Thursday, March 3, 2011

What I Learned From Dr. House

So earlier today Ammon and I got stuck on the couch watching a few reruns of "House." One of the episodes struck me a little to the core. I couldn't possibly repeat any of the medical jargon but basically a man had lost his ability to filter his thoughts. He told the absolute, unedited truth. We didn't even see the end of it, but there was a point in the episode when the doctors thought they had figured it out but wouldn't do anything because the man had such a slim chance of living through the surgery to fix the problem. Essentially the man went to House and practically begged him to do the surgery because of how negatively it had effected his wife and daughter. There was a chance they would never want to be around him again if he wasn't fixed. He would rather die than not be able to control what he said.

I thought about this a little. Being a pregnant woman, I tend to have a much looser filter than normal. However, I still can feel and regret the impact of what I have said. As a general rule, truth is definitely the way to go. However, I think there is a lot to be said for kindness and respect. In Sunday School the other day, there was a discussion based around "How can you tell a true disciple of Christ?" Ultimately I got the impression that most people in the group agreed that is was based on the way that person treated others. Obviously only Heavenly Father can know each of our hearts, but I would hope and pray that overall I give off the impression of being a disciple of Christ.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Thank Goodness for Caterpillars

Ammon got a job with Empire Caterpillar in west Mesa! We are so excited. It's kind of a long story, but 'I will sum up.' About 6 weeks ago Ammon put in applications at Empire for truck driving and/or a field welder position, both of which required his CDL license. He got called in for an interview and weld test for the latter. Turns out that job would pay pretty well, but it would mean a lot of traveling for Ammon, often weeks at a time. Well, a few weeks later, Ammon was called in for a 'second interview.' As he sat down with his interviewer (Johnny) Ammon was told, "Well you didn't get the job." Basically a guy with tons more experience barely beat Ammon in getting this field welder job. However, Empire was opening positions in the shop for some machinist welders, and Ammon had done such an impressive job on his test and interview, Johnny wanted to personally introduce him to the foreman in the shop. This gave Ammon a foot in the door and a shining recommendation. Three weeks later, after a lot of prayers from family and friends and a little bit of the run-around from Empire, Ammon got a call from an admin at Empire asking him to fill out some information online. We figured this was just protocal since he didn't actually apply for this second job. However, when she called a few hours later it was to ask him to come in to sign some pre-hire paperwork. I had to actually hear her say over the phone that Ammon got the job cause I didn't believe it otherwise.

This is a miracle for us at our 11th hour of need, and we are so grateful that Ammon was inspired to get his CDL (without which he may never have gotten this opportunity.) And we're grateful that HF granted Ammon a job where he will be home every day and not on the road. And we're grateful that Ammon's dad saw the ad for the Empire jobs. And we're grateful we were comforted all these months in knowing that something will come 'when the time was right.' We have seen the miracle that prayers and faith can work, and we're so grateful for everyone's support. Thank you!!!!!!

2nd Pregnancy- 11 Weeks, 2 Days

Well, as kind of a pregnancy journal I want to document some things I've already experienced on the blog. Overall I have been sick in some way almost all the time except first thing in the morning. Usually from the time I wake up till about 11 am, I feel so 'normal.' The term morning sickness obviously doesn't apply to me. I'm beginning to assume it's a tiredness issue because I usually feel the worst the last few hours of the day. And let me tell you, I am ALWAYS tired. Even if I haven't done anything my body gets a bit... shakey... by the end of the day... like I've really over-exerted my muscles, that type of shakey. I don't deny that feeling scares me a great deal since I haven't gained enough weight to really exhaust myself. Although I have gained some poundage already and that scares me too. I have to eat every 2-3 hours, serving-size meals (which is about 2/3rds of what I would normally eat three times a day.) Most of the time I have no control over what my bod is willing to accept. Usually my fall-backs are cereal, cheese and eggs (shocking for most pregnant women.), but there are few consistencies. I've craved peanut butter smoothies, tacos, lima bean soup, Greek kabobs, pancakes, cottage cheese (Wal-mart cottage cheese), my mom's fried rice, fajitas, root beer, etc. If you kind find some sort of pattern let me know! The worst is all the heartburn and indigestion. I'm starting to wonder if I have an ulcer since I often have an miserable pain within my stomach like I'm being eaten from the inside. Mexican strawberry cremesicles have been the most reliable remedy for it. (GO FIGURE!) Ammon and I already joke that this baby is a girl because it's acting like a spoiled brat... needing everything 'just so.' HAHA Overall things to be getting a little better every day. A migraine and sinus infection didn't help these last few weeks, but I feel like I'm on an upswing as I enter the second trimester.