New Calling: Ryan's turn!

While Ayla has a lot of stuff going on, Ryan and I merely tote along in her great shadow....and happy to be there too!

If it hasn't been mentioned before; Ryan is an awesome guy......and I'm not just saying that because he married me (poor feller-ha!) but he truly has a divine spirit. His positive attitude, willingness to serve and thoughtful nature is an impressive example. I'm always humbled at his spiritual abilities and a bit envious too; I struggle! He is also the best dad- period - to Ayla and Zoey. Ayla and I are two lucky ladies to have Ryan in our lives!

Ryan has an exciting new church calling- he has been released as First Counselor in the Bishopric and called onto the Stake High Council. His new responsibilities include: advisor to the Meridian First Ward, over the Stake Primary and Stake Baptisms.

We have been teased that the next step is.....what? Bishop? No, no, no way.....that would be crazy! I could totally see Ryan in that calling but me as a 'Bishop's Wife' is comical (suffice it to say, I would not have the patience for it). This new calling of his is just fine. He is actually home more often in the evenings (sweet!) and on Sunday's. It's fun having him home- feels kinda weird but it's great!

I've only had one opportunity to teach the Gospel and Doctrine class and it was scary- super scary. I keep thinking, "Seriously? Me as a Gospel Teacher? F-U-N-N-Y!" And as I was skimming through the upcoming lessons it appears that the lessons I know the least about are the ones I teach! Go figure....God's way of telling me to get my keester in gear and give my spirit a much needed energy boost. The more I read and study the less I know- does that make sense? I didn't know much before but now I really feel uneducated. Though it's strange how I'll be reading and cross-referencing and a principal suddenly comes to life and it's one of those "Aha!" moments. Wow, there truly is order in what seems like choas......hhhmmmm.....blows my tiny mind!

I Love People

I love people.....I enjoy them......they make me smile.

I especially enjoy talking with open-minded, intelligent people who are smart enough to realize they don't know everything and genuinely interested in having a two-way conversation. Although personally, I am more of a listener than a talker.

Each person is unique with different life experiences, challenges and stories. One of my favorite things to do is to listen to a person with stories- real stories- not embellished tales that the 'know-it-alls' out there seem to have (you know the type of person I'm talking about; the person who knows everything about anything and has done everything there is to do....like that funny character lady off of MAD TV). Those people crack-me-up! They are also interesting to listen too, literally, all you do is listen....

But the people who have real stuff to say, those are the truly fun conversations! I have a friend who works in Law Enforcement and she has some real, fun and at times, scary stories. I could listen to her for hours- she blows my mind! She causes me to think in a different way.

Then there is a friend who works in the medical field and she too, has some very interesting stories and knowledge to impart. She also causes my brain to think along a different path because she is so intelligent! So what's my point? Not really sure except I met a young lady/girl today that put my thoughts along this track of thinking about how different we all are.

This young lady in whom I attempted to have a conversation with (but she was more interested in touting her own opinion of 'self' than listening) was quite interesting. Our one-sided conversation was almost comical. The conversation began in the baby aisle and went like this,

Woman-standing-next-to-me: "How old is your baby?"

Me: "She is a year old almost exactly. How about yours?"

"My baby is a year and 3 months."

"That's great!"

"What is your baby eating?"

Me: "Oh, my baby was born at 25 weeks and doesn't eat yet- we are just getting started, experimenting with textures."

"My baby started eating at 7 months."

"Seven months- that's neat!"

"Yeah, but my sister has twins and they were born 2 months early too, and they are a year old. They don't eat good yet so I am going to teach them how to eat this weekend."

Me: "Actually, my baby was born 4 months early, not 2 and there are many issues with babies born that early. She weighed 1.6 pounds at birth."

"Oh- well my sister's babies just don't eat soft foods so I'm gonna teach them this weekend because my sister just doesn't make them do it."

"Really? Can you really force a baby to eat?"

"Oh yes! I never had any problems making my baby eat when she was 7 months old!"

"Was your baby born at full term?" (still being nice at this point in the conversation).

"Yes."

"That makes a big difference in the development of the child- babies born prematurely can struggle a bit but they will eventually get there."

"Huh- well my sister just hasn't made them eat yet and I think it's time they learn."

Me: "Were your sister's twins born with any issues? Like breathing?"

"No- just born preemie, there's nothing wrong with them except they don't eat good. But I'm gonna fix that."

**at this point it was like talking to a brick wall so I smiled at the nice girl and politely told her,

"Good luck!" and walked away....sometimes, it's best to just walk away....

Seriously, I wasn't aware that one could "force" a baby to eat...if so, could that person please, please come and teach us how to "force" Ayla to eat? Especially in one weekend? Silly, silly people! I love people, I truly do because my days would be b-o-r-i-n-g without all the fun interactions!

Ode to: C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T-E!!

Lately my posts have been melancholy and reflective and frankly, kinda 'downers'. I am not a 'downer' type person (though don't mistake my seriousness and quietness for sadness) and am actually quite happy and positive. After all, what's the alternative, right? Someone once even described me as "a nice person".....ha! Nice is for people who say things like, "I never apologize. I'm sorry, but that's just the way I am." So I have a weird, dry sense of humor and like to be around people who make me laugh; probably why I love Ryan so much- he's hilarious!

**Note to Ryan: "I ONLY EAT CHOCOLATE FOR YOU, SO THERE WILL BE MORE OF ME TO LOVE**

Did I mention that I have a most unhealthy obsession with chocolate? Seriously! Who else raids their freezer late at night and eats from the chocolate chip bags when a candy bar is nowhere to be found?? Oh, and there is no such thing as 'in moderation' for me; it's the entire bar or nothing! Sick, I know....

This chocolate obsession appears to have increased over the years and try as I might to replace eating celery sticks instead of chocolate....it's just NOT the same! The irony is that I cannot fathom why the dryer insists on shrinking my clothes; it's a conspiracy!

{I AM NOT OVERWEIGHT. I AM CHOCOLATE-ENRICHED}

Did you know there are Chocolate Lovers Group meetings? and Chocolate Lovers Conventions and Gatherings? You can't make this stuff up.....I may love chocolate, but not that much! But I do love the stuff (a lot), unhealthy, hip-padding that it is! I think I must be allergic to chocolate; every time I eat it, I break out in fat all over!

I would give up chocolate, but I am no quitter! 'Nuff said.

Your Plan

The Plan: your plan, my plan.....the Master Plan.

"The Master's Plan" has been on my mind, a lot. God is good; He has a plan for our lives and wouldn't it be nice to at least have an outline? Or an idea of what our specific accomplishments are suppose to be?

For an unknown reason I have been frequently drawn towards reflecting on my life and noting the many miracles which have occurred (those of which I can recall and am aware of). Many of which I haven't thought of in years! Why this has been nagging at the fringes of my mind I am unsure.....perhaps it's prompted by this last year's life-changing events and the upcoming celebration of Ayla's birthday. Perhaps it's the Lord's way of reminding me that I need to rely on Him more and express increased gratitude. Maybe it could be (eeek!) I am finally starting to mature and become adult-like?? No....maybe.....it just might be!

I find myself mentally picturing the short timeline of my life and every so often I see a blip in the line, a dip or a twinkle; Miracles, Divine Intervention, Inspiration, Protection. But there is a specific incident which resonates the strongest and insists on keeping itself at the forefront. Most people outside of our family don't know about this experience, it's not talked about because it happened so long ago. And honestly, I haven't thought about it in a long time but it's recently been on my mind, often. Why? Not sure.....It happened when I was 11 years old; the ripe old age of eleven- that awkward, weird stage in life.

I was involved in a serious car accident which took the life of my great-grandmother and injured my grandmother and myself. We were broadsided on the passenger side by a semi; guess who won? Yep, the semi truck.....

The paramedics arriving on scene assumed the worst, I was in very bad condition pinned underneath the bumper of the semi inside the car, bleeding from the head, ears, mouth, arms, ect. In short; they had to cut me out of the car (it was that mangled) and life flighted to the nearest trauma hospital. It was messy. Upon initial assessment, my parents were informed that I would never walk, my legs were crushed, my brain injured, ribs & neck broken and massive internal injuries. The right side of my head has been peeled back (how's that for a visual?) exposing the skull.

Because the accident happened several hours away from my hometown, my aunt and uncle were first to the hospital and grabbed two missionaries to administer a blessing while I was in the ER.

I have vivid memories but will spare the gory details. :-) Here's the miracle; I only spent 4 days in the hospital and came away with NO SERIOUS INJURIES....fractured ribs and neck, sprained wrist and ankles, lots of bruises and cuts, hundreds of stitches and minimal brain damage. In reality, there is no reason I should have walked away from that accident with my brain and body intact. But I did by the grace of God because He has a Master Plan for me (little 'ol me). Which I'm still trying to figure out.....and for those of you wondering what is wrong with my memory- I have a VALID excuse! haa haa Don't misunderstand, my body does suffer residual consequences (which manifest more as I age) but I am blessed, I am healthy, I am positive. My grandmother and I were protected by angels.

I also received that cool 80's style 'Cyndi Lauper' hairdo with the one side of the head shaved; oh yeah- I was totally on-the-trend-hip!

All of this leads me back to last year 2009 and especially this current month. Much has changed for us within the last year. Ayla and Zoey...sweet miracles and another "Miracle Milestone" amongst the many in my life. What is God's plan for Ayla on this earth? Obviously a big one because she is here and thriving. We have the responsibility to raise her in harmony with her Master Plan....whatever that may be.

Zoey didn't need to gut it out here on earth to fulfil her Master Plan, she is fulfilling that on the other side...lucky girl! Yet she is also helping us, making sure we stay on track. Thank you Zoey! It is quite the motivator- we want to live our life in accordance so that we may be able to to return to see Zoey....someday.

I think perhaps part of my specific Master Plan was to bring Ayla & Zoey here, and maybe that is why I have been spared many times over....as before, wouldn't it be nice to have an outline?