My Conversion Story

When people hear that I am a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints they usually ask to me to tell my "Conversion Story". I usually smile and say something like , " oh it us not a very cool story. I took the missionary lessons and decided to get baptized." Then follows the question, " what got you interested in the church?"  I say that my friends got me interested.

But that is not my real conversion story.  The real story is much too long and personal to tell on the spur of the moment. But it is a very cool story if you are interested in reading it.

When I was eleven I was diagnosed with a bone condition called Perthes Disease. It is a rare degenerative hip condition that occurs mostly in young boys. For the onset of my Perthes to be at age 11 is very rare and makes for a difficult recovery. Still my doctor was optimistic that my condition would heal with physical therapy and rest within 18 months. That time frame seemed like forever to me.  No running or jumping for a year and half? Despite my physical therapy my pain and condition worsened to the point that I need pretty intense surgery. So I started seventh grade in a wheelchair with everyone asking if I had become paralyzed over the summer. Luckily that was not the case. My pain continued to get worse and I had another surgery the summer my following seventh grade. It was during this surgery that my doctor became discouraged at my lack of progress and the discovery of severe Chondrolysis. This is untreatable demise of otherwise healthy cartilage. At this point my doctor told us that the only option was to wait until I my bones were done growing so we could replace the hip entirely.

It is hard to describe the pain I had during the next few years. My leg had become very atrophied because I favored it so much. A measurement showed a two inch circumference difference in my thigh muscles and a little over an inch difference in the length of my legs. My difficulty walking and pain had become so severe that I couldn't walk between my high school classes without taking a couple breaks. A little embarrassing to stop in the hallway for several minutes with no apparent reason. I continued physical therapy during these years but with no improvement. Finally at age 16, I was able to have my hip replaced. I felt less pain that day than I had since I was eleven. I was overjoyed.

Throughout these six years I had often wondered why this had happened to me. My thinking as a child was that I had tried to be nice and I never cheated in school so why did I deserve this?  Although we didn't go to church my parents taught me to pray to Heavenly Father for help. My mom is my angel and I think she suffered more watching me go through this than I did actually going through it. She gave me a copy of my grandmother's old scriptures when I was thirteen. I had a series of very tender mercies and sacred experiences that only myself and maybe Tate some day will ever know about. I came to know the Savior the way we all come to know Him eventually, through experiencing a small part of what he suffered for us. And I came to know Him by applying the teachings in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Church has been the vehicle through which I have come to know the Savior of the World in a very special way. This is how I know it is true. I came to know the Savior.

This experience was planned for me and I am so thankful that Heavenly Father allowed me to experience it. It is difficult because I want Bennett to have a testimony like mine but I would die a thousand deaths before I would wish that experience on him. I guess we all earn our testimonies in a different way. That is the beauty of Heavenly Father. So when I don't want to pay tithing or get up early for church I remember these things. I am a very blessed daughter of God to have gone through this experience and to have literally had my heart and my hip healed by the Savior.

We are off to Michigan!

Hey everybody, thought I would give some updates.

I am so proud of Tate for graduating

with an MBA from

the

University of Utah.

We will be moving to Michigan in a few weeks and

he will be working for Ford. 

This is a great opportunity and we are very

thankful and excited.

 Las Vegas

 Afternoon Snack

 First Swim

Bennett is three and a half months old!

Weighs about 14 pounds.

He loves to

look at books,

dance with mom,

running legs,

swing,

practice standing,

grandma time,

sing songs,

look at mirrors,

suck his thumb,

smile, laugh,

and

look at lights.

 

 And Crew still LOVES Tate.

Hello Mr.

Despite my mild superstition surrounding the number thirteen we was overjoyed to welcome Mr. Bennett Tate Matta  at 11:13 A.M on February 7, 2013.  He was a little boy weighing 6lbs 12 oz and measuring 19 inches long.

We found out on Father's Day that we were going to be parents. We waited a couple months to announce the news but after we did, all I wanted for was for this guy to be here instead of inside my belly. I can't complain. I had a very easy pregnancy but to be honest the ONLY part I enjoyed was feeling little man move around and sharing that with Tate.

The magic week number 37 rolled around and it wasn't looking like I would have a baby anytime soon. We love our doctor! At the 37 week appointment the doctor mentioned that because my pelvis was somewhat small and I had had hip replacement surgery it might be a good idea to do a c - section if this baby was too big. I trusted our doctor but I was disappointed at the thought of having a c- section. It might have been dramatic but I cried most of the way home from the hospital and then went on a drive by myself to try to calm down.  I had spent months reading about childbirth and had my heart set a normal delivery. I have had five surgeries and I didn't want the birth of my baby to be another one. I guess that the end of the day I just didn't want my hip and those memories to be apart of this day in any way.

At our 38 week appointment I was one centimeter dialated and so happy. I was ready from him to come but again the doctor told me to be patient. Later that night, as Tate and I were going to bed my water broke. There was no question what had happened and Tate and I were so surprised. We just looked at each other in pure shock and didn't know what to do, much like when we saw the positive pregnancy test. All we could think to do was call Tate's mom who is the nurse for our doctor.

We got to the hospital around midnight and they started me on a low dose of medicine in hopes that my labor would start progressing and it did. I started having contractions every few minutes. Tate was asleep 90% of the time I was having contractions. I thought I was a tough girl but after a few hours I was in so much pain that I woke Tate up and asked for an epidural. I have had and epidural a couple times before but I have never been awake while they put it in. Ouch. It took the doctor four tries to get it in properly. All the while I was trying to hold still while having contractions and trying to curl up in a ball.

After that things went fast. An hour later I was a 6 then twenty minutes after that I was at an 8. About an hour later I was at a 10 and the nurse began coaching me through pushing. She explained that the baby was posterior which means that his face was turned upward which might make it harder to push him out. Tate was amazing. He coached me through pushing for the whole two hours. His encouragement really helped me to stay motivated. Finally baby boy was almost here. Our doctor coached me through the rest of the pushing and tried to turn the baby around but baby stayed posterior. When the doctor told me that I just had a few pushes left to go I got really nervous. For the whole pregnancy I had been so nervous to meet him. I worried about him breathing and just being okay. I started crying and kept crying through the last pushes. Then I felt the doctor put this little baby on my chest. I heard Tate's voice but I don't remember what he was saying. I heard these little whimpers. The nurses took the baby to make sure he was breathing and healthy. It took a couple minutes but they told me that everything was alright. My tears finally turned to tears of joy. Tate was with our little guy from the time he was born until I was able to hold him. They put the baby in my arms and I began talking to him. As I did, he opened his little swollen eyes and turned his head toward my voice. I will never forget this moment. I could tell that he knew my voice and was happy to hear it. I have been blessed with many happy moments but this one was the best moment of my life. A new baby and a new woman for sure. I knew i would never be the same after seeing those little eyes.

Tate was amazing through this whole experience and maybe he will write a post about the birth as well. I love them so much! We are a family!

Holidays in Review!

We had such a great first Christmas as a married couple! We spent all of Thanksgiving Day with my family since my parents would be out of town for Christmas this year. On Christmas Eve we had yummy soup at Tate's grandma's house and then went to temple square to see the lights. A tradition! 

Later that night Tate and I had hot chocolate, opened gifts from each other and watched The Sound of Music. Magical night.... until I spent the rest of the night awake and throwing up:( Could have been baby related, who knows.

Our attempt at a family Christmas photo ha ha.

Christmas morning we went to Tate's parents house to open gifts. We truly got spoiled with the cutest baby clothes, gift cards, stockings and our travel system! I wanted this stroller/car seat so bad!

Next we went to Gram and Papa's house for lunch and the big family get together. One highlight was talking to cousin Tasha who is on a mission in Tennessee. Since my family is so small I always hoped that I could marry into a big fun family like this one.

We ended the day playing with Eric's new X box. It is so funny to watch these guys!

We had a great day! I found myself really missing my family though and especially my twin. We have spent every Christmas together except for a couple years ago when I was in Egypt. Hopefully next year we can have more time together!

As for 2013... We will of course be welcoming baby boy Matta in February.

Baby Update:

33 weeks down. I'm really hoping he comes close to his due date which is February 22, 2013. If he is anything like his Papa maybe he'll be on time. I have been feeling pretty good. I really can't complain. I have had such an easy pregnancy.  We are really looking forward to baby showers and getting all the baby stuff set up.

Keegan Update:

I'm done teaching at Pingree for now. I was so sad to leave as I truly enjoy teaching those little sweethearts. I am still pursuing Grant Writing and hope to do more with that in 2013. Can't wait for my little man to get here!

Tate Update:

Tate is in his final semester as an MBA student at the U. He will graduate in May. As always he is busy with many activities and is very involved in school.

Some funny pictures of Crew: looking out the window for Tate

 Just got groomed!

 At the Dog park with mom.

 First time in the front seat:)

 Playin checkers with Jason and Shannon

Happy 2013!