My little miracle

So, we just watched Life's Greatest Miracle  (sponsored by PBS/NOVA) for the heck of it today, because 1) I find all things about the body and life truly fascinating and 2) it's a good for my un-used medical assistant mind to freshen up about all the intrinsic things that go on in our bodies (plus I love babies haha)...and I would just like to say...

How can you ever deny that there is a God?!?

How do little things like cells and organisms know exactly how to turn into babies, people...human beings? 

How does "chance" just make that happen? 

No, it doesn't "just happen." There is a God. An all-knowing, intelligent, loving God. 

The Author of our Creation.

July 2, 2011 changed my life forever

Despite what probably shouldn't have been, as we were pretty unfit parents for the task, He loved us so much to allow me and Jonathan to participate in creating our most favorite, special, little person in the whole world, Lydia. He helped turn a blob.. into a baby (literally..haha, go and ahead and laugh, but it's true!) And I am ever so grateful and honored that I get the chance of taking care of someone so perfect.

..you.. me... we .. are Life's Greatest Miracle

First Page In Her Scrapbook

April 20, 2012

Dearest Lydia, 

I want you to know how much we love you. You are our first child, and as such, we devote our entire well being to make you happy, to make you smile, to hear your giggle, to let you know how much we truly love you. Sometimes I think of all the mean or bad things that could happen to you, and I just want to hold you closer, tighter; I never want to let those things happen. I want to protect you as much as I can. I want you to be safe. I want you to always know you can find comfort at home with loving arms and a warm heart with Mommy and Daddy.

Lydia, you have taught me to open my heart, and let it grow. You've taught me to love other children unconditionally, without judging. I think of all the children out there, without a mom, without a dad, who don't get a warm bath, a kiss, a hug, a cuddle before bedtime. I think of those babies without the warmth of a mother's love that they need, that they deserve. And I think, if I could be their mother, they would never go unloved. You've taught me to love and appreciate good mothers, because they're trying to be the best mom they know how to be, and sometimes they feel like failures, but you've taught me that no matter how hard a mom tries and feels she doesn't do well, she's wrong. She gave the best gift anyone could give. She gave a life, and that's something to be proud of. 

Lydia, everything good in the world, you are. Every happy moment, you are. Every peaceful moment, you are.

You are my sunshine on a cloudy day, my rain in the desert. You're my smile when I want to cry, my giggle when I want to sigh. 

You make me want to give you the best of everything, be better for you, and provide all the opportunities life has to offer. 

Lydia, you are 9 1/2 months old, with the sweetest personality. You know how to comfort with your sweet hugs, how to love, to laugh when things are silly, to smile, and put a smile on our faces. It's been quite the experience to watch you grow - from a helpless newborn to an infant with infinite curiosity. We took you to the park today and put you on the swings for the first time and you loved it! Swinging away, feeling the breeze fill up your body and soul, taking you to new heights. We love watching you experience things for the first time. It brings us back to our childhood.

Lydia, I knew I loved you before I met you. I hope when you see this and look through these pages you will see parents who truly loved you, who tried to give their all to make you happy and feel loved in this life. I know you won't necessarily remember these moments, but they were are the best memories of our lives.

I love you,

Mommy

LOVE is really spelled T-I-M-E

 I love what President Packer said during this last General Conference. He said,

Family time is sacred time and should be protected and respected. We urge our members to show devotion to their families.

This quote has basically become my theme since conference. Heeding his advice, I "urged" Jonathan to take us to the park yesterday for some much needed Family Time. We've been before but there were so many people last time, all the swings were taken up by happy children that we didn't get a chance to put Lydia on a swing. This time, even though it was pretty out, there weren't as much people. It was perfect.

At first she didn't know what to think of it. I had to help her hands hold on to the metal. She is such a huncher! So she is totally slouching in the swing. It's like she has no spine.. it kinda makes me laugh. Well, it wouldn't in real life... but you know what I mean.

Here are some pictures that captured the fun memories of yesterday!
Warning: There are a lot of pictures ahead!

These swings were definitely made for bigger kids haha

Haha she looks like Boo! From Monster's Inc..."Kitty!"

her tongue is sticking out

needless to say, she likes it. :)

Daddy being a good Daddy pushing Baby on the swing. It was SO tempting to not push her high!

"hmm... maybe one day I can do that, huh mom?"

Hahaha her face.

We love her little baby legs!

contemplating life.. or being emo ;) jk He actually didn't want to smile for the camera so he looked down.

We were matching.. AND I love how the wind is making her pigtails fly!!!

Haha even our bangs match.. dang wind :)

When I got her, she just laid into my chest. It was the sweetest thing ever.
She has become so huggy and cuddly lately. I absolutely love it.

It would have been perfect, if she didn't look like going to the park was total torture HA!

There we go! kinda!

I love her, oh, how I love her! I could stay like that forever!

No one will ever know the strength of my love for you.
After all, you're the only one who knows what my heart sounds like from the inside. 

Walking home :) It was a good day.

 She was saying "Neh" while swinging. it was darling.

{I love family time}

Recipe for Naughty Donuts

So.. I feel kind of embarrassed. For the longest time I made fun of Pinterest and those who pinned daily because it seemed that those who pinned constantly pinned for the heck of it instead of having any intentions to make what they pinned.

 (Can I say "pinned" any more times in that sentence?)

Well, Pinterest, and fellow pinners, I apologize. Since I have become a member I probably cook at least one thing I pin on there a week. Tonight, for the in-laws, I made home made donuts.. with not so home made dough. Either way, they loved it! Our family is a sucker for sweets, and this practically hit the spot!

Here's the recipe for Naughty Donuts, or you can follow the recipe from the blog I stole it from - it has pictures so it might be more convincing. I basically doubled it to make 16 donuts.

2 things of canned biscuits. I used Pillsbury original biscuits which will yield 16 donuts (plus the holes). Anything works besides the flakey kind of biscuits.
4 tbls per 8 biscuits, but I found I used 2 sticks of butter, melted.
Probably around 2 cups of sugar and however much cinnamon to make it the right amount of cinnamony goodness. I'm not sure because I started out with not much, and added as I needed to.
Vegetable oil to fill 1/2 inch of your pan.

While your pan is heating up the oil on medium heat, cut out the center of each biscuit so it makes a donut shape. (I saved the cut outs for little donut holes). You can use cookie cutters, but what I had on hand was a baby bottle, so I used the opening to make little circles. It was the perfect size.

Next, toss the donuts into the heated oil - I had room to make 4 at a time. (Make sure to watch it so that it doesn't burn..'cause it can if the oil is too hot. I ended up roasting some of mine a little bit too dark.) Once the first side is golden brown, flip to the other side using prongs. It really doesn't need as much time as you think it does.

When they are brown on both sides place them on a cookie sheet to allow for cooling, and add the others into the pan. When they are cool enough to touch, dip each side into the melted butter and then each side into cinnamon sugar and set aside. DONE! It's that easy!

Warning: They are quite sugary, so if you don't want to become diabetic want to make eating more than one bearable, I suggest using the cutters to make donut holes out of all the biscuits...so that you can satisfy your taste buds. That's what I plan to do next time.

Enjoy!!

Boost your metabolism to boost your self-esteem

Sigh.. do you ever feel that you don't look the way you wish you did in pictures? That happens to me all the time (At least after having Lydia)! I guess it's to be expected after a pregnancy, but I wish I could just make all this baby fat disappear like so many of my friends have easily done - at least the ones who have been really thin all their lives.

Well, me and and Jonathan are fans of the tv series, the Biggest Loser, and we both admire Jillian Michaels and her intense workouts and training (yet I'd never desire to be her victims, I mean trainee, on the show hehe)... so we ended up getting a DVD pack with two training discs. I love them! They're pretty hard.. I mean, the first day I could barely get through the workout.. Baby was being kinda grumpy, and I was practically kinda out of breath, so I ended up watching the rest of it to see what she incorporates in it (that's dedication for ya! haha). Now that it's been a week or so I'm getting better at getting the moves down. Here is what I use:

 

A good cardio workout to help boost metabolism

and

Which aims to help get rid of love handles, muffin tops, and wobbly arms.. plus giving you some nice abs! (which I'm still waiting on.. ha! I definitely need to be more consistent - it's just so hard when the in-laws are in town and they make yummy Mexican dishes!!! Mmmmmmmmmmmmm)

Even though I haven't seen DRASTIC results just yet, I do notice my legs toning up quite a bit and a little bit more muscle in my arms. They're not as strong as they were when I was working out at planet fitness constantly, but they're getting there. She makes you do a lot of lunges and squats. This second one is a bit more hardcore than the top one.. I found myself not being able to see because sweat was dripping so much off my forehead that I had to wipe my eyes in between each rep. Haha yep! I like it, although it's kinda tough on my knees. So I think I'm going to alternate videos to give my poor rodillas a break!

Anyway, the point of all this is.. I was thinking about it.. and I feel so much more important about myself and about life when I work out than when I don't. I even ventured to buy new clothes, and a smaller size of jeans to motivate me to work out more so I can wear it. I feel like a lazy blob, and more inclined to eat bad, when I don't exercise than when I do. And what I like about these is while she is intense, she's also smart. At the end of each video she gives you encouraging advice to go about your day, reminding you not to just eat garbage that will negate what you just worked so hard for. It helps me be more cautious about what I'm going to eat. I've made a little secret promise to get in real good shape before either a) Jonathan's bday 6/24, b) Baby's birthday 7/2, or c) our anniversary 7/24. Haha, so I'm hoping to be pretty strict and committed. I've done it once, I can do it again. I'm determined to start looking and feeling good great!

A Hernandez Easter

I was talking to Jonathan about Easter traditions and asked him what his family usually ate for it, when he replied that they never had a special dinner for Easter Sunday. Say what??? So.. I had to show him how it's done. We actually bought a ham, so I'd be forced to learn how to cook.. or I guess, heat/glaze one up, since I've never done anything with ham before..besides..eat it. So, here was our yummy Easter menu. Sorry I only took a pictures of, well, 2 things..I didn't feel like copying pictures from the internet, BUT, I put the link to the recipes I made so you can make it.. next year, or you know, whenever.

Honey and Brown Sugar Glazed Ham 

Garlic chicken puffs

Cream Cheese Corn

Rhode's Rolls (recipe found on package, too)

Mashed potatoes

Deviled Eggs

And,

 Better Than Anything Cake

I was talking to Jonathan about Easter traditions and we figured that

 instead of telling our kids that the Easter bunny brought them something, 

we will tell them that because Christ gave a most precious gift, His life, here is our gift to you.

She was being kind of a grump Sunday morning, so I decided to grab her basket and rushed into the room. She got so excited, she clenched her fists and kind of shook in excitement. It was so funny. She loved her little basket. There was a little bunny, a bath ducky that tells you if the water is too hot, bubbles, baby toothbrush and paste, a new sippy cup (with no stopper, so that should be interesting), and eggs filled with her snacks - graduate puffs. I wish I had taken some pictures of her in her dress.. but, she was wearing one that was a hand me down, and a bit too small, and I couldn't find any Easter dresses any time I looked at our stores, so I gave up on that. Next year, I will be prepared!
Easter dinner was a success, especially having our friends over. I only wish I had 2 ovens and twice as many pans so that by the time the ham was done, everything else was still warm. Our spiritual activity was good too. Jonathan had 4 eggs filled with scriptures, which each one of us read, telling of the suffering and resurrection of Christ and then he bore his testimony of it. We also watched some Mormon Messages.

 It was a really good evening.

I just want to let you know that I have a testimony that Jesus Christ lives, and loves all of us - no matter who we are, no matter what we've done. He lived, suffered, died, and rose again, for me. For us. For everyone, even the ones who don't believe in Him. He still loves and believes in you. I'm so thankful I have a knowledge of the Savior in my life and that because of His teachings, it has the power to change my life and make me so much better than I could ever be on my own.

Because you deserve it, Mom

I was going to wait until Mother's Day to write this, but I lack in the patience department, obviously. Besides, it's never too soon to tell someone you love them. Until it is too late.

This post is dedicated to a person who has a heart big enough to love you, no matter what mistakes or wrongs you have committed, yet sometimes feels she is not loved as much by others. Well, I want to tell this person that, that is untrue.

I love my Momma. I can honestly say she has always been there for me. Every first day of school, every choir and band concert, every dentist appointment, when I got surgery on my knees, during the painful and annoying ordeal of my digestive, neck and back problems - taking me to all my doctor appointments, when I was bullied in middle school.. she was there.

...don't mind me...

 

See, every band concert. Not just the ones in high school where we sounded good.
 She suffered through this, too.

When I graduated high school and college, when I was getting married in Texas in an unfamiliar place, when I needed a flight back home to Alaska last summer, when I needed a car to drive to my ob appointments, a ride to the hospital, someone for encouragement, and constant advice after the birth of my baby.. she was is there.

She's the kinda mom that made each of her (6) kids get their pictures taken every year, so that when we'd bring our friends (or fiance) over they'd get to look at our photo album book of us growing up. She taught us that it was important to get good grades - don't strive for C's or to be average, strive to be the best. Get the best grades in all you can. Try your hardest. And darn it, put your name and date on every homework assignment! Remember that, Mom? Haha

She always tried to get me in the kitchen with her to help her cook so I could learn how to make food, but I was a "I'll do what I want" teenager, and now, as a house-wife, it's me who asks my mom for certain recipes that I wish I'd learned growing up. Oh, if as a teenager we could only see our Moms as we do today, and appreciate then, all that we know now.

 I often wondered how my mom could have compassion on me when I was going through certain trials - if she truly cared, or if she was just trying to console me to make me feel better, because she's my Mom. But I realize that whenever Lydia gets a cold, a bump on the head, is grumpy, or needs some lovin', it's that same compassion that my mother must've felt for me. When Lydia hurts, I hurt. And when I hurt, my Mother hurt.

I'm so glad God sent such a compassionate woman  angel to be my Mother.

Kids, don't wait for Mother's Day to tell your Mom how much you love them.

I love you, Mom

Give life, donate plasma

Phewph! Can you say, "welcome back?!" 

It feels like I've been gone forever from the blogging world. Actually, the people who were letting us use their internet are moving, and instead of telling us that, their internet just cut out and never returned. We eventually found out by someone else that they were moving. It wasn't their fault, we weren't mad or anything. But we were back to using our trusty little iphone..for everything. But, good news. We decided to be grown up and got our own internet! It's niiiice.

Anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to talk about something else. Today is my birthday. I've also been planning on donating plasma all week. I went in Monday and because of a high temperature, I was deferred. But I went in today and while the lady was pricking my finger for an iron test, she asked me how my day was going and it went kinda like this.

"How's your day going?"
"Good. It's my birthday :)"
"Oh it is?! Well, happy birthday! Even though it's your birthday you decided to come in and donate plasma to help save lives. You are such a good person coming in to do that. Giving life. That's a great sacrifice. What a good person you are."

Oh, man.. with a simple smile I told her thank you.

And. I. Never. Felt. So. Guilty.

Honestly, that thought of saving lives hadn't even crossed my mind when I walked through those doors. All I thought about was the reward (money) I'd get in the end. A measly $20 dollars. (Now, granted, two donors in a household going twice a week for a whole month could get up to $400, which is pretty nice when you have bills to pay.) But a life isn't even worth $20. It's worth so much more. Even though the lady thought I was doing a noble cause, I felt pretty heartless inside.

So, here's a post dedicated to plasma. Yep. You read correctly. Most people, outside the medical world, don't even know what plasma is. And I'm not talking about a TV.

Blood plasma is the straw-colored liquid component of blood in which the blood cells in whole blood are normally suspended. It makes up about 55% of the total blood volume. It is mostly water (93% by volume). Plasma also serves as the protein reserve of the human body. It plays a vital role in intravascular (think blood vessel) osmotic effect that keeps electrolyte in balance form and protects the body from infection and other blood disorders. (wikipedia)

Even though that's kinda hard to understand, it sounds pretty important, eh?

Here are some uses for plasma that help save lives. 

Your plasma donation helps people live healthier, happier lives. This plasma is the key ingredient for products crucial to treating patients suffering from a host of life-threatening conditions, including hemophilia, shock or trauma, immune deficiencies, and other blood disorders.

American wounded soldier receiving blood plasma in August, 1943.
Wikipedia

• Used in the treatment of immunological disorders, such as congenital and acquired primary immune deficiency as well as many diseases that strike healthy people due to some change in the body’s defense system.
• Therapies Used in treatment of bleeding disorders, including hemophilia.
• Used in critical care settings for treatment of shock and burns, during surgery, and for fluid replacement therapy.
• Used in surgery and the treatment of wounds to facilitate healing.
• Used in the treatment of alpha₁-antitrypsin deficiency (A genetic condition resulting in liver and lung failure).     (http://www.cslplasma.com/plasma/plasma-uses.htm)
  
  Do you know anyone who has a compromised immune system? Do you know anyone with a bleeding disorder? Anyone who has ever been in shock? Or burned? Or had surgery? I'm sure you do. I know I do.

 Here is another good site for more information on how plasma saves lives.

All you have to do is be a healthy adult, sacrifice 1-2 hours of your life, and like needles (haha). It's a fairly easy process. You just pump your hand and let the blood and machines do the work. And get this. You get your blood back! They only take the plasma. It really is rewarding for anyone who receives plasma, something that can't be made in a laboratory.

I just want to encourage you to get out there and find a Plasma Donation Center near you (or even a Blood Bank to donate whole blood) so that you can help save lives, too.

Give the gift of giving...Life