May 2018

--The very first day of May (Calvin's 10th birthday) was FLOOD the Temple day. Flood it with people, not water! The Stake Relief Society Presidency decided we were going to go that morning together. At the last minute, Annette (president) couldn't attend and she asked if I would drive to the temple. Of course I would, but admitted I've never driven there on my own before. Fortunately, Kim and Rebecca (the other counselor and secretary) were good at helping me get there. And after having been behind the actual wheel, I think I can get there and back by myself should I need to! ;) It is a long way with lots of several highways to take and construction and toll roads. Kind of complicated, but always worth it. We had a wonderful session!

--Calvin celebrated his birthday at a baseball game, but we provided brownies and drinks afterwards. He got a book from Grandma and Grandpa Lee and I actually caught him reading it! He is a great reader, just doesn't love it. Trying to find books that will hold his interest is a real struggle. He doesn't even know what he likes and even if he did, he'd say he didn't just to be difficult. *sigh* 

--A meme in honor of May 4th:  

--I subbed again the beginning of May for my friend Dayton (she joined the church in my ward--I even spoke at her baptism in May 2016). She teaches freshman biology. It was just a half day. But I was told I was awesome and cool and could come back. I'm not rude like the other subs. In fact, two boys in 6th period had pre-printed passes to go to the assistant principal's office because they can never behave with subs. But I told them privately that I believed in them and didn't think they needed those passes. And sure enough, they stayed in my class the entire time.

--I registered Karcyn for summer school. The way middle school is configured, she could only take 1 elective--orchestra--all year. If she wanted to also do choir, which she did, she would have to take two half year credits offered over the summer: Health and Keyboarding. They were $110 each course. But we figured she's pretty motivated and driven and if it allowed her to develop her talent of singing, this was what we needed to do. 

This meme cracked me up. 

--On the 6th, Jake was ordained an Elder in the priesthood. Along with three other young men from the CS2 ward. Jake was at the very end and JJ was done by that point and we were sitting at one end of the High Council room and Jared and Jake were at the other. So I didn't hear a whole lot. But that's usually how it goes for me at this things.
--I was patting myself on the back for only having 100 pages left in the Book of Mormon with 25 days to go until the end of May (to fulfill the Stake Presidency's challenge to finish the book with the seminary students). Until I realized in horror that I didn't start at the beginning and have to get to 1N19--another 42 pages in!

--Love this beautiful spring picture of our home against the blue sky above and green grass below.

--Our 21st wedding anniversary was on May 7th. Calvin wanted to make us a special treat...it's a fruit cup. :)

I think I gave us the best gift of all. The middle of April, we received our notice of appraised value to determine the tax assessment of our home. It calculated our home value as $280,000!!!! We bought it for $225,000. I mean, I know the property values are going up in College Station, but that's ridiculous. If for no other reason, we live in a rinky dink starter-home neighborhood. NO ONE would ever pay that much for a house here. Granted our home design/floor plan, does sell for $350-$375K in other neighborhoods. However, the only reason our home was assessed so high is because the home across the street from us (1800 sq. ft) went for $230,000 (all cash) just a few months before. So they applied an increase to our price/sq. ft. on our 2700 sq. ft. home. But there is NO WAY it would sell for that much in this subdivision. And there was NO WAY, I was going to pay the $5,000 of taxes on it!! I needed to fight this. Technically, our assessed home value jumped pretty significantly from 2016 to 2017, but due to ignorance and fear, I did nothing. But enough was enough. Fortunately, there is a sister in our ward who is a real estate agent. I reached out to her for some help. She provided me with some comparables and after doing as much research on the proper terminology and trying to know the correct words to use and what to say to the assessors and with LOTS of prayers, I went to contest the assessment the morning of my wedding anniversary. To my great relief, I got a young, personable lady. She was cool and agreed that the price was a bit of a jump from last year when it was assessed at $260,000. Without any other action, she explained because of our builder and that it was only 4 years old, it kept the assessed price up, but that she could lower it to $260,000 like it had been. I felt that was better than nothing and didn't want to complain. But as she was typing stuff on the computer, I found my mouth opening without even realizing it. I was looking at the comparables and noticed a 5 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home, 2382 sq. ft built in 2010 priced at $86/sq. ft. that sold for $206,000 within the past month. I spoke up and said, "Is it only because the age of our house that the value is that high? Because this house, which has one more bedroom than we do, is just 4 years older than ours and only 300 sq. ft. smaller and sold for $206,000. I'm pretty sure we couldn't get $260,000 for our house, if we tried." She looked at the data and even looked it up online and noticed it was also a corner lot. She looked at the data again and said, "Hold tight for a second." Well, I sat there for many long seconds. Minutes in fact. Seemed like ten or fifteen. Was probably only five at the most. She came back with a smile on her face and said, "Well, your comparables saved you today!" They dropped the value down another $20K to $240,000, to make the total decrease a whopping forty grand! I was happy with that! Which meant our taxes would be even lower than the year before when it was valued at $260K. I was so proud of myself and grateful to the Lord for prompting me to open my mouth and putting that question there. Like I said, it came out without even thinking or formulating it ahead of time. I took a thank you card and treat over to Myke, who had helped gather the property information for me in the first place. 

--We also had a HAPPY FAMILY BIRTHDAY. We had an AMAZING FAMILY HISTORY Family Home Evening, learning about the high profile people the Houghs are related to. And we celebrated our family birthday with a bundt cake. 

--On the 8th, I took Cooper to seminary in Jared's civic. About 1/4 of a mile from home, there was a dead armadillo in the middle of the road. As I got closer to it, I realized it was bigger than I thought. All at the same time, I was thinking...I need to swerve to go around it, I don't have enough time. Oh well, no worries you're in the burb, you'll go right over it. Except then I heard several horrible loud clanking sounds under the car when it dawned on me "You're in the CIVIC!!! The lowest riding vehicle there is!!!" Then there was a not good sound, sensation...like I was driving with something that was catching the wind. Turns out a plastic panel underneath the car had ripped partially off and was hanging from a lone screw. There was also some more ripped/shredded plastic underneath the civic and what appeared to be leaking fluid. Dang!!! I was SO mad at myself. I saved us money the day before on the house and then I went and blew it! I quickly confessed to Jared. I didn't know what to do. We have a neighbor that works at Car Doc (where we take our vehicles). It looked like he was gone already for the day. But when I got up from looking at the carnage under the car, I saw John open his car door. Jared went to grab him as fast as he could. John came over and tried shimmying under the car. Boy howdy, that man is skinny but it was still hard for him to squeeze himself under as far as he could go. But after a couple of minutes, he was able to get the dangling panel off. Fortunately, it was the A/C cover panel and water and A/C fluid that was leaking. Yay!! At least Jared could drive now without that noise and wind resistance. But he'll be taking it to Car Doc over his lunch break to make sure no further damage has been done. Way to go armadillo.

--I like this reminder about tests that the kids are required to take. I'm not against testing or assessing, but not everyone takes standardized timed tests well. 

--This past school year, I have watched the little boy of my friend Jennifer, when she had to teach preschool. Her husband took a job out of state and was commuting back and forth. But sometimes his schedule didn't mesh with hers, so I was the safety net and I was happy to do it. It was only for half a day and only a couple times every other week or so. These were the "babysitter appreciation" flowers Jennifer brought to me on the last day that I watched Cole. So beautiful and unnecessary. I know how it feels to need someone you trust to watch your babies for you. It's a difficult place to be and I was happy I could help her.

--On Friday the 11th, we drove our friends, Richard and Natassia Scoresby and their baby, Owen, to the Woodlands for dinner. We had a PF Changs gift card we needed to use and we wanted to celebrate Richard's new job at Ball State in Indiana even though we were so sad they were moving. Jake was kind enough to watch the Scoresby's other four kids at their house while we were gone.

We had a lovely dinner. We've enjoyed their friendship immensely and just can't bear the thought of them leaving. They were the first to reach out to us when we moved here--just hours after we pulled in with our moving truck.

 The courtyard area outside where PF Changs was located.

--Karole and her sister Stacy arrived on Sat. May 12th to move Karole out here permanently. This is a pretty accurate picture of how things are at our house. We were all enjoying the super rich cheesecake that we purchased with a Cheesecake Factory gift card (right next to PF Chang's) the night before.

--Our amazing friends, Allison and Ryan Strope, who I met when I served as Relief Society president, made these top notch, delectable made from scratch cupcakes for us to distribute to all the women, 18 and older, in our ward for Mother's Day. We're talking salted caramel, Reese's peanut butter cup, and french toast with maple buttercream frosting. Oh my. Heavenly!!! At my humble request, the Stropes made these for Mother's Day back in 2016. They were such a hit that the cupcakes were mentioned as a possible treat for the women again this year. So I was the one who helped orchestrate it. I did help package them, but that's it. The Stropes did it all. And they aren't even active in church or in our ward anymore. Truly the most amazing and generous people ever!!! They need to market these cupcakes. I see some in the store for $3 each and want to barf because I know they are nasty and definitely overpriced. Owning a bakery is something Ryan has wanted to do, so maybe one day he will. If nothing else, he should get a Cottage License so he can be paid for making these!!

Sadly, Calvin was a bit of a snot face during Sharing time in Primary and the music leader expressed her disappointment in him--which she can totally do--especially because he was playing at her house the day before. He wasn't being the example she hoped he would be. *sigh* But then, with his state math and English tests looming in the morning, Calvin asked Jake, a newly ordained Elder, if Jake would give him a blessing of comfort. Calvin pointed out that he was the first person Jake baptized and the 1st person Jake gave a blessing to. :) It was an incredibly powerful blessing, too. The Spirit was SO palpable--best Mother's Day gift. I also got a steak dinner with grilled asparagus, salad, mashed potatoes and angel food cake with fresh berries and whipped cream. Perfect!!

--JJ's project about dinosaurs. :)

--We got a notice in the mail that Cooper was receiving an honor at the high school awards assembly. We were definitely intrigued. They give awards out for perfect attendance (nope--missed for Grandpa's funeral the first week of school) and straight As (not that either, but he has good grades!). He and I were stumped. While he's a good student, we couldn't think of any particular class where he felt really strong in. Turns out it was chorale! Wow! As a freshman, in a class with incredible singers, he was selected for outstanding performance as a musician--the top student in that course at the high school. We were so surprised. What an honor!

--On Tuesday, May 15th, Jake took his Calculus AB AP test early that morning and Cooper got his bottom braces on at 8:30. Since I knew his mouth would be sore, I offered to bring him chili mac for lunch and fries and shakes for both boys. Because of Jake's test, he'd actually be available for lunch the same time as Cooper--something that would never happen ever again. They've had different lunch schedules all year.

On Tuesday night, Jake was awarded at the Track Meet as an Academic All-State Athlete. No surprise there!

--On Wednesday, the 16th, while at yoga, I got a text from President Sharp's secretary. She said, "President Sharp would like to meet with you and your husband. He says it is to discuss stake business related to your calling." I had to laugh that President Sharp (my beloved former bishop) would make sure she gave me a heads up about the meeting--perhaps so I wouldn't panic? I had been serving in the Stake Relief Society Presidency for a year, so I wondered if maybe I had done something wrong. Or maybe they were giving me a special assignment within the context of this calling. I had actually spent the past year feeling like I wasn't contributing like I should. Granted the first six months or so I was adjusting from being Relief Society President and deeply entrenched on the front lines in the lives of my sisters and ministering to them, then yanked from that to a more administrative calling, which I didn't like. I just want to serve and don't feel like I'm doing that as effectively at the stake level. So maybe I was getting released!? Jared and I ended up meeting that night. Ironically, I was already going to be at the church babysitting the kids of one of the sisters I minister to while she met with the Stake President. When it was my turn, President Roeth, was also in attendance. And I guess President Hull would have been there too, had he been in town. My goodness. How many stake presidency members does it take to meet with Jenn Hough? :) That's when I was extended the call to be the new Stake Young Women's president. And I about fell off my chair. I was so confused. President Sharp said that they struggled to decide who to call. Every name they considered didn't sit right. Then, he finally noticed the pattern used by the First Presidency a few times recently. When they call a new auxiliary president, it has been a counselor in one of the other presidencies. When he applied that pattern, he said it was like a spotlight shone right on my name. I would be working directly with President Roeth. He shared his testimony about why he knew I was the person God chose to be called to serve in this capacity at this time. I was the RS president in his ward and knew how hard I loved and served the women and what better person to teach the leaders over the Young Women, than someone who has such a powerful testimony of Relief Society and women in God's kingdom. Because of all the many changes happening with girls camp and the youth programs, they wanted a president who wasn't so currently entrenched in the young women's program that they'd have a hard time making and supporting these adjustments. I chuckled and said it had been almost two decades since I had served in YW, so I guess I was their gal. The other clincher was girls camp. It was in four weeks and they were doing what some thought was the impossible...they were going to Colorado--for a week of high adventure. They debated about calling me after camp, but the outgoing president said it would really be beneficial for me and my presidency to be at camp to have that opportunity to connect with the girls and leaders. Even though I was still reeling from this calling, I appreciated her thinking of that. I was honest and told them that I hadn't felt like I was cut out for stake callings. But in the end, I knew that President Sharp was called of God and a man of God so I couldn't say no to the calling. I felt the weight of responsibility immediately, especially not knowing what to do or where to start. Just an hour after accepting this call to serve as the new Stake YW president, I opened my Book of Mormon to where I left off, to see if I could get any inspiration about this calling and who I should recommend as my presidency. I started reading in Ether 2:16: "And the Lord said: Go to work and build." The Lord's message for me was loud and clear. "Get to work and build something special." Go forth in faith. So that's what I tried to do! I chose to retain Mindy Peterman as my first counselor (who had only been in about six months). I called Allison Dunn as my second counselor and retained Chanelle Sorensen as the secretary.

--I got some free beets from a friend and have never made them for my family. Because I don't eat them. They showed up at the dinner table occasionally when I was a child. Didn't like them then. But I decided to try roasting them and serve them that way. Jake saw the tray with the diced veggie, popped one in his mouth and said, "It's an Aggie carrot!!" Haha!!! Maroon is the color of Texas A&M. And if you try a beet raw, they do taste similar to carrots.

--This is a fascinating poem. Read it top to bottom, then bottom up.

--This is gross. I don't know what kind of spider it is, only that Calvin found it in the backyard. Nasty.

 --Pretty big, too.

--Saturday, the 19th, was Cooper's choir banquet. They served this deliciousness. Holy cow. It was amazing. Jared was out of town, Jake had to work, so Karole attended with me. Which was very handy, because I had to leave early to go pick up Karcyn from an orchestra field at 7pm. Sometimes there just aren't enough of me to go around!!

--Cooper not only got the certificate at the high school awards ceremony, he got this cool award as well.

--Jake played "Nearer My God to Thee" as a special musical  number in Sacrament meeting on the 20th. Sadly, Jared was at a work conference in New Orleans and missed it--again. Jake played that same song three years ago in Sacrament meeting, but Jared worked that Sunday and didn't hear it then either.

--At the beginning of May, our friends have Romanian friends, who, when they heard about Jake going to the Hungary/Romania mission, wanted to make him a Romanian dinner. It was such an incredible gesture. Jared and I were going to accompany him, but the original date got rescheduled and the new date conflicted with a baseball game. So Jake went alone. But he had a wonderful evening and our friends, Mark and Marylee Gally, said Jake was such a joy for their friends to be around. There was a couple from Spain who also attended. Marylee wanted to give each couple a Book of Mormon with Jake's testimony in it. Here is the Romanian Book of Mormon.

 Here is the Spanish Book of Mormon.

--On Monday, the 21st, I subbed at College Station HS in anatomy and physiology again. I met Cooper for lunch. He forgot a fork and I couldn't find one for him at school, so this is how he ate his pasta.

--It was quite the day. Turns out Calvin got in trouble at school and Karcyn was tormented by a neighbor boy right as I was trying to get ready to leave and pick up my friend for the Reign of the Judges Premiere at the movie theater in Bryan. I tried to talk to the boy and his parents after school right when it happened, but no one was home (of course). I had to sit down and talk to Calvin about his behavior and what to do when he is tempted to take justice into his own hands. I made the premiere and was grateful I could see it. I hope that it gets the funding it needs to become a full screen movie.

 Calvin received his bear award at Cub Scouts.

As well as his religious square knot--with Brother Kimber of the 3rd ward explaining the significance of that.

 There's the bear den.

 Yay for great cub scout leaders! We're super grateful for Ms. Sarah from the YSA ward.

--On Wednesday, the 23rd, Jake was receiving an award and the Senior Celebration. We went through the process of elimination with him, too. Not perfect attendance, not straight As....hmmm. We were shocked when he was recognized as the top student with outstanding performance in his AP Physics C (calculus) class. Jake loves, loves physics but it hasn't always loved him. He hasn't always or maybe even ever gotten an A in this class, so he is living proof that good grades don't always reflect hard work, dedication, passion and success. I'm so touched his teacher would recognize him for the way he's poured his heart into this class.

--On Thursday, May 24th, I was invited by President Roeth to attend a Girls Camp Meeting with the camp director and her two assistants. The camp director is Jennifer Miller--her family was the one we were on our cruise with in January! Her assistants were Linsay Jarvis (she and I spoke at the adult session of Stake Conference in December) and Kelli Kimber (she and I did preschool together and I was her RS president). Anyway, there I was, racing over to the church after leaving Cooper's choir concert early. The high councilman was also there. I felt VERY awkward just showing up. Once we sat down, President Roeth let the cat out of the bag. Everyone was so excited. Kelli let out a gasp and I turned to her and said, "I feel the exact same way." But she assured me it was a great gasp. :) These three women were very gracious and welcoming and super grateful to have me on board, so that made it an easier transition. After that meeting, there is no doubt in my mind that these women are extremely inspired!

--Jared and I had a date at the temple Friday night, 5/25. But first, Jake and Cooper and I were going to drive up to Jared's clinic so Cooper could get a CT scan done at 4pm. Based on some things Jared has seen at the office, he wondered if there wasn't more to Cooper's allergies and frequent sinus infections. Dr. Salzer (one of Jared's new bosses) came in and read the scan with us. He said that Cooper's anatomy in his nose/sinuses is definitely giving him trouble. There was a bone fused together, that should actually be unattached and open to allow air/drainage to flow through. So he recommended surgery. Fingers crossed this will help Cooper feel better. He's hard to wake up in the morning and his behavior is more often mopey and negative. Yes, he is a teenager, but how much of that, I wonder, is because he can't breath and isn't sleeping well or is feeling sick all the time. I read somewhere that people with allergies often have more emotional issues because they feel like garbage constantly. Makes sense.

--As Jared and I were headed out of the temple, I smiled at this woman below and only glanced at her as I went to greet Jared. She came up to me and said, "Don't I know you?" Then realization struck! These fine people, Monica and Dan Brewster were in my home ward in Alaska!!! Holy crazy! They live in Houston, not far from Sugar Land. Their home, miraculously was not flooded by Hurricane Harvey. What a joy to run into friends from literally another land, whom I haven't seen in 20 years.

--I had been asked to give a talk on marriage in the Hearne Branch on August 27, 2017. But Saturday night, I got a call that church was cancelled they were taking on water. It was the weekend of Hurricane Harvey. Sunday morning, church was cancelled for the entire stake. I sing in stake choir with Debbie, the wife of the Hearne Branch President, and that following April, I told her I had a talk all ready and prepared to give if they ever need me to come back. She said she'd tell her husband and before long, we had decided on Sunday, May 27th. And they wondered if we could make it a family affair. So everyone prepared to take part in the program that day. Cooper would bear his testimony on Peace in Christ, I would speak on Marriage, Karcyn, Calvin and JJ would sing "I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" for the special musical number with Jake accompanying them and then Jared would speak. When we walked in that morning, we were blasted with warm air. President Edmondson found us and quickly apologized that the A/C was out. It had to be at least 85 degrees in that small room for the chapel. This was also the day that I would be sustained as the new Stake YW President. It took almost two weeks. But I was finally official and could move forward with my presidency. We were SO HOT in Sacrament meeting. JJ actually fell asleep so he didn't actually sing. When Sacrament Meeting was over, they cancelled the rest of church. My kids were actually disappointed. They were looking forward to going to Primary and YM in the branch. So we headed home and took a picture of our Hough Day in the Hearne Branch. :)

 Later that afternoon, I met with the outgoing Stake YW President (Kandi) at 4:30, I went to the YCL (youth camp leader) meeting for camp at 6pm and a camp meeting for the adults at 7pm. Kandi informed me that they were in charge of the refreshments for next Sunday's WorldwideYouth Devotional with President Nelson. Which means it's on us now. ACK! This is the WORST possible week to be in charge of something. Monday is Memorial Day, we have a stake sister's leader meeting on Tuesday night, Thursday is the last day of school, plus there's a stake youth planning meeting that night, Jake graduates Friday night and Saturday, we're going to the temple so Jake can receive his endowment for the first time. Fortunately, I chatted with my counselors briefly that night after the camp meeting about refreshments and made a quick plan. I'd work on decorations (make it special but simple) and Allison would pick up the food. We scheduled a presidency meeting for Sunday at 5pm (the devotional would start at 7pm) so that would give us a little time to meet and then set up. Fingers crossed!!!

--On Tuesday night, I had a Sister Leaders Council meeting, then my presidency was set apart. President Sharp knew of my concerns and insecurities and I'm grateful he knows me as a person. Serving with him for a year when I was RS President was a gift and he knows me well. He gave me one of the most beautiful blessings during a setting apart that I've ever heard. I wish I had thought to record it. It was a good 5-7 minutes if not longer. He called me by name, he blessed me to go serve the way I feel inspired to and show others what a stake auxiliary presidency can do when those ideas may be foreign to them. He blessed me with all the rights, privileges and powers connected with this calling. It was so powerful, spiritually and physically, that Mindy came up to me right after and said, "Okay, can I just hug you now?" and I felt President Sharp's hands on my head loooonnng after my setting apart was over--until we got up to leave. It was a remarkable experience. Again, I just wish I remembered more of what he said.

This is my presidency: Mindy Peterman (1st counselor), Jenn Hough (president) and Allison Dunn (2nd Counselor), Chanelle Sorensen--not pictured (secretary). I love these women already!

--The next day, Wednesday, 30th, Mom and Dad and I drove to Dallas to go see my Uncle Richard who was in rehab because of cancer. He did not look well at all. But it was so wonderful to be able to visit with him and Aunt Jan.

--Thursday, May 31st--the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!! And for the first time in the FOUR years that we've lived here...school went beyond Memorial Day! Calvin was awarded with a Presidential Certificate for receiving all As his entire fourth grade year.

--Later that evening, we went to the pool to go swimming with Grandma and Grandpa. It was a gorgeous day. We had a blast! I just wish these kids didn't love chicken fighting so much. Calvin and JJ talked these two teenage boys into playing with them. Good grief. 

 Then Grandpa got involved. Calvin and JJ versus Grandpa and Karcyn. :)

 Yay!! Girls rule and boys drool!

 JJ was successful with Grandpa, too ;)

 Of course Calvin needed to get in on the Grandpa action, too!! They obliterated team Karcyn and JJ.

April 2018

--The beginning of April began with Easter Sunday on April 1st. We were all so surprised at the changes that came the night before at the Priesthood session of General Conference when our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson announced a significant restructure of the Melchizedek Priesthood quorums. The high priests and the elders quorums will now be combined into one elders quorum. As a former Relief Society president, I thought it was interesting that I had stewardship and visiting teaching routes over 80 women, but the men (EQ and HP) each only had about half that. Because of Jared's calling in the bishopric before we left Oregon, he had been ordained to the office of High Priest. At the time he said, "Well, I guess I won't ever teach in Elders Quorum again." Never say never, my friend! The joke's on Jared. :) I told him that with his new job only M-F and 8-5, that I was certain the Lord would use him in this new organization somehow.

We were floored further in conference when on Sunday afternoon, the Prophet said that we were now going to retire home teaching and visiting teaching as we know them and implement a newer, holier approach to caring for and ministering to others. Simply known as ministering. Wooo! Some really big, awesome changes! My last day as a Relief Society president (5/14/17) before I had to go to my new ward due to the boundary realignment, I shared my testimony of visiting teaching with the sisters:

Maybe I'll get struck by lightning for saying this, but sometimes I wish we could change the term visiting teaching. Yes, the ideal is to visit the sisters in their homes and share a spiritual message together. But we all know, the ideal is often times the exception than the rule because of the varied and individual circumstances of our sisters. And that's OKAY. If it were up to me, I would change the name to "monthly ministering."

Visiting teaching isn't so much about the visiting or the teaching as it is MINISTERING--which means to "attend to the needs of and take care of. To watch over and strengthen one another."

From now on, will you look at Visiting Teaching as monthly ministering? Instead of thinking, Ugh, I have to do my visiting teaching, I hope you will approach it instead as--what can I do to minister or watch over and strengthen my sisters this month? And in the process of making these sisters a priority in your life, you will become and help others become true followers of Jesus Christ.

Many people want to feel like they are making a difference and contributing to their community or society. To that, Sisters, I would say, "Lift where you stand." You needn't look any farther than your visiting teaching route to make a difference. I hope and pray you will be "moved to treat one another as more important than yourself." (Pres. Uchtdorf)

It's nice to know I was on the right track when, as a final message to them, I encouraged my sisters to catch the vision of ministering to those they are assigned to.

--This was our first Easter without Easter baskets and no one said anything. I was grateful for the added focus on the Savior that weekend.

--JJ offering to be our waiter for any needs we might have while we were in the upstairs game room.

--Karole came out to visit us before Conference for the week for a little getaway before she moves out to College Station for good! Calvin serving as a footstool for someone's heavy stinky feet. Jake's I think.  :)

--The kids had April 2nd off (as part of Easter weekend). The big boys went and got hair cuts and saw "Pacific Rim." I went and got a pedicure with Karole and then we and Jared went to see the movie "I Can Only Imagine." Incredible story!

--Speaking of INCREDIBLE--look at this beautiful piece of artwork, oozing with love and friendship. It was painted by my talented friend, Natassia Scoresby. I have never seen such a magnificent picture of the San Diego Temple where Jared and I were married. The sunset is just gorgeous. I couldn't wait for us to change the living room configuration so we could hang this up on the wall above the TV.

--On the 4th, Jake had a district track meet in Bryan, during the day, so I went to go see him. There was a slight chill in the air, but the sun was out and that felt good. This kid is so impressive. He just up and decides after talking to his cousins that he wants to give pole vaulting a try his senior year! I guess runners make good pole vaulters! I don't know how high the bar is here, but I love seeing his form from frame to frame.  It's a lot more impressive when you click from picture to picture on the computer and can actually "see" him move. :) He PR'd that day at 11ft. And...as it turns out, I also torched my forehead while at the meet. *sigh* Perhaps I will learn one of these days.

--Friday, April 6th, I took the plunge and fulfilled my first job as a substitute teacher! In anatomy and physiology of all places! I was a little scared, but these cute guys promised to have my back and gave me hugs when they saw me in the hall. Jake said hi and chatted with me as long as he could between classes but later admitted with a chuckle that it was a little strange having me there and Cooper was happy to tell anyone that I was his mom. I actually expected those reactions in reverse. It was a fun day though. I also learned that, despite my reservations about teaching at the high schools, this is where it's at. If you don't like the kids, you get a new batch every 50 minutes. You get lunch AND a conference period. You don't have to tie shoes, deal with tattling, walk them to art or PE, or do recess duty. I have seen the error of my ways and I am definitely going to work more at the high schools. (Notice my toasted forehead from two days earlier!)

Calvin on deck getting ready to bat. His yellow shoes make it easier to spot him!

 Got a hit! But got out a first. :(

--Our friend, Tim Smart and his sons, Colby and Jacob, love baseball. When Calvin expressed an interest in baseball, Jared reached out to Tim to see if he wouldn't mind working with Calvin a little bit. Tim was more than happy to share his expertise and referee/umpire tips and spent several afternoons in our neighborhood to help get Calvin ready for his tryouts. As luck would have it, there were several storms before and during the days of tryouts so the city ditched that idea and did a draft instead. We were still very grateful for Tim's willingness to help Calvin and this is the thank you letter Calvin wrote. 

--On Sun. the 8th, we attended church with the Caldwell Branch as part of my duties in the Stake Relief Society. As we pulled up to the small building, I heard one of the little kids as, "Where's the church?" When we introduced ourselves, the YW's president explained to Karcyn that I went and visited her daughter in the hospital when she was really sick (when our family was in Temple for the day) and they both really appreciated the visit. Karcyn replied, "Yeah--that sounds like my mom. She's always serving everyone." (Awww...so sweet of her to say that!)

--The new fridge, whose lifetime will hopefully be beyond two years after purchase. It's going to take me a little time to get used to a side by side again (and not the fridge on top, freezer on the bottom).

The only reason I was able to do a side by side is because we have this second fridge in the garage and it has wide shelves with a place for me to put platters or cookie sheets. My plan is to have all of Karcyn's GF foods in the freezer in the garage. And all of the foods/ingredients for dinners or planned recipes in the coming week, in this fridge. Out of sight, out of mind. There are also water bottles and gatorade and extra condiments in this fridge. Should work out splendidly!

--I don't know why I took this picture of a picture, but it was such a great memory from swimming with dolphins in Cozumel, Mexico back in January that I decided to include it. :)

--The second week in April was taking us into practices for the  End of Course and AP exams. On the 10th, Jared had jury duty. Annnnnd, he was selected. First time ever for that. He's willing to do his civic duty, but he wasn't a month into his new job and now he has to be absent for who knows how long. It was a set back he wasn't anticipating. We also got family pictures that night and I begged him to please smile and not be grumpy. :) After our family pictures, my friend Jamie, took graduation and mission pictures for Jake. We were up at the George Bush Library and I stole this picture when she was showing Jake some of the shots she got of him. :) He's wrapped up in his Hungarian Flag.

--On the 11th, Jared had Jury Duty, Karcyn got to go see "A Wrinkle in Time" at the movie theater with her school before having fun at Fieldhouse Sports and Cooper got braces. This is his before pic.

--Later that day, I heard a loud thud--like something fell or got slammed into the house. Like a big ball or something. I went and investigated outside, but didn't see anything. After school, the boys were trying to open up the garage from the outside and the door wouldn't work. THAT'S what fell! It came loose from it's spring coil up over the garage and thunked the 1/2 inch to the ground. But dang...one more broken thing to fix! Jake needs to hurry up and go on his mission, so Satan will stop trying to dissuade us. 

--On the 12th, Jared had jury duty again and I took my second ever sub job for Amber Neidig, in JJ's kindergarten class. JJ did great. This is his second year in kindergarten because of his speech (we put him in a year early as a mega young 5 to get more speech practice, then retained him to be where we really wanted him) and Amber loves him. He's a great student and a leader in every way, for which she's most grateful. I was a little worried about Kinder, but I know the teacher AND I've volunteered in that room weekly, so I know the kids and they're a cute bunch--a good group actually. But man, it's hard when they all want to talk to you at the same time. I got a little behind in the morning while we got used to each other and I laid down the law. But we did the core things Amber wanted. After lunch though was NUTS. Kids were saying they were going to throw up, a couple were crying, I lost one in the bathroom! Haha! But we survived. Man!! I totally forgot how DRAINING teaching is and I'm not even the regular teacher. Woo doggie. And later that day, the jury actually deliberated from 3-8pm and it was a mistrial.

--On Friday, the 13th, Calvin got sick during the night, twice. I was supposed to sub that day in art at the high school (I was trying to cram in as many jobs as I could because I was supposed to do at least 5 jobs before the end of school--which I didn't know about when I got trained the beginning of March.) I had to call in and cancel that job at the last minute and felt AWFUL about it.

--Cooper is posing in this picture because of his awesome "parking job" with the suburban. I'll give him credit. Parking a big vehicle is not easy. He's mostly on the left side. :)

--On Saturday, 14th, I bummed a ride with Natassia and her family to Brenham so we could do the Blue Bell Fun Run 5K. Her kids were doing the kid run. Jared was going to meet me there at the finish line. It was FREEZING. So dang cold. And that course was tough with steep hills. I didn't stop once, but Natassia pulled far ahead of me. Good for her, too! She's much stronger than me. Fortunately, you come down a hill to the finish line and then eat your choice of ice cream. Which I'm not totally fond of. But after running a 5K (in 35:12--not bad for my first hilly 5K in a while) I was going to get my ice cream. I got a medal too. I didn't hear anyone shouting my name or cheering me on. I tried to look for Natassia (who was my ride if I couldn't find Jared). I didn't have my phone, so I was stuck trying to sift through all those people to find someone I knew. As I was working on my second small cup of gatorade, it started hailing!! I finally saw the Scoresbys with Jared and Calvin facing the finish line. I walked up next to Jared and said, "Hey." He turned and said, "Hey." And then, "Heeeyy!!! We were watching for you and didn't see you. We were starting to get worried." Turns out I was only 2 minutes behind Natassia. I guess I was faster than they thought. :)

--This is the picture of the display where The Greatest Showman DVDs were--a day or two after being released. CLEANED OUT. No surprise there!

--Tis the month for more end of school year testing, getting sports physicals, field trips and baseball.

--On Wed. the 18th, I subbed a second time for Amber Neidig in JJ's Kindergarten class. It actually went pretty good. The first round of literacy stations kind of failed (not sure why) but they redeemed themselves after CAMP (Computer Art Music PE). There were lots of good things--I got into my groove a little better that day and several kids improved from the week before. JJ and another boy, however did not. I wrote in both their folders (indicating to their parents of the inappropriate behaviors after repeated warnings.) Amber was shocked I had to write in JJ's folder. She wondered if he thought his mom wouldn't do that. I told her I didn't know what he was thinking, but at least I can't be accused of nepotism! I also feel bad about writing up the other kid, because I feel like he wouldn't do that for Mrs. Neidig. She told me not to worry about it at all because he WAS totally testing me.

--Friday, April 20th, Jake and Coop left right from school to the church to go to Youth Conference. The theme is: "Peace in Christ" like the mutual theme provided by The Church for 2018. Jake was a member of the Stake Youth Committee and played a big part in planning this event. In fact, he and Cooper left early for the conference with Sister Peterman (a counselor in the Stake YW) and her son because Jake needed to help set up. They got back late Saturday night and had a good time! There were a couple of small mishaps...like they got lost trying to get there (up around Dallas) because of traffic and construction. But that wasn't anyone's fault. Jake also left his shorts and wallet there because he was so busy trying to help gather everyone else and everyone else's stuff. Fortunately, we were able to reach the owners of the property and they mailed his stuff back to him, free of charge. SO SO KIND!!! Jake is super lucky! 

--Saturday the 21st, former First Lady, Barbara Bush was laid to rest at the George Bush Library about 15 minutes up the road from our house. One of the streets leading to the library is now called Barbara Bush Drive. 

--Sunday, the 22nd, I spoke in my former ward (College Station 3rd) as a high council speaking companion. The topic was on Receiving the Savior's Power in the Temple--which I thought was most fitting considering that was THE VERY DAY that the Houston Temple was being rededicated after being damaged in Hurricane Harvey. I challenged everyone there to rededicate themselves to worshipping in the temple more or to prepare themselves to go or at the very least, go to the temple grounds. The spirit is so tangibly different just on the grounds. 

--The last week in April there were more field trips, more end of testing and AP test reviews. Jake's physics class got their AP E&M (electricity and magnetism) practice tests back. You want a 5 or 4 for college credit. Some colleges might even take 3. But not BYU. The teacher asked if anyone got a 5. No one raised their hands. A 4? No hands. A 3? Only one person. It was Jake. Needless to say, everyone needs to do some more studying. It was Jake's free response that carried him through. He gets the process but isn't quite proficient yet. 

--Jake had lifeguard orientation happening at the end of April and was notified by his track coach that he made Academic All Star Athlete (super high grades as a track athlete) and learned he is graduating Magna Cum Laude. 

--Jared was traveling to places like Columbus (near Brenham) for the ENT docs, there was also baseball. Loved the beautiful backdrop in these pictures of Calvin up to bat.

And he got on first base!

Making his way to third base!

--Calvin raced a recycled pinewood derby car. We applaud his resourcefulness considering we only got the car kit ONE WEEK before the race. He came in dead last every time (this is my LEAST favorite cub scout activity), but what evs. 

--JJ had purchased a dinosaur book with a model of T-Rex skeleton. The bones were pretty tiny and of course, not super stable. But he knew exactly who to go to for some extra help. JJ loves his big brother Jake so much.

--I subbed two more times before the end of April--a half day in a freshman biology class (they were crazy) and all day in an honors geography class (much better behaved!). Jared and I also went out to 40 Tempura for dinner--which is where I had wanted to go on my 40th birthday, but Jared had other plans in place when his parents were in town. We went to Maddens instead (which was much classier--and more expensive, but delicious!)

--As soon as I heard the Houston Temple was going to be rededicated on 4/22/18, I told Jared THAT was what I wanted for my birthday--to go to the temple! I have missed it SOOOOO much. And we had been going there every month. I definitely felt a hole where those special feelings and protection and elevation used to be. What a joy to be there again after being without it for eight long months.

--On the 29th, Calvin was reading a scripture in the Book of Mormon. Instead of valiantly, he said "violently" and instead of toiled he said "toileted." Haha!!

--A child, who shall remain nameless, was stomping up the stairs in anger and threw his elbow into the wall. I don't think he expected to leave a hole there. To his credit, he was very sorry and did what he could to patch it up.