Familia Cedeño

A little over a week ago I was invited to go to a glamor workshop with a friend who is a beauty consultant with Mary Kay. At 5:30 p.m. I went over to her place and waited while she got ready to go. She was actually waiting for a customer to show up so she could get some eye shadow to her right before we left for our meeting. As I watched her roll out her Mary Kay travel bags full of cosmetics and help her customer, I thought, "Wow, that could never be me." She helped the customer and a little while later we were on our way to this workshop. I entered the building named "The Pink Studio". I laughed a little to myself and in we went. The place was full of women, dressed up, looking very happy to be there. I took my seat and the class began. I had been to a Mary Kay function before, just not one as elaborate as this one. We did skin care, foundation and makeup all in one sitting. To be honest with you, makeup wasn't a part of my everyday regimen. In fact, I showed ...

When Roberto and I were first married, we considered something that most married couples (especially in our LDS culture) don't really have to think about. We were considering to either keep the last name that Roberto had or to change that last name to another family name. Why, you may ask? I'll tell you why (hence this post). Roberto's parents had him out of wedlock. (GASP) His dad was actually engaged to another woman when this whole affair happened (pretty scandalous, huh?) Roberto's mom was single. Anyway, Roberto was raised by his mother, since she didn't want any more drama with having to bring into the light what had happened between her and his father, especially since he was engaged to someone else. So, in Ecuador, Roberto was known as Roberto Ayuso (which is his mother's maiden name). (FYI: Roberto's dad did know about him and was somewhat involved in his life. Roberto has memories of seeing his dad when he was 3 or 4. Eventually, his dad's fa...

I feel impressed to share my thoughts on my personal relationship with God. It is so easy today to turn to other sources for help or advice. We might get caught up in what other people have to say about whatever it is that we are trying to get over or overcome. I was reminded today that the ultimate advice and comfort we can receive is from our Father in heaven. When I pray, I feel so close to Him, as if He is in the room with me. It is so comforting to be able to know that I am His daughter and that He is there listening. That no matter what I am feeling or dealing with, that He can understand and that I can say whatever is on my mind and He will love me and give me what I need. I am so grateful that I know that I am a child of God. That I have an eternal purpose and destiny. It can be so easy to get caught up in life's experiences and feel overwhelmed or scared. But if I remember to go to my Heavenly Father and let Him know what I am feeling, then His spirit comforts me and I am ...

This past week was amazing. Roberto and I, along with Samuel, volunteered in the Get Connected program at BYU-Idaho. It was an experience to remember. Here's how it all started. So Roberto is the one who is in school(BYU-I) now, which is why we were able to participate in Get Connected. Last semester he asked me if I would be interested in doing it with him, since he was married, the only way he could participate was if I was his partner. So I think, yeah that would be so fun, why not? The semester passes on and we are assigned during the semester to be recruitment reps. I start thinking-is this what we signed up for? to walk around and tell other married students about get connected? what about the whole orientation thing? The semester ended and the 7 week break came. We get another e-mail talking about get connected spirit conference which would start September 6th. Then I think-oh so that's the orientation part, the fun part. And THEN I start thinking about Sa...

Our baby boy Samuel is growing and learning so many things. It is hard to believe that in 4 days he will be 8 months old. He can now crawl, but most of the time it turns into an army crawl once he gets tired. The sounds that he can make are ma, da, ba, pa, or ta. He is also trying to climb up things like our legs or chairs, or whatever he can get on. He is still very cuddly with me and I love it. Now he even crawls to me and starts making the ma sound to let me know he wants me to pick him up. Sometimes he will wrap his little arms around my neck and I love it. It is amazing how much love you can feel from these little ones. Being a mom ROCKS!

As a little girl, my mother would cut my hair short. It was a bob that went to my shoulders (I have fine hair). As I grew older, I longed for long tresses. My hair grows at a very slow rate. So I would be very cautious every time I went to get it cut. By the time I was a senior in high school, I had the long hair that I always wanted. Since then, about 5 years now, I would get it cut every 6 months and take off about 2 inches every time. It felt awesome. One day this past week, as I was combing my hair after a shower, I looked at myself in the mirror and thought- "I'm ready for something different." So..... I chopped it off. In total it was 8 inches cut off. It was long enough to be donated. I was very happy about that. Someone else in the world will be wearing my hair. The new length feels great. So much lighter and more bounce to it. I'll have fun growing it out again. :)

We are back from our trip to Salt Lake City, Utah. It was wonderful. My parents just bought a house last month and we were able to stay with them there. We enjoyed several BBQ's in the backyard, swam at a lake, went rollerskating, ate out, went to a show and had a great time visiting with the family. Lucky for us, both of our immediate families live in the salt lake area, so we were able to see all of the family. Here are some, well many, pictures of the grand adventure. P.S. Samuel LOVES the water.