A Random Sample

Anna complained to me that it is getting annoying that everywhere she goes (preschool and primary) the boys all want to sit by her and she just wants to be by herself. I said, “Well, it’s just because you are so cute and nice!” She said, “Well, then I just want to be not cute like you, and then the boys won’t want to sit by me!”

This week I presented at book club. The topic of discussion was man/woman marriage and the same-sex marriage debate. I was a nervous wreck about leading a discussion about this since I don’t enjoy politics, current events or conflict in general. I also feel very weak when it comes to debating or discussing high emotion topics.  My heart rushes, my voice quivers and my knees go weak. Not to mention the discomfort of my brain going blank. I was also very nervous because I knew there would be some people present that felt very differently on the topic than I do. Well, the discussion went quite well due largely to the great turnout and many thoughtful people who wanted to discuss this topic in a civil and caring way. I felt good knowing that I had done the leg work necessary to make this topic personal. I could finally discuss it with my own words and not just quoting someone else. I could speak with passion and authority because I had read and prayed and pondered. I spent hours reading articles and books and although it was still not my favorite way to spend my time (I’d rather be reading food blogs), I am glad I did it. It also made me very grateful for the LDS church’s stand on man/woman marriage. It makes so much sense to me and in my heart of hearts it just feels right.
https://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation

Now for a fall recap: (I’m hoping to do a summer re-cap, maybe in February when I am really longing for some warm weather.)

-William started soccer and fell head over heals in love with the sport
-Sam had to skip cross country this fall because he has Achilles Tendonitis
Anna got a princess canopy for her bed
-Sam loves long boarding
-Anna started dance and is taking it with her friends Mary Anderson and Kate Funk – she loves it
-Charlie treed one racoon one night and then a few nights later treed four in one fell swoop
-Lizzie is enjoying doing activities with her friends on a regular basis. I took four girls to an indoor trampoline park and then to Pizza Pie Cafe and she spent Halloween night with friends
-We had a wonderful hike up the canyon and enjoyed just laying around in the mild autumn weather surrounded by fall colors
-Rebecca watched William and Anna for us while Grant and I had a day date. She carved pumpkins and made Halloween cookies with them. She is such a fun aunt!
-We took William to his first BYU football game. It was fun for Grant and I, but a little boring for William
-Lizzie had a dance competition: She placed first in two dances, fourth in two other dances and second in another.
-Sam made the J.V. Basketball team
-Grant and I only had one child at home to take Trick-or-treating. Sam went to a party, Lizzie and William went trick-or-treating with friends. It was a strange night for Grant and I and Anna missed being with her siblings
-William had his first piano competition and loved every minute of it. See it HERE
-Sam and Lizzie had their first friend vacation. They went to Lake Powell with the Sessions family and had an amazing time
-For Halloween the children dressed as the following: Anna, a ballerina fairy; William, Harry Potter; Lizzie,  the Cheshire Cat; Sam, didn’t really want to dress up
-Lizzie started Ballet. She takes a class every Thursday from 8-9 pm. The head of the Folk Dance department at BYU advised her to take some whole body dance (Irish is really just from the waist down) to train her in a more well-rounded way. Lizzie’s dream is still to dance with the BYU Folk Dance team.