Tuesday, February 16, 2021

December 2020

Thurs. 3rd--I woke up to a notification that a friend had tagged me in a post on Facebook. Little did I know, the post was about me!

Here’s to the HERO
Jenn Hough
s of the world! Allow me to highlight only one of the many Christlike attributes of this woman. Several years ago I found myself accepting the calling as Relief Society President in our ward. My dear visiting teaching coordinator, Carrie, and I frequently met to prayerfully go over visiting teaching routes and companionships. More often than not during those meetings we felt impressed to move Jenn to a new route. “Jenn would be really great for this sister right now.” “This sister is going through difficult things, perhaps Jenn can be the one to help her feel cared for.” “We need someone reliable in this situation. Jenn feels right.” You see, Jenn wholeheartedly loves everyone, making each person feel truly seen. She takes the time to remember their preferences. She has a spiritual gift for conversing spirit to spirit which allows others to easily open up to her. When it came time to hear the visiting teaching reports Carrie and I always looked forward to Jenn’s report. She was thorough and candid and optimistic and sensitive in reporting about her sisters. Jenn never murmured, although at times did question our decision making skills only because she wanted more time to enjoy ministering to the women on her route. She would just barely begin to feel like she was getting to know a sister well when we would switch her, but because this is just how she normally functions in her relationships, she didn’t realize that she was doing more to know her sisters in a few weeks than some do in months or years. Sometimes the sisters who were taken off Jenn’s route voiced their sadness to us as well. Sometimes I questioned myself and my own impressions toward moving her. Here’s the thing though, when Jenn was taken off a route she didn’t sign off from ministering to the sisters no longer on her assignment. She simply ministered to them plus the newly assigned women. I ended up having to cut my time in that calling short because of a move out of state. When I heard who would be taking over the reins of the RS President calling I realized God’s wisdom in the frequent route switching. The new president was Jenn. God had gifted her a game of speed round getting to know the sisters so she could easily transition into her new stewardship. I had been gifted the peace that these dear sisters would be left in great hands when I had to say good bye. We had all been gifted the opportunity to be still and watch God at work with his CS3 daughters. Basically, when I grow up I want to be like Jenn, my dear sister who is eons ahead of me at emulating Christ. #LightTheWorld

I was in tears as I read this post. I was so touched that Rachel had truly "seen me." I think it's such a gift when people can do that. And it was really neat to hear Rachel's point of view as well. But the week before, I been feeling a bit sorry for myself. Feeling like I don't have any friends...close friends...who call me or text me or invite me to go do things with them...or would if covid circumstances allowed for it. I knew my pity parties and the longing for what I see many others have was selfish and I needed to forget about myself. When I finally pushed past the embarrassment and talked to the Lord about this, I prayed He would help change my heart. And less than a week later, Rachel wrote this post. I know that she was prompted by the Lord to do so. There's no way she could have known what I needed to hear otherwise. That unexpected recognition alone was enough to calm my troubled heart. However, Rachel's beautiful tribute reminded me that I had a very special opportunity to forge friendships and trust with a multitude of sisters in the CS3 ward and I will take those connections with me through the eternities. I also realized that we're here on earth to work for the Lord. And sometimes that work is lonely. If you are fortunate to have a relationship with a friend or two that I was yearning for, how blessed you are. But if you don't, that's okay, too. So from that point on, I chose to be grateful for the gift of joy and love while serving in that specific capacity in Relief Society and chose to focus less on myself and more on others--which is where our true joy comes from anyway. 

*Our Christmas Chain activity was a first for us...making animal balloons. I found the kit at the Dollar General for $5. And it was a hoot! We had a great time!
Jared was being funny and trying to blow up a balloon without the pump. When his dad was first starting his medical practice, he would make animal balloons for his pediatric patients. Jared said he would blow the balloons up himself. Jared had no such luck and we're fortunate he didn't blow a gasket or have an anuerism while trying. We're guessing the balloons are not made of the same material from 35-40 years ago.
Karcyn did a great job making her first dog.
JJ giving it a try. 
A Texas Longhorn. :) 
Reading the directions.
Pumping up a balloon.
Calvin making...sausages? 
Karcyn and her first giraffe. She's got the skill!
JJ's wiener dog! ;) 
Karcyn added details with markers on her creations. It was a super fun evening and animal balloon making will be a regular rotation on our Christmas Chain in the future.
Friday, 4th--Every day during this week, I had a headache. I chalked it up to hormones. But usually, I only have a headache one or two days. Not every day. Friday morning, I took some Motrin around 8am. The first classroom I assist at 8am attends the computer lab on Fridays, so I didn't have to go anywhere until 8:30. I picked up my three Kindergartners and all of a sudden, my headache intensified. And I was overcome with nausea. I had to do some data collecting from one of the children. I sat down with her and gripped my head at the temples with one hand and took my notes with the other while willing myself to not get sick. When we finished, there were about ten minutes left. I propped my head on my hands while they played with sensory activities. I managed to get them back to class, picked up my next student, and got her started on reading a new book. By the end of our time together, I went to the bathroom...just in case I got sick. I stood in there, my eyes closed, leaning against the wall, for a couple of minutes--long enough for the motion-sensor light to shut off.  As much as it painted me to admit it, I couldn't gut through it anymore. It killed me to leave work early that day, but I couldn't see any other option. Fortunately, everyone was more than understanding. I swung by JJ's class to let his teacher know I was leaving early so he'd need to ride the bus home. And then I headed to my car. When I walked outside, the daylight was shockingly bright. I got in my car and the entire ten-minute drive, I held my head in my left hand and squeezed it, driving just with my right hand and prayed I'd make it home without throwing up. I've never felt like this before. I think I texted Jake to let him know I was coming home early. He was at the table doing a zoom class, but didn't even notice that I came in. I popped a Zofran, kicked off my shoes, pulled back the covers on my bed, and climbed in, throwing the covers back over my head and just prayed for my headache to go away. I'm pretty sure I was experiencing my very first migraine. Part of me wonders if it was a lingering symptom of covid. Fortunately, the Zofran knocked out the nausea almost instantly and I drifted in and out of consciousness. Not much time had passed and I started to feel much, much better. I even felt like I could go back to work. Until I looked at the clock. Three and a half hours had passed. School was almost over. 

Shortly after I woke up, Jared called. He said that he just got a call from College Station High School. Cooper had been identified as being in close contact with a positive covid case. He was summoned to the principal's office who lead with, "You're not in trouble" :) and proceeded to tell Cooper that he was required to go into quarantine. Again. And then the principal called Jared. The good news, however, is that the CDC had just come out with new guidelines. The exposure apparently took place on Wednesday. So Cooper was eligible to get covid tested (between days 5 and 7) on Sunday or Monday. If he tested negative, he was allowed to return to school on Tuesday. Which meant, he was really only missing 1 full day of school. Another blessing. But oh, how ironic! 

Sat. 5th--Our Christmas Chain activity for the day was to go through our Central Park to see the lights display. So we piled in the car after Jared got home from work and headed toward town. We were belting out Christmas songs with the music from the radio as we drove the 20 minutes up the road. As we neared the cross street off Texas Avenue, we saw the loooong line of cars waiting to turn onto the street the park is on. But it's a good mile or so down that road. We took our spot in line and waited. And waited. And waited. We crept forward. Barely. I've been to this park. There is not a lot of parking. Which made me wonder...when we do finally make it there, will there even be a place to park? Only a couple minutes passed when I told Jared to just bag it and take us home. We could watch a movie or something together. Jared blew out a sigh of relief. He laughed and said, "You got it. I wasn't going to say anything, but I'm really glad YOU did. We would have spent all night waiting in line." The sheer number of cars in the queue was insane. 

This is the picture of the lights in the park as we passed on the highway...proof that we saw them. Ha!

Back at home, we watched the Disney original "Godmothered." It was cute.
Now we're ALL in the picture. :) 
Sun. 6th--Jared was talking using Olaf. Not sure what he was saying. But Jared can make anything funny and the kids loved it.
*I had a last-minute, brilliant idea (so let's be real, it was God's idea, not mine) for a Christmas gift for my ministering sisters. I wanted them to take the time to think of all the wonderful blessings they had received and experienced in 2020 and to write them down on a separate piece of paper I included. Then they were to cut out the slips of paper, roll them and stuff the scrolls in the ornament with the year 2020 that I had colored on the outside. And there was chocolate included, too, of course. I was really happy with the way it turned out, considering I am far from crafty or originally creative.
Mon. 7th--Sweet Karycn, before leaving for early morning seminary at 6:15am.
*One of the first-grade teachers I help assist at school had just lost her dog after many, many years. That dog had been with her before she got married and had kids. It's been a while since I had a pet. When I first experienced this loss at nine years old, my mom turned to the scriptures. This is what she shared with us. 
I have never forgotten this and have shared it a few times before and felt like I needed to share it again.
Tues. 8th--Haha!! I love how clever people are!
*Our chain activity for this day was to sing Christmas hymns or primary songs. We've been doing a Christmas Chain for a decade now and this is the first year we've ever done a sing-a-long. But this is also the first year that we aren't allowed to sing in church as a covid precaution. I just can't imagine the Christmas season without singing hymns like "Joy to the World," "Silent Night," "Away in a Manger," "Angels We Have Heard on HIgh," and my favorite, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." We were super fortunate that Jake was home and could play the piano for us. We each selected our favorite song and then our favorite verse to sing. I think this was one of my favorite activities for the year. We have some great voices and even had four-part harmonies within our little group. It was powerful and beautiful and soul-filling to sing these hymns of worship. JJ picked "Once There Was a Snowman" and even did the actions to it. 

"Once there was a snowman, snowman, snowman. Once there was a snowman, tall, tall, tall... 
In the sun he melted, melted, melted. In the sun he melted...
small, small, small."
Wed. 9th--Every Christmas, at the beginning of December, we each consider a gift we can give to Christ. We are to ponder and pray about who we can serve and how we can lift another. It took me a week, but I finally felt like I should write letters to some of the new people I interact with at the elementary school. I've been able to observe and learn so many wonderful things and I know a kind written word can go a long way (for a long time) in lifting another. 

This was my first letter, to Kindergarten teacher, Jill Peterson, who used to teach at Greens Prairie Elem. and was teaching first grade with JJ's teacher, Leslie Miller, before we were rezoned to River Bend. Her room is magical. She does such fun, fun things in a very structured, predictable way and the kids thrive! She has a voice barely above the hum of a bird that I almost miss it, but the kids don't. They hear it and the kids respond to it respectfully and immediately. 
When I went into Jill's room later that afternoon after leaving the card in her box, she was sitting at the back table doing small group instruction. She stopped what she was doing to tell me that my letter made her cry. She explained that in the ten years she's been teaching, she strives for the things I wrote about and really appreciated that I noticed. She also said that she has a really great class this year. :)  I was so happy to have made her day.

*This was also WILD WEDNESDAY for staff members where we dress up as teams to certain themes provided by the principal, take pictures, then the principal submits them to a few people in the district to be the off-site judges. The winners of Wild Wednesday get a free lunch from the principal that next Friday.

The theme was "Jingle All the Way." The resource teacher extraordinaire, Rebecca Young, who I assist, made elf shirts for everyone on the SpED (special education) team. I was Julia Jolly Bum. Can you spot me? 
Here I am in front of the school Christmas tree covered in all sorts of bear ornaments. 
From left to right we have Rebecca Young (teacher), Pegan Heyman (assistant), and me.
The three of us gals with Kevin Bradford...the resource teacher for the 3rd/4th graders. A couple weeks prior, Rebecca and I were chatting about something. As part of that conversation, I told her that I hoped I was making her job easier. She said I totally was and shared that just the night before she had been able to sit down and watch a 30 minute show with her husband for the first time since school started! I was so happy to hear it. And the week before Christmas break, I had been looking at the district's proposed schedule for the 21-22 school year. I asked Rebecca and Pegan when the paraprofessionals go back to school...if it was when students return or the two weeks before when teachers report. Rebecca said it was when the teachers go back and then she asked incredulously, "Does this mean you're staying on?!" I laughed. I guess I hadn't really told them I was just planning to remain in the job for as long as it was available and shared my decision with Rebecca who was thrilled and relieved. :)  
*We went to Caldwell that night for seminary and activities. Karcyn is the bulletin board coordinator and she updated the board while we waited for seminary to finish.
*Julia Jolly Bum without the mask! It was covered in tinsel and consequently very hot and itchy. It was relief of a whole new dimension to take that sucker off. :) 
Thurs. 10th--I work with a second-grade girl each morning to help her with her writing skills. We had been working on making a short story about mammals. I modeled for her what I would do and then she used that example to think of her own words and ideas to put on paper. This writing also required illustrating and anyone who knows me understands that this is a very tall order. I can't even draw stick figures. But because I had to attempt an illustration for the sake of modeling the work, I drew a cat. It's a pretty sad-looking cat. But my parents and siblings might tell you there is a striking resemblance between this drawing and my Grandpa Cooper's artwork, especially cats, which he often sent in the letters he wrote to us children. Which I think is pretty darn cool. 
*I showed the meme below to a young gal I eat lunch with at school. She is 26 or 27. She didn't get it. This is a snapshot of the final challenge in the movie "The Neverending Story" that Atreyu had to pass through. The sphinxes shoot lasers from their eyes at anyone who tries to pass between them. The movie was released during the summer of 1984. Since the girl at work didn't recognize the humor in the meme, I decided to put it in the text group with Jared and the boys. I told Jared, "Let's see if the young whipper-snappers get this." 

Cooper replied: The never ending story is an all time fave of mine. 
Jared said: We've raised them well. 
*When I was pondering who I could write a note of encouragement for this day, it took a little thinking. But then it was very clear. I help pack up and walk four special needs kids to their bus each afternoon about 10 minutes ahead of the rest of the school because their bus leaves first. The bus driver, a very nice African American woman, old enough to be a mom to me, is such a breath of fresh air in the afternoon. She greets them with such expressive warmth and cheerfulness. She tells them she's so happy to see them and asks each of them how their day was as they get on the bus. I always look forward to seeing her in the afternoons because her attitude is contagious. Unfortunately, I didn't know her name. And felt awful that I didn't know it. But I didn't let that stop me from writing her this card. 
*My friend, Sariah and I got to have one last lunch together before she moved away to another part of Texas. Sariah was one of my first friends here in CS and it was a bonus that she lived in our subdivision! I loved getting to know her and learn from her example. She hosted girls night/game nights often at her house. And she hired our kids to watch her animals when they went out of town. Sariah actually moved out of her house about a year ago. She was nearby but we were assigned to a different unit in our stake and our paths just didn't cross anymore. I've missed her very much. But so grateful we got to have this time together to catch up at Lupe Tortilla. 
Sat. 12th--We weren't expecting it, but Calvin's middle school choir ended up getting approval to hold their holiday concert--outside. We had a different family activity planned for the day, but we were happy that this concert finally came to fruition and put the other one on hold. Calvin is in the first row, just left of the music stand wearing a black hoody sweatshirt under his choir shirt. 
They sounded great. We couldn't even tell that they were actually wearing masks, their voices were so clear. The choir director's mom made all the matching masks for the students to wear. Super awesome. But man, was it waaaarrrm. The sun was beating down on us in the audience. Don't get me wrong...I am not complaining. It was glorious for the middle of December! 
While we were at the concert, in between songs, Jared was looking for a dog. He was scrolling through different rescue organizations and showed me a couple postings he thought might be promising, but none of them "impressed" me. Maybe my expectations were a little high, but I wasn't going to settle. Especially when it came to getting an animal that would be living in my home. My teaching partner, Rebecca, had just adopted an 18 month old Pomeranian from a local rescue right after Thanksgiving. She had actually showed me pictures of the two she was debating between. One was a puppy that looked like a little fox, named Rolo. She said he was really shy when they went to meet the dogs at the foster home, and ended up adopting, Twizzler--who they renamed Apollo. I told Rebecca we had applied several times in the past month or so to adopt dogs at rescues within a few hours from CS and no one ever got back to us. It was so frustrating, especially when it is not a simple application. You have to describe your house, your backyard, the number of people in your home, their ages. They need to know the name of your vet (even though we don't have one) and for every adult in the home (that's four now) we had to provide social security numbers and copies of drivers licenses so they could do background checks. It seriously took close to an hour to get one application filled out. I swear it's easier to have a baby or buy a house than it is to adopt a dog from a rescue. Rebecca said we should look at the rescue where they got Apollo. So when none of the dogs Jared had showed me that afternoon stood out at me, I told him to look up "Recycled Poms" and see if there was anything on that site. 

He showed me the first one he saw. It was Rolo, the little fox who was around 4 months old. 
I told Jared he might as well start filling out the application, even though I doubted we'd hear from them either. And honestly, I didn't want a puppy. Though in Rolo's description they said he's close to being potty trained and is already crate trained--the latter being a big deal for me. With me working now, the dog has to be crate trained. Fortunately, on the longest week, he'll only have to be in the crate for three days during the week. 

*Post-concert family selfie. It was so warm, we had to turn the A/C on in the car! Before we went home, we stopped by Sams Club and got frozen yogurt treats.
*Jake would have joined us for the concert except he met a girl on the LDS dating app, Mutual, and he was going to go out with her. She lives in Jasper, Texas--about 3 hours east of College Station, near the Louisiana border. I was a little worried about him driving for six hours and some of that at night because he wasn't leaving our house until 2:30 or 3pm, but he assured me he'd be okay and would call if he needed help staying awake. 

*We got this AMAZING unexpected gift of LOVE from our friends the Uptons. Those cinnamon rolls are the bomb. No joke. I've never tasted anything like them before. I'm afraid to ask for the recipe because I don't want to be accountable. ;) I think I would lose control every weekend.
*Jake and his date for the night, Katie Carter. Turns out she served a church service mission in Houston. She served with President and Sister Ellis--who Jake and I met in June at a meeting in Houston sharing more about service missions. My parents also served with the Ellis's in South Africa!
*We got stuck on our application for Rolo when they asked for a vet. We've never had a pet so we don't have a vet. But you can't move on in the application unless you list a vet.Well, I didn't want to list one and then have the rescue call to verify that we are patients because then they'd think we were liars. AHHH! So I texted Rebecca to ask her who they use after explaining the dilemma. She told us to just list whichever one we wanted--to give them an idea you are at least familiar with one and that she'd let the person know we were submitting an application and to look for it. Rebecca said they had a hard time deciding between Apollo and Rolo. She said Rolo is a sweet dog and a lot smaller in person than in the pictures.
 
About 10 minutes later Rebecca sent a text with an application to the Recycled Poms right here in BCS and that the gal is keeping an eye out for it. But Jared had already sent in the application. I guess the rescue contact that Rebecca was communicating with hadn't seen our application and that sometimes they go to Dallas/Fort Worth instead. She said it had happened to her. The gal told Rebecca to make sure we used the link she sent us--it's her personal one, so Jared filled out the one from the link she sent because this gal was expecting it. We certainly didn't intend for Rebecca to play the middle man for us, but at the same time, we were grateful for her help. 

Except that we were told we couldn't submit another application until the first one had been reviewed. Ugh. Bummer. We did send an email inquiring about Rolo before we applied so maybe that was to our advantage? The next thing I know, Rebecca asked me to send a picture of our backyard. I apologized to Rebecca for dragging her into our dog dilemma. But she was happy to help. The rescue lady had sent us an email and Rebecca said her own daughter was so excited about us possibly adopting Rolo since they were looking at Rolo, too!

Later that evening, Rebecca sent me a couple of videos with Rolo (and her Apollo) in them so we could see what he looked like. He is a little guy. Which I liked! We got an email from Lauren, at the rescue, saying that since they aren't doing home visits now because of covid, we would get a phone interview instead. Rebecca said that if the call goes well, it sounded like it's a done deal. My goodness, really?!

Sun. 13th--JJ getting his baby fix with little William at church. 
*I support three kindergarten children throughout each day. One of the teachers, who I didn't know very well and haven't really had a chance to get to know, told me that she had something for me on Friday. When I came to pick up her student, she walked over to the door and gave me a small gift bag. She leaned in and said in her strong, southern voice, "I am SO glad you are here. You are such a bright light and are so good with the kids." Wow. I was so shocked. I don't see Amy very much and we're usually trying to calm her student between our hand-offs. I had only been working at the school for less than two months at that point and I hadn't done anything spectacular or noteworthy in my book. I took the little gift bag home. I noticed she had given Rebecca a similar bag the day before and it was an ornament, though I didn't know what it had on it. When I saw that I, too, had an ornament, I thought it might say Merry or Joy or something like that on it. I can't believe I didn't take a picture of it, but my jaw dropped when I saw the letters spelled "Christ." Wow!! Then I remembered that Amy had noticed I had been carrying around a book called, "Redeemer" for those rare times when I have a few minutes of downtime. She also told me how much she appreciated my uplifting posts on Facebook when I ponderize. I just replied that I was grateful to know someone was reading them. I love my CHRIST ornament so much. And even though this was a thank you note, I took the time to share my words of encouragement with her as part of my gift to the Savior.  
When I saw Amy the next day in the hall after she received my note, she pulled me into a Texas-sized hug and said, "Come here! Your card made me cry! In a good way!! Thank you so much." 

*I had been wanting to thank Rachel personally for her sweet words that she shared on Facebook. I wanted her to know the specifics on how she was an answer to my "embarrassing" prayers.
Tues. 15th--It was dress-up with BOWS day. :) 
*This little guy is the son of JJ's ELA teacher. After I had been to his kindergarten class, he asked me if I could help him with one of his bey blades. Since JJ owns some, I did attempt to help, but was not successful. I told him that my son is good with these things and he should ask him. Except, I didn't know at the time that he was Mrs. Gideon's son, nor that he knew who I was. :) So I thought it was really sweet when I found JJ helping Pax when I came back in from the after-school car line duty.
Wed. 16th--I love this thought so much. 
*On our way to Caldwell for seminary and church activities, I got a call from someone wanting to interview me about possibly adopting Rolo. Fortunately, we had plenty of time as we had just started our drive. She wanted to know about our family and the ages of the kids. She was stunned to hear I had five kids and had never owned a pet. I told her, "Well, I was adamant that all my kids had to be potty trained before we got another animal." She laughed at that. She asked where we'd have Rolo sleep and where he'd be during the day. We said we'd get him a crate and put it in our living room, but ultimately, once he's potty trained, we want him to sleep with the kids. I told her we hoped he would be an indoor dog, but if he wanted to be outside more, he could be. She said Pomeranians are likely to be swept away by hawks and vultures so it's not a good idea for him to be outside. Yikes! Agreed! She asked us what we'd do if he had trouble potty training. I told her we'd ask others, look at other resources and keep trying. Animal abandonment is pretty common around here with college students, unfortunately. She told me how much regular medications (heartworm/flea and tick) are and other costs and wondered if we could manage that without it being a hardship. I said yes. Though I cringed a little inside when I did. Fortunately, little dogs eat very little. She seemed to like me enough. So hopefully we passed! 

*JJ and another friend from Primary Activities getting a head start on signing the homemade Christmas cards we made to go with our gifts of warm fuzzy socks for the residents of the local rehab center.
*Karcyn and Calvin made gingerbread houses in their youth activity. Cooper took pictures and Calvin threw his away before I could get a picture. I was blown away by Karcyn's creativity to make an airplane hangar and a single-engine prop airplane out of a sugar cone and Twizzlers.
Thurs. 17th--Bilbop the Elf of room 510 in the kinder wing. He was doing a Spiderman move. I snapped a picture and told the teacher, "My son will love this." She chuckled and nodded her head knowingly. Thinking she probably thought I meant, JJ, who she does know, I quickly added, "My 21-year-old son." She did a double-take. "You have a 21-year-old??" Yes. Yes, I do. A fact that is both awesome and crazy!
*When I took my kiddos to Bus 201 at the end of the day, the driver gave me a bag of small gifts to deliver to all the sped teachers who help bring the group of special needs kids out in the afternoon and help them get off their buses in the morning. Then she handed me a big package and indicated it was for me. I was surprised. She said the note I gave her last week was from God. Recently she had been considering quitting her job. Even after driving for over 25 years, she felt like all she was facing was opposition and that no one appreciated what she did. And then she got my card and decided that was her answer and that she needed to stay. Whoa. That took a few minutes to sink in. I had no idea my humble gift to Christ for Christmas would change someone's mind about quitting their job--especially when Miss Sonya wasn't even on my radar when I began writing these little notes. But she was on God's radar. I still just marvel at the way God uses us to help and bless others when we make an effort to try and hear Him. It is such an honor to be a partner with Christ. I was also happy to finally learn the bus driver's name! :) Inside my special package were wonderfully thoughtful items like fuzzy socks, a notebook/pen, hot chocolate, and hand sanitizer. Things I know cost a lot on Miss Sonya's salary. Which made them even sweeter. 
*Jared and I had an ARD meeting (via zoom) to meet and see if Calvin was eligible for special education services based on the test results from the diagnostician and psychologist. The diagnostician had already called me a couple days before to go over their findings. She let me know that first of all, Calvin was a very polite, sweet young man to work with. He was very sweet. She said that of the six tests she ran, Calvin was above average on most of them. She found no learning disabilties within her scope of testing. The psychologist explained that he had given his teachers several different scales with subsets and rubrics and for the first time that he can ever remember in his career, the results all came back within the normal range. So yay. There's nothing indicating that Calvin has issues where he would need special services. However, the doctor had already called us a week before saying she finally got the ADD paperwork back from Calvin's other two teachers and does feel like Calvin might have some ADD tendencies. So we set an appointment to meet with her on Mon. 21st to talk about medication. Knowing what was coming with the pediatrician, I asked the admin and ARD team what to do to help Calvin after the holidays. The assistant principal said that with ADD, it would move to 504 accommodations. We debated about moving him from the advanced math class to the on-level class. His math teacher happened to be on the call with us. She said in her experience, if the student isn't going to do assignments in an advanced course, they likely won't on-level either. We could understand that. But if we can help him be successful without being overwhelmed or frustrated all the time...maybe that would encourage improvement. Then I thought maybe having him medicated in the advance math for the second semester would be a good "test" run too, to see how and what he does. So we left it at that. It was pretty quick and we certainly appreciated the team taking the time to meet with us and to take the time to assess Calvin.

*Our Christmas Chain activity was another new one for us--A Crazy Dinner. I hated that Cooper couldn't be with us due to work, but Jared was covering a lot of extra shifts and our schedule was limited. A crazy dinner meant that we each had $5 to spend on food or drink items and we'd combine them back at home for a crazy, mismatched dinner. 
We thought it might be fun to join forces and funds with someone else, so we went around the store in pairs. Jake and JJ, Jared and Calvin, and the girls. 
There were important decisions to be made. :) 
Karcyn and I were super proud that our total came in under budget by 8 cents. And that we got fruit, carbs, and a protein. 
Our final menu consisted of: egg nog, coconut water, toaster strudels, chocolate ice cream, a fruit bowl, frozen pizza, gluten-free chicken nuggets, bananas, and hash browns patties. Yum, yum! No one went to bed hungry!
Fri. 18th--I heard some music outside my room at work and popped my head out in the hall to see JJ and other students caroling around the school. There he is in front with one black shoe and one red shoe.  
Singing "Jingle Bells" in the fourth-grade hall.
JJ leading the way. 
*My friend, Pegan, the other resource assistant, made gingerbread cookies to give as gifts. I LOVE the one she made for me. I can't remember when I had an authentic gingerbread cookie, but it's been a while. And though I hated to ruin the beauty of this creation, it was delicious!
*One of Cooper's friends (who happened to be in the CS3 ward when we were) drew Cooper's name for the secret Santa gift exchange in their AVP class. I don't know the significance of it, but Rand re-labeled this bottle of Prickly Pear soda from Avatar the cartoon. Cooper and the kids all thought the idea was the best thing ever. :) 
*Our Christmas Chain activity for Friday night was charades--strategically planned for that day because Jared was working late and he loathes charades. Haha! His loss though because we had SUCH a blast! We had never really played charades with all of our kids before, so I taught them the signals and a couple techniques because I have been playing charades since before I could talk. It was Cooper, Jake, and JJ versus Karcyn, Calvin, and myself. Unfortunately, this was the only picture I got because we had videos instead. And I'm so glad. It was HILARIOUS. I cannot wait to do this one again. We made some great memories and JJ proved to be a very good actor and guesser! But the non-twins and I won! If we were truly keeping score. 
*Southern Comfort egg nog is the only nog I'll drink. Calvin did have permission to finish it off. :) 
Sat. 19th--We passed our phone interview with the Pomeranian Rescue so the next step in Operation-Adopt-a-Dog was to meet Rolo in person. I had hoped we could do it Saturday sometime. Jared had to work, but all five kids would be there. The boys were leaving for a trip to Branson on Sunday, but if needed, I did let the coordinator know that Monday would be fine. Jared had to work then, too, but maybe we could FaceTime him in. 

*The long-standing Christmas Chain favorite--Bo-Ho-Ho-ling! I grabbed pictures with each of the three "littles." Their bowling names are in parentheses. My bowling name is BME (Best Mom Ever). 

JJ (aka Hades)
Karcyn (aka Pena--as in Michael Pena who rambles and talks really fast in the movie "Ant Man," a name given to her lovingly by her older brothers)
Calvin (aka Hobbes)
The big boys were having too much competitive fun on their lane for a photo op. But we got a group picture! Cooper went ahead in his own car to get us lanes and Jared met us there after work, and we forgot to bring them Santa hats. Oh well!
Sun. 20th--We decided to have Jake and Cooper go to Branson a few days before us, so they could have a Bro-Cation for a couple days just the two of them...our last Christmas with Cooper for a couple years. They left right after breakfast before we went to church. The weather was perfect for driving.
*Jared went to work and the rest of us went to Caldwell for church. We enjoyed having little William the Reindeer sit with us. 
*I got a picture with the Primary Activity children who were at church with us before I attempted to deliver the gift bags to the rehab center since our family wouldn't be back in Caldwell until after Christmas. Unfortunately, the rehab center was closed, so we drove back to the church and enlisted the missionaries to be our delivery boys. They were happy to be of service. 
*This is one of the greatest series ever! The whole family loves it and we've learned so much. We binge-watched the last three episodes. We were trying to do just one a week, but couldn't wait. :) 
Mon. 21st--It was our day to pack up for our Christmas trip to Branson. Karole would be joining us. We had a condo reserved for eight at the Wilderness Lodge at Big Cedar. We were driving up on Tues. 22nd and staying the night in a hotel so we could check in to the condo on Wednesday and have all of Wednesday in Branson instead of using it to travel and then we'd drive home on Sat. the 26th. Because we were going to be gone through Christmas Eve and Christmas, I made an executive decision to NOT put up the Christmas tree. Mostly because Jake's birthday is the 27th and for his entire life, I have always kept his birthday separate from any remnants of Christmas. The Christmas decorations always come down on the 26th if not on the 25th, which happened one year when he was two. We did our Christmas celebration in the morning, had breakfast and played, then we put Jake down for a nap. During that time I packed up all evidence of the Christmas holiday. When he woke up from his nap, he was a little confused because the apartment had changed significantly in just a couple hours. Haha. Because Jake was with us this year, and because we'd be driving 10 hours home on the 26th and his birthday was on a Sunday, I knew I wouldn't be able to get the tree and decorations down in time. Hence--no tree. One BIG less thing to worry about. I spent most of Monday morning packing up the other decorations and holiday items. 

But at 10:15, the three kids and I jumped in the car and headed to PetSmart. We had a date to meet little Rolo. As it turned out, Jared was only about a five-minute drive from there at his clinic and was able to sneak away for a half-hour so he could join us, which I was so grateful for!

We arrived at the same time as Julie, Rolo's foster. We found a little corner of the store for our introduction because the meeting area was already being used. 

Rolo had no problem going to Karcyn. Sweet thing.
Nor did he mind being with Calvin. I worried our masks might scare him. Jared FaceTimed Jake and Cooper in. They just gushed over him!
Rolo was cautiously exploring. Like a little fox.
They say he's in his "puppy ugly" stage because he isn't full floof yet, but I think he's adorble.
And Rolo really liked JJ. :) Which is good because dogs make him nervous and JJ will be living with us old people for four years by himself. He'll need a buddy.
Jared loved him, too. Rolo is SO unbelievably soft. We had a nice visit and we're so grateful that Julie accommodated us to meet with him during this crazy time of year. Jared had to get back to work and as we wrapped it up, I asked Julie what we needed to do to adopt him. She said we would just need to fill out some paperwork and pay for him. She'd have the coordinator send that info to me. So there you have it! We were adopting a dog! No turning back now. 

*That afternoon, Calvin and I went to see his pediatrician to talk about medication for ADD. Before we got there, I made sure Calvin knew his medication wouldn't be a magic pill. It wasn't going to make him all of a sudden get all his homework done. That was on him still. It would help him be more focused and perhaps his time in class would be used more effectively and he won't fall behind. The doctor was chummy with Calvin and said pretty much the same thing. But they had to do an EKG first to make sure his heart was okay before starting him on these meds. She came back in and said he has a heart! She has proof. ;) She also told me that sometimes kids lose their appetites so make sure he's eating. And to take it around 7am in the morning so when school starts around 8am, he'll be ready. She said that headaches are common side effects. And to just see how it goes. We decided to start his meds after we got back from Branson so that we didn't ruin his day/trip with new side effects. 

*Later that night, our neighbors were using telescopes and cameras to see Saturn and Jupiter align in the sky. I joined them and could just make out the two brighter lights in the sky. But my friend, Tony showed me this picture below that his friend took. It's incredible! If you look close enough you can even see their moons! My friend, Lisa Mouton, posted this thought the day before. I love it so much. 

I've been thinking about how tomorrow is the winter solstice, the longest hours of darkness of the year, and what a long, dark year it has been. And yet tomorrow we'll see the alignment of Jupiter and Saturn right at sunset, when the long night begins. They won’t have aligned this closely in 800 years.
I was also thinking about how Jupiter is known as the king planet, and Saturn was his father, and I don't think it's a coincidence that the father and the son are coming together to bring a Christmas Star to a weary world at the greatest point of darkness. #LightTheWorld
Tues. 22nd--And we're off for Branson! We got off early enough, but decided to stop by the newly opened Dunkin Donuts to try some donut holes. The line was horrendous. I actually jumped out of the car to go inside, while the rest of the fam continued through the drive-thru line. It was a race to see who could get through first. However, they were starting to move forward before me and I realized I hadn't brought my phone. We'd have no way of communicating who ordered first. So I ditched the inside line and jumped back in the car. That was right around the time Calvin was getting out to bring me my phone. I just stayed in the car at that point. It took about an extra 30 minutes but we weren't in a hurry. 

These munchkins are pure nostalgia for me. My mom and I would occasionally swing by a Dunkin Donuts to purchase a box of donut holes to share at early morning seminary when I was a freshman in Marietta, GA. We actually didn't have the money for this extra treat, but my mom never said no.  
*Our first mid-morning stop for a potty break and gas. And major stretching of the muscles. I was sitting in the middle row because Karole was sitting up front with Jared. It's not a bad ride, but the seats can't be reclined and my body just doesn't do well stuck in one position. JJ was doing pushups on the cement block by the gas pump. ;) 
*A beautiful sunset. 
*Once we arrived in Branson, we rendezvoused with Jake and Cooper at our hotel, unloaded, and then headed to Steak and Shake for dinner. There was a Price is Right Christmas special on and we enjoyed watching that and seeing who came the closest in guessing the prices. 
Cooper and Jake enjoying a shake together. 
Wed. 23rd--When I got up at 6:30am, this is what I saw. Karcyn already showered and reading the Book of Mormon.
*JJ and I are River Bend bears, so I took a couple pictures of him with this bear in the front lobby.
And we got a couple more pictures with the bears out front. 
*We drove to the Wilderness Lodge to see if we could do an early check-in. Typically it isn't until 4pm, but since we were already in town, we thought we'd try. They said that it was definitely possible and put us on the list. I liked this tree in their lobby--with the "big cedar" sticks sticking out. I jumped back in the burb and we headed north a little ways to visit the big Bass Pro shop.
*The Bass Pro shop was pretty impressive. And though you can't tell in the pictures, I thought it was pretty busy considering it was Christmas Eve Eve (or Christmas Adam :)
*Posing with an alligator gar.
*Posing with Cooper the Grouper. Haha. (The kids named it Cooper).
*Taking advantage of free carousel rides. 
Even me! But I could've walked in circles faster than this rig. Maybe I was weighing it down?
*Silly JJ!
*After we spent about 90 minutes walking around Bass Pro, we got a call saying our condo was ready. So we gathered everyone up and headed out to get some lunch before driving back to Hollister. It was going to have to be Chick-fil-A to help meet Karcyn's needs. But man, the line was crazy long--even in Missouri! Jake and Cooper drove back on their own and were getting their own lunch. They had our credit card so I told them not to go crazy. I texted them to find out where they were and they said they were going to do Chick-fil-A too, but the line was so long, they bailed to find another one at a different location. We eventually got our lunch and headed to the condo. Jake and Cooper were actually stuck in their second Chick-fil-A line. The one they ended up at, closer to the highway, was worse than the one we were in. Haha! That stinks!

*We checked in around 2:30pm and started unloading the cars. We had 5:30pm tickets to the Dolly Parton dinner show and would need to leave around 4:15. Jared and I didn't have time to go grocery shopping before leaving so we would have to do it afterward. No biggie. We had what we needed until then.

*I love this condo! The view from the front door.
The kitchen to the left. A bit small but totally functional.
The dining area--there's a very long bench seat beneath that big fish. :) That door connects to the studio condo next door where Karole and the three littles would be sleeping. 
The living room, fireplace, balcony and pull-out couch.
The master suite. Yes, please. 
The master bathroom with a door to the shower and toilet and another sink that can be accessed from the front entryway.
Washer and dryer. 
The bathroom that can be accessed from the master bedroom and front door by the kitchen.
The studio apartment where Karole and Karcyn would be with the two little boys on the pull-out couch.
Their sink area.
The living room area and balcony.
Their small kitchenette. No oven, but it had a small stovetop, microwave, fridge, and dishwasher.
*Because we didn't have a Christmas tree back at home, I purchased a small tabletop tree for us to have at the condo. Since it's Cooper's last Christmas with us for a couple years, I gave him the honor of setting it up, decorating it, and putting the star on. 
He did a great job!
Behold the star!
*Cooper playing a "Slap my Hand" game with Karcyn and Calvin. 
*We drove to the big arena where the Dolly Parton Stampede is held and waited in line along the sidewalk by the horse stables. Sometime between that afternoon and early evening, a very stiff wind had started blowing and we were very cold waiting in line. Fortunately, the line moved fairly quickly. 

This is the picture they took of us when we entered with the different "backdrops." 
We purchased this one!
We were seated on the North side--front row!!!
I wanted the kids to have their very own commemorative cowboy boot cup, so once we were seated, Jared and I went to go get six drinks--most of them were hot chocolate. The stadium wasn't as full and as you can see in the picture and there were dividers between parties. 
Throughout the show, there are some friendly competitions between the North and the South. We were the North--green. The performers and animals came running out of the doors at the far end of our side and would run or gallop right past us! We could almost reach out and touch them.
This is first part of our dinner. The most delicious vegetable soup and a cheddar biscuit. And the only part of dinner I actually photographed. :) No spoon--you hold it by the handle and drink it up. They also make accommodations for dietary restrictions. We ordered a gluten-free meal for Karcyn. Everything about the meal, except for the soup/biscuit and dessert, were gluten-free. They brought out steamed vegetables for her first course.
They acted out the first Christmas Story from the book of Luke, using real animals.
A wise man.
It was so interesting to see how the camels knelt down. 
The kids had a BLAST! They thought the whole show filled with music, comedy, live animals, and pyrotechnics was incredible from start to finish. Those of us who like to actually eat food enjoyed our dinner very much which, after the soup and biscuit, consisted of a tender whole rotisserie personal chicken, smoked pork loin, corn on the cob, an herb-crusted baked potato and their own special flaky, apple turnover. Delicious! The South won the contest, but it did not dampen our spirits in any way.

There was one particular horseback rider named Adrianne (not this one) who was always right in front of us. Jake and Cooper took a special interest in her and cheered her on. Ha!
When we left the arena, Jared and I were going to take his car to the grocery store while the big boys would drive everyone else back to the condo. It's about 11 miles from Branson to Hollister where Big Cedar is--not too bad. I hate shopping at an unfamiliar store, so it took a little bit longer to pick up our few perishable items than I would have liked. After we got back to the condo and unloaded the groceries, we found Jake curled up in a fetal position on our bed with his hood over his face. We went to check on him and he said he felt awful. His head hurt and he had a horrible, barky cough. Oh no. Covid?! He is so careful and we had been careful with everything we had been doing even with our travels. I took his temperature with the thermometer and he was normal. This was a VERY quick onset. Like on the way home. We were at the store, maybe an hour. I looked at him straight on and noticed that his eyes were red and looked a little puffy. Like he might be having an allergic reaction maybe? And it hit me. Jake is allergic to horses! And we had had a front-row seat for two hours as they were flying past and flinging their horse stuff everywhere. In fact, the lady who seated us said that we were in their equivalent of the splash zone, and if we got debris in our food, they would replace it for us. I noticed Jake was wearing the same clothes he did at the arena. I told him to take them off and to jump in the shower to rinse off. Then Jared gave him some Zyrtec. After Jake was clean and got the medicine in him, he felt so much better he said. Phew!! That was a relief. Now he knows what it feels like to be around horses and hooray for it not being covid. That cough was awful though. If I didn't know better, I would have thought he did have coronavirus just based on the cough alone.

Thurs. 24th--The morning view from our master bedroom in the condo. We were on the bottom floor, but you can still see Table Rock lake.
*Jake had an epic gift he wanted to give Jared for Christmas, but because we were going to be going out that day in public, Jake wanted to give it to him right away.
Behold, an ugly Christmas sweater!
With a T-Rex on it. 
Haha! I've seen worse!
*We were hoping to go to an 80s arcade, but they were closed. Which was really stinky of them since it is a tourist town. So we'll have to catch that one again next time we're in Branson. Instead, we tried out Fun Mountain just up the road from the Wilderness Lodge. We got a billiards table for an hour and each of the kids took turns playing. Of the kids, only Jake and Cooper have played pool so it was fun to see the little ones give it a try.
*Gotta give Karcyn props--doing what she had to do to get the shot. :) 
After billiards, the kids tried out the bumper cars in the basement. One was cool because you flipped upside down in your car when you bumped into people. Jared and I hung out and continued playing pool with each other while they did that. I beat Jared 2 out of 3 games. Then it was off to hit the arcade! 
Jared bet Jake that he couldn't get 15 baskets in a minute. He got 17 at the buzzer! ;)
Calvin, JJ, and Jake tried this rock climbing wall with a twist. They flash little creatures on the wall and you have to climb as close as you can to the picture and then smack it and you get points for that. But sometimes you get close to the image and it "flies" across the wall to another spot, so you have to chase it down. Calvin tried it once and then had enough.
JJ gave it a try and rocked it. Holy cow, he was on fire!! He climbed all over that wall, all but running, for 5-7 minutes straight.
Jake gave it a whirl, too.
Karcyn loved playing Mario Kart and though I missed getting a picture, Cooper was off doing a fishing game. We had a good time at Fun Mountain. It's so nice that our kids are old enough to do what they want. JJ isn't quite at the point we are comfortable going off on his own without another sibling, but he's getting there. 
*Back at the condo, we enjoyed our candle-less "candle-lit spaghetti dinner" and then snuggled in for our somewhat free-flowing Christmas Eve program. Two boys on one side of me...
One on the other!
We actually had a really awesome Christmas Eve program considering. JJ told jokes, Karcyn recited a Studio C sketch from memory, Karole had made up an epic Christmas-themed song that afternoon with four verses to the tune of "She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain," and we read the accounts of the Savior's birth in the Bible and Book of Mormon before eating our fruit and chocolate fondue. 
Fri. 25th--MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Another beautiful, crisp morning
Our Christmas gift to each other was being in Branson and the shows we had tickets to. The gifts under the table tree were from Grandma and Grandpa Lee, Grandma Hough, Aunt Kelly and Uncle Steve, Aunt Chris and Uncle Kevin and cousins. 
We did bring the kids' stockings and filled them with a few small trinkets.
JJ and his new Beyblade from Grandma and Grandpa. He was so excited because he doesn't have that one!
Calvin reading the card from Grandma and Grandpa.
Realizing that they sent him enough money for the new hoody he had been wanting. 
The money was in the tin, however. In coins. :)
And he had to get it open first--Grandma wraps things tight! ;) 
Karcyn digging through the stocking from my parents. 
A chocolate bar with a kitty on it. 
An Amazon gift card. 
Cooper and his gift card to Amazon. 
Jake going through his gift bag from Grandma and Grandpa.
JJ's gift from Jake. Even though we never watched the Simpsons. 
Cooper was mad at me, so I had him open up the gift box from Aunt Chris and Uncle Kevin. He did it slowly and looked in and paused. All of a sudden he threw something at me. And threw it again. And then faster and faster. Jared thought he was being ornery. It took us a second to register that what he was throwing at me were indoor snowballs and all of a sudden all heck broke loose in the condo!
Snowballs were flying everywhere!
Poor Karole was stuck in the middle of it all. But man! It was awesome! Great family therapy!
Jake gifted Cooper with a new tie. 
And a beautiful plaque of the Salt Lake City Temple.
Jake got a plaque for me and Jared, too, of the San Diego Temple where we were married. 
*We laid low for most of the day. I took the little boys swimming at the Lodge. They had an indoor pool and then we waited to use the hot tub outside. Cooper went and spent the rest of the money on his arcade card at the fishing game and won a small stuffed Yeti. Super cute.
The kids and I had walked down to the pool, but after we were wet, they called a shuttle for us. Which was so nice. The driver took us right back to our condo. We had dinner and packed up our bags for our early morning departure the next day. We usually see a movie on Christmas Day together, but this year we were going to see the illusionist REZA. We were really excited about this show. Mainly because it was new for all of us and who doesn't like having their minds blown? We had really good seats here, too. Row 8, I think. Our usher told us we were not allowed to take any pictures or videos which was a bummer, but she assured us that if we got on stage, they had photographers to take pictures for us. We had to wear masks the entire time. But we were just grateful we could still attend the shows we had bought tickets for.
REZA (Ray-zuh) is a great entertainer and has a really cool story. We caught his eye a couple times as we cheered for him. Shortly after he started his show, he asked for a brave guy to volunteer. Jake and Cooper shot their hands in the air and REZA chose Cooper. Wow, wow, wow! Cooper got to go up on stage. We were SO excited! Until we realized that the trick required Cooper to stick his head in a locked vice as REZA pushed a huge table saw across his neck. Oh my!! I knew, deep down, it would be fine, but my body started shaking from adrenaline anyway. It was a super cool trick and Cooper made it back to his seat unharmed and in one piece. Admittedly, Cooper said he was wondering what he had gotten himself into when his head was locked in place and started freaking out a little inside once the blade started spinning. A few minutes later, I leaned toward Jared and told him that JJ was a bit stunned, looking like a deer in headlights, and thought that Cooper was a spirit now. Jake overheard me and piped in to say, "Calvin has been sobbing since two acts ago, he was so scared for Cooper." I leaned around Jake to get Calvin's attention and he traded seats with Jake so he could sit next to Cooper. He buried his head into Cooper's chest and cried. I felt awful that Calvin was feeling so much anguish, but was so touched that he genuinely feared for his brother's life--a brother he often butts heads with. I had to take this picture. 
Before intermission, JJ wanted to hug Cooper and make sure he was still with us.
Here are the pictures that we bought of the act on stage. REZA actually put a bucket below Cooper's head to catch it when it got sliced off. When REZA asked if Cooper was okay before he started the trick, Cooper asked, "Is it too late to go to the bathroom?" That's when REZA picked up the bucket on the ground below his head and moved it to the back by Cooper's rear end. That got some laughs from the crowd.
And there it goes...the tablesaw blade over Cooper's neck!
All of that trauma aside, the kids want to see this show again and said it was the best Christmas ever! Jake even got to participate in the last act--where REZA asked him a question and a couple moments later, Jake's exact answer appeared in a stocking that was padlocked in a box that we saw on stage the entire time. What the what?? So crazy awesome! REZA also sells backstage passes. If we were at an earlier show, I would have seriously considered it. But it was the late show and we had an early morning driving home. Maybe next time.
Sun. 27th--HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY, JAKE!! 
We got him a water bottle he had requested--to help him hydrate. 
We got him one of the books in a new series he wanted to try..."Unwind."
We gave him his copy of his Mission Memories that were bound in a beautiful book. He helped edit it but this was the first time he saw the finished product.
He got a tie from my parents. 
And he had a sleeping bag (another requested item for Utah fun) that was yet to come in the mail. 
He asked for green chili burgers and Doritos for dinner and pistachio marble cake for dessert. It was a good day and we were so glad we could celebrate it with Jake!
You can see Cooper's yeti that he won in Branson on the couch by JJ's feet.
This picture was to show my parents the earrings they bought for me for Christmas. They are beautiful shell earrings made by the Pueblo Indians, descendants of the "Ancient Ones" (or the Anasazi Indians). 
Mon. 28th--The day we had all been waiting for--going to pick up Rolo and bring him home. I was a little anxious, but everyone else was excited. I wasn't thrilled about getting a dog, let alone a puppy. But there are several members of our family who I was fairly certain would benefit from having an emotional support animal and that's worth it to me. We're so grateful Julie was willing to hold on to Rolo a week longer so we could go on our Christmas trip. We got him as soon as we could after we got back. We're also grateful we met her at PetSmart again because we still didn't have a crate or dog bowl or food or bed for him. Before meeting up with Julie, I wanted to get her some flowers to go with the card we all signed, thanking her and her family for giving Rolo a great beginning. 

Once we found Julie in the store, it was a quick exchange. We greeted each other and then she kissed Rolo goodbye before handing him over to me and even let us keep the harness and leash she had him in. We gave Julie our flowers and card, thanked her very much for everything and she was off while Calvin and I started looking for puppy essentials. I thought it would be best if just one child came with me to get Rolo so we didn't overwhelm him. Plus, he can only be held by one person at a time anyway. It was Monday, which is Calvin's special day, so he was the lucky one to come. 

Fortunately, there was a very nice associate at PetSmart who was willing to help us out when I said, we just got this puppy a few minutes ago and need this, this, this, and this. :) Fortunately, it didn't take long for us to get a wire crate, a little bed, a bag of food, and some treats. 

Julie told us that while Rolo is crate trained (meaning he will sleep in the crate from 11pm to 7am and won't have an accident), Rolo is still working on the potty training during the day. So I was actually a little worried about him having an accident while we were walking around with him and in the car. But Julie had traveled with him to the store and back when we met him the week before and he was okay, so I was hopeful. The poor little thing was shaking in the car on the way home, but we expected that. 
True to Karcyn form, she made a sign that said: Welcome Home, Rolo!
As soon as we got home though, we took him outside to go potty. This made me the most nervous--I've potty trained five kids, and I've heard dogs are easier, so I kept my fingers crossed. We had a string of bells we got (at my sister Kelly's suggestion) that we hung by the door and rang them every time we took him outside so he would associate the two together with the hopes that he would learn to ring the bells when he needed to go outside to potty. I was grateful we had another couple of weeks to work with him on the potty things before we all went back to work/school/Utah.

Everyone got their chance to meet and snuggle with the little guy.
I don't think he was put down all day, except to go potty. 
Julie forgot to get a picture of us at the store after the exchange and asked if we would take a picture and send it to her They like to keep pictures of the adopted families who adopt their foster pets. As soon as Jared got home, Jake's buddy, Will, took the picture for us. 
Rolo loved his little bed!
Tues. 29th--Cooper's turn for wisdom teeth removal! I got some good video footage of him on drugs. :) He did well--no complications, just sore for several days. His pain lasted a little longer than expected but the two bottom teeth were sideways so those sites were sore a little longer.
Wed. 30th--I have now turned into the person who only takes pictures of her pets. :) 
Rolo had his first visit with the vet today. He did so good. They are in love with Rolo and think he's the cutest. He is very healthy. They said that he got his rabies vaccine a little closer to another one which reduces its effectiveness, I guess. So they wanted to give him another dose. I saw that they put a glob of squeeze cheese from a canister on the table and he licked that while they gave him his shot. He didn't even flinch or react. Just ate his cheese. What a brave little dude! The vet said he has a lovely coat. Truly he does. It's so soft. We learned he is "red" in color and has baby teeth that he will be losing. What? I had no idea. And they're watching his because if they don't come out, they will have to be surgically removed. Rolo did great at the vet and I really like them. They take you immediately to an exam room so you don't have to wait out in the lobby with other people or animals. They offer you a cold soda when you arrive. After the exam, they check you out in the room as well, so when you're done you can just leave. Jared will especially like the free soda part. ;) 

This is Rolo's favorite spot on the couch.
One thing, Julie, Rolo's foster told us is that he doesn't like to be alone. So he would sleep in his crate in their room. The kennel we got is too big to put in our room, so we decided to put him in it in the living room and have the kids take turns sleeping on the couch so he won't be by himself. So far, it's worked. We'll see how it goes when we all go back to school. 

Thurs. 31st--2020 was the year of sickness, lockdowns, government overreach, race hysteria, riots, CHAZ, boarded-up cities, social-justice looting, and "white privilege." According to Fox News, 2020 was one of the most disturbing years in American history.

Maybe. But as we face a brand new year, I choose to do it with hope and optimism because I know and have always known that God is in charge. He sees the beginning from the end. And while I never would have wished for certain events from 2020 to take place, I do feel blessed to have witnessed and experienced an unprecedented year. My family struggled with so many difficulties and trials, weeks of exhaustion and frustration, and real heartbreaks. But there were also many days filled with remarkable blessings, moments of clarity, and much-needed revelation that I'm certain we would not have received without those specific struggles and circumstances. Because of that, I wouldn't trade 2020 for anything. God lives and loves all of His children everywhere. As we move forward through 2021, "we need to constantly remind ourselves that He is God and we are not (Jeffrey R. Holland) that He is the hope of His people.
*Rolo having fun with a chew toy at the foot of Cooper's blanket.
*I finally got a picture with Rolo! 
*New Year's Eve was no big deal, which is how I prefer it. Jared worked an extra 12 hour shift, the kids and I played some games and watched movies and snuggled with Rolo. After Jared got home, he and I were drifting asleep on our bed while the kids hung out til midnight. Jared and I barely made it to the kitchen to open our sparkling juice before the ball dropped! Rolo was not liking the fireworks going off around us, that's for sure. He has a loud, high pitched yip for such a small animal. Fortunately, we don't hear it much. When we let him out in the backyard to do his business, sometimes the BIG dogs behind us are out there. One of them is a pitbull mix. Rolo will go tearing back to the fence and pace it or run back and forth while the other dogs bark and freak out, but he stands his ground and doesn't bark back or show any fear. Thank goodness. I heard that Pomeranians have a bit of a Napoleon complex. :)