8/21/2016 – 8/27/2016
Allie woke up with a very swollen face today. It looked as if she had an allergic reaction to bee stings but it is from getting sunburn while on the catamaran tour. She is in a lot of pain and has blisters. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is a second-degree burn. I gave her some tips to reduce the swelling and had her go buy aloe vera. She is not excited to leave Hawaii. She catches the red-eye flight tonight to head back to Utah for school. Allie’s apartment isn’t ready until Friday because it is still being built and doesn’t have a occupancy permit. They won’t be able to move in until Friday. Jeanne suggested that the girls stay in extended family’s house. All the pieces came together and they were able to stay there. It was a great blessing otherwise they would have needed to rent a hotel room for a week. Just some craziness to begin your college career.
Very mixed bag of emotions as the kids are headed back to school. Ranging from nervous, excited and bummed. Does summer really have to be over? Zac will be driving himself to seminary and then will park at a neighbor’s house nearby the school. He can’t purchase a parking pass as a sophomore. A little frustrating but we are problem solvers. ;) Bode will have football practices after school but they are looking into early morning practices due to conflicts with other sports and that the fact they have added an extra 15 minutes to the school day per state law that now requires the students be at school a certain number of minutes instead of days like it was before. Jessie is looking forward to being able to participate in choir. Choir is only available for 4th and 5th graders. Back to school blessings were given, pictures taken and the kids are out the door.
Allie flew in this morning from Hawaii to start school as well. Her face is not swollen anymore but she is excruciating pain. She can barely talk her lips are so burned. The poor girl is miserable. She says she feels like she has a leather mask over her face. Not a great start to college but I told her she can do hard things and to rock a hat for the next few days. I quickly looked up lotions and other things she could do for her face. It led me to a herb shop in Orem. I explained the situation and what I was looking for. They were so nice and started pulling products that would help speed the healing process. And so college begins!
Aaron and I attended district meetings in Bay City on Tuesday. Both of these new district leaders are really taking their responsibility seriously by teaching and leading those in their district with power and humility. The focus of the meeting was developing faith in the Savior to help them in their missionary efforts specifically the invitation to attend sacrament meeting emphasizing the “why” behind it. The role-play was so beneficial, it really builds confidence in the missionary which in turns helps the invitation done with power. Allie reports the gel and lotion she got has been amazing for her face and that it looks 10x better but she is still wearing a hat. ;)
We decided to change our zone conferences to next week so we have both our Atonement and our new missionary training. The Atonement training is for our missionaries that have been here for 8 weeks and the new missionary training is for those that arrived just last week. I love seeing how much the missionaries that have been here for 8 weeks have improved in their knowledge of gospel principles and teaching skills. The Lord truly blesses them especially those that are learning a language. Although for the missionaries it is hard for them to see it. We try to build up their confidence and help them remember that they are teaching people not lessons. If they only focus on the lesson they seem robotic or speaking from a script, not very personal. The new missionary training focuses on the Doctrine of Christ or “Why” they are missionaries and the physical, spiritual, emotional, intellectual and social demands of being a missionary. Really to let them know we are their to help them be the healthiest, best missionary they can be.
Allie loves college life. Her face is almost normal thanks to the products but she reports she has new freckles. That’s what you get from sun burns…..skin damage and freckles. ;) They got to move into their apartment on Friday. She headed to orientation quickly after moving her stuff in. The other moms sent me some pictures of her space. It is lacking color at the moment. I wish I could have been there to help in the process. She is also realizing some things she needs to contribute to the apartment. The girls are planning to do some major food shopping Saturday. Cereal and sandwiches aren’t cutting it for every meal. I shared with her breakfasts and dinner ideas and recipes that are easy. I actually just put these together for the missionaries recently. She is looking forward to sharing this with her roommates as they plan their meals together tomorrow.
First week of school down. Here’s the evaluation of it……The kids are definitely noticing that the length of school has been extended. The days seem very long. :( They are very tired from the long days. We need to be more organized the night before. Having clothes and bags ready is not enough. Zac and Jessie are taking a home lunch each day and we have to be diligent making them the night before. Bode will have early morning football practice starting next week so he has to be out the door by 6:45 now. I also make Zac oatmeal so it is ready for him to eat right out of the shower. This helps him not accidentally fall back to sleep on his bed before getting dressed. ;)
I went to the temple Saturday morning to support Shannon, a new member of just over a year in our ward that went through the temple today to receive her endowments. There were several sisters in attendance for her special day. I visited with Allie the whole way home from the temple. Orientation was fun. She met a girl from Reno, Nevada that has a lot of common interests, cheer specifically. Allie plans to invite her to hang out with her and her roommates. They also went to a party that was down on the corner by their apartment where they met lots of people. She said they felt awkward at first but it was so much fun. What a great time in her life. I got a short run in prior to leaving for the Bay City Stake conference where both Aaron and I are speaking this evening. They asked us to speak on Charity. Their theme was developing the attributes of our Savior Jesus Christ. It was a wonderful meeting.