Need Prayers! :)

Hey all!  My cousin, Christamae, and her family are down in Disneyland having some fun.  Unfortunately, this morning, before all their party started for the day, they tried waking her up and she did not wake up. She is breathing but completely unconscious and has been like this all day.

Here is her blog:  http://www.caringbridge.org/ca/oellacz/

She has a really extreme form of Muscular Dystrophy, and the doctors can't figure out what is going in, so prayers would be very welcome :)  She is stuck at a hospital that has never seen her before....she practically lives at UCSF, so its always scary when the doctors don't know you, especially when your health is that precarious. :(

Thanks! :)  <3, Shayna

Free Fingernail Paintings!

Yes, you heard it!  Once in a lifetime opportunity!  You can get your fingernails painted for FREE on the Children's unit at Utah State Hospital!  

;)

Aren't they LOVELY??!!

"That is the letter 'T'"--KL

It's been quite a ball of fun the last few days ;)  

First off, Davi's party pictures....I actually didn't get any pictures of people before my camera died...oops...

By the end of the night, John had on a coconut bra. Ha...too funny! (you would think we were crazy Mormons..)

Then....the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake on Monday!...we were pretty excited...

Let me introduce to you:  Dallen, Jessica, and Shayna. 

I told my sister I'd name an animal after her since she couldn't come...and so I picked this one! ;)  

"Warning:  Choking Hazard. Do not eat dry poop, may cause choking for children under 3."

I LOVE ELEPHANTS!!! LOVE THEM!!!

I like em big, I like em chunky

The golden idol....the hippo that is (thats the thing on the bottom..he he jk dallen)

Kid: "Look mom!  Blueberries!"

Maybe I'll just use this one as an engagement picture one day.

And this would be Joel.  We found him in the bird exhibit and took him home with us.

Dallen, Erich, Jess, and Joel

Oh, so smug!

Then, we stopped off at the "This is the Place" spot, where Brigham Young stopped, overlooked the Salt Lake valley, and knew this was where they needed to end their seemingly endless journey.  Such courage, such faith, such persistence these pioneers had!  And Salt Lake is one of the most thriving cities in the US :) 

Everyone was pretty pooped on the way back!

This would be Erich. (up above)

Am I a slave?

Do you ever think about the future and where you want to be and what kind of a person you want to be? I often think of these things, especially concerning what kind of wife and mother I want to be.

There is a phrase in my patriarchal blessing that I always thought was ludacris in some ways.  Not to sound sacreligious, but I never thought it pertained to me.  It says "avoid the enslavements of Satan".  I've never had a problem with alcohol, drugs, pornography, or anything addictive (accept maybe sugar. ha) , so I never understood why that phrase was in there. But now that I am older and developing habits that I've realized have been there for awhile, I realize this can pertain to many other things besides sex, drugs, and rock and roll.  For instance, how much time do I spend on the computer?  Facebook?  How often do I check my phone for texts?  I check my gmail about 50 times a day in hopes that there is something new from someone.  These things you wouldn't think are problems, but when you become so dependant on that high of getting attention from someone, or finding out something new about one of your friends (i.e. the gossip of facebook), how comfortable are you in saying that you have no addictions, or that you are not enslaved in some way?  How often do you turn to the internet for entertaintment? And outside of the internet, maybe some people have this need to constantly be thrilled in life.  I hate to say it, but family life was never a day-to-day thrill for me.  It was more of a slow-moving stream.  So when we get to that point where we have a family, is it going to be difficult to find joy in that famly every single day if it is nothing but the same old thing, especially if we are used to really high highs?

I used to be frusterated with my mom because she would get so distracted on either the internet or in a book. She would be gone.  We would say, "Mom! Mom! Ryan is jumping off the roof again!"  and not until he was hobbling in bloody would she jump up and freak out and wonder how he got to that point.  I completely understand the need to escape, but how often do we let that interfere with life?  Goodness, I am doing exactly the same thing that my mom used to do, and I don't even have kids!  (Not to criticize my mom, I love her very much with all my heart!)

Anyway, these are just some thoughts.  I guess I better look at my life a little bit deeper and figure out what things need to change in order to be a better wife and mother.  Like, what sacrifices am I willing to make to get to that point? What am I willing to give up?  Maybe I am addicted to the social life of being single, of having all the free time in the world, of music that pounds in the ears and makes you want to dance, of spending my money on no one but myself, on not having to plan things out or take in the needs and desires of others?  I must say I really enjoy my quiet and clean bedroom and my "me" time.  I enjoy not having to report to anyone or share ME--either time, efforts, or what is truly going on with how I'm doing or feeling.  I don't LIKE being that way because I'm not happy--I am grateful my roommates help me out with that one. I'd like to think that once the right guy pursues, I will become this way--because why should I share my innermost self with just anyone when I'm not permanently attached?  :)  Maybe my expectations of life are not quite realistic.  Not that its impossible to have fun once you are married, for goodness sake, if I'm not having fun then I'm not doing something right :)  But MAYBE some of the things I do would make it difficult for my spouse to be happy--and for me to be happy too.

In all honesty, I am getting pretty tired and ready to just settle down and find that lasting joy in life.  I guess this is why I'm thinking, Alright, what is stopping me?  And what would make my husband's life and children's life awesome?  I may as well keep working on improving so that when I get there I will be that much more ahead of the game, and my husband and children will be that much more happy.  Of all things in life, this is one of my greatest desires, to have a blessedly happy, stable family.

For those of you who are married, I pose a question--What seem to be the most difficult things that you have had to face as a couple as far as personal habits go?  (Besides serious personal sins...we don't need to get into that because we don't want to embarass anyone!) 

I had a dream...

I had a dream....

I went over to visit one of my friends. He had some other friends over as well, and they were chatting.  His friend's infant was laying on the couch, and I thought he was cute so I picked him up.  

The baby started TALKING to me!  Talking baby.  He said, "The awesome things are the little things."  

I got the feeling that he was talking about marriage relationships.  From the mouths of babes, they say!   (maybe he was talking about himself!  ;) haaa just kiddin.....get it...he was a little thing...  )