Qualifications?

Some of  you may be thinking "What does Lora really have to offer?" or "What could a woman barely into her 20's possibly know which would help me?" I understand your dilemma. In fact, I ask myself similar questions every time I consider the fact that I am among the youngest, if not the youngest, people in my ward's Relief Society, yet I teach every third week of the month.

Basically, I know nothing, and I am convinced more and more of that every time I "learn" something. The world is a vast, confusing place and when you place what I am sure of next to what I have no clue about next to each other, there is really no comparison. However, I do offer several desirable traits.

Among these traits is my tendency toward research. In fact, I often over-research things, especially if they have to do with my health, faith, or the well-being of those I love. I am a firm believer that there are always two sides of each story, and I make the best effort possible to know what those are. I believe people are generally good, and generally reasonable, but there are always exceptions. I am diligent in my studies, especially if I am passionate about them, and strongly dislike feeling I haven't done everything I can to understand something of importance.

I met my husband online, at LDSPlanet.com. You can read that whole story here. The hubbs has a daughter from his first marriage, Onnamaria Sophia, who was born July 6, 2010. She is alive and well, living with her mother in southern Iowa. We see her one Sunday a month. She also has an older half-brother.

I have a daughter, Sophia Grace (not named after her half-sister), who was born with a neural tube defect called Anencephaly. Our experience with her is chronicled on my other blog, Dear Sophia;;. She was born 1:30pm September 19, 2012, and lived - shockingly - until 3:59am on September 24, 2012. She cried only a handful of times, only barely opened her eyes, and needed to be held constantly so she could breathe easily. Subsequently, I have only about 4.5 days of parenting experience, but she was an amazing little baby and required little effort. Also, I had a lot of help.

For about three months now, the hubby and I have been trying to conceive. Currently (and this is a treat for only people who are reading this blog!) my period is five days late. I had extremely light spotting several days before my period was due, but it tapered off and has been stopped altogether now for three or four days. I have typical (and increasing) pregnancy symptoms, but no positive test as of yet. Prayers would be appreciated for both a healthy pregnancy and a baby who is whole! We greatly desire to actively be parents!

Speaking of young ones, I have a dirty little secret: I'm not a fan of children. They're loud, smelly, have a penchant for stickiness and short attention spans, and we plain just don't really get along (so it totally makes sense that I want to make my own, right? Yeah.) I try, though. I'm one of those people who will smile or wave at your baby and they'll look at me like I have two heads or just pointed a gun at them. However, if your baby is one of those rare angels who actually like me, please hand them over. We'll get along just fine.

As far as schooling is concerned, I moved a lot during my primary to high school days. I'm not even sure how many schools I attended, but I can certainly say I empathize with the position of "New Kid." I graduated from a small school in Missouri which I only attended the last semester of my senior year but I made a few good friends (which is good, considering my graduating class was only 13 students, as compared to the high school I attended before that, which was 500+.) I graduated at the top of my class, though without any distinction (moving around tends to make that happen) and generally enjoyed school.

After high school, I attended Brigham Young University - Idaho (which, as I like to emphasize, was my choice because I was actually accepted to Brigham Young University) for two semesters. I LOVED it there, and even registered for a third semester, but met my handsome husband on Summer break and decided to suspend my education in favor of marriage and staying close to his daughter. I still think it'd be mighty swell to re-enroll, and have been considering the Pathways program, which is an amazing opportunity the LDS Church offers members to complete their education online through BYU-Idaho at a reduced rate.

I love to sing, crochet, paint, occasionally dance (but considering the pallor of my skin, I didn't have much of a prayer in that department - I kid, I kid), write, cook, bake, and be goofy with the hubster. I have read the Book of Mormon in its entirety only once, but I am working on a second time, and am currently in the process of reading the entire Bible (this, of course, is not to say I haven't studied them, but I'm talking front-to-back, no jumping around.)

I have lived in Washington, Idaho (for school), Pennsylvania, Texas, Nevada, Iowa, and currently reside in Missouri. I think California is gorgeous (particularly San Francisco), and I'd love to visit Mexico someday. I love and have three gorgeous, sibling cats. The hubbs loves dogs, so we have two cocker spaniels. The younger one regularly drives me crazy. I'm not a fan of puppies. Kittens, however, I will take by the truckload (although we are currently at capacity, so please don't offer me yours... I might not be able to resist.)

So that's my history. I try to be as honest as possible without being inconsiderate. I have a tendency to be sarcastic, and find dry humor to be hilarious. I am not above laughing at a toot, ill-placed burp, or inopportune cellphone disruption.  Basically, I have a lot of time on my hands, and would love to fill it with blog posts answering your questions. I may not know everything, but I try my best to be sincere and if I don't know something, I will attempt a suitable answer or point you in the right direction. Please feel free to inundate me with questions, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant.

Sincerely,
Lora.