I Believe...

I believe...

~That people, not matter what faith, should be able to practice and worship freely. Without protesting signs, without hateful words, and without violence. Even if the day comes when a close friend or family member decides to practice another faith than yourself, they should be able to do so freely.

~that if your child passes before you meet them, or even at a young age, you will still have the opportunity to be with your child. You will still be able to raise them to adulthood. A blessing of a temple.

~that you can be married for time an all eternity to your spouse and not just until death do you part. Another blessing of the temple.

~I believe that every faith has some truth to it. If there is a faith that has absolutely no truth, it would be destroyed. I believe that even atheists have some truth of the Gospel. If this statement was not true, then the human race would have no morals.

~Satan is real. He works at our inner most thoughts, feelings, and desires, even though it might just be a chocolate craving. He is our brother, and he knows us very well.

~I believe in the importance of family. Family should always be the number one priority. If you can be there for your family, you need to be there.

~I believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt. Trusting people and assuming that everyone has a good heart, even though it can really hurt you sometimes.

~I believe that EVERYONE should try to understand each other. Even religion. Try to understand what your Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, Amish, baptist, evangelical, or even Mormon/LDS friends believe. I know if you understand (not necessarily agree) you will learn so much about the person and why they behave that way.

~I believe in learning everything you can. The one thing you for sure take with you when you pass is what you learn. No riches or items will go with you, but what you learn will always be with you.

~I believe that Jesus is the Christ. That he suffered in the garden for our sins and then was sacrificed on the cross so we can get back to our Heavenly Father again.

~I believe in the Plan of Salvation. The Plan of Salvation is an amazing thing. Before we came to this Earth, we knew what the plan was. We knew our Heavenly Father and our brothers and sisters. We knew what was going to happen in our lives and we chose to come to Earth to gain our bodies. We go to learn lessons and to grow as children of God. When we come to earth a veil is placed over us so we don't remember what our heavenly home is like. We learn lessons and work our way back to our Heavenly Father. There is a plan already set up for everyone.

~We were given the gift of free agency. Even though there was a plan set for us for when we came to Earth by our Heavenly Father, he still gives us the wonderful opportunity to choose for ourselves.

~I believe that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has the absolute fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe this is the church he set up in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon. That even though other faiths do have some truth to them, this church has all of it.

~I believe that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ while he visited the Americas.

~I believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, just like the prophets before him such as Moses, Issac, Jacob, and Abraham. Even Noah. I believe that we were blessed with modern day prophets such as the recent Thomas S. Monson to guide us in these trials of the latter days while we all try to endure to the end.

~I believe that life is a very precious and sacred thing. It can be taken away in a flash, or very painful and slowly. We need to try to live life as best we can and make our arguments as short as possible. Every life is sacred and precious. If it wasn't we wouldn't be here. I know there are reasons for why babies die, wars happen, people who we think shouldn't have children do, etc.


I believe all of these things and very strongly in fact. I didn't gain testimony of these things over night. I gained testimony of these things through my own personal experiences. I am told by many that I have a lot of love for people that many others don't have. If this is really the case, I hope I never loose my love or even trust for mere strangers. Everyone has been lonely. Everyone has endured horrible trials. Instead of hating each other and being angry, let's lean on each other instead. Because times are only going to get harder.

"As I have loved you, love one another. This new commandment, love one another. By this shall men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (LDS Primary Song)

Karin

Things as of Late.

Things as of LATE is right! Life has just been crazy with events. I mean I haven't posted ANYTHING since Lydia was 6 months old! I keep thinking I should post something, but I keep getting side tracked.

Things of Late:
Salt Lake City Spring Break Trip
Hastings Symphony Orchestra
Easter
Painting, Painting, and more Painting
Kansas City Worlds of Fun trip with the MS/HS Band
Growing Lydia: Stats (or quick update on her because we all know how she is growing)

I will try not to let this blog post get too long. :)

So, over Marcus' Spring Break we decided to head out to the wonderful Salt Lake City to see my sister in law, Liz. Not gonna lie, I didn't want to leave. Lydia did great with the trip out there. We took two days to get out there and back. While we were out there, I was able to do some shopping at my most favoritest store ever, Downeast Basics, eat at The Cheesecake Factory, and of course visit the Salt Lake Temple. (FYI, live sessions are way cooler!) Anyway, The Cheesecake Factory was a lot of fun. They give babies their own plate! Some little pieces of bread and bananas. I was very pleased. :) Also, I got to see some very special people. The missionaries that taught me the lessons to join the LDS church. Danielle Doty and Danielle Kleinman and their families. It was a wonderful time. I just wish I would have remembered to take a picture!

Lydia eating her plate at The Cheesecake Factory :)

Aunt Liz and Lydia!

Lydia eating at Denny's on the way to SLC. Not gonna lie, not impressed.

Liz's light suitcase fell on Lydia. She thought it was pretty hilarious.

Marcus and I trying to get a good picture of ourselves. He looks spiffy. :)

Hastings Symphony Orchestra is finally over. I never realized how time consuming it was. I am happy I was able to play though. The last concert(s) was last Friday. We had three concerts in one day. We went to an area school to play for some kiddos who probably wouldn't hear an orchestra otherwise, and my sister's elementary music students were there. They kept pointing at me thinking I was her. I eventually went over and introduced myself. They thought the whole being twins thing was super cool. So, I was popular for an hour... :)

Lydia had her first Easter this year. It was a blast. She got to see all types of family and I was able to give her first Easter basket to her! So excited to start that tradition. She also had her first tastes of real food. As in not pureed baby food. So she was actually able to try some ham, carrots, and even a little piece of chocolate cake. The cake was her favorite of course.

Lydia with her two Easter baskets!

Just a funny picture from Easter

 We have also been super busy with decorating the house. We painted our room and painted a room for Lydia. She is finally not sleeping in the dining room and I am using her nursery stuff again! You have no idea how happy this makes me.

This past weekend Marcus and I along with some wonderful chaperones took 54 Middle and High Schoolers to Worlds of Fun for a band festival. The kiddos behaved so well. The trip was a lot of fun but exhausting. I think we are still recovering from it.

Alright, now for a Lydia update. 

She is pulling herself up onto things. She has been doing that for a while. She also took her first two steps the other day. I missed it too! Marcus was the lucky one to see it. She stands on her own now too! Also, we are in the midsts of teething. Her bottom left tooth is finally popping through! Bout stinkin' time! She got her first ear infection last week. I felt horrible for her. I guess that came with the teething. This week she turns 9 months old! She is growing up so fast! We love her to pieces and she is such a wonderful blessing in our lives.

Anyway, that is our update as of Late. Lots of things are happening in our lives. I will try to update more often so the blogs are not so long.

Lots of Love!

Karin

PS Here is a video of Lydia. She loves her kitty!

6 months have gone by...

February 10th, my little girl turned 6 months old. I can't even believe how fast these months have flown by. She is now 25 inches long and weighs 16 pounds and 9 ounces. She is now eating baby food, sitting up completely on her own, crawling, and pulling herself up onto furniture, getting into things she shouldn't and she also loves to jump. :) Her favorite food is paper. :P
These are her 6 month pictures taken by the lovely Julianne Rensink. Thanks to her and her husband we have gorgeous pictures of our little girl.

That tongue is ALWAYS out. 

Looking a little ornery...

Isn't she beautiful!

Tongue again...

This one is my favorite

Another favorite

Isn't amazing how fast they grow? I love my little girl and her fun personality. I can't wait to see what she will become!

Karin

A beginning of a journey.

217.8 pounds. WAY TO MUCH! Yes. I am publishing my current weight in a blog. Why you may ask? If I publish it, it holds me accountable.

Today, I decided I am going to start a new journey. Weight loss. I don't know how many times I have started this. Too many times to count. The last full side view I had in the mirror at my parents house I guess would be the motivator. I actually cringed when I saw myself. Rolls, pudge, muffin top in the front (mostly from having a baby and a belly that won't even TRY to go back), completely disgusting. My self esteem has plummeted down since having Lydia. I feel like my self image is just horrible. I hate how I look. I feel tired all the time.

Now, my goal isn't to be skinny. I have no desire really to be skinny. I want to be small enough were I feel confident in my skin. I want to feel confident enough that I don't have to worry about if my belly is hanging over the front of my pants or not. I want to feel confident enough to feel that I don't have to wear a cami that is a size too small underneath my clothes to hold my gut in.  That is where I want to be.

Honestly, I fee like that size would be around a size 10 or a size 12. Goal weight around 50 pounds putting me around 170. That is still technically "overweight" for my height, but if I can get there, I can decide if I want to loose more or not. The goal is to loose around two pounds a week. The goal is to eat less, eat regularly, and drink lots of water and to count calories. But, I am not really sure how to count calories. Do I need a scale for meat or anything?

I also want to reward myself for every 10 pounds I loose. Not sure what that is exactly yet.  Here are some "before" pictures. I am praying the "after" ones are way better. I just die looking at these pictures. Marcus says I am beautiful and sexy, but honestly I don't see it. I am glad he does.

Anyway, there it is. It is official.

Karin

I can't even believe it!

My little girl, my darling little girl will be 6 months old a week from today. Where did the time go?! Oh, and on top of that SHE IS ALREADY CRAWLING! Too Soon!!! Our dear friends, Brenden and Julianne Rensink took her 6 month pictures last week. She was such a cute little bug! This picture is one of MANY wonderful pictures. I don't even know which one to choose for her 8x10 for the living room. Oh, the choices.

There has been some work changes in this household. I am now substitute teaching at least two times a week for the towns school district. I really like it. I enjoy getting out of the house a few times a week and helping out and hanging with the kiddos. I am even debating on going back to school and getting my teaching certificate. Prayers are welcome for that big decision. Geesh... I always seem to be making those.

Oh, in good news, on January 24th, we finally got our Pt Cruiser back! OH, my gosh I can't even tell you how excited we are to have our car back.

Marcus is in full swing with his band program. The band will be heading to Kansas City this coming may to compete at Worlds Of Fun! They are going to look super sharp in their new band polos the school bought for the program. May is going to be nuts! This band trip, graduation, Kaylin's bridal party shindig, and her wedding. Then a week later I believe Marcus and I are going to be helping at a band camp. Oh the business never ends.

Well that's a short wrap up on what's going on in our lives. I'll try to get back to updating this more. I have way more pictures but I just don't feel like posting them. They are all on Facebook if you are friends with me on there.

Anyway, God Bless.

Karin

Rudolph's Girlfriend got ran over by a PT Cruiser and other Christmas adventures...

This Christmas break has been quite an adventure. I had perfect plans for the occasion. We would leave Thursday morning, go to my parents, play a Christmas Eve service, get Lydia dolled up for her first Christmas, and celebrate at four different Christmas parties! We were booked!

Oh, of course, when you make plans... life happens. Ugh.

Pretty ain't it?

Wednesday, the night before we leave for break. We head to church for mutual with a fresh pan of brownies in the back with a sleeping baby, then BAM! I see a doe do a spiral into the ditch. Then smoke starts bellowing from under the hood. Marcus turns off the car immediately and steps out to see the damage. Radiator completely dead, hood bent up and the grill smashed in. There was no way we were going anywhere that night. Luckily, we have made some wonderful friends in this town and my friend Terrie came and picked Lydia and I up while Marcus talked with the cop and tow guy. Oh, another fun thing, when we hit the deer she didn't die. We just broke her back. So the cop had to shoot her. Oh joy...
We wont be getting our car back until the week of Jan 13. So we have a while.

Along with everything else, Charly, my wonderful puppy dog, found my pump. I guess she wanted some milk... I don't know. Anyway, she chewed the valves on it to bits. So, now my pump didn't work at all, which added so much more stress. You have no idea. I ordered the parts, but they didn't come for at least a week after that happened. This made breast feeding a little more difficult. (I hate nursing. I don't know why. It stresses me out so all I do is pump. This situation really sucked!!)

Well, my wonderful mother picked us up the next day to take us back to Lincoln, since our car was out of commission. Since our car was technically in a wreck we also had to get a new car seat for Lydia. STRESS!! But, we finally were on our way back to Lincoln to start some Christmas festivities.

Christmas was wonderful. Our child was spoiled rotten! She got so much stuff! She got a jumperoo thingy from her aunties Kaylin and Jenni and Uncles Chris and Chad. She loves it!

 I can't seem to get a picture of her that isn't blurry... she loves it though!

Christmas day was spent with my in-laws. My brother-in-law and my niece were both sick. Neither of them had fevers so we figured it was food related. We were wrong. The next day I started getting sick. The day after I was sicker than a dog and had to miss some more Christmas festivities. Then Marcus was sick the next day, then my mom and dad, and my grandma, and, and, and.... Now Lydia is just getting over it. Instead of the 48 hours we had it, she had it for four days. Poor girl.

Oh, my sis Jen got engaged on Christmas. Kudos to her. SHOUT OUT! Congrats dude.

Well, finally it was time to head back to Franklin on New years eve. We thought everyone was healthy but NOOOOO. I got sick again. Happy Happy Joy Joy.

Well, finally we make it back with a borrowed car. Christmas just plan wore me out this year. But, I have the most wonderful gift of my family. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love them all.

I just love this picture!

Anyway. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I pray that this New Year brings many wonderful things. God Bless!

Karin