It's been a crazy month of rain and cold weather. In Seattle, it snowed for days! Grammy was so bored of staying inside that she finally went out and built a snowman:) We had to cancel our year end soccer parties and reschedule for March. But we enjoyed the extra family time and especially had an awesome ski week off from school, despite the rain AND snow on our trip to ski! More on that later. We really enjoyed hosting an indoor gathering this past month for Issac Miller, our dear friend who was trying to earn his eagle by tying blankets to donate to the Gently Hugged foundation. We had friends over for dinner and service! It was so fun to work together and help Issac accomplish this huge goal.
Dane's birthday was a total blast. His biggest gift was having the day with Braxton and Grandma at Disneyland. That was really what he wanted. The kid has plenty of money, so he wasn't very interested in gifts as much as just having a fun experience. I think he also scored a sweatshirt or two and a few little fun things from his siblings, but not much. He had fun picking dinner and entertainment and being spoiled all week. Braxton wrote him the cutest little birthday note on earth (read below). Can't believe Dane is 12. Man, time flies. I can't say enough how much I enjoy having Dane home alone in the mornings after everyone has headed off. His school starts 45 minutes after everyone else and we enjoy that time to talk and be together. This past month, Dane asked me to read the book he was assigned to read for school, out loud to him. I know, I know.... he's kinda old for this, but surprisingly, Evelyn had me do the same thing when she was in 6th and actually also in 7th while reading Tom Sawyer. Sometimes it's just easier, and of course, I jump all over that because I love reading these old classics and I know my read aloud experience will be over before I can blink an eye. So Dane and I read the book "Shooting Kabul". At first, I thought.... ho, hum. Not nearly as exciting as Tom Sawyer or Diary of Anne Frank. But oh man, let me tell you that as we rounded the corner to the end, I about cried my ever-loving eyes out. I was SO overwhelmed. It was truly such a sweet story and I did not see that ending coming. I'm writing this to say, that I hope I always remember how wonderful it has been to read with my children. I never want to forget the joy I've had as a mother--- sharing literature. I love books and love reading so much, and sharing that experience with my kids is pretty awesome. This month Dane's throat has hurt more persistently. It has made me sad. More than sad, really. I wish I could help him. I wish I had an answer for why his throat has hurt for over 3 years. I went back to the doctor and we decided we couldn't go back to ENT- he'd done everything and he said, it was not ENT related. We couldn't go back to Gastro- same. And we've done all we can with allergy specialists to no avail. So we are going to try alternative medicine with acu-pressure, not puncture. I pray this provides some relief but honestly, I feel a little without hope. I suppose he feels pain more acutely than average? I wish I knew.
Anna started gymnastics this month! She claimed this was the only activity she would participate in... after trying out soccer, dance, chorus, girl scouts and theatre-- all to no avail. She PROMISED she'd be on board with gymnastics. And she is semi- on board. But also she hates Saturday mornings because she is nervous about going. After her class, she's happy and feels good. But getting her there is a feat that exhausts both Blake and I. Why do all of my children struggle with anxiety?
So cute that Evelyn will spend so much time with Anna, especially if she's lost her phone due to poor behavior. Haha. She'll make up dance routines and dress her up for a photo shoot. I love it. They are best of friends. And speaking of best of friends, Anna has had so much fun with Millie and Nora this past month. They've come over a little more than usual and it has made Anna so very happy! Love that their little friendship has continued despite the move.
Evelyn continues to work hard at school and on her upcoming play- Aladdin. She has been spending a lot of time with her best friends- Caylie and Emma, meeting up at the mall, going to talent shows, plays, sleep overs at our house, movies, etc. But also she has spent some time with Amaya! Jen and I have enjoyed watching their friendship grow. Evelyn's month was quite busy preparing for her big science fair exhibit. Her hypothesis: The key of a song will affect mood. Oh man, I am SO happy that project is complete. I didn't mind the history fair... but science fair? That was a whole other level of commitment that I do not care to expound upon. The amount of work and blood, sweat and tears to gather the research and analyze... ugh! Science is not my thing.
Grant has had a pretty good month. I'm so proud of his progress. We still have hard days-- we definitely do. Sunday evenings and Monday mornings are the worst. But he is working hard to practice his coping skills and do his best. I feel so grateful. Beyond grateful really, that we have moved past the acting out and running away. That period of time from October - December... that was unbearably difficult. This is just challenging and unpredictable, but mostly manageable. Many many supports have contributed to the success Grant is experiencing but one cute little note is that this month, Grant has taken over the care of our neighbor's dog after school. He spends about 1-2 hours with Coda-- feeding, walking and playing with her daily. Coda is a very sweet dog and Grant feels she is almost his own! She loves him very much and looks forward to playing with him . He is so good with her and that is a joy he looks forward to all day. I'm so grateful to my neighbor for thinking of it and facilitating it every day. It's been such a fun thing for us!
I've focused so much this month on writing a presentation I'm giving in a week for Women's Conference in our Stake. The presentation is on stress and anxiety in children. Ironically, the lady who asked me to give this presentation had no idea of all we've been going through with Grant! But as I've written the workshop, I've been touched to know that my experience has humbled me beyond measure. I actually think I can help much more now-- then I could've a year ago. Just the fact that I actually know now that I don't have all the answers but that I have a few ideas... might make the presentation more applicable to other moms who are struggling. Of course, my powerpoint would take over 2 hours to present-- so I'm going to have to weed it down to an hour, but I feel pretty good about it. I've also spent a lot of my time creating music lesson plans for the younger grades at Tierra Bonita and singing time for church. I had the sweetest experience last Sunday. I taught the kids the song "Gethsemane" and while we were singing the song, I was asking and answering questions about the atonement. The entire week, while preparing and listening to the words, I felt the spirit over and over- more than I normally do. And while we sang, I saw at least 3 senior primary kids crying as they felt the spirit. It is such a sweet song and being able to teach the kids about the atonement of Jesus Christ was an amazing experience I won't soon forget. I'm so grateful for my calling and the opportunity I have to be involved with music at church and at the school. It is definitely my passion!
This past month Jamie sent me a little package with a card and a few face masks. The card just told me that she is so grateful for me and loves me so much. The fact that she would've taken time out of her day to send that to me felt so good and special. It made me want to do something like that for others whenever I can. Because it was really sweet.
And that's February!
Dane's soccer goals for this season
What is inside Anna's heart:)
