Updates...

I'll be 36 weeks in two days! This is such a relief to know that even the baby comes out right now, he'll be totally fine and healthy! I guess sometimes the doctor would tell you the worst thing that could happen, or your body could show signs of preterm labor, but there's always chance that you'll make it to full term. Despite the weird pains here and there, swollen legs and feet once in a while, contractions that start hurting a little bit, and fatigue that hits me any time, I'm totally enjoying this period of my pregnancy!
Our little boy is doing great, with 66 percentile he's in the larger size. Last ultrasound at 35 weeks, he weighs 6lbs 3oz which is about 1lb over average, and he has a big head measures about two weeks ahead of time. But our doctor doesn't seem to worry about it. She said, if the baby's growth rate falls into 95%, she'll consider a primary c-section, other than that I'll be fine. Oh, yeah, in case you're wondering, it's still a boy. The tech confirms it every time we have an ultrasound and so we have tons of boy part's pictures at home if you want to check it out :)
Sam and I just packed our go-into-labor backpack as an FHE activity this Monday. Cant believe it's getting close. Thanks to mom and Alison for hosting a baby shower for me on March, 6th. I'll be 37 weeks by then. Just hope I don't go into labor before that.
I just bought a dress for a friend's wedding in May, I'll be one of her bridesmaids! The dress is stretchy, I can even wear it right now. Oh, love it! Here are some pictures I have Sam take for me. Also wants to thank Leslie and Clay for the purple skirt they bought me for my b-day!

A generation of followers

 

What do you think?

It's a video from The Atlantic from this article about the effects of the recession. It's full of many insightful angles on sociological impacts that come with unemployment, and in particular on how families are affected. One point of interest was that, in the wake of financial turmoil, marriage rates are down but out-of-wedlock pregnancies are on the rise with alarming effects:

"For both men and women in [poor] communities, children are commonly seen as a highly desirable, relatively low-cost way to achieve meaning and bolster identity—especially when other opportunities are closed off...But a large body of research shows that one of the worst things for children, in the long run, is an unstable family. By the time the average out-of-wedlock child has reached the age of 5, his or her mother will have had two or three significant relationships with men other than the father, and the child will typically have at least one half sibling. This kind of churning is terrible for children—heightening the risks of mental-health problems, troubles at school, teenage delinquency, and so on—and we’re likely to see more and more of it, the longer this malaise stretches on."

While this might seem like novel conclusions to some, to us and other church-going folks it's just more validation of living by correct principles. It seems every Sunday you hear some sort of comment about Satan's attack on the family. It's always reassuring, and of course at the same time extremely concerning, to hear analysts from outside sources confirm that modern trends are in accordance with prophetic warnings.

Good thing we don't gamble

Yesterday Sharon and I went off to see horse races. I had never been to one before and wasn't sure what to expect, but I guess the Rillito Racetrack has been around since the '40s and apparently it's pretty popular. We arrived just in time to catch the end of the first race as the horses whizzed past and we heard spectators swearing in disappointment as well as gleefully asking their buddy: "Whad'ya win?!"

Although I had heard horse races were gambling depots, I was still surprised that nearly everyone was clinging to their race menus, with notes and messy math scribbled in the margins about odds. It seemed we were among the only non-wagering spectators there, so to avoid feeling left out we made imaginary bets. We picked a horse that looked strong, and in the next race he came in second. With confidence in our abilities mounting, this would have been the point that we raised our wagers for the next race.

We picked a new beast to make our imaginary wagers on, and Sharon was brimming with confidence:

Rillito River Racetrack

The race was off and the speed of the horses blew the sweat off our faces.






Unfortunately, just like Santa's Little Helper, the horse we picked came straggling in last place.

Good thing we don't gamble.