What we believe: Prayer

Tony says: 

Prayer is difficult. Not that saying a prayer is hard. Anyone can say the words of a prayer. But to truly pray is a challenge. To know what to pray for is a challenge. To pray with faith is a challenge. To have confidence in getting answers is a challenge. I have found that my concerns day-to-day don't tend to change much. And that makes avoiding repetition a challenge.

Despite the challenges, or perhaps because of them, prayer is very important to me. I have found that some kinds of prayers get answered more readily than others. Prayers for others. Prayers for truth. Prayers to know how to serve better. Prayers for our children.

The number one prayer that God is willing to answer for us is when we ask what to pray for. There are blessings we could receive if only we would ask. And if God lets us know by His Spirit what we should pray for, then we will automatically have confidence and faith in that prayer being answered.

I go to God most readily when I have great need. But I have found that I must reach out to others in need or my prayer is useless. How can I ask for help from God if I'm unwilling to help others? I have never had much money, but not every need others have is financial. So time or companionship or physical labor are all ways I try to serve others. When I serve others, I help God answer their prayers. Then my prayers become more meaningful and are answered more clearly and quickly.

Jer Lin says:

Do you ever feel like no one's listening?  Or if they are, that they just don't understand?

I think everyone feels this way at some point in their life.  Unfortunately, we forget that there is always someone listening and that He always understands.  We are children of God.  He loves us and is concerned for us.

I think it is wonderful that the Savior understands all.  He experienced it all.  He understood what it felt like to be alone when He was on the cross and said, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46).  Perhaps He felt like no one was listening, even as He cried out in prayer, but God was listening.  He could have caused Christ's suffering to stop, but He had a greater plan.  Sometimes when it seems like God isn't answering our prayers, it is because He has a greater plan for us.

I have come to know my Heavenly Father through prayer. When I pray to Him, I feel as though he is listening to me and not just superficially, but eagerly! He, in turn, responds to me through the feelings of my heart. I feel peace and love and understanding when I pray to my Father in Heaven.

Momma's Gonna be a Nurse Someday!

Hooray for nursing school!  This is me and Hyrum on my "first" day of nursing school.  I say "first" because it was the first day I got to put on scrubs and wear my nifty little stethoscope around my neck.  I'm not gonna lie, I think the wine/white scrubs are classy.  I'm not gonna lie, I'm terrified of sitting in something and ruining my white pants.  Classy can turn disastrous real quick, let me tell ya.  

 

I'm loving nursing school.  Wednesdays are not so great, but overall I love being in class.  I love lab.  We've practiced therapeutic communication, vital signs, changing an occupied bed, "peri care", how to transfer patients,  catheter care, and much more.  I love the things I'm learning.  Pharmacology is going to be a tough class, but I think it'll be engaging and applicable. 

Blood pressure is a lot harder than it looks.  I have to pass out of it Tuesday.  I need to find some people to terrorize so that I can master it.  Dad?  Bryton?  Tony's already been forced to be my patient and Hyrum's a fun little guy too!  No blood pressure for him, but holy cow is his heart rate fast!  Almost too fast to count.

I'm glad I'm going back to school, even though a cute little guy put it on hold for a little while.  I'm glad that I've found nursing to be enjoyable so far.  I think I made the right decision in a career path.  I always wondered if I was enough of a people person to be a nurse, but I've found that if I tell myself I can do it, I can do it.  And for my high school counselor and everyone else who has told me I should be a doctor, not a nurse... BLEH!  I love nursing.  I wouldn't want to be a doctor for anything.  I'ma gonna be a nurse someday!

A Dozen Holy Places

While in Utah, Tony and I were able to go to the Provo Temple.  Hooray for Grandma Brown and Aunt Whitney for watching Hyrum for the morning.  

It was a sun-shiny morning and there were missionaries everywhere!  Provo may not be everyone's favorite temple because it's an older style and not as "pretty" as some, but Provo is where my parents met, so they were on my mind while we were there.

Provo was the twelfth temple that Tony and I have been to together.  A dozen holy places.  A dozen houses of God.  We love temples.  Brigham Young said this about temples...

"We enjoy the privilege of entering into a temple, built to the name of God, and receiving the ordinances of his house...we also enjoy the privilege of administering for our fathers and mothers, our grandfathers and grandmothers, for those who have slept without the Gospel...

To accomplish this work there will have to be not only one temple but thousands of them, and thousands and tens of thousands of men and women will go into those temples and officiate for people who have lived as far back as the Lord shall reveal"  (Discourses of Brigham Young).

We love to visit the temple and we are so excited for the Gilbert Temple and the Phoenix Temple that will be completed very soon.  Did you know that if you aren't a member, you can go inside these temples before they are dedicated?  If you'd like to go, ask us about it!  We'd love to go with you, maybe even go out for ice cream too!

Bumbo Seat

Have you heard of the wonderful invention they call the Bumbo Seat? They're these neat little seats that support babies who can't sit up on their own. I love mine. My wonderful visiting teacher gave me hers now that her kids are done with it. Thanks, Jo!   P.S.  Don't judge.  Hyrum's Bumbo is purple, but you get what you get and you don't throw a fit.  We're teaching him early.

Anyways, Hyrum gets tired of his swing and tummy time or whatever else I try to make him do when I need two hands, so the Bumbo Seat is perfect. He just sits on the counter next to me while I do my hair or on the kitchen table while Husband and I eat breakfast.  Check it out!

HOWEVER!  I have found a flaw...  When said cute child named Hyrum  decides to fill his pants, he cannot help but fill his Bumbo Seat.  We learned the hard way two mornings in a row.  I know he's just testing me, to make sure that I was paying attention to the demonstration on "peri care" this week in lab.  Unfortunately, this morning I was silly enough to get him all dressed up and cute for the day and then put him in his Bumbo Seat.  Bad idea.  He went from cute to poop.  I was happy.  Luckily, the Bumbo Seat is easy to clean...maybe they foresaw such instances.

In other baby news, our little boy ain't so little anymore.  He weighs 16 pounds 10 ounces and is 2 foot 3".   He's so big he's wearing Daddy's belt buckle.  Looks like a true Texan if you ask me.  Either that or a Luna boy...who else wears Wranglers to church?

The other big news is the upgrade to rice cereal for breakfast and dinner.  He makes his fair share of funny faces when he's getting started, but by the end he can't get enough of it.  He gets mad if you don't shovel it in fast enough.  Oh, and as a side note, the poop explosion in the Bumbo seat this morning was post bath.  He decided to make breakfast an especially messy occasion and needed a good scrub down. 

 

I love being a mother.  I can't believe I smile through some of this stuff, but I truly enjoy my little boy.  I wouldn't trade him for anything in the whole world.  Just to help you understand why, here's one more picture.  I was sitting on the floor reading for class the other day and I looked over to see this...

"Oh no, Momma!  What do I do?!"

All Together Again

Our last big hurrah before school started was a trip to Utah to be with Tony's side of the family.  It wasn't just the Browns, but aunts, uncles, and cousins from the Burgess side of the family as well.  Everyone came from far and wide (Texas, Arizona, Oregon, Utah) until we were all together again.  It was wonderful to see everyone.  It was fun to finally have the two babies together, as well.

Hyrum is one big boy compared to Miss Jacie Lynn.

It was fun to hold Jacie Lynn.  I almost forgot how small babies can be! 

Grandma and Grandpa Brown were glad to see their grandkids again.

The whole group. (Run, Kemp, run!)

We took a four mile hike to Stewart Falls.  It was beautiful!

 

Hyrum was a trooper and didn't complain at all!  He would make a good pioneer baby.

 

What a handsome guy I married!!

 

Cousins!

 

We stayed at a beautiful cabin near Sundance.

Jailbirds.

It was a successful week up in Utah.  Some other highlights included Tony's bike ride up Provo Canyon to Bridal Veil Falls, ice cream from SubZero (they freeze it with liquid nitrogen), family pictures, a temple trip to Provo, good food, and good fun.  Can't wait to see the Browns again at Christmas!

What do you make time for?

Honestly, I thought blogging would go out the window when school started. How are you supposed to make time to read 1000+ pages a day, much less blog about it? How are you supposed to make time to spend with Husband, make time to do laundry, make time to make dinner, make time to make time to make time to make time to blog about it? Fortunately, while making time to study and practice and demonstrate therapeutic communication, I discovered therapeutic blogging. Just blogging about it is a stress reliever. So, amid all the things I have to make time for, blogging is going to be at the top of the list, even if I have to do it at 9 o'clock, after The Boy is fed and I still have homework to do and I'm missing Husband.

Let's move on...

Embarrassing moment of the day: being whistled at, promptly followed by a "Hey sweet thang!" as I walked to the lightrail this morning. Someone please tell Tony there are more appropriate ways to express love. (Note: even if it was totally embarrassing, I was glad to know he loves me.)

I feel like I accomplished a lot today. That's not always easy, even when you have a lot that NEEDS to be done. Have I ever explained the phenomenon that exists within my brain? "Accomplishing a lot" has nothing to do with the number of tasks I complete, but the proportion of tasks I complete. If all I need to do on a particular day is shower, read my scriptures, and love my boys, and I do all of that, I've "accomplished a lot." If on another particular day I need to shower, read my scriptures, love my boys, read 1000+ pages, catch up on laundry, clean the bathroom, go grocery shopping, call the in-laws, take the truck to the shop, go to a doctor appointment, bake a cheesecake AND get to sleep before 11, and I complete 6 of those tasks (twice as much as the first particular day, but only half of the total number of tasks) I have "accomplished nothing!" Luckily, today was one of those high total tasks, high proportion kind of days.

Tomorrow is lab day. Bring on the vital signs, bedpans, and catheter care! That means I get to wear my awesome scrubs and be gone all day. Hyrum gets to go to Jo's house. I'm grateful that I leave him with Tony and Tony is responsible for taking him to Jo's. I don't think I could do it. I hate that I have to leave Hyrum for so long, but I'm grateful for everyone who helps us out. I want to finish my education. The high school valedictorian can't be a college drop out, right? Right.

I guess that's enough for today. I can only make so much time. The end.

100 Things

Eternally Brown, the blog, was born on Oct. 17, 2009. If you'd like, you can read the cheesy goodness from way back then. That was almost two years ago... What. The. Heck?

So, a little less than two years later, we're writing our 100th blog post. It's a big deal...if not to you, it is to me. It's kinda like in kindergarten when you finally learn to count to 100 and you celebrate with a day of 100 things. You bring a little ziploc with 100 pennies you counted all by yourself. You get to glue 100 Cheerios to a piece of paper. Like I said. Big deal. [Just as a side note, I think the phrase "big deal" has been meandering its way into my blogging vocabulary quite a bit in the last few weeks. I apologize. I can't help it if everything is a big deal.]

So how do you celebrate 100 blog posts?? Pennies and Cheerios or should it be a little more up-scale? I don't know... Quarters and Fruit Loops? I think we'll stick to a regular update. That's what you get when I blog from downtown Phoenix.

Jeri Lin: I'm loving the nursing program. I feel special walking around in my scrubs, even if the pants are white and I'm terrified of sitting in something. My "learning community" (D1 and Only) is really fun. We're all young girls, although I have to admit... I feel really old in comparison, since I'm married with a baby. Ruth is our faculty member. She's a lot of fun. Blunt. Tough. Fantastic. It's going to be a fun semester.

Tony: Seminary is harder than he expected. It's one thing to walk into someone's class and teach for two weeks and a-whole-nother ballgame when you have two classes of your very own. He's doing a spectacular job, learning a lot, and we're looking forward to the student teacher in-services. I'm even invited to some of them. :)

Hyrum: He's rolling rolling rolling! He finally figured it out. It's a lot of fun. He's a well behaved boy for Daddy and Grannie and the other baby-sitters while Momma is at school. We love that he's such a happy boy!

One step at a time.
One blog post at a time.