Some scary times…

After some scary symptoms yesterday and today, I’ve been diagnosed with sub-chorionic hemorrhaging– basically a blood clot near the placenta.  I’ll be taking it easy on modified bedrest for the next few weeks.  I’m ok to go to classes and walk around the house, but I’m not supposed to exercise (oh darn), walk extensively, or climb stairs too much (have you seen this house??? we live on four floors!!!).  Its been the most frightening two days I’ve ever experienced– we thought we were losing our baby– but with this diagnosis I’ve got a good chance (97%!) of the problem resolving itself over the next three to four weeks.   Keep us in your prayers!

News!

“Roses are red, violets are blue; This September we’re welcoming Baby Avance #2!”

My sister Emily reminded me that I haven’t updated this blog in a while.  I have good excuses!  First, it was Christmastime and that was a fun but busy time for us.  But then, I was feeling quite a bit under the weather and didn’t feel like updating.  When the “under the weather” feelings didn’t go away, I realized… its morning sickness!  That’s right….

Christmastime is here!

Our first Philly snowfall of the winter!  Huge, fluffy flakes falling down as I’m sitting in the living room, listening to Mannheim Steamroller’s “Deck the Halls.”  Christmas will be extra fun this year– Ruby is big enough to understand a lot of it and actually participate (today we were at a play date where all the kids decorated sugar cookies–  she “painted” on the frosting and especially liked the “glitter” sugar sprinkles!).

Rubyisms

Three cute things:

1.) Yesterday I asked Ruby if she remembered when she was a tiny baby in my tummy. She said, “Yep.”  I asked if she remembered swimming around in there. She said, “Yep, I had on my swimsuit!”

2.) Last night after Ruby’s bath (before she was dressed) she suddenly got a terrified look on her face and said, “I need to go wet!”  I asked if she wanted to go to the bathroom, and she said yes– then used her little potty!  This is a big deal so we had lots of celebrations, and then I said, “Wow, you’re really growing up!” She said, “Yep, I gonna be a woman!”

Are you Mormon? Read on!

You might know that I am enrolled in a doctoral program in Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, where I am interested in studying individuals’ religious experiences.  I have been particularly interested in learning about Mormonism, and this semester, I am enrolled in a course called “The Ethnography of Belief.”  In this course, we are learning about different ways that individuals experience their faith. Our final papers involve describing a spiritual or supernatural belief, and for my paper I am writing about Mormons ‘ experiences with the Book of Mormon, especially concerning the promise in Moroni 10:4 that says, “And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.”  I am interested in the various ways that Mormons experience receiving a testimony that the Book of Mormon is true.

If you are or have been Mormon…