Sun. 1st--Cooper recently received a stake calling in which he is the Assistant Technology Specialist for the Caldwell Branch. President Hull, when he heard the recommendation from our branch president, about having Cooper serve in this capacity, said it was highly unusual to have a youth do such a thing. But Brother Morgan, the high councilor over the Caldwell Branch, who is very fond of Cooper, said that he felt good about it, and after consideration, President Hull said he did, too. So Cooper now has a stake calling, in addition to serving as a representative on the Stake Youth Council.
On this Fast Sunday, Cooper bore his testimony in Sacrament meeting. He said that he really struggled with our move from Oregon to Texas five years ago when he was 11, almost 12. But now, with this new calling, he can see the Lord's hand in preparing Cooper. Cooper felt prompted to quit playing tennis his sophomore year, to allow him to take an audio/visual class. He loves it. He recently received his Patriarchal blessing and learned that technology is a big part of his future. And now he has this unconventional stake calling as an assistant technology specialist. The Lord helped Cooper realize that the high school in Oregon he would have gone to, didn't have these same audio/visual classes that he's in now. And he wouldn't have been able to learn and develop these specific skills and talents in the way the Lord needed him to, had we stayed in Oregon. He bore testimony that the Lord really is in the details of our lives and we need to trust His plan even when we don't understand right away.
Mon. 2nd--Jared had Labor Day off so we celebrated by having a BBQ with our friends, Quinn and Jennie Linford and their three little girls. Quinn is the YM's president in the Caldwell Branch and Jennie is in Primary. She used to be my stake YW secretary. The Linfords were called to serve in Caldwell two weeks before we were at the beginning of July, so we are new there together, which has been a blessing for both families.
Jared took this grilling opportunity to try smoking some ribs. They did not disappoint! Both families also made different kinds of homemade ice cream. Jennie's triple chocolate is amazing! Calvin's blueberry lemon is deliciously fresh and bright.
*This is a snapshot of how Cooper thinks and texts. He wanted to know if he was allowed to go to Homecoming.
On my way to the school, I got a text from Steve Courtright, the second bishop I was RS president for. He wanted to let me know that Bob Graham passed away late during the previous night. He updated me on the situation and said he wanted to let me know even though I'm not directly in callings right now where I'm serving Bob and his wife, Ruth. But he knows I am close to the family and spent so much time serving them. I was truly touched that Steve would think of me and let me know right away. Ruth, is one of my most favorite people, ever. I was called to be her visiting teacher five years ago. And after our family was moved out of the ward with the first boundary change, I couldn't keep myself away from Ruth. I continued to visit her once a month--taking her flowers or treats. Visiting her at the hospital when Bob wasn't well, showing her how to use her iPhone. After a year, the frequency of the visits were more like every 2-3 months, but Ruth has always been on my radar. One hour later, I received another text from my friend, Stephanie Boivie. She was one of my counselors in the RS presidency and now the RS president herself. She said, "Jenn, I know you care so much about Ruth--Bob Graham just passed away late last night. Ruth might be resting today, but wanted you to know in case you want to visit sometime. Funeral is likely Saturday." I felt so cared about that day. That two people remembered my love for an elderly friend and chose to keep me in the loop so I could mourn with her and express my love.
*While I wrote up my daily report for the teacher after school, JJ took to the smart board and did some Godzilla type drawing.
Thurs. 5th--Tis the season for fall ball! Calvin definitely wanted to play again and JJ wanted to give baseball a shot, too. I was a little wary about signing up two kids for a sport at the same time. This could be a logistical disaster. But with Jared's close by with normal workday hours and with Cooper as another driver, I took my chance. Calvin had his baseball evaluation on the 5th. Jared said he did a good job, considering we don't eat, drink and sleep baseball like some kids do. When he got home, Calvin went upstairs to take a shower. He hollered down five minutes later and in great frustration yelled to no one in particular, "Is there NO cold water in this house?!?" I shouted back, "Not in Texas this time of year!"
*When we arrived back in town, I stopped by to get some flowers because it was Ruth Graham's birthday...just three days after her husband passed. I haven't missed her birthday in four years, and I wasn't going to start now. Fortunately when I arrived, she was awake and she gave me her full attention. I cried more than she did. But it was a wonderful visit. I just wanted her to know that I was grateful she was in my life. She deserved to be celebrated. She turned 80! Her kids who had already arrived in town, planned to take her out to dinner and there were about three or four sheet cakes on the island. The Grahams are a big family. I was grateful she was surrounded by them on her special day. The funeral was scheduled for the next afternoon. I had signed up to help serve lunch so I told her I'd see her then.
*About a year ago, Karcyn was gifted not one, but two Greenbay Packer jerseys, one pink and one white from my mom who got them from my sister Kelly, who is a die hard Packers fan. They were too small for my mom. The irony is that the Houghs are die hard, super loyal Dallas Cowboy fans. I married into this club and our children were born into it. When Jared saw Karcyn wearing one of the GB jerseys for the first time, he seriously choked! But because they were gifts (and pink!) I insisted she be allowed to keep them. Jared didn't really agree but didn't push it either. Because she wears these jerseys as part of her regular clothing rotation, Karcyn has felt a kinship with the Packers and whenever she happens to see them playing, she perks up and cheers for them. So it was on this day, 9/6, when Jared, Jake and Cooper were watching the first NFL game of the year. It happened to be Greenbay and Chicago playing. Karcyn came downstairs and was coincidentally wearing a GB jersey when she noticed the Packers were playing. "Ohh! Yay!! The Packers!! Packers forever!" And then she left to finish her task. Jake pursed his lips together and turning his head to Jared remarked, "Um, I think she needs to be written out of the will. Because if I said that, I know I'd be out." Having observed this whole interaction from the dining room, I jumped to Karcyn's defense and said, "C'mon, she doesn't know any better." That's when Cooper, eyes still on the TV said, "Oh no. She knows better. She's been baptized!"
Sat. 7th--JJ was invited to go to a Houston Astros baseball game with his friend Scott, who lives in the neighborhood, but until this year, had been attending another school. We know them from church. They were in the same homeroom class for a day, until JJ got moved for some "balancing" reason. But they still go to recess and lunch together. It's really fun that he has a friend nearby. They came to pick him up around 11:30, took him out to lunch, the children's museum, the game and got him dinner!! It was very generous of them! My big boys (Jared included) were all very jealous!
*Some windows are a little trickier than others. :) These windows hadn't been washed in 12-15 years (since the family moved in) so any improvement was going to be a happy one. But Jake did a great job anyway. The homeowner was so pleased. What a blessing that after a five hour job, Jake didn't fall asleep the second he sat down. I'm SO SO grateful for modern medicine and chemistry that brings people like Jake a much higher quality of life! (As a bonus to the homeowner, Jake rescued the three foam darts that had found their way in the chandelier light bowl. Haha!)
*Karcyn was one of the first people in her honor choir class to earn the SING award!
*Jared and I had Cooper's back-to-school night at the high school right around the time Karcyn needed to be at her piano lesson. There have been a few times I wished Jake was back on the car insurance so he could drive. But I don't regret keeping him off because I wasn't ready and neither was our budget, for two teenage drivers to be on our policy. So it fell to Cooper to get Karcyn to her lesson. The piano teacher's home is near the stake center. I told Cooper she had to be there by 6pm and she was done at 7pm. Then I remembered her lesson is only 45 minutes and thought I had communicated that to Cooper. He dropped her off and then drove down the road to the church where he could sit and work on homework, except that he didn't have what he needed, so he read the Book of Mormon instead. When Karcyn finished her lesson, she didn't see Coop anywhere. She started walking through the yard, waiting and wondering. At the driveway, he still wasn't there. So she knelt down and prayed that he would be there soon. As she was rising from her prayer, there was the Civic coming down the road. Her prayer was answered! What a wonderful experience for her to have. As she related this story to us that night, Cooper overheard and said, "Can I say something?" He explained, "When I was reading my scriptures, I got this feeling that I should go to the piano teacher's house. It was only 6:45, but it felt right to just be there, even though she wouldn't be done for another 15 minutes [or so he thought] and so I drove over there." Consequently, he became an answer to Karcyn's prayer.
Tues. 10th--I wanted to watch the movie "Overcomer" with my very own overcomer. It was a fabulous show!
*We were right in the middle of a big storm that afternoon. It makes most of us giddy!
*Jared and JJ having special time together, doing some online research (with Calvin doing his family contribution--the dishes--in the background and Karcyn working on homework).
Wed. 11th--Calvin having some fun while doing the dishes.
*After helping at the Fruhlings, I went to McDonalds and picked up a lunch for me and JJ and headed to River Bend Elementary to eat lunch with him. This is the first time I've done this with my kids. Other younger siblings and logistics have kept me from doing this in the past, but I vowed that this year is the year (and hope Jake won't hold it against me too much for implementing it after he graduated). JJ was SO excited to see me. It was fun to be there with him, but he didn't eat much so most of the time was spent with me trying to persuade him to eat a chicken nugget. *sigh*
Sat. 14th--Jared, Jake and I went to the temple really early. We leave at 5am in order to attend the 7am session. A day or two before this, JJ had talked about wanting to do a play date with Scott (who lives halfway up our subdivision). But I told JJ we'd have to wait and look at our schedule. He acted like maybe Scott was going to initiate it, but I hadn't heard from his mom and we'd been too busy for me to inquire. JJ even came to me at 1am that morning saying he wanted to go to Scott's house and I said that it was too early for that and he started whining. Finally, aroused from his sleep, Jared told JJ that was enough and JJ stomped back to bed.
It was going to be a busy morning for the kids. Calvin had a Dungeons and Dragons gathering at 9am with his 11-year-old friends and leader from church who organized this for the boys. Cooper had a work meeting at 8am so Karole agreed to come over and help out, making sure Calvin could get to his activity, while we were at the temple, for which we were super grateful.
When we finished the session at the temple and I turned my phone back on, I saw a missed call from "home." I heard it was JJ, but he was whispering and I couldn't understand what he was saying, but I didn't think much of it because there were no other follow up messages. He probably wanted his siblings to wake up. We got home around noon. Karcyn was still in her jammies talking with Karole. I made a comment like it was awfully quiet in the house and remembered Calvin was at his D&D activity. Then Karole said JJ was at his friend's house for his play date. That gave me pause. What play date? Karole said Calvin said it was okay. (Um, no). She reported that JJ had been gone since before Karole arrived to pick up Calvin at 8:45. So Jared changed real quick and headed out to get JJ. We only hoped he was at Scott's like we thought. Jared followed me in the car so he'd know which house to go to. I was relieved to see JJ's bike and helmet in front of Scott's house.
I went to pick up Calvin and asked him about the morning's events. Calvin said JJ woke him up at 6:50am and said that he had a play date with Scott at 7am. Blessedly, I was touched that a) JJ thought to tell Calvin and b) that Calvin rode his bike with JJ to make sure he got to Scott's house okay. JJ had told Calvin that I had already approved of this play date. When I told Calvin that I didn't say that, Calvin's face fell and he felt really bad. I told him this was not his fault and that I was so happy he had been a good big brother that morning to JJ. But man, was I mortified that JJ actually rang someone's doorbell at 7am on a Saturday!!!
After Jared had retrieved JJ from Scott's house, Jared told me that Diana (Scott's mom) was really funny when she described the morning's events. Scott had told her that he had a play date at 7am, but she was thinking the same thing I had...she hadn't received any info from me about this. Then, when JJ came to the door, Scott exclaimed, "My play date is here!!" Apparently, his family was already up because they were doing laundry and getting ready to go on a cruise to Jamaica the very next day and were about to leave to get doughnuts. Diana thought about texting me, but Calvin said we were at the temple. JJ was also there for FIVE hours. My goodness. Of course, JJ didn't think he did anything wrong because I guess that's what he was saying when he called and left the super quiet voicemail that I couldn't hear. But that doesn't give him permission to go. So we had some training to do. He crumpled and cried, "I messed up" when he realized it wasn't okay. His heart was in the right place. We think he understands the rules now. Needless to say, after that his bike was hung up for a week.
*The week before, Jake had learned that his new friend, Summer, was flying through Austin for about 25 minutes later that afternoon. She's from California and also struggles with many unanswered questions about her health and autoimmune problems she's experiencing. Turns out one of Jake's friends from College Station, Spencer Larson, was serving his mission in the area and spent some time on the campus of Auburn University and met Summer. Somehow she learned that Jake came home early from his mission for unexplained health reasons. She had been attending Auburn until she got sick about a month before Jake did and had to return home as well for a time. So she reached out to Jake the beginning of June to let him know, about their mutual friend, Elder Larson, and that she could certainly understand some of his struggles with a diagnosis yet to be determined. They've been communicating mostly by text for the past couple of months, but have never met. So her quick arrival in Austin would be a very small window of opportunity for them to meet. Jared agreed to drive him to the Austin airport, but we warned Jake that a plethora of things could go wrong preventing them from meeting. Jake understood. Apparently, on the way there, contemplating how this was going to work, Jake jumped online and bought a one-way ticket to Alabama, for about $40 on Frontier so that he could get through security. Pretty smart move actually. I thought Summer was changing planes in Austin, but she was staying on the same one while they made a quick stop. But she got off anyway and Jake was there at her gate. She and Jake got to meet and talk for oh, about 10 minutes. But I think it was a good boost for Jake. Summer was someone who knew better than most, what Jake was going through, and they have been a blessing and support to each other.
*When they were done at the airport, Jared and Jake had one more stop to make. They needed to go look at a used vehicle that Jared and I had inquired about that morning. Recently, it has come to our attention, that the hospital is moving Jared out of the ENT office in College Station and to a rural clinic in Normangee (on your way to Madisonville where he started out five years ago) about 45-50 minutes away. This news was, of course, unexpected and unwelcome. However, if Jared wanted to keep his job, that's where he needed to go. There were changes being made at the ENT office, and removing him was one of them. This meant a $14,000/yr. loss in revenue for us because Jared was taking call twice a week for an extra $1200 a month. It also meant that he would not be paid to travel because his "home" clinic would be in Normangee. So we get to add wear and tear to our car with an additional increase in gas costs that the hospital would not be reimbursing us for. Apparently the doctor that was at this Primary Care clinic didn't do much, so he's gone. Jared will be the sole provider out there with three other staff members...someone at the front desk, an LVN, and an office manager. He was told he will only work M-Th (Fridays off) from 8:30 to 4:30. And there will not be any call. Sounds "nice" except that Jared has been out of primary care since we left Oregon, and it's changed quite a bit, so he's anxious about that transition. But I believe in him. Even though he's being yanked around, we have to give props to the hospital for honoring his desire to not work on Sundays. If he goes back to urgent care, that's inevitable. For about half a minute we thought that if he has Fridays off, he could pick up an extra shift or two a month to make up for the $14,000 annual loss. But that won't work because he'll be on a "M-F, 8-5 schedule." Labor laws are such that he can't work and get paid for Friday because he's already supposed to be working. So if he chose to work 9 hours at an urgent care on Friday, then the first eight hours would be free. Yeah, no thanks. If he does any extra shift work, it'll have to be on Saturdays. Which isn't appealing either, but we're not going to sweat about it. It is what it is and while this has caused some turmoil, we're grateful for Jared's job. And looking back, we were at the ENT office when we needed to be. Cooper, Jake and JJ all received surgeries to help them with issues we didn't know they had until Jared started working there. Furthermore, because of our affiliation with that office, we were able to get a sleep study test scheduled immediately for Jake once he came home. Jared was where he needed to be when he needed to be there. No doubt about it. The daily commute stinks, but we can start going to the temple and doing other things together on Fridays again!
Because of this shift, we decided we needed to trade in the Civic before that became critical. The last time we got a car, we had to tow the undriveable vehicle three house away behind the suburban. It took 12 hours and two drivers were needed. The Civic (a hybrid) which Jared got five years ago to help with gas mileage for his commutes was getting up there in miles. Each year, Jared has since put 25,000 miles on it. So he started looking for used vehicles online, in hopes that if we get another used car now with less miles, we'd actually get a decent value on our trade-in.
Jared decided he liked the Mitsubishi Outlander. It actually seats seven if the two in the back are little. :) He found one he liked in Austin--relatively low miles for the age and decent price, so on our way home from the temple, I called the dealer to let them know that Jared would be coming around 4pm and gave her the Civic info for trade-in value. The lady was very nice and told us no problem, that they'd be expecting him. She said she'd let us know if anything changes on their end.
The dealership was about 30 minutes out of the way from the Austin airport. When Jared and Jake arrived and mentioned the car they were inquiring about, the guy led them to a room to wait while he went to get the keys. About 10 minutes later he came back and said, "Was it the brown one?" Jared said yes. The guy said, "Yeah, sorry, it sold already." Ohhhh man. That did not make Jared happy. We had called that morning and let them know we were coming to avoid this very thing. Where was that lady? She said she'd let us know if anything changed. I'd say selling the car is a pretty big change. Argh! At least he hadn't driven there *just* to see that car. Needless to say it was a long day for Jared.
Sun. 15th--One moment JJ was upright, the next he wasn't. When this happens we joke, "Narcolepsy!" This was probably the result of waking me up at 1am the day before and his early morning escapade with Scott that followed. Haha!
The guy Jared had been talking to at the dealer let him know the red one was still available before Jared headed to San Antonio that afternoon. The car is red. Not our first or even second choice. But, it's a 2017 and it has 7700 miles on it. We wondered if there was something defective about it. I made Jared check it wasn't in the hurricane from two years ago and hoped that maybe it was just a granny car that sat in a garage more often than not. As Jared was looking at it, he opened the back door and saw that the seat behind the driver was just foam! There was no upholstery on it. I guess when they were detailing it, the seat cover got cut and so they took the whole thing off. The guy Jared was working with wasn't aware of that. He assured Jared it could be fixed by the next day. Jared was so put out. He made it very clear to him that this puts him in a tight spot because he lives in College Station and how are they going to fix this? It's not like Jared can just spend the night. Well, to their credit, they said they would give Jared a loaner car to drive home and they would drive the Outlander to him at work when it was fixed--likely the next day. They also gave us $3,000 for the Civic. Initially, they said $2,000. And we appreciated all of that. When Jared left San Antonio, he was a new owner of a red Mitsubishi Outlander that had only 7700 miles on it but drove home something else. :)
While Calvin was waiting for me to come back to pick him up for his practice (there was just enough time to do Come Follow Me before we had to leave), he and Jake spotted and captured the full, double rainbow out front.
*This picture insists on uploading sideways, but I really loved what I saw. This is Karcyn's school binder and she always carries around a Book of Mormon so if she ever has free time or doesn't have her library book, she can read it.
Wed. 18th--President Sharp sent in Jake's missionary reinstatement paperwork. Now we wait!
*My cousin posted something on Facebook that caught my eye. It was a hard-hitting Nature Valley ad that showed the "terrifying side of kids addicted to technology." They sat down with three generations of families and asked them one simple question, "What did you like to do for fun as a kid?" The first two generations were filled with creative and physical responses that we would expect. The third generation responses with today's kids, however, was jolting and so sad. We've tried hard, not to completely shield our kids from technology, but to introduce them to it at appropriate times and in appropriate doses. Our kids do not own gaming systems, iPads or tablets. If they have a cell phone, it's when they turn 14 (for high school) and it's a flip phone (or "ghetto phone" as they lovingly refer to them). The smart phone will come no sooner than Junior year in high school and when we feel they are responsible and trustworthy to have it under strict boundaries and filters. They will have the rest of their lives to have a smart phone or tablet in their pocket. We see no sense in giving these things to them as toddlers, children or tweens. Not to mention the studies that are now coming out that show the horrible effects these things have on children and youth. Electronic devices are tools, not toys. Though, it seems like all our kids ever want to do is get on the computer. And if their friends have a phone or tablet, our kids are playing on it, too. The question that Nature Valley asked intrigued me. Knowing how much my kids love playing computer games, I was curious what they would say when asked that same question. These were their responses to "What did/do you like to do for fun as a kid?"
Jake (19)--play Legos and play outside
Cooper (16)--play outside
Karcyn (13)--read, write, draw
Calvin (11)--play ping pong and ride my bike
JJ (8)--play ping pong and play outside with my friends
These responses brought me great relief and peace. Even though they enjoy playing on the electronics when given the chance in our home or with friends, the technology hasn't overrun their childhood--which is exactly the goal we've been working for. The struggle is real. We are definitely in the minority when it comes to technology and our kids.
Thurs. 19th--When I picked Calvin up from school, he was limping. He said his right ankle hurt and was swollen. My kids can be a smidge on the melodramatic side, so I wasn't really alarmed. Until I saw that his ankle was bulging out of his shoe. You can kind of see the swelling with this view.
This view, though, really shows how awful it looked. Notice the small red area a couple inches above his ankle. He said that's a bug bite, but he didn't feel himself being bit until it started itching and hurting.
Jake, who has done a lot of shadowing with the ENT surgeons recently (even going into and assisting in the surgeries!) has decided, with the shift in his own health, that he wants to go into medicine instead of engineering. So he did a small examination of the swollen part of Calvin's leg, which was warm and tight.
First stop, lunch at Kneaders (which was a first for me).
Then a session at the San Antonio Temple! I love this temple so much. It's gorgeous inside. It speaks to my soul and I had a very, very special and deeply emotional experience there this time. I did the work for Loraine Kelley, who the boys had found and whose grave we discovered back at the beginning of August.
Fortunately, and despite what it looks like, the couch was long enough and soft enough for Karole to enjoy for the two nights. The Eilan Hotel is such a class place. I love staying there.
While we were eating lunch at Kneaders, I had received a text from my friend Karen Lopez from church. She is a member, but her husband and children are not. Her oldest son, Seph, was a good friend of Jake's. In fact, when we were moved out of the CS3 ward and into the CS1 ward back in 2017, Jake was a bit torn up about it because he was getting to be really good friends with Seph, who was coming to church, but hadn't committed to baptism. Imagine my surprise, when Karen told me that her kids were getting baptized that night and wanted us to be there. Unfortunately, I was out of town and Cooper would be singing at a football game, but I told her I'd have Jake go and represent our family. When I told Jake about the news, I'm pretty sure I heard him cheering all the way from College Station. He was SOOOOO happy!!!! And wow, what an amazing blessing for both young men that Jake could be there for his special day. Jake ended up playing the piano, being a witness at the baptism and joining in on the confirmation circle.
Sat. 21st--Karole and I enjoyed a super yummy and very filling buffet breakfast at Sustenio restaurant before we heading out to the River Walk. Karole had never been to San Antonio, which made it even more fun. First thing we did was take a riverboat tour. This is a wonderful way to get a glimpse of the river walk and history all in a very informative and entertaining 40 minutes. It was a pretty humid day, but definitely not as oppressive as it was when Jared and I took the little kids a couple years ago in July.
There isn't a whole ton of space on the sidewalk along the river. And on our way to the boat, I went just ahead in front of Karole to give her more space in which to pass someone else. That's when I wondered, What if Karole lost her footing and fell in? I've known this woman for over 23 years and I don't even know if she can swim. So I turned around and asked her, "Karole, can you swim?" She said, "Only if the occasion calls for it" but had just herself been thinking about what she'd do if she fell in!
The Tower of the Americas. Cooper has eaten at the top in the restaurant!
Then jumped in for our own pictures when there was an opening.
We had a delightful day! Busy, lots of walking, but great fun and we saw a lot! We headed back to the hotel, got gas in the car, and I grabbed some milk to go with the muffins I purchased at Mimi's the night before so we'd have something to eat Sunday morning before heading back home.
Sun. 22nd--It's a little over a three hour drive from San Antonio to College Station. So when we left the hotel closer to 9:00, I knew it was going to be a tight window for us to make it to the River Bend Ward Sacrament meeting at noon. But that was our goal. About 10:00, Jake texted and wondered where we were attending church in San Antonio or CS. I said in CS. He wondered if he could get a ride to church. Jared and the fam had left a little after nine for Caldwell. The local Greens Prairie ward had already started and his friend, Isaiah, who takes him to the YSA ward, was sick. According to GPS, our estimated time of arrival was going to be 11:57. Even if we got there at that time, I'd have another 10-15 minutes home to get Jake and another 10-15 back to church. We'd miss the Sacrament. I felt terrible telling him no, but encouraged him to try and see if someone from the River Bend ward (made up of many people who were in our CS1 ward and don't live too far away) could pick him up. Or even ask a neighbor. It's not far and I'm sure they'd be happy to take a church-going young man to his meeting. I didn't hear from him after that, so I figured he got it all worked out.
When Karole and I arrived at the church and walked into the first part of the foyer, I turned and saw a bike leaning up against the wall. And I just stared at it. That was Jake's bike. The kid biked to church! We found him on a pew reading his scriptures and getting ready for the meeting. When I put my hand on his back to let him know we were there, his back was wet, from sweat.
I was so touched by his faithfulness in attending church that day, even when it meant biking because he had no other way to get there. How many of us would have thought, I don't have a ride, so I guess I'll just have to miss church today? But Jake didn't. I let Jared know what had transpired and asked him if he'd swing by and get the bike on his way back from Caldwell at 12:40, so we could drive Jake home with us. He said he would. Jared told me later that he even brought up Jake's devotion in the Priesthood lesson in Caldwell after receiving my text. In his weekly "mission" letter, Jake wrote the following of that experience:
I have had the chance to learn a valuable lesson of loyalty to the Lord. Most people think that loyalty is sticking to your word, being there when you say you will, and helping your friends when they need it. These are indeed all the tell tale signs of a loyal person. But there is an extra dimension to this concept of loyalty. To be loyal to someone like the Lord requires integrity, doing what you say you will do because it would make him happy and help him. It requires being there for Him when you don't even think you can be there, doing the things you are supposed to do, when you are supposed to, so He may work miracles through you. And it means doing all of this not just because you were told to, but because you want to from your heart.
*Later that night was the "Why I Believe" fireside that is presented to us by the Houston Mission. Those who have recently joined the church, share their stories and testimonies, which are always so powerful. And the missionaries favor us with several musical numbers. Afterwards, as we were leaving the chapel, I ran into THIS guy. It's Elder Hitchcock! Our families were in the Forest Grove ward in Oregon together. And I ran into him almost two years ago in this same building when he first started his mission. I think I asked him, "You're still here??" Haha! He only has about six weeks to go and he'll be home. So we got another picture together and I sent it to his mom.
*Karcyn was practicing on the piano while Jared and I tried to have a conversation with Jake. We were in the kitchen which flows into the living room. Jake walked into the kitchen as he was speaking, then he went to the dining room to sit down and tried to talk to us some more, but it was really difficult over the full volume of the piano. Jake abandoned his seat in the dining room and came back to the kitchen and observed, quite possibly for the first time, "Man, this piano is so LOUD! Now I finally understand what you guys were going through all those times when I was playing the piano and you told me to stop so you could hear each other speak."
*Karcyn set up a candy bar selling station in our living room. Haha! Not that she needed it. That girl sold over 3/4 of those thirty candy bars to her peers and teachers at school. I was so impressed. And grateful. Because whatever she didn't sell, we had to buy. The candy bars would not be accepted back, only the money. (I am not a fan of fundraising, but I'd rather have a cabinet full of chocolate than gift wrap).
It was Wednesday and it was Jared's birthday, so I asked Cooper and Karcyn if they'd be willing to skip their young men and young women activities in Caldwell to stay home and celebrate Dad's birthday. They were happy to. Karcyn played "Happy Birthday" on her viola.
[He made that shot, even though the basket kept moving.]
JJ cried when he realized this book was written by his grandpa and couldn't wait for Jared to read it to him.
Thurs. 26th--I think we finally found some books that have captured Calvin's attention so that he'll actually want to pick up a book on his own and read it. It's been a long time coming. Thank goodness for "The Ascendence Triology" by Jennifer Nielson.
*Calvin came home from his last baseball practice and asked if those of us who were still up at 9pm would join him in the living room. He explained that one of his teammates, John, who was their catcher, was climbing over the fence to get to the practice field faster. When he jumped down on the other side, he fell and broke his arm. He is out for the season before it even started. :( Calvin asked if we could say a prayer for his friend who was hurting in more ways than one that night. So we did and Calvin offered the prayer. It was very simple and heartfelt and I even caught a hint of emotion. It was very sweet.
The lake house is lovely! The downstairs has a room with four beds, there's a TV room and the other half of the house is a big game room complete with a bar that runs the entire length of the room, a pool table, a foos ball table and a pin ball machine. There are no interior stairs, so you have to go outside to go upstairs. There is a long porch that runs along the lake side of the house.
We headed back to the house, popped in a movie and ate dinner and had some popcorn. And enjoyed not doing anything else. It was so dark and peaceful. And relaxing!
Sat. 28th--When I woke up the next morning, Jared wasn't in the bedroom, but I knew where he was. He would be at the dock fishing. I quietly walked outside and took these pictures before announcing my arrival. It was a beautiful morning, even if just a bit windy.
Sun. 29th--Jake came to Caldwell with us for church! And I spoke in the Branch for the first time as a branch member. I've been attending since the end of July and have to say that I'm really surprised it took this long to get a speaking assignment. :) I spoke about General Conference. And I planned on 15 minutes. Unfortunately, we didn't have as much time as we thought because there were a lot of stake callings and releases. But I don't cut my talks down so they were stuck with me going over. Fortunately, the next thing we did in 2nd hour was watch the pre-recorded broadcast with Elder Ballard about the changes taking place with the children and youth programs. It's going to be SO exciting! The focus is on each child using personal revelation to decide what goals they want to focus on in four areas: spiritual, social, physical and intellectual. They actually gave the children (8 and older) four minutes to write down a goal in each area during the broadcast. Here are the goals for the two little boys without any prompting from me. These kids know, through the Spirit, just what they need to grow more like the Savior each day.
This is JJ's.
Mon. 30th--Jake has taken on a project to "thin out" his ties. Most of them are two broad, for his skinny body. He learned a "procedure" in Hungary that slims the ties down so you can keep them instead of tossing them. It requires delicately opening up the back, cutting the middle interfacing, then folding the fabric back over and doing a special stitch. It's pretty impressive. I've loved watching how Jake has filled all of his extra time. I'm pretty sure this will be the last time he'll ever have THIS MUCH free time on his hands for the rest of his life.
Cooper--Junior at College Station High School
Karcyn--8th grade at Wellborn Middle School
