Reflecting on trials my family and I were facing this time a year ago.

I’ve been reflecting lately about what was going on in my life this time a year ago.  There was excitement and trials my family and I were facing. During this time a year ago we announced to our families that we were pregnant!! Everyone was so happy and excited! April was the month that I started to get really sick in my pregnancy. Every time I woke up in the night to go to the bathroom it would make me nauseous and I would start throwing up. Morning would come and the same thing would happen. I had all morning classes at that time and boy was that tough. Trying to get ready for school and then going to class was rough being that sick. At first, I was only sick in the night and in the mornings but then it became an all day everyday thing and that was exhausting to say the least. I remember Corey giving me a priesthood blessing to be able to get through the days and be well enough to finish the last few weeks of school. After that I still had morning sickness but I was at least able to make it through my classes without throwing up. The power of the priesthood is truly amazing.

The second thing that was happening during this time was, my family and I were re living a trial that we had worked so hard to put behind us. Sometimes it is too easy to judge other people. And I am definitely guilty of that. This experience taught me to not judge too quickly and give people the benefit of the doubt, and to never assume things. That is when rumors start. It was definitely difficult having all of our personal issues known. But this was when my family and I became even closer. Almost every night during this difficult time my family and I would play scrabble together to get our minds off of everything. We had lots of conversations together and we prayed together, a lot. Prayer brought us so much peace and really helped us grow as a family. My parents are so strong and supportive of each other. I was amazed by their strength. I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance. The gospel brings us so much hope and happiness to our lives and I feel so blessed to know it’s truthfulness.

The third trial that was going on was my sweet grandpa (My Mom’s Dad) had just been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. The doctor only gave him 3 months to live. Cancer is so mean and it was heart breaking to watch my grandpa get so sick so quick. My grandpa lived in Bountiful and my Mom was driving down at least four times a week to spend time with him and help him. It was really hard for my Grandpa to accept what was happening to him at first. He would talk about his regrets in life but then he would talk about how happy he was to be a member of the LDS church and to know that this isn’t it, and that when he returned home he would be in a better place. My grandpa only lasted a couple of months but the times that I got to spend with him his last couple of months were such a testimony builder to me. My grandpa was so supportive of us 3 grandchildren. We were his life. He drove up to Logan often to support us in all of our extra activities. It was so hard to see someone you love suffer, but by the end, I was at peace with it. I felt (and still feel) so strongly that I will be able to hug and see my Grandpa again. I feel his spirit with me constantly and I am forever grateful for the impact he had on my life and my family’s.

It’s amazing how much more your testimony can grow through trials. Looking back on a year ago, it was tough but through prayer and faith, my family and I have grown so much. I am so grateful for trials. It has helped mature me and has helped my testimony of the gospel grow. I am so grateful for the church in my life and I truly could not imagine my life without it.

Presley's Baby Room

We are getting ready to move next weekend so I thought I would blog about the details of Presley’s cute baby room that Corey set up for me. I wish we could pack her room up and take it with us, but we can’t.

When we were deciding on what colors to do Presley’s baby room Corey really wanted to do gray and yellow and I really wanted to do pink. So we compromised and decided to do gray and pink. My Mom is an amazing sewer and made Presley’s bumper pads for only $32!

We went to Bennett’s paint, here in Logan, to get all the paint we needed to do her room. I decided I wanted to go out on a limb and do blue instead of gray. Like cotton candy. Corey was nice enough to let me do that instead of gray and pink, which is why her bedding doesn’t match the walls. Oh well, it's still cute!

We got Presley a wood dresser and mirror from Ikea and painted them pink and white. All of that was only $150. I love Ikea!

My cousin Lorena is such a great photographer and she came up a few ago to do a lifestyle shoot with Presley and I. Here are some of the pictures she took!

Presley's Blessing and Two Month Checkup

On January 5, 2014 Presley was blessed by her father, Corey. It was such a special day and Corey gave Presley the sweetest blessing. I felt the spirit so strong and feel so blessed to have him in our lives. There is nothing more pure than a new baby. Presley has such a sweet spirit and she has brought so much more love and joy into our lives. She is the greatest blessing to us.

The first time I felt Presley’s sweet spirit was back in September when Corey and I went to a temple sealing of one of his mission friends. The Sealer talked a lot about eternal families and our ability to be able to be with our families forever. That was the first time I felt so close to Presley as if I already knew her. I was so overcome with the spirit in the Temple and felt so much peace and love in my heart. I know without a doubt that no matter what we go through as a family and the trials we have to endure in this life, we will be able to be together forever. I couldn’t imagine my life without the Gospel and I look forward to teaching and raising our kids in the church.

Here are a few pictures of Presley’s blessing J

Presley’s two-month check up was on January 6, 2014. The two-month check up is the first time your baby gets shots. L Such a sad day! Presley was smiling and giggling in the Doctor’s office the entire time we were waiting for the Nurse. When the Nurse came in and stuck her with the needle Presley’s face quicly turned from happy and giggly to a confused look, and then straight to screaming and crying. I had never seen Presley so upset. It made me so sad that I started crying. The nurse kept saying to me, “Are you ok? Don’t cry” Every time she said that I started to cry more! When I was walking out of the office the Nurse even turned to me and said, “Maybe next time you should bring your husband with you. I was so embarrassed but I couldn’t help it. Shots are not fun!

Presley now weighs 12 pounds and 9 ounces. She is 23 inches long and is in the 88^th percentile for weight and the 76^th percentile for height. The day she hit two months old she no longer fit into any of her 0-3 month clothes. We are officially on to 3-6 month clothes. She is one chunky baby!! We love it though J

Presley's Birth Story

Presley Bree Daines was born on November 1, 2013 at Logan Regional Hospital. It was quite the experience getting her here, but everything turned out great and we couldn’t be more blessed.

During my entire pregnancy my biggest fear was going past my due date with our little girl. I heard so many horror stories of babies being born too late and having complications. At Logan Regional Hospital they have a policy where they won’t induce you until at least a week past your due date with your first baby, unless you have complications that require it. My due date was October 28^th and my second biggest fear was having our baby girl on my best friend’s wedding, November 2^nd. I have been best friends with Danielle Croft since we were freshmen in high school and I could not imagine, at the time, missing her wedding.

On Halloween, October 31^st, Corey and I were hanging out with my family when I started to get pretty bad pains in my back. I thought it could be labor, but I was in denial because Danielle was getting married in 2 days! That night when I went to bed I was still in pain but I was able to sleep most of the night. In the morning around 6:00 am was when my pain got a lot worse and I couldn’t sleep. I was having aching and sharp pains in my lower back every four to seven minutes. I got in the tub, which helped a lot, and I still was still in denial that I was in labor because I was NOT going to miss Danielle’s wedding! I called my mom explaining my pain to her because all of her contractions when she was in labor were in her back as well. My mom told me to go to the hospital immediately but I didn’t want to because I was expecting my pain to be a lot worse than it was and I just still wasn’t quite sure if I was in labor yet. Five hours later at 11:00 am when Corey got home from school I finally decided to face the facts and to go to the hospital to get checked.

When we got to the hospital and the nurse checked me I was dilated to a 3 and my cervix was paper thin. My contractions were registering every two to four minute so sure enough I was in labor! I was just expecting it to be a lot worse than it was. Around 1:00 pm I got my epidural and everything was going great. I was dilating a centimeter every hour so I was making great progress on my own. I told my nurse I was determined to have my baby by 6:00 pm that night because I had a wedding to make the next day. Everyone kept laughing and telling me there was no way I would make her wedding, but in my mind, at that time, there was no way I was missing Danielle’s wedding. At 5:00 pm I was dilated to a 10 and ready to push. Once I started pushing I got a high fever which made me sick to my stomach and caused me to start throwing up. Having a fever can be very dangerous for your baby so the nurse gave me an anti-biotic just in case. After pushing for almost two hours and being sick to my stomach, my Doctor came in to check me and informed me that the baby was stuck and there was no way she could pull her out. My doctor was also worried about my fever getting to the baby and affecting her. So my Doctor told me that they were going to have to take her with a C section. There was a part of me that was relieved because I was so sick at this point that there was no way I could push any longer, but there was a part of me that was devastated because having a C section for sure meant that I was going to have to miss Danielle’s wedding.

I was so worried about our little girl at this point and wanting her to be healthy that nothing else mattered. Corey gave me a priesthood blessing before my C section, which took a lot of weight off my shoulders and helped my nerves. Everyone that saw me before my C section thought I was having seizures because I was shaking uncontrollably. The epidural and my fever caused me to shake so bad, it was exhausting.

The C section went very well and our little Presley came out healthy and strong! It is such an amazing moment the first time you hear your baby cry. I was so overwhelmed with the spirit when I saw our sweet little girl for the first time. When I saw Presley and held her, I had a strong feeling that I had known her before. She seemed so familiar to me and Corey and we were instantly head over hills in love with our precious little girl. My arms were shaking and hurting so bad that I could barely hold Presley for very long, so Corey had to take her for me. It made me so sad because I just wanted to snuggle her.

Because I had a high fever, Presley had to go to the NCU to make sure she didn’t get my infection (luckily she did not get it). It was so hard for me not having her in our room with us for the first couple of days because it was really hard to move after my C section that it just wiped me out going down to the NCU to see our sweet little girl. I didn’t want to leave Presley’s side!

I missed Danielle’s wedding but I was there for her in spirit! I think my Nurse thought I was crazy because I cried the day of Danielle’s wedding. I wanted to be there so bad. I was heartbroken but I was feeling so blessed to have a healthy and sweet little girl, and I wouldn’t change that for the world! 

After 4 days in the hospital we were able to go home with a happy and healthy little girl! J