An uplifting night of blog-stalking...

Well, I am sitting at home sick as a dog... waiting for my husband to get home from work to take care of me... and blog-stalking people like crazy! During all this I ran across a blog with a few awesome quotes about building a testimony that made me want to read more. I stumbled across this full article put together by the Relief Society Presidency that made me smile and want to evaluate my own testimony! You can skip this article if you want... this is mostly for me so I can always have a quick way to refer back to this cool article. But... if you do decided to read it, I hope you love it as much as I did!

(PS - Please be patient with me... I have LOTS of fun updates and pictures on the way, I promise!! I just need to find my camera!)

DON'T REMINISCE

"It is not a travelogue."— President Spencer W. Kimball

DON'T GIVE A SPEECH

"A testimony is not an exhortation; a testimony is not a sermon, none of you are there to exhort the rest."

"The moment you begin preaching to others, your testimony ended."— President Spencer W. Kimball

DON'T BORROW OR RELY ON THE TESTIMONY OF OTHERS — FOR LONG

You will not be able to stand on borrowed light when you face hardship and temptation.— President Harold B. Lee

"I do not want men to come to me or my brethren for testimony as to the truth of this work; but let them take the scriptures of divine truth."— President Brigham Young

DON'T GO ON — AND ON

"It is amazing what you can say in 60 seconds by way of testimony, or 120, or 240, or whatever time you are given, if you confine yourselves to testimony."— President Spencer W. Kimball

DON'T JUST SIT THERE

"You possess a testimony; share it. Never underestimate the far-reaching influence of your testimony."— President Thomas S. Monson

"Oh, if I could teach you this one principle, a testimony is to be found in the bearing of it."— President Boyd K. Packer

DON'T GO ALL LILY-LIVERED WHEN YOU STAND TO TESTIFY

"Some of us are naturally reserved and timid about bearing our testimony with words. Perhaps we should not be so timid."— President James E. Faust

THERE ARE FOUR ABSOLUTES ABOUT WHICH IT IS ALWAYS APPROPRIATE TO TESTIFY:

The first is that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior, the Mediator and Redeemer of the world.

The second is that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.

The third is that all of the Presidents of the Church since Joseph Smith have been successors in that power and authority.

The fourth is that President (Thomas S. Monson) is the only prophet of God upon the earth, holding all of the keys, powers, and authorities of the Church in the earth today.— President James E. Faust

DO BE SIMPLE

"The bearing of a testimony is akin to a declaration of love. Romantics, poets and couples in love ... have sought more impressive ways of saying, singing or writing it. ... And when all is said and done, the declaration which is most powerful is the simple, three-word variety. To one who is honestly seeking, the testimony borne in these simple phrases is enough, for it is the spirit that beareth record, not the words."— President Boyd K. Packer

DO NOURISH YOUR TESTIMONY

"Testimony is as elusive as a moonbeam; it's as fragile as an orchid; you have to recapture it every morning of your life."— President Harold B. Lee

"You have to fight for a testimony. You have to keep fighting!"— President Spencer W. Kimball

AND REMEMBER:

"If you are bored at a testimony meeting, there is something the matter with you, and not the other people."— President Spencer W. Kimball

"A testimony is not thrust upon you; a testimony grows. ... Let it grow, help it grow, but do not force it or you will open the way to be misled."— President Boyd K. Packer

The results are in...

55% of you wonderful readers were right on the money!!!!!!!!

It's a......

BOY!!!

Sorry this picture is so blurry, but I took it with my phone! If you look right next to the arrow you will see a perfect little set of boy parts!

Logan and I are so excited, and I don't think we have been able to stop smiling since we got home from our ultrasound this afternoon!

More ultrasound pictures and updates coming soon!

Bun in the oven!

I have 3 words for you... LIFE IS GREAT!

I love being pregnant and I never could have imagined that I would enjoy it all this much! I am 17 weeks along now and I'm getting so excited to start feeling this little one move around inside me. I'm pretty blessed that I haven't had to deal with being very sick, but I have been super tired 95% of the time. I feel like I can't get enough sleep! I have had a few cravings, but nothing too crazy... I usually just want some french fries from Dairy Queen, or a turkey sandwich. I'm sure though that the farther along I get, the more I am going to crave! My belly is slowly making it's debut and I am in desparate need of a shopping trip for some new shirts! I can't wait until I actually look like I'm pregnant instead of looking like I have a "food" baby all the time. Logan has been so great at taking care of me through all of this.. He is SOOO excited to be a dad and is doing everything he can to help me prepare for the little one to get here. I know without a doubt that he is going to be an INCREDIBLE dad! We are going in to find out the gender on Friday and I am so pumped! I can't wait!!!! If you are reading this go ahead and vote "boy" or "girl" on the poll on the right hand side of our blog! I want to know what you think this baby is going to be! I'll be sure to keep you all updated on this pregnancy and I will definately blog about the gender news on Friday!

Wanna know a secret!?

I'M PREGNANT!!!

Logan and I are going to be welcoming our first beautiful Cooper baby

into the world on...

December 5th, 2010

Whoo-hoo!

Wow...! Its feels so good to finally get that off my chest! ;)

All grown up

Last night I helped my little sister get ready for her last high school dance ever! My mom did her hair and I did her make-up, and I must say that she looked B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! I'm so amazed with the awesome and wonderful young woman that she has matured into.

This is Kalee and her handsome date! They look pretty snazzy huh?

A here they are on their way to dinner...

I hope that little convertable didn't mess up her hair!

The small things...

I have been so caught up in planning for our future lately that I have been forgetting about all of the fun stuff that is going on RIGHT NOW! So here is a quick recap of our kinda boring lives!

We did a little fishing...

Logan finally took his new fly rod out on its first fly fishing journey! We couldn't have done it though without the help of my awesome brother Cory and his wonderful wife Katelyn. We always have so much fun with them! Don't we look so cute in our dorky waders and boots?

Logan finished up another year at BYU-I with flying colors...

I'm still working like crazy and enjoying it...

Logan studied his bum off for the MCAT which lead to...

A fun filled and stressful trip to Boise to take the MCAT! We dropped Kalu off with his favorite Aunt Katelyn and Uncle Cory on Friday and started the 4 hour journey to Boise. On the way I gave Logan the good luck present I made for him... A little book to remind him how much I love him!

We rolled into Boise at about 4:00pm and went right over to check into our hotel. After that we went to find the MCAT testing center, and to time how long it would take Logan to get there on Saturday morning (we wanted to make sure there wasn't any reason for him to be late!). As soon as we were done we went over and had a wonderful dinner together at The Macaroni Grill, went back to the hotel and tried to fall asleep early. But between the nerves and the really loud kids stomping up and down the stairs all night long, Logan didn't get as much sleep as he wanted! After a rough night, I wished Logan luck and sent him on his way to take the most important test of his life so far. Four and a half hours later he walked back into our hotel room looking exhausted and worn out. Now all we have to do is wait for a whole month to get Logan's scores back... This is going to be the longest month ever! We spent the rest of the weekend shopping and spending time with family and just enjoying our time together without work or school in the way!

Our lives are really taking some big steps and Logan and I can't wait! We just have to remember to take it slow and enjoy the small things along the way too!

DOOMS-DAY!

Well tomorrow is D-day.... Logan takes the dreaded MCAT tomorrow and we are both a little nervous for it! We are in Boise right now and Logan is getting more crazy and nervous by the minute! (I'm running out of things to distract him with!!) Keep Logan in your prayers and wish him luck... this test is going to determine the next few years of our life!

-Sorry this is so short... I promise you all a big long post when I get back home to Idaho Falls! :)