* Dad worked on replacing the Fuel Pump on Josephina... He got it removed and purchased a new one and plans to get it installed soon!
* Kids all had Wednesday night activities (Scouts, Activity Days and Mutual)
* It was our Ward Campout at Givens Hot Springs in Marsing. Mom didn't want to have all of the work of actual camping so they just went for the evening fun and then came home as people were retiring to their tents. Best of both worlds (in her opinion! haha)
* A second full week of school that went wonderful!
In Our Homeschool This Week...
I'm really, REALLY enjoying our school year! We all got Father's Blessings this week and in the one I received, I was blessed with a "renewed excitement for schooling" - and that has certainly been the case! I have felt happy and joyful to start each day and love being with the kids!
* I can't say enough about how much I'm loving The Good and The Beautiful Curriculum! It's going so well!! The History, Science, Language Arts, Geography, Spelling, Handwriting, Art... all of it!
* I'm loving the revamped layout for Enrichment also and our "Principle Journals" are going wonderfully! We also realized that we sing the same (2-3) songs each day as we start off Enrichment and so I got Popsicle sticks and wrote a variety of Primary songs on them (enough to go through an entire month without repeating!). We decided we'd go from youngest to oldest and so each Monday, Lexi will pick out a stick and also say the opening prayer. Aubrie will be Tuesday, Nathan chooses on Wednesday, Ben on Thursday and Mom on Friday :)
* When the kids decided that they wanted to learn all about WATER... I'll admit that I wasn't the most excited. I thought "how can we study water for 3 whole months!?" but since that's what they asked for, I ordered the Water Science Unit from The Good and The Beautiful. We started it this week and... I.Was.Wrong! Water is fascinating! haha. I have enjoyed it so much and so have the kids! We studied all about the different properties of water and subsequently did 4 experiments to demonstrate those properties and we are all anticipating all that we'll learn over the next few months!
Seth Spotlight...
for some reason, Seth has gotten delinquent on taking pictures since arriving to California! It should be way easier since he has a smartphone now WITH a camera on it - but he says he just doesn't think of taking pictures anymore... maybe this next week...
* He mentioned in his letter that they "lost the car" but I never did get the whole story on that!
* They had District Meeting and he gave the lesson. He said it was on Lehi and what sort of (loving) parent he must have been
* Had a Stake Pioneer Activity (for Pioneer Day) and he said he had a lot of fun there
* Went on Divisions with Elder Caswell
* Even though he had no pictures of this week for us, he did send one of him in Nicaragua cutting down a tree. He said that he really misses Nicaragua,,,
August & McKendra...
* in Love
* August quit his 2nd job at BDS Marketing. He is now only full time at Papa Johns and has plans to get a new 2nd job. Gotta save up that ca$h for the Mish!
* They got a new kitty named Luna
* August has been meeting/working with his Branch President on getting prepared for a Mission!
* McKendra turned 19
Spiritually Speaking... (Dad Edition)
Seth has struggled with his reassignment to California. It's been tough for him to go from a blistering pace in Nicaragua where they taught people non-stop to a slower pace in California. He has remarked that they did more in one afternoon in Nica than they do in an entire week. It's also been hard as he has seen so many of his other companions and friends who went out at the same time return home early (honorably) while he remains on his mission. As a parent, it's tough to watch your son struggle. We have tried to look for ways for him to remain actively engaged in good works and can only surmise that there must be some reason why he is in the Carlsbad mission and not home.
A few weeks back, I was in Helena for the week for a regional conference. While there, I got to spend time with our Safety Manager, Kenny Moreno. Kenny is a former Marine that chewed up some of the same ground as me in Iraq. I had met him earlier in the previous month when he was in Boise for an audit and he and I seemed to hit it off.
On the last evening of the conference, we were having dinner at a restaurant and our conversation turned towards the Church. Kenny lives and works out of California. He told me that whenever he drives by the San Diego Temple, his daughter thinks that it is Princess Elsa's castle from the Disney movie "Frozen". We spoke about why we have temples on the earth and what we do inside and then the conversation turned towards Seth. I told him all about Seth and his experiences he has had so far. When I related that he had been reassigned to Oceanside, Kenny exclaimed, "I live in Oceanside!" I was more than surprised. I told him the address of Seth's apartment and it was now Kenny's turn to be surprised. He said, "I used to live right next to his apartment! Now we live about four blocks away!" Kenny committed to meeting up with Seth with his family to say hello. I said that Seth and his companion were always looking for service opportunities and that Kenny should direct them to any old Abuelas in the area. In the meantime, Seth has contacted him via phone and they have agreed to meet up sometime here in the next few weeks.
I know that there are no coincidences in life and that our Father in Heaven has a plan for all of us. There can be no way that it wasn't meant to be that a fellow that was asking me questions about the Church in Helena , Montana would happen to live just minutes from my missionary son who has been questioning why he is where he is. I am grateful for the Hand of our Father in Heaven and how much he loves us.
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