1st—The subdivision pool
opened on April 1st. It wasn’t an April Fools joke, but it sure felt
like one. We woke up to 35 degrees that day. Jared told Calvin and JJ to wear
pants because it was chilly outside. Calvin balked, “What IS this? Like our 10th
winter??” He’s not wrong. It has been cold and rainy for most of the first part
of the year. February is historically glorious and warm allowing us to open up
the windows. I haven't been able to do that at all this year.
--Apparently, Jake felt the need to
be joke-ster and take advantage of April Fools being on his “write home day”
because while we did receive an email, it was just a teaser. The little snot.
It’s a good thing he’s cute and at a safe distance of 3500 miles. Jared wasn’t
too happy about not getting a letter from him that morning. Wes McCullough
emailed us and said, “Jake gets that from his dad!” And then when Jake wrote
for real the next week, Jake blamed his prank on Jared, too! Haha! I guess
Jared only has himself to blame. ;)
2nd—We had three music
performances this evening, so I graciously bowed out of my Stake Council
meeting. First it was Orchestra Solo and Ensemble for Karcyn and then a pre-UIL
Choir concert for both Karcyn and then Cooper at the high school. I
curled Karcyn's hair for her and put it up. She’s much like her mom when it
comes to hair—very low maintenance and simple. But as she left for school that
day the last thing she said to me was, “Thanks for making my hair pretty, Mom!”
It was so sweet. She participated in an ensemble with two boy cellists. And
they scored a 1 Superior rating! There is a boy, Matthew, who has shown an
interest in Karcyn since 5th grade (yes, two whole years 😊). He is in the boys’ choir
so his mom introduced herself to me and asked if we could get a picture of the
two kids together.
He is a sweet boy. He is the same
boy who gave Karcyn the stuffed dog (from Build-a-Bear) with hearts on it for
Valentine's Day a year ago. He is the
same boy who received a thank you card from Karcyn that indicated she was very grateful they were friends. We ended up walking down the long hall and
out of the building together. As we neared the door, I noticed that Matthew
hurried to it before Karcyn and opened the door for her so she could go through it. Hmm. One point for Matthew for being a gentleman. Matthew has asked when she can start dating and
Karcyn has told him and several other boys, "Not until I'm 16 and then
it's group dating." Matthew seemed okay with that. If he wasn't he didn't show it. They have science
together this year.
--I play Words with Friends with my
parents and sometimes Jared. I played a word worth 105 points on my dad. Such
an occurrence is pretty rare—in point value and against such a tough opponent.
It likely won’t happen again, which is why I’m documenting it.
3rd—I drove Jared to the
College Station airport at 4:30am so he could catch a flight to Orlando,
Florida for an ENT specific medical conference for physician assistants. He
would miss General Conference on Saturday, but was catching a 5am flight from
Orlando to be back in College Station by 10am on Sunday, so he could catch the
Sunday session of conference with us back home.
--Cooper was super stoked about his
newest bowling ball purchase. I had no idea there were so many different kinds
of bowling balls. I thought they were all the same and the difference was in
how you throw it. Well, the latter is true, but there are also different balls.
Based on hooks and resistance, etc. Not surprisingly I have no clue what this
one does, but Cooper likes it! Plus it's purple...like the CSHS Cougars!
--This is how were were feeling the
beginning of April. There aren't very many negatives in our book for living in
Texas. But allergies are a big one. Seems like all my kids are affected by
these in one way or another.
5th--Since Jared was out of town and
Cooper was working, I decided to have a movie night with the kids' favorite
dinner (spinach lasagna) and special movie treats. Calvin actually made dinner for us and we watched "Bedtime Stories" with Adam Sandler. It was really
funny!
6th—It was a stormy
morning with lots of thunder and lightning. Which, of course, I loved. The
first two sessions of General Conference on Saturday were wonderful and I was
very proud of Cooper, Karcyn and Calvin who sat and watched all four hours.
Even Jared was able to listen with one earbud in while plugged in to the BYU
channel on his phone. 😊 Jared and
Cooper (and Jake when he was here) had a tradition of going out to eat before
the Priesthood session of conference on Saturday night. Because Jared was out
of town, I suggested to Cooper that he just stay home and watch it in my room.
Then he could graze off our food at home and lay on the bed. Not ideal, but it
worked and it was fun to have him there and give us “updates” on the Priesthood
session when he emerged periodically for food.
--I had been
communicating with Luke (our Brazilian boy who went home right before
Christmas) to make sure he had received documents from the state of Texas
validating his studies here for recognition in his country. He did. And then he sent
me this picture and asked, "By the way, have you met the brand new area
seventy?"
Those are Luke's parents, at the
Conference Center in Utah over conference weekend! Luke's dad was one of the
fifty-ish men who were called and sustained as area authorities/seventies. He
had been serving as the Stake President in Porto Alegre for at least eight
years. Since Luke was about 8 years old. We are honored to know such a fine
family in Brazil and to have had a piece of them as part of our family for a
few months.
--From my point of view, I
definitely have a delightful marriage, because I am one very lucky girl.
7th—I wrote Jake a letter
Sunday morning and we slowly got in our church clothes to get ready for
conference. Even though we’d be watching it on TV, it is still the Sabbath. It
was another stormy day. Jared texted me when he got to Dallas. He had gotten up
at 2am to check out of the hotel and return the rental car and be at the gate
for his 5am flight. About the time he was going to board the plane for College
Station, he texted me and informed me that his flight had been cancelled due to
the weather. Dang. He’d miss the first part of conference. When I asked him
when the next flight was, he said there wasn’t going to be one. They were all
cancelled. Which meant he had to find another rental car so he could drive
THREE hours home in very dicey weather. In fact, we were under a severe
thunderstorm warning and tornado watch. Fortunately, he was able to
secure a rental car. Unfortunately, it cost $40 more than the rental he had for
five days in Orlando, likely because it was just a one-way rental. And then he
was on his way home, completely exhausted, driving in treacherous weather,
parallel to the storm system.
Gratefully, he made pretty good time
all things considered. I picked him up at the College Station airport after the
first session of conference and we were able to watch the last session together
as a family. And boy howdy, I am so grateful we were together because at the
VERY end, the prophet announced seven new temples and while we are always eager
to hear the locations of temples around the world, nothing prepared me, not
even the prophet himself, who even gently requested that we refrain from
outbursts, for a temple location that would impact our family. We were fairly
certain there wouldn’t be one announced in College Station, Texas. So we were
out of the running for a personal impact. But the final temple location
announced by President Russell M. Nelson was Budapest Hungary and I lost
it. Screamed and then wept. It rocked our world. I never dreamed we’d hear about
a temple in Hungary in our lifetime, let alone while our son was laboring in
that very country as a missionary, laying the foundation for this great work.
Temples are not often announced in eastern Europe. And while this will be a
HUGE game changer for the saints in Hungary, it’ll be such a blessing for all
those smaller surrounding countries as well. The Lord is hastening His work!! I
just wish Jake had been awake to hear the announcement himself. That was the
one session they weren't be able to see/hear live.
This was my Facebook post that
afternoon:
8th—I had agreed to sub
for another kindergarten teacher because she asked me personally. To be honest,
I hate subbing on Mondays. They are my P-days (preparation days as I do
laundry, grocery shopping, getting ready for the week, etc.) plus we now have
the added possibility of Jake calling. Which he did! Around 5:30. We all said
hi, but Jared talked with him the most.
When teachers reach out to me in
person and with enough notice about needing a substitute and I am
"technically" free from any other appointments, I feel like I need to
accept, so I can build up my reputation as a dependable substitute. At 1:37pm,
while I was reading a story to the kids, my phone vibrated. It was a call from
Pecan Trail Intermediate. All of my kids are in a different school and this was
Calvin’s school calling. I normally let those calls go, but something made me
answer it…in front of the kindergarteners. It was the school nurse. She started
with, “Calvin is okay” but explained that while he was in PE, another kid’s
head collided with his face and his mouth got slammed. There was A LOT of blood
she said, but they got it to stop and his teeth are still intact. Even still,
she said if it were her child, she would take him to be seen by the dentist,
just to verify everything is okay. I told her I agreed, but that I was subbing
(at the school next door), and that I was try and set something up ASAP after I
was done. I was getting ready to take my class to recess, so I called our
pediatric dentist office, where there are 2-3 dentists. Except it took five
calls in twelve minutes before someone even answered the phone. That was not a
good sign. The receptionist told me that they only have one doctor there that
day and asked if we could wait until the following day to come in. While I’m
usually accommodating in that way, my mommy gut told me he needed to be seen
before the end of that day so I pressed for that. She scheduled him for 4pm and
said if they could get us in any sooner, they would. The other kindergarten
teachers were so sympathetic and understanding. They arranged to cover my car
duty and I was able to leave right after school with JJ to get Calvin. I told
JJ that Calvin got hurt and suggested maybe he could say a prayer for his
brother. I thought he’d say one quietly in his heart. But as soon as he got in
a buckled up, he started praying out loud that Calvin would be okay. Calvin
came down to the front office and the right side of his lip was really swollen.
He said it didn’t hurt as much anymore, but felt something “go up” on impact.
Despite only one dentist, we got called back a few minutes before 4pm. The
dentist (Jake and Cooper’s orthodontist) did a manual exam and said that his
teeth were intact, but he ordered x-rays just to make sure and verified the
teeth were okay. However, further examination showed that the gums over two of
his upper teeth were shoved upward when he got hit. Just like Calvin had felt.
The dentist said Calvin would need some stitches to pull those gums back down
into place. Poor Calvin. He was so brave when the doctor was numbing him up.
That is SO painful and the last thing we expected would happen. He didn’t
flinch or make a peep.
When the doctor was done, he left
the room to see other patients while we waited for the numbing to take effect.
I moved over to sit by Calvin. He was very still. I stroked his hair and rubbed
his arm. He started to very mildly shake a little bit from the shock. But aside
from that, he didn’t move—probably willing himself to be calm. His arms were
folded across his chest and he tightly grabbed my hand that had been rubbing
his arm with his hand that was tucked under as a single tear slipped out of the
corner of his right eye. I wiped it away and one more trickled down into his
ear. And that was it. The irony of all this is that of ALL my kids, Calvin had
the most perfect baby teeth and his permanent teeth came in the exact same way.
They are a golden gift for parents—I think at least one of my kids should spare
us from braces.
His face hurt a little bit more that
night and the next morning, especially as he was getting feeling back in his
face. But he was smart and proactive about putting ice on his mouth. Cooper
said he looked like the Joker and they had fun bantering back and forth doing
Joker imitations. Finding soft food that Calvin would actually eat was
challenging, especially to take to school. But we managed. I’m really glad I
stuck with my mommy gut about getting Calvin in to the dentist that day, not
only because he really did need help, but because I had forgotten 5th
graders had state testing the next day. I couldn’t take him out of school early
for an appointment even if I wanted to. So it all worked out! I was a little
disappointed to learn that our dental insurance covered everything that day
except the stitches. I called the office to ask if we could rebill under
another code. But when the gal looked up our account, she found the doctor had
written off the $250 charge for the stitches. Such a blessing!
10th—JJ went on his 1st
grade field trip to the Waco (Cameron) Zoo. The next day, I saw an article in
the news that said a first grader, visiting the zoo from College Station had
shattered a glass wall that was part of the caiman exhibit. My heart stopped
just for a second. That had to be JJ’s group. And surely…if he were
involved, he and his teacher would have said something or notified us. No one
did, but I decided to ask him about it anyway.
“Hey Bud, was there a glass window
that broke while you were at the zoo?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t see it. But Jude
(his classmate and our cul-de-sac neighbor) did it. He wanted to kill the
alligator.” (Yikes!) I hadn’t mentioned which animal enclosure it was and
caimans look like alligators. Oh my. The report said it was going to cost
$10,000 to replace. It makes you wonder though, how sturdy the glass was to
begin with if a 1st grader could throw a rock and shatter it.
Fortunately, I think insurance is going to cover the cost. I’d be mortified if
it had been my child so I didn’t dare ask Jude’s mom about it either.
--One of the SUPER AWESOME things
about the personal finances class offered through the Self Reliance Course is
that you find out from friends, who also have a 16 year old and newer cars than
you do, that their insurance is only HALF of what yours is and they give you
their insurance guy's number and you make the switch...saving a couple hundred
dollars a MONTH!!! The change was effective on April 10th. Whoop!
12th-13th—Stake Youth
Conference weekend. It blows my mind how much preparation goes into planning a
24-hour experience for 120 youth. Months of behind the scenes planning with the
youth and logistical details without them. The camp in LaGrange, TX (about an
hour and twenty minutes from College Station) was a brand new venue and while
my presidency and I toured it in October, we didn’t know anything about how
things worked or what we could anticipate or how to make the youth plans work
within this space. I have never organized any event of this type or magnitude,
but I have remarkable counselors and took comfort that the Lord would direct us
because this was His work, not ours. Still…I was worried we hadn’t asked all
the questions or that there were things we weren’t anticipating. The biggest question mark was the
service project. Jake and Cooper attended last year and I knew they were rained
out of their service project. The weather was not looking favorable for us this
year either as the weekend drew closer. The camp had plenty of outdoor projects
we could help them with. We just needed the weather to hold. Otherwise, we
wouldn’t have any service to do and an empty hour to fill. Though, I think
letting the youth go back to their cabins to reflect or rest would have been
totally okay. But we really wanted to serve and the youth love to serve, too. I will say...we had
four different golf carts or Polaris ATVs at our disposal. Those are absolute
musts when getting around a very large and spacious camp. I don't know what we
would have done without them. Incredible time savers and life savers for a
couple youth who had leg injuries. I was told multiple times that weekend, that I could totally drive the carts around, but I didn't trust myself. However, getting a ride from the Stake Young Men leaders is super fun! :)
Saturday morning (13th),
we woke to the skies dumping rain. My presidency was praying hard. I didn’t
mind the rain before the service project. Just not during the allotted service time that
afternoon around 1. Fortunately, the rain didn’t last 10 minutes. Then right
around the lunch hour, it started to dump rain on us again. And then it passed.
But around 12:45, the temperature dropped and the wind picked up. There were
some pretty dicey looking clouds blowing in.
They looked pretty ominous, but
because of their shape and the wind speed, my friend said it looked like we
were just getting clipped by the tail end of the front. We did take cover just
to be on the safe side. It rained hard for about 5 minutes and then it was
done. Our prayers were answered! We were able to do our service project
clearing out underbrush and felling trees. We worked so fast and efficiently,
the camp had to stop us. There were three massive burn piles and those had to
be dealt with before more work could be done. We exceeded their expectations
which, of course, is so pleasing to us. The youth just dove in and got to work.
The BEFORE picture (Cooper is on the
far right...with a breathing mask on...dumb allergies).
And...AFTER!
The area is now "see through!"
Unfortunately, the storm system that
clipped us, ended up putting our families at home under a tornado warning. And
an EF3 tornado hit the town of Franklin, in the Hearne Branch, within our
stake boundaries. I had served and worked with Tracy Stone, the former RS
president, whose home was damaged in the tornado and pictures of it made
national news. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Tracy’s husband died unexpectedly
right before Christmas.
The feedback from youth and adult chaperones about Youth Conference
was that it was a smashing success. Lutherhill Camp was a beautiful place and
the staff was wonderfully helpful and kind. This is the Carby Chapel on Saturday evening during the testimony meeting. We spent most of our group gatherings here.
Of 120 youth, almost 100 of them
bore their testimonies, most of which shared that the conference was a huge turning
point for them and they are so grateful they came. I was privy to handfuls of
miracles that surrounded this conference weekend and it was an honor to be a
part of those miracles. But I was also REALLY REALLY glad it was over!!
14th—My eyes were open, but
I did not feel awake. 😊 I was
exhausted—feeling run down with a sore throat. I couldn’t imagine that my
staying up til 1am the night before because of three very chatty girls would
make me feel that way. Jared suggested it wasn’t just the one night, but the
culmination of the two months before that. He’s probably right. Time to exhale.
--We had family home evening later
that night since the rest of the week was jam packed. We got onto the subject
of some members who leave the Church because certain policies change. Yet they
think it’s a valid excuse and that the Church is giving in to political
pressures. We explained to our kids that a living, growing church needs to have
policies that grow with it and likened it to our own home. We have rules (doctrine/truth)
that never change. For example, no flip phones until age 14, no smart phones
until at least 16 ½, no sleepovers, no group dating until 16, no PG-13 movies
until age 13 and they’ve been screened by parents, no rated R/MA movies, no
alcohol or drugs. These standards have not changed in the last 22 years since
the Hough family was established. But how we manage our home has and will
continue to change as the kids grow up, such as chore charts, how/when we do
Family Home Evening, kid of the week, calendaring/schedules, rewards for super
report cards, birthday parties, etc. This seemed to help them understand the
difference between church doctrine and church policies.
15th—JJ was working on
some math problems and he was mumbling an addition problem under his breath. I
heard the number "twelve" as I walked past him. A few moments later,
from the study I heard him holler, “Mom!! I need more fingers!” Haha! To which
I hollered back, “Use what you know!” JJ not only reached, but exceeded, his
yearly math goal in Education Galaxy. He made it to the highest level.
16th--Karcyn was inducted into the
National Junior Honor Society--recommended and approved by her teachers. She
had to write an essay as well in order to be accepted. This was the same girl
who couldn't talk until she was almost four years old. We are very proud of her
and how much she loves learning and are
most grateful for all the extra special teachers and leaders who have helped
guide her along her way.
--Calvin with an itchy red bumps on
his face and neck. *sigh* If he goes outside, he's bound to end up with some
unpleasant physical response.
17th--In order to maximize the most
out of the dregs at the bottom of a cereal box, Calvin came up with this
brilliant idea, a technique employed by other siblings as we see JJ doing here: pour
the cereal into a colander and swish out the crumbs! I' can certainly get behind "waste
not, want not!"
—Jared was packing up for his 3 day
fishing trip to Lake Fork, Texas. He started gathering up five or six fishing
poles. I asked, “Why do you need so many fishing poles?” They were only going
to ONE lake. There was a long moment before Jared replied with a wry smile, “If
you fished, you wouldn’t have to ask.”
To Cooper, Jared said, "Wish us luck
that we catch fish on this lake. It’s tough.” [It’s historically crowded and
big weather issues can creep up]. Not having learned my lesson from the
question I asked earlier, I piped up and inquired, “Then why do you keep going
back?” To date, Jared has been to Lake Fork 3-4 times and hasn’t caught
anything and he said, “Because it’s what we do. We like being on the water.”
And it’s a good thing, too, with that record. Which reminds me of a Doc-ism
from my father-in-law. “That’s why they call it fishing not catching.”
--This meme is spot on accurate!!
It's been such a bad spring for allergies...even for those of us without
chronic allergy problems!
18th—Jared was gone on a fishing trip, so true to form,
something health related had to pop up with the kids. Calvin woke up at 5:30am
with itchy hive-like bumps on his arms and neck. (I really need the allergens
to please leave us already!) I didn't have much I could do for him. I put some
anti-itch spray on his problem areas and then after he got dressed, I gave him an ice pack to numb his left arm which was bothering him the most. It seemed to help. Thankfully.
--JJ was cast as crazy Pig 4
“Piggly” in the First Grade Musical “E-I-E-I-Oops.” There are 8 first grade
classes so 140-ish first graders. Only two from his class were cast with
speaking/dancing parts. Mr. Suel, his amazing music teacher, told me when I
picked JJ up from his first after school rehearsal, that he was SO glad he cast
JJ as pig 4 because he just KNEW that JJ would be able to “ham it up.” It was
so entertaining! These little kids were outstanding--like mini professional actors! There
were two shows and I went to both so I could enjoy it twice and get pictures at different angles.
JJ takes after his siblings in that he is NOT afraid of being on stage or in
front of a crowd. He had a good coach. Mr. Suel is incredibly talented. In
fact, we learned from the principal that he made the entire farm backdrop and
when the cow costumes they ordered didn’t come in on time, he bought material
and made four cow costumes a few days before the show himself. Unbelievable! We
are being zoned to a new elementary school in the fall and will miss Mr. Suel A
LOT.
This picture of JJ (far right) CRACKS me up! That just gives you an idea
of what he was like on stage.
Speaking
part.
He's on the far left showing
excitement.
On the far left, excitedly leaving
the front of the stage.
Front and center doing the Dab. Haha!
JJ with his hands in the air, having
way too much fun, if you ask me. :)
Far right,
swaying with the pigs and all smiles.
Piggly with
his mom...Mrs. Piggle Wiggle?
19th—Around these here
parts, we get Good Friday and the Monday after Easter off, so it is always a blessed
four day weekend! I took Calvin to see the movie "Breakthrough" on Friday as an enticement
to do what’s right. The student council (of which he is a part) at his school were
invited to see a private premier showing of “Shazam” as a thank you for the
service they rendered to a local business. But the movie was PG-13 and he’s not
even 11 yet. So I told him that I would take him to a movie of his choice just
the two of us. It’s not his fault the movie he was invited to was not
appropriate for our family standards and I hoped this enticement would show him
that there are always better alternatives and choices to what the world offers.
--Karcyn offered to make dinner. How
could I refuse? Chocolate chip pancakes! An important standard in anyone's
repertoire.
JJ's a BIG
FAN!
Delish!!!
20th--The kids really, really wanted
to go to the pool. Even though it had rained the day before and the water was
likely not "warmed up." It was a bit like a Polar Bear
Challenge--Texas Edition. But to their credit, after catching their breath,
they stayed in for about 15-20 minutes!
23rd—Tuesday was the
first day back in school after the long weekend and it was Cooper’s only day of
school for the week. He was getting ready to go to New York City with his
choir. I drove him to the school around 2am EARLY Wednesday morning.
I went to bed that night before
waking up again, but Cooper thought it would be "fun" to stay up. I
think he regretted that when sleep didn't easily come on the bus or the flight.
They took a charter bus to Austin and caught a 5am flight to Newark and then
they were bused to their hotel right in Times Square in New York City. It's
hard for me to believe that I went to New York City my senior year with the
high school choir 24 years ago!! I wish I could have gone with him. Can you
find the redhead in both pictures?
His chaperones, Mr. and Mrs.
Strohmeyer, were so kind to send the rest of us parents updates and pictures
throughout the week.
Wed. 24th--Saw "Wicked" (so jealous!)
Th.
25th--New York Style Pizza!
Top of the
Rock Observation Deck. What a view!!!
Fr. 26th--Taking the Subway and a
walking tour of Central Park.
Cooper bought himself a Grand
Central Station umbrella for $23. Kids were making fun of him saying he could
buy an umbrella off Amazon for $6. But turns out their stroll through Central
Park was a bit on the soggy side. Guess who had the last laugh!?
Getting ready for their Choirs of
America performance at Carnegie Hall. This picture was supposed to be a pose
like a Gentlemen's Quarterly (GQ) model, but apparently Cooper didn't get the
memo.
Sat. 27th--Going to see the Statue
of Liberty.
Lady Liberty and Jenn in 1995.
Lady Liberty and Cooper in 2019.
Lunch on Ellis Island and the Broadway Show Aladdin that night.
Sun. 28th--Rockefeller Plaza and
shopping. It was a fabulous trip for Cooper. We're so glad he could go.
Meanwhile, back in
Texas...
24th—I visited my friend,
Donna, who I am a ministering sister to with our Relief Society President,
Annie. Donna’s health is not good at all. Sadly, her days are running out. We
sat with her, laughed and cried together. I held her hand. We spent an hour and
a half with her. It was yet another stormy afternoon. Things were building in
the sky. In fact, David, Donna’s husband came in to tell us we might want to be
on our way because of what might be coming. They live up by the airport, a good
20 minutes north of my house. Annie is in the middle by the church. We left
shortly after that around 5pm and about 7 minutes down the road a siren alarm
went off on Annie’s phone. We were under a tornado warning. Holy schnikey. That
came out of nowhere. We weren’t too far from her house, so I ducked and covered
there. We learned the tornado—an EF2—was just north of us in Bryan. So I jumped
in my car and headed home which was south, in the opposite direction. That makes two tornadoes, an EF3 and an EF2, both in our stake boundaries, twelve days apart. That is highly unusual.
25th—I cashed in a gift
card for a massage and facial that I got two years ago for my 40th
birthday. I was so happy to learn the card was still honored. Later that night,
I had a “presidency meeting” at BJs—really we just ate yummy food, enjoyed
each other’s company and debriefed about Youth Conference. I knew my counselor
and secretary were going to be released that weekend and I wanted to spend some
time as a presidency before those changes hit. It's hard to let go of such a great vibe and tribe. They're laughing because the stake scheduler was contacting both of them about needing to meet with President Roeth in the Stake (they were both moving...one out of state necessitating a release and the other was moving within the presidency). But they were both unavailable due to a "meeting" that night (at BJ's :) and the poor scheduler was getting their two messages mixed up. Our "meeting" went well past 10pm. Time flies when you're having a blast!
27th—Jared and I went to
the temple. It was a glorious morning. We were super productive when we got
home. Jared tackled his mom’s yard and ours. I hit the garage and closets to
spring clean, among other things. The kids worked hard, too!
Because Cooper has a horrible allergic response to mowing and trimming, Calvin has been "called up" and is now taking over yard duties--especially at Grandma's house.
This is how Jared feels. Haha!
JJ did all of his regular chores, so he swept out the garage to earn some extra money. And did a pretty awesome job considering the broom is as tall as he is!
28th—Calvin sang in the
Stake Primary Choir at Stake Conference. It was beautiful.
--After Stake conference ended, every single member of my presidency was set apart except me. I was the only thing that didn't change. From left to right: Jennie Linford (Secretary), Anne Burnett (2nd Counselor), me, Allison Dunn (1st Counselor). I'm excited for what the future holds for us as we lead the Young Women organizations into the future.
--I had my final self-reliance class on
personal finances once my girls were set apart. This was definitely a “bright spot” in our stake. Twelve
people began the course twelve weeks ago and twelve people finished it. Historically,
most groups lose a few people over the three month span. We did not.
Furthermore, our group was so diverse. We had a recent widow (she’s in her late
40s, early 50s)—as in, he died right after Christmas and this class started the
end of January. We had a retired couple, a student, two other couples and
people with kids ages 4-19. It was a fabulous variety of experiences and
knowledge. The best part though, is that we had a woman attend who was not a
member of our church. Anyone can take the class. She attended the orientation with a friend who ended up not doing it. But she came every week all on her own. She was truly inspiring to me!
--Cooper arrived home safely on Sunday
night around 11:30pm.
29th—My 42nd
birthday. Spent not feeling 100%, grocery shopping, doing laundry and taking Karcyn to her piano lesson that evening. But it’s great to be alive! I just planned on having
berries and ice cream or whipped cream for a treat because Jared isn’t eating
carbs, Karcyn can’t eat cake and Calvin’s birthday is two days later, so we
really don’t need an overabundance of sweets in our house. But when it came
time to sing happy birthday, Jared pulled out a small cake from behind his back. It was a Nothing Bundt
Cake. It looked so yummy, though I couldn’t tell what flavor it was. I smiled
and ogled at it. JJ and Calvin both asked if it was carrot cake. They had
tried a carrot cake sample once and loved it. Though it was a high quality
carrot cake and was good--for carrot cake--it is not even my fifth favorite. So my instant reply to their question
was, “Ew, I hope not!” Everyone busted up laughing, not expecting me to be so brutally honest. Lucky for me, it was
white chocolate raspberry. De-lish!
--I got a neck massager (at my request) from Jared for my birthday. His poor fingers and hands need a break. Cooper was taking it for a spin.
Excellent point, Mama!
#truth
4/30—Transfers were
this week for Jake so he wasn’t able to call me on my birthday, even though
Mondays are usually P-day for him. And he couldn’t call on Calvin’s birthday
(5/1) on Wednesday because he’d be traveling. So he split the difference and
called in between the two birthdays. 😊 He is going to
Gyor—and continues on as a Zone Leader. His companion is Bridges Elder, who is
technically his “grandpa.” Meaning the elder who trained Jake when he first
went to Hungary (Peery Elder) was trained by Bridges Elder when he first got to
the country. Hence Jake’s missionary “grandpa.” Haha!
--You might live in an SEC college town when the Stake adds the university football games on the Stake Calendar in order for auxiliaries to plan activities and meetings accordingly. It has been experienced that certain games (especially ones at "home") will not elicit the hoped for numbers of attendees at church functions.
