Blessings

November is the month that we celebrate our blessings and everything we are thankful for. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to truly be grateful for so many things. I realized how blessed I am and how much I often take for granted.

I am now 14 weeks pregnant (15 weeks tomorrow). The past 10 weeks have been a challenge for me. I have been extremely sick. On Sunday evening we got home from Tim's parents house and (without going into too much detail) I went to the bathroom and noticed I was bleeding. I knew that this was not normal for the second trimester. However, it was after hours and I couldn't call my doctor's office until the morning so I had a very, very long night of worrying, praying, pleading, hoping and being grateful for what I already had in my life. When morning FINALLY came, I called the doctor's office (as I was still bleeding) and they immediately scheduled an ultrasound for me....that's when I lost it...I knew this was serious. I was trying to be prepared for the worst (knowing that I would not be able to handle it) and at the same time I was pleading with my Heavenly Father for the best outcome. There were so many emotions running through my head as I drove to my appointment. I went into the ultrasound appointment, laid down on the table, and the woman started the exam. The first words she said were, "There's the heartbeat." I couldn't believe it! I've never been so grateful to see a little tiny heart beating. I was so overwhelmed with gratitude. I know that Heavenly Father answers our prayers.

I'm sure that Heavenly Father has given me difficult pregnancies so that I can learn to rely on him. I've never prayed so much and had so much faith in my life than when I am pregnant. My first true testimony of prayer came when I was pregnant with Payton and having many complications. Since then I have relied on prayer through Parker's pregnancy and now through this pregnancy. I know that if we have faith and rely on our Heavenly Father that we will be blessed. I realized yesterday that I am grateful for difficult pregnancies. It truly helps me be grateful for the many blessings that I have. I'm grateful to already have 2 healthy, beautiful boys. I'm grateful to have an amazing and supportive husband. I'm grateful for my testimony of prayer. I'm grateful that I can rely on my Heavenly Father to get me through hard times. I'm grateful for the priesthood. I'm grateful that I can call upon the power of the priesthood to receive blessings of healing and comfort. I'm grateful to be surrounded by many worthy priesthood holders that can exercise that power. I'm also grateful for the overwhelming support that I receive from family and friends. I have soo many blessings and soo many things to be thankful for during this month of Thanksgiving.

Oh yes, one more thing...I'm thankful to be having another BOY!! The minute I saw the ultrasound picture (below) my heart skipped a beat. I knew it was another boy. The ultrasound technician said that she wasn't ready to tell me for sure because it's still early, but she would bet her paycheck that when we come back for our next appointment it will be a boy. Looking at the picture, and having two other boys, I'd have to say it definitely looks like a boy to me. In the picture you can see the stomach, the legs crossed and the little "turtle" in between the legs. I am so grateful and happy to be having another boy! The other ultrasound picture is a profile of the baby's head, stomach and you can see his little leg tucked underneath him. Isn't life beautiful?!

Profile...

It's a boy...