6 Random Things

Normally I don't post twice in the same day, but I got tagged reading a friend's blog. So here's 6 random things:

1. I've always wondered (since high school at least) if the whole 'coochie coochie coo' thing with babies comes from the fact that the Japanese word for mouth is kuchi (coochie)

2. Somewhere on this earth, there is a woman giving birth every three seconds. She must be found and stopped.

3. This guy is awesome ---------------------->

4. I spend WAY too much time on Facebook, I know that, but it's fun. You meet really cool people, get into interesting dicussions, and get to tell people about stuff you read on a 'social networking site' instead of crummy old Myspace.

5. I love looking at old documents - black and white family photos, ship passenger lists, census records, anything - that my ancestors appear in. It helps feel connected to them, and realize that they were real, living people, doing the same thing I'm doing - just living.

6. In a fight between Megatron and Gandalf, Megatron would win hands down. I mean, yeah, Gandalf has powerful magic and took on a Balrog, but I doubt magic could withstand a blast of concentrated energy from a fusion cannon.

7. I tag anyone reading this blog. You're it!!

Suffering

We were taught in priesthood/relief society a week or two ago from the Joseph Smith manual that suffering prepares us for the celestial kingdom. I got to thinking, if heaven is a place of peace, rest, and happiness, how would experiencing suffering and pain prepare me for that? I had two thoughts on it -
1. Suffering keeps us humble. It teaches/reminds us that we need God and each other to get through this life, that we can't make it home on our own steam.
2. It's part of the opposition of all things. The suffering we experience, and see others go through, shows us how precious life is, how rare true happiness is, and how great and plentiful our blessings really are. I mean, how often do I thank God for my health? Usually right after I get over a cold or flu or something, but then it slips my mind until I get sick again. Or for my home, or a fully functioning body, or even my family? I hate to say it, but it's probably my suffering that keeps me on the straight and narrow.

I hope someday to get to the point where I'll just stay on the path back home, without having to be dragged back on track kicking and screaming.

Where does the time go?

Can you believe it? My little girl is 4 weeks old today!! On Friday, she'll be a month! I still feel like she just came home yesterday. We had a minor miracle with her this week - she slept for 6 1/2 hours! I actually got to sleep from midnight till 6:30 without waking up once. Of course, the next night she woke up at 3, and last night she woke up at 2, but still! We're getting there. I still feel amazed and a little in disbelief that she's actually my child. I'm still trying to find that magic balance between family, work, church, and recreation, though that'll probably continue for the rest of my life at this rate. :)