The days my babies were blessed have been some of the sweetest in my life. This time with Tabitha I have been thinking how, for nine months, I carried that sweet baby inside of me, sharing everything with her. The burden of her pregnancy was hard, physically, emotionally and spiritually. It challenged every ounce of…
Last week I was sick. Throw-up, lay on the couch, moan, and hope my kids didn’t destroy things too much sick. At one point my little Rose really wanted me to read her a book, but I was so sick that the thought of sitting up made my head spin. She begged and begged, but…
I don’t know who you are yet, and seeing as our children are still under the age of three (yours might not even be born yet), it may seem pre-mature to start thinking about you. Still, the last few months I haven’t been able to get you off my mind. You could be anyone one,…
Personally really LOVE Mother’s Day. I love it that at least once a year we get the opportunity to express our appreciation for all the women who sacrifice so much to bring children into this world and to raise them. Yet, I also know MANY women that struggle with Mother’s Day because they haven’t had…
Friday and Saturday I performed with the modern dance group I dance with. Everything went really well and it was so much fun to be on stage with my little boy. He did great. One of the pieces that the adult company performed (we are all mothers) was entitled “Milk” . It was a beautiful…
Several years ago I did a series on women’s birth stories from the scriptures. It was really a wonderful experience to go through those women’s stories and piece together their experiences. For some time I have been thinking it would be fun to do a series on the stories of women’s breastfeeding experiences in the…
Here is part two of my Breastfeeding Women in the Scriptures series. Read Part 1 here if you missed it. Hannah “For This Child I Prayed” by Elspeth Young “But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will…
This year in Relief Society we are studying the life and teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith, the 10th prophet of the church. As I read through the short biography of him given in the front of the manual I was very touched by a story about him and his second wife, Ethel Reynolds Smith. Joseph…
So I have happy news to share today! Farrell baby #5, who has been given the womb name of “Baby Otto”, will be joining our family around the end of December! I’ll freely admit that there are days when I think I must be crazy for having another baby, but I can’t…
I have a confession to make. It has been a long time since I’ve fasted. I actually have a really strong testimony of fasting but over the last three and half years there has been a grand total of two months when I was either not pregnant or not breastfeeding. I know that there are…
You are in for a treat today! Nikki has the most incredible story and the testimony to go with it. I have learned so much from her and she constantly inspires me to be better and to look at things differently. Enjoy! I’ve been asked to write a special blog to celebrate the anniversary…
“In Favor With God” by Simon Dewy(Image Source) I’ve been devouring my copy of “Daughters in My Kingdom” and have been loving every chapter. I’ve had so many “ah-ha” moments while reading, but one of the most powerful ones came to me while I was reading Chapter 9: “Guardians of the Hearth: Establishing, Nurturing, and…
I have a conundrum for you all and would like your help in solving it. Here it is: Why is it that when I watch my own children, clean my own house, make dinner for my own family, or teach my own children the people don’t consider me to have a “real job” or…
“Mary and Baby” by Liz Lemon Swindle Please understand this is my story. It comes from my heart. It isn’t meant to make anyone feel bad or to influence anyone’s decisions. It is just my story, my experience, and how the Lord has softened and changed my heart. I am only sharing this because I…
Today I am over at Empowering LDS Women for their series this week about finding balance in motherhood. Here is just a snippet of the start of my article so that you will go over and read the whole thing. I’d love some feedback on this one! When I was 17 years-old one of my…
Grandmother of Timothy; Mother of Eunice
I’m excited to have Michelle as my guest poster today for my Relief Society Celebration! I’ve been following her blog, Scenes from the Wild, for awhile and it is one of my favorites. Mostly, because she gives me hope. Hope that maybe someday this wild family of mine might look something like hers does, with…
Three years ago, when I was pregnant with our first baby, my husband and I decided to memorize “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”. We decided to have a race and whoever memorized the whole thing first—word perfect– would be treated to the restaurant of their choice. It wasn’t such an easy task, the…
Awhile ago I received this email, she asked: I am currently a working mother of two little ones, 3 and 4. And as such I often struggle with the concept that “fathers are … responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families … [and] mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture…
This is something completely different from what I normally write. Our library is having a Harry Potter fan fiction contest and it inspired me to write down this story I’ve had ruminating in my head. I’ve been piecing it together ever since I wrote my post about “Why Being a Mom is Just as Cool…
Fourteen was a hard age for me, my parents relationship was rocky, my mom was sick, and I constantly struggled with feelings of low self-esteem. There were times when I felt completely alone. Yet, it was in the midst of those trials that I had a great spiritual awakening. It was then I received a…
I feel grounded choked down by laundry, children, dishes, covenants choices already made Time is racing past me the march of degrees, careers, travel, experience steadily passing me by like hikers on a mountain trail. They get closer to the…
I really appreciated the story by Carolynn R. Spencer entitled “Was I Living The Gospel Fully?” in the July edition of the Ensign magazine. Spencer talks about how, after a day of taking care of a house full of sick children, she felt guilty when she read the scripture in Jacob 2: 19 which talks…
This was originally posted July 2009, but I have been feeling the same way again recently. I guess this is why it is good to write down your feelings– they help strengthen you later. It is crazy to think I wrote this when Asher was only 19 months old, time goes by way too fast.…
Can you guess who this baby is? I’ll give you a hint. Germany World War II Funny black mustache It is Adolf Hitler as a baby. The first time I saw this picture I was astonished. He looks cute, really cute. In fact at this point in his life he could have been just like…
My friend taught me how to knit a few months ago and since then I’ve been knitting in the evenings while my kids fall asleep. The work is repetitive, soothing and gives me lots of time for reflection. My mind wanders but mostly I’ve been thinking about my ancestors and how performing repetitive daily tasks,…
Speaking in this last General Conference, President Russell M. Nelson expressed the following, “…we need women who. . . are courageous defenders of morality and families in a sin-sick world. We need women who are devoted to shepherding God’s children along the covenant path toward exaltation; . . .women who know how to call upon…
For the last week I’ve been mulling about something a friend wrote. She said, I have had the opportunity to work with an amazing woman who has done exceptional work serving the children of God and also raising a family in the gospel. Her life is not perfect of course, but I consider her to…
I want something strange for my birthday. Basically a box with two big Q-tips This is the DNA Test for the National Geographic Genographic project. For $200 they will send you two mouth swabs, which you swish around in your mouth, and then mail back to them. With the swab they are able to use…
I am not very creative when I am pregnant. I realized this about myself several babies back. I’ve learned that my usual enthusiasm and passion for writing exponentially decreases in proportion to the size of my belly. It isn’t just that I am more tired or busy, though I am sure those things factor…
I was eight months pregnant with Tabitha when the royals, William and Kate, had their royal baby. At the time I was nesting and trying to carve out a space in our house for the new baby. Babies don’t really need very much, but the one thing I really needed was a new dresser to…
It seems like very General Conference I have my ears and heart open to, and searching for, messages about birth, womanhood and motherhood. They are topics that I can always rest assured will get addressed in some way during General Conference. This time my heart was especially touched by Elder Henry B. Eyring’s talk entitled…
This afternoon I sat on the porch and watched the leaves fall off our maple tree. I basked in the crisp sunshine that warmed my face and took a deep breath of that smell.. the fall smell…and I felt joy rising inside my heart. I sat with my face to the sun and just drank…
This is part 2 of my series “Cultivating a Heart Open to Life” The story of Moses is one of my favorites, mostly because his story is filled with incredible women. We are introduced to many of these women at the start of Moses’s life and are shown several wonderful examples of women…
I just got back from an amazing trip. It was so wonderful in so many ways. We went to Bandon, a little coastal town in Southern Oregon, for a family reunion. I’d never been to the coast and it completely stole my heart. I am insanely jealous of all of you who get to live…
In The Family: A Proclamation to the World it states that, “ Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.” That word ” nurture” bothered me for a really long time. I did not see myself as an innately nurturing person. As a young woman I didn’t really have a desire to be…
For the last six months my husband and I have been reading the Harry Potter books to our kids before bedtime. Last night we finished the seventh book, and like I always do when good stories come to an end, I felt a bit sad. Ever since I was a child I have always struggled…
Do you remember that part in Gone With the Wind when Scarlet has just had her baby and is upset because Mammy can only get her corset laced up to 21 inches instead of her pre-pregnancy 19 inches ? Mammy tells her, “Honey child, you done had a baby. You ain’t never gun a be…