My Daddy Dearest

I’m so glad when Daddy comes home,

Glad as I can be;

Clap my hands and shout for joy,

Then climb upon his knee,

Put my arms around his neck,

Hug him tight like this,

Pat his cheeks, then give him what?

A great big kiss.

~Children’s songs/ Daddy’s Homecoming

Is having a father in the home necessary?

         These days it would seem that society doesn’t view fathers as necessary for raising emotionally stable and well-developed children.  I do not doubt that single mothers can raise well-adjusted children, but rather I believe that adding a father into the home can have many positive affects on a child’s entire life.  I suppose that the reason I personally believe this is because I, myself, have an excellent father that has done more for me than I can even wrap my mind around.  I look to my dad for advice and support for almost every aspect of my life and he helps without hesitation.  He has taught me the meaning of hard work and being kind to others.  I have never met another man that is my father’s equal in these two categories.  You may think that I am speaking with bias but go ahead and ask anyone that has ever met my dad!  He doesn’t flaunt his hard working, kind nature but he has a reputation for it, nonetheless.  People respect his character and can easily see what type of man he is just from associating with him for short periods of time.  I have always looked up to my dad and he has always made sure that I know that he loves and supports me.  I don’t know what I would do without him. My mother is so great but without the support of my father I don’t know if she would have been able to handle raising us children on her own (especially through the teen years!).  Having a priesthood holder in our home has been priceless.  His priesthood has blessed my life in innumerable ways.  My father is, without a doubt, an important and necessary part of my families home.  I love my daddy!

On a spiritual note: Is our Heavenly Father a necessary part of our lives?  He should be.  God is our father and he loves us more than we can comprehend.  He is always there for us and wants nothing more than for us to return to him some day.  He has given us everything and we are nothing without him.  Yes, Heavenly Father is a necessary part of our lives, whether we acknowledge that fact or not.  I hope you know how much your Heavenly Father loves you!

‘Til next time, friends!

Shanna

Another Semester in Paradise- Fall 2012

         My short 6 week summer break officially ended a week ago and I am loving my new classes here at BYU-I!  I am starting to get into the better classes for my major (Child Development and Preschool Education) and I am loving it.  I have a feeling that this semester is going to be one of the best yet! With great roommates, great classes, great friends, and great jobs this semester may even beat out last semester as #1!  The possibilities are endless and I can't wait to see what is in store.

Classes:

• Infant and Toddler Development
• I love babies!  This class will be a lot of work but it should be good.
• Pearl of Great Price
• Taught by Brother Riggins! He has been one of my favorite teachers at this university so far.  He really succeeds when teaching by the spirit.  I feel so blessed to be able to learn from him once again.  He has taught me so much in the last 5 months that I have known him and I can't thank him enough for the difference that he has made in my life.  
• Family Relations
• The real reason that I created this blog!  I can already tell that I am going to learn so much from this class that will help me later in life.  If nothing else, then at least I learned how to blog!
• Foundations of Early Childhood
• This class is 2 times a week for an hour and a half and is great so far.  We have a few projects coming up that require us to work with and study children so I am excited!
• Nutrition and Young Children
• This class is going to be so helpful!  
• College Algebra
• I am only taking this class because I took it awhile ago and bombed it... SO, I am fixing my GPA.  I want my rockin' GPA back!  YES!!! 

Roommates: 

         Jamie, Alexia, Katherine, Ashley, and Melissa.  Jamie and I miss our roommies from last semester like crazy but we think that these new ones are pretty great so far.  

Friends:  

• It is so great to have Bryce and Kyle back!!  It was a long 2 years and I was so ready for them to come back to me!  Reunited and back in the Burg together!  Good stuff!
• I am so blessed with all of the friends that I have, near and far.  I have so many people that care about me and sometimes I wonder what I did to be surrounded by such amazing people.  

My Jobs: 

• I work as a cashier at Broulim's in Rexburg when I am out here at school.  I work 1 or 2 days a week for 5 to 8 hours at a time.  I people that I work with are great and I am so blessed to have a job that lets me transfer from Rexburg to Driggs and back when I am at school or offtrack.
• I work as a paper grader and TA for Brother Wray in the Biology department.  I am his head grader and that makes me in charge of grading for his 3 major classes (that is A LOT of papers!).  My friend Stacy is Brother Wray's TA for his other BIO lab and she also helps me grade when she can.  It is so fun to work with both Stacy and Bro Wray.  I have 2 of the best jobs a college student can have!! 

Life is gooooood!!  

Shanna