The month is passing by quickly for me. Last week I was able to go into the school and help with a PTA fundraiser event, I was counting the money and checking the orders for a magazine and trinket sale. I went because a friend of mine was in charge and I wanted to help her out. It was a fun morning because I was also able to visit with some nice people there. I also enjoy going into the library every week. I am making more friends at the school and enjoy being a part of the community. I decided to do a little more at the middle school this year too. I have signed up to help in the library during lunch time. Next week will be my first time going in.
Friday morning I went to the elementary school for a Patriotic service. The kids did a nice job with their songs. It was outside and short, but I enjoyed being a part of it. I also enjoy being close enough to the school that I can walk there easily.
Friday afternoon Andrew was all excited as he helped me fix some food for him to take on his first boy scout camp out. Neal went with him. It was fun to see how excited Andrew was about it. They had a great time. They went to a scout camp, the Gorham Scout Ranch, where they camped and did some service. They helped to break a new trail. Andrew is enjoying being in boy scouts and likes being a part of the group. He is making good friends in the ward too. One being Aiden, who also plays trombone in the band. The boys enjoy talking and doing things together.
I did a Friday night movie with the other kids. We watched “E.T.” I hadn’t seen that in a long time. The kids enjoyed it. I guess I am exposing them to old things because that is what I know. If anyone has any suggestions to a good clean family movie that we can see for free on Netflix or other Roku channel I would enjoy hearing your suggestions.
Sunday I taught in Relief Society about families. I love my family. I am thankful for my parents, siblings, in-laws, and of course my own children. There are so many meanings to the word family.
Monday morning started off normal. I was getting ready to leave to take Spencer and Caleb to school when I got a phone call from a friend in the ward. She said that the middle school was on lock down and that Ruth and Andrew were out on a field and I could come pick them up, she had just picked up her daughter. I hung up with her and got a call from Neal saying he had a message from the school district that the school was being evacuated and asked if I was okay with getting the kids. Then I got a call from the school district with the recording. It was all a bit different. I drove the younger boys to the elementary school and then drove towards the middle school. The road got all blocked up and wasn’t going anywhere. Then I noticed that police had blocked the street off. They were directing parents to park in the neighborhood and walk to the school and others they were making turn around. I found a place to park about 1/2 mile from the school. As I walked over I was filled with a calm feeling that all was well. Other parents were walking quickly and quietly towards the school. There were a lot of police around blocking off things. I guess it felt odd walking past them as they stood guard with rifles. I got almost to the field where the kids were and realized I had left my picture ID in the car, so I had to turn around and go back to get it. I wasn’t thinking about officially picking up the kids and needing ID. I got in line where the parents were waiting to meet up with kids. The teachers were helping to get the kids from the crowd to the right parents. It was all very organized and calm. I was thankful that the kids were handling things well, standing quietly with just a few people crying. But no chaos. Ruth and Andrew got to me and I got them signed out and we walked to the car. They told me what they had seen and heard. They hadn’t even been in the school more than the cafeteria. They still had all their stuff, so that was good. We learned that there had been a bomb threat before school even started that the school district and police were reacting to. They at first directed all the kids into the cafeteria and library as they were getting to school and then they decided it was better for them to be outside and to evacuate everyone. That is when we started getting the recorded messages from the school. They had the police and K-9 dogs search the school and nothing was found. I am thankful that everyone was safe and that everything went so smoothly.
Ruth and Andrew enjoyed having a day at home. They did some school project work and music practice. Then they met with a group of friends at a frozen yogurt place and then went to a friends home for a bit. They had a fun afternoon with the friends from church. I am glad that they had something fun to do to help them not be too concerned about what was going on. I wish we didn’t have wickedness in the world, but the fact is we do. We can’t always be safe from it but I am thankful that this ended safely.
Yesterday I took Spencer and Andrew to get new shoes. They were happy that they got them. I seem to always wait until their shoes are falling apart before I make time to take them to a store. I had known for a few weeks that I needed to do it and just kept putting it off. Then last week I saw Andrew had hot glued pieces of cardboard that he had covered in tape to the bottom of his shoe. He said he was trying to cover up the holes in the soles. I felt really guilty and made sure we got new shoes this week!
Things get busy for me. Neal has been working a lot and I often feel overwhelmed and tired by the end of the day. I am thankful for quiet mornings, like today, that I don’t feel so stressed and I hope that I can handle the things that happen in our family. Life isn’t a piece of cake, but Ruth did make some delicious sugar cookies for our FHE treat this week, they have been nice to have. Ruth and I also got some things hung up in her room. I want to get her curtains up soon too. We washed them, now we just need to get the rod installed and hang them. I have a goal to get all the pictures hung up before the year ends. I miss seeing my family pictures and want to remember my family more and have them in my home.
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