Many of you who read this blog are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. So, as an introduction to this post…
When young men turn 12 years old, they are ordained with the Priesthood. They are given responsibilities, such as passing the sacrament in our main Sunday services, collecting Fast Offerings (voluntary donations to the less fortunate) from members of the congregation, and taking those donations to the local church leadership. In preparation for this, there is a Priesthood Preview – an introduction of the blessings and responsibilities of the Priesthood for the young men.
Sunday, November 13, was the Priesthood Preview for our stake. All boys who will be turning 12 during 2012 met together with their families, the ward and stake Primary leaders, bishops, and stake presidency. There were a couple of talks and a couple of musical numbers, but the majority of the time was each ward’s Primary president introducing the young men from their respective wards.
I was so touched by the things that our Primary president said about Ryan. The first thing she said was, “Ryan is a ray of light.” She talked about how much she relies on him as the oldest boy in the Primary to set a good example for the younger kids, and how many younger kids look up to him. She then said, “Ryan will bring the Priesthood into his home. I know his mother is looking forward to this blessing. Ryan has a great responsibility to honor the Priesthood as the Priesthood holder in his home.” She was emotional as she shared this, which in turn made me emotional! We love her, and think she is just awesome. We appreciate her knowing Ryan well enough to share that with the rest of the congregation.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Saturday, November 12, 2011
November 11-12 ~ CCAT Meet
November 11-12 was the CCAT (Clearfield) Autumn Invitational swim meet.
On Friday, November 11, Ryan swam:
100 IM (placed 5th overall and beat his own time)
50 Backstroke (placed 6th overall)
On Saturday, November 12, Ryan swam:
50 Butterfly (placed 6th overall)
50 Breaststroke (first in his heat, 7th overall, beat his own time)
400 IM (first in his age group) – No pictures since I was his timer.
Last June, Ryan met a CCAT swimmer named Payson at the Utah Summer Games. They enjoyed seeing each other again and hanging out between events.
On Friday, November 11, Ryan swam:
100 IM (placed 5th overall and beat his own time)
50 Backstroke (placed 6th overall)
On Saturday, November 12, Ryan swam:
50 Butterfly (placed 6th overall)
50 Breaststroke (first in his heat, 7th overall, beat his own time)
400 IM (first in his age group) – No pictures since I was his timer.
Last June, Ryan met a CCAT swimmer named Payson at the Utah Summer Games. They enjoyed seeing each other again and hanging out between events.
Friday, November 11, 2011
11/11/11 11:11
I know a lot of people planned cool things to do on 11/11/11, similar to what we did on 09/09/09. We were at a swim meet.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Swabbing for Science Fair Project
When I was in junior high, my science fair project was finding the “germiest” places in the school. As the science fair packets were distributed to the 6th graders this year, I told Ryan a little bit about my science fair project. He decided that’s what he wanted to do!
*Ahem* years ago, Aunt Dott Strand had to get petri dishes and agar from her job at a hospital lab for me to use. Now they are widely available on the Internet. Other than taking pictures, that is truly where my work ended on his project. I mention that, since so many parents do much of the project for the student.
Ryan decided the areas of the school that he wanted to swab, and then we went around the school swabbing. I held the petri dishes in a big box while he swabbed three different petri dishes for every area (in order to get a more reliable sample).
We had a lot of fun! Now we’ll just need to put up with the smell while the cultures grow. (I’d make a comment about the smell of a pre-teen boy here, but why do you think I keep him swimming every day?) :)
*Ahem* years ago, Aunt Dott Strand had to get petri dishes and agar from her job at a hospital lab for me to use. Now they are widely available on the Internet. Other than taking pictures, that is truly where my work ended on his project. I mention that, since so many parents do much of the project for the student.
Ryan decided the areas of the school that he wanted to swab, and then we went around the school swabbing. I held the petri dishes in a big box while he swabbed three different petri dishes for every area (in order to get a more reliable sample).
We had a lot of fun! Now we’ll just need to put up with the smell while the cultures grow. (I’d make a comment about the smell of a pre-teen boy here, but why do you think I keep him swimming every day?) :)
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
My Awesome Athlete
As I mentioned in the last post, Tuesdays are a hectic day for us. Today we added yet another activity into the mix! Ryan has been a little bit frustrated with his swimming performance lately. He recently “aged up,” so he is no longer placing as high as he was. He also doesn’t beat his own times as often as he used to. I think it’s just that he’s growing so quickly! It takes more effort to get his “tween” body through the water.
After a recent meet, we talked with Coach Steve (Steve Doman, the head coach) about Ryan’s frustrations. Steve, a Level 5 swimming coach (the highest level) offered to work with Ryan FREE! He loves Ryan, and respects Ryan’s work ethic. Steve recently wrote an article about Ryan (“Big-O”) in the team newsletter, praising Ryan for his hard work and determination.
So, after two hours of swim team, Ryan stayed in the water an extra hour for an individual coaching session with Steve. I always stand with Steve and take notes, and then type them up and put them in Ryan’s swim bag so he can review them before practice.
Ryan got out of the pool, changed from his swim clothes to his basketball clothes in the car, and ate a quick dinner in the car as we drove to his basketball game, arriving a few minutes after it started.
The coach immediately put Ryan in the game. Even after 3 hours of swimming, Ryan made 4 out of 4 shots. In addition, two would have been 3-pointers, if they counted those in Jr. Jazz!
After the game, the kids had their team pictures taken. I peered over the photographer’s shoulder to take this one.
After a recent meet, we talked with Coach Steve (Steve Doman, the head coach) about Ryan’s frustrations. Steve, a Level 5 swimming coach (the highest level) offered to work with Ryan FREE! He loves Ryan, and respects Ryan’s work ethic. Steve recently wrote an article about Ryan (“Big-O”) in the team newsletter, praising Ryan for his hard work and determination.
So, after two hours of swim team, Ryan stayed in the water an extra hour for an individual coaching session with Steve. I always stand with Steve and take notes, and then type them up and put them in Ryan’s swim bag so he can review them before practice.
Ryan got out of the pool, changed from his swim clothes to his basketball clothes in the car, and ate a quick dinner in the car as we drove to his basketball game, arriving a few minutes after it started.
The coach immediately put Ryan in the game. Even after 3 hours of swimming, Ryan made 4 out of 4 shots. In addition, two would have been 3-pointers, if they counted those in Jr. Jazz!
After the game, the kids had their team pictures taken. I peered over the photographer’s shoulder to take this one.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Answers to Prayers
Tuesdays are our busiest day of the week. Ryan goes straight from school to swim team without coming home (the case every day but Friday), and then often changes clothes and eats dinner in the car on the way from swim team to his Junior Jazz basketball game. I often wonder if we’re doing too much (as in Elder Oaks' "Good, Better, Best" talk), but whenever I ask him if he wants to drop something, he gets mad at me. :)
Recently, Ryan and I have been spending a lot of time talking about a concern – something that has been kind of bothering both of us. The past couple of days, I have asked Ryan if he felt that we should go and talk with our Bishop, either separately or together. It’s nothing with our relationship, and it’s not anything that either of us has done wrong, but I thought maybe talking with someone else about it might help us feel better. Ryan asked me not to, so I didn’t follow through with anything.
About 15 minutes after we got home from our hectic day, our doorbell rang. It was our Bishop and one of his counselors. We LOVE our bishopric, and Ryan has a great relationship with the Bishop and both of the counselors. We had a great visit with them. Although we did not specifically discuss our concern, we felt better after talking with them. It is always amazing to me that even when no one else knows what we need, Heavenly Father knows what we need. And He always inspires those who are in tune to act in a way that is an answer to our prayers.
Recently, Ryan and I have been spending a lot of time talking about a concern – something that has been kind of bothering both of us. The past couple of days, I have asked Ryan if he felt that we should go and talk with our Bishop, either separately or together. It’s nothing with our relationship, and it’s not anything that either of us has done wrong, but I thought maybe talking with someone else about it might help us feel better. Ryan asked me not to, so I didn’t follow through with anything.
About 15 minutes after we got home from our hectic day, our doorbell rang. It was our Bishop and one of his counselors. We LOVE our bishopric, and Ryan has a great relationship with the Bishop and both of the counselors. We had a great visit with them. Although we did not specifically discuss our concern, we felt better after talking with them. It is always amazing to me that even when no one else knows what we need, Heavenly Father knows what we need. And He always inspires those who are in tune to act in a way that is an answer to our prayers.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Halloween
On Halloween, Ryan, Rara & I took Alice & Claire trick-or-treating at The Square, formerly known as Colonial Square.
After we made the rounds there, we went to Rara & Papa’s street. A lot of people had mentioned that they wanted to see Alice & Claire, so we took them up and down the street. It was fun to see Alice & Claire with Ivy (across the street) who is about the same age.
We stopped at the home of Jerry and Linda Davies, long-time friends. It is a tradition to see them on Halloween. Jerry used to work for Hostess, and gives Twinkies and Ding Dongs for Halloween. The pictures are blurry – there was so much movement and excitement!
Rara took Alice & Claire home, and Ryan went trick-or-treating for another couple of hours with friends.
After we made the rounds there, we went to Rara & Papa’s street. A lot of people had mentioned that they wanted to see Alice & Claire, so we took them up and down the street. It was fun to see Alice & Claire with Ivy (across the street) who is about the same age.
We stopped at the home of Jerry and Linda Davies, long-time friends. It is a tradition to see them on Halloween. Jerry used to work for Hostess, and gives Twinkies and Ding Dongs for Halloween. The pictures are blurry – there was so much movement and excitement!
Rara took Alice & Claire home, and Ryan went trick-or-treating for another couple of hours with friends.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)