Family Relations Blog

 Dear Blog When people ask about my family, I usually pause for a second—because it’s hard to sum up a crew like mine in just a sentence or two. We’re not small. We’re not traditional. Furthermore, we’re definitely not quiet. We are real though. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from growing up in a blended family of ten kids, it’s that love doesn’t always follow a formula. I live in Idaho now for school (BYU–Idaho, shoutout), and my older sister Azren lives in Arizona, closer to home. Being away has actually helped me look at my family with fresh eyes. Back home, there’s my mom, my stepdad, Big Mikey (he’s not technically "big" but the nickname just works), and my siblings—a full squad of brothers and sisters, all with their own personalities, jokes, and noise levels. It’s a beautiful kind of chaos. Mike, my stepdad, honestly deserves his own blog post. He does most of the cooking (and somehow makes it fun), is the mastermind behind “chore time” being something we actually l...

  My Youtube  The Transcript, I did go off a little bit in my video but :) Living the Family Proclamation: Real Stories of Faith and Unity  Have you ever looked at your family and wondered, “Is this what God intended for us?” Maybe things feel messy, complicated, or even broken—but what if there’s a divine design behind it all? That’s what I wanted to find out.  So I asked some of my friends and family: “What does The Family: A Proclamation to the World really mean to them? How do they live it out in real life—with all the challenges, love, and hope that come with family?” In a world where family life can feel overwhelming or broken, it helps to remember God’s plan for us. The Family: A Proclamation to the World teaches that marriage and family are ordained of God, and that happiness is most likely when we live by the Savior’s teachings.   In this video, I’ll share real stories from people—young adults, parents, and faithful members—who are striving ...

Dear Blog!! Today I want to share how my parents raised me. I know I’ve already talked a lot about my family’s divorces and the changes we’ve gone through, but I haven’t explained how those experiences shaped the person I am today. If I had to describe myself, I’d say I’m kind, considerate, emotional, and independent. These qualities didn’t just develop on their own—they came from my family, especially my mom, and from my spiritual journey. As I was growing up, my mom took me to many churches: Baptist, Christian, and eventually The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which I’ve loved and stayed with ever since. That spiritual foundation, along with my mom’s example, helped form the person I am now. My mom had a lot on her shoulders. She went through two divorces in the span of 18 years and was a single mom for some of that time. She showed signs of stress, understandably, as she tried to juggle raising children while managing her own emotional challenges. When my siblings misb...

 Putting Family First: Lessons from My Loud, Loving, Real-Life Home Growing up in a blended family of ten kids, I learned quickly that family life is full of chaos—but it’s the kind of chaos that teaches you about love, sacrifice, and teamwork. With five sisters (Azren, Ava, Sophia, McKenzie, and Brooklyn) and four brothers (Rylan, Ayden, Brennan, and Little Mikey), plus my mom and stepdad, Big Mikey, our house was never quiet, but it was deeply grounded in purpose. Everyone had chores. Everyone had responsibilities. And somehow, even when things were hectic, we all knew we mattered. This week’s readings and podcast made me think about how much that family experience has shaped the way I view work, money, and the kind of future I want. In the Them Before Us podcast, two women shared what it was like growing up without a father figure because of their mothers’ same-sex relationships. Their stories weren’t bitter—but they were honest. They missed something. Hearing them made me reali...