Week 85

 Dear Scott,

Gracie is 16!  Since we had her party over the weekend, the day was pretty typical, with donuts for breakfast, school, taco salad and cheesecake for dinner (I made it and the strawberry topping, and they were good!!!), and a Court of Honor for Scouts that night.

The Young Women "heart attacked" her during the Court of Honor, and she appreciated their notes.  They are right, too--she is pretty amazing.

I also had my last Emotional Resilience class, and we met in person, which I definitely prefer.  It was a good class, with some great ladies.

On Wednesday I cut up the Indian hawthorn bushes (the shrubs in front of our house) which died during the snow.  We were hoping they'd come back, but there are dead ones all over DFW, and none are reviving.  We kind of like the look without them, so we'll see what we do.

Dad left for Utah on Thursday for Shaelyn's wedding, and I had a crazy afternoon!  After preschool, I went to do a food order for a sister out in Nevada.  Then, as soon as Benson got home from school, I had to pick up Emma early (she has a free period at the end of the day) to get her prom dress, which had been altered perfectly.  Then Tessa needed to be picked up from an after school band practice, and then Gracie missed the bus, so I had to go get her.  Caytie was at a tennis tournament at the high school, so I went to watch her (she ended up with the last group!), and we made it home in time for making and eating a quick dinner, and then Benson and I made it over to the school for his first in-person Pack Meeting since COVID restrictions started.  FYI, the black car is in its second week in the shop (and its prognosis is not great), so even if we had a second licensed driver (hopefully SOON!), there was not another car available to use to help out.

Emma's formal was Saturday night, at the Hembree's property.  They had dinner, played games and danced, and afterward, she and some friends went to IHOP for pancakes.  She said it was  a lot of fun.  I'm so glad they made this happen for the youth in the Stake!  She'll also be going to her school prom in May.

Benson was able to go to a Cub Scout camp with his friend Cameron and his parents.  They had a great time fishing, BB gun shooting, horse riding, etc.  It did rain on them during the night, so they were cold and ready to come home, but otherwise had fun.

We had a fireside for the youth in our backyard on Sunday evening.  When we got this house and I saw all the space we have for parking in the front, I envisioned having firesides here.  I'm glad it's happening!  PS--we've been in our home for 12 years now, and in Texas for 16. 😮

We've been talking about plants in preschool this month, and everyone planted some flower seeds.  I planted four seeds in this pot on the same day, with the same soil, and have watered them daily.  One sprouted quickly and has grown very tall and looks healthy.  The second is slower and shorter, but still healthy.  The third to sprout is still small and a little withered.  The fourth never sprouted.  There are a lot of parallels you can make with this, but I thought in the context of missionary work, we can see that there are people who are ready and willing to accept the gospel and will sprout no matter what you do or don't do.  There are others who take their time to grow, but still progress well.  There are some who need a lot of help along the way, and may wither, but can eventually become strong.  There are some who will never grow, no matter what you do or don't do.  Our part is to keep the soil healthy and give them water and sunlight.  The rest is up to the Lord and His seedlings.

We love and miss you, Scott!  Keep up the good work and the good attitude.  You're learning so many valuable things, even when you don't see it happening.  Expect miracles, Elder!

Love,

Mom

PS--here's Shaelyn's reception

Week 84

 Dear Scott,

For FHE on Monday we went over to a field of Bluebonnets to take some pictures and enjoy the beautiful weather at the lake.  Benson was not impressed with the activity, but the rest of us had a good time.

Some people started an "adopt a senior" program last year due to the quarantine and decided to do it again this year, so we signed Emma up, and she was given a box of giant Crumbl cookies.  They're opening a store here in Wylie soon, along with Jamba Juice, so I guess we're set now.  She was willing to share some bits with us, and they were really good.

Benson has enjoyed his "Book of Things to Do," which he got for his birthday.  (I tell him to get it whenever he tells me he's bored.)  After school on Friday he made a catapult.  (It helps that I have a billion craft supplies for preschool.).  It took some tweaking, but now can throw a marshmallow a good distance.

Friday was also Gracie's birthday party!  She opted to have a movie night, so they started with games, hamburgers, and cupcakes, and then headed outside where we set up a screen and they watched "A Quiet Place."  It had been raining all morning, and a few days prior, but it stopped in time for the party.  It was a little chilly, but they wrapped up in blankets and were fine.

Dad had his big weekend for work.  Everything went super smoothly for Friday, and he finished up at midnight.  On Saturday, someone changed the gateway and it backed a lot of things up, so he started working in the afternoon, and didn't sleep until the wee hours of the morning, and then had to work on Sunday until about 2 pm.  Thankfully they did complete what they were trying to do.  One more big weekend of this left (I believe), though he'll be out of town for this one.

Last week I cleared out the garden of weeds (finally!) so we got some peat moss and little plants and Dad put them in the dirt, so we'll see what we get!  I also went to my book club and had a presidency meeting and preschool (yay--everyone's plants sprouted!) and took Emma to get her prom dress altered.

We talked about a lot of good things in our Zoom Sunday School lesson.  Section 38:7 says, "Verily, verily I say unto you that mine eyes are upon you.  I am in your midst and ye cannot see me."  I thought it was a good reminder that even though we can't see Him, He's there.  Always.

We love you, Scott!  Have an amazing week. 

Love,

Mom

Week 83

 Dear Scott,

My dad turned 75!  He and my mom are getting their mission papers ready again, and hope to go somewhere with warm winters.  They say they are not old yet, which means that I am not yet, either.  

Tuesday was also Scouts.  They're getting close to actual cooking for the cooking merit badge!  They had some extra time at the end and enjoyed playing outside in the beautiful weather.  (Picture is the cup game.  I learned that on my mission as the "African Cup Game," and was disappointed when I returned to find that everyone also already knew it.)

We had the missionaries over for dinner on Wednesday.  They're good teachers and share relevant messages whenever they're here.  They gave Dad a blessing to help with the stress of his job, which will be increasing until the migration is complete.  He had to work late after Youth Activities that night.

Thursday was Cub Scouts.  It's an active group of boys, for sure, but they all seem to love coming.  Dad is patient with them. :)

On Friday I took Gracie and Caytie to a card making class and the rest of the kids and I went to a graduation party for our friend.  Dad had to work until about 4 am.  Since his office is in our bedroom, I stayed up watching movies.  He had to get back to work early the next morning, and I had a welfare training Zoom meeting (though I realized after it was mostly complete that I already had all the information).  Dad took a break and went to pick up our Expedition, which was finally done, and drop off the black car, to fix the doors which wouldn't open easily.   We did a big spring clean of bedrooms and bathrooms.  We got done by the afternoon, and so I took the kids to the neighborhood Spring Fling.  By then, though, most of the games had been finished, and the cake walk was cancelled, and the BBQ sold out, but we got to talk with some friends and spend too much on Dippin' Dots and throw fake axes at an inflatable target.  That evening Dad told his work that he needed a break, so we were able to go to a friend's birthday party, where we got wings and then went bowling.  It was so fun to bowl again with adults (sorry, kids), and we both broke 100 both games, so we were happy.  It was a good evening, though Dad's phone was going crazy once we finished, so he had to get back to work as soon as we got home.  I thought I'd stay up with him again, but as soon as I layed (lay? laid?) down, I fell asleep.  He worked until after 2, and was up again working at 6, but thankfully was able to get things in place to go to church with us.

Church was good--we were reminded to trust in the Lord.  They announced that other wards in our Stake are starting 2 hour church, but since it's required to have 30 minutes between wards, and we have 4 wards in our building, we won't be able to do that yet.  But if our numbers can stay below 5% infection rate, we will be able to overlap wards, and therefore be able to have 2 hour church.  We're hoping that happens soon!  We get to sing again, too ("quietly into a mask"), which we had started but had to stop.  We had a RS Zoom lesson after church on President Nelson's talk from October 2020 "Embrace the Future with Faith."  He talked about being prepared (physically, emotionally, temporally, spiritually) and having faith instead of fear in the metaphorical earthquakes of our lives.  It was the 5th anniversary of the Wylie Hail Storm, so it was interesting to reflect on what we've learned and how we've prepared since then.  I was outside during the lesson and kept hearing thuds from behind our fence, so afterward I went to see the horse that lives back there.  He looked happy.

Dad slept for most of the day (finally) and got to go to bed at a normal hour (finally).   This coming weekend is supposed to be the biggest part of the migration, so he's going to work to have everything in place to make it happen.  There will still be work after this, but he says it's the top of the hill, so things should begin to taper off.

We're excited to hear about your new area (again)!  We love you and miss you and pray for you all the time.  Expect miracles, Elder!

Love,

Mom

Caytie's artwork from the online Celebrate the Arts show:

Gracie's artwork from the show:

Emma's senior pictures:

Week 82

 Dear Scott,

This is a week for a short letter because 1) it's late and 2) I'm tired!  I have tried to be conscious about how I use my downtime (aka: trying not to binge on Facebook) and have been more productive with my time.  I would like to keep it going.  Dad has had another week full of critical deadlines and problem solving and overtime, and has a lot of stress to go along with that.

Monday-- so full of errands!  And laundry!  And dishes!  Hooray!  We dropped off the Expedition to get a window repaired, and they found a list of other things that needed work.

Tuesday-- preschool and emotional resilience class.  Dad cancelled Scouts because he was still working. 

Wednesday-- more errands, including sending your birthday package(!).  I started delivering Easter cookies to Relief Society sisters.  I have the Josephine/Nevada/Royce City route again.  I was out for an hour and a half and only got to 5 houses before heading home to take the girls to Young Women's (only one car still).  I delivered a few more while they were there, but everyone wanted to chat, so I didn't make it as far as I thought I would.

Thursday-- April Fools Day, and also my preschool Easter party, and also Caytie's tennis match, and also Benson ate with a friend who would be missing his birthday party the next day and wanted to celebrate with him, and also Tessa had a friend over for dinner with us.  I made a "cake" (bisquick with pizza sauce and sausage inside and mozzarella slices on top, in a Bundt pan) and "soup" (orange colored pudding) and "toast" (slices of pound cake).  None of it looked good enough to fool anyone, but it was fun and tasted good.  I delivered a big portion of the RS Easter cookies with Dad, who needed a work break.

Friday-- no school for Good Friday!  The girls spent the morning helping me create Benson's vision for a cake--half MInecraft and half Pokemon.  I couldn't have done it in time without their help!  It was buttercream frosting, and homemade fondant decorations.  His party was from 4-7, and they (those invited and a couple neighbors) spent most of the time on the bounce house, except to eat pizza, cake, and ice cream, to open gifts, and to play a little on the Switch.  They were exhausted by the end, and left with smiles, so that was good!

Saturday--Benson's 9th birthday!  Since he got enough toys from friends, we gave him a Tinker Crate subscription--a box to build something will come for six months.  He spent the morning making and using the first one, which was a spin art machine.  It was also our Easter basket day, so everyone found those and basically ate candy for breakfast, along with Benson's requested Toaster Strudel, and then General Conference filled most of the rest of the day.  We finally got some Easter eggs dyed. I finished my RS Easter deliveries, with Gracie and Caytie helping out.

Sunday--Easter and General Conference!  I love it when they are on the same day.  The messages about Christ and hope through His Atonement were so beautiful.  We were thrilled to hear temples being announced in Belgium, Cape Town, and Eugene--our missions!  Joseph, Melanie, and their kids came between sessions and we had ham, potatoes, salad, deviled eggs, etc. together.  (We were supposed to go there, but our car is not done yet!)

Monday-- no school again!  Kids took it slow while I prepped for the week.  Dad's still working hard, but they're all learning better how to meet the demands before them.

Well, this may not have been much shorter after all...  We love you, Scott!  You're doing a great work, even while quarantined in your apartment.  It's amazing how the Lord can use His missionaries in effective ways.  Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Mom