Of Good Report

My oldest baby just turned 20 on August 10th.  Yesterday I went with him to his therapist, Dan Daley. Most of the time he has been going alone for the past year or more, but I wanted to go with him then to discuss an observation that Destry had made. I'm so glad I did, I learned more about what is going on with him and maybe how to look at him differently.  Destry mentioned that there were about two weeks straight where he was very forgetful at work, not just forgetting things that he was newly learning, but also forgetting things that he already knew. He also could not find things that were literally right in front of him. Spencer seemed to be unusually worried about his car racing event in the days leading up to it. Destry and I wondered if that was the cause. It wasn't. He was better afterwards, even though he had lost his radiator and missed one of his track times.  His radiator is fixed, but he now needs four new tires. He is taking all of this in stride. He has be...

We recently bought some new bookshelves to put in the front room of your home that I now lovingly call "The Library." I have always wanted a library and I finally have one. My mom's piano is in there too and I love it! I want to put a comfy chair in there for reading to make it complete.  While I was going through books that we had boxed up when we destroyed our old entertainment center that had stood in as a bookshelf for many years and going through the bookshelf of children's books that were in Sarah's room, I came upon a book of memories from her 5th grade year. Her teacher had written in there about how kind Sarah is and how she could always count on her to lift others' spirits. I loved that!  She does have a very kind heart. She gets along well with difficult personalities while establishing her own boundaries. I have watched her with a couple of her friends who are strong-willed, even bossy. She doesn't get offended by them, but she doesn't ...

My girl, Estelle, has become quite the dancer this past year. She decided to stop taking tumbling and move on to dance classes. This was inspired, in part, by watching the Westlake Dance Company perform at the high school where Spencer was taking some dance classes. She progressed quickly in her tumbling class and is flexible and graceful.  We were too late for her to audition for a team, but I found a studio that would let her compete on their beginning teen team. She enjoyed it, but her skills and her motivation surpassed most of the other members of the team. She learned a contemporary solo dance from a neighbor, Sara Fike. It was a beautiful dance and Estelle placed at every competition, taking second twice and first once. She was told by at least one judge at every competition that she should move up to a different level. Since this was her first year dancing she competed with the beginners. Her tumbling skills definitely helped her. She also learned skills by watching YouTu...

The four year old who told me that he would be my little boy forever has grown by leaps and bounds. He is six feet tall, has a deep voice, and broad shoulders. He is just as kind, gentle, and strong as he has ever been. He is a motivated self-starter when he is interested in something. He is an accomplished photographer and a self-taught ATV and motorcycle mechanic. As I was listening to General Conference last month, when Elder Bednar was describing a Christlike characteristic I kept thinking that he was describing my son. He is meek. He is finishing up his junior year of high school and gets good grades when he likes the class and the teacher. If he doesn't, that is another story. He has taken all the photography classes the school offers and his teacher gave him high accolades by entering him into a few exhibitions. He has received "honorable mention" at one last year and received an award from the district this year. His niche is cars. He goes to the track with Spen...

When my cute Emma was 12 and 13 she would volunteer at a therapeutic horseback riding business just down the street from us. She would lead the horse around the area for an hour long session, clean out the stalls, and feed and water the horses. She love it and Tami, the manager loved her help. In 8th grade she took an FFA class and decided to raise a pig over the summer to be taken to the State Fair in the fall.  I must admit, I was not super duper happy about this venture. Pigs stink. And so do the people who must feed and water them twice daily for many weeks. In addition, I know nothing about pig raising and I wasn't sure what the expectations were. It wasn't quite as bad as I was expecting, she had friends who tag teamed feedings with her occasionally and Emma was a responsible pig owner.  I did have to spend three days at the State Fair so she could show and auction her pig. I had not been to the fair since I was a child and my kids had never been. As a side note...

A couple of years ago at a moment when my mom was expressing her love to her children and grandchildren, she mentioned that her Patriarchal Blessing stated she would live for as long as "life was sweet for her." She told us that while she missed her sweetheart dearly, life was indeed sweet. I thought that was a blessing for her and for us. This past year has been quite difficult for her. Last November she began having pain in her upper back, arms, and shoulders. She visited a pain clinic and received a series of injections providing her with some relief. By Spring her hands and feet were swollen and misshapen and she had difficulty getting her body moving each morning. If she had a morning appointment she would wake up at 4:00 a.m. in order to get her hands moving so she could use them. In the spring her primary care physician suggested she see a rheumatologist.  In the past she has had bad experiences either with rheumatology medications or doctors and I began going to ...

Exactly five years ago I prepared the first family Valentine's Day dinner. Spencer was fifteen and would be hitting the dating scene in a few short months from then and I decided he, along with the rest of the crew, needed to learn a few manners. So. I planned a fancy, candlelit dinner complete with folded cloth napkins. We enjoyed our time together and I told everyone not to expect the same every year--I didn't want to commit myself. However, next year rolled around and I decided we would celebrate again in a similar way. I invited Estelle to help me choose a theme and a menu. She chose a 50's diner theme. This time we all dressed up fifties style and she even made a jute box with an iPod. It was super cute and again we had a fun night. Emma was a bit ruffled that I had asked Estelle to help me so I was committed to another year. Emma chose a country/cowboy theme and we invited my mom to come. After dinner we sang karaoke using Spencer's newly purchased DJ equipmen...