First Belly shots!! 16 weeks

I thought it was probably time to start documenting my belly, despite having lost weight (about 5 pound from where I was when I took the pregnancy test) my tummy has made a rather grand arrival... so here it is!

I would like to say that my dress is hiding my toes as much as my belly is... or at least that is what i tell myself

I think this kid may like attention as much as his/her mother does... "look at me everyone! I'm in here in case you hadn't heard already!"... of all my traits I don't know if thats the best one for my kids to inherit! :(

Sixteen weeks! almost halfway there!!!

So last weekend I took off and left poor David on his own:( Poor man he gets so sad when I leave him like that. I went down to Richfield with my Grandma Keele to watch my cousin Kylee compete in a Jr Miss pageant. It was tons of fun to sit and visit with my Grandma and talk about pregnancy and infants and learn from her. Also spending time with my Uncle Ric and Aunt Jen and their girls is always fun. As I get closer and closer to becoming a mother myself I pay much closer attention to the good examples of parents in my life and see what it is about their parenting style I like so much. With each it is something different and I am so lucky to have so many examples of righteous parenting in my family that I worry less about knowing what to do and more about executing it. Any way the big thing I learn every time I am with Ric and Jenn is how much each of those little girls know that their mommy and daddy love them completely. They are constantly reminded of how beautiful and talented they are and how much mom and dad love them and are willing to sacrifice to make sure they have the chance to do all the good things they want to. I hope that is something I will be able to emulate with my children by constantly reminding them beyond a doubt how wonderful and loved they are. Any who, Kylee did an amazing job in the pageant (she didn't place but pulled off a stunning and very poised performance). We were all so proud of her, I don't know if I would have been able to do what she did when I was thirteen, but she rocked! While I was there Jenn turned me on to some vitamins and meds that really helped her with morning sickness, I got them approved by my doctor and am feeling so much better its a miracle. For anyone out there struggling with morning sickness check out "Spray 4 Life: Vitamin B Complex" which you can find at most health food stores, that combined with a Unisom at night is an amazing thing (of course make sure its okay with your doctor first buy mine said it was fine and so did my Uncle the pharmacist). So now that I have been feeling better I have finally started getting caught up on all the house work that had fallen behind while I was dying. It feels so good to get up and be able to move with out throwing up every few hours. Friday we went to our 16 week appointment. David and I were both a little nervous when the doctor had a hard time finding the heartbeat but once he did it was really loud and strong (the doctor said that sometimes babies get shy and try to hide from him). He said that the heartbeat was about 150 so we are really excited. Everything is looking really good and all the blood work came back great! But the most exciting part of the day was scheduling the Ultrasound! We get to see our baby for the first time on July 13th! I still think this baby is a girl and David is convinced that its a boy, we have a dinner riding on it, but I'm going to win so he should just get over it! In other news my brother Clark is hitting the year mark on his mission this week! I am so proud of him for all he is doing and sacrificing to serve the Lord. I can't believe its already been a year since we dropped him off at the MTC... or that in only a year I'll be packing up baby to drive out for his homecoming (I informed David that I'm going out and taking our child, he's welcome to come if he wants..lol). Okay wow I have written a lot. Well over and out!

Nesting... Oh dear...

So things have been 'fun' in the Pelon house these days.  On Friday we got to hear the babies heartbeat, which was amazing!  David got to be there with me and both of us were amazed by the tiny little heartbeat.  Not going to lie it sounded more like I had an upset stomach than a heartbeat, but I still teared up a little bit.  I did get in a little trouble with the doctor because I'd lost 3 pounds since my last appointment, so the doctor gave strict orders to "Get bigger, and feel better."   Well apparently little Pelon doesn't like being told what to do because the morning sickness has doubled to the point I consider myself lucky if I can hold down 500 calories and 1/3 cup of water in a day.  Needless to say I've dropped even more weight and am very low energy.  Then tonight I woke up at 1 am with a nasty stomach ache and a irrepressible need to scrub the shower walls and ceiling.  I think that I had a serious bout of nesting to say the least.  Yes it was nice to get something done but the nagging obsessive feeling was less than fun and cleaning products do very unpleasant things to an already upset digestive system.  Oh well, baby will be/is worth all this.  I can do it!
Over and out!

Little Pelon on the way!!

Dear world, we are pleased to announce that sometime around November 27, 2011 a new member of our family will arrive!  I'm about nine weeks pregnant and we are really excited to be expecting.  Despite morning sickness and all the other nasties that go with early pregnancy we can not wait for the little one to get here.  We are hoping for a boy *fingers crossed* but will be happy either way.  Names are picked out and pretty much set in stone (as David says it would take angelic interference to get us to change).  So in about seven months either David Jeffrey or Rachel Elizabeth will join our family.  Hopefully baby cuteness and pictures will help make me a better blogger... we'll see!

Picture of the Pee stick! It's hard to see but I promise there are two lines!

So Proud of my Missionary Brother!

My brother Clark is on a mission and one of his investigators wrote a letter to the Ensign.   We are so proud of him and all his good work, so here is the article... maybe we will see it again in the Ensign.. who knows

Confession of a Baby-Boomer (by Romeo Prado III)

Every day “Laptop,” my 3-yr old min pin and I walk for one hour at Cortez Park in Phoenix, Arizona. One breezy morning I suddenly pulled his leash as he was about to “bless” the foot of an olive tree. My rude interruption was moved by the sight of a pocket-size reproduction of Del Parson’s “He is Risen” painting which I saw at the foot of that often-blessed tree. I picked it up, placed it in my pocket and continued our walk. 

On the way back home I was able to read without my eyeglasses these words printed in large font at the back of the card: Faith in Christ can help you resolve personal and family challenges. A toll-free 800 number was also printed to request for a free DVD. It was only after asking for the DVD that I read the fine print at the bottom of the card: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I do not regret that call. For me it was the beginning of many baby steps that now challenge me to make a quantum leap of faith. 

As a baby-boomer with a chronological advantage over the “punk” generation of today, and who is proud of having read the Bible at least once from cover to cover, my questions proved challenging to the two young LDS missionaries who visited me shortly after viewing the DVD. One of the them, named “Elder Young,” is literally one year older than his companion, Elder Keele who, however, is five months his senior as a missionary in my area in Arizona. 

What impressed me during their twice-a-week visit is their enviable zeal. These men are not paid at all. They pay for their own ride and room and board. With the patience of Job, they try to answer every tough question I hurl at them without mercy. Later, to console them, I told them something that would embarrass members of my own faith group. I sincerely said that putting aside our differing images of God, I could already count at least eight things I admire in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They are :

1) their emphasis on the family, not only in this life but also in the next
2) their specific ideas about eternal life, 
3) their great respect for the temple,
4) their universal outlook, seeing the good in the world and in humanity, 
5) their desire to save the souls of their beloved dead, 
6) their systematic work for the underprivileged and needy among themselves and in the general public, 
7) their seriousness in following Christ’s commandments especially chastity and honesty, and, 
8) their detachment from the allurements of money, alcohol, tobacco and a life of ease. 

As I see Elder Young and Elder Keele going about their missionary rounds dressed in their black pants and white shirt with a tie, standing out as heralds of the good news of salvation on two wheels, in season and out of season, I ask myself this question, “Do they know something I don’t?” 
I’ve always considered myself a happy person, so when I see another person happier than me, I would like to ask that person, “What’s your secret?”



Part 2

The gospel records that when Jesus sent his disciples to prepare people for his coming he told them to go in twos, that they also eat what is offered to them. This the two missionaries did one late afternoon. After sharing with me a simple meal, Elder Young showed me his secret. He got a gadget from his pocket which I thought was a whistle. It was a bubble-maker. He said that kids laugh whenever he uses it. 

What a simple gadget to make children laugh! I’ve seen children play with electronic toys of games. Alone and for hours they are glued to their gadgets, with the seriousness of a soldier shooting down an enemy. I seldom hear the laughter of children now, or see them play as children. How true it is that heaven is exclusively for children or adults with a childlike heart!

It is indeed refreshing to be reminded that unless we become children we cannot enter the kingdom of God. Now, going back to the things I like about the Mormons, I can enumerate eight more things, not necessarily lined up according to importance, which are:


1) Their unity. They seem to be united in mind and heart,
2) They remind me of the early primitive Church,
3) Their devotion to Christ,
4) Their simplicity of life,
5) The involvement of all members in the activities of their Church
6) Their intensive and continuous formation
7) The one-on-one attention given to children and spouses in the family
8) Their all-volunteer membership (they even pay their dues), making it easier to be detached from money, and their Church to be well-supported for religious and charitable purposes.

I hope I continue to learn from Elder Young and Elder Keele as I enjoy my sunset years. 

New Year, New Life

     Well its been way too long.  We had a great holiday season in the Pelon house.  End of October we moved out of grandma's house and into our new apartment at Wymount.  We love living in our own place.  It has been especially fun having a place of our own to decorate for the holiday season.
     We spent the Thanksgiving weekend with mom and dad in Porterville and were able to be a part of the pie party which brought David even more into the family through another family tradition.
     We spent a quiet Christmas at home.  My family came out for New Years Eve and we were able to show off our new apartment.

     In other news I have gradated BYU!! I am officially a college graduate!! Yeah! Not only that but I have a job working as a substitute teacher for the Provo school district! yeah for tender mercies!!

Well over and out!

Great Weekend!!

  Its been a couple of weeks since I wrote.  Dang it.
  This weekend has been great! Friday David's mom and brother came out from Springfield to bring us some furniture for our new apartment.  We got a couch, china cabinet, table, chairs, and  a bunch of other cool stuff.  We are so grateful for them.  It was great to see them!  David also took me to Divine Comedy that night.  For those who don't know Divine Comedy is the BYU sketch comedy troop.  This time their main sketch was called "Reception" making fun of the movie "Inception" and marriage/dating at BYU.
    Saturday night BYU FINALLY won another football game! YEAH!!! We were babysitting my cousin Bryce during the game.  He was less than happy that his mom and dad had left him with us.  But it all worked out well and we hope we get to watch him again soon.  He's pretty cute!
    Today we taught our last Family History class in our ward and were released from our calling.  Its bitter sweet.  We are happy to be moving into our own place but we are going to miss this ward.  We have been so blessed with a loving and supportive ward.  We will miss them all deeply.  After church we booked it down to Richfield for my new cousin Ali's blessing.  David got to stand in the circle.  It was great to see all the family!
    Over and Out.