Princess Warrior Dude...Among Other Things

It has been awhile since I posted a few of the goings on around here. For the most part things are going well with a few doses of massive stress mixed in. We are trying to keep it all together and take each day as it comes. I think that's the only way to remain sane.

*We found out last week that after much hard work Taylor has been accepted into a special high school program in Battle Creek for advanced math and science students. He took a test back in January then had to have interviews at the beginning of March before finally learning whether or not he would be accepted. They had 5 slots available for Albion and 6 kids invited to the interviews, so they all knew that someone wouldn't get in. It was a bit nerve-wracking and when that envelope came there was that awful feeling before he opened it where we knew that what was inside held at least his immediate future. (I'm dreading when Taylor has to apply to colleges!) But the envelope was a bit thick so I was optimistic that it held good news. Now, hopefully he can really enjoy the program. He will be going there for half of his day and then back to Albion High School for the last part. It means catching a bus at 6:30 a.m. , so that should be quite interesting.

*The bad part of Taylor's participation in this program means that he won't be able to participate in early morning seminary. It was a bit iffy anyway because it starts at 6:30 and goes for an hour but the high school starts at 7:30 and seminary is 20 minutes away. So they would have had to start a half hour earlier just for Taylor. I think they were willing to though. Oh well. He'll just have to do a home study course or the new online program they have. I just wanted him to have that interaction with kids in the branch every day.

*Things at the college are a mess these days. The board of trustees is freaking out about the financial state of the college (and in my opinion overreacting in a pretty major way--all businesses are feeling the pinch these days but I doubt the college is headed for bankruptcy anytime soon) and they are demanding that 15 positions be eliminated immediately. The faculty has met and come up with a much more realistic plan but it was rejected. Anyway, it's too much to go into, but tensions are high and Kalen is not sure how this will affect the foreign language department--already they've been hit with some major blows and so one has to wonder if they'll even survive this latest. We're pretty sure Kalen will keep his job. But the question is, will he be the lone Spanish professor trying to hold together a once strong program? It's looking more and more like that will be the case.

*Kalen also got a new calling yesterday. He was released from the branch presidency as 1st couselor and put in as 1st counselor in a brand new young men's presidency. It was a pretty emotional meeting where the branch president got choked up when he was calling for the sustaining vote. Kalen has mixed feeling too. He has so enjoyed working with those men and looks up to them so much and he's enjoyed working with the various auxillaries and leaders within the branch. He'll miss it a lot. On the other hand, our poor young men's program has suffered lately. The president was going it alone because they couldn't seem to get counselors that would help and be consistent. This new presidency is made up of good, strong leaders who will all take an active role in the young men and scouting program.

*Did you know that of all the boys who are baptized at age 8, only 2 out of 10 make it to receive the Melchizedek priesthood? Kalen just learned that at a meeting over the weekend. They called it the Decade of Decisions and it appears many youth are making poor ones. It makes me worry even more for my own children.

*Kalen's new calling means he'll be here in the morning to help get everyone ready for church and even better, he'll be able to sit with us in church! And no more borrowing Mom or Timothy's cars for those early meetings!

*The Madness continues! We are once again doing our traditional March Madness brackets and having fun with it. It looks like Spencer is the winner of the Final Four competition. He ended up with 2 of the 4. That means he gets to choose a special dessert that we will make together. He's already saying he wants "Spencer Smoothies", a concoction we came up with made with fruit and rice milk and a few other ingredients. It is unbelievable yummy. It looks like I may have the edge so far once again on the overall scores. I am undefeated thus far since the tradition began years ago. But we get more points for the later games and the last couple of rounds I haven't fared so well, so I may be overtaken by someone else this year. The first couple of rounds I picked insanely well. It was almost scary how well I picked them. If only I were a gambling type...

*The rest of the kids are doing well. We haven't had any bouts of illness for a good few weeks now and I'm hoping that continues! They are all doing well in school. We had preschool conferences for Spencer and his teacher said academically he is quite advanced and she praised us for the extra work we are doing with him at home. We graciously thanked her and tried not to look guilty since the truth is, I barely have time to keep the kids cleaned and fed these days much less work on academics. I think he's just a smarty.

* But the kids sure manage to find entertainment on their own even if I am too busy to provide it. If they aren't fighting, they are usually found making up fun and original games together and acting out elaborate plots. Or sometimes just being plain silly:

Here's our "Princess Warrior Dude". It's moments like these that keep the stress levels under control!