My Twilight:Breaking Dawn soap box.

VERY HONEST and maybe graphic.  You've been warned.

I don't think there is anything that will be very surprising about the Breaking Dawn movie.  EVERYONE knows they get married and have sex.  EVERYONE knows about the violence.  What everyone must not know is how this material can affect teens and pre-teens.  They must not know, or there wouldn't be any in the theater!!!

I read the first three books.  I found myself very turned on by each of them and there was no sex in them at all!  My husband didn't realize it was because of my imagination while reading those books I wanted him more often (sorry if too graphic).  What I want to say though is that I had a healthy, beautiful outlet to release that tension my imagination built up through reading those books.

What are these young children supposed to do with this tension?  WHAT?  You mean teens get turned on too?  YES!  And they can be turned on by VERY benign suggestions.  Everyone knows that many young boys and men masturbate or are highly tempted to.  Does everyone know that young women can just as easily masturbate? Do many young women know that that's what they do when they cause their body to reach orgasm?  And THAT is likely only effecting them. 

What about the teens that go have pre-marital sex because they are so turned on?  I've heard sex compared to drinking orange juice and brushing your teeth.  Brushing your teeth is like sex.  If you do it at the wrong time, like before drinking orange juice, it's nasty and leaves you with a nasty taste in your mouth.

Sex after marriage is beautiful, fulfilling, and a strong bonding experience.  It's also incredibly PRIVATE!  I've heard people say this movie is ok because the main characters are married.  Let me know the next time you're having sex.  I'll pop some popcorn, get a soda and sit and watch.  What?  You're married.  It's not a big deal.

If I had the money, I would buy EVERY teen's ticket at twice the value to convince them not to see this movie.  I BEG my young friends to reconsider watching this.  Stand up for your values.  Come up with some excuse.  Maybe your mom won't let you (she really would, but you don't want to) or maybe you want your mind clean for when you go to the temple to participate in baptisms.  Maybe you just have "too much homework" to see it.  BLAME ME if you have to.  I promise you will NEVER regret NOT watching this movie, but I can ALMOST guarantee that you will regret watching it.

Vacation posts

So, the following posts are from our vacation blog.  They are in reverse order, so you'll want to start with the one called Preparations and work your way up the blog.  Have fun!

Last post :)

So, we are back to New Hampshire, spending the night at the Best Western so we can get up EARLY to catch our plane home. We left Prince Edward Island yesterday. We decided we would rather break the drive up, seeing as how we didn't have any plans for Friday anyway. We stayed at a travelodge last night. Our place on PEI was SO much better than that room for the same price. GAG! Oh, well. All we really needed was a place to sleep.

Last night we also went to see the new Pirates movie. I really enjoyed it.

We are SSSSOOOOO ready to come home. Vacations are a lot of fun, but there really is nothing like being in your own home surrounded by family. We miss everyone, especially our precious kiddos.

Tomorrow!!!

Day 6

We went to a quaint little village called Victoria by the Sea today. It was so cute! This is where we found most of our suveniors.

This is the harbor.

The lighthouse on the Eastern most part of the Island.

Someone made this AWESOME sand sculpture. Too bad the head fell off the parrot!

Day 5

We started out our day with a two hour bike ride on the confederation trail. It was a lot of fun on our tandem, but it really took a lot of teamwork!

There are a lot of these lovely lighthouses.

Silly picture opportunity.

Another silly pic.

Pictures of the Island!

So, here are pics of our days thus far :)

This house inspired LM Montgomery's Green Gabels

Remember Anne's haunted forest? This is it!

See? Scarry!!!

Here is where LM is buried.

These are EVERYWHERE on the Island. So cute!

Day 4

And now a word from Chip!

Greetings all,

We finally got the wifi to work so we can now post pics as well. Today we went and got our picture taken Victorian style. We both got to dress up and pose in front of custom settings of the period. I think the pics look great and will be a wonderful way to remember this trip. We also went to Green Gables and saw the place that inspired Lucy Maud to write the Anne stories. The adventure included a walk through the haunted forest and then after we braved that segment we were an hungered and had to eat a blue berry scone.

We then went to a fun park and road go-carts. E did so good, I didn't even lap her... ;) There was a group of Asian young adults there having a grand old time cheering and laughing with each other. We couldn't understand a thing they said but it was fun.

We then went to lunch and had lobster wraps. I was really quite surprised how close the imitation crab we get at Lee's tastes to the lobster I had in my wrap--I hope it was the real thing.... anyway, good to know I can get a good imitation lobster meat anytime. After that we drove and drove and bought some small items.

Traffic has been great, roads nice and clear for the most part and people have been very kind to us tourists. I hope all is well back in the US, I miss you all terribly, lots of love-- "Chip" (aka Daddy, Cool Guy, Captain Awesome, etc.)

Church on the Island

We can't get Chip's computer to log into the wifi here, so we get to do email updates instead. They are from my iPod though, so no pictures. I will post any I get a chance to, but it may not be until we get home. 

We went to the Charlottetown branch today and was such a treat! I feel so blessed to be a part of a church that has worldwide family. We talked to so many kind people. There was a woman there with an 18 year-old autistic son. He was such a sweetheart! His sweetness reminded me of how sweet my kiddos are :) 

There was also a woman there who had a baby nine days after my sweet baby was born. That baby girl was cute and I wished I could show mine off too. Lol!

Yesterday was very long. What should have been a ten hour drive took us 14. We got in about one in the morning local time. We didn't have a chance to stop for groceries like we had wanted to, so we had to o to walmart today to get something to hold us until tomorrow. Can we say Nutella? :D

Preparations

So this is where we will be staying on our trip. Cute eh? I'm really looking forward to being in such a quaint little town. We got our plane tickets yesterday. This is really happening!!! We leave a week from today and get to be gone for ten days!

I'm certain I'm going to missing my kiddos like crazy! Thank goodness for Skype and blogs :)

So, our basic itinerary is we fly out of SLC Friday afternoon and get to Manchester NH by midnight. Then we either get to hang out in the air port for 5 hours, pay a taxi to get to our hotel, or beg the hotel to come get us even though we'll be at least an hour after they've sent their shuttle dude home. Sounds fun?

Saturday we get to drive for 10 1/2 hours to get to Prince Edward Island. Luckily, we'll get to stop at a few places on the way and stretch our legs. I need to find a bunch of podcasts for us to listen too on the drive.

We'll go to the local branch on Sunday. I am really excited for this one! The only other time I've attended a branch was in Italy. We may end that day with a walk on the beach or something simple.

Monday is spent on PEI, Tuesday is Chip's training day in New Brunswick, and then we spend the rest of the week on PEI. We drive back to NH on Saturday and fly home Sunday morning. We're hoping to get back home around 5:30. I'm not exactly sure on times for our flights though.

HOORAY!!!

Update

Yep, I got back out of the habit of updating again. It seems like this always happens after a baby. Speaking of baby...

She's very nearly seven months old now. I can't ever believe it! She is so sweet. We have had so much fun loving on her. We've got her sleeping through the night consistently so life is good. She's got her two bottom teeth and she doesn't like her binkie anymore.

In other news, we went to Prince Edward Island in June for 10 days. It was so wonderful! One of the big draws to to PEI is Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. This house inspired Lucy. It was so beautiful all over the island.

Life is really good :)

I really am loving life right now. Chip and I have a second honeymoon scheduled for this summer and I can hardly wait! We will be going to Prince Edward Island and staying in this sweet little bed and breakfast.

One thing about this trip that I am looking forward to? Chip has a business meeting he has to go to that is about 2 1/2 hours away and will last 3 hours if we're lucky. I get to spend 9, that's right NINE, hours all by myself, doing WHATEVER I want to. Since it IS a vacation, I see myself spending a lot of time reading, sleeping, and hanging out in the double jacuzzi! Also, I may want to spend a little time with the hostess and her daughters. And the cats. She has THREE cats and I think it will be such a treat to have three sweet kitties hanging around me :)

We have all of Wednesday and Thursday to do whatever we want as a couple which will also be spectacular. We're thinking bike riding, canoeing, sightseeing, maybe spend some time at the beach. Pretty much, I'm expecting Heaven. A week of no diaper changing, no cleaning messes, no fighting, no whining, no washing bottles. Yep, Heaven!

I Guess I'm Healing :)

So, after my three miscarriages, I've wanted to do something to memorialize those babies. I kind of wanted to get a ring made with all their birthstones on it, but I didn't know if I should include the month they were due or the month I miscarried them. Even the month they were conceived would be an option. Anyway, I finally found a site that does hand stamped necklaces and birthstones. I really liked them, so I started filling one out, just to see what kind of price I'm looking at.

Shockingly, I can't remember the exact dates anymore. I know that may not sound shocking to some, but it's a rather huge step for me to put them behind me. Now I'm even considering not getting the necklace or a ring. I am so happy with my life at the moment. I have three fabulous children, one of which is a precious baby. My husband is so good to me. I don't know what I ever did to get a guy like him, but I would choose him again in a heartbeat!!!

So, I guess I'm healing. Time really does help heal wounds. Love does a lot of healing as well. Thanks to all my readers that made that painful journey with me. It's so nice to know I'm not alone :)

WOW!

My friend just reached 600 posts on her blog. That's so amazing to me!!! Anyway, she's having a giveaway so check it out here if you're interested. :)

Still flying!

Yes, time is still flying. My baby girl is already three months old and she's so adorable! She's smiling and giggling and...teething??? Yes, I believe it's true. The slobber has begun, occasional crankiness, and loose stools. My poor baby! Her brother started teething this early, so it's not entirely unexpected. However, this a huge indicator that she's growing up too fast!!!

She's been sleeping through the night occasionally for the past 3 weeks. This past week, she's been sleeping every other night. What's great is that's my night "on duty"!!! Poor Chip is getting up at 3:30 or 4 am every other night for a feeding. He's such a good daddy/hubby!!!

4 weeks

Wow! Time is already flying by. How can I take these moments and keep them forever? I love being able to snuggle her. I love her little sounds and movements. We are all so in love with her.

Isn't she lovely?

Our baby girl got to come home from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon. She's been such a delight! I don't even mind the spit up and poopy diapers...yet ;)

Little Surprises

So, Tuesday night I awoke several times with contractions. Every time I thought to time them, I'd look at the clock...and then fall asleep. I had no idea what time the last one had been.

Wednesday morning Chip and I woke up. I told him about the contractions and we had a good laugh about it. Then we went into the bathroom and I noticed that my mucus plug had come out. CRAZY!!! Well, everything I've heard about the mucus plug says that it could be a couple of days or weeks before delivery, so I wasn't too concerned. However, I started having some pretty serious contractions and they seemed regular, although I never really timed them. Chip was supposed to go on a business trip that day. We finally decided he should stay home and we should go to the hospital.

But first, we had to get sis to school and buddy to Chip's parents. So we waited until about 8:30 to go in. I was nervous that the contractions were going to stop and they'd send us back home. We got to the hospital and got checked in. After getting in my lovely gown and onto the bed, my nurse checked me to see how far along I was. I was already at 5 centimeters. I was half way there! So, I got the epidural a bit later and then a little after that, she was here!!!

That's right, I had my baby girl 3 weeks and 2 days early. 6 lbs. 8 oz. and 18 inches long. She is so beautiful. I don't think she looks much like my other two babies. She has her own look. After she was born, they couldn't get her to cry she was moving and breathing but not crying or breathing deep enough. They got her cleaned up and handed her to me for a minute. Then Chip and my mother got a quick snuggle and she was off to the NICU. She's been there ever since.

Her white blood cell count is too high and she may have an infection. I said MAY. We have no idea as nothing is showing up on the other blood test that would show a definite infection. Basically she's in there just in case something is wrong. They are giving her antibiotics and drawing her blood every morning to see if her cells are normal or not. So, we are waiting for the dr to call us one morning and say "She's great! Take her home!" We thought we'd hear those words today, but that was not the case. I know she's where she should be. I would hate for something to flare up here at home and us not know anything until it was too late. It's still disappointing though to have to go visit her up at the hospital. We want her home with us :(

Welcome to the family, Baby Girl!!!