Song of Testimony

I have been reflecting on my personal testimony a lot lately. What I know to be true with firm conviction. I have been Young Women President, for the 12-18 year old girls at church, for one year this month. First, I cannot believe that one year has already passed, and yet I think “have I made a difference” and “what can I do to be the best president I possibly can.” I don’t know how long I will be asked to serve in this capacity, but I do not want to end my service knowing that I could have served or done more. Ask and ye shall receive, right? These girls, and the youth in general, are great young people. I remember being their age and thinking what I was facing was tough. Things like finding out who you are and what you want to believe.

I had the opportunity to go to youth conference two weekends ago. We called it our marathon weekend. The youth had a Temple trip on Thursday which was a really special experience. Two of my Beehives went for the first time and the youth brought several family file names. One of my leaders did work for her Great-Great- Grandmother. 

The next day on Friday evening was the kick-off to youth conference at Red Top Mountain Beach. We had a luau and a pig roast. The youth had fun and it was a good time to meet and mingle. 

The next day on Saturday, it was an all-day event. The youth started the day with a service project. The theme for the conference was "No longer a mystery." Before the service project, all with smart phones downloaded an app called Billion Graves. This is an app where there are pictures of gravestones and you can search for names, locations, etc. to assist in family history work where you a. may not know the birth/death of a family member or b. want to know where they were buried, etc. Each group had a route and cemeteries to visit, all around Cobb County. The groups were not necessarily from their own ward so they got the opportunity to meet more youth. In the car, there were ice breaker activities and at the cemetery, the youth and leaders were able to respectfully and reverently take pictures of the gravestones and upload them onto the app. In a 3 hour time frame, we uploaded over 12,000 pictures. It was a solemn experience and quite moving, unexpectedly. Upon arriving back to the church building and feeding our bellies with lunch, we had a series of classes for the youth. After which was dinner, a testimony meeting, and a dance. As I listened to the youth bear their testimonies (7-8 of which were from our own ward, which was special), I was reflecting on my own and what I believed and what I knew at that age. These youth face a lot and it really is quite an opportunity to be able to serve them and hope to make an imprint on their life. During the dance, one of the other YW leaders and I came up with a challenge game, made up of 3 phases. They consisted of challenges to get them dancing. The phases got more challenging and creative as they progressed and the youth had a blast (who am I kidding, so did the leaders!). They were dancing the whole time and having a great time. It’s amazing what candy will do to motivate you and give you incentive to get out of your comfort zone. We told the youth if they liked it that much, to consider it an addition to the dances from here on out. Let the creativity start flowing for more challenges!

For the cherry on top, the Young Women sang “Song of Testimony” the following day in Sacrament Meeting (our Sunday service). I led the girls and I was just filled with the spirit of love as we sang. I couldn’t help but cry as I was so touched and thankful for the testimony that I grew to have and continue to grow. The words of the song are pieces of my own personal testimony as well “I know God lives, I know He loves me, I know He hears me and He answers when I pray. I know His son, is my Redeemer, and that He died for me that I might live eternally one day.”

I love the youth program. I’m so grateful for the leaders that I had growing up and that I can “pay it forward” and be one to the rising generation. 

So... When you gonna have kids?

I figured only appropriate to share the post of mine that triggered the idea of writing again. I received a lot of positive feedback about it, so here it goes. I wrote this a 1/2 week ago.

I thought it was time for another “V” thought of the day...it has been a while. I have seen many friends post this article that’s been floating around FB (http://rationalfaiths.com/so-when-you-gonna-have-kids/). I think it is well written and I have been itching to give my thoughts. Building a family (marriage, kids, pets, etc.) is a significant decision. While each of us is different, so are our circumstances. Thus, not fair to assume everyone is on the same path and should be making the same choices. On the particular topic of having children, I can’t help but feel both thankful that the article was written to raise more awareness and also heavy with the weight of what people go through to accomplish their desires in life.

When Tom and I first started our infertility journey, nearly 6 years ago, I underestimated what we would truly go through. The pain, heartbreak, education, tender mercies, and love, just to name a few. We experienced our fair share of annoyances and people meaning well, but just didn't have a clue. Let me also say that not all levels of infertility are the same. Regardless, it has been an experience. But, not one I would rather share it with than the absolute love of my life. There have been ups and downs to this journey, but one thing I am and will be forever grateful for is that we have lived our marriage. We have lived, learned, loved, traveled, a lot, been spontaneous, adventurous, and experienced and grew our lives together. That itself can take time.

Infertility can be viewed as such a “hush-hush” topic but maybe if we educated ourselves and recognized it more with love and sensitivity, it wouldn't seem AS scary. I know that when we realized infertility would become our journey, I felt like I was the only one in the world with it and I felt so utterly and completely alone. I have since learned the true meaning of “gird up your loins; fresh courage take” and grew to trust that “our God will never us forsake.” I could go on and on about the tender mercies and non “coincidental” opportunities and experiences that have been placed in our path.

There is an excellent article on infertility etiquette. It’s a good read. Since I can’t attach two links, just click on it if you’re interested in reading. http://www.resolve.org/support-and-services/for-family--friends/infertility-etiquette.html Even if you don’t think you know anyone, chances are you do and they just haven’t told you.

I've mentioned to a few people that I should write a book on the experiences Tom and I have had over the course of the last 6 years. If the book writing process wasn't so intimidating, and I didn't fear that no one would want to buy it, I would actually consider it…maybe I should start up our blog again.

"Hello..Good morning...

...Let's go, Let's rock." Well, it's not actually morning, but hello. Thanks, Diddy.

I've given some thought on whether or not to start the 'ol blog back up, but I decided to give it a go. There is something about writing raw thoughts down. It is releasing. I think of myself with a decent memory but I do forget things. In just going back and reading some of these old, very old, posts, I forgot some things and more importantly my feelings of those particular things.

When restarting a blog, journal, or any written record of something, I tend to feel the need to catch up on everything that has since happened. This makes for a very lengthy start-up. I keep a planner and write down everything I do, so I am going to just start here and fill in the blanks as I go along. It has been a good 2 years since writing, but in the grand scheme of things, just a blink of the eye.

Even if no one actually reads this, at least I will have a record to look back on. Thankful for technology today.

Cheers to new beginnings.

Model material

Look at this girl, she's model material! Violet is SUCH a doll. I just want to hug her and give her kisses all the time. Tom took this picture and it turned out amazing. Tom is so talented and it also helps when you have someone so pretty to take pictures of :)

Leah's graduation

Leah graduated from KSU today! As staff of KSU, I was fortunate to be able to sit on the floor for the ceremony and greet her on stage after she got her diploma!

Yay! Leah and Kerry smiling for the camera.

Coaching, a profession of love

"Coaching is a profession of love. You can't coach people unless you love them."
-Eddie Robinson

I love the ladies I coach and feel very blessed to be doing something I love so much. These two dancers are my seniors this year. I've coached Nat for four seasons and Kay for two. Especially Nat, I've seen blossom from an 18 year old into a beautiful woman about to graduate college. I'm so proud of all my dancers and I'm especially proud to send these ladies off and welcome them as alumni to our program. This picture was captured on our last night at Nationals during our special team dinner. Nat and I didn't realize it was being taken but Kay, the ham smiling, knew :) They edited it and put "We will always be KSU Dancers!"

We always have an end of the season banquet for Spirit. I give the girls gifts and they give each other gifts. It's a bittersweet part of the season where we say goodbye to those that are leaving us and hello to a new season for those that are staying. I am so grateful for the gift they gave me this year...a scrapbook of the entire season. They gave me a scrapbook last season also and I selfishly hope it becomes a tradition. This book is phenomenal and they spent so much time on it. I choked up when they presented it to me. I couldn't be more thankful and here we are enjoying it.

"Less me, more WE...K, S, U know!!

Southern Lights: Atlanta Youth Cultural Celebration

The Atlanta Temple in Sandy Springs, GA was closed for renovation for nearly 2 news. When a temple is closed for construction and then re-opened, a few things occur. An open house is organized and open to the public for a couple weeks and then the temple is re-dedicated by the prophet of our church, Thomas S. Monson, allowing temple recommend holders from re-dedication forward to enter. In April 2011, our temple was reopened and re-dedicated. Customary to a temple's re-dedication is a cultural celebration by the youth of the church in that area. There are temples all over the world.

Kathy and Rene Alba were the co-directors of the show and I was asked to be one of the choreographers and cast directors for this production...and production it was. There were over 2,000 youth that participated from all over the state of Georgia and they took such pride in it. It was such a blessing to part of. The production theme was the history of Georgia with dialog and dance. It was called Southern Lights. The opening number was "Waitin' for the Light to Shine" by the youth choir (who sang a number of songs). I choreographed 4 routines: the Stomp, Salsa, Flags and Cheer. I also taught the Charleston to the youth in my area. These youth worked so hard. The whole event took months of preparation and the show was one night with a pre-show by an adult choir. The Prophet was in attendance and he took about 15 minutes to start off the evening by speaking. Truly touching and inspired. The whole event was memorable and I got to meet some fantastic people in the process. But the highlight would have to be when the Stomp received a standing ovation by not only our Prophet but the entire audience (the only group number to get a standing “O”). I was backstage the whole time so I didn’t know until after the show. I couldn’t help but get emotional from that. What we do humbly and put ourselves honestly and whole heartedly into makes a difference. The standing ovation was an added bonus but to see the pure joy and excitement that these youth had and how proud they were of themselves was amazing. Most of these youth didn’t have dance training, we made the dances simple yet effective and the teachers in their area did a phenomenal job teaching them the choreography and perfecting it. All of the choreographers taped their routines teaching with counts, performing it with music and then the reps in each area taught them. I had youth performing my particular dances from Sugar Hill, Macon, etc. Too far for me to travel multiple times a week to work on so how thankful I am to everyone for collaborating and making this a group effort for success.

Tom being so talented in his music, video and audio ways did an "I'm a Mormon" video by highlighting about 6 youth from all over the state and compiling this really neat presentation. If I can upload a video here, I will. It’s worth sharing. Tom also got to be backstage when our Prophet arrived and be one of the photographers for the event. I was back with the cast directors around the time our Prophet was arriving and shortly after, Tom came into the room with a face that I knew he just experienced something special. He pulls out his camera and shows me the pictures...amazing... I know that Thomas S. Monson is a man of God. Tom got to take pictures during the show and captured some great moments.

I am grateful for the Atlanta Temple and for the opportunity I was given to be part of this. Here is a picture of all the cast directors and assistant cast directors.

Shooting Star 2011

I'm looking forward to dancing and cheering for the WNBA Atlanta Dream Shooting Stars another season!! This time as a veteran to the team.

Rookie of the year 2010

The Atlanta Dream Shooting Stars got together one last time, before tryouts, to celebrate our 2010 season. It was a banquet and we had a good time. At the end, we had awards. I was given the award for Rookie of the year, voted on by my teammates. I felt honored. These other two teammates got awards also. Thanks stars!!

Sassy hair

Laura decided to make some changes upon returning from her mission. They came to visit GA after a few weeks of being home and one of those things was cutting off those long locks! Look at her sassy hair! It looks so good. Another is going by Lee now (her middle name).

Part puppy, part human

Is she not just squeezable!?! I love this sweet girl. She is part puppy, part human. I swear it.

Welcome home, La!!

My sister, Laura, just returned home from her 18 month mission in Belem Brazil for our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What an amazing and life changing experience her mission was for her. Life in other countries, especially where she was serving was so different from what her life was like in the states before she left.

She left September 2009 and returned March 2011. When she left, she spend a couple months in Sao Paulo in what we call the CTM (Center for Training Missionaries) to learn the language, discussions, etc. Laura is a smart gal, always has been, but Portuguese is tough. She diligently studied and before long, she was fluent. Once missionaries get to the CTM and all through their mission, they have a companion and their with them always. Companionship's often change throughout the mission when transferring to different areas, new missionaries coming, etc. Her companion once she left the CTM was completely fluent in Portuguese, and Brazilian...very little English. So needless to say, when that is your only option, you learn fast. You're fully immersed in it 24/7.

She had amazing experiences, met amazing people, learned valuable lessons and went through some tough things. I could write for days about it but, I won't. We got to talk to her on Mother's Day and Christmas and email with her every Monday. Every Monday and those holiday's we got to talk with her were very special days to our family. I would cry over some letters that I wrote to her and I would cry over some letters that I got back. I was and still am so proud of her. She always had a firm and solid testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but she came home even stronger and more beautiful than when she left.

So needless to say, we missed her and were happy to welcome her home...but my parents were the ones that got to welcome her first because they now live in Virginia and Laura came home there. So what did I decide to do? Road trip with Leah and Violet to SURPRISE Laura in Virginia. My parents were in on it, too, so on a Thursday after Leah's school class and my Dance Team practice at KSU, we were off!

We drove through the night and made a pit stop at my Uncle Dean & Aunt Rebecca and family in North Carolina to stay the night and the next day. If we were going to this effort of making a 9 hour drive with a baby in the car, we were going to see as much family as we could and use every minute to the fullest capacity. We had so much with them and are so grateful they let us stay with them. Their kids, Nathaniel, Grant, Julia, Emma and Sammy are so sweet! Emma and Julia showed us some gymnastics tricks, I did Emma's hair, Sammy wowed us with video game skills and overall we're just so blessed to have loving family. Saturday morning, we left to make the last leg of the trip to Virginia. I was in touch with Mom as Laura and Dad were running errands. Fast forwarding through the fuel stops, etc. we make it to their house and park behind a tree in an attempt to hide the car. Luckily we see them eating at the dining room table and Laura's back it to the window. I documented in video, but the footage is filled with tears and so I'm choosing to keep that for myself. We sneakily move to the front door and my dad sees us walking up the driveway (we find out later he started kicking my mom under the table to get her attention..too funny!). The front door is open with the screen door. My dad passes us as we ring the doorbell and asks Laura to get it. We hear her say "sure" and no sooner than she makes eye contact with the front door than she lets out a typical Laura "squeal" and throws open the door and into the arms of me and Leah. Of course, we are choked up and I ask Laura "are you excited?" to which she replies through the tears "I'm thrilled." Mission accomplished...

So the rest of the trip is filled with random goodness, church, a trip to New Jersey to visit my Grandparents and another Uncle who hadn't met Violet yet nor seen everyone in a while. I unfortunately had to miss the New Jersey trip because I came down with something that turned out to be strep throat and my Grandparents have fragile immune systems due to health problems in the past and current recoveries, so I had to stay behind. That was the worst, but I am so glad they got to see everyone else. We left Tuesday morning for the drive home to get back to everyday life. Too bad we couldn't stay longer but that was definitely a trip that will go down in the books.

Here are a couple pictures from our weekend:

 First picture above: Grant, me, Emma, Vi/Leah and Julia (missing Nathaniel and Sammy)
 Second picture above: Uncle Dean and Aunt Rebecca

Next set of pictures:
First: Laura's tender moment putting Violet to sleep for the first time.
Second: Laura with Mom, Vi and Grandma and Grandpa
Third: 4 generations- Grandma, Mom, Leah and Violet

Alumni of the KSU Dance Team

Not only am I the head coach of the Kennesaw State University Dance Team, I am also an alumni of the program. I danced on the team for four season and was captain all four. The program is nothing like it is now, as that comes with growth of the University, talent, etc. but the program means a lot to me. In more ways than one. 

This year was the inaugural year of the alumni performance. Each year, we have an alumni basketball game and it had been a hope of mine to put an alumni routine together. So I decided to go for it. I taped myself teaching a routine, uploaded it to our youtube page and then the alumni practiced together twice to practice before the actual performance.

19 of us performed this year. It was so fantastic, I wanted to cry. It truly came full circle for me that day. Everything I do for the team, I experience on a coaching level. I LOVE what I do but to also be able to experience it as an alumni this day was really neat. The feedback was incredible to needless to say, it was the first of many to come. Many others that weren't able to participate this year plan on it for next season. There is a youtube link below the picture if you want to see the performance. We were jamming. Out of the 19 of us, there were those who hadn't danced since their college years, new mothers, mothers with more than one kid, out of towners, professional dancers, etc. Great night!

http://youtu.be/9QQ1xXy6TAk

Photoshoot

Back in November, Tom got a professional camera. A Canon T2i. It's amazing. The three of us walked around downtown Kennesaw and he took some pictures. This is one of my favorites. Snuggles xoxo

25 years and still going strong

This month, my parents celebrated their 25th anniversary. How awesome. I look forward to one day being there with Tom.

Nutmeg

Tom and I had dinner with Trevor and Kennie the other night. After, we went to Pet Land for fun to see and play with the cute puppies for sale. We knew that we ever got a pet, it would have to be a non-shedding, hypo-allergenic pet. But, we had no intention of considering buying one. We held a few pups, and then we came across this tiny 8 week old girl Shih-Tzu. She was while with some light brown spots on her body. She was so sweet and she had just gotten to the pet store that day. 

We were holding and playing with her in one of those play areas, and it just snuck up on us...we fell in love with her. So much in fact that Tom started talking prices, etc. with one of the employees. Problem was that she was a little costly and we were worried if we wanted to make the financial commitment that comes along with having a puppy, potty training, and all that. But I was game, I wanted her. Trevor even offered to pitch in because he wanted us to get her.

At the end of the night, we ended up leaving the store to think about it...without her. We got home and I felt kinda bummed out. I remember telling Tom that I wanted her and how I felt like we were ready for another addition to our family. Without kids right now, it felt right to have someone else to take care of and love on. Tom slept on it and then next day I got up early to run errands and Saturday chores. I was at Leah's house when I got a picture mail message from Tom. As I'm sure you might guess by now, this is what I saw...

Shocked and giddy, I called Tom. I said "Tom, you got the puppy?!" and he responded something to the effect of "Yeah, I knew you wanted her so I got her first thing when they opened." Now, don't let me fool you, he wanted her, too :) Then he said "when are you coming home?" and I said "now!" I was so excited.

I showed Leah and Kerry the picture and said my byes. Needless to say, it has been a fun, new adventure. She is a ball of love. We named her Nutmeg.

Anniversary and Baby blessing day

Today, Tom and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary. Also, sweet baby Violet was blessed in church. It was a great day to be with family. I am blessed beyond measure and am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for putting the most special and beautiful people in my life.

Crusing the week away

I love traditions, especially this time of year. November brings our annual cruise vacation! We are addicted to taking cruises, it is the perfect vacation. We have more pictures but this was taken one night at one of the ships restaurants.

We have always traveled with Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) and this year we sailed on the Epic ship. It is the largest of the NCL ships. It did not disappoint.

The entertainment was awesome. Blue Man Group was on the boat along with a Cirque type dinner and a show called Cirque Dreams and also a show called Legends in Concert where there were look-a-like performers (Michael Jackson- the best crowd response and REALLY good, Britney Spears, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, etc). It was entertaining and it made me wish I had gotten to see the real deal MJ in concert. He was so incredibly talented. Despite his personal life or whatever you think about it, there is no denying that man had some serious talent. What a gift.

There was also other entertainment like piano bars and sing alongs, night clubs, and our favorite ship entertainer, Bernie Martini who is a lounge singer that is a mix between Frank Sinatra and Michael Buble. We're been fortunate to enjoy his entertainment on the past three cruises we've taken.

One of the funnier moments was participating in Dancing with the "Epic" Stars. Oh wow, this was hilarious. I got chosen from putting my name in a drawing to be partnered up with one of the staff on the Epic. Don't let the title fool you, these partners did not have dance ability...at all. It kind of ran the same way as the show except they played music for the different styles of dance that you did on the spot and then they judged after each one. I got paired up with this guy who had not a clue, we did the Waltz first. I didn't care about winning, just having a good time and laugh..which we did. Good thing I didn't care to win because we got voted off by the judges first! It was too funny and we got interviewed right after by a guy in Second City (one of the comedy groups on the ship). They made my partner feel bad because I told them I actually did dance for a living (kind of). The whole program aired on the ships TV channel all week as did the other events on the ship that week. Tom taped it too, memories!

Another successful vacation down...is it sad we're already ready for next year?!

We have a niece!

I witnessed one of the most miraculous things in my entire life, child birth. My sister, Leah, invited me to be with her and her husband in the delivery room at Kennestone Hospital when she delivered her first baby. I am so grateful for Leah and how close we are. I can't imagine not being there, after all was said and done.

Violet Pearl Thompson was born November 9th at 2:20am weighing 6lbs 4oz 19in of pure perfection.

Here's the story:

Leah called me on Monday afternoon telling me that her water broke and they were headed to the hospital. I made my way to the hospital about an hour later to find her getting set-up and checked out. If you know Kerry, he came prepared with a bag of candy (twizzlers, mints, and snacks) among other things and I brought myself and my laptop.

The nurse explained the contraction and heartbeat monitor to us so we could see the contractions as they were happening which was very cool. I had also brought a book that I was reading and read out loud to Leah to get our minds on something else while Kerry ran home to get a couple things and grab something to eat for us. Leah was a trooper and held out for a while before she decided on the epidural. I watched everything and I mean everything. I was so interested and concerned for her well being. I am so protective. She was a champ during the epidural, holy cow that needle was long. After that, smooth sailing. I swear she didn't feel anything...and when she did, she just gave herself a couple more taps of the drug. I would see a large contraction and say "wow, that was a big one, look" and she'd say "oh, wow." It was so surreal. 

Come around 1am her nurse came to check on her and to her surprise said that Leah was ready to push. Her doctor got there shortly after, got her ready, and Leah started pushing. I had one leg and an arm and Kerry had the other. Her doctor was so calm and sweet with Leah. I was encouraging Leah, telling her she was doing so well with every push she made. I would tell her that we were so close to seeing the head, it was just amazing. One the head was out, it was just another push until Violet made her entrance into this world. A cry just escaped me as I witness this true miracle right before my eyes, in 30 minutes time. After that and seeing me cry, Leah started crying. Kerry cut the cord and Violet was placed in Leah's arms before she went to get cleaned up. The uniting of Mother and Daughter in that moment was so beautiful. I was the designated picture taker so I made my way to the scale and captured Violet there. She barely cried. She was definitely a skin to skin baby. She liked feeling close and secure and with you. 

The moment I got to hold her after she got cleaned up was a feeling I certainly can't explain. Violet and I bonded in that moment. I felt like she came knowing my struggles and how special this experience was for me. 

Soon after, we were moved to the recovery room. All of us were going on zero sleep. There wasn't really a place for me to lay, of course Kerry had dibs on the bench/bed thing and Leah had the bed. I asked Leah if she cared if I went home because I was so tired. She didn't want me to..so what did I do? I got in bed with her! Now don't worry, I used about 1/16 of that bed space but at least it was something. Right after we got situated, in came breakfast. So, both laying down, I fed Leah as she was holding Violet. It probably really was a funny scene. We were delirious. We got very little sleep but enough to hold us over. New mothers really don't get much sleep. I knew this, but experienced it with my sister in the hospital. I was so proud of Leah as she learned to breast feed, was taken care of after delivering and grateful I was there to help her and capture sweet moment of this experience. Seeing Violet bathed for the first time was so sweet and I was able to capture that moment for Leah while she was being taken care of by the nurses. Kerry's mom and sister came to visit Leah the next day and some of her sweet friends came to visit her while she was there also. Since my parents had recently moved to Virginia, they came a little over a week later for the Thanksgiving holiday and my mom stayed for about a month after. I had to leave that evening for Dance Team practice and to get some z's but I was there the next day after work with Tom to see her again.

Kerry was great during this and I'm also thankful to him for letting me experience this so closely with Leah. It was truly something I will never ever forget and am better because of it.

Here is a picture of me and Violet in the recovery room and a beauty shot taken by Tom.

Skin tags

Tom and one of his best friends, Cam, decided to play surgeon the other day. I had a few small skin tags, that they wanted to remove. Let me tell you how they did this...with an ice cube and a razor. I am a brave girl to have let them. I hope this doesn't gross you out, but this is how it was done. I held ice on there for a few minutes, swabbed it with a sterile alcohol pad, then they pulled the skin tag a little and just sliced it off. I was so scared for the first one but it didn't hurt that bad, just a little sting. The guys took turns. Then Cam sliced me a little too close to the skin and that one hurt a bit...an explicit MAY have slipped out. But we all laughed about it right away. So here are my battle wounds. So pretty.