Following promptings

My visiting teachers came by for a visit recently and the message really hit me because of some recent changes in my life. Part of the message was as follows:

We can do this work in the Lord’s way only when we seek, receive, and act on personal revelation. Without personal revelation, we cannot succeed. If we heed personal revelation, we cannot fail.

Almost 8 years ago Greg and I purchased a home together with my parents. This was beneficial in many ways for both parties. My parents lived in an older part of North Las Vegas and this gave them the chance to live in a newer and nicer area. It would cost less for Greg and I to live in a 6 bedroom 3 bathroom home along with my parents than it would for us to live in our 2 bedroom 2 bathroom condo we had when we were first married. We all talked about it half seriously and looked at houses together to get an idea of what was out there. Before we knew it everything just seemed to fall into place for the purchase of a home together and it has worked out wonderfully for all of us. At the time of that decision Greg and I could have been worried about how others viewed us. Did people think we simply lived with my parents? Did people know we actually owned the house too? Did people think we got a free ride or did they know we took care of paying half of he bills just like my parents did? There were so many things that we could have been worried about but we chose to never think about those things. We knew the Lord put us in the situation to buy a home together for a reason and we all have been blessed in these past 8 years in many many ways.

At the beginning of the year both Greg and I had a very strong feeling that we should look into the option of purchasing our own home. I had extremely mixed feelings about this because it would not just effect Greg and I. We had to be concerned about how it would effect my parents also. We were not only concerned about how it would effect us all financially but we also wanted to make sure my parents knew we weren't doing this to try and get away from them. We truly felt this was something we needed to do to continue growing as we should as individuals, as a couple and as a family. Greg and I had felt so strongly about it and knew we wouldn't move forward unless my parents felt the same way. We prayed about it for some time and decided we should at least bring it up to my parents and ask them to pray about it also. My parents prayed about it and gave us their blessing to proceed forward. In a matter of weeks we were able to come up with living solutions for all of us and come to find out we would be able to bless another family members life through this whole process. Greg and I found a foreclosure home that would need lots of work but we felt good about the purchase. Greg has been blessed with lots of home sales at work lately, which has been a tremendous need to getting our new home ready to move in. Things are going well with the house and we are hoping to be able to move in within a couple of weeks. I am amazed how the Lord will help things come together when it is the right thing to do. Just as the message said "If we heed personal revelation, we cannot fail". I am grateful that we followed the promptings we were given because it will not only bless us but will bless the lives of others.

Getting Healthy

I really never sit down and make New Year's resolutions but there is definitely one thing I need to work on this year. My lovely daughter is 16 months old and I still have yet to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. It's definitely time to stop being lazy and get my rear in gear.

My biggest challenge is trying to figure out what to do and when to do it. I tried the whole get up before Laila does but that can be really hard for me. I am not a morning person. Plus, I really want to show her how important being physically active is. I am hoping she does not grow up with the weight problems that I grew up with. So, I took a friends advice and bought a jogging stroller. Now, I am definitely not a jogger but that is my goal. I obviously will begin out slowly but I am determined to to stick to this.

I have many reasons for needing to do this all of which are very important to me.

1. I need to be healthy for me. I hate the way I feel right now. I have never been super thin and that really isn't my goal but I do not like this extra weight on me. I still have 20 pounds left to lose before I get back to my pre-pregnancy weight and I can feel every pound. The truth is that I love food way too much to ever be a super model but I do need to get back to having a good sense of moderation with my diet.

2. I don't want to have this extra weight on me when I want to get pregnant again. I hope that doesn't sound selfish. I just know how uncomfortable I was with being pregnant the first time and having extra weight to begin with isn't going to help with that. Plus, if I don't lose this weight now then after another pregnancy I'll probably have double to lose. I'm sure that any other woman knows what I am feeling.

3. I am having children later in life. I had my first baby at 29 years old. I know for sure that we want to have another one but heaven only knows when that will happen. We have a time line in mind but if there is anything we know it's that our time lines don't always matter. It took us 7 years to get pregnant with Laila and so we have no idea what will happen the next time around. No matter if it happens right away or takes a while the fact is that we will be older as we are raising children and we need to be healthy to take care of our kids.

4. I want to set a good example for Laila and any other children that come along. I know that in the long run of their lives I can't control if my children will be physically active or if they will eat correctly or not but I do want them to see the benefits of living a healthy life.

5. I grew up over weight and don't want to go back to that. I can't say I was teased or taunted because of my weight because I wasn't. I can't say that my childhood was a nightmare because of my weight because it wasn't. I can say that I was definitely self conscience about myself and my self esteem suffered greatly because of the way that I looked at myself. I always made sure I was in the background of life because I didn't want anyone noticing me. About 5 years ago I set out to lose weight and one day I just decided to do it and never looked back. I was able to lose 70 pounds and it was life changing and I became a different person in so many ways.

So, those are my reasons. I am hoping that if I get this goal out in the open then that will make me all the more determined to stick to it. Wish me luck!

So Much To Be Thankful For

I have tried hard to keep up with putting a post every day of something I am grateful for. I've done pretty good but this last week was a busy one as I am sure it was for everyone.

I love the Holiday Season and I love Autumn and Winter. There is something so comforting about this time of the year. Greg and I were able to spend Thanksgiving dinner with his family and the next day we were able to get together with my two oldest brothers and other family. We also spent all day on Saturday with my dad's family so I have been especially grateful for my wonderful family this week. I don't have to be doing a lot to enjoy myself. I love just sitting and visiting and enjoying the company of others and I was able to do a whole lot of that this week.

I have to say that I am so grateful for how well behaved Laila has been through all of these crazy days. I often wish she would take longer naps but sometimes the fact that she only needs an hour and a half nap has its benefits. She was able to get by on a few short snoozes to and from places and it never seemed to effect her. She was happy and seemed to love all of the attention and little people to play with.

Let's not forget how thankful I am for so much yummy food. I definitely ate more than I should but it's hard not to. We definitely don't cook that way any other time except Thanksgiving and Christmas. I always make homemade rolls for Thanksgiving dinner. Mmmmmmm.....I love homemade bread but rarely make it because all I do is sit and eat it so I really enjoy it at this time of year.

I'm grateful for so much in my life whether it be big or little things. I look around and see all that Greg and I have been blessed with and it's hard not to feel overwhelmed. We have a big warm house to keep us safe from the outside world. Greg has been so blessed with his work and he has always been able to provide for our little family. I am able to stay home and raise my daughter. It's not always an easy thing to do but it's definitely worth it. I wouldn't trust anyone else with her. We have more than plenty to eat and we have all the clothing we need. we have a crazy dog who really saved my spirits when I was having a hard time getting pregnant. We have a wonderful ward family that really love one another and care about each persons well being. We have an incredible Bishop who truly wants to know how you are doing when he asks. He rarely calls me Sister Reece,it's always Becky and I love it. It's more personal and it makes me feel that he sees me as me and not just a member of his ward. I am thankful for my Savior and for the atoning sacrafice he made on my behalf. Nothing I ever do will ever repay the debt I owe him. Nothing I ever suffer will make me know what he felt as he suffered the sins of all man kind. I'm thankful for a Heavenly Father who let his son die for me. I can't even imagine the pain our Father must have felt allowing the Atonement to happen. My life is blessed and my heart is full.

Nap time

I know in an earlier posting I was grateful for bed time. Today I am also thankful for bed time but trying not to repeat I will say I am thankful for nap time. Laila was in a mood today and we aren't quite sure why. It probably has to do with the fact that she really didn't get a good nap yesterday and she should have slept longer last night than she did. I teach during the 3rd hour of church so Laila is in Elders Quorum with Greg. He made the comment that he hoped she would fall asleep. I told him she better not because I need her to nap when she gets home so I can get some quiet time. I know, horrible right? Some days I just need her nap time to come a lot sooner than it does. She is such a sweetie most of the time but today was a pretty rough day. With that said, I'm heading to bed.

Rain

Today we got to enjoy a little rain and I am so thankful for it. Not only do we need the rain but I have just always loved rainy weather, probably because I don't have to deal with it very much. I love cloudy days and I love the cold weather. I have lived in Las Vegas all of my life so the cold weather I refer to is Las Vegas cold weather. I have never lived in snow and I am not sure how I would handle it. I dislike how long it takes to get cold here though. I wish we had cold weather no later than the end of October. There is something so comfortable about being able to put on jeans and a comfy sweater. Winter time is my favorite time of the year. The weather and the Holidays just bring a smile to my face and seem to make me just a little happier.

Friends

Tonight my former boss of around 6 years had a get together at her house of some of her old employees and the new employees. I was one of the lucky old employees to be invited. It was so nice to see so many people again that I spent so much of my time with. There were some of my co-workers that I became very close to and have missed so much. I had a friend at work named Linda. She and I became very close very fast. We would have lunch together everyday and kept each other up on the daily ins and outs of our lives. She is someone that is not of my faith but she has a very strong faith in God and Christ. I loved being able to talk to her about our similarities and differences in our religious beliefs. It never mattered whether we agreed or not, we always respected each others feelings and opinions. When one of us was mad we fueled each others fire. Maybe it wasn't the most productive thing to do but it was nice to know we always had each others backs. We made each other laugh constantly and I truly felt I could always be myself 100% with her. Linda knew all about my troubles with trying to get pregnant and the day that I was finally able to go into her office and tell her I was actually pregnant she hugged me so hard I thought she'd pop the baby out right then and there. Our friendship was a true genuine friendship and I I know it was always be. I'm thankful for Linda and for other friends in my life that no matter how much time passes by and we are finally able to be together again it will be as if no time has passed at all.

Diet Dr. Pepper

As a friend so nicely reminded me on Facebook, I am thankful for Diet Dr. Pepper. Some days all it takes to help make a horrible day better is an ice cold Diet Dr. Pepper. Enough said.