Trivial Matters

I know I haven't posted in a long time, and I seriously doubt anyone reads this little blog anymore. Yet I want to use this blog as a way to track growth and progress in my little family, and in myself. So this post isn't my usual catch up on what we have been up to. This is more for me to get my thoughts out on a topic I think about a lot, and one that has been on my mind a lot recently. Without trying to be too vague on what is happening in our life, I have been thinking a lot about success.  

When will I finally feel like I have "made it" so to speak, and when will I finally no longer have the desire to have more? When will enough truly be enough? When can I rest and think, gosh I achieved everything I had a desire for? 

The more I think about this topic, I find the answer to be really simple.  If we are working to acquire more, it will never be enough.

"There are two ways to get enough; One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less" G.K  Chesterton

I probably sound crazy writing about this, but I am writing in my little blog to remind myself of this, because I do not want money to ever change who I am as a person. Money is just that, it's money. Having more or less of it, will never make me more or less of a person.  There is not one person who is better then me because of their income, and vice versa. My greatest desire is that my children grow up with a strong testimony in the gospel in the church and live a happy life.

Money is viewed as the ultimate success, yet the more I have of it, it does not make me happier. I want to review my progress in life by less tangible aspects such as clothing, jewelry, cars etc. I would rather review how I have grown by my family, my friendships, health and how I am able to spend my leisure time. 

I am getting to a point in my life where I could care less if people find me or my lifestyle as impressive. I am who I am, and what you see is what you get. Even if my material possessions are not the latest or greatest, that is okay. You know why, because I actually own my cars, my furniture, my education is paid for and that to me is the greatest peace I can have. To not worry and stress over payments and when will the next piece of technology come out, or how can I post this on my feed for people to see. I also think it is important to have this perspective to remember to help those who do need it. Because honestly the less I need and desire, the more I can use my blessings to help others. 

The stress and anxiety of bigger and better is not worth it to me. I would rather spend time with my family in a modest house that is paid for, then to live in a big home furnished with expensive furniture and clothes that I would be too afraid to actually "live" in. People and experience are more important then things. If I have lost that perspective, then I have lost a sense of who I am! 

Yesterday I had a "bad" day, that was truly laughable. I was upset over such trivial first world problems. As I complained to Brett over how awful my day was, it hit me. If this is what is considered a "bad" day, then you are truly blessed Afton. We have been blessed with health, a cute home, our education and wonderful jobs that allow us both to spend time our beautiful daughter. We never have to worry about clothing, food, money or safety. 

"Sometimes I wonder if all the purchases we make throughout life begin to add up against us in ways we don't fully comprehend. We purchase. We collect. We organize. And while we believe we can successfully manage all of our possessions without intrusion into our lives, I wonder if we've actually sacrificed far more than we realize." Joshua Becker

I do not want to look back on my life and my children miss the purpose or mission of why we are here. It will break my heart if their desire to impress and have it all is more then helping others and living modestly. There is really nothing as impressive as being comfortable in your own skin, in your own situation and living within your means. That is when you are in control of your life. When you do not let your salary, possessions and money own you.  

Newborn Pictures

When baby C was a week old we had newborn photos taken. I felt like it was my reward for working right up until her delivery. (My last day at work was Thursday and I had her Tuesday.) I am so glad we got them because they turned out beautiful. When baby C began to become a tough baby to deal with (I will write more on that later.) I would look back on her photos and remind myself how pretty she was and that it was all worth it. Here are some of our favorites!

 Here she is in her blessing dress my grandma handmade for my mom. My mom was blessed in this dress as well as my sister and I. My sister then blessed her girls in this dress and now our baby was blessed in this dress.

Our Sweet Baby

For privacy reasons we aren't going to post our baby's name. If you would like to know though, do feel free to contact us! I guess I am a little paranoid about posting her information on such a public setting :) 

 Brett waiting for baby while watching Indiana Jones and eating his daddy care package.

 Me waiting while eating ice chips. How lame is that?

 Checking the baby and making sure she was healthy.

 Grandma Bigelow holding her for the first time.

 Grandma Burton holding her for the first time.

 Grandpa Burton holding her for the first time.

Brett getting her ready to take her home.

Her first night sleeping at home.

I cannot express how in love we are with this little baby. She is everything to us and we are so blessed she is in our family!

Finishing Up the Third Trimester

I guess since our baby is now two months old, I should finish putting up my pregnancy photos! Needless to say we have been busy with our sweet baby. No worries though, I am working on an update. 

Baby Showers!

Little Baby Burton is so loved already! She doesn't know how blessed she is. We had three different showers thrown for our sweet baby and it felt so nice to be loved and appreciated. My sister Briahna and Brett's grandma threw a shower for my side of the family in Utah. The girls in my neighborhood threw a shower for our ward and Idaho friends. While Brett's Aunt Debbie and cousin Courtney threw a shower for his side of the family. Here is a quick recap of each shower with not so great quality photos from my phone.

Utah Shower

My nephew G was so cute and made that sign out of Legos! It took him a long time and we left it out because it was so nice that he wanted to help decorate for the shower. We had lots of good food, and it was fun to see my cousins and aunts since I haven't seen them all since Christmas. I was 32 weeks along at this shower and really should have taken more pictures.

Neighborhood Shower

The girls in my neighborhood were so awesome to throw Baby Burton a shower and they did such a good job. There was lots of food, cute decorations and wonderful gifts! One of my favorites was from one of the little girls I teach in church (I taught the Sunbeams or the 3-4 year olds). She tried to make the baby a mobile which I am holding up in the bottom right corner. My mother-in-law is obsessed with everything Mickey and Minnie Mouse and got the baby a Minnie Mouse costume for Halloween. That is the little outfit I am holding up in the top left corner. At this shower I was 35 weeks!

Brett's Family Shower

Last but not least was the shower we did with Brett's family. Debbie and Courtney had the best decorations and food. It was a very nice open house, and they hung all the baby clothes we received for everyone to see! I was 37 weeks at this shower but did not remember to get a picture of what I looked like, oops!

Overall we feel so blessed that people have been so generous in giving gifts and their love and support. We definitely can't wait to meet Baby Burton!

3rd Trimester

The 3rd trimester has had it's ups and downs. It is crazy to me we are getting so close to her due date. I feel so excited and ready yet nervous of what is to come.

Here are some of the highs from the 3rd trimester:

- We got to do a 3D ultrasound at 30 weeks! Our baby however was not interested in cooperating so we did not get very good pictures. They said she was stubborn and I do not know where she gets that from :-) I was really bummed but our doctor surprised us and was nice enough to let us do another 3D ultrasound at 32 weeks! It was so cool we got to do it twice and get more pictures of our baby and see her again.

-I do not get as many leg cramps anymore! Granted I still get them, but not every single night like I did.

- Having a baby shower thrown by my sister with family down in Utah. I got to see my aunts and cousins before she comes.

-Having a baby shower thrown here by the women in my ward. Everyone was so generous and we really realized how blessed our little family is!

-Feeling this little baby move all the time and having that connection with her.

Lows:

- Taking the nasty gestational diabetes test. It was gross and I had to do it twice (long story) but I passed and she is healthy so all is well. 

-Went to a birthing class and watched some incredibly disturbing natural birthing videos. That was enough to freak me out about delivering this baby! 

- At 32 weeks I started to get horrible back spasms and lower back pain and it hasn't really stopped. It is miserable and probably does not help that I have had back problems in the past from when I played sports. Remind me why I then chose a career that is notorious for people having back problems again? Oh well, I can tough it out.

-We got a hot spell in the 100's the last bit of June and early July and we don't have air conditioning at our home. Luckily at work we do, but the days I have off I have had to get creative on ways to keep cool.

-She is so big that she is constantly kicking my ribs and it does not feel great.

-I now have heartburn a lot.

To be honest I have been feeling really good and have not had any problems at all. The worst symptom I had like I explained were the back pains I started having at 32 weeks but that was it. The heartburn and kicking of ribs hasn't been until recent, about 35 weeks or so. We just continue to pray that this pregnancy will continue to be healthy and that this baby will have a safe delivery. As cliche as it sounds, that is all we want, a healthy little baby!

2nd Trimester

The 2nd trimester was not bad. Here are some highs from the 2nd trimester:

-I had so much more energy!

-I felt the baby first move at 16 weeks.

-Finding out we are having a girl at 20 weeks! (I will go into detail more on that)

-Brett felt her kick at 22 weeks.

The only lows from the 2nd trimester have been leg cramps, and they are awful. They started in the middle of the night when I was 23 weeks, and they have been off and on sporadic since. I get them usually in the middle of the night in my calves and arch of the foot. They usually wake me up and are miserable but fortunately it is not every night so that is nice.

20 weeks for me was the most exciting time. We got our first ultrasound of our sweet baby and it was so amazing to see her. We were convinced it was a boy given that Brett's family is all boys, and his dad side is all boys. Also between my cousin's who have had mainly boys and the fact that I wasn't feeling sick, I was pretty much convinced (and had everyone around me convinced as well) that it was a boy. The ultrasound tech asked us if we wanted to know, and of course we couldn't wait.  I kept thinking I would want to do a fun party to reveal the gender, or a fun activity, but when it came down to it, I just wanted to know! When he told us it was a girl and he was pretty sure of it (he told us we could paint the room pink and he thought we would be just fine), Brett immediately said, "My mom is going to be so excited!"

When we first saw our baby I can't describe how much love I felt for her and how I just wanted her to be healthy and safe. I also felt myself feeling more and more protective of this sweet little spirit, just wanting to make sure that she was provided for that she knew how much I loved her. It just made everything more real that this little person will be apart of our family soon.

Thanks to everyone for your kind comments and to anyone who has provided advice for us newbies in the parent world. I still feel like we have so much to do before she gets here, and the countdown is definitely on! I am now 28 weeks and in the third trimester. Hopefully everything will continue to go smoothly.