Joy To The World! No, Seriously!

Lots of good news today! We'll start with the most recent. Yesterday around 5:00 p.m. I looked outside and couldn't believe my eyes. It was SNOWING!!! Yes, that's right, SNOWING!!! I started screaming and jumping up and down like a little kid, I seriously started to cry! The kids were so excited to go outside and play in it. It wasn't very much, just enough to coat everything, but it was still just as exciting! Whitney had fun making snow angels on trampoline and trying to catch them on her tongue (probably not the cleanest snow here with all that pollution...oh well!), and poor Aaron was just getting frustrated that his hands were cold and his pants were getting wet. I tried to put gloves on him and he freaked out...poor little Texan boy who doesn't like the cold. It was even more beautiful after the sun went down and I stood by the window and watched the flakes fall in the light from the street lamps. Ahhhh, it was gorgeous! And hot chocolate never tasted more delicious! (Or could it be that I used whole milk, three scoops of cocoa, Nestle French Vanilla creamer, Amaretto creamer, and whipped topping on top?)

Second, and even more wonderful is that I had such an amazing Fast Sunday last week! That morning I had said a special prayer that I would be able to feel the spirit and would be able to be happy about this baby and Heavenly Father heard me. We had a beautiful lesson in Y.W. about the personality of Heavenly Father and how He knows and loves each of us individually because we are His children. I mean, I know we've had this lesson a hundred times, but it's never really sunk in like this time. And I felt the spirit so strongly! This time it wasn't about how much Heavenly Father knows and loves me, this time I could feel how much Heavenly Father loves this BABY and how He KNOWS this baby. And suddenly it became clear that I'm not just carrying some random human being, I am carrying a precious little child of God! This is a baby with a special spirit who has been saved for the last days and has chosen to come to me because they LOVE me! Suddenly I felt so incredibly humbled and loved and just sooooo grateful! I have had a complete change of heart and it has been so amazing! Every time I feel a little kick I smile. And at night when I'm trying to fall asleep and the baby's hiccups are keeping me awake I don't get frustrated. I enjoy laying there feeling it's every little movement and think about what they will look like, what it will be like to hold them for the first time...allll happy thoughts! :) I am so grateful for Heavenly Father's tender mercies! I've always loved the stories in the scriptures where people have had a complete change of heart and always wondered what that would really be like. And now I know. It really is a miracle. :)