Hello and welcome to Parenting on a Rollercoaster!! My name is Briana. I live in Murray, UT with my little family of men-folks: two little dudes and one big dude (and now one dudette!). My husband and I bought a fixer-upper when we got married and since then have brought babies home while in the midst of remodeling. (I didn’t have a kitchen when I brought home my first born!) I grew up in Gainesville, FL and since then have lived in Provo, UT; Taichung, Taiwan; Columbus, OH; Boston, MA; and now Murray, UT. I love exploring the world and learning new things. I tinker around with a million different projects and always have something bouncing around in my head to try making. I rarely follow recipes and thus can rarely make the same exact dish twice! I’m a far-cry from the perfect mother but I LOVE this job and wouldn’t trade it for the world. (And that’s saying something ’cause I just had to pause writing this to go clean up a poop that didn’t make it to the potty…. Ya gotta love this parenting gig! It totally is a rollercoaster ride!)
My Qualifications
I am a speech-language pathologist by training, having received my Bachelors degree from Brigham Young University in 2010 and my Masters degree from The Ohio State University in 2012. I worked for six years in two different Early Intervention programs — inter-city Boston, MA and suburban Utah County, UT. In addition to my speech and language background, I have trained with many educators from diverse schools of thought regarding early childhood development, discipline techniques, feeding, cognition, social behaviors, physical development, play, hearing, literacy and much more.
I have worked with hundreds of children and families from around the world and from all different social and economic backgrounds and religions, ranging from homeless families in shelters to millionaire families with full-sized NBA standard basketball courts in their basements. My clients have crossed the spectrum from typically developing with only a slight speech delay to children who are highly medically involved or have Downs Syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Microcephaly, complications from prematurity, have experienced trauma, or were born addicted to drugs or alcohol.
I am currently raising my own children, who provide me with a vast new laboratory of learning. I am daily gaining an even more intimate knowledge of early childhood milestones and development.
My Beliefs
It seems fitting that in writing a blog about child development, that I use the lyrics of a children’s song to express some of my beliefs.
I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Words and music: Janice Kapp Perry
I know who I am.
I know God’s plan.
I’ll follow him in faith.
I believe in the Savior, Jesus Christ.
I’ll honor his name.
I’ll do what is right;
I’ll follow his light.
His truth I will proclaim.
To expound on some of these thoughts:
I believe that God has a plan for us, a plan that includes life before birth, the purpose of life here on Earth, the reason for death and where we go when we die, as well as how God will judge us and our ultimate eternal fate.
I believe that Jesus Christ is vital to this plan and that none of it would be possible without Him. He is the Creator of our world. He is my Savior from sin. And He is the Resurrected One, who makes it possible for all of us to also be resurrected. He is my advocate with God, the Father, when my time of judgment arrives. And He is my Elder Brother who is my example and guide for every choice here on Earth.
I believe that I am I child of deity, that God is my Father. And, as such, I have a divine role and destiny, both on Earth and in eternity. Each and every soul ever born is also a Child of God. And each of us is intimately known by God.
I believe that God, the Father, is a God of mercy and of justice, a God who is aware of each of His children and loves each of us deeply, personally, individually. I believe that He wants all of us to return to live with Him and that He is doing everything in His power to help us make the choices that qualify us to be with Him eternally. And again, Jesus Christ is vital to making that desire a possibility. And that this is the sole purpose for God’s plan: to help us to become like Him and to live with Him eternally in happiness, with families, and to eternally progress in our capacity and joy.
I believe that God did not intend for us to strive to return to Him without assistance. He gave us both ancient and modern scriptures to teach us His plan and He also provides us with modern-day Prophets and Apostles to guide and direct us in the paths of truth and righteousness.
You can learn more about my beliefs here. To read the words of God’s modern-day Prophets and Apostles, click here.
