Update

Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it, blogging. But, here goes....

What have we done lately?

Well, our Exchange Student, Tuyen, arrived a month ago. It was quite an adjustment for her. The hardest part, I think, was the food. But I do believe she is getting used to it, and actually starting to like it. The first week, I gave all the kids a PB&J for lunch. She obviously didn't like it, and choked it down. Later she told me she didn't like peanuts or peanutbutter. On Sunday, I told her that dinner would be ready around 3, and that I was going to give the kids a PB&J for a snack, and what would she like. She said she wanted a PB&J, and I said I thought she didn't like peanutbutter. She said she likes it now.

She is going to all the YW activities, and seems to be enjoying the association. "Mrs. Smith" gave her a triple combination, and she seemed excited about it. She even played in a volleyball game, even though she had never played before. She participates in all our family activities, including family prayer, family scripture study, FHE, etc. We have never forced her to participate, we only asked her to be present, since life-changing events like changing religions could get her sent home. Tonight, as we were reading the scriptures, she asked if she could read, too. :) She is quite a good reader.

What else? Oh, we went to the zoo and Red Butte Gardens. She had a great time. Took lots of pictures. We were exhausted by the time we got home. 6 hours on our feet.

We also went to the State Fair. I think she enjoyed seeing buildings with the crafts and sewing and canning, etc., and watching the kids on the rides, look at the animals, and all the stuff in the booths. I think the most interesting part was the rodeo. She particularly liked the bull-riding.

What's new with me? Well, I am the PTA Book Fair Chair this year. Mostly it was really easy. Nothing like what work used to be like. The lady who used to be the Chair last year kept doing things, forgetting she wasn't it anymore. (She's the Treasurer this year and worked closely with me). She was nice about everything, and tried not to be obnoxious. By the way, we made more money than we have in years, they tell me. Can't take any credit, though. They had great books!

I'm still teaching Gospel Doctrine. Generally speaking, I think more people feel the spirit than are offended. Ha Ha. A while back, I was feeling discouraged, wondering if I was even making a difference, wondering if my time should be up, and I said a prayer asking if I was doing any good. I never even mentioned this to Darin. The next day, Sunday, the Bishop got up and over the pulpit said some very nice and flattering things about me, and that he wanted to go to my class so the Leaders needed to quit talking to him during Sunday School. I was pretty embarrassed when he said that, I mean, to have to have the Bishop tell them to go to class! But then I realized that that was a confirmation to me that I was making a difference for at least one person. And if I could make a difference for the Bishop, then maybe he would pass it on to others. (Kind of like "pay it forward"). And then some weeks later, the Bishop made a special visit to tell me that an inactive man who decided to go to church one day told him how much he felt the spirit in my class. And then all of the sudden, I've had people from the Stake, even the Stake Presidency, tell me that they had been talking about me, and that they thought I was one of the best teachers in the stake. I don't say this to brag, because I know I would be nothing without God's help, but only to illustrate how God does hear our prayers, and answers them, and that I did need the encouragement from people at this time.

What's new with Darin? He just got a new-ish calling. He is the Executive Secretary to the Bishop--again. He had this calling two years ago and had to be released when he had the bone marrow transplant. I think he is good at this position, he's organized and has some good insights.

Oh, and he had about 30 pre-cancerous spots burned off his face, head and arms. He also had a questionable mole removed from his back. It appears to be benign. Nice to get some good news once in a while.

What's new with Devin? She started preschool. She won't talk to her teachers, but she is starting to warm up, and has even gotten time out for chatting with her little friend, Tessa, when it wasn't time to chat. She also got in trouble for not following directions a couple of times. One time she and Tessa would not come in after recess. Got time out again. The teacher told me she was not following directions very well, and I said tell me about it. She's like that at home. We are using the timer more often, and things are improving. We are also going to start using Bronson Bucks as a reward, to be exchanged for fun things like going to the movies, trips to the dollar store, etc.

What's new with Jadyn? She's loving 2nd grade. Perfect student, good helper with dishes and garbage, and doing well with piano.