Well, baby #4 has finally relieved me of the constant nausea.  I think it helps that I started taking my prenatal vitamins at night along with an extra dose of vitamin B.  But, although physically I'm feeling better, my heart aches and I worry for the future.  Randall was laid off for the second time in two months at the beginning of November.  I love spending time with him, but I wish we could at least find answers to all the prayers.  Actually, I have a confession.  Today was the first time since Randall's layoff that I actually got on my knees and prayed.  I told Randall that I felt bitter, but I think it's more like I felt like "what's the point?".  I pray and he gets laid off, I pray and money stops, I pray and we eat beans and rice and even butter and milk are out of our price range.  So, I felt like it didn't do any good; like my words were falling on deaf ears.  So I stopped; no prayers, no worship, nothing.  Well, I say nothing, but I did participate in family scripture study and I helped my children say their prayers, but there wasn't anything personal going up to heaven from me.

But, this morning, I woke up to a quite house.  The first glow of day shining through my bedroom window and my first thought was we need a miracle.  And then I thought maybe all this has happened (baby #4, almost no food, no money....) in order for Him to prove to our family the He is a god of miracles.  That He is still there and does hear, but that maybe the answer is He is preparing us as a vehicle to perform miracles in the lives of my children and anyone that we may come in contact with over the next few years and throughout our lives.

On Sunday, all the talks in church were about enduring.  Not just enduring for a moment, but eternally and patiently.  And yes, I got it, loud and clear.  He was speaking directly to me.  I cried the whole time.  Maybe it's because I'm pregnant, but I think not.  He touched my spirit; spoke directly to me through countless scriptures.  So, this morning, in the stillness, I prayed.  I prayed for this man I love, I prayed for my babies to be feed, I prayed for our direction to be made clear and I got up and went to work.  I did the dishes that I hadn't managed to get to in days, I swept the kitchen, got Grandpa Bud ready for his doctors appointment, made hot chocolate for my kids from the last dregs left from last Christmas and did what I could to show my Heavenly Father that I am grateful for what He has provided for us.  We still have a roof over our heads, central heat and air, beds for everyone with blankets to spare, dishes, soap, HOT water, flushing toilets, telephones, fridgerator, car, books to read, clothes, toys, some food storage- beans, wheat, tomatoes and green beans, and most importantly we have each other.

Life and all that stuff...

I can't describe it. Lately I've seen how truly blessed I am and I can't describe how cool it is. As you know Randall and I decided to put all our eggs in one basket and start our own business. I have to tell you that I felt great when we first started, but now, I'm over the moon! The top leaders of our company say,"ACN is a self-improvement course with a compensation plan." And I for one have to second that! I have grown so much as a person since we started this business. We have made it our daily goal to follow the wise words of Darin Hardy, editor of Success Magazine, and be constantly focused on positive things. We've also turned our van into a rolling university. Every time we are in there, we are listening to presentations from some of the greatest minds of success. Because I'm always listening to positive things, I find myself thinking and saying positive things.

Through a series of unforeseen events and circumstances beyond our control, Randall is now home full-time. While at first it was a bit scary with him being unemployed and all, now I can't remember what it was like to not have him around. Now, we get to work full-time on our fortune and making our dreams into reality. I just can not believe how truly fortunate we are! God has blessed our family in huge, huge ways.

As a side note, I've got a tons of great ideas and fun things to share with you over the coming months also. Tomorrow night at Young Women's we'll be working on our secret sister gifts for Girl's Camp. Don't worry, I'll do a through post with pics and links on Thursday. I'm also putting together a baby shower for a friend of mine. She's having a boy in August. His name is Liam. And thanks to my handy sewing machine, he's going to be super studdly in some awesomely cute things I making for him. Again, all will be revealed in due time. Plus, I've recently been on an organizing rampage. I've gone through all my yarn and donated 3 large storage bags full of yarn. And I'm creating a wonderful space for me to actually feel inspired to create beautiful things; to include shelves, hooks, and a spiffed up sewing table. And last but certainly not least, a new blog design. I have much in the works grasshopper...we shall have much to learn...