March 2024

 March 1st we started off the month getting to watch Lili Booker, our neighbor and basketball extraordinaire, play in the state playoffs.  Lili is such a commanding force on the floor and it was fun to watch. 

March 2, Steve went to the flea market in Salisbury with Jerry O'Brien.  They had a great time.  Afterwards they drove down to Rock Hill to look at some tools.  It was a fun-filled day for the two of them.  I went on a walk with Sandra in the morning.  I love or walks and talks.  Afterwards I got to take Anji and her family to look at some houses they might want to rent.  We found a few and Anji was going to look into applying for them.  Back at home I went grocery shopping with Avian.  Steve went to an Elder's Quorum activity that night.  

March 5th, Avian was recognized at the LNC board meeting for their gold keys, honorable mention and American Visions nomination.   The Board asked all sorts of questions and it was fun to see Avian engage with them.  They were genuinely interested in what Avian was doing and where they wanted to go to school, etc.  Ms. Matocha also announced that she is entering Avian's oil painting (see below) into the Congressional Award competition.  

Award winner - !!!!!!

March 8th, Avian got a package from SCAD.  It was full of SCAD swag as well as a letter notifying Avian that they had won 3rd place in the SCAD challenge.  That is a $2,000 scholarship every year for four years!  The letter also said that there had been over 3,900 entries for the 2-D art.  That is really cool that Avian was #3!  The winning painting is above!

Avian and their SCAD swag!

March 9th we took the train into Uptown to see Avian's art on display at the Mint Museum.  It was a great adventure.  It started on the UNCC Campus for parking and then a short tour while walking to the Traxx station.  Once in Uptown, we found our way to the museum and waited for Nick to arrive.  I wasn't quite prepared for the emotions of seeing Avian's art on the wall in a museum of this size.  It was surreal.  

Avian's portfolio

This one is the American Visions Award Nominee.  I also loved taking this picture because several people walked by and did a double-take when they realized that the artist was standing next to the picture.  

I HAD to take a picture of the sticker - sooooo cool!

We found a comfy place to sit and just people watch for a bit.  Avian got a kick out of the people walking along, looking at all the pictures and then stopping at one of theirs and talking about how much they liked it.  All the hours of hard work paid off during this time.  

We all went to lunch at Chipotle in Uptown and then said goodbye to Nick before heading back to the train.  Once back on campus, Jeremy took us on a tour of where he likes to hang out with his friends.  he also showed us all the cool places in the bookstore.  We found a cool puzzle to send to Grandma for April. 

That evening, Steve and I went to the adult session of Stake Conference.  It was a really fun day!

March 10th was the general session of Stake Conference.   At one point the Stake President got up and announced he was going to call some people up randomly to share their testimony, my heart started beating very quickly.  Steve nudged me and said, "You are getting called up", and then they called my name.  I had a few moments to collect my thoughts before it was my turn.  The night before, I had sat down and picked up a book by Barbara Richards (the lady who made our wedding cake) called.  It was about her journey finding joy after becoming paralyzed in a car accident at the age of 20.  She talked about JOY as Jesus Others Yourself which aligns with the greatest commandment to love God first and then others as yourself.  This is what makes joy so much better than happiness.  I was so grateful for the time I had taken to read the night before.  It gave me a basis for my testimony that day.  

March 11th was disappointing.  Dr. Vasa was not able to put the new tooth in because the appliance had not been made properly.  They took a physical mold of my mouth and I made an appointment for three weeks out for a second attempt.  

March 12th was a teacher work day.  The MTSS team took this opportunity to have Ashley Springs from NCDPI come in and help us facilitate the FAM-S which is a measurement of how well our school is doing with the MTSS implementation.  It was very validating to have the others echo what I had been saying for months.  We now have some very good goals to focus on for improving our MTSS process.  

That night Avian got to go be Rose's handler while Rose wore the school mascot uniform.  Apparently you cannot see very well while inside the Knight and need someone to guide you.  They had a great time.  

March 14th I went to lunch with Bev.  It was so good to see her and catch up.  She is so happy with her new job and I am really glad that she is doing something she enjoys.  There is also a lot less stress.  

That night Rebekah, Nancy and I went to the Reedy Creek Relief Society activity together.  We had a great time playing musical chairs, ping-pong ball tic-tac-toe and pin the Moroni on the temple.  Afterwards, we got to meet Nancy's boyfriend, Miguel.  He is super nice and treats her like a queen.  I love that for her!

March 16th, Avian and Steve went to the UNCG prospective student day on campus.   Avian liked the campus and said it is a good #2 choice if we cannot make SCAD work.  While they went to Greensboro, I went to the Harrisburg Relief Society activity in the morning and got to reconnect with old friends and meet some new people.  I left there to go help set up for the Knight of Shenanigans at Rural Hill.  We got everything set and I went home to get some things done before returning later that night.  It was a fun night filled with talking and laughing and selling band raffle tickets.  I was exhausted at the end of the night and glad to load up the truck and head home.

March 19th was MPA for the band.  I got there in time to watch the entire performance.  It wasn't until halfway through the first song that I remembered to get their performances on video.  The links are below.  They did great!  After their performance, they went into a warm-up room and did the sight reading portion of the adjudication.  This time they came home with a 2 (1 being the best.  It is out of 5 points).  

Avian as 1st clarinet

Here are the links to the performances.  You can copy and paste the URL into your browser.  

https://youtu.be/TjD_hkJGsec

 https://youtu.be/WJDrloivHyU

https://youtu.be/xocWwo8u7dY

March 20th Steve and I were up bright and early so we could get him to his lithotripsy by 6 am.  Everything went well, according to the doctor's report.  I got Steve home and his stomach was not happy so I left him sleeping while I went to the store to stock up on Sprite and Saltines.  He was feeling better when I got back.  

That night was really rough.  He didn't sleep much as was having A LOT of discomfort.  He was also peeing blood again.  I told him he needed to call the doctor first thing in the morning.  I left to go do a half day at work but told him to call me if he needed me to come home.  He called me about 9 to tell me that he had passed a lot of "schrapnel" and was feeling a lot better.  I came home at 11:30 and we headed out at 1:45 to get Avian so we could go meet with their SCAD counselor in South Charlotte.  It was nice to get to meet Sylvia in person and talk over Avian's options.  While we were sitting there talking, Avian mentioned the gold keys from Scholastic and Sylvia said that a gold key was worth $4,000 in scholarship money.  Also, Avian's AP classes would make it so Avian would be able to get their scientific illustration minor without adding any time on to their time at SCAD - 5 AP classes in exchange for 5 minor credit hours.  Sylvia also gave Avian some tips on putting together a portfolio and getting a resume written up.  We feel really good about Avian getting to go to SCAD.  We are hopeful that things are going to work out.  

March 23rd I woke in the morning and helped Anji get her apartment cleaned out.  Steve and I went to Karina and Zach's wedding in the afternoon and then I went back to Anji's to get some more carpet cleaning done.  Steve came to help because there was a possibility that I would have to drive Anji and her family to the Greyhound Bus Station as their departure time had been delayed.  We got everything cleaned up and then decided to go to dinner.  After dinner, we went and visited another friend who was in the hospital.  Avian was at a friend's birthday party and Jeremy was at a robotics competition on campus.  

March 24th we got a new bishopric at church.  Bishop Arias has served the ward well for the last 5 1/2 years.  Bishop Romney will be amazing!

After our sacrament meeting, I went to the Reedy Creek ward conference with Nancy.  Once at home, Steve and I went to Anji's storage unit to drop off a few items that got left behind.  Then it was time to relax!!

March 28th, I got home from work and edged the lawn so Steve could mow.  While he mowed, I pulled some weeds and got the front gardens looking a lot better.  

March 29th was a remote day for school (and the beginning of Spring Break!!).  After I signed off my computer for the day, Jeremy, Avian and I went to Kohls to get Jeremy some denim without holes!!

March 30th, Steve and I were up at 4:30 to go to the temple. It was nice to be in the temple the day before Easter.  Since we were able to get into the 8:00 a.m. session, we were home by 1:00 p.m.  That gave us some time to get some projects done in the yard.  Avian finished up another piece for a scholarship and Jeremy hosted another E-sports event on campus.  It was a full day.

March 31st - HAPPY EASTER!!!  We got to talk to Mom and Kathy and Nick came over for dinner.  It was a great way to end a busy month!