Beauty School Graduate!

Annie graduates beauty school in just a couple of weeks. So far she has cut my hair, Parkin's and dyed Adrian's. She is very talented and she is almost done with school!!

New "puppy" Wolfgang

 We got a new "puppy". Adrian's friend found him near her home he had no tags or chip. We took him thinking we might have better luck finding him a home. But we ended up liking him. He's a very gentle boy. Holman picks him up by his legs and he is just chill. Since he a German Shepherd he has a German name, Wolfgang. We call him wolfy for short. He is huge about 8 months. He is another shedder. He has definitely added to our year of change. All parents know that pets are not cared for by the kids who say I'll take care of him... somehow I always believe that will.

Work spoils!

I worked at Tractor Supply during the month of July with two student workers and every morning this Rooster asked to go home with me. On my last day at work I did as he wished and took him home. Isn't he regal looking?!

I also worked at Tanna's Botannas food truck is south Tucson with a student. Management was so kind and gave each of us two free specialty drinks!

I also worked at the Zoo during June and July and what they are known for are their pretzels. So on the last day I bought a student one and one for myself. What a great last week of summer camps!

Swim Team Wrap up!

Adrian was the only Howe kid to swim this summer. She switched teams too. Luckily cousin Frank did too and even more luckily Suzie took them to practice. How awesome was that?! Norman was also on the team so it was great to have Smiths at the meets too. Adrian finished the season with a 2nd place in Backstroke and a 2nd place in Butterfly with a PR! She also made the top 8 in Freestyle. She was one of two swimmers in the finals that didn't have a $300 Tech suit on... Unfortunately it really can make a huge difference. Feels a little elitist to me witch momma doesn't like. She swam like a champ and we are so very proud of all her effort!!

Olivia moves to Georgia

 Well it's almost been a month since our epic road trip with Olivia and our family best friend Cai!! Benjamin should have been a trucker he loves the road. He loves plotting and planning and most of all driving. Liv is the ultimate DJ and had full sets for different cities we entered. We made a point to always have our Stanley's full of soda and the car munchies stalked. Some highlights in no particular order.

1) Benjamin got to swim in the Blue Hole in New Mexico. It's a natural spring that has a consistent temperature of 60 degrees. We watched him jump in pouring rain.

2) Multiple trips to Buckees. That gas station meets a Hobby Lobby, meets a Target meets a BBQ meets a bakery....it is always entertaining.

3) I watched the entire 2 seasons of Guilded Age. So good. I started watching before I noticed the rating and it is just like Downton Abbey. Wholesome and oh so good!!

4) Meeting up with Sam and Bella to help Olivia settle in. They always bring the fun and levity!

5) The Coke Museum... majorly over priced and pretty disappointing. But we did get to try copious amounts of crazy flavored sodas...BBQ, melon, spicy...you name it they had it!

6) Olivia's roommates are super nice and her place is gorgeous!! Her commute to the office is beautiful and there's a QT right down the road.

7) We ended up eating at a supper sketchy Cookout in a rough part of Atlanta. Apparently an off duty worker was fed up with a tweaking homeless man who was trying to refill a cup he found in the trash. The worker then brandished his gun. Sam saw the whole thing and tried to act normal about the whole thing. It was quite lively. Good thing Olivia comes from Tucson (and Sam), different parts of town make a huge difference and can even feel like totally different countries. Luckily there is a Cookout close to her work, that is in a very good part of town.

8) we Got to go shopping and help her get her necessities, like Salmon...She did find a door mat at Home Depot for literal $1. It was nice too!

9) We went to a ward that was right next to the temple. Her singles ward meets there too.

10) Olivia is a baller. She landed this job and made it happen. Her two goals at work are to be highly useful and to be beloved....I love those goals for life! She has been just that for our family!!

The Power of visualizing forgiveness

 I was driving in the car listening to an NPR segment that I thought was real good. It talked about the literal power of visualizing forgiveness. I'm putting it here so I can find it easily!  This is just a portion of the interview.

"NPR's Michel Martin speaks with James Kimmel Jr., lecturer in psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, about his new book "The Science of Revenge."

MARTIN: Do you think that there's hope for this (overcoming the desire for revenge)? Because as you pointed out in the book, there are deep cultural warrants for revenge seeking. It's part of our literature. It's part of our culture. It's part of our sacred texts for some of us. What persuades you that you can persuade other people that there's a better way?

KIMMEL: In all of those sacred texts, we also have a deep philosophical and spiritual warrant for forgiveness. Philosophy preaches forgiveness, and now neuroscience shows that forgiveness has direct, pain-relieving brain biological benefits. Forgiveness is a practice. You can imagine thinking of a grievance right now in your mind, and now just imagine how you would feel if you decided to forgive it. Normally, when I ask that question of people, they'll respond, well, if I decide to forgive it, gee, I would feel better. Now, that might only last for a few moments. But with forgiveness, you can do that again and again and again, as often as you like. It's all in our best interest. If we want healing from trauma and pain and the wrongs of the past, there it is. It's available for you right now.

Fathers- One hundre ripples

In the spring I went on a field trip to Sabino Canyon. One of the nature guides was describing how the Daddy Robin bird has a red chest and his job is to distract other birds of prey away from his family's nest.  He told the group that is what Dads do. ...and I audibly said that's what good Dads do.

My blog is my journal. On good weeks I pick a highlight to talk about so that I can remember. On bad weeks I forget. Most of my writings are positive because it's better to think of happy things. But I occasionally write about struggles too because I don't want to forget what I learned from those times or how it shaped me and my family.  My kids will often go back and search topics so that they can remember the funny story, family lore or trial that was overcome. I don't want to whitewash my history and there are personal things that I will probably never write about but when it affects my whole family I feel it is important to include it because it informed our present and future.

In February Benjamin's father, Ron, called him up to tell him that he was leaving his wife, Benjamin's mother, for another woman. After 54 years of marriage and a lifetime of Barbara's service he was declaring his moral bankruptcy. He said it was nothing that she had done, and the whole family of 73 members can agree on that. The ripple this has had in our family is a hinge point in time for us. We have been rocked to our core. One of my daughters said the very ground beneath her feels unsteady. The cowardly way this was done is another witness to his character. Barbara's character has also shown. She has been left to face everyone in their former life together she alone as had to explain his absence. She has born their utter shock and dismay. She has boldly put her shoulders back and attended, church, graduations, plays because she has always magnified her fidelity to her family. My kids bring this up daily and it has been over 4 months. Benjamin sadly does not bring this up and has not really missed him because he has seen his father's example from a young age and has actively sought council from men with integrity and honor. 

I hope this post is one my family can look back on and see how Grandma overcame one of the hardest trials a person can endure. She did it by putting one foot in front of the other, with her family army beside her and with her eyes to her Savior for deliverance and peace.

Her ripples are the ones to be felt for eternity.

This is one of the poems my previous kinders had memorized and would recite. I loved explaining it's meaning:

One Hundred Ripples, author unknown 

Drop a stone into the water in a moment it is gone.

But there are a hundred ripples circling on and on and on.

Say an unkind word this moment in a moment it is gone. But there are a hundred ripples circling on and on and on.

Say a word of cheer and splendor in a moment it is gone. But there are a hundred ripples circling on and on and on.