Guy's 4D ultrasound wasn't working so well at my last appointment, so this is the best I can do for right now. Here is a picture of my little nudger (got that name from Kristen...its just so perfect) whose head, I'm scared to say, is about three weeks ahead of schedule. Of course I did sort of expect it...anyone seen Hiram's head lately? Unless something happens to change our minds, this here is Israel David Knight.

This is for those of you who aren't here to watch me grow...Mom, Karin, Liese, Erin, Ila, etc. Just wanted you to see what you're missing. =)


After viewing the picture above, tell me if you think I can pull The Grinch off for Halloween. Ha ha ha.

Trip to Lovelock

Hiram and I spent our 4-day weekend in Lovelock...

where we picked bushels of apples for his mother,

went exploring in the desert with his dad,

visited an old home of Mark Twain's (supposedly),

paid our respects to his grandfather, buried here in this cemetery,

made a new friend,

tricked a fish,

saw three rattlesnakes,

and had an all around wonderful time.

Hiram and I went out one afternoon to drive around in the hills for old time's sake and because Hiram absolutely loves doing it. At one point, he found this crazy steep hill he thought would be fun to drive up in his trusty old pickup, but he kept revving her up and then stopping and looking anxiously over at my belly (which is protruding quite nicely these days), then revving her up again, making it about half-way up the hill, and then looking back at my stomach. Finally he says to me, "I just can't do this with my baby in the car." I thought that was sweet. How things change when you know you're responsible for a tiny, little spirit. Ordinarily Hiram would have taken that hill without a second thought and then continued to look for bigger, steeper roads to travel, but he just couldn't bring himself to act like an idiot with a baby on the way.

Yet Another Testimony Booster!

I've had so many confirmations of the truthfulness of the gospel and the existence of a loving Father in Heaven, but sadly, I didn't have the wisdom to write them down as I experienced them and so many are now lost and forgotten. I'm making a commitment today, though, not to ever make the same mistake again and making good by posting this sweet little story.

A few days ago, Hiram and I went up to Morgan to secretly deliver a plate of Halloween goodies to one of the members of our Bishopric, one Brother Earl Anderson. Our plan was to drive away quickly after, unseen, but we were actually spotted by Brother Anderson while pulling up his street, so pretty soon we were taking a tour of his new home, losing miserably to him and his wife at Foosball, helping him to mow a neighbor lady's yard (really only Hiram helped), and being invited out to dinner at Taggart's. It was really an unexpected and good, fun time. Anyway, amidst our socializing, Hiram and I asked Brother Anderson how it was that he and our bishop, Bishop Hains, happened to know each other, clearly not being in the same ward boundaries, and he told us the following:

When he and his wife were moving from California to Utah many years ago, they were referred to Mark Hains (now our bishop) who is a realtor, and he helped them to find and buy a house. So, they had met and gotten to know each other a little bit through this process, but that was the extent of their relationship for nearly 11 years. At that point, Mark Hains was called to be the bishop of the University 9th Ward and needed to call counselors. He made a list of all the brothers he knew and thought would do a good job and quickly felt good about and called Kenyon Dove (a super cool dude), but he struggled finding another counselor. No one else really clicked, so he prayed fervently for inspiration one night and was blessed with a dream in which he clearly saw a white envelope with the name Earl Anderson printed on it. He had his answer. Now, after 11 years, he just had to make sure that Brother Anderson was still active in the church, which he was, and the result is our totally bad-A bishopric.

We've always really, really liked our bishopric and felt that they were inspired men, but this tale has served to strengthen my tesimony of the Lord and His love for his children. I know that our bishop and his two counselors were called by God to preside over our ward. I love this church!

An Amusing Subbing Experience

Last spring I was subbing for an elementary class (maybe 2nd or 3rd grade) in which the little girls in the class took a real quick liking to me-- I received quite a few notes throughout the day telling me that I was "nice" and other such sweet things. One girl in particular became very fond of me and presented me with a beautiful picture with cutout flowers that she'd put some real effort into. I was later approached by this same student and asked if I was going to be leaving a good note about her for the teacher. She had a legitimate concern, you see, because sweet and loving as she was, she was also a great talker and had received many warnings. I told her honestly that I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do that at which point she gently reminded me that she had given me a beautiful picture that she'd spent two recesses working on.

As much as I dread subbing for elementary because it takes so much dang hard work and patience, I do enjoy the little notes and pictures and hugs. Kids are great, and they do usually seem to really like me. There was this one time, though, when I had a girl come up to me and tell me, "Mrs. Knight, so-and-so just said you were mean. She said you were mean...and ugly." So, I guess you can't win them all.

My New Greatest Fear

My two greatest fears used to be (1) being burnt to death and (2) being buried alive, but as terrifying as I still find both of these horrible scenarios, I believe that I have found a situation that fills me with even more fear and dread. It's because I'm pregnant. I found myself wondering one day a while back what life must be like for my little fetus floating around blind (basically) in a bag of fluid unable to breath (the way I define breathing) or communicate in any meaningful way, and surprisingly, I really started freaking myself out. Logically I know that my baby is just fine and happy in its own little way, but I can work myself into quite a panic if I dwell much on the subject, as I did just yesterday. I sat thinking about how scary it would be if I were forced back into the womb-- crammed into a tiny ball and shoved into a dark, liquid-filled sack unable to see or speak or do anything but keep thinking about how terrifying my situation is until I lose it, and I actually started to feel physically unwell. My face and neck got hot, and I began to almost hyperventilate. So there you have it. My new greatest fear. Maybe you all are thinking I'm sick and weird and crazy for having shared this, but then again, maybe some of you are relieved to not be the only one with irrational and disgusting fears.