SO it's been three months as of today! Our little boy is now officially in his third month and is going strong. Especially in the middle of the night. Hah. But he's adorable when he does get a good amount of sleep, and, well, even if he doesn't.


Our family with our only-days-old Levi. I really don't like the way I look in this picture, but why sugar coat things right?


Like I said, let's be realistic. And you must agree that he is still cute when he cries.


One month old and looking very alert.


My sister-in-law Emily with brand new Gideon, me with Levi and my sister Tatiana with one-year-old Mikey.


Everyone needs risqué photos from their babyhood. Here was my attempt at draping his towel in a roman god-like fashion. (Or is it greek?)

But seriously, we are so happy to have our sweet baby and he has been really fun. Those moments when he's just watching you and then gives you a smile right out of the blue are the most precious. I love it!

22 Sep, 2008 | kyrsan | Leave comment - 5 -

Anyone watching the news in the past few weeks has learned about the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Currently a polygamy sect in Texas is getting press for the child abuse and arranged marriages that have taken place within their compound.

First of all, I want to make it excessively clear that this religious sect has nothing to do with Mormons. It has nothing to do with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I don't know much about the FLDS church beyond what I have heard in the news, but the little education, regular beatings and arranged marriages that are supposedly associated with that sect are so far removed from the practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that a distinction must be made.

The education level in the LDS church, or "Mormon" church is very high. Approximately 60% of the church has received higher education. There are no arranged marriages. The average age for marriage in our church is 23, and a little higher for men. We live very much in the mainstream and our occupations are spread across normal occupations for the countries we live in.

Women in our church are not subjugated as some news reports show the FLDS women as being. We are by and large a happy, industrious people that dress and behave very similarly to mainstream America.

“In the public mind, the word Mormon has come to mean something very specific. It conjures up images of Mormon missionaries on bikes, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Mormon temples. It has become a synonym for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Consequently, when Mormon is used to describe polygamist groups, it causes great confusion about our beliefs among the general public and frustration to our members, which number over 12 million worldwide."

All of my quotes and statistics came from http://newsroom.lds.org.

Please visit mormon.org to see our basic beliefs.

“The Associated Press Stylebook has recognized this difficulty and specified that the term Mormon is a nickname that should be applied exclusively to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and that it is not accurately applied to any other person or organization.”

21 Apr, 2008 | kyrsan | Leave comment - 1 -

Lately, more than ever, I have been reflecting on how blessed I am. My life is marked by joy and good circumstances. But I would not be so naive to write it down to coincidence. I know that my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, has marked a clear path towards happiness. The life he led and the sacrifice he gave make it possible for me to overcome my weaknesses and my sins. Through His atonement I can repent of my wrongdoings and align my life more and more with His. The beautiful plan of salvation teaches us that in this earthly life we prepare ourselves to return to Him and to our Heavenly Father. There is nothing I want more than to be found worthy of returning to their presence. And I know that I will be found worthy if I live my life according to righteousness and the commandments they've laid out for us. It is very humbling to be so dependent, but it is in their hands that I lay my trust. And so I share these thoughts with all who would read them, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior, Amen.

20 Mar, 2008 | kyrsan | Leave comment - 0 -

Job and I are expecting a little one this year! We're about five months along and held in our secret to help us adjust to the situation. We've had a successful ultrasound appointment as well as a few other appointments where we heard its heartbeat. And we're happy and full of hope that everything will go well.

Pregnancy has, of course, been a totally new experience for me. I’ve had mood swings galore and have certainly felt the need to throw up more than once. My belly is starting to show, so much so that my belly button is on its way out. The baby is kicking although it feels more like strange little hiccups or bubbles that have somehow found their way to my lower abdomen.

We had the nurse write the baby’s gender on a slip of paper at our ultrasound on February 6th. It took ‘till Valentine’s Day for my nerves to calm down enough so that we could open it. I’ve always thought the baby would be a boy, but I just wasn’t ready to accept it. I don’t have anything against boys but I’ve always had this idea that moms of boys somehow become less girly because of it. Anyway, I was right, baby is a boy! I’m glad I took some time to get used to the idea beforehand.

Another funny thing, some of the first people we told the news to were Job’s and my parents. So when we went to Mexico for Christmas, somehow his whole congregation found out our secret. I was not yet comfortable in my pregnancy skin at the time but almost lost it when a sister came up to me and patted my belly! I have always had defined personal boundaries and found that experience hard to swallow. Since then, however, I’ve had so many people approach me to touch my stomach that I don’t really notice it anymore. So yes, you have permission to do so next time you see me.

Anyway, we are happy and getting used to what all this pregnancy and being new parents will entail. It is perhaps an undeserved honor for us to be parents, but we’re excited to take on this great responsibility.

Yesterday, one of our young men at church told me how hard being a parent would be but that he thought it would be worth it. I smiled and said that he’d better be ready to remind me about that as soon as things start getting hard.

Here are three photos below.


Baby Rodriguez already has my nose, see?


Baby Rodriguez is doing head to toe touches. Glad to see that even though I can’t bend like that anymore, he can!


Me and my belly (I promise that the photoshopping was not an attempt to glorify myself, I just had an awful shadow behind me that I wanted gone).

06 Mar, 2008 | kyrsan | Leave comment - 4 -