April 14, 2019

Spring is here!  That means our weeknights are now filled with tennis, soccer, piano, mutual, activity days, etc.  Spring and Fall are so busy! Last week Emmie had a soccer game and Owen had a Jazz Band concert on the same night.  John spent the night in the rain with a sad little girl who took her turn playing goalie against her teams toughest competitor and ended up letting in 4 goals.  While Emmie is a phenomenal offensive player,  she lacks good defensive instinct.  They lost the game 4-2 and she was so sad.  Luckily she is a ie year old and bounces back quickly from upset. She was happy to be at practice the next night and also had an amazing game on Saturday.  I spent that evening with Owen and got to listen to some smooth jazz.  For a 7-8th grade band they actually sounded amazing!

Owen tried out for the tennis team again this year.  He made the A team!  This year he has moved up from doubles alternate to second doubles.  He plays it cool but I think he’s excited.  He was also selected to join the national junior honor society.  His induction ceremony will be next month.  That boy is really going places.

We spent last weekend in front of the TV watching general conference. I really enjoyed conference this year. Not only were the traditional cinnamon rolls on point, but the lazy Sunday was just what I needed.  Saturday was busy and we listened a lot while we worked, but on Sunday I slept in until 7:00, relaxed and listened all day, and my parents made us a fabulous dinner.  It was perfect.

Owen spent the Saturday of conference in his room having an “Ann Frank” experience for his history class.  He had to spend 8 hours in his room and not talk to anyone.  He couldn’t have devices and could only come out to go to the bathroom.  We slipped in food and checked on him periodically.  And we made him start his time over when he checked on him on hour 2 and he was being dishonest and was playing a game on a sneaked in phone. So technically Owen spent 10 hours in his room and hopefully learned a lesson in honesty.

For me the main take-always from conference were that I need to be more determined to make our family study lessons engaging and educational. I feel like right now we are going through the motions but not really putting much effort in.  We need to up our game. The message I kept hearing was that now is the time to study and learn and teach in our homes, while simultaneously simplifying where we can in our lives. I also felt an urgent need to increase my own knowledge.  The talks that meant the most to me were Sis. Eubanks, Elder Bednar, elder Ballard, and Elder Holland. President Nelson’s talk made me wonder if I should send it to Kortney.  I feel like it was directed toward her. There were also several messages about missionary work.  Missionary work is something that I struggle with.  It is uncomfortable for me.  So I think to begin with I’m going to be less afraid to talk about church at work.

The most immediate lesson I learned from conference was from Sister Eubank.  I’ve really enjoyed her talks in the past but her talk on Sunday morning was one that calmed me and helped me feel peace. I’m embarrassed to admit this because it seems stupid and silly in some ways, but I had an experience where a friend did something that really hurt my feelings.  I won’t go into details but I felt sad, and mad, and lonely all at the same time.  This happened right before the start of the Sunday morning session.  I loved listening to Sis. Eubanks talk and was reminded of the peace that we will always feel when we are listening to others teach and testify of Christ.  My plan is to go back and listen to talks that I loved, and also some of the talks that I missed.  And then of course to try a little more fully to be a little better in the ways I was prompted.
Emmie has recently been trying to read at least  300 minutes a week.  It’s doable…but sometimes tricky when there’s so much going on after school! She told me they get a prize if they read that many minutes and that there is a reading competition going on at her school.  If there’s one thing I can say about Emmie, it’s that she is a fierce competitor.  She has made sure to get her reading minutes in, even if she has to try to read while eating, walking, and brushing her teeth.

Yesterday John and Owen joined the scouts on a 10 mile hike/walk.  So the girls and I drove downtown and hiked table rock.  We’ve heard that this years trek will be a little more rigorous than the last and that people need to make sure they’re in shape.  So that’s what we’re doing.  I’m mostly concerned with everyone breaking in their shoes.  So I foresee a lot of hikes and walks in the near future.  We’ve got just under 2 months to get ready!  Clearly I need to start thinking about it…we’ve got a lot of gear to gather, work to do, and plans to make.