Lots of Little Things

There have been a few things I've failed to record about this week......

The good news is that Stephen finished week one of his first semester at BYU-Idaho. The other news is he has 14 more weeks to go. Notice I used the word "other" instead of "bad." It's all about attitude!

The semester ended for the kids. Kaitlyn, as usual, had the highest grades this term, but the other kids did really well. Stephen & I went to Parent Teacher Conference for Emily & Hannah, & I had a startling realization... I am getting OLD! Hannah's teacher is a very sweet, dedicated YOUNG woman. She just graduated from BYU last year. Her teaching methods are very textbook. For instance, she is concerned that Hannah's reading level is above average, but her spelling test scores are average. She thinks that since her reading level is so high, her spelling scores should be too. I am not as concerned. Emily has had teachers (usually brand new) that have had the same concerns, and other teachers (who have taught for 10+ years) that aren't as concerned. They have told me spelling comes with time & practice. So, I just nodded my head politely, & listened to her suggestions. I asked to see Hannah's free write journal, & was pleased to see that words like "friend" and "family" were spelled right, but the word "their" was misspelled as "thir". I think Hannah just feels rushed during spelling tests & that it why she makes so many mistakes. Anyway, I am glad I'm getting old & I don't take everything a teacher says to heart like I used to in my younger days!

Jonathan & Kaitlyn both started playing Church ball this weekend. Jonathan loves all sports & Kaitlyn loves basketball the most. I'm glad they are enjoying themselves.

Today was Church. I admit, I didn't want to go. My body does not like this cold weather, & I woke up stiff & achy. I just wanted to snuggle down in my nice, warm bed & sleep. I thought of a lot of justifications & convinced myself not to go. But, then I decided it wasn't a good example to the kids, so I got up. We were late again, argh! And of course there were a lot of visitors due to Kyle Davis speaking before he leaves on his mission, so we had to sit on the front row! But, I am glad I went. The second speaker was a young lady who had just returned from her mission & she directed her comments toward the young women. She spoke about how Heavenly Father loves us individually & doesn't compare us to others, so we shouldn't either. She also shared an experience where she was very upset with someone over some hurtful comments someone had made about a friend. She prayed to forgive & felt peace, Kaitlyn had similar experiences this week, comparing herself to other girls, & getting mad at a friend who said something mean to another friend. I was glad I was there to hear the talk, & nudge her, & say, "this talk was for you."

Jonathan was ordained as a priest today in priest quorum. It was neat to witness. Stephen ordained him, but all the boys in the quorum stood in the circle. Jonathan is blessed to have such good friends in his quorum!

All in all, it's been a busy, but good week. Beauty & the Beast, Jr starts on Tuesday & we are excited to see Kaitlyn perform!