Just a couple things about this guy:

Mister Shane loves all animals....

He is extremely talented at making working toys out of surgical supplies during extra long operations...

He loves the outdoors,

And also loves children...

And the most exciting news about this guy?  

He can still squeeze into his scout shirt from when he was a teenager.  

Impressive.

I love my Mister Scoutmaster!

(He looks pretty handsome too!)

Little transformation

Shane and I decided that after 3 years of living in our home, it was about time to put up some pictures on our big wall in our family room.  It took us awhile to try to figure out how we'd like to put up some pictures of family without it looking messy.  I think what we were able to come up with (that was still  within our budget) worked out great! 

before:

after:

before:

after:

When standing in front of the red framed mirror, your face can be seen...Shane and I want visitors to know that everyone belongs within the walls of our family when they are in our home!

Preface: I'm not entirely a dog person

I'm also NOT a runner.  Or even a jogger for that matter.
With that being said, our little Dundee has been quite lucky on three different occasions to go JOGGING with me (yes, you heard that right...three occasions).
I can jog for maybe one mile without feeling like I'm going to stop breathing and pass out (wow, am I that out of shape?) so it goes to show that I don't jog very far from home.
However, on each of these 3 occasions, about a quarter through our jaunt, Dundee and I always seem to be accompanied by one or two EXTRA DOGS. 
Reminder: I'm not entirely a dog person.  I love Dundee, but that's about all I can handle.
These dogs always end up following me all the way back to my house - all while I am tripping and maneuvering through each of them, and doing my best to avoid their slobber.  Here's the best part: none of them ever know how to get back to their own homes.  So each time I come home with one or two extra pups, I have to call the owner, and walk the dogs back home to where they belong.

These three experiences have helped me to learn these three very important things:
1.  I have no desire to become a dog whisperer.
2.  I think it's time for me to stop jogging... I think I'm bound to run into more dogs if I do so. 
3.  I love walking...with just ONE dog.  I'm going to stick with that from now on.

Making the best of it.

Making the best of this winter that is.  Or should we even call it that?  I'm not sure if this season is deserving of such a name quite yet.  It just feels cold.  The other day I realized that I still haven't had to put on my snow tires, which I love to do to give my summer tires a much needed break.  I also noticed that my darling little tulips are beginning to make their appearance, and I wanted to shove them back into the ground to let them hibernate until the sweet sun warms things up around here.  Either way, Shane and I have decided that it's time to get out and enjoy the little bits of winter that we do have, seeming that the snow can melt in less than one good sunny day.

Shane and I strapped on our snowshoes and enjoyed following along the bank of the stream.  Last year we came across a young moose walking in the river that we were able to watch for awhile.  We didn't have such luck this year, but the scenery and company were amazing!

Shane also took Dundee on a hike up Adam's Canyon.  We're pretty proud of this puppy for making it all the way up and down himself...even when he had to walk in chest-deep frozen water!

However, on most of the cold days we decide to stay indoors - which means that starting at 10:00 every morning I will find my two little fur balls basking in the sun's warm glow together. 

 Doesn't get much cuter than that...I love these two.

I am trying to convince myself to find some positivity about our weather...it seems that I'd rather get a boatload of snow, or have it magically turn to spring...but I'm not in charge, so it's time that I change my attitude.  I hope all of your cold, gray, snowless days can be GREAT, and I know mine will be too - once I sit down to my half peanut butter and honey sandwich every afternoon!

27

Well Shane has done it again...he had another birthday!  He told me that 27 just seems WAY too close to 30, and he isn't totally sure how he feels about that.  I say - BRING IT ON!  With every birthday comes new adventures and exciting things to learn, and knowing Shane, he will be plowing into every opportunity head on.  

What a blessing it is to be married to someone who always has such a positive outlook on everything life throws our way.  

What a blessing it is to spend every minute with a man who enjoys having SO MUCH FUN...always!  

What a blessing it is to call Shane ALL MINE, for ALL ETERNITY.

Shane's best friend Jeff made it possible for us to go skiing at Park City for Shane's birthday.  We packed in so much ski time from open to close, and we had a BLAST.

{Shane, Kenzie, Hillary, Jeff}

Shane is a very talented skier and snowboarder, and is able to teach me so much about it because he was an instructor at Powder Mountain for years.  It is so fun for me to learn from him, but also SO much fun to watch him be so in 'his element'.  He truly is amazing!

Happy Birthday my Love!  I can't thank you enough for the great amount of happiness you have brought into my life.  You are and always will be my ONE AND ONLY!

xoxo

"Be Not Afraid"

"Be Not Afraid"

For quite awhile my love and faith in my Savior has grown.  I have learned to rely upon him, and asked that I be given the strength to trust in his eternal plan for me.

During my darkest hours, Jesus Christ has touched my heart and helped to ease my ache - no matter what trial I had been suffering.  Those tough moments have allowed me to grow closer to the Savior...to let him into my life to help lift my burden.  

I truly believe that no matter how deep or how dark the pain any of us feel, Jesus Christ is always there to reach his hand out to ours and pull us to safety...to a place of contentment and peace.  How blessed I feel to always have the companionship of the holy spirit, and eternal comfort of my Savior.  I know that he hears my prayers...and I trust in him to guide me...always.

"I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." John 14

we are family.

FERGUSON FAMILY PICTURES, JULY 2011

STRATFORD FAMILY PICTURES, AUGUST 2011

set backs & still moving forward

A week ago I went in for another surgery on my right TMJ and a tissue graft for my gums.  One of these days I'm certain this will all be behind us, but for now I'll be slurping on smoothies and dreaming about chewing anything once these three weeks are over...
On the upside, there are so many great things happening in our lives.  Shane has officially graduated with his RN degree from Weber State University, and we just found out that he successfully passed his board exams.  Shane was approached by a manager at Intermountain Medical Center and asked if he would be a nurse there before he had even applied for the job, and he will be able to still work in the OR - just what he loves most.  He is continuing his education and will earn his BSN in December.  I can't even express  how proud I am of this guy...nursing school was no easy experience for either of us, but HE got us through it with flying colors.
Currently we are in Newport Beach California enjoying the hues of blue and green all around us.  We were lucky enough to tag along with my parents to their timeshare to give Shane some time to relax after graduation, and allow me some time to heal and not be swarmed with teaching and my calling right after my operations.  What a wonderful way to relax together!
Shane and I have been commenting about how abundantly blessed we have been lately...it is clearly obvious to us that the Lord has a plan, and when we give, so will he.  Trials will be followed by blessings - of this we are sure because we have experienced it over and over throughout our 4 1/2 years of beautiful marriage.
We love you, our family and friends, for uplifting us during every set back...it's you who help us to keep moving forward with a skip in our step and our chins held toward the sun.  Thank you!

Finding our own 'Happily Ever After'

Let love be your shelter.  The world is noisy and confusing at times, so make a home that is a haven, a peaceful place where you can listen to your hearts and savor the comfortable closeness you share.

No matter how busy your days may be, make time for yourselves.  Hold hands.  Unwind.  Surprise each other.  Find little chances every day to show you're grateful to be partners, to be friends, to be married.

Life is not perfect.  You will make mistakes.  But each time you meet life's challenges together, you will grow wiser, stronger, and surer of your love.

Cherish your yesterdays...they are irreplaceable souvenirs of your journey through life.  Make memories that will bring back smiles and sighs whenever you look back.  (Look back often!)

Look forward, too. 

Dream together.  Plan together

Make promises to keep.

Believe in your tomorrows,

Because tomorrows are what forever is made of.

(AUTHOR UNKNOWN)

Falling behind

Currently I feel like my life has been tossed into a washing machine!  It's been a CRAZY filled month.
Our ward of 500+ members split.  The split was hard for me...I am not an individual who embraces change well, and I was worried about how the primary children in our ward would be affected by the change too.  I prayed for peace and comfort not only for me, but for them; I felt an overwhelming sense of the spirit as I asked my Heavenly Father to bless each of them with my love.
Less than a week later Shane and I were called to meet with the Bishop where I received a new calling in our newly split ward.  The spirit was felt so strongly in that little room as I was asked to serve as the new Primary President.  I knew that the feelings I had felt throughout the week for those cute children were from my Savior, and I felt so blessed to be able to serve them.  Since I was called, I have been overwhelmed at the way the spirit has guided my thoughts and actions to serve... my counselors and secretary are such amazing women who uplift and support me every day, and have already worked countless hours dealing with the changes that happened in Primary from the split.
If any of you have been in Primary before, you know that December is the BUSIEST month of the year!  So many changes need to be made and put into effect; theme boards need to be updated, new ideas for the upcoming year need to be planned, classrooms need to be decided, TEACHERS need to be decided (which was incredibly difficult...since I have become the President 14 new individuals have needed to be called), teacher training, nursery training, new binders, Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, etc etc etc.  It has not been easy.  Because of the ward split so many changes had to be made to primary...instead of 2 sharing times, now we only have one.  But because of that, we had to be sure we had enough classrooms, and how would the children react to being in one sharing time together?  They've never had to do that before... How would we do our opening exercises being combined?  Oh yes, and I forgot to add that my sweet husband was realeased as the Young Men's Secretary to be our new... SCOUTMASTER.  Yes - I cried when he received the calling, however, I couldn't think of anyone better for the job...I just need to prepare to see him even less than I already do!
The amazing part of all of this is that through all the hustle and bustle to get everything ready for 2012, I have felt my love for each of the children in our ward grow every day.  The Lord truly works in mysterious ways, and I feel so blessed that I have so many children to make my life feel a little more complete.  They bring SO much joy to my heart!  I pray that they will always know of my love for them, and that I can be an influence for the better in each of their lives. 

our very expensive kitty...

Our adorable kitty, Duke, had to have emergency surgery one week ago today.  Sunday at 3:00 am, poor Duke became incredibly ill.  He couldn't keep anything down, even one tiny sip of water.  I was pacing around the house trying to figure out what was wrong when I found a little piece of ribbon that looked like it had been chewed on one side.  By Monday morning I took him into the vet.  The vet couldn't see anything from the x-ray but because we figured he had eaten ribbon he knew that Duke needed surgery...fast.

They rushed my poor, sick kitty into surgery where they shaved the fur off his belly and opened him up.  The vet found a rib sized ribbon that had rolled itself up and became lodged in his small intestine.  If it hadn't have been found Duke would have died in only a few days from a bowel obstruction.

It was very difficult for Duke to move for the first couple of days, but his medication made him so sweet!  He was obsessed with his hairbrush, and all he wanted was to be pet...over, and over, and over again.  The really hard thing about it all was that we couldn't hold him easily...but we were so glad that he was okay!

My parents took Dundee for a few days so Duke wouldn't be wanting to run around the house playing.  Once Dundee was home, he and Duke played non stop!  They must have really missed each other because I have found them touching noses multiple times since they have been back together.

I feel so blessed to have these two adorable animals in my home and in my life.  I never imagined life would be the way it is right now - but I love it.  Duke and Dundee give Shane and me so much love and laughter and fill our home with SO MUCH happiness.

experience the magic...

OF NUTCRACKER!

The Sheriff and her possy

For Happy Halloween 2011, my deputy was caught at work...all night.  So my possy and I were left to fend for ourselves... even though my voice was barely beginning to come back from having a nasty cold. 

(I even had a stranger ask if I had smoker's syndrome because of my voice.  Um...what? weird.)

Ah...the possy.  They sat and waited as back up each time I opened my door for ghosts and such.  The townspeople sure got a kick out of my babies.

Although Duke wasn't too partial to his adorable outfit...

Dundee sure thought he was HOT STUFF...

As for me?  I just felt darn lucky that I could see and hold this adorable buggy on Halloween!

more work don't hurt nobody

unless you don't get paid for it that is!

Shane was paid for 24 out of the 72 hours he worked last week... because 48 out of the 72 hours were spent precepting for nursing school.  Shane has worked very hard to earn his RN and he is finally at the tail end of finishing school!  He just has to endure 3-4 more weeks of working full time, with no paycheck.  In my eyes, it is all worth it!  Shane is getting AWESOME training by precepting in the shock trauma ICU at IMC.  It was such a blessing that he was chosen to be in this ICU because there are so many patients that have endured life or death accidents and who are in need of critical care.  Shane's eyes have been opened wide to how delicate life truly is, and he is now starting to understand the depth of his own injury 2 years ago.  

Currently, Shane is back at the hospital working a 7 PM - 7 AM precepting shift, then working again from 3 PM - 11 PM.  (Keep in mind this guy has to commute 40 minutes just to get to work!)  I am so proud of him and hope that I can give him all the support he needs during this tiring time of his life...

 What he REALLY needs are some extra hours in the day for homework, and SLEEP!

Dance is more than a way of movement...

It's a way of LIFE.

The body...

Says what words cannot.

At times we may fall,

But we know how to pick ourselves back up again.

The work is most often aggressive, but the reward is BLISS

We can always look to the sun

even on days when rain clouds gather.

And if the rain does fall...

We find no need to wait.

Dancers need SPACE



 









to EXPRESS, MOVE, & CREATE








Dancers find inspiration from seeing,

But discover it through experiencing.

It isn't ever easy

But the effort made is always worth it

And no matter which direction we turn,

Dancing always faces us toward HEAVEN.

*Special thank you to Marla Lofgreen, Debbie Webber, and Clytie Adams' School of Ballet for helping my passion come to life through photography!