11/27/11 GINORMOUS box arrives from the Phillippines!

11/27/11 

Guess what?! Your GINORMOUS box arrived this week!  We haven't opened it yet because it is for Christmas but it is safe and sound here in our room!  Everybody was WAY excited to see it!  (How much did that cost to send??! -- I think sending you something that size would be over $200, maybe more!)  The little box I sent off last week was $60 and it was WAY smaller than that!  (Katie and Holly want to know if there is b-day presents in there that I need to find before Christmas?)

So things are good here.  Thanksgiving was beautiful.  The weather was up above 60 degrees and Jared and Family, Nick and Bree, Ben and Laura, Grandma & Gpa and our family ate at Aunt Laura's.  Everything was delicious.  The crowd wasn't too big -- we all fit on a long table or two in the back yard with the little boys at a smaller table.  It was nice.  We were down quite a few with Wendy and Eddy, Austin and family, and the whole Griffin crew not there.

Holly is turning 8 in about 2 weeks and she is super excited.  She can't get dunked until January 7 due to the Holiday season.  She just missed the December dunks and the January dunks are put off a week due to the new year.  But she is very happy to be getting baptized.  I think that will put her in Senior primary too.  Can you believe that???  All our kids are growing up!

Katie's birthday is the last day of school this year so she is super siked too.  Usually her birthday falls AFTER the break and she doesn't get to celebrate with her friends.  So we'll have to take treats to both classes this year -- on their birthdays!!!  Yeah!!!

Dallas and Bryce are already off to church getting the sacrament ready.  We played games last night and the night before and have had a nice time hanging with them.  I can't believe how grown up everybody is getting.

Are you still sick?  Holly is very concerned.  We have been praying for your speedy recovery and hoping you are back to yourself.  Are you wearing your mosquito repellant?  Do we need to get you some more?  You aren't super man you know!! Gotta take care of yourself!

I am teaching a lesson today in YW about loving yourself.  It is a good lesson.  I never really thought about loving myself as being something we should do.  Love your neighbor, as yourself...I always took that to mean I need to love others more.  This lessson talks about loving your neighbor, as WELL as yourself.  It says you can't really serve others until you love yourself.  If you are always beating yourself up and putting yourself down you are wasting precious time and energy belittling yourself and making yourself depressed you aren't helping others.  It kind of says to love yourself and extend yourself to others to help yourself grow and there will be more of you to love in the process.  Anyway it is a good lesson and I think I needed to read it for myself and others in my life.  Try to lift up some people around me that are struggling with their self worth.

So we got a 21 day plan today from our ward mission leader.  We write down some names and spend the next 21 days praying for them and reading some scriptures and they have promised us that someone will be touched by the spirit of our efforts.  So I will start that pretty quick. Our presidency already had a fast last month for our girls (inactive, nonmembers) and I will copy this and give it to my leaders and work on this with our presidency.

Time for church.  Gotta run.  XOXO mom.

11/20/11 Dengue fever and MONO...sick boys!

11/20/11

Are you feeling better after your bought with the Dengue Fever? I hope so!  We figured you were probably all back to yourself at this point!

Dallas has MONO so we were able to think about you while we have been trying to take care of him.  His tonsils are HUGE (I may have told you that last week).  They may have gone down a little bit but they are seriously still monster tonsils as of yesterday.  The DR said MONO is a virus so he just has to get over it.  He gave him some steroids to shrink the tonsil (like I said this is about 6 days in on the meds and they aren't really shrunk at this point) and some pain reliever (tylenol with codeine) to help him fight the pain and get some sleep.  So far he's still gone to school and "functioned" but he seems tired and not quite himself.

Dave commented that Dallas was kind of being lazy last week and he was surprised -- I told him he had Mono and he was like, OH, well that makes sense. So I told Dallas that if he is feeling sick enough to not work a decent shift he needs to tell his boss and go home, not pretend he's busy or whatever!

Dallas has just 2 more days of school and then several off so I am hoping he can get through that school and then we can keep him doped up all weekend and get him better.  They says it takes 4 weeks or more though so that may be optimistic.  Not sure how bad a case he has -- cause they say some people never even realized they have it.

I had it in college and it kicked my butt for about 4 or 6 weeks if I remember correctly.

So yesterday I went with the missionaries on a discussion with Fellicity.  It was kind of awkward!  Fellicity is pretty quiet anyway.  I got there before the missionaries and hung out with her and her sister and her Dad for a few minutes.  Then the Sisters got there and her Dad took off.  (Her mom already had disappeared).  They kept asking Fellicity stuff and she would just answer "great" or "uh huh" or whatever.  It was almost painful at times!  She is getting baptized in 2 weeks I guess (Dec 7) but I still don't know the details.  I tried to ask her about putting the mtg together for her and she acted strange so I am backing off.  I called her Grandma and told her to let me know how I can help and offered up the YW for whatever and will just wait and see what they want!  She acted like she didn't want the YW there at all.  Oh well.  I am sure it will work out fine.  Anyway, I am proud of you for going and doing that every day because it isn't easy!

This last week was Stake Conference and early out for the kid at school so it has been kind of winding down a little.  Next week most activities have been cancelled due to Thanksgiving.  It will be nice to have a "slow" week!  Things pick right back up the next week but we'll have the kids home a lot this week.  No piano, achievement days, YW, after school activities.  The only thing we do have that I know of is Monday Holly has her first basketball practice.  Games start in 2 weeks.

The girls went to my friend's house Friday night while I had presidency meeting.  They had a "girls night out" and came back with their hair in rollers and their nails done glittery.  They looked really cute Saturday.  Hopefully we can send you a pix of them.  I rolled their hair again last night so they'll be dolled up for church today.  Then we have to give back the rollers Monday.  I may go buy some.  They are really easy and quick and the girls seem to like them.  She put a shower cap over their heads to keep the rollers in and it worked.  (I was always frustrated with those in the past cause they'd wake up with curlers all over the bed and "dead" spots on their do!)

We really need to get your Christmas Package sent off in the next day or two. Please give us a list of some fun things you miss...seriously...!!!  Also do you need some more shoes?  It would be no big deal to include shoes and stuff your presents around the shoes so if you do now is the time to speak up.  Please tell me either way ok.  Say yes mama or no mama on the shoes.  Like the good 'ol days!

I feel really good about our YW planning meeting we had this week.  It was 2 hours long (kinda long!!!) but we planned the whole 2012 year.  We got themes for each month. Activity ideas for almost every week of the year. A challenge for the girls to read the BOM.  Plans to attend the temple to kick of the BOM reading.  Also a temple trek in the Spring.  We are going to try to get our non-attending girls in charge of playing piano and conducting.  Have the different groups involved with a thought each meeting and stuff.  I am hoping to really see some better turn out this year.  It feels good to at least have a plan in place.  That's driven me nuts all year.  I would tell the ladies I wanted to have a meeting to get everything down for the year and we'd plan like 6 weeks ahead and then they'd have to leave or whatever.  This time we just gott'er done!  We will of course have to change things around but at least we have some excellent ideas in place!  (My BOM thing will either get us some girls baptized or maybe all the non-members will quit coming too cause they won't want to deal with all the religious stuff!!!) I hope not!

Well it's time to get ready for church.  We are going to have spaghetti and meatballs for dinner so I need to make some meatballs.  Today is BYC but both the YW texted me that they are sick.  Dallas is sick.  Byron is sick (not sure if he is the Pres of the YM but it seems like he might be -- he has strep).  May be just Bishop and me and Bro Campbell!

Love you lots and can't wait to hear from you.  Hope you are all better.  Being sick is annoying!  Love you!!!!! 

 XOXO Mom.

11/06/11 Chilly weather and more Halloween fun!

11/6/11

The weather has turned chilly cold.  It makes me want to climb in beside the fireplace with a good book and not go anywhere or do anything.  But alas...there is much to do!

So I don't know what the deal is with baptism here in the states but Fellicity said she was grounded and couldn't come to church today.  So do you think they will move her baptism date out? She was supposed to get dunked Dec 7.  The Sis missionaries even came to our ward today to see her I would guess. I think they said they have 14 wards or something like that.  So that was quite a treat.  And then she wasn't here.  Bogus!

I had 6 girls in YW today though.  I think that is a record.  And only 1 was a visitor.  Sis Whitney's granddaughter comes sometimes.  That was cool.  And Kristin Porter gave a really good lesson on healthy habits and developing good habits.  She is a pharmacist and very intelligent and she is really interesting to listen to.

Next week is State Conference.  I guess our stake has gotten so big they decided to split it into 2 sessions.  A 10 and a 1.  I am guessing it is a broadcast because who would want to speak 2x.  That would be super scary!  Our ward is assigned to the 10 a.m. session.

I have a leadership meeting today so no Grandma's for us today.  Probably good since there is snow to the north of us and it is cold and yucky anyway.  But sad. We do love to go to see them. We told them we'd come for family night tomorrow if the weather cooperates.

Halloween was really fun this year.  I went to Katie's class first.  She has 30 kids (mostly boys).  Her teacher has a good handle on them though.  I showed the kids how to make turnovers and then they came up about 5 at a time and made their very own.  They rolled out the dough, put in the filling, pressed it shut and put butter on top.  Then they put it on a cookie sheet on parchment paper with their names on it.  I think they enjoyed it.

I took all the turnovers to the kitchen and they cooked them for me.

Then at noon I went to Holly's class.  They only have 20 kids so a little more manageable.  I was in charge of the whole party but had lots of helpers.  Dad came in his crazy Hawaiian outfit and there was a couple of other adults and the teacher and myself.  We had fishing (they got a ball, licorice, skittles, pencils in a bag).  Pin the heart on the skeleton.  Bingo.  Bean bag toss and making the turnovers.  I think the kids had a nice time.  We had to kind of rush because the kitchen wanted the turnovers in before 1 p.m. so that was kind of bogus.  But I think the kids were pretty happy all in all.

Tuesday was a super long day.  We had a small claims trial that took us clear till 9 p.m.  I kind of like it when that happens because I hardly have to work at all come Friday!  But it is hard too.

YW is still going well and we have a pretty good group most Wednesday's.  We made bibs this week for the nursing home.  Our turnout was actually about as bad as it's been - only 3 girls came.  But that turned out to be nice.  We probably couldn't have had too much more help anyway.  We got most of the bibs done and the girls had a nice time.

This week is Evening of Excellence...kind of a big tadoo.  We will have speakers talk about the different experiences they have had with the YW personal progress program.  It should be good.  I hope we have some turnout though.  I find the non members usually shy away from this type of thing so we might only have a couple.  That would be sad.  I have to take around invites today and try to really get them excited to come.  Wish me luck!

Well I better run.  My meeting starts soon.  Love you lots and can't wait to hear about your week.  Love mom.