February 2018

February 2nd we had a Seminary Superbowl.  It was so much fun.  The kids really got into it.  I like having fun ways to reinforce that they ARE learning something in seminary.  That night we fed the Elders.  With Jeremy getting so close to putting in his papers I love feeding the missionaries and having them get Jeremy excited about the whole process.  

January 4th was the greatest Superbowl EVER!!!!  The Patriots were favored to win in almost all the scenarios put out there, but the Eagles came back and stole the prize in the last few minutes of the game!!!!!  SO worth being exhausted on Monday.  41-33!!!

February 10th Bradden and Hyrum came and stayed with us to celebrate Nick's and Hy's birthdays and to get a really cool Pinewood Derby car put together for Hyrum.  We had birthday rootbeer floats and watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics.  

Birthday buddies sharing some rootbeer floats. 

February 11th, Nick turned 16 and was so sick.  He stayed home from church to recuperate and to enjoy some peace and quiet.  Poor kid.  He did get out of bed long enough to have some cheesecake and open presents.

A little book about cars.  

CHEESECAKE!!!  He is my kid. 

February 14th President Davis came to my seminary class to observe.  This made me really nervous.  As ironic luck would have it the chastity lesson (Alma 39) fell on Valentine's Day AND the day President Davis decided to visit.  It all turned out okay.  I was able to incorporate a good chunk of the talk Elder Christofferson  gave on moral relativism and how the world wants us to believe one thing about love and sex, but the Lord has a plan that has never, nor will ever change.  I used candy hearts to illustrate how the world feels about love and them refuted all that with scriptures from Alma 39.  It turned about really well and the kids loved having President Davis join us.

February 16th Naomi scored a basket during her game.  She was ecstatic and surprised at the same time.  Nick was in bed by 6 that night!!???!!!  Growth spurt??!!!?? Not feeling well??!!??  It is anybody's guess at this point.  Poor kid.  It has been a tough month for him.

February 19, Jeremy is 19.  Where did the time go?  We had Justin and Sidney over for dinner on Sunday the 18th and celebrated with dinner and cheesecake a day early since Jeremy had class on his birthday night.

Cheesecake!!!!  He is my kid. 

Justin and Jeremy teased Naomi into doing a faceplant into her whipping cream. 

She loved every minute of it.  

Presents!

On the 19th Naomi and I got to go to one of Kaylee's concerts.  She had tried out for an area orchestra and was their star oboe player.  Naomi is really liking the idea of learning to play the oboe and this concert really lit a fire underneath her.

The Olympics have been really exciting this time.  I love that the world gets together and cheers for the world.  There have been several countries that have never gotten the gold before that were making a name for themselves this year.  I love sports and how they can bring people together.  So much fun to watch.

February 23rd Naomi and I got to go support Monica in her school play.  Quite a few of the Young Women were there.  I love this group of girls.

February 24th the Licastris came for dinner.  Bella and Naomi are really good friends from school.  Bella invited Naomi to go to the beach with her family over Spring Break this year, but Steve and I wanted to meet her parents before we said "yes.".  We had such a fun night getting to know them better and, of course, said YES by the end of the night.  Naomi and Bella were thrilled and excited and surprised and overjoyed and.....

February 25th, Nick was ordained to the office of a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood.  My babies are growing up.

February 27th we had our taxes done.  It was a long day with seminary and work and taxes, but it was worth it.

February 28th was a big day as well.  I was substituting for Mrs. Hammond and we had just come in from recess.  I was watching the kids in the hallway as there were several 6th graders going to their lockers right outside my room and I wanted to make sure they didn't bother the 5th graders when I heard a commotion in the room.  I turned around to see one boy on the back of another pummeling his face.  I pulled them apart and escorted both of them out into the hallway to find out why.  They insisted on talking over each other and not letting the other one talk so I separated them further and got the team lead.  My class had to write down what they saw and turn it in to the vice principal.  I wrote down my account of the incident as well.  Neither boy returned to class that afternoon.

On a brighter note, Nick graduated from physical therapy and only has to go back if the problem resurfaces.  I am excited because I don't have to drive to almost South Carolina anymore in rush hour traffic.  Also, that night, Tanner Polera brought their new puppy over to visit.  Felix Polera is a dachshund/chiuaua mix and is the cutest little ball of fur!!!!

We also started on Nick's Eagle project!!!  Last Eagle project for our family.  I am a little excited, I won't lie about it.  So proud of these kids. 

January 2018

January was a very busy way to start 2018 so we decided to spend the first day sleeping in and taking it easy.  

January 2, Steve and I took Nick to see Dr. Bradberry.  Nick had been complaining about a sore shoulder for months and I just didn't have the head room to think about HIS shoulder while dealing with Steve's.  I know, bad mom!  Dr. Bradberry did an exam and took a couple of x-rays.  Nick has a shoulder structure abnormality that is cause part of the pain.  Where the ball of the humerus fits into the socket of the scapula should be rounded in order to fit as a ball and socket joint.  Nick's is flat.  Dr. Bradberry said that this has only recently become a problem because Nick has only been working his chest muscles and not paying as much attention to his back muscles.  Dr. Bradberry did some manipulation and then sent Nick to physical therapy to get some back exercises to correct the problem.  It is good to have an answer and such an easy solution to the problem.  

January 6th was the first basketball game for the young women.  They did as well as can be expected for a group of young ladies who really haven't played before and haven't had a lot of time to practice.  

January 9th I didn't have to work.  I had a long list of things that needed to get done, but I spent the morning talking with Jeremy instead.  Since he started working and going to college we don't see him as much.  He had a lot of questions about the gospel and the culture of the church.  His misconception was that they are one in the same.  We talked and I helped him separate out what is part of the gospel of Jesus Christ and what is Mormon culture.  He felt a lot better after clearing that up. 

New Beginnings was that night.  The girls had a grand time presenting their skit and showing off what they had been working on all year long as well as welcoming in the new Beehives for the year. 

New Beginnings was a BOOT camp theme this year.  So much fun.  

 January 10th Steve started physical therapy.  Getting his range of motion back is going to be a challenge, but he is up for it.    Also of note, Naomi won her class Geography Bee. 

January 11th we found out that Jeremy made the Dean's List at CPCC.  Way to go, Jeremy!

January 15th there was no seminary and no school because of Martin Luther King Day.  We all got to sleep in!!!!  I went to lunch with Sandra, did  some grocery shopping and got a bunch of stuff done. 

January 16th - I thought it would be a good time to review the objectives of Seminary and get the kids refocused on what their role was in daily seminary.  I had them come up with goals for themselves for the second half of the year and even got some good insight about how to better teach the lessons.  Steve and I went to lunch at Mr. Tokyo that afternoon.  It was amazing.  About dinner time I got the message that school was being cancelled for the next day due to a huge snow storm that was heading straight for us.  AWESOME!!!!!!

January 17th it snowed ALL day long!!  No school again the 18th and 19th as well.  It really was a doozy of a storm.  I am not complaining at all.  It gave me a chance to regroup, recenter and get some much needed cleaning done.  We all took some time to play in the snow as well. 

My Gortex boots finally came apart. 

Jeremy is in heaven.  He LOVES the snow!

Naomi and I built a penguin army to guard our front walkway.

This is day 2 of the snow storm!  That is a long time for snow to stick around in the South.  We are not complaining.  

Sunny, but cold.  My penguin army loved the sun and did not melt.  

Warm soup ON the table.  She is definitely my kid.  

January 20th we had thawed out enough to get to the church for basketball.  It was a fun day of games. 

Naomi and Ashley running drills.  

Naomi is taking the ball down the court.  

Rebound

Foul shot. 

January 23rd I got to spend the better part of the day with my friend, Charlotte.  She and I found out early that we share of love of rubber stamps.  The day was glorious and filled with creativity, stamps and NO kids.  It was heavenly. 

January 24th Nick  had four cavities at his dentist appointment.  Thank you to Dr. Neidan for helping me FINALLY convince Nick that candy and Gatorade should be used sparingly. 

January 25th, Naomi was in the school Geography Bee.  She took second place!!! 

Meanwhile, Jeremy drove Nick to the Outdoor Club rock climbing activity.  They had a really good time.  As if that were not enough excitement for one day, Steve was officially cleared to not have to wear his sling 24/7 and it was the Daddy Daughter dance that night.  Steve and Naomi had a great time dancing and talking with friends. 

The dance had a tropical theme this year.  

January 26th Dr. Bradberry said that Nick's shoulder is doing much better and we can go to monthly appointments instead of twice a week.  He needs to keep up on his physical therapy exercises though.    That night was a seminary teacher dinner and fireside with Elder Christofferson.  He talked about moral relativism and how we are shifting away from the standards God has set for his people.  It was a great talk and gave all of us a lot to think about. 

January 27th Nick and Steve were finally able to start on Nick's Eagle project.  Nick has been chomping at the bit to get started but we had to wait for Steve's shoulder to heal a little bit before he could attempt this level of physical activity.  Both of them were happy campers!

Learning how to use the router.  

Going solo on the router.  Nick really liked learning how to use new tools.  

One sign down - 60 to go!

January 29th, Nick had two of his cavities filled.  We are going to have to go back and have the two on the other side done next week.  Dr. Neidan doesn't like to numb both sides unless it is an emergency.  Bummer, but I understand.  When we got home I crashed HARD on the couch.  By the time Steve got home that night I was so sick I couldn't get off the couch.  He called everyone in my seminary class and cancelled for the following day. 

January 30th I used as a recovery day to the max.  I didn't do anything but sleep and get feeling better, until that night when I was the photographer for the LNC winter band performance.  Kaylee came to support Naomi and to be a proud teacher when her pupil got to play with the 6th and 7th grade bands. 

Naomi is playing with the 7th grade band.  Mr. Scaringelli is so impressed with her ability to play the clarinet that he has challenged her to think about playing the oboe as well.