Shaila...You Are My Sunshine!

My daughter, Shaila, who is my 2nd daughter...3rd child, was born October 30, 1981. Shaila got her name from her older brother, Milo. When I was pregnant with her, Milo, who was 3 at the time, and I were laying in bed one morning and I asked him, "What is Mommy having, a boy or a girl?" He said, "A girl." So I said, "What should we name her?" and he said, "Shaila". And that's the way it was! Grandpa Chlarson nicknamed her "Lou" and we call her "Lou" a good share of the time.

Shaila was an absolute joy when she was born. She was a happy and content baby. She had an older brother and sister who were both very busy and Shaila was content to sit in her swing and let me get a lot done. Although I was very overwhelmed having 3 children, 3 and under (that was the first time I was late for church!), she forced me to get organized! I learned very quickly I had to stay on top of things everyday to survive mentally!

I went through a little bit of post-partum depression, on top of adjusting to more of everything with a third baby, when she was born. But all I would have to do is pick her up, hold her tight, look into her sweet face and a strong source of comfort would fill me up! I called her my little "comforter" and "my sunshine" through that short-lived time.

(Sorry...no pictures of "Little Lou" but I wanted to get the post up and I couldn't get my scanner to cooperate!)

To this day, Shaila has continued to be a source of joy, comfort, sweetness, and strength to me. Her one shortcoming is that she holds herself to a high standard and then beats herself up when she doesn't live up to it. Something that I think is fairly common among many women.



Here is a little about Shaila....

~She is beautiful, inside and out!
~She has 3 darling little Stripling Warriors...Malcolm, Quinn, and Winston.
~She is developing a talent for photography and does great work.
~She brings joy wherever she goes.
~She loves to sing and wishes she could make it a career.
~She enjoys cooking but especially baking breads/rolls.
~She's talking 15 credits at BBCC, is a full-time Mom, teaches nursery,
and cleans a pre-school.
~She loves a clean house.
~She loves and lives the gospel.
~She has a soft spot for her Grandpa Chlarson and would cry for him when she would
feel sad as a little girl.
~Even as a little girl she would say she was going to name a boy "Quinn" after her
Grandpa Chlarson and did.
~She works at leading her boys through her example.
~She is thoughtful of others.
~She works at trying to improve herself physically, mentally, and spiritually.
~She concerns herself with others well-being.
~She has integrity.
~She loves her husband and is thoughtful of him.
~She can do anything she sets her mind to.
~She's a great homemaker.
~As a little girl all she wanted to be was "A Mommy and to cook pancakes."
~If she could, she'd take care of all her little brothers and worries about their
well-being.
~She's a cheerleader for her husband and his ambitions to get into medical school.
~She sees the big picture and is patient knowing her time will come.
~She makes many sacrifices for the big picture.
~She's a wonderful daughter, sister, wife, mother, and friend.

Here's her darling boys...she took this picture and I love it!



I love you, Lou! I'm sorry you were sick on your birthday but it was wonderful to share the day with you. Thank you for blessing my life the second you were born and blessing it each day since. You always will be my sunshine.