Sleeps and naps

Sleep

I have a friend who once told me a statement that I have come to realize is so so sooo true and made me feel way better about the first two momma problems.

The statement goes like this...

Either your baby will be a good sleeper or a good eater.

I have a great sleeper. Seriously though she was sleeping through the night at the hospital and since we brought her home.

So I feel a bit ridiculous writing about this. I have done a bit of research on this topic in case of emergency, and tons of people have told me that their sleep habits change as they get older.

So here is my logic:

Babies are tiny humans.

It's pretty simple.

Babies are babies, which means their bodies primary job right now is to grow, once they grow enough they can move on their own and they can learn. So again right now main goal is grow.

Growing can take a lot out of you, you will really know what I mean if you ever experienced growing pains.

Not only are their bodies growing but their little brains are getting not so little. 

This means they need sleep for body growing, brain growing, emotional growing ( have ever given yourself a headache from crying?) It being night time, momma time... Well a whole slew of reasons can be chalked up for babies needing sleep.

So I propose sleep rule 1:

Let the sleeping baby lie.

You don't know why they are asleep but just let them sleep.

I once read a study about how good daytime naps lead to better night sleeps.

What I got out of this is being overly tired can kick you in the butt. This has happened to us once or twice now. 

If the baby does not rest enough in the day it will be not just tired but exhausted, and frustrated which is not a good sleep combo. 

I think schedules can help you as a momma remember that your little one will be tired around a certain time, but don't let the schedule dictate your life. I found that my baby has a good rhythm of her own, so I wrote it down, remember and then I can help her get to sleep.

Don't wake a baby to eat, or to change a wet bum.

A baby will wake up when they are hungry.

Urine is sterile and won't cause any infections, poop on the other hand will, so that is the only time you should change a bum for a sleeping baby.

Sleep rule 2:

Naps are naps 

Sleeps are sleeps

These two things need to be distinctly different for the baby so they don't get confused between night time and day time.

I'd like you to take a walk down memory lane when it comes to your past naps. Have you ever been exhausted, gone to take a nap, but accidentally treated it like a sleep?

What I mean here is have you turned off the lights, gotten in cozy clothes in your cozy quiet bed and ended up sleeping way way way longer than you intended? 

Well that's because your body thought it was time to sleep so it treated your nap like a sleep.

Just like you your babies body can treat a nap like sleep if it's under sleep conditions.

What do we do?

1-lights. During naps there is light on in the toom. 

2- noise, noise like light tells our bodies it's day time, we use a fan at night for white noise but during nap time a dish washer sometimes runs, sometimes a vacuum. Really just keep living life, just slowly and quietly introduce the noise. A sudden noise can be a little too much for the sleeping babe to process.

3- location, right now our naps usually don't take place where our sleeps do.

Currently she sleeps in a pack n play in our room, and naps in the crib, on the floor on a blanket or in my arms ( don't give me slack... she will only be this little once and I don't like missing out on the precious moments. Plus she is sleeping through the night so I'm not too worried.)

It's important to remember babies are learning how to sleep, how to put themselves to sleep, and how to stay asleep. Keep this in mind.

What we do for Sleeps

1- dark

2- quiet

3-jammas

4-routine. Ours is, change bum, lotion up, jammas, prayers, last little snack, hugs kisses and good night's.

5-place. Don't hold a sleeping baby during a sleep. You don't want them to be dependent on you for sleeps. 

6-feedings we practice le pause, thanks to the book bringing up bebe.

This means when she cries we pause, this gives us time to determine what she needs.

Like humans little humans sometimes wake up while they are sleeping. Sometimes they are hungry, sometimes they are not. When she is hungry we feed her, burp her, give her a hug and lay her back down in her bed.

Plug- I do not support co sleeping what so ever..  Why? My husband is a very sound sleeper and I'm terrified he will smoosh her. I would end up spending the night in defense protecting the baby, meaning I won't get my sleep and that is a definite no go in this house.

I also strongly believe this sets up the bad habit of sleeping with mom and dad, and when that happens special mommy daddy time can't happen.

We need special mommy daddy time. 

So far for us sleeps are great, which makes us all happy.

Let's just hope that teeth, and sickness don't mess is up too bad.

I hope we are setting ourselves up for great sleep habits.

Have any good sleep advice?

Feel free to comment and share!

Anything you are going to try? Let me know how it goes!

A real mom with a real brain

So I'm a new momma of 4 months now, and ive done probably what most new mom's due, look to the internet for advice and how to prepare for my little ones arrival.

While searching and scouring I realized there is a lot of huey baluey out there. 

I feel like a lot of people are not using their brains.

So I wanted to do an article series of real mom probs and how I have used my Brian and other suggestions and help to overcome them. If anything I hope these ideas trigger something that will get you where you are wanting to go. Let's face it, being a mom is hard, that's why it takes a village to raise a kid.

Here are some Mom problems I'm hoping to cover over the next few weeks....

Sleep

Eating

Play 

Compeating 

Momma time

Hormones

Examples

Intimate relations

Let me know if you'd like to add anything to this list!

Learning Emotions

Emotions

This week (week 7) has overall been a good week!

Amelia is this constant ball of learning and growing.

It's amazing to me that a baby could learn so much. Many people think they don't know a lot, but man watching this little one up close, it becomes hard to think that she is not learning and growing every second of every day.

When she was littler (she 7 weeks how littler can she get?) she would cry like every other baby does.

It's a bit frustrating as a new parent to hear your baby cry for a few reasons...

1. You want to help your child.

2. You may not know what your child needs. (Example: bum changed, to be fed, burped, sleep, or they may even just have gas which is no laughing matter.)

3. Baby cries are heartbreaking. If you don't think so it's just proof you don't have a heart.

As Amelia has grown, her cries have too. She has been able to differentiate between the things that make her uncomfortable.

She went from the same type of cry for everything to two different cries.

Numeral uno-I'm hungry, I'm tired.

Numeral dos- "I'm uncomfortable" as I have labeled it. This means I need a bum change, I'm bored, or I'm slightly tired, but not enough to make a big stink about it yet.

Learning the difference between these two has made our baby trouble shoot much easier!

She has learned so many things!

She can blow little bubbles, smile when we smile, coo, hold her head up, stand with assistance for short amounts of time, and do a kicky wiggly dance.

That's a lot to perfect in 7 weeks.

Now that brings us to this week.

The week of emotions.

I first noticed it while giving her a bath. It was obvious, a wail, a very very sad wail. A sound that was instantly heart shattering. It was the sound of sadness.

My baby felt sadness.

I thought maybe it wasn't that, then it happened again the other day when B was changing her bum.

Now I can't deny it, my baby knows what sadness is.

But with that being said she has also had an increase of joy. 

This week she has started to purposefully smile back at us.

Man, I never knew how happy a little persons smile could make me.

The first time she did that was also in the bath. ( I'm starting to think that bath time is source of inspiration in learning and growth for this little one) 

I could see the light in her eyes increase. Then her mouth began to move in a funny way.

It opened up and the lips began to do a movement similar to the wave.

Then it just popped up on her face.

I yelled for B to come, apparently in such an urgent way that he hung up with his mother and came running.

He was relieved to find that it was just for a smile.

Now every day we seem to have a happy hour. A time of the day where a smile is easily found in her face, and ours.

We put away all destractions at this time. We snuggle up with each other and just enjoy the company. 

It's these moments that I live for, trust I love with my whole heart.

This growth of emotions just makes it even more clear that there is opposition in all things.

I was so sad to recognize that my baby feels sadness, but I am very happy she feels joy. 

If they come together then I guess I'm grateful for sadness because it helps her understand joy.

These ideas of sadness and joy are written very clearly in the scriptures from the 2nd book of Nephi in the book of Mormon which reads...

22 And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.

23 And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.

24 But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.

25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.

26 And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.

One of my favorite parts is that men are that they might have joy.

We were each created to experience happiness. Heavenly father wants us to be happy, but this also comes with being sad so we can understand the difference.

It's amazing how clear things can become as a parent with hindsight.

Well cheers to being sad so we can be happy, and cheers finding joy in this amazing experience we call life!

The first month

Post pardon depression and Nursing.

First things first:

Postpartum depression is a very real and very powerful thing.

If anybody ever suspects that they have it I highly recommend talking with your doctor.

It was explained to me in the hospital that I would be very emotional for about 2 weeks while my hormones leveled out. After that amount of time if I felt depressed, down, blue , had any thoughts of hurting myself or my baby then I should talk to a doctor.

Those 2 weeks are, well there is no better way to put it than crazy.

That's exactly what I was.

One day I would be super happy with tons of energy and then a moment later I would be crying over the fact that my baby had grown 3 inches.

I think just the part of knowing that those quick emotional changes were normal helped me out a lot.

I was able to tell myself that the crazy part was not me.

Yes I love my baby, and yes I'm sad she will grow up, but it's not so dramatic as it was in my head.

I didn't want to have to deal with hormones for a long time so I started doing some research.

I learned many things like hormones are stored in fat cells, this can be a reason why some women deal with postpartum depression for such a long time. 

I made a resolution to get the weight off. I'm not shooting for unrealistic goals, but E do want to be able to do a 5k at the end of the summer. I know it will take some work and dedication, but I'm ready for it.

Another thing I've done is gotten a massage the week after giving birth.
Because hormones are stored in fat,a deep tissue massage can get things loose and flowing. This really helped to flush my system of them.

I also learned that the foods we eat can have a big impact on us.

I've decreased my intake of dairy, meat, and processed foods and replaced them with more fresh fruits and vegetables.

Drinking plenty of water is also key to flushing out the pregnancy hormones. Think of it like a water slide, the more water the quicker they go.

One last thing that I have enjoyed is detox baths. There are a few recipes online but my favorite one includes apple cider vinegar, Epsom salts, and a few drops of lavender oil.
If you want to give it a try follow these rules:

Make sure the water is HOT and soak for 30 mins.

Make sure you sweat!

And drink lots of water before and after.

I know I have my moments of feeling blue, like I'm not qualified for this job of mom, but my husband always has my back. We talk about feelings and separate the real from the crazy and it helps me feel good.

I'm convinced that everyone experiences postpartum depression to a degree, but how we handle it can have the bigger impact.

I think my research has prepared me a lot, and I think I'm on a good path to having my hormones back to normal and under control. 

I also know not all people are the same, so these things may not work for others. Once again, if you even question if you gave postpartum depression please see your doctor, they can help you separate the crazy from reality.

The other real struggle thus past month has been nursing my baby.

I felt like we didn't have the best start. To begin with I didn't even know how long I should nurse her for, I was told she would pull away, but anyone who has ever nursed can tell you that may happen a few times before they are actually done.

This lack of feeding led to another problem, Jaundice. She wasn't eating enough to lower her bilirubin.

We had to stay an additional day so our baby could get light treatments to help decrease the bilirubin.

At that point in time we were informed that she needed to nurse for 10-15 mins on each side.

This was nearly triple the time she had been eating for.

The bilirubin and decreased amount of food caused our baby to be so sleepy and lethargic. Feedings became a game called keep the baby awake, and the baby won more often than we did.

It also became very stressful when we only had half an hour with our baby to feed her in between light treatment sessions.

When we went home we had to slightly supplement feedings to help decrease the bilirubin while my milk came in.

In the end everything worked out fine but we are still practicing this eating thing.

One other difficulty that has come up is how my eating affects her.

For the past week we would have problems because she would pull her latch off and just scream at me. Turns out it was from gas, and I realized I needed to change my diet.

This is not going to be easy because all the foods I typically enjoy can cause a baby to be very gassy.

The foods that are recommended turn out to be the stuff I think is yucky, or just don't know how to cook it.

Thanks to the Internet I've discovered a few recipes that we will be trying, but just cutting back on some foods has proven to be a good idea.

Less gas pains for baby, and one happier momma. 

If I've learned anything this past month it's that I'm always going to be learning how to do this mom thing.

Sometimes it will be by trial and error and other times it will be from advice. I just hope I'm not too stubborn to miss the learning opportunities I am given.

Amelia Arrival

This is how our birth story goes 

5:45 wake up having contractions 5 mins apart. 

6:15 wake husband up and tell him.

Double check hospital bag.

Husband asks if I'm sure I'm in labor because I'm "way too calm."

I guess I was calm because I knew she was finally coming, it wasn't a guessing game anymore.

7:00 get to hospital. Register, answer a billion questions, monitor to check progress.

8:30 discharged due to not progressing enough.

Went on a 3 mile walk.

Went to the store for some pants, and got lunch.

I labored for a few hours more befor finally going back to the hospital at 6 and being admitted at 7.

After 3 hours I started to not progress very well and around 10 the dr broke my water, which brought a lot of relief to me.

Around 2 I received and epidural.

It was slightly disappointing, but I wasn't progressing very well and the nurses thought it could be due to the stress I was under from the pain.

I cried while making this decision because I wanted to have a natural delivery, and the thought of an epidural scared me. 

I'm not a fan of needles.

I progressed for another little while and then plateaued once again.

This time they gave me pitocin. 

I was strongly against pitocin in the beginning due to the fact that it makes contractions harder and faster and that would lead to en epidural.

Since I already had the epidural, might as well have the pitocin.

After that point things moved along very quickly and at about 6:25 it was time to push.

They couldn't get the doctor there quick enough for me. I felt the need to push.

The doctor was still putting on the paper gown and gloves when I started to push.

It didn't take long as I was determined to get my baby girl here.

At 6:41 Our Amelia Jane decided she was ready to meet us.

She weighed 7 lbs 10 oz and was 18.5 inches long.

I'll be honest, being pregnant wasn't my jam, laboring for 24 plus hours was not my idea of fun. Giving birth, however, the part that I was most concerned about, ended up being my favorite part.

Maybe it's the pent up anticipation, the relief of pressure, but I think there is more to it.

It's a very spiritual moment, you are experiencing a moment that God has given you, a moment that in a split second your capacity to love and feel has increased.

We have these moments in our lives but usually they take longer periods of time. As I met and got to know my husband it took many years to develope the love I have for him (we met in middle school).

The love I have for my baby was over powering and instantaneous.

It was also amazing how quickly my love for my husband grew in that moment too. I realized that my love for him increased my love for her, and the more I loved her the more I loved him.

Because of that feeling I'm excited to have more children. 

I'm excited to increase my capacity for love. I'm excited to create and feel so connected with my heavenly parents.

Being this girls mamma is my favorite thing to be.

I'm excited to watch her life unfold, I know we will have our ups and our downs but I know me and my husband will always be there for her with our hands up and ready to enjoy the ride!

Oh Baby!

As is probably obvious, I have been a super slacker when it comes to keeping up with my adventures, so lets see if I can re-cap and help update all...

December 2014...
Got sealed to my best friend for all time and eternity!

Look at us! We are so cute, and that day was sooo cold!

In the following months the following happened:

We both had birthdays.

We ate a lot of good food.

We bought our first car!

We got a new job, lost a job, got another job, quite a job, and started a business.

We do wedding films if you didn't know. 

I personally just think I am in love with... LOVE!

We spend way too much money of fun film stuff. (Notice the present tense)

We went on vacations

We welcomed home grandparents from missions

and we decided to grow our family!

We found out in August that we would be having a little baby T come May!

I just love that cute little face!!

Here's how we broke the news to some family members...

It was a very exciting time in our lives, well, still is!

In December we had an ultra-sound. This is where the technician told us we would be having a little boy! We were very excited, ok well I was! B kinda had his heart set on a little girl.

The technician said, "It's a little early, but typically those things don't fall off."

So we felt confident in sharing the news.

We told our families, but not the whole world yet.

Then one night while having dinner with friends we told them the news, then we all joked around that with mine and B's luck it would actually be a girl.

Well we went to the doctors office for our scheduled ultra-sound to make sure everything was developing. 

This time we had the actual doctor performing the ultra-sound.

He searched for the gender and then showed us on the screen.

Doctor: There you can see the gender of the baby

*Afton looks at B*

*B looks at Afton*

I think to myself: somethings missing...

*Doctor can tell we are confused*

Doctor: Looks like you are having a little girl.

*B super excited and shocked*

*Afton just plain shocked*

END SCENE

It was very strange, almost if we needed to lament the loss of our little boy, yet there really was not loss. We rode home in shock, and also with gratitude that we had not made any purchases for the babe at the time.

So we had to go back and tell our families with our tails between our legs.

We put together a little scavenger hunt for my nieces and nephews. At the end it had a sign which read...

We have all "bean boozeled"(yes we taped the game there).

We are sorry Grandpa Moy

We really thought we were having a little boy.

Our treasure is more precious than a ruby or pearl,

yup that's right everyone, we are having a girl!

So then commenced the buying of pink, and frills, and dresses.

This girl will own enough clothes to wear a different outfit everyday for the first YEAR of her life.

That may be an exaggeration, but I wouldn't be me if I didn't exaggerate.

So here we are today...

34 weeks pregnant and excited more than ever to meet this little one!!

A little like baby A and a little like baby B

in just 6 short weeks we will meet our baby T!

As always, 

with love,

Afton Michelle

Adventures as a Manager

I should begin with a disclaimer...
I am pregnant
I have dealt with too many rude people today
I'm probably eating too many skittles while trying to console myself.

So this will hopefully be read by some of the people who live in the apartment complex and it is mostly directed at them.... here goes nothing.

Hi.
My name is Afton Taylor.
I'm a person.
I work a job.
My job happens to be the manager of an apartment complex.
My job includes replying to e-mails, sending out rent statements, applying cleaning charges for failed cleaning checks... mostly just making sure residents uphold their end of the contract.

Point of clarification: I DON'T MAKE THINGS UP!
If I charge you for something, there is a real reason, and IT IS IN THE CONTRACT!

I really do want the residents to succeed!
I want everyone to pass their cleaning check!
I want everyone to use utilities wisely so the bill is not outrageous! (p.s. utility charges affect me too!)
I want everyone to understand what the rules to living here are, because it makes my life and their lives easier!!

Did you know?
I don't make extra money off of residents.
I don't get bonuses for failing your cleaning checks.
I don't get a raise if I charge everyone with make believe charges... I would actually get fired!
I don't actually get paid a whole ton, and I don't live here for free either.

Fun Fact:
I'm having a baby! Pretty soon too!
I can't always think clearly, something to do with hormones, and I know it sounds like an excuse but ask any mother and they will know what I am talking about.

This whole being pregnant thing has affected my work. I will not lie.
Sometimes I have been very sick, I have had two run in's with the flu this past school year on top of morning sickness and I even caught pneumonia. This was really unfortunate because I wasn't able to be in the office as much as the residents may have needed me.
I sometimes have Dr's appointments, and sometimes just don't feel well.
I guess I'm not the best at growing a person, but at least I'm trying.

I try to help the residents as best as I can. I try to respond to e-mails, notes and voice mails as quickly as I can. I want them to obtain an understanding of why things are the way they are.
Sometimes I don't have all the answers.
I don't know why the contract sale fee is $40.
I just know it is in the contract.


I do know that the residents have the responsibility to read and understand the contract as much as I do.
I do know that residents should look at the space of their apartment before signing a contract based on price and being very sad that it's not what they had imagined.
I do know that I try to be a moral person. This means doing my job to my best ability, and I know that sometimes this may make other people unhappy.
I'm sorry I'm not willing to bend the rules for you, and sometimes I  am sorry you don't understand the rules.


A POINT I'D LIKE TO STRESS!!!
Please don't call me out over the internet, especially under a psuedo name!
What bogus is that? I can't help you overcome anything if I don't know who you are.

Remember it's not a good idea to tick off your manager. I may be a little more strict on your cleaning check, because you were more strict on me.


Question for yourself?
If my manager could write a review about me what would it say?
- consistently pays rent late, yes it is by the grace period, but this resident is always slacking.
- does not put in the appropriate time to clean. I would not recommend this person as a spouse because of their lack of cleanliness.
- Loves to complain, but does not like to actually work to fix a problem. I would say they are selfish and unable to be a responsible person.

Reviews on the flip side...
-Very punctual and dependable with rent.
-Kind to everyone they meet, I constantly hear them complimenting the other residents and see them going out of their way to help others feel important, including me.
-MARRY THIS PERSON!! They are very responsible, clean, hard working, and willing to go the extra mile to make things work. This is the person that will work through hardships with you. They are definitely a go getter!

This week is cleaning checks.
I do have words of wisdom.
Read the whole cleaning check packet. We give you all the information that is needed to pass cleaning checks. Most people who fail do so because they do not use the correct tools, or forget to do the whole job.
I really would like everyone to pass because it's less work for me, and I get to give you more of your security deposit back.

IN CONCLUSION...

I wish people were nicer. I wish people remembered I have feelings.
That is all.

Missionary For LIFE!

I have been going through the awkward post missionary stage of my life.
I feel like I have done pretty well so far, but here is a wonderful list of things that I am still battling...
Not introducing myself as Sister Chambers
Not calling my roommate my companion
Not calling my other roommates sisters
The approaching cold weather


Though I may not be a set apart Sister Missionary, my heart is the same. I always want to be looking for opportunities to serve others, and my Heavenly Father.

One of the opportunities I have recently noticed is the chance to be an online Missionary. Ya see I currently live in Provo... would it suffice to say that many members of  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints live here? Well it's true.

I have a hard time finding someone to invite to learn more from the missionaries, so I have turned to the internet. I have been posting things about how excited I am for the upcoming General Conference which happens tomorrow.

One thing about Facebook, and twitter these days is hashtags! If you have not discovered how these little gems work it's about time. When you hashtag something it becomes easier to track. When many people are using the same hashtag phrase then it may become "trending." This means that it shows up on the side bar of Facebook, making it way more visible for many other people.

So here is my challenge to everyone... ha yeah missionary habit to invite people to act.... but any who.... I CHALLENGE YOU (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!) TO POST SOMETHING FROM CONFERENCE! I encourage everyone to use the #LDS #LDSCONF #GENERALCONFERENCE #THEPROPHETSPEAKS or even the speakers names. If we all do this we can be a huge force for good on the internet.


Well I think that is all that I have to say... I think I just miss writing to be honest.

Love,
Afton Michelle

I'm not ready to be a returned Sister Missionary!

So for those who have been Faithful in following my blog you may have noticed that I have not posted recently, which of course should happen because my weekly letters get put on here... yeah about that.

So on June 27th 2014 I came home early from my mission.

I had been having hip pains and problems for the past 6 weeks, which had been a really humbling experience. I had been to doctors who couldn't tell me what was wrong or what had happened, and to be honest I was frustrated. I wanted more than anything to run from house to house and talk to everyone in our path, which is difficult when you are traveling the speed of a snail.

I went to Florida to preach the gospel, not to lay in a bed.

So that was it, I was promptly put on a plane to come home to get better.
The plan right now is to get back out there as soon as I can. And boy, are we doing nearly everything we can to get this fixed. Trips to the chiropractor 3 times a week, massages (my favorite), lots of new stretches, WATER, and more prayers than I ever imagined.

I'm so not ready to be a returned Sister Missionary.

I'm not ready to date,
or watch t.v.
I'm not ready to hear politics,
or see loved ones fall off the path.
I'm not ready to stop praying for investigators,
or to be alone by myself.
I'm not ready to listen to the radio,
or to realize everyone's lives continued while I was gone.
I'm not ready for pants,
or to pretend like I didn't get a bit of a southern drawl.

But I am ready to do Heavenly Fathers will.
I am ready to uplift others,
and to try and be my best self.
I am ready to learn more about who I am,
and where I need to be.

I am ready to see some miracles happen,
even if they are only the small and simple things.


So here I am. Not ready, but ready, all at the same time.

I love ya'll.
Wish me luck.

Love,
Sister (Afton Michelle) Chambers

Look before crossing the road or you might get hit by a fire truck

This week has been quite eventful. We have been so busy trying to see
every Less active or potential investigator to invite them out to the
Luau that took place on Saturday.
The Luau ended up being a hit!
We had a whole smoked pig (which the church still smells like...) and
lots of fun.
We were able to have two less actives join us and 3 investigators. One
of our investigators competed in a hula hoop contest and won!
After the Luau we took them on a tour of the church, and they seemed
to like it a lot and wanted to come the next day. Unfortunately they
had to cancel at the last second, but they may be more inclined to
come now because they are familiar with everything.
Oh and sorry I forgot to tell everyone that this was transfer week...
that's why I didn't send out my usual e-mail yesterday.
Any who, a few weeks ago we invited a guy and his sister out to church
with us, and they came and we were super excited. Well we went back
last week to invite them to the Luau. The Brother was not there but it
was perfect because we finally had time to talk to his sister and see
if she had any questions. She asked us a few questions and then she
got to the Book of Mormon and was asking a bit about what it was, she
said her brother had told her some things about it. So we asked her if
she wanted a copy of her own. She got so excited!!! So we gave it to
her. She told us that she was going to put off all other reading until
she finished the Book of Mormon. Yipee!
We will be seeing both of them on Thursday to finally go over the
restoration in full.
With trying to see so many less actives we have been able to have
lessons with a few less actives that it is usually hard for us to get
ahold of. It has been so neat to kind of watch peoples lives from a
distant and see the Lords hand in everything. I have learned that he
continually gives us MULTIPLE chances to accept to live the gospel
more fully in our lives. He opens the doors for these less actives
time and time again. Now whether they walk through the door or not
that is their choice and their agency. BUT it's always open.
God is so Good. He is always in the details of life. If you can't tell
why something is happening you just have to take a step back an see
the bigger picture, or get a little closer to notice a detail about
something.

Oh so here is a story for all of ya'll....
Yesterday we drove up to a potentials house and Sister Shumway almost
parked in front of a fire hydrant, but then I pointed it out to her
and she moved the car up more away from it. Right after she parked the
car a fire engine came bolting down the road. She looked at me and
said moving away from the fire hydrant was a very good idea. We got
out of the car and started to cross the street when we got honked at
by another fire engine making its way down the street. (It scared
Sister Shumway pretty badly) So 6 fire trucks later we were really
curious as to what was happening. They were over by a potential, two
investigators and a members house so we were really interested. We went
and found out it was different house that had caught on fire. Everyone
made it out safely and they quickly got the fire contained. Though it
was scary it was a good opportunity to meet some of the people in the
area. It seems like no one here knows their neighbors, until there is
a tragedy, then everyone comes out of the woodworks.

Online work!!!
It has been so grand to have the facebook events up and running each
week. I have been able to send missionaries to a few different people
and send out some more copies of the Book of Mormon. Yesterday I even
posted a post with a quote from President Monson and a non-member
shared the post on her wall. Ha it is so neat! The Lord is really
hastening the work. We just have to keep our eyes open for the
opportunities to share this wonderful message with those around us.

So I'm not being transferred. Actually all the Missionaries in our
ward are staying in our ward. There seems to be some big changes
basically everywhere else though. We have so many new people in
leadership positions. It's interesting to see how things pan out, who
goes where and who ends up with who.

Another weird story...
We went to a members house last Monday. She offered us an apple so we
took her up on the offer. As she closed the fridge door I noticed
something. On her fridge was a picture of LINDAY FULTON! A wedding
invite. In Florida. Well turns out that she married the members,
husbands, best friend... if that makes any sense.
So it was a weird moment when the world became a lot smaller than I
thought it was.


I'm not sure what else to inform ya'll on. I hope that everything is
going well for you and that your summer is not as sweltering as it is
here. But at least we get a few rain storms each week... well it
doesn't really help because it just makes everything really humid, but
oh well. We love the lightning storms they bring.

Love ya'll!
Love,

#discoverthebook

Dear family and fiends how all ya all doing

So this week launched our facebook campaign #discoverthebook which
many of you may have seen or heard about. Well it was super
successful. We were in the Deseret news, and Mormon.org did a write up
on us. We are starting to get peoples attention. BUT this week is part
two. Tomorrow is the event #searchthebook. We want everyone to post a
picture of them reading the Book of Mormon in their favorite reading
spot. Make it your profile picture for the week, so more people will
have the chance of seeing it! The other facebook missions are joining
with us and hopefully we will have 100,000 people invited to attend
this event, but we need your help. Please look up the event on
facebook and join it since I can't personally invite you on facebook
to do that!
But we have seen MIRACLES from it! Me and Sister Shumway have been
able to send out 3 copies of the Book of Mormon to people. One in
Ohio, one in Arizona, and another to North Carolina. People are
interested in reading it. Also a girl found me and we have been
teaching her a bit. She just started meeting with Elders but after a
lesson or two with us she had decided to be baptized!!!! This week she
is praying about when. Super excited. Too bad my mission president
won't let me go to Canada to see it :/ ha just kidding. :)
But with the online miracles comes some of the online crazies. One
lady told me that Joseph Smith was taken over by the angel Mormoni. I
had a good chuckle at that one.
Our investigators are kind of at stand stills right now. So we are
taking a big leap of faith and dropping those who are not progressing,
and trying to find people who will progress. We need to find those who
The Lord has prepared to learn about this right now, and just let the
seeds we have planted in others grow for a while.
We have been doing a lot of tracting and have met some very
interesting people. Most of them have been nice this week. One lady
even gave us some mimosas and peaches from her front yard. Mimosa
smells so wonderful! The south really does beat us when it comes to
lovely smelling flowers.
I gave my first training in district meeting. It  was on the Book of
Mormon. I have come to love that book soooo much more than I even
thought was possible. A lady this week asked us why we carry around
the Book of Mormon and not the bible. Well I realized a bible wouldn't
do us much good here any way because everyone already has one, and
they all interpret it differently. The Book of Mormon is so important
because it really does show us that we have the priesthood power in
our church. THE PRIESTHOOD it EVERYTHING! It's the most important part
of the religion. If it wasn't for that we would just be another church
without authority to perform saving ordinances.
So many people just go for socializing down here. Its pretty crazy.
Oh I don't know if I mentioned this but our President has asked that
we ask our friends and family back home to join us in praying and
asking Heavenly Father to help us achieve our goal of 1,000 baptisms
this year. We need a lot of help and a lot of faith that we will be
able to do this. Each missionary signed a banner with their name and
how many they say they want to baptize this year, I will send a
picture later.
We also attended Emma's baptism this week. She is already a member of
the ward, but we took our investigator and taught the restoration. It
was fantastic!
I'm not sure what else there is to share except pictures! :) have a great week!
Love,
Sister Chambers

This is going to be BIG

Well I will just jump right in I hope all ya all that is family

and friends are doing well

So this week our mission is launching a huge facebook event called
discover the book and I need everyones help! Join the group called to
share and invite ALL of your friends. Then Tomorrow at 11. we need
everyone to post a picture of themselves holding the Book of Mormon
open in front of your face. We are trying to share this all over the
world and need everyone we know on board. All 26 facebook missions are
helping us and we have even gotten a hold of some very famous Mormons.
I will send an attachment of my Picture I will use.
This week has been a test of faith, but still good none the less.
All of our investigators dropped us but one, and on tuesday our zone
leaders said that they prayed and they felt prompted that all of us
should commit to a baptism this month. Well we don't have many gators
so we know that this is going to be a miracle, and only by the power
of God will this happen. So each ward fasted for one day last week to
jump start the month, and then this week, everyday we are fasting from
a different thing like music, candy, mail, and other things.
Our mission is trying to expand its vision. As part of that our goal
is 1000 baptisms this year. So Our president has asked that we invite
all our families and friends to pray with us that we will be able to
find those 1000 people who The Lord is preparing to hear the gospel at
this time. It's pretty exciting, but we need all the help that we can
get!! :)

Lot of things in the works here, including a southern luau.
The other sisters started heading this project, but have gotten so
busy with facebook that it has kind of been handed over to me and my
comp. So we are putting on a luau!! It will be awesome, we are even
having a full sized pig there and hawaiin dancers. The young men are
performing the hawka, and its just going to be fantastic.

I also had a surprise tradeoff this week. The sister training leaders
forgot to tell us, but it was awesome none the less. It's good to kind
of get away.

We had presidents interviews on Friday and it was so good to sit down
and talk with the president and his wife. they are super sweet and I
know that they are my mission president for a reason.

I also want to hear from everyone what their favorite Book of Mormon
scripture is and why... EVERYONE has been slacking at this. PLEASE can
I hear them? :)

Well we have a very busy day today and we must be going. So I bid you adieu.

Love,
Sister Chambers

yellow flies and yucky guys

Dear family and friends 

I hope you have had a wonderful week here is my adventure for this past week

So I have discovered a new insect, Yellow flies. They are
horrible. They follow you around and bite you and are just not very
nice. We accidentally walked into a group of them and they stayed with
us all the way home, which was about a mile from where we ran into
them.
The yucky guys part come from the ward members. Saturday night there
was a relief society event, a pintrest party, and everyone had their
phones out showing me pictures of different guys they want me to
marry. I don't think I will have any problems finding a date when I get home.

Any who this week has been interesting. Actually pretty hard. We had 2
nearly 3 people drop us this week and our investigator who was
supposed to be baptized called it off. BUT good news is she is still
investigating, and now the ward wants to get more involved to help her
get to her baptism.
With all these tough things happening I realized that something
wonderful MUST be coming our way, or else our faith wouldn't need
testing right now. :)
But on the plus side...
It was fun to see all the pictures of graduation this week, congrats to ALEX!

Not too much happened this week that is note worthy. Oh we did go to a
priesthood training meeting on Saturday, and it was strange to be in a
sea of white shirts. But they fed us pancakes, with ice cream on top,
so it was totally worth it.

One thing we are focusing on is family history. There is a sister here
who had to go home early because of health problems but has been able
to come back out, any who she said that the only thing she could do to
stay in the missionary mindset and feeling was to do family History.
One thing that I didn't realize that we could do is upload stories and
photos of our ancestors. I know that we have some lying around
somewhere, we need to get them into the system so I can show others
where I come from :)
It's amazing how quickly Family History softens the hearts of all
those around us. It's like magic.

Well, running out of things to say. Hope ya'll have a great start to
your summer! Love ya!

Love,
Sister Chambers

Mango Mac n cheese

hello to all the people I know

So Yesterday I had some great Mango mac n cheese. I was kinda nervous
to try it, but now I am a big fan and will have to make ya'll some
when I get home! :) I also had dolphin, doesn't make me too happy...
but they said it was an ugly dolphin. ?

This week was good...

Highlights include:
Finding Wild Blackberries,
3 investigators at church,
Zone conference,
Chinchilla,
and 2 parties!

The 3 investigators that we had at church was such a miracle. One day
we were going to go pick up something from a member, who happened to
not be there, so we turned around and were walking back. Along the way
we met a man walking his dog. Well he had a giant tattoo on the back
of his leg with 4 nails making a cross, so I asked him about it. Turns
out he loves Jesus. Also turns out that he and his sister are church
shopping currently. We invited them to come to our church. He said
hmm, ya know what my sister was just saying the other day that we
should try a local church. :) We got his contact info and he and his
sister did come to church! They sat behind us, and then our gator with
a baptism date came in late and sat down next to us. After the
sacrament our bap gator turned around and freaked out. The sister was
her music teacher in Middle school, how neat! So we invited her to the
baptism, and I'm pretty sure they are coming. Church was pretty great
because it was a missionaries farewell, he is going to Australia
speaking mandarin, so the whole day was mission themed, and the gators
have a few questions to ask us so we are going back! :) Miracles do
happen!

Zone conference was wonderful! We focused on a talk entitled the
consecrated missionary. It was neat because I don't ever remember
reading it officially, but many things stood out to me like I had just
read them recently. The talk was very straight forward about how we
need to really do our best and be exactly obedient, why? Because we
love The Lord. This has stuck in my head whenever the natural man
tends to ask why we are doing something. Any who, I loved conference
and being able to hear from our leaders and get ideas about how to
better help our investigators. Our focus right now is GENEALOGY.
President feels like this will be a huge thing that we can do with
people so that they can feel the spirit of Elijah, and their hearts
can be softened so they will be open to receiving the gospel
themselves. Actually that is how our investigator decided to be
baptized. We taught the plan of salvation and told her about spirit
paradise and prison and how all our ancestors who where not baptized
wait there for us to be baptized for them. BUT in order to be baptized
for them we must be baptized ourselves. Well that is when she knew
that she had to be baptized, so that she could help her family. It
just makes me so happy.

Chinchilla! One of our new investigators has a chinchilla, and I got
to hold it! Man that thing was so soft! I was kind of nervous to hold
it because it just looks like a hybrid of a rat and a rabbit, but it
ended up being pretty friendly. Pictures to come.
But our new investigators love learning about the church. We taught
the plan of salvation and they just soaked it up like little sponges!
Hopefully they will be able to come to church this week.

Parties! We went to two of them this week. One with all the people who
live in our area of the ward, and the other with the young women. They
are selling lumpia, which is like egg rolls, for their camp
fundraiser. We went over with our gator to help make them. The young
women are so amazing. I'm grateful that I have spent more than half of
my mission in young womens with an investigator.

Oh also yesterday we had 2 less actives at church. One had her baby
blessed and the other is trying to come more regularly, which is just
blessed!

Well I feel like time between p-days is just getting shorter and
shorter. Didn't I just write ya'll last week. Time is flying by!

I love ya'll and hope that you are having a great Memorial Day!
Love,
Sister Chambers

The ABC's of being a Missionary

Dear family And friends

Many things happened this week and we will just begin with the ABC'S

A and B are for AppleBees!
This thursday was Sister Shumways 20th Birthday so we went out to
Applebees with our carpanionship. (I have decided it was a pretty
clever name for them.) When we got there one of the sisters gave us
both gifts. Mine was a key chain of a bee to always help me remember
that one time that I was stung by a dumb bee.

C is for CAKE!!
I think a week ago I sent you a picture of that pink and yellow cake I
made? Any who this week I made and ate a lot of cake, judge least ye
be judged. ;) I made Sister Shumway special pancakes made out of
funfetti cake mix. They were pretty tasty. Then with the left over mix
i made cup cakes.
Her favorite type of cake is Black Forest cake. It is chocolate cake
with cream cheese and cherry pie filling. I must admit though that I
am getting pretty great at making cakes. This one was really tasty. I
liked it because there was no frosting on top that would sit really
heavy in your stomach, so you just felt like you could keep eating it.
Then on Saturday we had a meal with a member and guess what they gave
us... cheese cake, which is still in the cake family. And she gave us
some to go. I think I am getting all caked out!

Besides that we had a very busy week this week.

Monday- We had a lesson with our Gator Betsy and brought a member
along with us. The member was stellar and just invited Betsy over to
her home for dinner with us on saturday and to watch Joseph Smith
Prophet of the restoration.

Tuesday- We had lessons with our little Rosie before she went to young
womens, and also we have another gator also named Betsy who came and
watched finding faith in christ with us at the church. Oh also we
walked 3 miles to a lesson from the church, and 3 miles back. It was
really hot and we were really tired.

Wednesday- Our ward mission leader came out with us for a lesson. The
lesson fell through so he went and walked around the neighborhood with
us. We introduced him to some of our investigators and were able to
have two lessons. One with Denise and one with Mike. We even scheduled
another lesson for this upcoming wednesday. We also introduced him to
Bill (the wwII vet) (oh and Dad I did shake his hand and say thanks
for all he has done for our freedom).

Thursday- We had a zone meeting, and it was pretty swell. I love those
meetings because it brings the spirit more into the work and I have
noticed that each time I really feel the spirit stronger it makes me
want to work harder and do more! :) Also this was Sister Shumways
birthday! We just ended the night with tracting and looking for more
people to teach.

Friday- I felt really really really sick when I woke up. We took the
carpanionship sisters to a meeting that they had, then we went to
another room to study and I fell asleep on the ground. Later we talked
to the Mission Presidents wife and it turned out I was just really,
really, really dehydrated. She made me drink 3 water bottles right in
front of her. That seemed to help a lot, but now everyone is on my
case about how much water I am drinking. We planned for our week and
then took off to tract. We were walking a street we usually walk on
and then I noticed that another street stems out from it. So we
decided to go down it. The first 2 houses were duds. The third house
we knocked on a man came to the door and then said that he was going
to get the lady of the house. When she came walking up she was
carrying a load of laundry and seemed a bit frustrated that someone
was at the door for her. She threw the basket down and then turned to
see who it was. Surprisingly we knew her and she knew us!! She is
actually pretty good friends with a member and a less active. We had
met her about a month ago at the hospital when we went to see our less
active and her new baby. So instantly perked up and invited us in. We
were able to share with her the message of the restoration and invited
her to be baptized and read the Book of Mormon. She said yes!! We are
meeting with her next friday and a member (her friend) might even host
it in her home!!! Oh God is Good! It's more then just good luck that
we knocked on her door.
After we realized that we had given her the last copy of the Book of
Mormon in my bag so we headed back to the car for more. On our return
back there were some people out smoking and drinking in their drive
way so we went up to talk to them. One man invited us to a bbq and to
the beach on Sunday. He also invited us to partake of items that are
against the word of wisdom. We declined. He then asked if we were nuns
and we told him we were missionaries and then he de-invited us to the
bbq. He said other interesting things that I may just need to save for
stories when I arrive home. The best way to put it was that he was way
drunk. Maybe when he sobers up he will find out card and check out the
website. I guess we can only hope.

We then continued down the street and saw one of our gators out
smoking with one of our potentials. She seemed to be having a rough
day. We went over and talked, and she had some great questions about
the plan of salvation. We taught the second lesson and found out that
she really does want to stop smoking. We told her about the power that
the Book of Mormon can really give her, a power that could even help
her overcome her weaknesses. She was pretty intrigued by that. I hope
she puts more effort into reading it!

Saturday- We helped said gator with a garage sale in the morning. She
then introduced us to some of her neighbors and it was the sweetest
thing because she introduced us as her sisters. I love her and I am so
sad that her house sold so she is moving in a month to wyoming. She
said that after our missions we have to come visit her, so we are
already mapping out a road trip!!! Maybe she will be baptized by then
and we can go to the temple with her soon after!! :) Please keep
praying that Denise will read the Book of Mormon!! :)

We had correlation with our ward mission leader who seemed to be very
impressed with the work me and sister Shumway are doing. Which is kind
of abnormal for him. He seems to look for your faults and point them
out. It's all in good work though because he wants to see us work like
a finely tuned machine. I was also flattered a bit when he told me he
is going to be really upset when I leave and that he will call
president craig and give him a piece of his mind if he decided to move
me. (also mind you he is a welch man and everything he says is in a
British accent, I'm getting pretty good at mimicking him)

Following our meeting we had dinner with the other sisters at Sister
Davelines along with our investigator Betsy. She really enjoyed
watching Joseph Smith: prophet of the restoration, though she seemed
to gain a lot of questions, like what where with the oxen in the
temples, and what where the swoopy  nosed creatures (the sun stones on
the temple)

Sunday- We went to the Fort Lauderdale Temple dedication! It was so
wonderful. Uchdorf spoke and he was pretty comical. He said that he
was so glad to see all the young people that were in attendance, and
that some of them were still awake. He said that it was ok that others
were sleeping because a church sleep is a healthy sleep, that they had
come there to find peace, and peace they found. One thing he said that
I really enjoyed was that things of the temple can not be explained,
they can only be felt. He gave the example of a boy asking his parents
how they knew they loved him, when they tried to explain their answers
the young boy was not pleased with the response. The parents then
asked him how he knew that he loved them, he said I feel it here, in
my heart.
I have learned that one of the biggest things of this gospel is not
necessarily knowing, or learning, but feeling. The Spirit will always
testify of truths, so all we have to do is become so in tune that we
will be able to hear him testifying to us.
We stopped by and saw Betsy and were able to read the first chapter of
the Book of Mormon with her. She is the sweetest little old lady that
you have ever met. Except for my grandmas of course.

But any who I have big news!!
On thursday I get to go to the Orlando Temple!!! YAY!
1 yr ago on the 3rd I received my own endowment.
1 yr ago on the 4th I opened my mission call.
Now I get to go back to the house of The Lord. It seemed like this
would never be a possibility for me on my mission because Orlando is
not within our mission boundaries. But now we can attend twice on our
missions, our half way mark, and right before we go home. It will be
so wonderful to see everyone from the MTC there with me. We were
unfortunate to not be able to go to the temple together when we were
at the MTC because the provo temple was closed for cleaning. But now
we get to go and I am sooooo excited!
Also next Mother's Day I get to talk to mi familia! Wahoo! Can't wait,
this is the best week ever!!!


So here are some requests of ya'll this week.
Pray for Betsy, Denise, and Jennifer to read the Book of Mormon.
Pray for Mike's heart to be opened.
And pray that Rosangela will pick a day to be  baptized this month.



Also I would like to hear your "Ah Ha" moments from the Book of
Mormon. Our mission Presidents wife has been asking for us to share
these with her for all of my mission and it has been really neat to
read some of them. But just this past week our mission President and
his wife had the opportunity to meet with Elder Holland and some other
Mission Presidents. Elder Holland said that we as a church need to be
having more "Ah Ha" moments with the Book of Mormon. These will come
as we truly search for knowledge from the Book of Mormon. So please
share your insights with me! They may just be inspiration that will
help me with my investigators.

Well I love all of ya'll!
I love ya little, I love ya big, I love you like a little pig. However
that much is...? :)

I hope you make this week just as awesome of a week as mine is looking
out to be!
Love,
Sister Chambers