Nathanael has now been a missionary for 15 months. For me, the time seems to be going really fast and I am already thinking that he will be home for all the holidays next year :) The people of Chile like to celebrate a few American holidays including Halloween. He and his companion bought candy to hand out to the kids. He said that a lot of the parents took pictures of them handing candy to the children. I guess it seemed funny to them to watch missionaries handing out candy. He said that they ended up running out of candy because they had so many trick-or-treaters. The "tricky" thing for him this last month has been trying to find members who are less active and getting them to come back to church. In the end, it was a "treat" to have a few of them come back to church after many months of inactivity. His e-mails sounded as if there were some small miracles occurring last month. It is such a "treat" to have Nathanael serving a mission and watch him grow in so many ways.
October was "tricky" for Lindsay to try to keep up with so many activities. She had a lot going on this last month. She participated in a choir concert in which she performed with both the Chamber choir and A' cappella choir. Between them both, she learned and sang seven pieces. She also was invited to Homecoming again this year. She was asked by a good friend and so she was not really nervous. She seemed to have a really good time. The day date was simple and appropriate and it was fun to help her get ready for Homecoming for her Senior year. Finally, she recently earned her Honor Bee for Young Womens. She needed to complete 40 hours of service, read the Book of Mormon again, and help another young woman with her goals towards Personal Progress. When the Bishop asked her what the most difficult thing was, he wondered if it was reading The Book of Mormon- to which she replied that that was the easiest one. She has developed a habit of studying her scriptures every day. For her, the most difficult thing was remembering to write down her service hours. Because she earned her Honor Bee, Lindsay was asked to speak in their Young Women of Excellence evening. She bore her testimony and it was truly a "treat" to hear her testify of the things that she knows to be true. She doesn't bear it often and so it was a touching experience to listen to what she had to say. For Halloween, she decided to be the "Queen of Broken Hearts". She wanted to be a bit unique. We took a normal "Queen of Hearts" costume and turned all the hearts into broken hearts and then we crimped and teased her hair and made her make-up messy. She was pleased with the result. It was a "treat" to see her participate in all those activities this last month.
Ethan also had a busy October. His choir also put on a concert and it was a "tricky" night as there was also dance and a soccer game. Travis and I ended up showing up to watch the concert at different times with me leaving in the middle to go get Clarissa from dance. However, I was able to make it just in time to see him perform and it is always a "treat" to watch him sing. He has gotten a lot of his buddies to join choir and sing with him and it is a "treat" to see him and his friends enjoy music and sports together. Ethan's soccer team had a goal to make it to division one and it was "tricky" to win the toughest teams on the road. One game in particular, the referees did not show up and so they played a scrimmage but it was not official. It had to be rescheduled and ended up being the last game of the season. They both were playing for first place in their division. All the hard work that Travis and the boys put in and a bit of luck paid off. They won first place and are now in division one. Ethan chose to be a Gladiator for Halloween. His costume looked cool and it has been a "treat" to watch him continue to develop his talents.
October has been a big month for Clarissa. She has been working really hard in Irish dance. The Utah State Feis (Irish dance competition) was in October. She is competing in Novice and Prizewinner levels now and it is a lot harder and "trickier" to place. She also has been going to extra practices to prepare for the Western Region Oireachtas coming to Salt Lake for the very first time. She is in a group of 8 girls that dance the "high cauld cap". The girls competed in the Utah State Feis to get some experience performing it together and poor Clarissa was so nervous that she made a couple of mistakes. It kind of threw the group "off" and others started making mistakes. Clarissa was very disappointed and felt really bad. She cried all the way home. She felt that she had let her group down. The next day was "tricky" because she had to compete with her solo dances and she was extremely anxious because of what had happened the night before. However, she did very well and was able to place in a couple of dances-including one first place. It was a "treat" to see her overcome her disappointment and anxiety and perform her best. Clarissa decided to be a "masquerade ball attendee". Many people associated her costume with Christine from "Phantom of the Opera"- I can totally see that with her! Clarissa is a "treat" to have in our home because of her goodness and desire to do what is right and do her best.
Zachary has had a great time in October. He played soccer with his best friends and was coached by his Dad. It was somewhat "tricky" during the season because we had to reschedule a few of his games because Travis could not be coaching two teams at the same time. However, it all worked out and it was a "treat" to watch Zachary score some goals this season and understand the game better while "goofing" with his friends as well :) Zachary also could not wait for Halloween. He was so excited! I was able to help with his Halloween class party. Zac was "Captain Rex" from "Star Wars". There was another little girl who was a clone trooper in his class. They happened to be put in the same group for the activities. He would carry her mask with his and set them down so they would not get ruined. He took very good care of the masks. The little girl then took his hand and they held hands while waiting for their turns playing the games. It was very cute. It has been a "treat" to see Zachary's growth in so many areas. He is thriving in school and is making new friends. It is a "treat" to see him become more independent.
My "moment of joy" this last month was at the Utah State Feis. In the competition, there are soft-shoe dances and hard-shoe dances. The hard shoes can be slippery and during one of the hard-shoe dance competitions, a girl in Clarissa's group for the solo dance competitions, slipped and fell during her dance. The judges allowed the young lady to do it again by herself (usually three go at a time). After she finished, the audience all clapped for her in support. I noticed that not one of the girls she was competing against clapped for her except Clarissa. I am sure the other girls were not sure what they were supposed to do, however, Clarissa spontaneously clapped for her because she was so happy for her to perform again and do so well. Managing these kids can be a "trick" but I am so grateful for all the "treats" that I get from being their mother.
