And He Drank the Bitter Cup

Choice 1: Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46; John 18:1-2. The Savior’s Suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane


(painting by Liz Lemon Swindle, one of my favorite artists)
I have searched many scripture sources on Christ’s suffering in Gethsemane and have come up with many words that describe the magnitude of this event for Him:

Sorrowful

Very heavy: distressed/troubled

Exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death

Prayed earnestly

Soul is exceedingly sorrowful unto death

Agony: pain

Sweat as it were great drops of blood

Suffer temptations, pains of body, hunger, thirst, fatigue

Blood cometh from every pore

Anguish for wickedness& abominations

Pains

Temptations of every kind

Pains

Sicknesses of His people

Death

Take upon Him their infirmities

Suffer

Tremble because of pain

Suffer both body and spirit

Fearful suffering

Agony

Afflictions

Gethsemane was the Savior’s place of refuge; a place of solace and privacy. It was secluded and peaceful. He often went there to pray, meditate, and teach His apostles. The things I have learned about it lead me to believe it was akin to a temple. It was a place of hallowed ground, fit for the atonement to begin.
Christ taught His apostles to pray so that they may withstand temptations. This was important for them when the spirit was willing but the flesh weak. Christ himself set the perfect example of this in Gethsemane. He was willing to go forward with the atonement yet did plead with the Father to remove the bitter cup. Nevertheless, He overcame the weakness of the flesh and performed the work He was sent to do. Sadly, his apostles gave into the weakness of the flesh and succumbed to sleep in the Master’s greatest hour of need.
During each interval of Christ’s suffering in Gethsemane, He asked the Father to let the bitter cup pass. Then He followed with perhaps the most important and profound statement, “nevertheless, not mine will, but thine be done.” He had perfect obedience and was willing to submit His will to God’s no matter how terrifying or painful the coming ordeal was to be. We can learn a great lesson from this example of obedience. Instead of asking WHY?, perhaps we should ask WHY NOT? and follow the Savior’s example to accept the will of the Father no matter what may lie in wait for us. I found this extremely comforting when my son was born. We thought that he had been born without any soft spots on his head. This frightened us because it meant either skull surgery or brain damage. Both were absolutely terrifying for a mother to contemplate. Thankfully we have the power of the priesthood in our lives and were able to give blessings around that gave great peace and promised blessings to come. After I received mine, I had an overwhelming feeling of peace. I knew that whatever happened next was in the Lord’s hands and that I would have more peace and help if I submitted my will to His. Luckily my son was fine and no surgery was required and we were spared pain and heartache. I promise that faith in the Father’s plan for us and in His timing brings great peace and happiness to our lives.
As the Savior’s agony increased in Gethsemane, so did the earnestness of His prayer. I find too that in my life I tend to plead more desperately with my Father when times are tough and trials arise. One such time was when I was in either middle school or high school and my grandpa was having something like a quadruple bypass on his heart. I knew my grandpa was older and my dad tried to prepare us in case grandpa didn’t make it. This news was too much for my tender heart to handle and I ran to my room where I spent hours on my knees pleading and sobbing to my Heavenly Father to spare him because I still needed him. I always felt that I had a special bond with my grandparents because they helped to raise us after my parent’s divorce, and loosing him was going to crush my heart. As I crawled into bed with a prayer in my heart, a soft voice spoke peace to my mind and soul telling me that “all is well, all is well.” I’m so glad to say that my grandpa is still with us today and that the Lord did hear the earnest prayer of a young girl.
Christ’s love for the Father enabled Him to drink the bitter cup and finish the work of the Father. Only Christ could perform the saving sacrifice for the all of mankind. It was His calling to save the souls of men that were in jeopardy from the Fall of Adam. It speaks volumes of the Savior’s love for God and His close relationship that He must have had with His literal father.

I have learned many life changing lessons during this week’s study of the Atonement. One is to pray, pray, and pray harder. It is so important to help us to see the will of the Father in our lives and also to protect us from the adversary’s temptations. Also, I’ve learned to give freely of my time to Him and to make sure I include Him in my daily routine a little more. Another lesson I’ve learned is to be grateful for the Savior’s suffering for me. Ever moment of Christ’s suffering was extremely intimate and personal for each one of us. I believe that He spent a few moments with each of us as He suffered for our pains, sins, sicknesses, etc. Not to use this gift is to make a mockery of it.


***For further INCREDIBLE insights on the Atonement and Gethsemane read these quotes found in the Institute Manual for the New Testament:

“It seems, that in addition to the fearful suffering incident to crucifixion, the agony of Gethsemane had recurred, intensified beyond human power to endure. In that bitterest hour the dying Christ was alone, alone in most terrible reality. That the supreme sacrifice of the Son might be consummated in all its fulness, the Father seems to have withdrawn the support of His immediate Presence, leaving to the Savior of men the glory of complete victory over the forces of sin and death.” (Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p. 661.)

When the Savior exclaimed in triumph, “It is finished” (John 19:30), he knew his atoning sacrifice had been accepted by the Father. (See John 19:28.)

“Sweet and welcome as would have been the relief of death in any of the earlier stages of His suffering from Gethsemane to the cross, He lived until all things were accomplished as had been appointed.” (Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p. 662.)

“How perfect the example is! Though he were the Son of God, yet even he, having been strengthened by an angelic ministrant, prays with increased faith; even he grows in grace and ascends to higher heights of spiritual unity with the Father. How well Paul wrote of this hour: ‘In the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.’ (Heb. 5:7–9.)” (McConkie, DNTC, 1:776.)

But what was it that caused the Savior’s intense agony?

“Jesus had to take away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. … And as He in His own person bore the sins of all, and atoned for them by the sacrifice of Himself, so there came upon Him the weight and agony of ages and generations, the indescribable agony consequent upon this great sacrificial atonement wherein He bore the sins of the world, and suffered in His own person the consequences of an eternal law of God broken by men. Hence His profound grief, His indescribable anguish, His overpowering torture, all experienced in the submission to the eternal fiat of Jehovah and the requirements of an inexorable law.

“The suffering of the Son of God was not simply the suffering of personal death; for in assuming the position that He did in making an atonement for the sins of the world He bore the weight, the responsibility, and the burden of the sins of all men, which, to us, is incomprehensible. …

“Groaning beneath this concentrated load, this intense, incomprehensible pressure, this terrible exaction of Divine Justice, from which feeble humanity shrank, and through the agony thus experienced sweating great drops of blood, He was led to exclaim, ‘Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.’ He had wrestled with the superincumbent load in the wilderness, He had struggled against the powers of darkness that had been let loose upon him there; placed below all things, His mind surcharged with agony and pain, lonely and apparently helpless and forsaken, in his agony the blood oozed from His pores.” (Taylor, The Mediation and Atonement, pp. 149–50.)

“Christ’s agony in the garden is unfathomable by the finite mind, both as to intensity and cause. The thought that He suffered through fear of death is untenable. Death to Him was preliminary to resurrection and triumphal return to the Father from whom He had come, and to a state of glory even beyond what He had before possessed; and, moreover, it is within His power to lay down His life voluntarily. He struggled and groaned under a burden such as no other being who has lived on earth might even conceive as possible. It was not physical pain, nor mental anguish alone, that caused Him to suffer such torture as to produce an extrusion of blood from every pore; but a spiritual agony of soul such as only God was capable of experiencing. No other man, however great his powers of physical or mental endurance, could have suffered so; for his human organism would have succumbed, and syncope would have produced unconsciousness and welcome oblivion. In that hour of anguish Christ met and overcame all the horrors that Satan, ‘the prince of this world’ could inflict. The frightful struggle incident to the temptations immediately following the Lord’s baptism was surpassed and overshadowed by this supreme contest with the powers of evil.

“In some manner, actual and terribly real though to man incomprehensible, the Savior took upon Himself the burden of the sins of mankind from Adam to the end of the world.” (Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p. 613.)

(I think it's safe to say that Elder Talmage is AMAZING!)

What would you give?

This week I chose to learn more about the woman who anointed Christ's head with an expensive ointment and got some flack from some other followers of Jesus, but praise from Him.

This woman understood something that some of His closest followers did not, that He was soon to die and so she was preparing Him for His burial. In a way, I think that she was saying her goodbyes to Him. What a respectful and sorrowful thing it probably was for this woman to do. Often the Savior spoke in parables and so when He was direct about soon dying, I think His apostles and other followers were assuming it was a figure of speech and not literal.


Sometimes our “righteous” actions are not always best. I love the talk by Elder Oaks about choosing the “good, better, best.” I think that in this situation of the woman anointing Christ with her expensive spikenard ointment, she chose best. She recognized who the Savior was and His divinity. The disciples had good intentions of selling the ointment for money for the poor, but they failed to see the honor that this woman gave to the Son of God, her personal Redeemer.

We all look for ways that we could possibly repay our Lord for His eternal sacrifice for us. This woman understood who He was and what He came here to do for her and for all. She was openly acknowledging her gratitude and love for Jesus Christ. We all wish we could give back something to our Savior to show our gratitude and love for Him and His atonement. Her deed will stand as a memorial of her because that is the love and devotion we ought to strive to give our Lord. If all would worship Him and understand His matchless gift He gave, as this woman did, we would all be saved and our lives would be made so much better through our remembrance of Him.
This woman most likely used her most precious and expensive possession to honor the Savior. What would we give to Him? Our time? Our talents? Our possessions? Our money? I just sat back and thought about what I would do if the Savior was a guest at my house. What would I do for Him? How would I serve Him? I wouldn’t be using paper plates and plasticware! I think I’d fix the finest meal I could. I would make sure my home was comfortable. I would make a great dessert. I would bust out my finest china and try to make it all worthy of the Son of God. I don’t have much of value, but what I have, I would freely give.

Be Prepared

How fitting this week's assignment was! After a heartbreaking election, I had a dooms-day feeling about where our economy, country, and society was headed. This week we studied Matthew 23-24, Mark 13, Luke 21, and JS-Matthew. The reading was all centered on Christ teaching His followers to be prepared for what was to come in their lives and also before the 2nd coming. To simplify the reading, this is what Jesus councils the believers to do:

• Watch out for people who will deceive and betray you
• Watch for the signs of the times
• Watch and pray

These are all things that our current Church leaders council us to do. Here are a few more scripture references for things to do to prepare to meet our Savior:

• D&C 87:8- Stand in holy places
• JS-Matthew 1:32- Watch for the abomination of desolation (BD, when "Jerusalem again will be under siege")
• JS-M 1:37- Study/treasure the scriptures
• JS-M 1:46-50- Watch, prepare, be faithful, and be "doing"
• D&C 33:17- Be faithful, pray always, be prepared
• D&C 45:56-57- Receive the truth, keep Holy Spirit as your guide

As I studied the lesson this week, I couldn't shake the fear in the pit of my stomach about what our nation and/or family is going to face. The scripture about if you are prepared, you shall not fear, popped into my mind. I decided to be proactive and look at the unprepared aspects of  my life. One was getting COMPLETELY out of debt, which we are currently working on with a SNOWBALL effect set up (found in the Ensign a year or so ago). The next area was in our food storage and emergency preparedness. I decided to go BIG! I made a huge list of what we would need and want and them went through and inventoried my entire stock pile! We decided to set aside $20 each week to spend strictly on food storage. Then I will go each week and buy what items I need and fill in the holes! I'm only a little excited about this...I love lists and checking them off!!(nerd alert). We have a family of 4 and 2 of those are kiddos under 3. So it will change over time, but in my minds eye, when we have it complete, it will be glorious! It does feel so good to be prepared! Another important thing to know and do, is how to have your own garden, and how to bottle food. I love to do canning each year, and this has really been a blessing in my life. I look around at our society and the majority would have no idea. How sad for them in their time of need, when Wal-Mart runs out of food, or they cannot travel to a store. Another thing I kept in mind were things I could add to my storage for trade or profit if things went south...so look at your skills and prepare for those too. I hope this encourages you to begin and just get going with it! Post tips in the comments box! (I would share my template for my list, but I have no idea how to link that...any tips?)

Marriage Brings Us Together Today

This week I learned about the difference between temporal and eternal marriage in Matthew 22:24-28. The Sadducees asked Jesus that if a woman marry a man and he dies without producing children, then she is given to the next brother and the next if he dies and so on for seven brothers and then finally she dies with out ever producing children, then in the resurrection, whose wife will she be? I believe that the Sadducees were trying to see which side Jesus favored by asking him about the resurrection. If He did not believe in the resurrection then he was siding with the Sadducees, but if He did believe in life after death then He was in favor of the Pharacees. The Saducees did not believe in a resurrection nor in spirits or life after death. I don't think they were sincere in this question, yet Jesus took the opportunity to teach an important doctrine concerning marriage.

Matthew 22:30 really means that marriages will not be performed after the resurrection. This was something I did not know! I guess I thought that as long as you were worthy and desired a celestial marriage that it would be granted. Elder James E. Talmage shed some light on this matter when he stated, "In the resurrection there will be no marrying nor giving in marriage; for all questions of marital status must be settled before that time, under the authority of the Holy Priesthood, which holds the power to seal in marriage for both time and eternity." In D&C 132:15-16 it explains why temporal marriages are not continued after death. The reason is that they were not performed under the proper priesthood authority and thus are not binding in the life hereafter. I also learned that this is the same reason that interfaith marriages are discouraged. God intended men and women to marry under the eternal covenant and that marraiges are equal partnerships and meant to bring out the best god-given traits in men and women.

I am so grateful for my wonderful husband who took me to the SLC temple to be sealed for not only time, but for eternity. I am so grateful for the covenants I made that day and how they help to stregthen me and my marraige.  I pray that we may live up to our promises and the blessings granted in the temple.

Little Points to Ponder

This week our reading was on Luke 16-18 and it was packed full of parables! I dug through them and found some great principles to live by. 1) was on the "children of light" Luke 16:1-12 and in there I found that we need to keep an eternal perspective and make our decisions in life accordingly. 2)  Luke 16:19-31 and it was about Lazarus the Leper and the rich man. This one really struck a cord with me and I learned something new!! (I love learning new things about the gospel!) I never realized that before the Savior died and entered into the spirit world, that there was a gulf between the spirit prison and spirit paradise. When Christ went into the spirit world, he opened the way and bridged the two places so that they could now inter-mingle and missionary work could be performed. He gave us a way to save our deceased loved ones and I am so grateful for that!
    

3) Luke 17:11-19 was about the 10 lepers who were healed and only one returned. Two principles I found were that we receive no witness until after the trial of our faith (they had to leave and show obedience before they were healed) and that Christ was no respecter of persons; all were to receive the blessings of the gospel (the one who turned back to thank Him was a Samaritan). 4) Luke 18:1-8 was the parable of the unjust judge. The principle I took away from it was that we should be all the more willing to go to God in prayer, knowing that He is loving and merciful, if even a wicked man can hear and grant petitions (the unjust judge). 5) Luke 18:9-14 is the parable of the Pharisee and publican. One principle I found was that our self-righteousness will not save us, but we will be saved according to our humility and keeping the commandments. I'm grateful for the scriptures and how they help us to be better by reminding us of the ways of God.

I'm trying...

What does it mean to be a disciple of Christ? What do we have to do to become a disciple of Christ? In Luke 10-14 Christ gives many parables regarding these same questions. I've looked them over and here is a list of traits the we should strive for to become better disciples of Christ:

• Have a Christ-Centered home
• Recieve Him
• Strive to strengthen spirituality
• Pray (doing it properly)
• Seek forgiveness
• Forgive others
• Have faith
• Don't covet
• Don't be worldly
• Seek to bring forth God's Kingdom
• Sacrifice
• Missionary work
• Seek God's will
• Be watchful
• Put Christ 1st
• Keep commandments
• Forsake all we have and are for Him

Now I know there are a ton more, but they give us a good start on our way to discipleship. I challenge those who read this to pick one and start today to improve that __________ in your life!

The one I am choosing to work on is "Don't Covet." This seems to be my vice lately, for whatever reason. I think it is the prospect of building a house in the next year or so and I catch myself getting down and irritated with where I am now. I actually really love our little house and the memories, character, and family history (we live in Dustin's grandparent's house), but I am also feeling oober crammed and jumbled with two kids and two adults in a two bedroom house. I get jealous when I see people in new homes and with all the little comforts I wish I had. I start to get angry and frustrated with my situation and I don't like the person that makes me and how it influences my thoughts and actions. First to vent the little things that drive me crazy, so maybe you can commiserate with me...The floors are old and squeak (wake my kids), the windows are originals and rattle and blow cold air (super annoying durind a windy day/night), the door handles are wobbly and loud (wakes the kids), the kid's door will pop open when you step in verious spots around the house (also wakes them up), I have to place to separte my kids so both can sleep peacefully (again, wakes them up), the nasty hard carpet that stains to easy, we have occassional mice (found one in my washer today...SURPRISE!!), and best of all...our friendly squirrel who visits on occassion. This is not a tiny little chipmunk. I am talking bushy tailed, beady eyed, size of a cat, SQUIRREL!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay now that I got that off my chest I can go on. So after countless complaints to my husband and many days filled with bitter hatred for the things I can't change, I decided to fix the things I can change. Instead of seeing all the homes and comforts others enjoy, I work on saving money and getting detailed plans for my own. Also, I am working out my nasty flaws with my Heavenly Father and asking for more patience, humility, gratitude, and ideas of how to better our home. So far, the difference is astounding! Just ask Dusty!! He has come home the last two days to a completely reorganized kitchen and bedroom. I have orders for organizing cubbies on their way and feel that I can be happy in this small space now that I am organizing it. With a shoe rack, a hanging closet organizer, new rug and positive outlook, I am feeling content again. The best part is that I have found great deals and have not spent a lot of money doing all this. I love how Heavenly Father takes my insignificant concerns and lets me know that He cares and is helping me by inspiring me with ideas. Also, I feel that our marriage is better, weird I know, but I think all my nagging and negativity was making Dusty feel like I was unhappy with him and his efforts to provide. This made me sad and I know he doesn't need that burden, so I decided it was time for me to change!

So to relate this back to being a disciple of Christ, I thnk it happens in the little things; our thoughts, our words, our attitudes. Is it wrong to want a new house of my own with more room and new things? No, but my attitude of covetousness was wrong. I shouldn't be jealous and judge based on what others have. I can see how if people keep on this path, that it is destructive and harmful to relationships. And the biggest part to knowing if you are a true disciple of Christ is whether or not you'd be willing to give all that you have and are to/for Him. Would I walk away from my "things" and my new dream home of it was asked of me? Yes. and that knowledge gives me comfort and peace. Worldy goods are useless if we forfeit our eternal blessings. May we strive to seek the Lord's guidance and become better disciples of Christ.

The Good Shepherd

This week the assignment I chose to focus on was how Christ is the Good Shepherd. In John 10:1-11 Christ gives two parables related to shepherds and Christ. First was that He is the shepherd of the flock. The other is that Christ is the door of the fold. He is like the door because His is the only way unto salvation and eternal life. Also, I thought that it could mean that we must pass through Him to get to the Father; He is our mediator with the Father. There is so much symbolism of the Good Shepherd that I never picked up on or realized before a lesson I had a few months back. Our teacher explained the "pens" the sheep are herded into at night. These pens are made of stone or thick brush, have only one opening, and are tall with thorny brambles around the top to keep lions, wolves and other predators away. Many shepherds gather their flocks into the same pen and they take turns guarding the single entrance. If a predator does come to attack the sheep, a "good shepherd" will sacrifice himself to the animal. Usually doing so will satisfy the hunger and the predator will leave the sheep alone. When the shepherds come to gather their flocks, they need only call them. The sheep will only come to the sound of their master's voice. Also, typically the shepherd has a name for each sheep and they respond to their individual name when called. These are all very symbolic of our Savior: Only one way to salvation (doorway), gives us gospel and covenants (green pastures and protective barrier), sacrifices Himself for us (good shepherd), His people know Him and He them (sheep only answer to their master). By giving his life for the sheep it proves his deep love and devotion to the meek and lowly in his care. Like the good shepherds, Christ shows His deep love and commitment to each of us by His willingness to sacrifice Himself for us. It is also a deep honor and a most important duty of the shepherd to put the sheep before himself.
Christ also talks of other sheep in other folds. He mentions the Nephite and Lamanite people as being some of those sheep, but as He spoke to them of other sheep in various parts of the world who had no knowledge of Him. He then left to show himself to those other sheep.

He Walks on Water

Matthew 14:22-33 Is the story of Christ walking on the water. When the Apostles saw Christ, they were troubled, afraid, and cried out in fear. I wonder if the reason they were troubled was because they thought something bad had happened to Jesus (i.e. died). Did they think they were in trouble for leaving Him alone? Were they just superstitious of Spirits? When they realized that it was Jesus and He was whole, Peter basically fell off the side of the boat to get to Him. He had great faith in Christ's power and divinity. He forgot the "world" or the reasoning of men and almost without thinking began walking to Christ after He bid Petrer to come to Him. Then after a few faith filled steps, Peter noticed the rough waters and took his eyes off of Christ. Fear set in and he began to sink. I like how the scriptures noted that Peter BEGAN to sink. He did not fall headlong into the sea, or go completely under, but like the rest of us, only lost a little ground when we are distracted from Christ. Had Peter tried to save himself or turned to the other men for help he may have been in more serious trouble, but he didn't; he turned to Jesus and cried out "Lord save me"! We will all sink; we will all fall, but the true test is not taking the steps, its turning to Christ when we need help and saving. He will not let us tread water and fall in over our heads, but He reaches out immediately and saves us. The main principle that is taught here is found in D&C 88:67 "And if your eye be single to my glory..." If we keep our eyes (goals, lives, etc.) firmly fixed on our Savior we will not fall nor fear.

No Greater Prophet: John the Baptist

When John was in prison he sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus, "Art thou he that should come or do we look for another?" (Matt 11:3). This confused me because I thought John already knew...he had after all baptized Jesus only about 3 months before. Then further reading in the Institute Manuel answered my question. John had a sure knowledge and understanding who Christ was, but John's followers were very loyal to him and seemed to have a hard time "crossing over" to be a disciple of Jesus. John had these two men ask this question, not for him, but for themselves. John knew that his mission was to prepare the way before Jesus and so he was probably concerned that his followers were not accepting Christ as their Messiah.
After these two men had asked their question and departed, Jesus spoke to the people about John and told them that there was "Not a greater prophet than John the Baptist" (Luke 7:28). Joseph Smith, Jr. later expounded on this when he gave 3 reasons why John the Baptist was so great a prophet:

“First. He was entrusted with a divine mission of preparing the way before the face of the Lord. Whoever had such a trust committed to him before or since? No man.
“Secondly. He was entrusted with the important mission, and it was required at his hands, to baptize the Son of Man. Whoever had the honor of doing that? Whoever had so great a privilege and glory?
“Thirdly. John, at that time, was the only legal administrator in the affairs of the kingdom there was then on the earth, and holding the keys of power. The Jews had to obey his instructions or be damned, by their own law; and Christ Himself fulfilled all righteousness in becoming obedient to the law which he had given to Moses on the mount, and thereby magnified it and made it honorable, instead of destroying it. The son of Zacharias wrested the keys, the kingdom, the power, the glory from the Jews, by the holy anointing and decree of heaven, and these three reasons constitute him the greatest prophet born of a woman.” (Smith, Teachings, pp. 275–76.)

I had never heard these things before. During my reading it dawned on me that John the Baptist was the proohet of that dispensation and he was probably loved and revered as much by people of that time as we love and revere Joseph Smith today.

John was also extremely humble in his attitude toward Christ. He knew that his mission had been fulfilled and John was gladly stepping aside so Christ could assume His role of teacher, prophet, and Messiah. I like to do little applications to my life and challenge you to do so also! Let's lose ourselves in this great work! Let's find our missions in life and make Christ at their center. Let's do the will of the Father and be His hands as we serve our fellow man!

Back to School

So for those of you who do not know, I decided to do the (seemingly) impossible and go back to school...mainly through online courses. One of these courses in New Testament part 1. As a small fraction of my homework each week I am required to share about what I have learned. So if you all of a sudden see an influx of religious posts, that is why! Feel free to join in and share your thoughts and insight!

You know you're 9 months pregnant when....

Well we've hit the 9th month mark and strangely i always seem to forget how much it SUCKS~!!!! So to add a little humor to my last few weeks/days (hopefully) of pregnancy I will add my funny findings. You know you are nine months pregnant when:

1. You drop something and more often than not, decide its not worth it to pick it up

2. Everytime you stand up you think, "is my water going to break this time?"

3. You can't roll over in bed with out assistance

4. You roll over in bed every 10 minutes or else you are going to regret it

5. Your kids don't get the baths they should because it hurts too much to kneel & bend by the tub

6. Your kids get in WAY to much TV time...so you can rest

7. You spend more time peeing and then trying to get comfy again at nights than you do sleeping

8. People ask you, almost daily, if you are having twins

9.The 1 thing that could help induce labor is the LAST thing you feel like doing (whoopie)

10. You eat out more than you ever have previously

11. Cereal and fruit snacks seem perfectly acceptable meals for picky toddlers

12. Your house looks like mom is AWOL but all the baby stuff is up and ready

13. Shaving your legs is joke...as is lotioning them

14. Begging for your water to break as part of your daily prayers

15. You can't remember the last time you took a full breath with ease

16.Your hubby no longer pouts about being "put off"

17. Anytime feels like a naptime

18. Your baby knows when "naptime" is and decides to practice Karate just as your about to drift off

19. You stop scheduling things...just in case

20. You just want them to come, despite the pain, so you can snuggle and love on your little miracle

As the most impatient person alive...I find myself daily wishing and praying that he will come quickly. He is quite a large baby 7lbs 4oz+ since Monday & pushing out a 10lb baby doesnt sound like an awesome party to me. I am dialated to 3cm already and an measuring about 38 weeks (my cycles are weird so its hard to track the exact date).

I am so anxious to see Dalli interact with him! She already sits & rubs my belly, then gives it kisses. She is naturally a motherly little thing and enjoys her babies. She is a huge help (most of the time) and loves to be involved in everything mommy does.

I am a little nervous about taking care of and juggling 2 kids under 2yrs old. I just hope i can give them the time they each need and hope Dalli gets her needs met too. Also having a boy terrifies me. I grew up with all sisters and am in such a "girl mode" with Dalli that I am at a loss of what to do with a little boy. So ANY ADVICE is appreciated on both subjects! Please share the motherly wisdom :)