The Marston Family: February Happenings

Just said goodbye to Evelyn this morning. She took off to Provo for the remainder of the semester. Since her classes are on line, it was fun to have her stay a couple of months and have her work remotely. And now I'm missing her! Having Ev home this month was definitely a highlight for me. Along with other amazing things like: having my parents in town! Celebrating Dane's 17th birthday! Spending ski week with Dave, Jen and kids in Brianhead/St. George and working with the Sleep In Heavenly Peace program to build beds for kids in north county. A lot of good stuff and as usual, time flew by as it always does. Glad I have this blog to help me slow down and take a moment to remember it all.

Having Grammy and Papa in town was such a joy. Grammy and I did a lot of crafting- we helped Anna create clay heart necklaces for all her friends for valentines day. We put together valentines for my friends and the gals at the office. We made pom poms for spring decor and tried out yummy new recipes for my family to try! Everyone loves Grammy's home cooked meals! She's a pro. We enjoyed Handels ice cream, and Corvette Diner, We walked around Liberty Station and the Wild Animal Safari Park. Grammy and Papa got us into "the chosen" LOVE IT. And we got them into "The Bachelor"... not sure they love it, but we tried! We helped Grant pick out a valentine for his girlfriend and Papa built Dane's soccer ball display. It was a really nice few weeks and we are so so grateful for the time they take to come be with us.

LOVED our trip to Brianhead with Dave and Jen and kids. The weather was absolutely PERFECT and the snow even better. It was just downright adorable to see Mary and Chris ski down the hill. Grant enjoyed introducing Julie and Ellie to his cute buddy Kai, who just happened to be there. We had an incredible time walking through the Red Cliffs temple open house. SO beautiful and so peaceful! What a blessing that the open house just happened to be this month! We loved going through the parade of homes, hiking snow canyon, taking the crew to our favorite St. George restaurants, and swimming in the pool and lazy river! We loved game nights and swig runs... it was a blast!

The kids sure had fun this month at our annual Country Swing Dance! This year Blake was in charge of treats and he had the brilliant idea to set up a cereal bar with all sorts of cereals and milk-- really cute. Of course the Jorgensons did an amazing job as always- teaching the group all the moves. Anna and her little 6th grade gang did their own thing together and didn't dance with the boys.... until Grant came up and taught each of them how to spin and ended with a dip. They were SO excited and it was pretty cute to watch. Super fun night.

My favorite day of the year had to be the day we spent building beds for kids in north county. Elizabeth Jorgenson organized it and we just had the BEST time sanding, drilling, cutting, cleaning, staining and branding the beds. Everyone was involved... we worked hard, we met amazing people in the community and walked away feeling on top of the world having given up our morning to serve. I want to do that every weekend with the kids. It was an awesome experience.

Anna finished testing with the neurologist this month and he concluded that she did in fact have an impactful case of dyslexia and Adhd-inattentive type. He recommended that she receive Special Education services. All of this I had already known and was well aware of, but I needed a neurologist to back me up before presenting the case to the school AGAIN. Blake went with me this time and we are currently waiting for the team to complete yet another evaluation to decide if she might qualify. I really hope this time she receives the help she needs, because this year has been such a struggle academically! Poor thing works SO hard and is SO eager for any extra help. Her attitude is amazing through it all. She is so into her friends and her little girl gang at school. She really tries as hard as she can to be positive and happy. She is working to show that she is responsible enough to have a phone (UGH). Though that's the last thing on earth I want to do, I can't deny she has been truly SO responsible with making lunches, learning how to cook.... this month she made home made Mac n cheese, cake pops, protein blueberry cobbler, and gyzoa, just to name a few. She earned Student of the Month award at Twin peaks, she makes her own lunch, created a bedtime routine that involves meditation and yoga before bed (we do this together and I LOVE it), she put together a lesson for the young women without my help and taught it without any qualms. Anna takes SUCH good care of Coco and Louie and they are the apple of her eye. She is also aware of girls at school and church who need a friend. She is so good to them and includes them whenever possible. I'm so proud of Anna and so grateful for the wonderful girl she is!

Grant continues to impress me with his discipline and work ethic. He studies so hard and has straight A's. His teachers adore him and he has a long list of girls who think he's the cat's meow. He is learning to be patient and to control his temper. He wakes up at the crack of dawn every morning to work out in the gym before school. He goes to extra training sessions with soccer coaches- on top of his practices - twice a week. He comes up with all sorts of things to bake- cupcakes, snickerdoodles, he plays a mean game of pickleball and absolutely adores snowboarding. He is just about to start up flag football again which he is very much looking forward to. He loves church dances and has a crush on a friend from school- he is so mature about it and though they've never even held hands, they are the "it" couple... haha! One of Grant's teacher's called me the other day to tell me a story about Grant. She told me that all the 8th graders have "little buddies" that they read with once a week. When Grant met his buddy, he knew immediately that he couldn't read very well at all and so it was an embarrassing 30 min for him. The next week during Grant's lunch break and all of his own accord, Grant met with the buddy's reading teacher to find out where his reading level was. He then went to the library and checked out books that would be at his level and brought the books with him to class for the buddy to read. He has done this every single week since- during his lunch break, he goes to the library to make sure to get the right books for his buddy. The teacher was so impressed she wanted to call and tell me about it. Talk about a mama heart bursting with pride!

So much to say on Dane in the next post as it is his 17th birthday this month. He has had a rough go with some of his OCD resurfacing. He wasn't too keen on celebrating his birthday because of this and so we had to beg him to be a part of the celebration. It's been a rough couple months with the whole soccer situation and the mental wellness flare up and it's definitely been hard on him and hard on Blake and I. Dane is about the coolest, kindest, and best kid on earth. To watch him zone out, feel sad.... that's not easy. Blake and I are learning how to navigate these things, but one thing's for sure, we admire Dane and think he is going to do incredible things in his life. He already has enough empathy and compassion to lift any human on earth. Take that and add to it his intelligence and humor?? He's really got it all.

And Dane is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.... his junior year is 2/3 over and he's looking at colleges that he might enjoy playing soccer for. He is back to practicing a few times a week and that sure lifts his spirits as he is able to see his friends and exercise. He's even been inviting girls over lately! So- all is well.... and we will make it through as long as we remind ourselves that God is in charge and can make anything possible.

Ev is still plugging away at her nursing program. She is enjoying it and feeling that it is manageable thus far. She spends her free time hiking with Reha, and visiting Amaya up at her college. She LOVES Coco and Louie and they love her so it's been awesome to have a helper with all the pet shenanigans going on around here. My biggest hope and prayer for Evelyn as she's headed back to Provo is that she pushes herself to meet people and be a part of life! I really stress about her tendency to keep to herself. That is my constant prayer for her-- people make life worth living.... I want her to understand this and overcome her fear of social situations and other adulting situations. I believe in her and hope that the spring semester goes well!

As for me, I've enjoyed a lot of hiking with friends as we prepare to hike the Grand Canyon's rim to rim. It's been so fun to spend time training with my buddies. I've absolutely LOVED serving in Young women- making cookies, watching musicals, rugby games and service projects. It's the perfect place for me to help out at this time of my life with all three of the kids in the youth program. I'm also continuing to help out with middle schools skills class- loved our Valentine morning where we invited mothers to come and wrote a love letter to ourselves and learned the value in working on our relationship with ourselves. Enjoyed a fun Gal-entines day luncheon with friends and planning Chanel's 40th birthday bash coming up this week! Spent a few days with Helen as she had surgery on her shoulder and needed a nurse on stand by! Loved this friend time and being of service to someone who never asks for much but definitely deserves the world. Can hardly believe the love I feel for all the people in my life and the joy that I experience just noticing the little things that make life amazing. So much to be grateful for.