Oh, just some more cute things that Levi does :)

Oh, Levi.

He's continuing to learn more and more words, and to use them more and more appropriately. Just today, Levi climbed up on my chair next to me and crowded me, so I moved to the couch. That made Levi sad, so he patted the seat of the chair next to him, said, "Hsit. Ma-ma," and I couldn't resist. I came and balanced on the chair next to him. It's so easy to love my boy!

We went on a Sunday afternoon ride earlier today, and Levi hadn't taken a nap yet. About five minutes into the drive, I heard him saying, "shhhh, shhh," which is Levi-ese for "sleep." I asked, "Are you going to sleep?" and when I looked back at him, he nodded his head. About a minute later, he was asleep. Aww. :)

On a side note, Levi has learned how to say "Nanner," which is my mother-in-law's "grandma" name. His other grandparents' names are much harder for him to say (all starting with Gran-), but he knows Nanner. We recently got a photo book featuring Levi, his parents, grandparents, and some of his great-grandparents, and I'd have to say his favorite pages are the ones with his grandparents. He loves looking at them and their faces. Levi's second favorite page features him as a little baby, from a few days old to about 3 or 4 months old, with parents mixed in.

What Is the Power of a Woman?

So lately there's been a lot of replies to the Ordain Women (OW) movement (I didn't even know what it was called until a few days ago, I just knew some women were jealous of men for holding the priesthood.) on my Facebook newsfeed. Interestingly enough, no one on my friends list has seemed to come out in support of it, they've just shared really well-written articles of why we need to calm down and listen to what the Lord has to say through his chosen prophets for us today. And I do admit that I might (probably?) have Facebook friends who support OW and are just too shy or self conscious to say something.

I agree with those well-written arguments. I have no desire for the priesthood. I have a degree in mechanical engineering, I've served a mission, and I'd like to go back into the workforce when my children are old enough, but I'm okay with never becoming a bishop or a high councilman.

I feel that if it was God's will at this time for women/me to hold the priesthood, I would have a desire to hold it, but the thing is that I don't!

I read a quote from someone from OW that said something like, "We hear about all these spiritual experiences our priesthood leaders are receiving as a result of fulfilling their priesthood duties, and we want them, too!"

Initially, it sounds like a legitimate desire, even that the Church is denying women the ability to grow as close to God as the men can become. However, these women are overlooking an important detail: you don't have to hold the priesthood to have powerful spiritual experiences! And when women are striving to do God's will, they always have spiritual experiences.

So on to my point. There are a lot of good arguments. I could give some myself. However, I have yet to read an article on how the role of women in the church is not only equal to that of the men, but just as, if not more, vital for the success of the church.

I read this quote today, and couldn't agree more:

Are we really the first culture in the history of mankind to fail to grasp the glory and seriousness of motherhood? The pagans deified Maternity and turned it into a goddess. We’ve gone the other direction; we treat it like a disease or an obstacle.

-The Matt Walsh Blog (1)             

My mother, bless her heart, has taught me so much. She taught me the value of hard work. She taught me the value of family. She showed me by example that the gospel of Jesus Christ should be my first priority. She taught me honesty and integrity. She might have even gone a little overboard and caused me to rebel a little! The thing is, though, I would be a very different person without the influence of my mother.

My father has also been a wonderful example, but he was gone at work much of the day when I was growing up. I would not be the person I am today without the influence of my father taking responsibility for our family.

It is awe-inspiring to be entrusted with the great work of preparing future generations for their lives and for eternity. It is amazing to think that I have the power to make my home a Christ-centered home. After the General RS meeting nearly 3 weeks ago, I felt inspired and empowered. I feel like I caught a glimpse of the majesty of womanhood. I am looking forward to understanding more and learning more about the dignity and significance of womanhood as I continue to grow in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The priesthood is important. It's essential! But you know how people joke that women could live in a world without men when we no longer need them to have children? Well, the priesthood is something about men that we will always need.

I think the whole point was summed up rather well by Carole M. Stevens, 1st counselor in the General RS presidency, when she said, "We all need each other. Sons of God need daughters of God, and daughters of God need sons of God."



EDIT:: I understand that this might not be representing my ideas correctly. I'd like to clarify: I am saying we need each other, and that having differing roles for men and women help with that. I won't say that women should never have the priesthood; actually, I think it might be kind of neat--but I'm ok with not having it now. Also, I think that motherhood is one thing that can make womanhood great, but it is NOT the only thing that should make being a woman great. If my children grow up to be good people, then I have had a great success, but I won't feel like I've done all I can. Seriously, if motherhood was all Heavenly Father wanted from us, every woman would have the chance to get married to an amazing man AND have children, and there would be no infertility. He hasn't given every woman that opportunity, so obviously we have other things that He wants us to do.

1. http://themattwalshblog.com/2013/10/09/youre-a-stay-at-home-mom-what-do-you-do-all-day/

How do you think the power of a woman is manifested? Let me know in the comments!

Levi's language explosion, week 4

I think this is the last time I'm going to do one of these, but it's just so fun when he learns a new word!

Levi's new words this week:

Star
Stove (used frequently)
Go!
Thanks ("dei")
Pop

He's also saying a lot more gibberish than usual, and using his words to ask for things more often.

Rosella Marie, you matter. You are not forgotten!

So some of you may know that one of my hobbies is researching my family history. This post is about a really sweet experience I had just last night.

While researching my great-great-grandmother, I ran across what seemed to be a death record for her daughter Rosella. There was only bare-bones information on FamilyTree from people who had researched the family previously--a birth date and place, her name, and that she had passed away "about 1910".

Since I had found a probable death record that indicated that Rosella passed away in 1915, I started to do a little digging. How could I verify this information? Well, I got some help from people that know more about family history than I do and found the full death certificate. Rosella was 9 years old when she passed away from diphtheria, a bacterial disease now mostly eradicated in developed countries because of vaccines. Excited about my new find, I entered in all the new information I had on her, attaching the source to her profile as I went. When I finished, I stopped for a moment and looked at her fleshed-out profile with satisfaction. I looked at her sweet name--Rosella Marie--and was struck by a sudden feeling of joy that she was not forgotten. I felt that Rosella had been waiting and waiting for someone to remember her, to remember her short life in a busy city filled with many people apparently more important than her.

Rosella Marie, you are Important.

Rosella Marie, you are not forgotten.

I remember you.

Language explosion, week 3

Levi is still picking up words, and the pace is staying pretty constant. I'm so happy knowing that he's finally ready to experiment with words and that he has already gained so much. Also, it's good to reinforce the words he has already, and he has been using them consistently. Here are his new words for this week:

Ball
Bus
Bowl
Stick
Moo (like the cow)
Mama (used properly!)
Katie (Dayee instead of Aieee)

I love how you get an idea of what he's interested in by the words he learns. Some of them are determined by the consonants that he can pronounce, but some (like "stick" [said like "tih"] and "Katie") are learned because he just really likes those things.

Levi's favorite words of the ones he knows are "baby" and "bubble". One of the things he loves during his bath is to look at all the bubbles after I soap him up. He excitedly points at the bubbles and exclaims, "Buh-bu!" and it's adorable.

We have a new way of reading books now. Instead of him pointing to pictures and asking, "Issat?" (What's that?), I ask him, "Where is the ____?" and he points to the item I named. He seems a lot more excited about interacting with books when we "read" this way, although he really enjoyed the way we did it before. We have a good time.