March 2013 Wrap-Up!

So here we go....March was a pretty good month as far as months go!  There were certainly some ups and downs!  The beginning was fairly uneventful...until March 8-9th.  Rachel and I had plans to go to Time Out For Women/Girls in Visalia.  Brian was really struggling with anxiety and it was looking like we were either going to cancel or he was coming with us.  (We had reservations at a local hotel with Alison and Riley Moon and Candace Hubble.)  Well, we came up with some specific plans for him and felt confident that he would be OK, so off we went!  It was such an amazing weekend!  

This picture is at the Friday night concert with Dallin Vale Bayles.  He was such an amazing singer!  His performance touched my heart!

 These are some fun pictures we took at the picture booth!  It was so fun!  Me and Rachel

 Rachel and Riley

 Alison, Candace and me

On March 11, Rachel had her last ASL beginners class.  It was a potluck and I sat in on the class.  I had no idea what was going on!  But it was so fun!  I look forward to taking it with Rachel starting next week!
Also, Rachel has been really struggling at school in many different ways.  She was being teased quite a bit for her race/religion, her friendships have gone down, and her grades were slipping.  We started looking at different options, and On March 13, we met with the principle of Clovis Unified Online School.  It was very interesting, and it sounded like a really good option.  So we set up the enrollment meeting for the following week, and prayed about what to do.  Brian and I felt good about it, but left it in Rachel's hands.  She said she felt good about it as well.  So on March 15, Rachel had her last day of school at Reyburn.  It was a good day for her, and she felt a little sad, but she also said that she felt like a weight was being lifted off her.

On March 18, Daniel had his choir festival out at Clovis North.  He did a great job, and it was fun to watch him perform.

 Also, on March 18, Rachel and I started our new ASL class.  Rachel definitely knows more than I, and it is fun taking this class with her!  On March 21, we officially enrolled Rachel into the Online school and she started doing some of her work online.  The next day, the 22nd, we met with her teacher to do an orientation, and then we both understood it better.  I think it will be fun for her!

Welcome to Spring Break!  We decided to paint Rachel's room!  Boy was it ever a project!  We painted for two days and then rearranged everything and bought new bedding, curtains, and stuff.  We love it and think it turned out great!  Love the color!

 Here is the before picture of the cabinet...

Here is the spray painting fun!

 During Spring Break, Daniel had his first Scout overnighter.  All the 11 year old scouts were invited, and they went for all day Friday, March 29 and came home Saturday evening on the 30th.  He had a great time! They went on a 7 mile hike at the Pinnacles.  He came home pretty exhausted!

Sunday, March 31 was Easter.  What a beautiful day it was!  After church, Daniel and I went to take See's jelly beans to Jody.  The first time we went, there wasn't an answer.  We came back later and we saw Russ. He looked horrible!  He has lost about 50 lbs and proceeded to tell us that Jody had died!  We were  so shocked and saddened by this news!  Russ is barely holding it together!  Apparently she got some sort of brain cancer and she died within about a month.  It was very emotional for us and for Russ!  He is grieving so bad and doesn't know how to handle it.  Well, he told us where she was buried, and when Brian got home from his meeting, we went to the cemetary.  The office was closed, and we knew there was no way to find her grave.  The cemetary is huge with thousands of gravestones everywhere!  Well, we drove around slowly for awhile, and then we pulled over towards the back.  It felt right.  The kids got out and started looking.  Brian and I went another direction and slowly walked around.  I felt such sadness!  I feel so bad that I missed saying goodbye to such a sweet lady!  After awhile, Daniel joined up with me and I knew the kids especially wanted to find her.  I said a prayer in my heart that we would be able to find it, and when I opened my eyes I started walking and I walked right to it!  It was such an amazing feeling!  I know Heavenly Father gave our family a tender mercy!  It was such a peaceful place!  We all felt it!

 This busy month ended with such a sad thing, but we know that because of Jesus Christ and what Easter represents....the resurrection....we can see Jody again!  Thank goodness for the gospel!  It brings us such peace and hope!  I pray that Russ can feel some measure of peace as he struggles to accept his mother's death.  I am truly grateful for the hope of the gospel!

February Wrap-Up

So I'm a little late in writing about February, but....better late than never, right???  So we started out celebrating Ground Hog Day....oh wait....that's Daisy's birthday!  February 2!  She turned six!  We love her so much!  We always have a little celebration with a new toy and some of her favorite treats.  She loves to dig in bags, and gets so excited!

On February 8th, Brian had a minor surgery on his head to remove three of the bumps on his head.  It was actually very minor, and he was back to work that afternoon.  But Brian continues to struggle with anxiety, and has had some stressful moments.  Rachel continues to love her ASL class.  On Valentines day, we ordered Panda for the whole family and surprised the kids with a candlelight dinner.  It was so fun!

On February 22, we celebrated Rachel's 14th birthday!  WOW!  I can't believe she is 14 already!  She is talented and smart and funny, and we love her so much!  Here are some pics of her day...

 The next day, her birthday celebration continued with her first trip to get a manicure!  She took her friend, Madi Haroldsen, and they got gel nails.  Rachel got bright orange nails, and Madi's were a soft pink.  They had so much fun!

This has been a fun/stressful month.  Life continues and we continue to learn and grow and hopefully get better and better!

January Wrap-up!

So one of my goals is to blog at least once a month.  I decided that I really like to look back on my posts!  It's really like a journal of sorts, and this year I am going to document our comings and goings each month.  So here goes January!

Happy New Year!  Brian and I actually started the year off with seeing the movie "Les Miserables"!  I was so excited to see this!  It was a great movie!  The kids didn't go back to school until the 7th, so we had plenty of down time together!  The only problem is that Brian was still sick!  He ended 2012 with a bad cough which was keeping us both up at night!  By January 7th, he went to the doctor and was diagnosed with bronchitis.  He was pretty sick, but I was so relieved that he was given antibiotics!  Little did I know the rough road that lay ahead!  He was given the Z-Pack which is a 5-day course of pills.  They are very strong!  He had an allergic reaction to them starting on February 9th around midnight.  He was shaking uncontrollably, feeling very anxious.  We thought he was going into shock.  I called 911 and they took him to the hospital.  It was a long night for both of us!  We went and picked him up in the morning.  Two days later, it happened again and he was wisked off by ambulance to the hospital.  He spent the next week slowly recovering and feeling better.  Then, on the 23rd, middle of the night, Daniel came down with the stomach flu and proceeded to miss the next two days of school.  We were all nervous, but Brian was the only other one who caught it.  He got sick on the 24th  (Thursday evening) and was so sick for the next few days!  It wasn't until the 29th that he was really feeling like himself again!  So basically he spent the entire month sick!

Other exciting events for the month include:  Daniel finishing up his basketball season, Rachel giving her first talk in Sacrament Meeting - which she did a great job, Rachel being involved in Honor's Choir, Rachel starting her ASL class, and both kids getting their report cards - both Honor Roll!

Here are a few pictures documenting our month:

          These first few are of Daniel playing basketball.  He is a really good player!  It is fun to watch him play        this sport!  Great job Daniel!

 These next few pictures are at Rachel's concert for Honor's Choir.  This is an amazing event that she has participated in twice now.  You have to audition for this choir, and then you are put with other schools for a combined choir.  They bring in a guest conductor and they practice for two days....two very long days!  Then they put on a concert that is absolutely amazing!  We are so proud of Rachel for all her hard work!

 Rachel with the Honor's Choir Director

 Daniel getting Honor Roll for second quarter of sixth grade!  Awesome!

Overall, January was a month I would like to forget, except for a few events that were the highlights!  We have really learned to appreciate good health!  I pray that February will be healthy for all of us!  We had had our share of sickness!