An Eagle, Waiting, and Stepping Back

An Eagle

We weren't sure it was going to happen or not, but we are so happy and relieved that our Brennan chose to finish earning his Eagle Scout Award. (In fact, he turned his papers in 2 hours before his 18th birthday! Yeah, we think it may be a record!)

At his Eagle Court of Honor, we showed a video of him and his life and experiences in scouting. I'm very proud of him for following through and finishing because he WANTED to-- not because his parents made him do it. Even if it was in just the nick of time! ;-)

Waiting

This same boy has ALL his mission paperwork in, and so we WAIT. And WAIT. And WAIT. It's been 3 and a half LONG weeks, and still no call. Yes, I am impatient. In fact, I am the one that keeps bugging my boy to check the mail, and then I watch him out the window to see if he brings back that elusive, mysterious, WONDERFUL, big, white envelope.

I will update the blog as soon as we know WHERE and WHEN!!!

(Hmmm... I wonder if the mail is here yet...)

My boy-- SOON.

Stepping Back

I did something very difficult, yet wonderful; with regret, yet relief.

I'm not teaching Shakespeare.

{What did you say???}

I'M NOT TEACHING SHAKESPEARE.

{Woah.}

After making all my lovely plans for a new curriculum and approach, after training other moms how to teach it, after getting all my ducks in a row, and then getting VERY sick...

 I QUIT. 

I hit my brick wall, and found that I could not do it all. (Shocking, I know.) I had to choose between being in charge of our homeschool group this year, or teaching Shakespeare. (*sniff*)

And so, I chose duty over passion.

It's good for me. And I have a great deal of PEACE about the decision. And two other moms stepped up to take on my class of 32 students!!! (Sorry, guys.) Usually the classes are smaller, but I like to teach big groups, so I let a lot of kids in. (Oops.)

These women are SAINTS.

So while I have a twinge a sadness, I also feel so relieved and happy.

Heavenly Father is teaching me lots of good, important lessons this year. There are beautiful things on the horizon, and I will get there, eventually. 

I'm excited to see what the future holds!

Love, Mama Rachel

Catching Up!

...We took a last family trip to Idaho...

Things sure are weird around our house these days!

First of all, we are enjoying our new, BIG home, and are working to finish settling in. Part of our "settling in" includes getting used to not having our angel Morganne around. We sure are missing her peaceful presence and loving strength! I can't go into how I feel too much, or I'll start to cry! (again)

We drove up to Idaho to see our families, attend reunions, and drop our Miss Morgie off to stay with my parents as she serves the Lord as a service missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! We don't yet know what all she will be doing, since her assignments will be made through her new bishop, but we'll find out soon. So far, she's been asked to serve as a Nursery worker in my parents' ward. A perfect fit for her! :-)

Needless to say, though our lives are not the same, but we all know she's where she should be, doing what she should be doing. It's been REALLY hard for me to let her go, but she is excited for this new phase of life.

I was bawling like a baby just before this picture was taken...

We had a great time with our families It was especially nice to see family we haven't been with is a LONG time (my brother, Wade and his awesome kids, and my sweet sister Abby), and to meet the beautiful new babies in my husband's family and attend our new nephew's baby blessing. Lots of love, hugs, and visiting all around!

Adorable Aunt Abby finally got to meet our Davy!

Since our Morganne will now be reading this blog to know what we're up to, I just thought I'd add a couple new pictures and a cute video or two. Hold onto your hats! (Or stop reading now...)

Wade and Granna lighting fireworks

Libby and Wade making their handprint for the new fire pit.

RAIN! We Arizonans were in shock! (The Oregonians, not so much...)

Chillin' with uncles and cousins (See brand new baby Sophie laying on her daddy, Uncle Karl?)

Uncle Kevin and cute Ava

Grandma with a baby, chatting with Aunt Lisa, cousin MacKenzie, and Aunt Kenzie

Daddy introducing Davy (Grandpa's namesake!) to Granny Pike

We had lots of fun getting together with our dear friends, the Dye family!
(Even though the Idaho wind about blew us away...)

Soon after we got home, we decided to take the kids swimming when a dust storm came up. Almost all the other parents and kids left the pool, but we thought it was fun to swim in the wind!

Three little swimmers

A blown-down tree! (Chilean mesquites have shallow roots, because the wind wasn't that bad!)

But then, we saw lightning, and got out of the pool and went home. We've had lovely monsoon weather ever since, and are enjoying it thoroughly.

Two milestones happened yesterday to two of our kids. First of all, Lliam got his LEARNER'S PERMIT!!! (And I let him drive part of the way home. We were both terrified! LOL!)

And then, later in the evening, Grayse lost her top front tooth!

Grayse Dawn has a new hole in her head!

And just before bed, Davy showed us a new trick. See the video here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBEqXUB0VHI

He turns 9 months old tomorrow, but he's ready to get moving! 

All is well, God is good, and we are so grateful for all our many blessings! Soon, the chaos of another school year will begin, but for now, we are just trying to adjust to our new lives. We love and miss you all!!! 

*MUAH!*

Love, Mama Rachel