her tummy time like that...I don't think so!

Just before THE incident.

A couple other random thoughts:

My friend Brittany here in Pittsburgh introduced me to exercisetv online. I love it! I love workout videos, but I always end up buying a million because I like variety. This is a way I can do something different almost every day for free. It's so awesome. I thought I should share with everyone because I'm so sad I didn't know about it before.

Drew and I had a gift card to PF Changs from last Christmas that we decided to go use last night. I had been worried about going out to eat with Darcy and Drew kept telling me it would be fine. It was no big deal. Well I ended up being right! We were only there for about 5-10 minutes when she started crying. So I had to stand up and walk around the restaurant with her while Drew ate, and then we switched. So we ended up eating alone one at a time and stressing about her crying in the restaurant around all those people. We ended up leaving before we were really finished and getting our food to go. Drew just took her out to the car and I paid. I was soo anxious by the end of dinner. Drew even ended up stressed by the whole experience. We decided we won't try that again for a while. It really wasn't fun. I wish I could be one of those people who could just let my baby cry a little and not worry about all the people around me. I wonder if I will ever get to that point. We are flying home next month and after our eating out experience I am totally having anxiety about flying with her. I might just have a panic attack. I will be surprised if she and I aren't both in tears by the end of it. Any flying or eating out with a baby tips are welcome!!

Drew's parents and his brother Justin are coming this next week for Thanksgiving, and we are SO excited! I'm wondering how cooking in my tiny kitchen will go, but we will make it work I'm sure. 6 more days to go!

This Week

First of all, I can't say thank you enough for the positive feedback I got from that last post. I know it was a little controversial which is not my favorite thing. I'm sorry if it may have seemed like I was being judgmental, that truly was not my intention. Like I said before though, I did feel like I was being led by the Spirit, and I can't argue with that. Moving on...ahhh.

Here are a few things that have been happening around our house this week.


Darcy will not open her eyes when it is bright outside, so I decided she needed some shades. They were 2 for $5 on sale at children's place online. They are so funny. She looks so cute in them. The first couple times I put them on her she was fine, but the last couple times she didn't seem to like them. I hope she really will wear them, or else she will never see anything outside when it is sunny. :) (Please forgive the drooly shirt. It's freaking me out because the only reason I know for babies to drool is if they are teething. She is only 3 months old! That better not be what it is. She has started wearing bibs since I took this picture.)
Darcy almost never goes to sleep without a fight. We had a couple strange days this week where she just couldn't help herself. Drew was walking around the house with her and then we realized she had just fallen asleep over his arm. We thought it was pretty funny.
I turned on some music and Drew danced with her and she liked it so much she fell asleep.
I always thought I was a pretty strong girl, but holding my 17 lb. baby all day long had proven to be harder than I thought! She is heavy! My arm always falls asleep and my back really is starting to hurt, so lately I've been trying to come up with anything to make my time holding her a little shorter. We decided to get her (and me) an early Christmas present. Here she is sitting in her bumbo. She really seems to like it. Today she sat in it and watched me cook dinner. It was wonderful!
Aren't these shoes adorable?! I have been waiting for these to fit her. Unfortunately, she got the Jenne genes for feet. Her feet are really chubby through the arches. (I guess it's possible the Christensen's have this gene too, but Drew is unable to confirm.) This makes it so these shoes will only start on her feet for about 30 seconds before she kicks them off. So a picture will have to do...sad. :(

Modesty

For about the past three years I have been debating whether or not it was my place to speak out about this topic. I had pretty much decided I would keep my mouth shut until today while I was trying to fall asleep for a nap. As I laid there I started thinking about all of the prophets in the scriptures who spoke to multitudes of people trying to convince them to be better, without worrying about what the people might think of them. They were heavily persecuted, and yet they pressed forward. Because I am scared, I tried to push the thoughts aside, but I was not successful. I’m still not very good at deciphering, but I feel fairly sure it was the Spirit prompting me. So here we go.

Since I was really young I can remember having lessons in church about modesty. I was taught that my body is a temple. I can take care of my temple by eating right, exercising, staying away from addictive substances, and also, by dressing modestly. All of these were so easy for me (ok eating right gets me sometimes) growing up in my little town with other LDS girls who had my same morals. There was never any question what I would wear to the pool. I spent hours online and in the stores and even a few extra dollars finding a swimming suit that was modest. My parents emphasized the importance of modesty and I knew they were right.

It wasn’t until a few years after I left home that I struggled with the principle of modesty. At that point I was totally unaware that there were LDS girls and women who wore bikinis. This was something I had never even considered. When I realized how many girls actually thought this was ok it shook me. At first I was upset. Then I began to question. I had the same lessons all my life that they had, and I wondered if I was being silly or maybe taking it too far. Maybe showing the world my belly wasn’t that big of a deal. You might be surprised how seriously this affected me, and how much I struggled with deciding what was right. After quite a while and with Drew’s encouragement I came to the conclusion that “modesty was the best policy.” I decided to stick with what I had learned from my parents. I am so happy I did.

I had the thought a few times “I’m already wearing a swimming suit which isn’t totally a modest thing to begin with. Does it really matter if I just make it a little smaller swimming suit and take out the middle?” You might think this same thing, but how far are you willing to go? Where will you draw the line?

Part of the reason I struggled so much was because I felt like a loner. So many times I was the only one at the pool with my stomach covered and I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb. I hated it. Honestly I still really don’t love that, but I have come to terms with it. I tell myself that we are supposed to be a “peculiar people.” Standing out for doing the right thing is a good thing. If someone were to come up to me at the pool and discuss religion with me (I have seen this happen) I would not be ashamed to tell them I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. If they knew about our belief in modesty, they would not question whether or not I lived that principle. I want to always be prepared to represent the church in a positive way.

Our church leaders are always giving counsel to the men about staying away from the evils of pornography. I have known quite a few men personally who have struggled with this issue, and I know a girl in a bikini is NOT helpful. Do you want to be part of the solution, or do you want to add to the problem? Are you comfortable being another man’s pornography?

I really hope I don’t lose friends over this, and I hope this post doesn’t make me come off as self-righteous. I have so many faults its ridiculous, but this is one thing I am absolutely sure about, and I feel like it is time for me to be brave and say what I know to be true. The people that struggle with this tend to be the most amazing people I know. Don’t let this one thing bring you down. Please consider what message you want to send to the people around you, and the message you want to send to Heavenly Father. He loves you and I love you too!

This quote by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has been running through my head lately. He makes me want to try harder every day to be better.

“There is a saying that big gates move on small hinges. Sisters, your example in seemingly small things will make a big difference in the lives of our young people. The way you dress and groom yourselves, the way you talk, the way you pray, the way you testify, the way you live every day will make the difference. This includes which TV shows you watch, which music you prefer, and how you use the Internet. If you love to go to the temple, the young people who value your example will also love to go. If you adapt your wardrobe to the temple garment and not the other way around, they will know what you consider important, and they will learn from you.

You are marvelous sisters and great examples. Our youth are blessed by you, and the Lord loves you for that.”