AF Happenings

August started out with a fun date at USANA ampitheater where we saw distinguished country singer Martina McBride perform. Tickets to see the show were actually a birthday gift to Jen this past May. We had a great time though and very much enjoyed seeing her perform and listening to her great songs (and she has many). I, myself, am not much of a country genre fan, BUT, there are a few country singers I really do like and she is one of them. Mainly because her songs keep that country "twang" to a minimum and the lyrics are full of God, faith, hope, and love.  Anyway...it was good to get out and we thank Mom and Dad for watching the kids while we had that fun evening.

Soccer started up for Lydia and Joshua during August. They are both quite the stars on their teams and do a good job. They are fun to watch and we're grateful they get to use their talents. (Rebekah is a good player too, but opted out this year due to everything else she's involved in). Dance started up too...Jen continues to teach for a few hours once a week and Rebekah and Lydia are in her classes which is fun. Joshua started scouts officially and is working on his Wolf badge; Rebekah continues taking piano lessons; Sarah has a blast at both pre-school and a dance class of her own; and all the kids have great core teachers this year for which we are grateful. Matthias is officially walking all over the place and has FINALLY cut four teeth. He continues to be a joy for all of us. All in all, the kids stay busy though we have tried not to overschedule them as we've been directed by our general authorities :)  Family time is still the funnest time and we love Monday nights and Jen and I love to see the kids enjoy playing together at least once a week as we have a "family day" and give the friends a break.

Our garden started really producing this past month and I think the kids are officially "squashed" out. We have so much squash that we've been freezing it to use during the winter. The beans have been yummy and our tomaotes are finally turning red. It's been a great little harvest and even the kids have looked forward to watering the garden and picking off the goods for us to intergrate into our meals.  Thanks again to Dad for his help in getting it up and going.

While Jen, Rebekah, and the two youngest stayed home from the Bear Lake excursion, Joshua, Lydia and I really had a great time. We want to thank all of those who were there who gave of their time, their food, and their water-expertise in helping us have an enjoyable couple of days. You guys are great!

On a sad and somber note, we had quite a tragedy hit our neighborhood this past week. One of the families I home teach--the dad--was turned over to the authorities for molesting his 5-year old daughter. As sick as that is, it's also very sad and heartbreaking to see the ripple effects within the family. The mom and the seven or so kids are hanging in there and we're all praying for them as much as we can. As the word got out and the kids found out, we had to deal with the subject--and tried hard to explain things at a level that was appropriate. This was challenging and not very fun, but I think we did OK and they are praying for the family as well.

Well, before ending this post, Jen and I just want to say how grateful we are to a loving Heavenly Father who keeps us going even when we're stressed and life is full of challenges. We've come to understand that when we are weak, then we truly are strong. Relying on Heavenly Father and having faith in Christ is the only way to live this life and to feel the joy and happiness that's available to feel. As we seek inspiration in our callings and in our conversations and dealings with our kids, we know we'll be OK if we're trying to live right. 

Talk to you all soon!

PS: I've started my own blog just out of a desire to write and also out of a desire to heed the suggestion of Elder Ballard :)  There aren't a lot of entries yet and I don't post that often, but you can take a look if you're so inclined...