Pro-Anorexia Sites? Really?

This Sunday's Deseret News had an article about anorexia. As I was reading through the article, it mentioned the fact that there were pro-anorexia sites or 'pro-ana' sites. I was shocked. I could not believe that there were sites dedicated to slowly killing your self from starvation and people were supporting you to do it. They tell you ways to hide it and encourage your weight loss. They say it is a lifestyle choice and if you get to the point that you need a feeding tube to survive then you've been successful.

Of course I had to look some up and see what they were about. It made me sick inside to think that people were wasting there lives trying to be 'thinned' to death. I had many conflicting feelings. I mean, we are so blessed with an abundance of food and people are starving and purging themselves of it. There really are starving children in Africa who would give anything to eat the way most Americans eat. It's so hard for me to understand. Why would you do this to your body? It's so damaging. Anorexia must really be a disease of your mind because logical thinking is definitely taken out of the picture. How freaking sad. Food is suddenly all that your life is about. It makes my heart ache for these people.

Why are there so many people with this horrible relationship with food? And couldn't it go either way? You could be starving yourself to death or eating yourself to death. Both relationships can reek havoc on your body and mind.

I truly think that it all comes down to the adversary. He would really try anything to get you to become numb to the truly good and righteous things of this world. To become numb to living life and enjoying the beauty around us. Just a big old distraction.

You could honestly say this about any addiction. Pornography, drugs, alcohol, etc....pick your poison. It's the same trick every time. All about pleasing yourself. I think that is why we are taught so much about serving others. You stop thinking about yourself when you see the hardships other people go through.

This article just made me think about how important it is to keep my body healthy and strong. I want to be able to do anything physical that my heart desires. I want to be able to keep up with Kelsie and kick the soccer ball around with her one day. After having a baby (and REALLY knowing what a gut looks like), I feel much more motivated to eat right and exercise. It's such a blessing to have a body and I do not want to take it for granted.

Kelsie 12 Week Pics

We got home today from another family baby blessing, and we thought we would try to get some pictures of Kelsie. To our surprise she was full of smiles today and we were able to get some pretty cute pictures of her.

Blessing Day 2/7/10

This past Sunday, we blessed our little Kelsie. The whole week I thought a lot about this baby girl that had been sent to us. I think I've memorized every inch of her and have a tendency to pick at her ears, nose and face in general. What? I get bored easily and it's kind of fun. I am not the only mom that does this! I know it! It's like popping a zit! You have to do it!

Anyways...while we were waiting for church to start, a lady in my ward came up to see her and told her that this was her special day. I had not thought of it like that before. Duh. As the meeting started, I looked down at her and thought, 'This IS your special day! You are special! You are a daughter of God and have such huge potential and I am here to help you see that!' It immediately brought tears to my eyes to think that this special little spirit was entrusted to me and her dad to take care of and help teach her the good things of this world.

After church, everyone came back to the house to eat a yummy breakfast. We paid homage to my Dad and made his famous Sunday buttermilk waffles. This was my way of including him in the celebration but I'm pretty sure he was already hanging out:)

Bella, Megan and Tommy

Kylin? Zadie? (What? They're twins!) Jayden, Josh

'Uncle' Rick and 'Aunt' Kendra, Kelsie

The happy (white) family! Sheesh. I guess we need a little Arizona sun or somethin!

Kelsie Baby!

I think we might be putting her in the blessing dress again to take a few more pictures. We better hurry before she grows out of it. And apparently, as you can tell from the above pictures, there were no other adults at our party. Oopsy. Sorry: Jami, Kelli, Nate, Seth and Mom. I guess we needed to take some of you as well.

Kelsie Sophia Nelson's 2 month Stats!

Her diva face!

It has been a crazy 2 months! Probably at the top ten of the craziest two months of my life! I often think back to the day she was born and try to remember everything about it.

When I first heard her cry, I knew we were in for it! She has the loudest cry ever. I'm pretty sure our neighbors can hear her across the street and are wondering what we are doing to her. I hate when that bottom lip comes out. So flippin' sad. Chad and I always start saying 'Oh no. Don't do it! Don't cry! Don't do it!' Sometimes it actually works and she'll start smiling again. She's been smiling at us for the past few weeks now and it seriously makes your crappy day worth it. Even if I'm totally annoyed with her (for some reason) she'll look up at me with those big innocent baby blues, smile and all is well.

Her eyes follow me and her dad all over the place. She'll even stare from across the room.

She is huge and I love it! I think she is the coolest baby ever. When they put her on the scale, I laugh hard every time. I still can't believe we made such a big baby. She rocks my world.

Her binkie is her true love! I don't know what I'll do when we have to wean her off that sucker but for now....oh well!

Some nights, when she is at her fussy time, I set her on my legs and pull my knees up so we can chat. She'll be happy faces and little coos at first and then she'll start telling me all her whoas. All I do is interject, "Oh really. Tell me all about it. Oh no!" It almost sounds like she's complaining but they are not big cries. It is so funny!

She's been a pretty awesome sleeper most nights for a while now. The last four nights she was consistent and has slept around 8 hours each night. Except for last night, she slept 5. Not too shabby. Unfortunately, the last few days she's catnapped. We realized last night that we weren't swaddling her for her naps. I'm hoping that fixes it but who knows. I thought for a little while I might go insane if it continues:)

When she wakes up from said sleeps, she always rubs her face on our shoulders or upper chest. I mean, I think she would do it forever if she wasn't ready to eat. Then she'll do it again when she's getting ready to go back to sleep. Goofy kid.

Official Stats:

Weight: 13 lbs. 4 oz (95%)

Height: 23 3/4 inches (95%)

Head Circumference: 15 3/4 inches (80%)

She's been a blessing and a challenge all wrapped up in one and we love her so very much!

Tub Pics for Lacey since she's NEVER on Facebook!

P.S. She is in love with the bath. She seriously used to scream at us the whole time. Now she's happy as can be in there.

Flowers and Fog

Last week, while I was at home on the couch holding the little one as she ate, I heard a knock and quick doorbell ring. I got up to see what it was and to my surprise it was a package. Pro Flowers was written on the box and inside there was a note from my husband. Suhweet! I've never gotten flowers in the mail and I loved it. Thanks baby!

We've also had a ton of fog at our house. On our way home, one evening, it was so thick that we had to pull over to the side of the road. As we were pulling over, a huge truck was driving by on the wrong side of the street and would have hit us head on if we had not pulled over!!! Just kidding. We obviously needed to spice up this part of the blog post a little so we could post these amazing pictures! Hee! Hee! We're dorks.

Padre

Today, another year has gone by since my dad passed away. I think about him a lot but I especially think about him in December. I would have never thought that 3 years from this day I would be married and a new mom. It is a very bitter-sweet time. I try to imagine what he would be like with Kelsie and how he would have responded when he heard her birth weight! I'm sure there would have been many times he would have stopped by on his way home from work in Tooele to see her. But, I can not dwell on what might have been for too long or it will make me cry.

He was a wonderful father. He made so many sacrifices for me. Being a new parent myself, I can only understand part of that sacrifice. I definitely can see why it's so important for my children to have a good relationship with their dad. His influence has reverberated through my life and I'm sure it will continue to do so. I think he would be happy to know I feel this way. That was probably one of his goals as a good parent. I can just see him now, patting himself on the back:)

I added a few of my favorite pictures of him below. Pardon the quality of pictures. They were photos that I scanned in a while ago.

My dad was also a more than 10 lbs baby. Look at those chubby cheeks!

I'm pretty sure this is Joel. The oldest and therefore his first child.

My baptism day. I love his jumpsuit. Classic.

One of my favorite pics of our family. It cracks me up every time. Speaking of cracks, Sethy.

A family photo at Draper Park.

This was a snowy winter. I'm sure he was clearing the driveway here.