Christmas

I plagerized this idea from a Sacrament meeting talk I heard this last Sunday. I wish the speaker had more time, because the thoughts he shared were relevant, uplifting and well put together. He spoke of the true meaning of Christmas.

Now we grown-ups all know that Christmas is not all about presents or Santa. It's not about the shopping or the lights, the yummy food or the music. But the point he made (and consequently, the point I'd like to make) is that Christmas is not even about the birth of our Savior. Christmas is about His life, His example, His sacrifice and His resurrection. While the birth of Jesus Christ was a necessary step in His coming to Earth and doing all the later things, His life, and what He ultimately accomplished is what it's all about. If there had been no atonement made, there would be no Christmas.

Because of what Jesus Christ did for each of us, life is perpetuated beyond the grave. We will all be resurrected. Even more profound, He made a way for us to follow His daunting commandment to be perfect. We can repent (change), and become more like Him through His atoning sacrifice.

As my dad likes to put it, Christmas is about you. The Savior did what He did for you. Each person will benefit from His great gift, and every person could do a little better to remember Him and try to be more like Him.

Jesus Christ is the Savior. He is the Son of God. There is no other way to God but through Jesus Christ. The was is made possible for every willing person.

Merry Christmas.

Live

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_whi9GmAO8

What would you do if today was your last day on Earth? What things have you held back that you would do or say, knowing that you had nothing to lose? What apologies would you make? What words of love would you give? Who would you talk to that you haven't recently? What would be important to you then?

Every day is a gift from God. It shouldn't take cancer or car accidents to make people realize that, but sometimes it does. What's on your bucket list? Why haven't you started it? Live each day of your life. Really live it. You never know how many you have left.

Rhesus

Apparently I have Rh negative blood. Ten years ago this would be cause for a lot of worry. Fortunately, nowadays it's not as big of a deal, and the advancement of science allows me to carry my baby (and the next one) without making antibodies against it. Whew.

Because I had a little spotting, I had to go in early to receive my Rhogam shot. I was a little worried about it, because I had this idea in my mind that they were going to take this huge needle and inject it right in my uterus or something. It actually turned out to be a cool experience. Well, not the injection itself, but the trip to the hospital. We went to our delivery hospital and they seated us in an actual delivery room. It was really big. I was pointing out the different instruments and things to Gavin and explaining what happens when someone gives birth, the process and his part and all that. Poor guy, I think I just overwhelmed him. But still, it was really neat to get a glimpse of what it will be like (ovewhelming and all). We later found out that this was actually their smallest delivery room (!) and the other rooms are even better. I was impressed. I'm hoping their mother baby unit is as nice, if not nicer, and their nursery is up to par. Hopefully we'll be able to take a tour of the Women's center in the near future. They have a class for birthing and all that, but it's stinkin' expensive. I don't know though-- it might be worth it just to give Gavin some peace of mind. We'll see.

Oh, and the shot was intramuscular and tiny. No big deal. :)

My pants are starting to be too tight around the waist! All of them! I go around all day with my fly open and a hair tie keeping them semi-closed. I should go maternity clothes shopping, but I want to wait until the after-Christmas sales. *Sigh.

TMI Much?

Well, now that I've spilled the beans, I can start telling you all the wonderful details you may or may not want to hear. It's been weeks and weeks since I wrote that post (See "Spill the Beans"), and now I'm finally emerging from the first trimester. YAY! I threw up for a solid month and lost 7lbs. I'm slowly gaining weight, but I've only gained a pound or two so far. My midwife recommended Unisom and vitamin B6 for the nausea and it worked like magic. Today is my first day off it; we'll see how it goes!

School is almost over! Ironically, the day of my last final is also the day of my 14 week checkup and also the official end of my first trimester. I'll be 3 months along next week! Cool! Our little baby (affectionately called "Ponyo" for its stumpy arms and legs) is about 3 inches long and it grew eyelids and fingernails this week. Its vocal organ is finished developing, so it can cry lots and lots when its born and get back at our neighbors! I mean... teach us how to live on very little sleep! Yeah.

Christmas is right around the corner and I'm so getting into the Christmas spirit! Besides wanting to cry every time I hear a really good Christmas song or story, I've been a pretty decent master of my emotions. I've had only a couple cravings, but they were both unhealthy! (Up until now I've only had an appetite for really healthy foods.) The loaded baked potato was the first. That was a real crisis. It was 10:30 at night and almost everything was closed! In the end, it was not Denny's nor IHOP that won the Feed-The-Pregnant-Lady Contest, but Chili's! More recently, I gave in to a pizza craving. I had dreamed of eating pizza the night before and during the day time, it pestered me until I ate half a Hot-n-Ready pizza at 5pm! Mmmmm, that hit the spot!

Keeping things under wraps has been pretty tricky. Besides the fact that my belly seems to have decided to pop out like I'm five months along, and I just can't eat most of the time, people are just so nosey! It's amazing to me that people are presumptuous enough to outright ask me (or my mom) whether I'm pregnant, or when I will be, or any of that. I guess I'm just extra sensitive about it because a) it took some effort to get this way, and b) I don't like to lie about it, directly or indirectly. Actually, most people who have straight-up asked have gotten the honest answer because they're not linked to enough people for me to care about. But when my cousin asked me, well... I had to lie. :( Besides all that though, I have to laugh at people when I tell them that I didn't come to such-and-such activity or meeting because I didn't feel well, and they get all ick looking until I tell them, "Don't worry; I'm not contagious."

Well, this is it. Bring on the finals. And then the 2nd trimester. And Christmas! All is well in the Reed home.