February Wrap Up

 

When living in colder climates, I used to hate February.  It was always the longest month of the year for me.  Now we savor the time enjoying the nice outside weather, because by June, we'll be hibernating away from the heat.  We've had a busy, fun, active month.  Life continues to fly by ever so quickly.  I say it all the time... but this stage in life is just going at lightning speed.  I am doing my best to enjoy the moments and connect as often as possible with the most important people in my life.

  

 

 

P-Terry's lunch date

 

President's Day Breakfast

I was so excited to receive a text on a Monday morning that my friend was serving up pancakes and invited us for breakfast.  It was a perfect way to start a much needed day off from school.
 

King Cake

Tyler's new job has him traveling to all sorts of exotic destinations- like Louisiana.  He is always thoughtful to bring home special goodies.  This is called a King Cake that they make for Mardi Gras.  There is a baby Jesus hidden in the cake and whoever bites into that piece gets to buy next year's cake.



 

Brazil Presentation

Mariah was super excited when she pulled Brazil out of the hat for their cultural fair.  She decided to dress her paper doll as a soccer player and was happy to brag that they have won 5 World Cups- the most of any other country. 



High School Basketball Game

Basketball, of course!

Monthly temply trip to San Antonio

Exciting project under way.  Stay tuned for finished product.  Tyler is the man!

High School production of Hello Dolly. 

Day of Love

Valentines Day has evolved into a family affair.  In years past when the kids were tinies, Tyler and I could hardly wait to have an excuse for some time away together and enjoy a quiet meal.  The day has finally come that our oldest can babysit, which is flippin' awesome. We have definitely taken advantage of this and have enjoyed dating without having to forego dessert, because half our paycheck is going to the sitter.

 

What I'm trying to say is... V-day is a family day. 

 

Class Parties



Spreading the love to neighborhood friends
 

 

A few years ago, when Tyler was traveling on V-Day and we were all bummed, we decided that there may be some others who might feel lonely on this day.  Since then, we've enjoyed dropping off goodies to friends who could use a little love.  This year we made homemade fortune cookies and took our best buddies with us to deliver them. For the recipe to these easy and yummy treats, go to melskitchencafe.com

This year it was a miracle that dad could be with us.  There were cheers all around.

 



 

One great thing about growing kids, is that they start to return the love in their own special ways.  Loved this cute poem from Mariah!

Tourneys

Mariah was invited to play in a soccer tournament on Jan. 19th.  She was excited to dust off her cleats since last fall and join some of her favorite teammates.  We had beautiful weather and enjoyed spending the day outside cheering our girl on. 

 

Despite the tears and shame of some of her friends, they did a fantastic job.  They placed 2nd, only losing to a boys team in the finals.

 

 

Yesterday Logan had a day of basketball tourneys.  Logan leads the team as the starting point guard and has a killer dribble and shot.  He has really risen to be a leader and is always pumping his teammates up and giving them encouragement.  Above any victory he may have, seeing him be a good friend and leader makes me the most proud.

 

 

Participting in sports has been a fun blessing for our family.  It has also been more challenging than I imagined.  Aside from the busy schedules and the extreme competitiveness of the sports, we have had to constantly defend our decision to not participate on Sundays.  This is a personal decision for our family, and I am grateful it is one we made before kids ever came, because it has been very difficult to stand by that at times.  Mariah has had to give up her beloved soccer because we could no longer avoid the Sunday games.  Spring will be the first season she will not be playing, and it makes me sick to my stomach.  Logan is missing today's tournament, and unfortunately, no matter how well they did on Saturday, Sunday is always the day that determines who the champions will be.  He has never experienced a tournament victory with his team. 

 

I am grateful that my kids have been supportive of our decision.  I know it is a huge sacrifice for them.  Even though I know some of my kids would play given the option, I appreciate that they truly have never complained or fought with us about it.  And so far, even though we know our coaches don' t love our decision, they have not treated our kids any differently.  I'm so thankful for that!

 

Logan's Last Primary Talk

One of the greatest perks of raising children in the Mormon church is the opportunities they have to begin learning and teaching the gospel at a very young age.  Beginning at age 3, children are given the assignment to read a scripture, pray, or even give a talk in front of all the primary kids.  It is an advantageous practice to learn public speaking and prepare for missions.

Our Deacon learning to tie
 

Logan was asked to give a talk on his last Sunday in primary.  He has been preparing his own talks for some time, but I thought I would publish his last one:

"Hi my name is Logan.  I was asked to talk about being a child of God.  In "I'm a Child of God", the song, it talks about the blessings he gave us when we came to Earth.  It also tells us that we have big blessings in store for us and if we stay worthy and in the church, we can return to him once more for all eternity.  1st Nephi 11:17 states, "And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children..."  Just before Nephi had said this, an angel had descended out of heaven to talk to Nephi.  The angel had asked Nephi, "Knowest thou the condescension of God?"  Nephi didn't know the condescension of God, but he did know that God loved the children and things would work out for them.  D &C 50:41 states, "Fear not, little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome the world, and you are of them that my father hath given me."  I like this scripture because Jesus is telling the kids to not be afraid of him, because he died for them and he overcame the world for them.  He also wants to teach the children so they can know the gospel when they are older.  He doesn't want them going right past him, he wants to teach them so they can have a better life.  And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."