Music Night!

I wanted to have a bunch of musicians over that love music and love to perform! Music Night was a smashing success! I couldn't believe the talent in one place. I loved that such great music filled the house!

(L-R) Royal, Lincoln, & Cheya.

Lincoln played the piano for all of us and he has some wicked awesome piano skills!

Nate, Amy, & Cheya. I think Cheya was excited about Music Night!

Aww sweet! Cheya, Nate, & I taking a break from the music!

Check out the videos below to catch a glimpse of the rockin' night we had!

Royal & Lincoln singing, "Lily's Eyes" from Secret Garden.

Amy & her amazing Flute!

"Remember, Remember"

My friend Ryan, who is teaching Earl Morning Seminary (EMS) in California, recently invited me to join his Book of Mormon Blog Project (BOMB Project). The idea is for people to share their ideas, spiritual experiences, and personal applications of what they are gaining from reading the Book of Mormon. All the Links on the BOMB Project are people who have decided to join in the fun.

This call to arms from Ryan is a tender mercy in my life! I have been struggling to get some quality scripture reading done while in Grad School so the BOMB Project is the perfect catalyst for me to get digging into my scriptures.

A while back I also taught EMS and I think this is a brilliant idea for Ryan's seminary students to be able to read people's blogs/journal ideas about how the Book of Mormon is affecting peoples lives. I look forward to reading their thoughts and ideas as well as other blogs linked to the BOMB Project!

My new BOMB is called "Remember, Remember"

If you are interested in joining the BOMB Project leave a comment and I'll get you connected to Ryan!

SMILE

My sister Ali composes great music! Here is one of her songs--once you get through all the bloopers!

It's Time

So it's about that time (well, past due actually) for me to really get back into shape. So I decided to set some goals. I won't get into specifics but I feel really great about them. They are just hard enough to have to stretch and yet not so hard that I can't reach them. Some things I'm doing to help accomplish my goals:

• I am 2 days into the Hundred Pushups Challenge.
• On Wednesday nights after school I attend a Cardio Kickboxing class. We are actually moving and jumping and boxing for 50 minutes straight! Then for 5 minutes we do this crazy weight lifting/sculpting section, and then we cool down.
• On Thursday nights after class I attend a Hatha Yoga class.
• I have pretty much cut Dairy and Red Meat out of my diet.
• I am making and bringing my lunch (healthy foods) to work/school (this also saves $$$).
• Also I'm jogging outside (in the late evenings) and running on a treadmill (YMCA).

I hope to be able to keep up with my plan and accomplish my goal by January 1, 2010 (b-day)!

New Beginnings

Tonight I jogged to Elephant Park and talked to God while swinging to my heart's content!

"Please Keep Your Arms & Legs Inside the Ride at All Times..."

Here we are at "On The Border" in San Diego

(Carolyn, Kris, Kylee, & Brandon)

DISNEYLAND AUGUST 2009

"The Happiest Place on Earth!"

We are all so excited!!!

Kylee, Goofy, & Carolyn

Chip & Dale Boys??

It's actually a "Small World" after all!

"Twinkle Toes"

"The Wiz"

"Tink"

Carolyn & I are just so excited to get back to school!

Brandon & Kris needed to get out a little aggression.

Choose your stance?

Somebody please feed this kid!

My cousin Ali joined us at night and then graciously let us crash at her place. (Thanks Ali!)

...At some point at Disneyland I may or may not have literally jumped ship in the "Pirates of the Carribean" ride. Someone may or may not have bet me $5 dollars to do it. I may or may not have been scolded a bit at the end of the ride when I came in on a boat all by myself. It may or may not have been a good idea!

After an exhaustingly awesome day I was just a little tired of Carolyn.

Brandon, however, was just plain tired!

It's a Celebration!

Carolyn & Brandon are sleepwalking out of Disneyland they are so tired!

DINOSAURS

On our way home we saw some Dinosaurs, not an everyday occasion, so we had to stop and check them out!

Fast Friend!

Let's just say it was and entertaining road trip! (Let's do it again soon!)

One Year Anniversary!

I've been in Arizona for one year now! Although it isn't anything like I expected it to be (it is much better) it has been quite the growing experience! I love my Grad School Program at ASU, my University 5th Ward experiences, my amazing friends, and of course I couldn't have survived without my incredible roommates! Here's to another great year!

Dating??

This is a conversation that happened today:

Neighbor: "So are you and Jodi both seriously dating someone?"

Kylee: (laughs out loud)

Jodi: "No, but we seriously both want to be dating!"

And so it goes in the single life.

The Race

To see a summary and pictures of the race check out this POST that my cousin wrote on his blog!

Dear Mr. Lee Benson,

Thank you for writing  THIS ARTICLE  about our Granty!

Technology Has Atrophied Bravery

I don't usually post about my personal life but I think this time I just can't resist!A friend of mine met a dude whilst eat at Costa Vida, decided to give him my phone number, then came home all excited for me to go out with said dude. I was up for whatever.

The next day dude decides to text me (sorry dude if you have found my blog already) and tells me it's him and that my friend had told him to get a hold of me. Note: to all my guy friends out there. Don't tell a girl you were told to call her or text her or check her out on Facebook. Once someone suggests you call her (or whatever) make your own decision to contact her and you're on your own from that point on.

Then dude continues for a long time to have a "conversation" via text. Note: Do not have conversations via text. Text messages are meant to be short and concise. He pretty much asks me all the "first date" questions via text and at some point I realize we are sort of on a "text" date. I hate this realization and can't wait for the conversation to end.   (note: I don't hate dude cuz I don't really know him at all).

After not really responding very quickly I think dude gets the point and then sends me his full name with the request to add him as a friend on Facebook. Note: Don't ever ask someone to add you as a friend on FB. If you are interested in finding/stalking out more about them via FB then get their full name and request them as a friend.

Somewhere along the line technology started to rob people of their bravery. Instead of actual getting up the gumption to ask someone out face to face we now text, fb, or heaven forbid twitter. Instead of breaking up or having a hard conversation with someone we hope to be able to leave a VM. I'm not saying I'm anti technology but come on. Some things just need to be done properly. Note: this is my shout out to all those who remain brave--Good for you!

Climbing Trees

As a child therapist sometimes you have to be creative to get kids to open up to you--to let you into their world--or at least to understand where they are coming from. You always MUST get on their level. Sometimes this means bending down to talk to them eye to eye. Sometimes it might mean sitting next to them fro 45 minutes without talking while they cool down or stop crying before they will even talk to you. Sometimes it means running after them (after they just got into a serious fight) and taking an unexpected early evening stroll in the middle of the desert.

All of these have happened to me while working with the Apache Native American kids I work with this summer. The last incident happened this past week. A kid I have ended up spending a lot of time with up at camp got into a fight (I wasn't there to witness the fight) and a male staff mentor had to break it up and got really mad at this kid. So the kid took off running at a full sprint to the gate, past the gate, and well on his way to nowhere fast. The mentor found me and pointed to the kid and before he could even tell me anything I took off sprinting to catch him. Eventually the kid slowed down (thank goodness) and started walking and so did I. 

We walked for quite a while without talking and I knew it was time to be creative. I saw this very old and curious looking tree and couldn't help myself I knew I had to climb it. So I asked my young friend if it would be okay and he just laughed and watched as I struggled up the tree. I really did struggle getting up and once I was up there is was amazing but I couldn't get down very easily. So I asked him (he is a very big and strong guy) to help me out. Nothing says therapy or opening up and talking to your therapist like watching her make a fool of herself (but it was worth the climb). So he decided he was ready to head back to camp, I listened to him rehash the past events, cry, get angry, and eventually what had to happen when we got back to camp.

I am learning a LOT of new things in this job from many people and many situations but mostly I'm remembering what it's like to be a kid again. 

I Choose You

Words & Lyrics by Kylee Shields

To: Chad & Tina Morensen

There are so many things in life

that we don’t choose

So many lessons learned in time

by what we lose

I’m tired of living my life

without you

My hands and heart are aching for

something new

And I choose you

Some people come into your life

then walk away

Some place their hand upon your heart

and there they stay

I think I’ll never understand

the sacrifice made

By one who handed me your life

after so many prayers were prayed

And I choose you

I choose you

You need to that you were loved

before you came here

That never knowing you 

was our greatest fear

But now you’re here to stay and I’m

doing okay

And with you lying in my arms

today is a brand new day

And I choose you

I choose you

I love you

Chad & Tina- Congratulations on your adoption! I was sitting at home and was so excited to hear the good news. I wanted you know of my love so I wrote you this song. Adoption is near and dear to me as I've been working in the field of adoption & foster care for about 4 years and love it! 

To all my friends who have adopted, are in the process of adopting, or are thinking about adoption I love you and pray for your hands and your hearts to be full

Young Warriors Apache Wellness (Wilderness) Camp

Here I am with my friend Alex!

We had some community members from the San Carlos Wellness Center come up and talk to the youth about being in healthy relationships.

We hike down these steep stairs and eventually back up (my calves were hurting for days) to get to the water to swim.

This place is gorgeous and just what we all needed to relax and get rejuvenated. 

If you close in the background you will see a kid standing on a rock. I had been swimming but not wanting to get my hair wet. All the Apache Staff and kids started shouting my name. Finally my friend Nikki told me if I dove off the rock into the water they would give me an Apache name--and so I did. My Apache Name="She who guides the little ones."  I love it!

Validation

I am a better person for watching this video many times and trying to implement it into my life.

This past week was rough (as has been my summer job all around). Because the other 2 therapist quit the week before I was doing the work of 3 this week. Each day I did 4 straight hours of group therapy followed by another (at least) 2 hours of notes. The kids I'm working with have a lot of issues but I love them and there is intrinsic value in working with them. Thank goodness it is so because there is really no validation coming from anywhere else. My boss is completely overworked, overwhelmed, dealing with catastrophic issues day after day, and doesn't have the time to truly thank or validate our staff. I know they need it because I do (thanks to those of you who let me vent to you and validate me!)

For the first few weeks I was a bit absorbed in my desperation for validation and a bit uneasy with my need to be appreciated. Then I realized that everyone I was working with was in the same boat--overworked, exhausted, and sorely needing validation. So I wrote a few notes in the wee hours of the morning with a flashlight under the beautiful stars to let each of them know what I had noticed about them.

The notes were nothing big but when I looked in their eyes as I handed each of them a note I saw myself-my need to feel that I mattered-that what I was doing was good enough. One of my coworkers (upon receiving her note) just burst into tears. She is on the cusp of quitting.

I guess what I'm saying is it doesn't take much to validate others. To sincerely compliment the people you love in your life. To notice the little things they do. To thank them for what they bring to your life and let them know that they are AMAZING!

Summer Job

The few of you who actually still read my blog might be interested in why I have been so MIA!

I got a new summer job working as a therapist at a therapeutic camp. I work up at the "Point of Pines" Wellness camp on the San Carlos Apache Reservation. The camp runs for 7 weeks M-F and I come back home (to the Valley) on the weekends. We do tons or crafts, go hiking, fishing, and of course have group therapy. It is a crazy but amazing job!  I also get to work with some of my friends from Boston so that is wicked awesome!

So you have an idea of what camp looks like.  Take note of the bit porch swing that I adore!

The gorgeous Reservation (aka the Res).

So far I think my favorite part of our first week (last week) was the hike to the cliffs/ruins we took the youth on!

Our first day we got to camp but couldn't find the keys to get inside. Thus began the "curse of the camp". These are the Youth Mentors we have working with us up at camp. They are Native Apaches that are college age and we couldn't do it without them.

One of my favorite spots for our journal time/personal time the youth have every day.

I saw these holes and thought it would make a great picture if the kids climbed inside.

Then I tried and realized it was a lot harder than it looked! If you look close you can see my feet are over my head as the hole angles downward and in order to stay inside I had to put all my weight on my forearms.  

One of the groups of kids that went hiking.

Molly & Kylee. I have some of the great co-workers!