classylady

That's wonderful!

Wow! I'd love to go there just to see it for myself.

Missed you Slamjet. Glad to see you back. I'm with Jayanna, here. I'd love to come to your baptism, whenever it happens.

Oops. Missed her post. Thank you

I've found the temple clothing to run a little on the big side.

So, Bini, how did it go?

How about RS teacher? It's only once a month. Or a VT supervisor--calling sisters to see if they've got their VT done.

Okay, I'm going to bite. Let's see. Bishop: Classylady 1st Counselor: Vort 2nd Counselor: Rameumpton Exec. Secretary: Loudmouth Mormon RS President: Dahlia 1st Counselor: Gwen 2nd Counselor: Anatess YW Pres: Bini Counselor: Iggy Primary Pres: Applepansy 1st Counselor: Lizzy16 2nd Counselor: JudoMinja Ward Choir Director: Pam Ward Technology Specialist: Slamjet Scout Master: John Doe Assistant: Snow EQ Pres. : FunkyTown HPGL: PrisonChaplain Library: Dravin and Beefche

I'm so happy for you, Bini!

Jenn, so sorry you're going through so much stress right now. Life is hard. I have found that what has helped me, is to focus on the basics. Sometimes, the most basic thing is that we the family are still alive. I know that sounds awful, but the truth is, sometimes, for me, that's all I could focus on. There have been several times when our house has had severe roof problems. One year, we had a microburst, where the wind was so severe it damaged the roof over the master bedroom. I woke up with dripping water on my face, woke my husband up, turned on the lights, and then the ceiling and all the insulation came crashing down onto the bed. The baby was in the bed with us. Luckily, I had picked him up. We had no money to fix it. We had just enough money to buy some dry wall and plastic. The dry wall covered up the gaping hole, the plastic covered the damaged roof. It was quite a few months before we were able to repair the roof. Two of my teenagers did the roof repair work. We weren't able to replace the insulation for about 10 years. We survived. We have also had a major leak in our living and dining room area. We had a hole in our ceiling for several years--embarrassing. Even though it's repaired now, I still need to paint over the new dry wall. It just seems like we can never get ahead. One thing after another goes wrong, and we simply do not have the money to fix it. So, I understand your frustration. Being pregnant just seems to magnify the problems. And I can see where the stress over money is a major issue. Most women have the need for financial security. For me, it's not the issue of having enough money for extras. It's the need to have enough money for the basic necessities. And sometimes, we haven't had enough for the basics. I've mentioned in other threads where we have had to have our phone shut off (numerous times), power shut off, gas turned off, and one time even our water turned off. It has really put a stress on our marriage. But, we are committed to our marriage, and I had to focus on the positives, rather than the negatives in order to get through some of the trials. Is there no way to get the paper work on your sealing cancellation quickly sent in to the First Presidency? I would focus on that. If it doesn't happen, then it doesn't. And of course everything will be all right. But, I know that would be such an emotional stress for me. Again, sorry you're going through so much. Sometimes, for me, hope is all I had. Have hope for a brighter future. Sending you hugs!

I've been LDS all my life, and within the church I have never felt second-class or less than a man. I wouldn't trade my role as a wife and mother for anything else in the world. I've held many responsible positions within the church and those positions mean very little to me compared to my role as a woman. Even if I was never able to have children, I still would not feel second-class. I simply love being a woman. Now, with that said, have I ever met a man who may have used unrighteous dominion? Yes. But, how a man (or woman) behaves, I do not equate with the gospel. I am not going to base my testimony of the gospel on how Brother So-and-So acts. I received a witness to the truthfulness of the Gospel, and I am perfectly aware that men and women are not perfect. No one is, except for our Savior, Jesus Christ. One of my favorite passages of scripture is when Jesus leaves the tomb and the first person he shows himself to is Mary Magdalene--a woman. "John 20: 14-16 ...she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself and saith unto him, Rabboni; ..." I can see this so vividly in my mind, Mary recognizing the voice of Jesus and then turning to see him. It truly brings tears to my eyes. I also have a little more to add. I have seen injustice in the world in regards to how women are treated. Is that religion? Or is it the misconceptions of men? There have been times when I have questioned Heavenly Father on sending his daughters to this world where there can be such terrible abuse afflicted on them by men--rape, intimidation, physical violence, failure to allow women to reach their full potential through education, etc. I know that Father abhors these acts against his daughters. And I fully believe that all those who have mistreated women (or anyone) will someday pay the price, and will pay for these sins. For reasons, which we probably don't fully understand, it was necessary for our Father to send us to this world where men (I believe because of testosterone), behave, at times, inappropriately. For me, personally, I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for allowing me to come to the earth in these, the latter days, and into a home where the Gospel was practiced, and where there was righteous, priesthood stewardship--where I have had the opportunity to reach my full potential through education, missionary service, church service, civic responsibilities, and motherhood. I apologize if I'm jumping to conclusions, but I'm sorry if you have been mistreated in any way by the men in your life.

I thought the same thing. I did a double-take. I was skimming through, and thought "whoa, what was that? Did a second look, and thought "oh, only balloons."

Merry Christmas everyone!

Wow! I had never heard of this before. Very interesting.

Happy birthday, Pam! Hope you're having a wonderful day!

Bini, all the advice so far has been good. Do what is right for you and your baby. I was able to breastfeed my first four babies with relatively minor problems, but with my fifth baby, I didn't produce enough milk. He was a lazy nurser. I thought he would be nursing, but he wasn't nursing strong enough to bring my milk in. So, I ended up pumping, to get my milk supply up, and supplementing with formula. I was lucky in that he didn't mind going back and forth from mom to bottle. Which was good because at the time, I was back in college full time and had to leave him with dad or a sitter. Every baby is different, and you would have thought that by my fifth child I would know what was up. I had no clue that he wasn't getting enough until his doctor's appt. showed he wasn't gaining weight. I was able to breast feed all my kids until they were about 15 to 18 months old. That doesn't mean they're on the breast all the time. When is it recommended that babies start cereal? If you want to keep breastfeeding, you may want to give yourself a goal of breastfeeding at least until she is old enough to eat cereal. Cereal will help her have a full tummy and give you a break on the number of feedings, and then decide from there. Just a thought. But, no matter what you decide, if baby and mother are healthy and happy, then you are doing a great job. Don't stress about it. Enjoy your precious little one.

I'm sorry JudoMinja that you're going through this right now. I don't have anything else to add. Just want to say that I care about you and sending you hugs.

Happy birthday, Jennarator! I hope you had a wonderful day!

Have fun, Forget-Me-Not! Just go with the idea of renewing a friendship. If nothing comes of it--so be it. If it does, yeah!

My husband and I have actually talked about this. If I died, and my husband was widowed, I would want him to remarry. I wouldn't want him to be alone. I'd want him to have companionship--someone to share life's experiences with, someone to help him in his priesthood callings, someone he could love, someone he could share a couples mission with. I have told him that if he did remarry, I would want it to be with a woman who has a strong testimony of the gospel--please don't marry outside of the church. And he feels the same for me if I should be the one widowed. He wouldn't want me to be alone. He would want me to have a companion. This may not be a popular idea, but I believe it's possible to love more than one person. Everything will be taken care of in the next life.

We thought we were done. Sometimes grandparents end up raising their grandchildren. My husband and I co-parent our grandson with his dad. I simply do not have the energy that I used to have. But, Elf on the Shelf sounds like fun. There are several members of my family that do it. Kids seem to enjoy it. And I notice it is getting more popular every year.

My 20 year old daughter has fibromyalgia. Also, my daughter that died in a car accident did too. My daughter's pain is never ending. With my daughter that died, her symptoms of fibromyalgia lessened when she was pregnant, and then came back after the birth of her baby. I truly wish there was something that would help. My 20 year old has switched to so many different prescriptions for her pain. Nothing helps completely. The prescriptions that she takes lessens the pain, but doesn't take it away. And she always seems to have adverse reactions to the medications--vomiting, brain fog, upset stomach, etc. I always pray that eventually there will be a safe medication out there that will help. She and her husband want to have a baby, and she's worried about going off the pain meds. Good health is truly a blessing.

Yes. I agree. When I had my fall, even the Lortab didn't completely take away the pain. I remember thinking, "All I want is for this pain to go away". I couldn't sleep, couldn't walk, couldn't do much of anything without the pain incapacitating me. I also took ibuprofen. I actually ended up taking too much. I knew I had over done it with the ibuprofen when I tried to drink a soda, and it just burned going down. So, then I stopped taking the ibuprofen. I think I had a reaction to going off it, because I was vomiting--seemed endless to me. And, I hardly ever have to vomit. It had been years since I was sick enough to actually "puke". I know it's not a nice thing to think about, but I don't know how to sugar-coat it. It certainly scared my 20 year old daughter who happened to be taking care of me that day. I don't think she'd ever seen me sick like that before. She was glad when my dh got home from work and could take over. People with chronic pain have my deepest sympathy. I only had chronic pain for a little over a month, and I did not deal with it very well. Now, with my back, it's only occasionally that I get pain, and I hate it. I can see how they would get addicted to pain meds. It is heaven to finally be free of pain.

I think I need to strengthen my core muscles. During the summer I had a fall which hurt my knee and jarred my hip. I had excruciating muscle spasms--dh had to practically carry me to the car to get me to the doctor. Doctor prescribed Lortab and a muscle relaxer. I was practically bedridden for a month. So, I think my muscles were weakened by the lack of activity. The doctor told me it could take up to three months to heal. And it actually did take that long. So, I'm just now getting up to speed and doing everything that I used to, and my back is screaming at me in pain when I do a lot of bending, etc. I really appreciate everyone's advice. If anyone else has ideas, please share. Thanks!

Good question, Vort. I have no idea if the same principle applies to that situation as it does to a woman who has a child after being widowed or divorced--if she is still sealed to her first husband, any subsequent children are still considered BIC. Would there be a difference between a child born to a surrogate where the surrogate mother uses her own eggs, but the sperm is from the donor, or if the baby is born from both donated sperm and egg? That child is not biologically hers. Are children adopted when they are born from a surrogate mother?