Prego Update

If you haven't noticed, my little baby timer on the side of my blog is showing that I am getting closer and closer to end of my pregnancy and I am not even close to being ready! I am already 28 weeks--officially, in my 3rd trimester, and have not done one thing except for pick a name for this little guy.You would think there isn't a lot of preparation that goes into your third child since you have, obviously, done this before and, especially, since he is the same sex as my first two, but since this one will be born in May (completely opposite time of year as my other two), I need to, pretty much, start from scratch in the clothes department.

Most of the clothes I have are stained, stretched out and yucky anyway, so I don't mind starting over. I do, however, need to go through and wash and organize the few things I want to keep from the 4 LARGE bins in my garage--sounds fun, huh?

Not to mention, this poor kid's room which is virtually non-exisitent. Either we will be finishing (drywalling and putting a door) on our loft, moving Wade and Seth together or keeping Seth with the baby. When I do decide on a room, I will need to paint and decorate--do you feel my pain?

Any suggestions from anyone out there? I need help with room decor, the latest and greatest baby supplies, ideas on siblings sharing rooms and anything else you can think of! He will be here before we know it! Thanks for any and all help!!

"Where the heck have you been?..."

Is a phrase that you might be asking yourself about my lack of blogging (especially if you are from Utah and the word "heck" is/was probably part of your vocabulary.) But, to my dismay, the word "heck" has become part of my little, Wade's vocabulary. I know it could be worse, but I can't help but cringe everytime I hear him say it. The funny thing is that I don't think Matt and I say that word. It is crazy when your child is old enough to pick up words at school or on TV. Nevertheless, we are working on it so if you hear him say it--don't judge me :)!

I have been an official blog slacker (thanks Joe) and my only reason is that it has been crazy around here lately. This post will wrap up the past couple of weeks so I hope it won't be too long--I will try to keep things simple.

First, the Roper family feels inclined to welcome Shaq ("The Diesel") to the Phoenix Suns Basketball team. We are HUGE fans of the Suns and feel extremely excited to have such an incredible player join our team. Now when Matt and the boys play basketball, Wade is Nash, Seth is Stoudemire and Matt is Shaq! We can't wait to see Shaq play--it should be a great second half of the season!

Ampa came to visit at the beginning of this week. The boys (and I) were thrilled, as usual! It is always a treat to have my dad in town. We visitied all our usual spots when he is here--"Peter Piper", the park and the orange groves by our house. He also bought the boys some temporary tattoo's which they absolutely LOVE!

My friend and college roommate Mandi and her two adorable kids came to visit this week too! I love Mandi! Those of you from college that are reading this know what I mean. She is so much fun and such a great friend. Her kids are darling and we spent most of the week chatting while our kids ran around entertaining each other! We did go to dinner and a movie one night while Matt watched the kids (thanks!) and we also took the kids to "Bounce U" for a great energy burning session followed by a great primary activity that Wade and Gracie attended. The week flew by and I can't believe Mandi is already gone! Thanks for all the fun--we love you guys!

Wade had a Valentines party at school on thursday and was beside himself in excitement! He and his little friends were talking a mile a minute about getting candy and passing out Valentines and how much fun it all was. He had a great time.

Matt and I went out for a friend's birthday/ Valentines day on friday. Our friend's husband rented a limo which we rode in to the "Grand Lux" in Scottsdale for dinner. Besides my HORRIBLE cold (which is another reason I haven't been blogging), it was A LOT of fun! I haven't been in a limo since high school dances (which is probably the same for most of you), so it was pretty fun!

All in all it has been a busy, but fun, two weeks! I will try not to go as long without posting!

12 Years

During this past week, after the passing of our beloved, Prophet, I have taken the opportunity to reflect on the gospel and eternal families. It is a little ironic because today marks the 12th anniversary of the passing of my,own, mom. It is also a little ironic that President Hinckley was sustained as our Prophet less then a year before my mom passed away. When I look back over the past 12 years and all that has happened and changed in my life and what an influence both my mom and President Hinckley made on those 12 years can hardly be described, by me, in words, but I want to try so that I have this day recorded and I can remember how I felt this past week.

I was 16 years old and in my Junior year of high school. I am sure you can remember life in high school--carefree and exciting! The most important thing was your friends and what was going on that weekend. I was no exception and life was going pretty good. I had a wonderful and caring mom whom was my best friend and I talked to about everything. I also had a wonderful dad who worked hard for our family and made sure we were always taken care of. And, I also, had my two little sisters whom I loved very much.

Although, my dad was not active in the church, my mom took us each week. Both she and my dad thought it was important that we were raised in the Gospel despite my dad's lack of interest.

I spent most Sunday's at church, although my family lacked the priesthood in our home so I was never able to experience Family Home Evening, family scripture study, or the feeling of my parents attending the temple. I don't want to sound like I was deprived, because I knew then and I know now that my parents loved me with every ounce of their hearts and would do anything for me. I just didn't experience the Gospel the way a lot of my friends did growing up.

One Saturday morning--12 years ago, my entire life changed, as strange as it might sound, for the better. My mom had a heart attack and passed away immediately without any warning. The reason I say my life changed for the better because I was converted to the church through this experience, but more importantly my dad was converted to the church.

Suddenly, the most important thing in my 16 year old life was my family and being with them forever. I cannot express the love and admiration I have for my dad and the way he handled this tragic experience. Because of the choices my dad made, he and my mom were able to be sealed in the Logan Temple and our family was, also, sealed for all time and eternity a year later.

When my mom died, I felt like my life had started over. Everything was different. We worked as a family to pick up the pieces and move on the best we could. This is where President Hinckley was such an amazing influence on me.

Since I was only 16 and since the church wasn't too important in my home until my mom died, he was the first Prophet I really knew. I feel so blessed to have listened to this man during the hardest time in my life. Oh, how I love President Hinckley. He was such a incredible man and when he spoke I couldn't help but listen and soak up each word while the spirit burned within me the entire time.

Most of all, I am thankful for the Gospel. I am SO thankful I am sealed to my mom. I would rather have her with me forever than during this life and I feel like this is the path my family had to take to be together again.

Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if my mom hadn't passed away. I get a lot of comments from people like, "I can't believe you can do it without you mom," but what they don't understand is this is the way it needed to be for my family to be forever which is so much more important to me then having my mom here at my wedding or the birth's of my children.

The Gospel makes this all possible for me. I am so thankful to be married in the temple and to be sealed to my husband and children. It means more to me than my husband and kids will ever know because I know what it feels like not to be sealed to your family. That feeling is worse than any other.

When I heard about President Hinckley's death, I only felt a flicker of sadness and it was mostly for myself because I felt bad that I would no longer be able to listen to him speak anymore. More than anything, I felt happy that he is with his wife again--for I know with all my heart, that is where he would rather be then anywhere else. What an incredible reunion that must have been. It brings tears to my eyes to imagine what that would be like. It also excites me because I, too, will get my reunion, someday, and that is better than anything else I could ever imagine.

Mom's for Mitt!

This morning, some friends and I had the opportunity to walk around part of our neighborhood, with kids in tow, to knock on doors to spread the word about, the Presidential Candidate, Mitt Romney. I am sure we were quite the sight since each mom participating had, at least, one child in a stroller! Hopefully we made an impact just by showing our dedicated support!

I would like to remind all of you to get out and vote on February 5th (next tuesday!) It is important that you exercise your amazing right to choose the future of this country that your children will have to grow up in.

I am a, definite, Mitt Romney, supporter and encourage each of you to research the candidates, make a decision before this tuesday and VOTE (hopefully for Mitt :)!) If you aren't sure where to start your research try http://www.mittromney.com/!