A Hoosier Girl In Utah

It's been a long, LONG time since I've used this blog and this morning as I was looking back at all the great memories I had posted about and started feeling like I was missing out on the past few years.  Particularly since we are about to have our third child and I'm feeling guilty that I have documented very little of my pregnancy with Anna.

First, I had to change the name of our blog from A Hoosier Girl in Reno to A Hoosier Girl in Utah.  Our family moved to American Fork, UT almost 3 years ago.  If you had asked me in 2011 if we would ever move from Reno, I would have said never.  However, as for most people during the time of the recession, employment circumstances changed our path.  We short sold our townhouse and said good bye to our Reno friends and moved into an apartment here in Utah (thanks to some friends who also moved from Reno to AF).  A year ago we were able to buy a house again and life is pretty grand for this Stephensen family.  We love Utah, we love our neighborhood, love the two wards we have lived in, love the friends we have made, and Abby loves Kindergarten.

We are expecting little Anna bean to come any day.  I hit magic 37 week mark this past Saturday, which was almost surprising after I had a few days last week where my contractions were starting to pick up pretty heavy.  My body was practicing I suppose.  Abby was born right on her 37 week mark, so Anna is doing slightly better already.

Our Snowman

Wow, we have had a lot of snow this week. I really love making a snowman when there is a lot of snow. The last time snow we had, I felt too tired, but this time I decided it was something I needed to do! So, on Tuesday, we put on all our snow gear and headed outside.

Abby didn't really stay happy very long outside. She was pretty whiny for a while. It took her a bit to get used to the snow all over the ground. I like to keep tracks out of my snow, so I will try to limit where I step in my yard... to make our snowman, I used the snow from the side yard and the driveway.

Abby decided she was done before the snowman was done. I let her go inside while I finished up, but of course she didn't want to be inside if I wasn't there. So she played around a bit on the porch while I put the finishing touches on our friend. We went inside and I grabbed a carrot, the scarf, and two lids from spice jars that made great eyes.

He's the cutest snowman I have ever seen. He has no mouth, which I kinda like... and he only has one arm... I couldn't find another stick. I went back in and grabbed the camera to catch some good photo's. My hubby got me a cool bendy type camera stand, so I was able to place the camera on the mailbox to get a few shots with Abby and I with our snowman.

He is a very contemplative fellow... don't you think? I love his nose, and the scarf really brings out his white complexion. I've thought in the past few years, that it would be awesome to have a reusable snowman kit, with pieces for eyes, mouth, and nose that you can just use over and over every year. I've seen a few online, but have never bought one.

After we went in the house and got comfortable, I went to go take a peek and our snowman friend. When I looked out the window I was disappointed to see that he had fallen over. Upon taking a closer look, I discovered tracks leading from the sidewalk, into the yard, right up to my snowman and then leading away. It was appallling and infuriating to learn that someone had murdered my snowman... and I had just finished him not even 40 min before. Luckily I didn't see the punk who did it!!! And even better... I have the gift of resurrection, so I went outside and put him right back up!

Retraction and Apology

This past Friday evening, it was brought to my attention that individuals within my family are angry and/or very unhappy with the things I wrote about my father Jack in my previous posting.

It has been a challenge for me to work through the muddled emotions I feel towards Jack and I wrote what I did as an outlet to those confused and hurt feelings. Many people know that I am extremely open and expressive about the things that I feel. There are only a few things in life that I keep to myself or a few select people. I would even say that I enjoy writing about the things that I go through, good or bad, so that others can participate along with me.

In writing the post about Jack, I have caused myself a more immense amount of grief and confusion because of the feelings of my family and it has been an extremely heavy burden. At first I was defensive in my thoughts, thinking that it is unfair to me to be judged on the things that I feel. In the past 3 days, I have spent a lot of time thinking, praying, searching answers from the scriptures, and have sought counsel and understanding from a few loving family members. I will state now, and hope that my family will understand that it was not my intention in any way to cause angry or hurt feelings with the things that I wrote. I sincerely apologize for any ill feelings I have caused to anyone in my family.

With my formal apology said, I will go on further and try to explain a little. This has been a very hard trial... so confusing. I have received both support for my post, and rebuttal, which has added to my frustration and confusion. It has been hard for me to get to a point where I could apologize with sincerity... as you can see, it has taken all weekend. As far as I can discern, here is where I went wrong.

First, this post should not have been written publicly and was more appropriate for my personal journal. At least, many portions of it. I will be taking out what is not appropriate for individuals outside of my family to know. And although the damage is done for those who have already read it, this is the best that I can do in order to make restitution, and will prevent anyone else from being able to read the post in it's entirety.

Next... I was selfish in my thoughts and took no concern for the life and experiences of those mentioned within the post. And though I was not intentionally trying to demonize, defame, or put down, in the eyes of others, that is exactly what took place. I like to think that I do not see myself as better than others because of my choices or others choices... but it has become apparent that my behavior and words may express otherwise.

Also, it was pointed out to me that my post may be seen as disrespecting of the dead. I am unsure how to respond to this other than to express my own feelings on the matter. Jack is gone... but he is only gone physically. He is still living. The things that he and I have to work out, will be worked out when it is my time to return to the spiritual realm. I am positive that we will have many conversations together about the why's and what's about our relationship and together, through the Atonement of our Savior, be able to forgive and understand. But for now, the things that I expressed still stand. That's how I feel and I will make no apology for those feelings other than to say sorry for being a human being and prone to carnal complications such as jealousy, anger, and pride.

With all this said, I believe my greatest offense has been that of a bad example. In our society, it has become common and acceptable to express our negative feelings towards others publicly. So, in a way, this goes back to my first explanation of writing such things in a personal journal rather than a public forum. I have not done what I have covenanted to do, and that is, "Remember Christ." This I am deeply sorry for and is my main motivation for restitution. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), I (and other memebers) am often judged more harshly than others in our common Christian based community, because of our high standards. This can often be a frustrating burden. In spite of our desire to live very high standards, we are no less prone to the temptations of the carnal man then the next Tom, Dick, or Harry. I find it rather frustrating that when I make a mistake, individuals will blame my behavior on my membership in the church and henceforth cast a bad view on the LDS religion as a whole. I am a better person because of my membership in the LDS religion, and am only able to overcome my own faults and have the strength to apologize because of it's teachings which are the teachings of a loving and just Savior, Jesus Christ.

Again, I am sorry to cause my family further grief during this time of loss.
Sincerely and with love,
Christy May

It's A Sunny Day on the Farm

Today Abby and I went with Jenn and Bailey Sadler, and Nicole Anderson (Jenn's sister) to Andelin Family Farm. They have a pumpkin patch as well as some really neat activities.

There were quite a few farm animals. The girls really enjoyed feeding the goats. We also got to see a llama, yak, pigs, and a very large dog.

I thought this was a neat shot of the girls. We were standing around in the pumpkin patch.

Abby decided that this was absolutely the pumpkin she wanted. She was a little frustrated by the fact that it was still attached to a vine.

She carried her pumpkin around for a little bit. She was so adorable.

We went on the hayride. Nicole took a picture of us together... pretty good too. I find it sad that we don't get many good shots of us together.

What a great mug shot... who knew my child was wanted by the law!!

There was a neat maze made out of hay bales. The girls really enjoyed running around and it was fun watching them negotiate their way through.

One of the coolest things was a huge box filled with feed (dried corn). There were buckets, shovels, and dump trucks. The girls loved it so much and Jenn and I thought it would be a great idea to do this at home. There was also a big red barn set up with Halloween costumes for dress up and a large coloring station. What a great day!

Enjoying the Fall

Last night, after our walk, we hung out in the yard for little while. I figured it was a good time to introduce Abby to the joy a pile of leaves can bring. So, Abby played around in the yard while I raked up a nice pile. At first she wasn't sure what to think... she just stared at me. Then she decided that the leaves needed to be moved to the sidewalk, so she started making her own pile.

Here she is handing me a leaf.

This is her sign for airplane... though she usually uses both arms. She just started this on Sunday.

I pushed her in the pile. I think this is my favorite photo for the evening.

Enjoying the leaves.

We went on a walk around the block and we stopped to smell the roses.

London's 2nd Birthday

Today, Abby and I went to London's birthday party. We had such a blast. There were lots of kids, lots of balloons, and a very kid friendly cat.

Here is the Birthday girl!

Abby was so excited about a balloon that was flying in the air. She had a lot of fun playing with London's toys, her cat, and the other kids.

It was a really great day for a birthday party. I think my favorite part was the magician... he was so great!

The cake and decorations were amazing too!

Happy Birthday London!

General Conference In Our Home

This weekend is the 180th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love conference and really look forward to it every six months. The first session today was really amazing. It's such a cozy day. We get to relax in our own home and stream the broadcast through the internet. I love to stay in my jammies and bring down my pillow and blanket and post myself on the couch.

Abby stayed pretty well entertained. She spent a lot of the time scribbling on a conference coloring book I printed out for her. Every once in a while she would come over to hand me pencils or want to sit in my lap.

I love the special feeling of sacredness that comes into our home when we play conference. I've tried very hard today to do things that are worthy of that spirit. There were so many great talks today.

It brings a great satifisfaction to know that my little Abby girl is going to grow up in a home where General Conference is highly valued. It's so important for her to learn righteous behavior through our examples. And the more I hear from our leaders of the importance of teaching our children the gospel, the more dedicated I feel. One of the quotes I wrote down today was, "The world will teach our children if we don't." That is certainly, not what I want for our family.

I feel so grateful that we have a prophet on the earth today and grateful that I have a testimony of the truthfulness of the restored gospel.