Friday, February 28, 2014

knife

Jared's Priest group spent several weekly activity nights making their own knives.  A man in our ward does this for a hobby/money maker.  He gave a lot of his time helping the boys. Each knife is individual and unique. This is Jared's knife.  It is SO cool!
 This is a closeup of the wood handle. He really enjoyed this project!

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

a couple things we've been up to

Last week was our Cub Scout Blue & Gold Banquet.  I was in charge of the food for the evening.  Our committee decided that tacos should be the evening fare, so I went with it and we fed about 100 people that night.  It turned out really well!  The cubmaster also planned a fun egg drop activity for the boys in which each den built an egg model and then he dropped it from a ladder as high as the ceiling to see if the egg would break.  The boys did a great job, and the eggs survived.  Then we all took off some of our packing material and dropped them all over again.  The eggs cracked this time much to the boys delight!  Yep, boys love destroying things!
I was asked to speak in sacrament meeting on Sunday. My assigned topic was how the cub scout program and the Faith in God program work together.  I finally pulled some things together and I think it turned out ok, but its just a hard topic to speak on and try to engage such a diverse audience. I shared a few experiences like listening to Cody Reese and learning about how to overcome adversity (I blogged that a couple weeks ago), the community service project we did when we cleaned out the drainage ditch behind Mortensen's, and the bird watching activity at Farmington Bay when we learned to listen for the birds so we could find them -- similar to listening for the whisperings of the Holy Ghost when we are seeking guidance.
Ryan is going to register for high school classes tonight.  Sometimes I can't believe he's that old already!  But he is ready to take on the new challenges and seems to be looking forward to it.  He chose to request an AP class and two honors classes.  I'm so glad he has found his confidence!  As parents, we've seen this potential, but he hasn't seen it in himself, so its good!  At the same time, I know they won't be easy classes, so I hope he hasn't overloaded himself.  He's just going to have to work hard.
Jared has been working hard in all his classes, but especially his chemistry class -- the teacher doesn't like his class and doesn't seem to actually teach anything -- so Jared has basically had to teach himself and spend a lot of his own time learning the required material.  He got a letter in the mail from the UofU Chemistry department inviting him to take a special chemistry class this summer for college credit.  Apparently he was recommended by his teacher. They even offered to offset the $2200 tuition with $900, and possibly more when he submits an application.  We convinced Jared to go ahead and apply and just see what happens.  We'll see if they offer him more money and go from there.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

jacobs basketball team

This is Jacob's basketball team all lined up for team pictures.  Jacob is on the front row, number 0.  He's had a lot of fun this season and his team has been winning nearly all their games!

chinese new year

 Chinese New Year was January 31st.  Every year the school celebrates by having the kids in the Chinese immersion program put on a program.  Most of the time the kids wear red shirts for this production. This year, one of the moms made up a t-shirt (for purchase - she must have made a bucket of money!) to honor the celebration and help everyone be dressed in red.  The kids could choose a dragon (classic Chinese) or a horse (this is the year of the horse).  Matthew chose the dragon.  He loves the shirt!
 
 This is a portion of his class lined up against the wall watching the performance at the school (kind of  a dress rehearsal) before heading back to class. (Matthew is in the middle, standing quietly, wearing white.)  Matthew's class got to bring in the blue dragon this year, as well as perform 3 songs.
 These pictures were taken at the evening performance out in the hall while waiting for their turn to perform. This is Matthew and Keegan.
 Matthew, Tae, & Will.
 Tae, Keegan, David, and Matthew.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

student of the month

Matthew brought this certificate home yesterday!  He was given one of the Student of the Month awards.  This award was based on being courteous to others.  On the back was a free Sizzler meal coupon. Way to go Matthew!  We are so proud of you!

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

jordan

Yesterday was Jordan's birthday.  My friend, Mary, brought me these beautiful flowers.  It made my day!  Mark was touched by this gesture as well.  Mary tends to remember because she had a brother pass away many years ago on this same day. So thoughtful of her!
Since we don't really tend to do much to celebrate or remember, this was an excellent way to remind our boys that they have another brother - and we did talk about that!  Our family is blessed to have someone watching out for us from heaven.  Jordan would have been 18.  A pretty big deal.  He would have been a senior in high school and getting ready to go on a mission.  Wow - its been quite awhile since Jordan was born.
When I went to bed last night, that's when a few tears were shed.  It was a hard thing to go through -- death/birth.  It has made me a more compassionate person.  It has also left some scars of anxiety and fear that improve with time, but occasionally rear their ugly head.  Hopefully, Jordan has helped me be a better mother for our other boys.  I look forward to meeting him someday. Above all, I'm grateful for the knowledge that families are eternal.