Sleepless in South Provo

Our current pillow to bed ratio: 5:1

Occupant to bed ratio: 2:1

Logical pillow to occupant ratio: 2.5:1

Actual pillow to occupant ratio: 4:1 and 1:1

If you haven't guessed it yet, I am the 4:1 and Ryan gets the 1:1. The poor man :( He ends up with 1/3 of the bed while I build myself a nest with three large pillows and a body pillow (which is really more like two pillows).

Who knew that pregnancy would equal the need for more sleep, but yet also completely worthless uncomfortable sleep?! Answer: all mothers and any other pregnant women. Ugh, I feel absolutely worthless lying in bed. I can't lay on my stomach because I feel like I'm sleeping on top of a softball, and I mentally picture myself squishing my baby. My side is the most comfortable, but my back always feels supremely arched if I'm not supporting it with a pillow.

My solution? You guessed it, millions of pillows all around my body squished into every crack so I can't move. Ryan has to pack me in at night before I go to sleep :) Of course I never wake up in my nice little nest. Somehow by three in the morning all the pillows have migrated to the bottom of the bed, and Ryan mysteriously has one in between his legs.

*sigh* These 20 weeks are going to be very long, and I am guessing it is going to get worse before it gets better. Suggestions?

Things I've Learned From Being Pregnant

Now that I've passed most of the ickyness of the first trimester, I figure it is time to share my vast stores of knowledge concerning the topic. In fact I am such an expert that I will include remedies that I'm positive will work for EVERYONE. Okay, not really. Especially since men will see no need for my tips.

1. Pregnancy brain is a true disorder. Simple things such as putting together a coherent sentence will be seen as a monumental task. Ryan has had to stop me many a time from doing stupid things like putting the eggs in the freezer, or the groceries in the dishwasher. Unfortunately, he was unable to keep me from putting liquid dish soap into the dishwasher rather than our liquid dish detergent. At least my nephew enjoyed the spoils of that mistake (let's face it, what little kid doesn't like bubbles?!).

2. Even if you weren't a crier before, suddenly the stupidest things will make you start to tear up. Things like watching Cash Cab, and having the contestants win $2,000. ("It's just so beautiful!" *sob* "I'm sure they really needed that money!" *sniffle*)

3. Before you eat something, think about how it will taste coming back up. Trust me, this will save you from many hard learned lessons in the future. I will save you from one of them. Nachos are the WORST thing ever to have to vomit. They're chunky, they cut you on the way back up, and they taste HORRIBLE! The best thing to throw up? Chocolate ice cream. I fully endorse a breakfast of chocolate ice cream if you are pretty certain that it won't stay down for long.

4. Sleeping for 12 hours = completely normal. Still feeling tired after that 12 hours = still completely normal. Sleeping for 12 hours, staying up for 4, and then napping for another 3 = still just as normal.

5. People will say stupid things to you, ignore them. They probably didn't think about what they said, and probably meant it in the nicest way possible. Example: "Hey you finally look like you're pregnant and not just chubby!"

That's about it for now, I'm sure I'll add to the list as I get further along. Everybody should vote on our poll though since we find out in less than two weeks if we're having a boy or a girl!

Just as an update: We avoided being in the middle of a shooting at the local Smith's last night. I always thought it was a little sketchy, and now might switch to shopping at Macey's. The downside, we were late to return our movie to the Redbox. Best dollar ever spent? I think so.

"While Guilty Men His Pains Deride"

I don't know about the rest of you, but one of the few times during the week that I get to just be still and reflect is while we take the sacrament. I love the tranquility and peace that we get to experience in those few moments. Recently I've been noticing that more often than not, the sacrament is a place where I can receive clear revelation. Part of this I believe stems from the fact that before we partake of the sacrament we sing a hymn. Music speaks to me so clearly, and stays with me so profoundly that I often find myself reflecting on the music we sing more than the talks that are given. Normally I'm not a huge fan of the sacrament hymns. For the most part they usually drag, aren't that rhythmically or melodically complex, and tend to go flat more than other hymns. I blame most of that on the tempo. However, the words of the sacrament hymns stick with me more than all of the other hymns, and teach me important lessons that I need to hear.

Today we sang "Behold the Great Redeemer Die." During the sacrament one line stuck with me. The song goes through and recalls the pain and suffering Christ endured with the Atonement and crucifixion. At the beginning of the second verse it says, "While guilty men his pains deride, they pierce his hands and feet and side." This phrase stuck with me throughout all of church today because it has special significance in my life right now.

For those of you who are unaware, Ryan's family and I don't exactly get along. Don't ask me why, because I don't even understand it. In the past few months things have gotten worse after they decided to break our trust and then try to turn the other members of the family against us. They publicly demeaned me on facebook, and then when we tried to resolve it and work things out they basically told us that we should get over it and that we shouldn't expect them to help us out. Comforting, no? This has lead to me crying myself to sleep many nights, and just wondering what I did to deserve this.

I think in my naivety I feel like since I haven't done anything wrong, I should be treated fairly and given the love I deserve. When we sang the line, "While guilty men his pains deride, they pierce his hands and feet and side." I was reminded that the Savior, through no faults of his own, was beaten, bruised, and degraded. This does not make any thing I feel less painful, but it does help give me some perspective.

I often laugh when someone talks about an injury they have and someone else speaks up and talks about how they sustained an injury ten times worse. Why do we do that? Do we assume that because we have suffered more it makes their suffering any less?! Pain is pain, I don't care how much you're feeling, if you're hurt it is painful and needs to be dealt with. I don't think the Savior ever looks at us and says "Suck it up princess, I've been through a billion times more pain than you." Rather He acknowledges our grief and helps us mourn.

I am far from being over this, and am still hurting deeply because of it. However, I'm starting to get over the fact that I haven't done anything wrong and I'm still being abused. The Savior went through the same thing, and at least understands. If nothing else I can say that I am following His example right?

Recentness...

Sigh, I always set goals to do better at blogging, but it never happens! The stupid thing is is that I always think about what I am going to write about....and then I never just sit down and write it! I always postpone the inevitable thinking that I should wait so I can write about more than one thing at a time. This equates to a huge post which never gets written because it would just be too long. So instead of waiting to post anything until I have all of the pictures that I want I'm going to just write about what I can now, and then update about other things later :)

The first big thing that has happened to us lately is that my two youngest brothers and my dad came to visit! It was just a short random visit during their spring break over Easter weekend. It was soo good to see them, but also reminded me of how much I miss them. While they were here we went up to my grandparents in Logan and spent time with my dad's side of the family. Only about half of us were there, but there are so many of us that you would never guess that people were missing. I love going up to Logan and being around so many people that I love and that love me back. It is just so comforting to know that so many people love you and accept you for who you are.

My dad and brothers were planning on going home on Monday night, but decided to stay for one more day so they could come to our choir devotional on Tuesday! I'm sure it wasn't the most exciting part of their trip (Cody admitted to me that he fell asleep before the last number....punk) but it meant a lot to me that they were willing to extend their trip to come hear me sing! I have loved being a part of Women's Chorus and being able to share my love of music, my testimony, and the peace and joy that can come from singing with those who come to hear us. The only thing I regret is that my family in California hasn't been able to come hear. Let's face it, it's a long way to travel just to come to a concert, but I keep hoping that someday their vacation travels and our concerts will coincide so they can come to one of our full-length concerts. Here's to hoping! Either way, it meant a lot to me that they would come and share in our music with us, and that they would stay longer, even though it would mean getting back to CA after midnight and driving in the snow. Hopefully next time Mom and Jayson can come too!

Other than that, we're just getting ready for finals around here. The funny thing is, I only have two finals left! As of Wednesday I was pretty much done, even though most people hadn't even started. At least that is one good thing about the BYU School of Music, they finish before finals week and give you an extra week of break more or less. Anyways I just have a take home final left, and one scheduled final on Wednesday. Jealous of me? You should be. Just remember though that I took 8 classes this semester and only got 12.5 credits for it. Shoot me in the face.
Well that is all for us for now! Hopefully I can get my pictures soon and put up posts that might actually interest people :)

Really? I look like Rachel McAdams AND A MAN!?!?!?

So basically I started getting jealous because of facebook's "Doppleganger Week." I mean c'mon suddenly everybody thought they were Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts! I wanna be almost famous (or mistaken for someone famous) too! After all this week has become bigger than the "Post the color of your bra week"....probably because boys can participate this time as well. Anyways I am not jealous anymore. The evidence of which can be seen below :)

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Pedigree - Vintage photos

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

Two posts in the same month! It's a New Year's Miracle! (a la Verizon commercial 2005). The real line is, "It's a Mother's Day miracle!" This became an Anderson family favorite and is still quoted 5 years later. The commercial starts out with a mom in bed and the dad comes in holding a box. She opens it and pulls out a new phone, and then with a somewhat confused expression pulls out a second phone to which the dad exclaims, "Two phones! It's a Mother's Day miracle....I'll take this one!" The announcer then explains some two for one deal they have going on. The next shot opens up with the whole family having breakfast in bed and you hear a picture alert go off. The mom looks at her phone and the dad says, "I sent you a picture of the syrup." He and his son exchange high fives and the world's best commercial ends. The above paragraph has absolutely NOTHING to do with my next post, but will explain a little bit about my family :P

So this month has brought about a few changes in our house, mostly having to do with church callings. Ryan and I had been serving on the activities committee in our ward, but Ryan was recently called to be our Ward Clerk. The bishop informed him that this was one of the few callings in the church where he could get excommunicated and also go to prison. Such a comforting thought, no? Anyways since he is at church doing tithing settlement I am at home alone. Hence, the blog post.

I also received a new calling today. I am now the Primary President to a whopping amount of four children. That's right four whole kids. One Sunbeam and three nursery kids. Although this is more than four times the amount of a regular BYU ward (at least the singles wards....hopefully) it still creates a bit of a challenge since we lack the number of children found in a typical primary. Which leads me to a question. Anybody have good ideas for games or activities (gospel or otherwise related) that can keep four toddlers busy and content for two hours? Okay, okay I guess even 5 minute games would work too. Hopefully I'll write more again soon. I'm sure at least I'll end up with some good stories now that I get to work with the little ones again :)

Tis the Season

So maybe I'll average a post every six months? That's about how often I've written Jen on her mission too so maybe I should step it up in both aspects :P I meant to write this post at Christmas because it was really on my mind, but better late than never right?!
Christmas to me has always been about gratitude, even though apparently Thanksgiving has the corner on a grateful heart. I've always seen Thanksgiving as Christmas prep though. I think we need Thanksgiving before Christmas so we can truly get into the spirit of giving rather than only thinking of receiving. This year I am truly thankful for all of my family, but most especially for my sister Brittny.
Brittny is the epitome of charity. She has always been the one to reach out to those who are less fortunate, disliked, or in my mind just plain obnoxious and she has a gift for taking them under her wing and merely listening. This is NOT my specialty as I would rather fix the problem than listen, but she truly empathizes with others and desires to help in any way she can.
Brittny was a true blessing to us this Christmas. Since I still haven't been able to find a job our budget was truly tight, and Brittny set to work putting together our stockings (in all fairness my parents funded this endeavor so I'm grateful for them too!), buying us presents, sewing bags for all of the presents, helping make trifle, volunteering to feed us many many times, letting us do our laundry at her house, etc.
The best part about this was I never once heard how it was burdensome for her, but rather how excited she was to help us out and "play Christmas" with us. I love the attitude my sister has towards true Christlike service and I hope to be able to pass that around more freely during the rest of the year.