Joshua's update - week 72

This week was NUTS!

A few days ago we went to a member's house to have dinner.  The YSA sisters were there, but they were on exchanges, so there was Sister Z (who is normally there) and Sister W (who served here a while ago).  Right before they showed up to dinner, Sister W and Sister Z were on the corner of a street waiting for a bus.  Then out of nowhere, this kid ran up and punched Sister W right in the face!!!! Her nose was pouring blood and everything!!! What the heck!!!

As for missionary work, we had some cool experiences this week.  We actually had time to do some work this week! Woohoo!  So we went and contacted some people on campus at UW Milwaukee.  We talked to some cool people, but we were only able to set up a return appointment with one person.  It was a girl named J and she said she would read the first 50 pages of the Book of Mormon in 2 days... We were like... uhh okay!  So we set up an appointment to meet her on campus at 3:00pm on Saturday.

So Saturday came and we went to the meeting spot and waited for 10 minutes and she didn't show up.  So we called her and she didn't answer!  Dang it!  Well it turns out that was exactly where we were supposed to be, because an older couple came up to us and talked to us for a minute and then they went down a few flights of stairs to go back outside.  They had come to see a concert that was scheduled for 3:00pm.  They had just realized that it wasn't until SUNDAY, so they accidentally came a day early. Haha!

So we just sat there for a minute after they left and we were like... Dang... I wish we could have talked to them more..  Next thing we know, they're 3 flights of stairs below us, yelling up at us, "HEY!!! Do you guys want to get a bite to eat???!"

I looked at Elder B  He looked at me.  I looked back at them. I looked at Elder B and then back at them... "Uhhhh Yeah!!!"

We ran down the stairs like giddy little girls and they took us to the cafeteria and bought us some food.  We sat and they asked us questions for 1.5 hours about the Book of Mormon, so we taught them what it was about, and they were LOVIN' it!!!!  They're active [in another faith] (they were actually just about to [attend services]) and the husband, T, expressed to us that he's been concerned that he doesn't know the Bible as well as he'd hoped.  He told us that he'd been told by members of his church NOT to study the Bible personally, so he started studying it anyway and he's been noticing things he feels don't add up.  So we talked to him about the Book of Mormon and about the Apostasy and things like that and it was awesome!  They were so nice to us and they asked for a copy of the Book of Mormon!  I gave them one with our names and phone number and a link to the Bible videos on lds.org (T told us how much he loves watching Bible videos).  It was so legit!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, we went to campus another day and we were contacting some people.  It was pretty cold outside so we decided to text our investigator C to see if she was at school so we could go teach her.  We walked in the doors of the Union and guess who was standing 20 feet in front of us, teaching a Muslim guy about the Book of Mormon!!!

C!!!

She's so LEGIT!  So we were able to talk to her for a while after she finished TEACHING this guy about the Book of Mormon and the true nature of God!  She had lots of questions and she told us that she felt the Spirit WAY strong when she read 2 Nephi 4!  WOOHOO!!!  She's got a study journal now and she writes TONS of notes!  She's on FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, that was pretty much our week! I gotta go but I love you all and I'll talk to you next week!

Elder Josh Whicker

Just another day

Today was a pretty typical Thursday, except Ethan stayed home from school because he's been sick with a bad cold for two weeks, and ended up with a fever last night.  I went to the grocery store in the morning, and then took Ethan to the walk-in clinic to be seen.  We left with a prescription for an antibiotic, and then hit the Subway drive-through for some lunch.  Ethan ate a HUGE footlong and a bag of chips, so it would appear that his appetite has miraculously remained unaffected by his illness.  ;)  I had a 6" veggie sandwich and some apple slices.  It was yummy.

After lunch, I finished up the laundry, made the kids' lunches for tomorrow, and created star-bellied Sneetch t-shirts for my elementary kids for Dr. Seuss' birthday tomorrow.  Then I picked up the kids, took a couple to gymnastics, fed the kids snacks and worked on dinner.  I worked out (pilates and abs!) and then ate a simple meal of chili, cornbread, salad and fruit.  It was just right.

This was a pretty unremarkable day, but I found myself feeling calmer and happier than I have in a long while.  Part of that was due to finding out that Job Corps is agreeing to let Teffy graduate and leave even though she doesn't yet have a job lined up.  That's a huge weight off my mind.  But I also felt like I let myself be more open to the influence of my Father in Heaven today.  I tried hard not to let anything stress me out or make me angry; this is something I pray daily for help with.

Let's pretend there wasn't a 7-month gap in entries, mkay?

So I decided that maintaining a blog was pretty pointless since there are so few people who read it, and I gave up updating it last July.  But this week, I was going back through entries in my old blog in search of details about Sofie's adoption day in 2005, and I got sucked in and blubbered my way through the posts and photos.  I felt so guilty over the giant hole I left in this one!  I decided then and there that even if only a handful of people read this blog, I need to keep at it because it serves as a journal for me.

So, where to begin?

Teffy is graduating from Job Corps on March 27th.  She has earned her high school diploma and has completed her trade requirements in culinary arts.  She and Zoe will be sharing an apartment in Billings (which I just found yesterday and applied for today - cross your fingers!)

Joshua has just 7 months left on his mission, as of Friday.  He was made an assistant to the president about a month ago, so he's been adjusting to a new companion, and a whole new set of responsibilities. He felt overwhelmed at first, but I think he's settling in and feeling more confident.  He misses being able to teach a lot more, but he's gaining experience with helping to train and counsel other missionaries.  Last week he spoke at 3 different zone conferences!  Oh, and he gets to drive the 12-passenger van around on transfer days or when they have meetings or exchanges.  There's no elder more qualified to drive a van like that than Joshua!  :oD

Zoe is about halfway through her cosmetology program and finishes in October.  She's planning to go to Southern Virginia University after that, but is actually giving some thought to serving a full-time mission for our church.  (Cross your toes!)  Her school program is 40 hours per week which leaves little time for working, but she has done some seasonal work and has a job interview at a steak house (ack!) tomorrow.  (Cross your, um, eyes?)

Ethan is doing well but has been sick with bronchitis for about two weeks.  He's taking his driver's license test on Friday and will be going on Chorale tour to North Dakota in two weeks.

Jonah just got back from basketball divisionals in Billings (he plays the drums in band/pep band) and is going on both Chorale tour (to play drums) and Eastern A band festival in two weeks.  He'll be gone the entire week!  He just got his license last week, and I am SO enjoying having another driver to help with shuttling the kids around.  We have to pay through the nose to have so many teen drivers, but oh, it is nice.

Loundia also just got back from basketball divisionals (dance team) and Key Club convention in Billings, and she's leaving again tomorrow for State in Great Falls.  She's starting driver's ed on the 18th.  Crazy!

Lily is also starting driver's ed on the 18th, which is just insane.  She made the cutoff by only 3 days, and she is so excited!  We're working on trying to get one of her interpreters to be present for the early morning classes because it will be awfully hard for her to pass without that help.

Maizie is working hard in gymnastics.  She and Sofie go 6 hours a week and have many meets.  Maizie placed first in the all-arounds for her level 3 age group at their last meet in Helena, and also came in 3rd in beam, bars, and floor.

Sofie placed 9th at the last meet, but it was still an accomplishment because there were a lot of girls!  She is my most voracious reader and when she's not at gymnastics, she always has her head in a book.

Thalia is doing SO well.  She loves dance and gymnastics.  She's making great strides in school, but her childhood apraxia of speech really gets in the way of her communication.  It's frustrating for her.  She uses about 40 words, but maybe 150 signs.  I did almost all of my continuing ed hours for last year on CAS, and have ordered CAS textbooks and materials so I can completely immerse myself in it.  She's the most challenging child (in terms of her apraxia) that I've ever treated, but I'm determined that she's not going to get stuck!

Cora is also doing really well in school.  She was falling behind last year, but now that she has better accommodations in place for her low vision, she's really taking off.  She is a great reader and speller now, and last year we were worried that she would always struggle.

Jackson excels at school, sports, dance and music.  Honestly, there's nothing that kid doesn't rock.  But I've also gotten a couple of phone calls this year about skirmishes at school.  ;)  Yin and yang, I guess.  He starts soccer in a couple of weeks, and I think that will help him meet some activity needs.  Baseball starts shortly thereafter.

Beck enjoys school and has a lot of great friends.  His best friend is a sweet girl named Robin, and we all chuckle over their relationship because they couldn't be more different.  She's this little ranch girl with horses and cattle and sheep, and he's this hip hop dancing black kid from Ethiopia, who at the moment is rocking a giant afro.  I love it!

My sweet, hardworking hubby is still working on getting our Billings office up and going, along with my brother-in-law.  They both work tireless to make the practice successful to help take care of their families and church responsibilities.  Curtis is the ward mission leader, and he is nothing less than ON FIRE right now with missionary work!  He meets with our four elders at least once a week (often 2-3 times) and they have set some lofty goals and made some amazing plans.  I love seeing him so excited about his calling.  Our family has been focusing on two particular families that we're trying to share the gospel with, so it's been a positive thing for all of us.

I'm just cruising along doing my usual thing.  Although my feminist-leaning 15-year-old self would probably cringe at the thought of me spending most of my day in the kitchen, doing laundry, helping with homework and getting kids to their activities, I'm really pretty darned satisfied with my life.  I have plenty of time to do the things I love, like work out/run, read, bake, etc.  Curtis and I go out on a date every week, and we have a fun 4-day trip coming up.  I am truly blessed.

Here are a few pictures from the beginning of the year to the present.

Thalia's 9th birthday.  NINE?!

Loundia's 15th birthday! 

Maizie - floor routine, Helena meet

Sofie, floor routine - Helena meet

Maizie - first place, Sofie - ninth place

Joshua (second from right) and some of his buddies at a zone conference.  The tall one is his old companion.  :)

An update on Joshua

Joshua is doing really well.  He was transferred to Marquette, Michigan last week and is now a district leader.  He's enjoying the cooler temperatures and being a stone's throw from the shore of Lake Superior.  He's also enjoying driving a 2013 Jeep Compass instead of the typical missionary Chevy Malibu.  Not that my son would care about such things.  ;o)

Leaving his previous area of Elkhorn about ripped his heart out.  There were a couple of families with baptismal dates on the horizon that he absolutely adored, and one family in particular that really looked out for him and loved him.  Joshua LOVED the mom so much, and said that he and she both just cried and cried when he went to say goodbye.  He told me often of this family and all that they did to make him feel loved and taken care of.  He promised them he would go back for their temple sealing.  I hope he has that opportunity.

He is really enjoying the new area and says that his ward is a great missionary ward.  There is lots of action there and the members seem to get that it's at least partly their responsibility to keep the missionaries busy.  They have some baptisms coming up and he's really excited about that.

Joshua asks me repeatedly every time he writes to have his family and friends write to him, so here's his address:

Elder Joshua Whicker
612 B Willow Rd #5
Harvey MI 49855

With Elder M just before transfers

With Elder M.  And cows.

With Elder S, the new companion

a wedding #2

The wedding took place in Manti, Utah.  I'd forgotten how beautiful that temple and grounds are.  The last wedding we attended there was a couple of months after our own when some of our high school friends got married.

What?  Playing chicken isn't part of your wedding traditions?  Stinks to be you, doesn't it?

My cute hubby

G and J

My dad and his friend, K

Ethan strutting

My father-in-law and his new bride, Kathy

Curtis' uncle and aunt

All the grandkids - his and hers

Grandkids and kids

Dancing at the reception

a wedding #1

I'm back after a little hiatus.  :o)

My father-in-law got remarried last weekend, so we spent the week prior in Utah.  It was nice to spend some time just relaxing (at least the kids could get away with that!) and being free of our usual responsibilities.  We ate - a lot, went swimming, went four-wheeling, saw a movie, and took a fun side trip to St. George to go to a trampoline park thingamajig.  It was stinking hot the whole time we were there, but we also had some cool rain and thunderstorms.

We got to meet the family of my new step-mother-in-law, and that was pretty fun.  Our kids were thrilled to have yet more cousins to play with and harass.

Here are a few pictures.

Cora, Lily, Curtis and Ethan looking their finest

Great-grandma D

Thalia and Lily

Jonah and Ethan filling water balloons

Sofie's 10th birthday

Happy birthday, Sofie!

Getting a little help from Thalia

Minecraft Legos!