Happy Birthday to a Normal 16 Year Old!

It has been a big year for my big boy. He has grown and matured into quite a delightful human being. He has experienced a great many firsts. Checking account, debit card, learner's permit, girl/boy party, requesting a date, job, high school, blessing the Sacrament,....

One big influence and change in his life is his group of friends. In ninth grade he took a musical theater class as well as earning a part in the school play. Because of these experiences he was introduced to a new group of friends. Brevin Harrison has been nearly a life-long friend, they were five when the began playing together. He encouraged Spencer to take the class and to audition for the play. Because of these two things he has developed several friendships. They are a stellar group of kids. It has been wonderful watching him settle into his own groove.

As difficult as he has been, he likewise fills my heart with joy as I have seen him become a caring, spiritual, smart, fun human being. He has natural leadership skills and a desire to do good. The things that are slightly annoying about him like his listening to loud music and acting like the world revolves around his social life are very normal 16 year old behavior. I could not be more pleased! Heaven knows I have worried about his younger behavior that seemed a bit outside of "normal." I am proud to be his mom!

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I Should Have Known, But I Didn't or It's Been a Year

I began this blog one year ago this month. This is my 31st post. That puts me at exactly 2.4 posts per month. Not a world's record, but a personal best. Up from the zippo I had before. I started it so that my children would have some record of their family's life. I haven't been very good at journal keeping in the past. I have been hit or miss at best. What I hadn't anticipated was how much I have enjoyed writing and reading this blog. I have reread my posts, some of them several times. They have made me laugh, cry and reminisce about my life. I like to write, so it should not have been such a surprise. But for some reason or other I didn't realize how much I would benefit from it. Maybe next year I will average a 3 or even 4 posts each month. I have ideas and notable life events that I could write about, but we shall see.

Yesterday we had a "Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad" morning that ended with a Christlike Kindness

Last Saturday morning SHOULD have been an ordinary Saturday morning. The children have "Saturday chores" that they are required to do before they move on with their day. There are a few exceptions. This morning Spencer had an exception because his scout troop led by Destry went on a rock climbing expedition. It was a gorgeous day! They had a great time thanks to Destry's former missionary companion and friend, Dallin Ward, who shared his talents and expertise with the group. Spencer was the star as I was told. For those of us who stayed behind, it should have been chore time after they left. They were all playing together nicely for a while and I just let them. It is fun to see them getting along and playing well. At around 10:00 I reminded them to get get started because Emma had her first basketball game of the season and Estelle had a birthday party that both started at 1:00. That should have been no problem. ...

It Has Only Taken Her 9 Years, but Estelle Finally Sleeps All Night Long In Her Own Bed: She Can Do Hard Things!

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