Dancing Starfish!!

Ha ha! Did my title get you to read our blog? Nooooo...I really don't have dancing star fish, but wouldn't it be funny if there were?? I have felt so boring lately...but I did want to post some events that have been happening in the Schaub world!

I love the "As You Wish" store and my friend Abby and I decided that it was a very relaxing place to be since you just get to sit there and paint and let your creative juices flow! For mother's day this year I wanted to give my amazing Mother a more thoughful gift so I painted her a huge pasta bowl from As You Wish and she absolutely loved it. My sister Tara made her something from Build A Bear.

Later on in May my little sister Jocelyn graduated high school! My parents will now have an empty nest at home after my brother leaves on his mission to Spain in July. She graduated in the top 4% and is definitely a smarty pants and got a full ride to ASU for the honors program. She will be moving to Phx soon and I've enjoyed spending time with her house hunting and playing her 2nd Mom! We always have a good time when we hang out!! Congrats again Joccie, love you sister! :)

At work I got selected to go to Top Performer's in Dallas Texas because my numbers were so high! It was sweet cause they paid for the entire trip...room, food and flight included and if we spent extra on food they reimbursed that as well. We stayed in the huge Sheraton Hotel right in down town Dallas! It was nice to go and learn about the direction U of P is trying to go. One of my biggest complaints about working at that crazy place is that it's very stressful and you always have an overload of work to complete and you are never recognized when you do work hard, so to be able to go on this trip was appreciated. I'm sure you all have seen the cheesy "I Am A Phoenix" commercials, well they were promoting that in Dallas and I even got to take my own "I am a Feenicks" picture, my friends and I spell it that way just because with the student base we have they would definitely spell Phx like that. I also went to the Dallas Aquarium with my friend Raven from work.

Then the last pic is just one of Jeff and I....he always wants me to wear hats and so I finally bought one and I thought it was a cute pic!! More blogging come soon... :)

ConGRADulations Joc!!!

My cute lil' sister Jocelyn is graduating next week from high school and so I designed this announcement for her. She is the youngest of the 8 Shaver kids, my parents will finally have an empty nest at home. I think she just looks beautiful in her pics so I wanted to post them. Thank you Mary Anne for being the photographer! :)

My Dad says we act alike and that we have the same personality. It's kinda sweet cause he once told me that when he misses me he will just go and talk to my sister and it reminds him of me! We do somewhat act the same...she copies me all the time...it's flattering tho!

Love you Joccie!!! :)

Unconditional Love

Often times I receive the compliment that I am very loving and that it seems so easy for me to share my love with others, and although I always appreciate the thoughtfulness of those words I too have to remind myself of what unconditional love really is. The Savior loved unconditionally, and loved everyone and has a perfect love for us all.

I'm always so quick to judge my family members because they do not live the gospel the same way I do, or because I don't agree with the choices they make. What will bring them back to the gospel is if I can love them unconditionally...no matter what. It's a challenge for me not to get on my soap box and preach to them, I know that I need to accept them for who they are and believe in the power of hope, the hope that we will be an eternal family one day.

About 1 year ago I read an article in the Ensign that really hit home for me. The story was about a girl who had a hard time accepting some of the choices her sister had made because it had affected their relationship. The below part made me think of my own actions towards my family:

"I know that my duty as Leigh’s sister is not to condemn her but to love her. My task is to try to follow the Savior. The rest is simply out of my hands, and my sister still needs the friend she once had in me. If the gospel has taught me anything, it is how to be a friend. I can learn to love her without condoning her lifestyle, and I can reach out to her in a way that she needs. After all, it is the Savior’s role, not mine, to heal her."

So, I sit back and think..."Yes, if the Savior were here right now with me He would love my siblings regardless." Does it make me a "better" person cause I attend church every Sunday? Nope, not at all. I still see so much good in all my brother's and sisters despite the fact that they make different choices than me. I continue to pray that I will be able to express that accepting, unconditional love to my family. Hopefully one day they will be able to feel God's love for them through me.

It's humbling to know that we are all capable of developing that attribute of Christ-like love. After all, the Savior loves us all regardless of our many imperfections. Having learned this lesson I now try to put my judging eyes away and love like He would if He were here on earth.