Finding My Balance...

A dear friend of mine from Tulsa emailed me a part of a talk given by Henry B. Eyring. It hit me like a ton of bricks and was just what I needed to hear. As soon as I read it, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the amazing men that the Lord has called to lead and guide His Latter Day Saints.
For me, as a Latter Day Saint woman, young mother, and part-time working mother, I have way TOO MANY demands on my time. I have TOO MANY things that I feel I need to get done, but TOO LITTLE hours in a day to get them all done. I am a goal oriented person, (my husband likes to call me the task master) I am a list maker, and I like to check them off when I have completed something of that list. But a lot of times even I have a very hard time crossing those things off my list. This really frustrates me!
How do I find a good balance between church callings, kids, husband, work, house, and still manage to have a little time for myself? Who better to look to for advice than a man of who is called of God to do so?

If you are in need of a little balance in your life, please read these uplifting words of Henry B. Eyring:

I realize that there are some, perhaps many, for whom my urging to capture leisure time cuts like a knife. You feel overwhelmed by the lack of time. . . Rather than finding ways to capture leisure time for learning, you are trying to decide what to leave undone. There is another way to look at your problem of crowded time. You can see it as an opportunity to test your faith. The Lord loves you and watches over you. He is all-powerful, and He promised you this: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33). That is a true promise. When we put God’s purposes first, He will give us miracles. If we pray to know what He would have us do next, He will multiply the effects of what we do in such a way that time seems to be expanded. He may do it in different ways for each individual, but I know from long experience that He is faithful to His word. . . . I cannot promise academic success or perfect families. Nor can I tell you the way in which He will honor His promise of adding blessings upon you. But I can promise you that if you will go to Him in prayer and ask what He would have you do next, promising that you will put His kingdom first, He will answer your prayer and He will keep His promise to add upon your head blessings, enough and to spare. Those apparent prison walls of "not enough time" will begin to recede, even as you are called to do more. (Ensign, Oct. 2002, 20-21)

4th of July in Wyoming...

Fourth of July was very different than what we are used to, mainly because Rob wasn't with us. But it was very enjoyable as well. All my siblings and their kids (Except Olivia, we missed you sissy!) came over to spend the long weekend together. We ate good food, played games, the kids played in the backyard, we drove to Red Lodge Montana and had a picnic and watched a parade, and we of course had some fun fireworks. Here are a few pics of our weekend!


Me and Bella outside in my mom and dad's front yard. Bella turned 20 months old this weekend, and she is such a big girl now!

The Budweiser Clysdale (spelling?) horses in the Red Lodge 4th of July parade. They were HUGE!

Alyssa waving at the cowgirls and cowboys on their horses. She was so excited!

The family salutes the flag and the soldiers that carried it to start the parade. (Please excuse the non-matching outfit Bella has on. She threw up all over herself on the way up to Red Lodge.) Story to follow at a later date.

Bella feeling very patriotic!

Adventures in Wyoming - Part 2

We are still having lots of fun in Wyoming and I don't think my parents are sick of us...yet! Which is good, because we have another 6 weeks to go until we leave to go back to Oklahoma. For all of our Oklahoma friends who might be wondering what we have been up to or what life in my little town of Cowley looks like- this blogs for you! (You too babe!)


Alyssa assisting grandpa fix her bike. The chain came off and she was so depressed about it. Grandpa came in and saved the day!

We celebrated my dad's 57th birthday. Here he is with his chocolate silk pie and me and his grandkids.

Alyssa and Bella helping grandma vacumn the couch and floors. Grandma thought she would teach her grandkids a lesson and give them all chores to do whenever they complained of being bored. Too bad it backfired on her, because Alyssa LOVES to clean! Where ever would she get that from??

I paid $1.00 each to my two nephews and Alyssa for washing my van the other day. I got a clean car and it gave them something fun to do in the water on a warm day. WIN..WIN!

This is the street going by the elementary school in my home town. Quiet, peaceful, and kind of cute isn't it?

This is the old Cowley high school and log gym that my parent's attened high school and played sports at. Now it is used for office space and for town events.

Aunt Tamara, Ethan, Bella, Garrett, and Alyssa (me behind with the camera) taking a walk around town.

Alyssa feeding some horses nearby our house.

We have been taking lot of walks and bike rides around town. Here Bella and her cousin Garrett enjoying a ride in the radio flyer wagon. It even has seat belts! Buckle up...it's the law!

We went to the Queen Bee Honey Candy Store the other day, and they had a bunch of old time hats on display. Of course Alyssa had to do a little fashion show for everyone. Here she is standing at attention. (Something I don't see very often!)

Excuse me Miss!?

Going to the chapel and I'm going to get married hat!

Every morning the girls watch cartoons in Grandpa's TV chair in his "man room."

For You My Love...

We are so lucky to have you as the man in our lives. You have always taken so great care of us. We love you so much for sacrificing your time with us to give us the chance to be here in Wyoming this summer. We are having so much fun here and my family is taking great care of us.
We miss you terribly and we are counting down the days until we see you again.

Goodnight - XOXO

Shana, Alyssa, and Isabella

Life in Wyoming...so far

We are officially settled into my mom and dad's house in good ol' Cowley Wyoming. We will be here for 8 weeks. Rob left on Sunday evening and flew back to Tulsa. We won't see him until August 21st. That is going to be the hard part of being here.
Babe- I know you will be checking this- we miss you so much already and we love you! Thank you for this opportunity and time with my family.

We have lots to do and see while we are here, so stay tuned for more Wyoming life.

Where ever my mom is, that is where you will find Alyssa. She is her little shadow. Following her around being her "helper." Here she is helping my mom fix her dress. Which is why she is half dressed in this picture. :)

Alyssa helping my mom make homemade hot fudge for icecream sundaes. YUMMY!

Alyssa and Bella enjoying a doughnut on the back patio. They love sitting on the kid's picnic table and having lunch or snacks on it. It is perfect for them!

Alyssa jumping on the trampoline! She loves it! She goes out there every 30 minutes or so and just jumps and runs around on it. It is enclosed so she can play on it and I don't worry about her falling off from it. Grandma and Grandpa bought this to entertain the grandkids this summer while we were all here. BIG SURPRISE- Alyssa gets to take it home with us when we leave and put it up in our new back yard.

Alyssa swinging at the park! The weather in Wyoming this week has been amazing! They have got a lot of rain fall this spring, so it is the greenest I have seen Wyoming in years. It has been in the 70's, sunny, with a breeze every day.

Bella loving the swings! I love how her hair is flying up in this picture. YEAH BABY!

This picture didn't turn out very good because I was facing the sun. But something we have been doing is riding bikes around town. There isn't a lot of traffic here, plus the nice weather, makes it so nice to go on bike rides. This is a two person bike that my parents have. My dad gives the grandkids rides with him all the time. They just love it! My poor dad has 10 grandkids now, so he has been working like a dog! :) This is Alyssa on the back of the bike with grandpa. She isn't tall enough to help peddle, so she just holds on with her feet and rides with him.

Birthday surprise was a success!

My husband turned 29 years old last week and this year more than years prior the thing he needed most was some time alone with his wife! Living with the in-laws has been a blessing in some areas, but quality time alone as a couple, not so much!
So I made reservations at a nice hotel in Tulsa for the night and had an overnight bag packed for us. I had gone to the room earlier in the evening and put some personal touches to it.
Rob thought we were just going to dinner together, but after we got into the car after dinner, I pulled out a blind fold and told him I had one more present for him. I drove him to the hotel blind folded so he didn't know where we were, and walked him into the hotel and room blind folded. It was about 9:30pm so it was pretty quiet when we walked in. We did pass a few people and they looked at me like I was doing something I shouldn't be. I felt like I should flash our wedding rings at them as a gesture to explain that it was all good. But, then I just didn't really care what they thought. It was fun!

Our room was nice and cozy and had a great view. It was a great place to celebrate Rob's birthday. He doesn't like surprises, but even he liked this one! Points for me!

Take A Bow Alyssa

As you all know from recent posts, we had Alyssa's ballet recital the Friday before we left for Wyoming. She was so excited to dance on the "big stage" and she did a great job! As tradition goes- we gave her roses for her performance. She shared some of them with her cousins that came to watch her dance. Which is why in most the pictures she only has one rose in her hand. (I thought that was so sweet of her)




Alyssa with her Grandma and Papa Wallace after she had danced.



This is a HORRIBLE family picture, but it is the only one we were able to snap before we left.

Bella wasn't sure what was going on, but she was very excited as well! It doesn't take much!

I don't know what came over me, I guess it was a proud mommy moment, but I got all teary and a lump in my throat as I watched my little girl dance to "Winnie The Pooh."
I don't expect you to have the same reaction to the video clip, but I hope you do enjoy it! Alyssa is the four one from the left.

Gearing Up for Dance Recital and a Birthday Surprise

This is a busy and very fun week. We are going to have Alyssa's dance recital this Friday and she is very excited about being in that. She calls it "dancing on the big stage." She loves her costume this year because of the big poofy skirt. These pictures are taken the night we were getting ready to leave for her dance pictures.
I love this picture because it shows that she really has learned somethings from taking ballet. She did this pose all by herself. Where she lacks in technic, she makes up for with how much she loves music and dance.

Bella thought Alyssa's costume was fun too. She would walk around her flipping the skirt up and down. I love this pictures because I think that the way they are smiling at each other is just so sweet.

This is just a fun picture of Bella giving me a kiss. Yes, I kiss my girls on the mouth! Some people think that is weird, and I'm not too sure why? Bella is so funny right now because she has just learned to kiss and she will walk up to you and making kissing faces and noises until you kiss her. How can you resist a sweet little girl doing that?

The other fun thing going on this week is Robert's 29th birthday! I have been busy planning a very exciting surprise for him. I would love to tell you all about it- however, my husband does read my blog from time to time, and I can't risk him finding out.

What is so funny about this is- Rob HATES surprises, but I LOVE them! I love getting surprised and love planning and giving a surprise. So, guess who wins? ME! All week long, Rob is trying to guess what I am doing, and he hasn't figured it out yet. He HATES it! But, trust me, he will love it when he finds out what it is.

Stay tuned...

Early Summer in Tulsa...

Those of you who don't live in the Tulsa area may not know how cherished the early days of summer are to us who do live here. They are more precious than any gold, silver, or diamonds. Well, maybe not more than diamonds, but you get my point right?
We have had such mild weather this month. Normally what happens is it will rain constantly for a month and then we are straight into the high 90's and high humidity. YUCK! Can you tell I hate the hot summer weather here??
I am almost sad to see the month of May go because the weather has been so enjoyable. We have been able to run around outside doing things we normally would have a heat stroke trying to do in the humidity.
On the other hand, I am happy to see the month of May go because that means we will be leaving in three weeks to go to Wyoming for 2 months. Me and the girls will be staying with my parent's and visiting family while Rob is here catching up on his work, and overseeing the building of our new house. I know, what I great husband right? It will be a long time apart. The longest we've ever been away from each other in 7 years is 6 days. I know he will really miss his girls, but he is willing to sacrifice his time with us to see his girls enjoy our summer. He knows how much it means to me to get to spend some real time with my side of the family. We don't get to do that very often, and it is so important to me that my girls really know them and where their mommy grew up. I am excited for that part of it, but will miss Rob terribly.
Rob will fly back to us and we will all drive home together on August 21st. So June-August I will be posting blogs from my childhood home town of Cowley Wyoming. Stay tuned for some really exciting stuff! (hint of sarcasm) :)

The weather has been just right for the splash parks to open. Bella took some time to warm up to them. She isn't really wasn't too enthusiastic about the cold water spraying in her face. Alyssa on the other hand, no surprise here - LOVES IT!



We have spent quite a bit of time at the park since we know it won't be long until we can't go there without have heat stroke.
The other day, Alyssa walked over to this mom that was sitting by the swings watching her son play. She sat down by her and chatted with her for like 25 minutes. They were looking at butterflies and admiring each others painted toenails. I was pushing Bella on the swing(as shown below) and I kept asking Alyssa if she wanted to come play with us, or if she wanted me to push her in the swings? She just kept saying, "One minute mom, I'm talking with this lady." I thought that it was so funny how she was chatting with her like she'd known her for years. She is a lot like her daddy that way. Never met a stranger and would make a friend with about anyone.

I guess I just have to make sure she knows a little more about stranger danger and how not everyone is good to talk to.

Bella was getting so tired and I needed to take her home to nap, but every time I'd go to stop her swing to pick her up, she would cry and shake her head at me. She loved the swings so much, and I hey, I don't blame her!



Alyssa mastering the art of bubble blowing. These are deluxe magic wands- so they were dubble the bubble fun! :)



Me and Alyssa making it rain bubbles on top of Bella. We played with these for a long, long time. They just couldn't get enough of them. I love this age when they can be so easily entertained for a few dollars.

It was time for the girls to get summer hair cuts. Alyssa got a short a line cut around her face, with a little layering in the back. It is very cute when it is dried and styled. She looks so grown up. The funniest part of her getting her hair cut was when the lady sat her down in the chair, she said, "So, how is your work today?" The lady looked at me and asked how old she was. Alyssa then continied to carry on a full on conversation about hair with her and she and I just had to laugh at her. She is pretty dang cute when she wants to be. :)

Bella got her first hair trim. We finally got rid of the Billy Cyrus mullet. As you can see, she wan't too excited at first about it. Then mommy sat in the chair and then I put her on my lap. After I was sitting with her and she was given a lollipop, all was well. She looks like such a big girl now!

This is Alyssa and Josh M. taking an afternoon nap together on his bed while mommy worked from Cheryl's office. I thought it was so cute that she didn't want to nap that day until Josh could nap with her. She just loves those Mason boys.

My friend, and co-worker, Cheryl Mason. This is her home office area. The second laptop and printer is mine that I'm working from while I don't really have my own home office. It is fun to be able to come and work with her. We have a great time together and we work well together. I love that both my girls are just napping in the next room while I am getting my work done. I have been blessed because of that situation and I wouldn't have traded it for anything.

Austism Center of Tulsa's 5K Race and Fundraiser

Last Saturday morning I woke up extremely early to run a 5K race. I know, I can hardly believe I did that myself! Most of you know that I am NOT a morning kind of person. It took a really great cause to drag me out of my warm, king size bed on a Saturday morning before my kids were awake. The Autistic Center of Tulsa has this event every year for the past three years now, and they did an awesome job.
I was nervous to run, because I have never ran a real race in my life. I was a person who hated track growing up. I didn't want to run just to run. I thought that seemed very boring. But now, running has become a kind of stress reliever and the time in the evening when it is just me and the pavement. I can zone out completely and do something for myself that makes me feel good.
Being that it was my first race, I didn't have many goals for myself. I wanted to run the whole race, and I didn't want to be at the end of the pack. I did both of those things, so I was happy about that.
It was funny how little I knew about races. First off, when I got there I was supposed to check in and get my "chip." I was like, "sweet, they give us chips to eat before we run?" Sadly, they were just these little plastic things that tied up your shoe laces, and they had your racing number on them. It times you when you cross the finish line.
Then, I am running towards the turn around point of the course and these people were holding out small paper cups of water for the runners. I took one and took a big drink and then wondered what I would do with it? Then ahead of me, I see all the runners tossing their cups off the side of the path. I just followed their lead and tossed my cup in the grass. I have to admit, it went against everything in me. This picture is proof that I actually did it. I placed 100th and ran it in 30min. Not very well, so I'd like to do it again to see if I can do better.

This is me, my friend Rachel, and Karis, who we were running for. We had just finished the race about 10 min before this picture was taken. Sorry that we looked so good. :) Karis, She is 9 yrs old and such a sweet and happy little girl. She seemed excited that we were there to run for her. I have to admit that it overwhelmed me a little to see all these kids with Autism and their supportive families and friends there. It touched me, it really did.

My sister, Tamara, has a son named Ethan. He is autistic as well. Ethan was definately on my mind through this event. Ethan has such a sweet soul. He loves to gives hugs. He loves to laugh. He is funny-very, very funny. He is really good at the computer. He loves rootbeer floats. He loves to swing. He can recite to you any Disney movie ever made. Most importantly, he is a son of God and he is so loved.

I'm not sure why some are born with conditions like autism, but I know that one day, through the atonement of Jesus Christ, Ethan will be made whole. As a family member who loves Ethan, I take great comfort in that. I know my sister does too.

Even though I wasn't the fastest runner there, the day meant a lot to me and I was so glad that I was able to be involed with it.

Trip to the Tulsa Zoo...

While Rob was out of town all week on a business trip, the girls and I kept busy so we weren't sitting at his parent's house all the time missing him. We got together with some friends and met at the Tulsa Zoo, on the one day last week that it wasn't raining. We had a great time and my girls love the zoo! As we were getting in the car to leave, Alyssa turned and said, "Mom, can we come back to the zoo tomorrow when daddy is back?"



Alyssa riding a racing horse on the zoo carisol. What else would she pick right?



Us riding the zoo train. It was fun to get a ride all around the whole zoo grounds. Bella and Alyssa did not want to ever get off from it.

Bella riding the zebra on the carisole. She wan't too sure about the ride at first, but then she warmed up to it and loved it. She just smiled and giggled the whole time.

Strolling along in the zoo.

Alyssa loves to watch the elephants. She wanted to know if they could get our of those fences?

DRUMROLL PLEASE...

We just bought our very own lot in the Southbridge Edition in Bixby Oklahoma! We picked out our model and what what upgrades we wanted to be included in the building of the house. We meet with the builder showroom this coming Friday to pick out our flooring, carpet, wall colors, exterior colors, doors, handles, light fixtures, cabinets, countertops, trimwork, and appliances. There is so much to choose from and it can be a little overwhelming, but we are so excited to get things rolling. They promise that our house will be completed 4 months from the date that we meet in the showroom and sign on all the decisions for the house. That will mean by September 15th, we will be moving into our very own-brand new home! I can't believe it! It seems too good to be true at this point.
We did another walk through of the house model that we are building. The following pictures are of that model. It has three large bedrooms and a bonus room that will be our home office/den. It has a three car garage, which of course was a huge selling point for Robert. He can have room for all his tools and man things and build things our there.
Keep in mind that these pictures are of the model home and ours will look a lot different because we won't be picking out the same things, and we have made a few changes here and there. But for my family in Wyoming- you can get a better idea of what it is that we are working for. We can't wait until you are able to come and stay with us!



Me in my very large walk-in closet! I am very proud of this room. Ever since Rob and I have been married, we have lived in places that have had very small closet space.


The walk-in shower in our master bathroom. Yeah baby!

The living area

The master bathroom vanity area. Our home will have a two sink vanity and it will be pushed all the way to the right wall, and a garden bath tub on the other wall.

As you walk into our master bedroom.

The Kid's bathroom in the hallway. All the bathroom vanities are taller- which us taller people really love!

What will be the girl's bedroom. It is really large with a really large closet.

My new kitchen! Actually, my new kitchen will have granite countertops and different stained cupboards and different tile. But you get the idea!

Mom- see that closet in the between the coutertops? That is my LARGE WALK-IN PANTRY! Can you say major food storage room?

View as you come down the hall from the guest room and the girls room. I love how open the living areas are. We can all be gathered together in one open space and not feel all scrunched in. This area has 10 foot ceilings. Which is a huge change from the older home we had been living in.
Our dining table is going to look a lot like the one in the picture. Rob is going to build us our very own family dining table. Ours will be a little longer and a little differently stained. We hope to have many family dinners, game playing, and talks around the table that he makes for us.

This is the bonus room off the front entry hallway. This will be my home office where I will be working part time. Also a little den/library area for reading. Rob is creating some built-in shelving and desk space, and a bench/shelf that is built along the wall under the window. I am really excited for this space.

Entry way and hallway. Our tile will be different.

Not a very good picture of the front of the house because you can't see the whole house, and ours will be completely different in colors and brick.


I don't know why, but I didn't get a picture of the third bedroom, but it is just the second bedroom.