Congratulations Mark!!

We just found out today that Mark has been accepted into the Masters Program in Religious Education/Chaplain Candidacy at BYU. I have to say I'm a bit jealous because I really miss being a student. This is the first year that BYU will have this program and Mark and I are really excited about what it entails. He'll start school June 23rd and over the next two years he will be taking clases in Religious Education as well as classes from other related departments (Psychology, Social Work and Marriage and Family Therapy). I'm so proud of Mark because he works really hard and has a great desire to serve others. He started an internship at St. Mark's hospital back in January and although he finds it very challenging he's really enjoying it. He is very compassionate and loves being able to assist people who are grieving. Being a chaplain is not a career many people aspire to and it really requires a lot of patience and humility but we're excited about the challenges it will bring. I guess we'll be in Provo a few more years!

It's a GIRL...

Or is it?... Today I met with a 'BodyTalk' practitioner and she placed her hands on my abdomen and told me we're having a girl.

My mom and I

Body Talk is a type of holistic medicine that is based on the idea that our bodies have the great capacity to heal ourselves but due to stress, emotional blockages, environmental toxins, etc. it doesn't function at optimal capacity. So what the practitioner does is uses our body's energy to break up these blockages and promote healing. I may have been a sceptic at first but I found it to be very consistent with science. We know that every cell of our body is effected by energy and that our thoughts and emotions are forms of energy so it makes sense to me that they could have such a powerfull influence on our overall health. So just by altering our thoughts we can fascilitate a physical change in our body. I would encourage you to learn more if you're interested at bodytalksystem.com I think if and when western medicine merges with holistic care we will have an amazing health care system!

P.S. The Chinese Gender Calender says I'm having a Boy so it will be interesting to see which is right. I can't wait to find out either way.

Mark, Brandon, and Summer

15 Weeks!!

15 weeks
Our 'softball size' baby is 4 1/2 inches (crown to rump) and weighs about 50 grams. This week my amniotic fluid doubled and you can definetly tell! It's so fun to be showing, I love it!

A Giant Among Men

Yesterday the world watched as our beloved prophet Gordon B. Hinckley was layed to rest. While viewing the beautiful funeral services I was overwhelmed by many emotions. I felt sorrow for the loss of a great leader who was such an inspiration to me in my life and very instrumental in the development of my testimony of the restored gospel, but I was also overcome with joy at the thought of his reunion with his sweet wife who left his side four years ago. Most of all though I felt peace. A peace that comes with knowing the restored gospel and knowing that death is not the end, that through the grace of Christ's atonement we have the opportunity to be sealed to our families. I am so grateful for President Hinckley's unwavering testimony which he shared frequently and his example of courage, dedication and extreme loyalty. I am grateful for not only the things he did and said but for the man that he was and the light of Christ that eminated from his countenance. He will be very missed.

I was also touched by Glenn Beck's tribute to President Hinckley and wanted to share it.

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/200/5127/