Changes in our home

Right before Christmas Meli moved out of our home and into a new home not that far away.   I was sad about it and was very surprised she moved out. It was all so sudden, but now looking back I can see it was the right thing to do.  I really couldn't write about it for a while because I was so upset.  I didn't know what to say.

I was not able to pick up Meli after school because I was at work and it really bothered me that she had to walk from the trax station to our home. In her new host home she is able to get a ride home from school every day from her new host mom.  I really like her new host parents.  They are very kind and they have a daughter that is the same age as Meli.  We definitely miss her in our family, but I feel like it was better for Meli.  The host mom works 15 hours a week or less and so she able to be there more for Meli.  Kara was never home to even spend time with Meli.  She was so busy after school with improv practice and play practice and all of the other clubs she is in that she was rarely home. This wasn't how I envisioned this at all.   

I chose to be a host mom before I started working full time and I use to have so much more time.  I have an extremely stressful job and it has been getting even crazier with the new changes.  I keep thinking it will lighten up, but it hasn't yet. I signed up to be a host mom before we had some difficult things happen in our family.  I wanted to be a good host mom, but I felt so bad I wasn't doing a good job.  I felt some guilt and generally I don't feel that way.  I felt like I was getting sick and not spending time with my husband and children.  I felt like I was failing miserably.  So the coordinator for Aspect after talking to Meli decided with Meli that it would be good for her to move to a different home.

We have been in contact with Meli and she still comes to our YW's group each Wednesday night. She has a lot of people in our neighborhood that love her.   Now, I actually think living in two homes while being in America might be a good thing for a foreign exchange student.  She gets to see different ways Americans are able to do things and she is able to see our culture in a different way.

Our family does miss Meli and we are grateful for the time she was able to spend with us.  We learned a lot from her and we were able to be exposed to a different perspective.   We love you Meli and want you to be happy.  We are excited that your parents will be visiting you soon.  

National Honor Society and Meli's report card!

Last week Kara was abducted into the National Junior Honor Society.  I was a very nice program, but mainly because it was short and sweet.  It was Sunday dress and it is always fun to celebrate Kara's accomplishments.  

 None of our pictures turned out really well.   Matt actually took pictures with his camera that actually turned out.   But for the time being I wanted to document it.

Kara went home with a nice certificate, a pin and they had some yummy cookies and punch for dessert.  We are proud of Kara.


Meli's report card also came in the mail today.  She did an amazing job!   She is such a good student and studies so hard.  The different requirements in school in Germany and the tests that need to be taken are very daunting.  

Halloween Fun

 I love to do festive things during the holidays.  One of my favorite holiday traditions is making sugar cookies.  This year we had Meli to help us make the cookies and she was a big help.  Everyone helped roll out the cookie dough, frost the cookies and decorate.

 We also had fun for FHE when Kara and Meli were carving their pumpkins.  Meli hadn't carved a pumpkin since when she was 8, so it was fun to watch her.   Kara made her pumpkin into  something related to Hungry Games and she was so happy because  she put a picture of her pumpkin on Twitter and one of the actors in the movie liked it.  She was on Cloud 9.    Meli carefully cleaned out her pumpkin and then made a fun face for her pumpkin.  

Oops, I forgot the finished result, but when I do I will put them on here!

Courage

Meli is now on the Cross Country team and she is an officer for the French Club.  She has gotten really involved with a lot of things at her school and she is such a hard working student. She is such a fun girl.  I have really admired her courage. I think that sometimes I forget what courage looks like.  I  become too caught up in the day to day activities.

I am in awe of my children and Meli's courage.  It takes a great amount of courage to change your life and to do hard things like moving to the US or Turkey. 

My examples have taught me to take courage today, this week, this month.  Take it and hold it.  Get used to it's weight.  But then if the young people I know are brave enough to move across the world, then maybe I am brave enough to give courage a try.

Kara took courage and tried out for the Improv team.  I really didn't think she had the time to be in the group, but it was something that she really wanted.  She tried out with 130 other people with possibly only 12 spots.  I admired her courage.  Honestly, I thought her chance to make the team was pretty slim.  But on Saturday night, after Matt and I got home from the Saturday night Stake Conference there was some people at our door. The guy was dressed in what looked like a Darth Vader costume and they asked her to come. Of course, I went outside and watched as it looked like she was being abducted. :)  They took her across the street and then screamed and yelled that she had made it on the team. I guess they find crazy ways to let the new members know they are on the team.  Below are the pictures of the youth who came to let her know.  They only took 7 new people on their team. She will do a show once a month at her school and of course I will be coming to every performance. And one thing she is really happy about is the fact that there are 8 boys on the team and only 4 girls!  

I have done really bad taking pictures recently.  I need to do better.  I forgot Kara's Voice Recital,  cute things Meli did and other happenings.

This week and other things....

Wow!  What a jammed pack week!  This week started off with going to Layla's soccer game.  She happened to be playing her championship game really close to our home so I was able to go and see it.  She is an awesome soccer player and it was fun to watch her competitive soccer team win. 

 Meli started school this week.  Kara and Meli went to a new school orientation to become more familiar with her schedule.  We went to an Aspect Foundation mandatory meeting.  There they discussed the rules and familiarized the students with the program. I really like her program director, Heather.  She happens to have been Kara's German teacher so it was cool for Kara to go to her home.  Aspect, the organization that Meli is a part of, seems to be really organized and very supportive.  I have already gotten several phone calls for them checking on how things are going and Meli has too.  I also went to a Back to School night with Meli and I was really impressed with her school.  I have a Highland Ram and a Bingham Miner.  Kara went to her first high school football game. 

Meli had her first day of school on Wednesday and she really liked it.  She thinks her classes might be too easy, but we decided to wait  a week or so before changing them. Kara has her first day tomorrow.  I have been so impressed with Meli's attitude about starting everything new.  She is so easy going and has a fun sense of humor and very smart! 

We spent a lot of time going shopping for things for Meli.  On Thursday we went to get Meli some school supplies and other things.  We went out to a sandwich shop and since it was so close to Wal Mart we decided to go there.  I generally don't like this particular Wal Mart, but decided since it was close to AT&T that we should suck it up and go.  BIG. MISTAKE.  To make a long story short, Meli wanted to get some slippers.  She picked out some adorable slippers.  They were soft and fluffy.  She put her feet in them to make sure they fit at the store.  They fit just fine, but when we got home and she was taking out the stuffing often in new shoes, she realized it wasn't stuffing, but a MOUSE!!   Seriously, I have yet to see the mouse, but Kara, Meli and Matt both did and I will take their word for it. I despise mice like I can't even describe.  I couldn't even look at it or it would be forever etched in my mind.  Matt is planning to take pictures of it, but I don't want it on my camera or on my blog or I would be ILL!  Sorry, to be so dramatic, but this is how I feel.  Anyways, I feel horrible that this happened to Meli with her first purchase of slippers/shoes.  She was a good sport about it and wasn't too traumatized.   Spencer has been in contact with the store manager and he has been very helpful, I don't really feel like it is the stores fault, but they have assured us that they have check all of their slippers and there are no mice in them.  We are taking them back, mouse and all tomorrow. 

We took Meli and Kara camping.  The weather unfortunately was a little on the cold side.  We brought our boat up to Bear Lake and Meli said she hadn't been on a boat like that before or for a long time.   We came home a little early because  it was colder and Kara just found out on Tuesday that she had to read a book and do other homework before school started on Monday.  Somehow her English teacher didn't pass out the assigned work last year.  Poor thing. 

 Had to go to La Beau's to get a yummy burger.  Matt and Meli got a grilled cheese.

 Camping, right before it started to rain!

And with other news, Spencer has had a two week work vacation.  Colton has been busy working and attending mission farewells and homecomings.  He has an appointment with this counselor at the dept of Vocation.  He is deciding which program he will do with her this Tuesday and then he will start school.  Both boys don't like me blogging about them much, so I try to respect their wishes, but it is HARD. 

Coby gave a talk in church on Sunday.  I wish I could have been there to hear it.  The subject was Marriage, that makes me wish I could have been there all the more! 

 

 

The last couple days!

Meli is such a sweet, adorable, polite young woman.  We are thoroughly delighted with her.  It has been fun having her in our home.  We picked her up at the airport on Saturday afternoon. It was fun to wait for her as there were many foreign exchange students coming.   We ordered pizza  and Meli told us afterwards that it was one of her favorite dishes.  She was sweet and brought us a fun German cookbook,  lots of yummy chocolate, and a book about Hamburg.  She is from a gorgeous area.

 It has been fun to hear Meli's perspective on things. It is all fresh and new.  She has a great attitude about following the rules that Aspect Foundation has layed out.  We have taken her to church with us, shown her around the area.  Kara even took her to a boring party and she came home with an American cup. So cute!  

 Tonight we went to a mandatory training meeting for Aspect.  They again went over the rules and shared the do and don't.  They suggest that she only spend three hours on the Internet in one week.  Luckily, that is excluding blogging and skyping with her family.  As soon as she got home she took Facebook off of her phone.  Boy, was I impressed. 

 Tonight Kara and Meli were running some errands and then tomorrow Matt, Kara and Meli and Adell (another foreign exchange student) are attending her school orientation.  Then later tomorrow night we will  be attending her Back to School night.  Meli speaks such good English and is such a positive person to have around.  I can tell her parents did a great job raising her into a beautiful young woman.  It has been so good for Kara to have a "sister."  They both get along so well.  

Above is a picture of her room with all the fun pictures she put on her wall of family and friends.  You can tell she is adored.  Wednesday is her first day of school.  She is so excited to start school so she can learn.  Her attitude is contagious and I am grateful!

Meli will be here tomorrow and other things!

Tomorrow Meli will be arriving!  I am so excited to finally meet her after talking to her and her family for the last 5 + months.

She has been in New York for the last few days and so hopefully her jet lag won't be as bad.   She starts school on Wednesday too.

Steven left to go to the MTC this week.  He and his family stayed at our home.  He is going to be a terrific missionary. I love his enthusiastic, energetic, spunky personality.   He is such a cutie; he is sure to get in a lot of doors.  He is called to serve in the Anaheim California mission.

Below are pictures from the morning he went into the MTC.   We love you Steven and we know you will be a terrific missionary!!!!

Meli will be here in a week!

In less than a week Meli will be here.  We are so excited to have her here and we already love and adore her.  It has been fun to skype with her and talk to her on the phone!   I get very excited about so many things and I love most parts of life.  I hope that I don't overwhelm her with showing her our home, area and USA.   We have her room almost ready.  Her room is across from Kara's and we picked out a few things that are her favorite colors!  We have been busy getting the room ready for her, registering her in school.  Colton graciously moved in the basement and we think he might like it a little too much.

I have been thinking a lot about Meli's parents and how it must be hard for them to say good bye.   I would certainly struggle with it.   School is about to start in a couple of weeks. It is hard to believe how quick the summer has gone.  Meli actually starts school on August 21st so she will be in school right after she gets here.  Kara doesn't start until the 26th so she isn't far behind.  We are planning to  take Meli to a lot of fun places around our area. Kara and I think we might feel like tourists, because sometimes you don't check out all of the fun places right around your area because you live there.    We will see!

My brother John and family will be here on Tuesday.  My nephew Steven is going to the MTC on Wednesday morning.  It will be so good to see their family and be able to visit with them.

Coby has had an exciting time in Turkey.  He recently had friends visit him and they took a lot of pictures. Most of those pictures were from my blog post dated on 8/4.   I love pictures; it doesn't make him seem as far away.

This last week.....

I won my Pick 6 Challenge Contest last week.  I was happy.  Yesterday I started a new Pick 6 Challenge.  I am aiming for 1st place again!!!

The last week at work seemed to exhaust me mentally and physically.  I feel completely overwhelmed and I  don't feel like I am learning everything quick enough.  I know I really am learning, but there is SO MUCH to learn and understand that it is daunting.  I had a pity party  this weekend and felt like I should quit, (there were a lot of factors I don't want to get into here)  but after going today I am feeling better. I am just so hard on myself and I want to learn everything NOW.  I really didn't believe my brother or my boss when I was told that it would take me up to a year to learn everything, but I am realizing they are right.  I believe if I think with that kind of mentality, that I might actually learn things quicker.


Meli's mom sent us more pictures of her and her family.  It is so amazing to feel like you are getting to  know someone who lives so far away.  Kara has been talking to her on the Internet too and has been delighted with Meli's cute personality.

 Coby is graduating from BYU in a little more than two weeks.  We are so proud of him.  He is a very kind soul who I learn from with every encounter.  We hardly have any time to spend with him before he leaves to go to live in Turkey on May 9th as he is swamped with papers and finals until then.   He is planning a trip to Seattle and a trip with friends so I am hoping we can have at least one family day, with everyone before he leaves.  It seems way too complicated to do with everyone's work schedule.

I am trying to plan a family picture and I haven't found one day available, but I am determined to not give up.

My aunt got home from the rehab last week.  And I have been so grateful to my sister in laws, Annette and Suzanne (pictures below) for going to Oregon to go and help her.  It is a sacrifice for them to do it, but I am so grateful.  I feel bad that I haven't been able to take a shift, since I started my job. She has been doing remarkable well. And my Aunt Traci has been so helpful driving everyone around and going and visiting my Grandma each day at the Care Center.

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Matt's dad also had a scare with his health in the last week.  I don't know too much, as they are still doing tests, but we are hoping that they will find some answers and help so he can prevent any more problems.

Colton has been dating a cute girl frequently and they go on the most creative dates.  I am impressed with the things he come up with.

Spencer didn't end up singing with the choir during the Priesthood session.  They had too many young adults and not enough music so he kindly stepped aside, much to Kara and I's sadness.   Spencer, I have learned he a very good chef.  Since I started working I have given each of the kids a night to cook and Spencer has impressed me every single night he has cooked.

Kara got another 4.0 this last quarter.  She finished her driver's ed class and is just waiting on her driver's ed instructor to give her the driver's test and then she will be an official driver.  I am excited and completely scared for her all at the same time!

Kara also got into Theater 3 at school, which is very hard to get into.  She had to memorize a LONG dialogue, and then present it in front of a panel with a lot of expression of course.  WOW.

And Matt has all of his bosses in town for the next two days for a huge dealer presentation.  I hope it  is going well for him (it is going on right now). He has been working so hard and is such an excellent boss and employee for their company!!!!

General Conference was wonderful.  I must admit I didn't have the best attitude, but I did enjoy. My favorite talks were both in the Sunday morning session and were by President Uchtdorf and Elder Holland.    I am going to have to listen to all the CD's  as soon as they arrive in the mail!!!