February 2016

February was a exciting month.  It started off with a Stake Young Women training meeting.  Kellie and I got there right on time and were just sitting down when I noticed the Stake YW presidency all motioning to me.  I guess the chorister was not there yet and they wanted me to lead the music.  Kellie took my purse and I rushed up onto the stand to lead the music.  After the opening song I needed to stay on the stand until everyone was released.  During this time  my phone rang in all its "A Utah Man Am I" glory.  The acoustics in the chapel are amazing, by the way.    Well, I didn't have time to turn it down when we arrived and completely forgot about it.  Kellie scrambled to turn it off and I was laughing because most of the presidencies knew it was my phone and turned to look at me while laughing.  Thank goodness they were only doing announcements.  I just have one thing to say about it - GO UTES!!!

February 6th was a very noteworthy day.  The young women won their basketball game.  The only win of the season.  Later in the morning the scouts descended upon our house to help with Big Ezra's Eagle project.    They really got a lot done.  That night was Saturday Knight Live at Lake Norman Charter High.  It is the talent show for the school and the talent is amazing.  This year did not disappoint.  There were some amazing acts.  At the very end, to give the judges time to deliberate, Mr. I usually comes out and plays his guitar and sings.  This year he put together a great band and decided to use a fog machine.  The effect was really cool and would have totally worked if the AC system had been on to blow the smoke away, but....  The alarm went off just as the song really got going and I thought it might be part of the act for a minute.  The blinking lights and alarm were both things that Mr. I would think of as cool.  They also kept playing so the audience went along with it until Mr. Willets jumped onto the stage and asked everyone to evacuate the building.  The fire trucks pulled up and made sure it was safe to re-enter the building.  We finished watching the last act and they read off the winners.  It was truly an exciting night!!!

February 7th, Jeremy received his patriarchal blessing.  We went to Patriarch Sigg's home and he talked with us for a bit and then met with Jeremy  privately for a bit before giving him the blessing.  I cannot believe that Jeremy is growing up so fast.  He has an amazing life ahead of him and now he also has a little bit of a road map to help him make some of the really important decisions ahead of him.  I am so proud of him.  

It was also Superbowl Sunday.  The Panthers lost, but it was still a great game. Maybe next year!

February 11th Nick turned 14 and it was also a half-day, e-learning day.  He got up, stayed in his pajamas, logged on to his iPad and did his classes for half a day and then was done for the rest of the day.  It was perfect for him.  The only thing better would have been no school at all.  The idea behind the e-learning day was to test if they could conduct school remotely if necessary due to inclement weather or other reasons.  It seemed to go relatively smoothly and is an option instead of missing a day.  

The rest of the day included going to Coretech and picking up Nick's new computer.  He really wanted one of his own.  We told him we would give him half of the money for his birthday and he spent months saving up the other half.  That took up most of the day along with getting it all set up and ready to roll.  

He FINALLY has his computer.  

We also got Papa Murphy's pizza and had chocolate cake for dessert.  These are two of his favorite things.

February 12th we left for Knoxville.  Hyrum turned 8 and was being baptized.  He also decided not to have a friend birthday party this year and turned it into a cousin party.  A few of Sunny's nieces and a nephew had come out with Grandma and Grandpa Bills.  Not long after we arrived we went to play laser tag.  I stayed out with Madi so Sunny could play tag with Hyrum.  He really wanted her in there and I love spending time with Madi.  She is so funny.  I kept her entertained with the video games and Skittles.  Grandpa Bills was also there to help out.

Madi and Naomi racing their cars 

Everyone getting ready to go in for the first battle.  

When all else fails, buy Skittles and sit by Grandpa.  

After all the fun playing laser tag we went back to Hyrum's house and had pizza and cake and ice cream before heading to the hotel for the night.

Bradden!  Steve!  Have you been eating powdered donuts?!!!?
They boys came out of the closet laughing with powder all over their faces and then posed for this classic picture,  Sunny and I are positive this is a familiar scene from when they were younger.  I love it when Steve and Bradden get together.  They are just plain silly.  

Eating pizza!!!

Sunny had a friend make this cake for all the birthday boys!

All the birthday boys (going clockwise) Jeremy, Doug, Hyrum and Nick. 

That night at the hotel Steve got a text from the Tufts asking if our gas was out too and if we were staying nice and warm.  What??  I texted Donita and found out that Google Fiber had hit the main gas line and over 200 homes in Highland Creek were without gas.  I called her the next morning and got all the details.  It was pretty bad.  The only way in or out of our neighborhood was to drive along the walking path from the parkway.  The leak was right behind her house.  Apparently, Piedmont Gas had a crew the worked on it for several hours before it was contained.  They then went home to home turning the gas back on.  She was up most of the night because for some reason their gas would not come back on and Piedmont Gas was in and out trying to figure it out. She gave me the number to call in order to get our gas turned back on.  I should also add that this weekend was the coldest weekend on record in recent years.  The temperature during the day only got into the teens.  I was really glad for a nice, warm, hotel room.

February 13th.  The baptism was really nice.  Sunny had a table all ready with pictures of the two children being baptized along with programs, flowers and a beautifully framed picture with the words of "I Like To Look For Rainbows."

The Pre-baptism picture session

Hyrum and Bradden

Hyrum wanted something silly.  

The whole family

and something silly.

The siblings

Just with Mom and Dad

Moms are the best.  

All the cousins - left to right - Cort, Hallie, Naomi, Olivia, Avery, Jeremy, Madi, Nick
AND Hyrum.

With Grandpa and Grandma Bills

The  baptism and confirmation were amazing, as they always are.  The kids all love watching the baptism and the Spirit was very strong in the room.

The entire family - There are lots of people that love Hyrum.  

Hyrum and his baptism partner!

Back at the house we had a nice luncheon and goofed off for a bit before heading home.  We left a little earlier than we had originally planned, but needed to get home to get the gas turned back on.  

Cowboy princess Madi

Watching a silly video with Grandma Bills.  They laughed and had a great time.  

Sunny made these yummy cookies for dessert  

I called Piedmont Gas on the way home and arranged for them to be to our house about an hour after we got home.  Considering that the over night low was 9 and the high was 18 our house was rather warm at 59 degrees.  We just stayed in our coats until the gas was turned on.  We were warm again by the time bedtime rolled around.   

February 18th I subbed a half day and then helped out in the office the rest of the day.  They were scrambling to get ready for the lottery that night.  I did some signs for them with some of my fancy lettering I haven't used in years.  They liked it so much I have been commissioned to redo all the registration signs as well.  I had forgotten how much I like to do fancy lettering.  

Since Naomi had play practice until 4:30 and the lottery started at 4 we were unable to make it.  I checked on the computer as soon as the results were available to make sure she had gotten in.  YUP!!!  She is so excited.  

February 19th - Jeremy is 17!!!  We celebrated that night after everyone was home for the night.  During the day I got to go see the Wax Museum Naomi's class had put together.  They each spend the month studying a famous person from North Carolina and then had to come up with a presentation for the museum which included an informational poster and dressing up as the person.  As museum patrons, we could activate the wax statues and they would tell us all about themselves,  It was really cool.  Naomi was Daniel Boone.  She had a sign with a wind-up key instructing the person to wind her up.  I wound her up with the key in her nose.  She didn't break character at all.  She came to life, told me all about herself and then sat down again.  It was awesome.  

Naomi "Daniel Boone" Cannon.

Naomi, Emily and Anna

Later that night, when everyone was finally home for the day, we had Jeremy's birthday party.  He wanted Mandarin chicken and pot stickers.  We opened presents and then headed over to the Giler family farewell party for a bit.  The Giler's have been in the ward for 17 years and were moving to another home now that all their children are off on their own.  After the party, Jeremy wanted to go to Books A Million and wander around.  He found a great book on writing fiction.  We came home and had cashew, caramel cheesecake.  It was a fun day.  

"Keep Clam and Proofread" 

This shirt made me totally laugh.  Jeremy's three top loves - writing, psychology and humor.

"Cool beans"  Now he can find new ways to express all those emotions his characters are having.  

YUMMY!!!!

Saturday, February 20th, Steve helped Kev build his fence and Naomi played a soccer game during the day and then got ready to go to the Daddy Daughter Dance that night.  It was a western theme this year.  They went out to dinner and spent the night dancing.  It was fun.

In our backyard

At the dance

The boys went to a stake activity that night where they learned to swing dance.  Nick was excited because he was FINALLY old enough to go to these activities.  He had a great time dancing with the girls and getting to know new people.  

While driving a car load of girls home from church on Wednesday night this is the conversation I overheard and had to record for posterity.

Naomi:  We are doing the play "They Jungle Book" at our school.  What play are you doing?

Haylie:  We are doing "The Wiz".

Naomi:  What is "The Wiz"?

Haylie:  I don't know.

Me:  "The Wiz" is a musical version of "The Wizard of Oz" that had great music and featured black artists of the time.  Michael Jackson was in it.

Naomi:  Wait!  Michael Jackson was black???!!!!????

I got a good laugh over that one.  When we got home we looked up pictures of Michael Jackson before he had all his surgeries.  Naomi said, "Mom, he was a handsome black man.  Why did he change himself?"  I didn't have a good answer for that one.  Some people are just not happy with what they have.  

Sunday, February 21st, as we walked into church I was reading the program.  It said Jeremy was one of the youth speakers.  He had totally forgotten about it.  He and Steve spent the first part of the meeting in the foyer putting together a talk about honesty and how important it was.  In his talk he said, "In the spirit of honesty I have to admit that I totally forgot about this talk today."  He went on to give an amazing talk about how honesty is an important part of our lives and can lead to amazing things if we are honest with ourselves and each other.  Proud Mama moment.  Nick was also set apart as a teacher.  It was a great day.

February 22nd, my phone completely died - as in could not even be resuscitated  by the guys at Verizon.  I got a new phone and am learning how to use it.  I miss my old phone.  Oh well.  

February 24th Steve attended a scout dinner where one of his scouts, Garrison Stewart, was awarded "Eagle Scout of the Year" for Mecklenburg County.  He was so proud of Garrison for all the hard work he put in on his project.  It was a "proud papa" moment for him,

February 25th was Math and Science Night at Highland Creek Elementary.  Naomi and I went over for a bit before soccer practice.  They always have the  most amazing presentations.  Naomi got to participate in one of the chemistry demonstrations.  It was a great night for her.  She really loves math and science.  

Naomi helping demonstrate a chemical reaction for how certain chemicals product color when exposed to an open flame.  

February 26th Nick was over the moon to be invited to Kaylee Smith's birthday party.  He felt so grown up going to his first teen party.  They had a great time and he was all smiles when I picked him up later that night.  

February 27th started with a tri-stake women's conference.  Sister Neill Marriott was the speaker.  The stake center was packed and we all loved every minute of her talk.  It was like she was speaking to each of us individually.  The theme was Rooted and Established.  The Stake Relief Society presidency talked about how the gospel is like an oak tree.  It is very strong and has deep roots that are connected to each other.  Sister Marriott carried this one step further in her talk.  She told us we needed to stand firm as a member of the church.  As we see ourselves as a part of the Plan of Salvation it will anchor us to Christ.  She asked us what we need to do in order to sink our roots deep into gospel soil.  We need to have the power of God in our lives.  We need to seek him.  We need to keep the covenants we have made.  We need to read the scriptures and apply them in our life.  She referenced Moroni 7:48 "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure.  Amen."  The Lord can help us overcome any weakness we have if we just ask and then do what needs to be done.  He will help us.  Wow!!

After the conference I took Naomi to her soccer game.  They played really well and won 4-1.

February 28th was a youth fireside with Sister Marriott.  I selfishly offered to drive so I could hear her speak one more time.  She talked very candidly with the youth.  She said everyone needed to have a high-five daily.  Getting a high-five was confirmation that everything is great.  She added a new level to the high-five we should receive daily.  The thumb represents prayer.  The pointer finger represents scripture study.  The middle finger represents the Sabbath with the sacrament as the core of the day.  The ring finger is service with sacrifice being the key.  The pinkie is the attributes of Christ - we need to take them on for ourselves.  Everyone needs a high-five daily.  The kids really enjoyed it and actually listened.  

It was a great month, full of great things.  Most of it just reaffirmed to me what a great church I belong to and how it makes me a better person every day.