Hope

The kids had their dentist appointments last week. All came out with no cavities and clean / shiny teeth. I had Jemma that day so I got to wrangle a wiggly toddler for a longer than expected appointment; thankfully the other three were immersed in their movies the Dentist put on.  This last week was the end of the semester. We're half way through the school year! Both met their reading goals and both are looking forward to Art that starts up this week. 

Casey's back into the swing of school and coaching. He's had five games these past couple of weeks and four more to go before his girls are done. He's still got injured players and his practices and games are filled with trying to work with / without them. It's been one of the most "injuries" in a season that he's ever had. Casey's rolling along in the school year. Besides kids being defiant with masks and sometimes having a rowdy fourth period he's doing good and enjoying his classes / students this year! He's won a few games here and there, but mostly just hopes to end the season on a good note. 

I am rolling along with life. Kids, home life, and Young Women's. My days are full, my sanity is a roller coaster = life. It's fun having Kendal in my young women's group! I'm so lucky to be her first YW leader! I had a training a couple of weeks ago with the Stake. Young Women's is so very different than when I was in it. The girls work on their own goals, they are supposed to take over the church lessons, and activities. (Being the youngest group, we leaders help a lot and have only had a few girls step up and take on activities all on their own.) We as leaders are a support system to help these ladies see / gain their potential as amazing daughters of God! I'm also upset over our extra hard drive crashing a few weeks ago. It has all of our photos from 2006 on. With our laptop crashing last summer I lost every photo I had there also. So I took it into best buy with no luck. They sent it off to some special tech place so I'm hoping and praying I can get those sweet memories restored and back! 

Kendal is in between sports so she has more free time lately. She still has piano, but she gets to fill her afternoons with friends more often these past couple of weeks. She is so social and is loving this down time. Kendal had an orthodontist appointment last week. She's got a few more teeth to loose and gain before she's ready, but it's looking like this summer or fall could start her braces journey. She's made personal goals for herself through the young women / youth program. While a couple are going well she has some work to do on her others. She also crushed and doubled her AR goal. She's working on a special readers award this year and is reading different books to hopefully get it. 

Peter is our busy kiddo these days. He came back from the break to find out his teacher has throat cancer. She is out for the next few months (probably the rest of the school year). She's got surgeries and chemo a head of her. We hope the best for her and pray for her recovery daily. He's got basketball going and we decided to put him in the literacy group that goes after school T / Th till mid march. We're also still trying to have him gain more independence and take charge of his school work. So instead of me pushing / prodding / fighting with him for many hours every day to do homework; it's on his shoulders. This is definitely going to take time and Peter gets to learn sometimes we fail when we don't try. Peter had his first basketball game this past Saturday! His team is the Warriors. They played a good game and Peter did a wonderful job in the game. He was such a great defender and did well in his offence rolls. Casey and I did laugh though on how when he got the ball he tended to go all around the court rather than going into the basket. It was a close game, however the other team pulled out a couple of three's toward the end and ended up winning by two. 

Alice is back in her little groove with Mom. She's happy on days we have Jemma over (even if it's sill a love / argue relationship) because it means a play mate. They play with all of the dress up and go through every outfit multiple times a day. She's obsessed with her dolls, and has enjoyed her calico critters more since her birthday. She's still doing preschool with me, but she has less enthusiasm for the work book theses days. 

  

 Kendal's friends Brook and Meadow lost their father a little over a week ago. It was very sudden passing and quite sad. Kendal and I went to the funeral for him (Tex Vernig). We pray for Dana and her girls and hope they have angels to bless and comfort them at this time. We also have some family members in the midst of trials with life / health. The kids have noticed our prayers to bless ill / down / suffering family and friends who are in need of help have grown a lot. It's hard to explain it all to the kids but we continue to pray, fast, and hope for the best possible outcomes in all situations. I've also grown in my appreciation for God's plan and the knowledge and blessings I have of eternal families along with the gospel and it's light. To add more to life we are apart of an ever chaotic world; between covid and political unrest our worldly issues are very daunting these days. 

 Hope is a big thing for me / us right now. I've had a lot on my mind with hopes for this year, and my family. That hope has shifted and turned outward to the many around me who need hope in their own lives. I'm so grateful for the gift of hope it's a light at the end of a tunnel, it's a rainbow after a storm, it goes hand in hand with faith; most importantly it's something that I can hold on tight to and share with others.