Going... island life, and coming back (the story continued)

After Tim accepted (with a huge sigh of relief and prayer of gratitude) the job in the Azores, we had only a very short time to finish getting ready and leave. There continued to be more miracles along the way... the prompting to send our car with Mom and Dad as they drove to New Jersey, so that our car could be shipped and arrive on the island in a decent amount of time... the official (diplomatic) passports that came Saturday afternoon when we had to have them to travel late Sunday night... all the many people in Manila who helped us pack, move and clean, and who threw a party for us at the park after we spoke in sacrament meeting (we called it our "farewell"). At this point, I knew why we had been having promptings for so long- there is no way we could ever have arranged this move in the very short time that we had if we hadn't been preparing for months.

Mom, Dad, and Tim's brother Kevin dropped us off at the airport late Sunday night- our flight was to leave at midnight. They couldn't come past security, and it was a little hard to say goodbye. We were so, so excited, though. Each of the kids had their own rolling suitcase, and they were so good- wheeling all that luggage through the airport. And we did have a lot of luggage- as much as they allowed (thankfully this was BEFORE the surcharges started). We had to pack everything we would need for a while- (our stuff didn't come until October).

Our flights to the island were relatively painless. We travelled through Atlanta and Baltimore, arriving on the island of Terceira at midnight Monday. At the airport to meet us were the vice principal of the high school, another teacher, and the school psychologist, who we quickly discovered was in the branch presidency of the Lajes American Branch. Jed and his wife Sarah were extremely helpful in our transition- they had even been to the TLF (the base hotel) where we were staying, reconfigured our rooms into something that made sense, and stocked the pantry for us. That morning was teacher orientation for the new year. They let Tim sleep in, but he did get to go over later in the day. Talk about shell-shocked. Extreme jet lag, six kids, a strange environment and a new workplace are not the best combination. He got through it, though, as did we.

The kids started school while living in the TLF, which was nice since they could walk to school and our car was in the middle of the Atlantic somewhere. All of the kids made such an effortless transition (at least from my perspective). I was amazed by how smoothly they integrated into their classes in this strange place. Price and Josh were even adjusting to not being in the same class for the first time! Our move also meant that Rebekah started middle school, instead of being the oldest in the elementary for 6th grade. All of these transitions were aided by the fact that Lajes American School is excellent at receiving new students. They have to be- the school has a huge turnover every year, since families only stay for 2 years. Air Force kids are really good at making new friends, and they were quick to include the Walkers as well.

Our first week at church helped us get into the swing of things. Two branches meet in the same building in Praia: the American branch and the Portuguese branch, which also includes a couple of American families who help a lot with the leadership. One of these families was a great help to us as we looked for a house to rent: with their help we were able to find a nice, 4 bedroom house. It was in the same neighborhood that they lived in, and was close to another family in the branch, who also became good friends.

Houses there are a little different than we were used to: all the floors are red ceramic tile, the walls are made of cinderblock covered with plaster, and the windows have storm shutters that roll down for those scary Atlantic storms. The bathrooms were pretty much American standard, and had bidets, as well (we turned those off the first day... too much temptation for Annie to play in the water). When we first moved in, the echoes were overwhelming. There is nothing to absorb sound. Moving our furniture and carpets in helped. For the first time in our married life, we also had to deal with mold and mildew problems. Sometimes dry air is a blessing!

The best part of our house, as far as I was concerned, was its proximity to the ocean. Tim and I would take afternoon walks most days... a few blocks to the boardwalk along the ocean, and back home, making a circuit. I love the mountains here in Utah, but I do still miss the waves. I liked to stand at our upstairs window, where I could catch glimpses of waves breaking on the shore. Just a couple of blocks from our house we also had a great swimming hole where we spent many days playing in the sand and swimming in the (cold) water. Remember that we came the end of August and left in June. Summer heat never entered into the equation. It was absolutely gorgeous, though. I sometimes felt like I should pinch myself to see if I would wake up.

In other ways, though, I had a hard time. We were far away and fairly disconnected from our families. I had been so sure that there was some big, important thing for us to do in the Azores, and I wasn't seeing it. Tim was called as the Elder's Quorum President, and I served in the nursery and leading the singing, but I still struggled with wondering if I was somehow not living up to Heavenly Father's expectations of me. I thought that maybe I wasn't worthy to continue receiving revelation like I had been for the last year. Looking back on this time, I think I was a little depressed. With enough time, I think, I would have recovered and been totally happy there. That wasn't in the plan, though.

After a wonderful Christmas and New Year's spent with good friends, we started to look forward to our summer visit back in the States. Then, one day (I think it was February), Tim told me he wasn't sure we should come back for another year. I TOTALLY shot him down. I had come with every intention of staying at least two years... and then maybe going somewhere else in Europe. A while later, he brought it up again, mentioning that he thought maybe he should go back to school. I started to listen to his ideas... just a little. I also started praying about them.

I really wanted a life-altering revelation again. Tim felt so good about not staying, and I wanted to know without a doubt, too. What I received was less than satisfying: I was very clearly told that I should listen to my husband. I was never told whether or not his feelings were correct, just that I should listen to him. Anyone who knows me very well also knows how well that sat with me. It was a really big answer to swallow. And maybe it was a life-altering revelation like I'd been asking for. What I ultimately discovered was that I can trust Tim... and I can trust that Heavenly Father speaks to him, too.

So I was resigned to leaving the Azores. For what, I didn't know. We started filling out job applications, searching online, and looking at PhD programs. We originally thought that Tim should take a teaching job, and apply for a program through USU that caters to teachers. That wasn't really working out. In fact, we never even heard responses from ANY of the school districts that he applied to. That should have told me something, since the last time we sent out resumes in Utah he had been asked to interview for every single one. Then, at the end of April, we saw a news report on one of the Utah websites about a new PhD program that BYU was starting: Educational Measurement, Design and Evaluation. We knew almost nothing about it, but Tim's ears literally perked up when I read him the description. That was the one.

We didn't know how this could work, but gradually things started to fall into place. Tim applied, and we waited. In the meantime, Dad was thinking of taking a job in California. If he got it, they said, and we got into the program, we could live in their house. It sounded like a possibility. We moved out of our house the beginning of June, back into the TLF. While we were there, Tim had a phone interview with the committee, and took a written test online (another miracle: the morning AFTER the online test, our computer started smoking. Literally. Smoke was curling out the top.) It was a grueling couple of weeks, but just before we got on the plane again, we got an email saying that the committee was recommending Tim for acceptance into the program. Over the next weeks, we also discovered that he would receive a fellowship, health insurance for the whole family, and all tuition paid.

The other thing that worked out differently than we thought was our housing. Dad did get offered the job in California, but didn't take it. Somehow that turned into us moving into their house WITH them. That wouldn't have been my first choice- I was worried about imposing on Mom and Dad with my 6 children. We have seen so many wonderful blessings from this arrangement, though. I hope they feel, as I do, that we are blessed to have 3 generations in the same home for a few years.

I still don't know exactly why we went to the Azores. It was a wonderful experience for all of us. We will remember our time there forever. But there was never an "aha!" moment... I never had the feeling that THIS was why we came. Instead, I have come to realize that there were many reasons. I only know a few now- our move away from Manila facilitated Tim's going back to school. I don't know if he would have done it without first being uprooted. Our kids have experienced a foreign country. Our time in the branch and with the missionaries was so valuable for their testimonies. I think there are many more factors that I don't see yet. Maybe they will become clear later, and maybe not. What is important is that I know that it was the right thing to do.

Since we have been back, I still struggle sometimes. What helps the most is to remember that our amazing journey isn't over yet. There is a plan for our family, just as there is for everyone. I don't know where we will be in a few years, but I'm excited. I can't wait to see what the next step will be!

Long Weekend!

I have a love-hate relationship with school. When the kids are in school, I feel like we don't have enough time together, and I resent the stress of homework, projects, and early mornings. I really do enjoy my days with just Annie, though. I get so much done! On days off, I love the time together (well, most of the time), but I also can't wait for everyone to go back to school so I can get the house clean again. I guess school keeps me balanced.

This weekend was a fun one. Saturday we all went to the Legacy Center in Lehi (the community rec center). They have a great indoor pool, and we all had a blast. No pictures, since I was in the water, so you'll have to use your imagination (don't try too hard, though... you really don't need to imagine me in a swimsuit). There is a regular lap pool there, but also a leisure pool with a big treehouse type thing with water toys (water guns, a huge bucket to dump water on everyone, slides, etc.), a lazy river, a little kids play area, and a huge waterslide that is almost completely outside the building. The water was bathwater warm, and felt wonderful on a freezing-cold-inversion day. Emma absolutely loves the water... when I saw her jumping, bouncing, splashing, and swimming, I wondered how we could have kept her away for so long. She is already asking me if we can go swimming on the first day the PG pool opens this summer!

Sunday was nice, too. We didn't do anything different than usual, except that this was our third week of no-technology Sunday. In the past, we have been pretty lax about Sunday activities. We didn't really have definite guidelines in place for what was okay and what was not okay, so we all ended up getting away with a lot. A few weeks ago, we decided that we all needed a weekly break from all things technological... computers, video games, t.v., etc. It has been wonderful. The kids are getting work done on their Faith in God/Young Women Recognition awards, we are playing lots of games together, and there is a much better spirit in our home. We do have one exception to the rules: if we all do a good job of being non-tech during the day, then we can all watch Nature on PBS in the evening. This is a long-standing tradition at our house (except for last year in the Azores, of course), and provides a way for everyone to wind down and be together peacefully. The biggest part of the success of our Sundays so far is MY commitment not to be on the computer. I was spending a good part of my day on the computer, and since I'm not now, I am more willing and available to do things with the kids. It's good for me, too.

Today, Tim needed to catch up on his school work- all of his teachers are requiring a ton of reading this semester. I took the kids to BYU for the day. We visited the Art Museum, where there is an exhibit by Dan Steinhilber that is really fun. All of his stuff is made out of "junk": trash bags, balloons, PVC pipe, hangers, flourescent bulbs, packing peanuts... the kids loved it.

That is a big pile of packing peanuts, with industrial fans pointed at it. Every few minutes, the fans come on and blow the peanuts all over the place. Totally cool. The weird black thing to the right is a packing peanut/plastic bag sculpture- he sucked the air out with a vacuum.

When we were done with that we had to make the obligatory stop at the Bean Museum. We lucked out and arrived just as they were starting a reptile show. At one point, the girl doing the show asked, "Does anyone know what the only two venomous lizards are?" Price raised his hand, and was called on. "Gila Monster," he replied correctly. "That's right," she said, "and what is the other one?" Josh raised his hand. "Mexican Beaded Lizard." He was right. Where do my children learn these things?

When we had had our fill of the museum, I took the kids grocery shopping. That's always a risky proposition. They did pretty good, though- I paired little kids with big kids and sent them off on errands to find things on my list. Shopping is definitely faster that way! The only downside to the shopping this time was Emma... she refused to go with Price, tripped over the shopping cart several times (because I wouldn't let her ride IN the cart), and was devastated when I didn't get her donuts... or cupcakes... or candy bars... or ice cream.... I hope she grows out of this phase soon.

Ethan taught the FHE lesson- all about what will happen when he gets be baptized in June, and what he is doing to prepare for it. I think, in general, that our Family Home Evenings are getting better, not worse, but there is still a whole lot of yelling, shushing, and sitting on kids so they can't run around (headlocks are not out of the question). Pretty soon they'll all be teenagers, so they'll just sit through it half asleep anyway, right? Maybe it will at least be quiet.

Tomorrow we have school again. I'm ready. Definitely.

Leaps of Faith

This is going to be a long post, but I wanted to record this, and maybe it will help someone in the process. This is a copy of the talk I gave in sacrament meeting before we left for the Azores in August of 2007. It is still amazing to me.

The Gift of the Holy Ghost

I have been asked to speak to you today about the gift of the Holy Ghost. Many of you know something about the experiences that Tim and I have had over this last year. I would like to use these experiences to help you to understand what I have learned about the Holy Ghost. I hope that listening to the story of my growing faith will also help your faith to grow, and will help you be worthy, to listen, and to be obedient to the promptings of the spirit.

1) The first thing I learned is that if I am trying to live worthy to have the spirit with me, he can guide me even if I don't realize it at the time. One year ago, Tim and I attended a school conference together in Cedar City. At dinner the first night, we sat by Bishop and Sister N. Because we were sitting at a table with them, we attracted a higher class of people than we would have by ourselves. In particular, I ended up sitting next to the superintendent of another school district. I asked him about his teaching career, and he told us that he had taught in Germany, for the Department of Defense, for most of the time he was raising his family. He was enthusiastic about his experience there, and recommended it highly. As Tim and I walked away from dinner that night, it was like a light bulb went on- what an amazing experience it would be to take our family overseas to live! We researched the job possibilities online and talked more about it. I really think that without the subtle guidance of the spirit at that point, we would have dropped the whole thing. Hello- we had 6 young children, a great job, and a nice home in a community that we love. To leave for a complete unknown seemed insane. However, we didn't drop it. By the time we picked our kids up from Grandma's house, we were convinced. We came home and applied for the next school year.

2) The Spirit will guide me to have righteous desires. Over the next 5 months or so, we researched more about the places that we could be sent (which included most of Europe, Japan and South Korea), what the church was like in those different places, and what the job benefits would be. The place that intrigued us most was a small school on an air force base in the Azores, an island chain 900 miles off the coast of Portugal, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I didn't know what was so attractive about this location: it is considered a "hardship" posting when you're in the Air Force, but we were really drawn to this place. I knew, from my research, that one of the principals there, J.A., was a BYU graduate and had 5 kids, so I figured he was LDS. Remember his name for later. We didn't have a firm conviction yet that we were going to end up doing this- in particular, we had read that most job offers come in July and August. "Oh well", I thought, "if we don't know by the end of the school year, we just won't be able to do it- it just won't work." But the possibility of moving overseas was in the back of my mind all the time.

3) The Spirit, for me, is easiest to communicate with in sacred places, especially in the temple. In January, I attended a Relief Society Temple Day. When I went into the temple, I was thinking about how much I loved living in Manila. I love our ward, the schools, my children's friends, and my friends. I was thinking what a safe place Manila is for our children, and how I would be crazy to leave that behing. Sitting in the celestial room after our session, pondering these things, two clear and distinct thoughts came into my mind: 1- Safe isn't necessarily the best thing for your kids, and 2- Get ready. I was petrified. I came home and was shaking as I told Tim what had happened. At the same time, though, I was obedient. I immediately started making a list of things that might possibly need to be done if we were to leave. It included things that needed to be fixed so we could sell our house, things we needed to buy, sell, give away or trash, buying school clothes for the kids, applying for passports, making doctor's appointments, and about a thousand other things. And I started to work.
After my experience in the temple, I was anxious for Tim to have the same confirmation as I did. So, in February, we went together to the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. It was a nice time together, but I was disappointed when Tim didn't say anything afterwards. For about the next two weeks, though, Tim was really in a bad mood. I thought it was because I kept talking about moving overseas, and I offered to stop- to retract Tim's application and drop the whole thing. I didn't think it was worth the strain to our marriage. "No", he said. "Don't do that." "Why not?" I asked. "Because we are supposed to do this. And I think I know where we're going- to the Azores." I thanked him very sarcastically for waiting two whole weeks after his inspiration in the temple to inform me about it, but I was glad to have my own feelings confirmed.

4)At this point, I learned that inspiration and faith are not a one-time thing. They require constant feeding. My faith was not always strong during this period. I would go to church or to the temple, and feel strongly that we were doing the right thing. As soon as I would leave that situation, though, I would start to have doubts. I have learned over and over again that I am able to have and sustain faith when I put myself in places and situations where I can feel the spirit. I can't tell you how much your Relief Society and Sunday School lessons, testimonies, talks, and even casual conversations have done for me. Being in the temple was always an amazing experience. Words in the hymns seemed to jump out at me: Did you know that practically every hymn in the hymn book is about having faith and trusting in the Lord? At least it seems that way to me lately.

Page 128- "I will not doubt, I will not fear; God's love and strength are always near. His Spirit guides: His love assures That fear departs when faith endures."

Page 217- the phrase "By the patience of hope" struck me hard. Having hope makes it possible to be patient!

Page 241- "When upon life's billows you are tempest-tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost, count your many blessings; name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done." When I remember what He has done for me in the past, I have faith and hope that He will help me now.

The scriptures have also been very important to me during this journey.
1 Nephi 16:28- And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them.

Mosiah 29:20- But behold, he did deliver them because they did humble themselves before him; and because they cried mightily unto him he did deliver them out of bondage; and thus doth the Lord work with his power in all cases among the children of men, extending the arm of mercy towards them that put their trust in him." (emphasis added) By the way, the "bondage" we were in was not Manila, but uncertainty.

2 Nephi 7:7 For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

I took comfort from the fact that when I was in "spiritual" places, I was sure we were doing the right thing, and that everything would work out. If you want the guidance of the spirit, you have to surround yourself with spiritual things.

5) The Lord has his own timetable. I am going to fast forward now to the end of May. For a couple of months, I had been hoping and praying that we would know something by May 15th. I thought we NEEDED to know by then, so that we would have time to prepare, and so we would know that we had a job for next year before we turned down a contract here. However, it didn't happen. I still felt that we were doing the right thing, but we had heard absolutely nothing from the Department of defense or from any school in the system. And then, a few days before graduation, we received a contract in the mail- for Tim to teach here next year. We had ten days to make a decision and send it back. This was possibly the scariest decision we have ever had to make. We wanted to give the school district as long as possible to find a replacement for Tim if we were leaving, but we had heard nothing about another job. I had to go to the temple.

6)Heavenly Father knows me and my situation, and He will send His Spirit to bear witness to that fact. We did go to the temple- Mt. Timpanogos again (my parents live close and are good babysitters). While we were there I had an experience that is very sacred to me. And then I knew- without any doubt at all- that Tim was not to sign that contract. I remember sitting there praying, "Okay, Heavenly Father, we're deciding not to sign the contract. Let us know if we're making a bad decision." I just needed one last confirmation, and I got it. At that point, there was no fear, no doubt, only hope and faith, and knowledge. We were doing the right thing.

7) Heavenly Father sometimes requires leaps of faith based only on what the Spirit whispers to us. So we did it. Tim went the next day to Superintendent N and resigned- he already knew the whole story. He is Tim's boss and our bishop. We started getting our house ready to sell. And we steeled ourselves for the questions we knew we would get about our decision: "You're leaving? Where are you going?" Um... we didn't actually know. It was a little awkward, but we knew, absolutely, that we were making the right decision. 8) At that point, I learned that it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks as long as I knwo that I am doing what Heavenly Father wants me to do.

On July 10th, I wrote the following in my journal. "We still haven't heard a word from DOD, but we do have an offer to buy our house. We have learned much of faith from this experience. I know what it is to act on faith and to strive for hope. I am learning that my happiness is an expression of my faith. I know that my Heavenly Father will take care of my family. There is a place for us, and the plans are laid in heaven- they will be revealed to us as we need to know them. Hopefully, that will be soon- school starts there in less than 7 weeks." Actually, the ONLY communication we had had from the DOD was that they might not be hiring anyone from the States this year because of school closings and internal transfers. Not very encouraging. We were trying very much to trust in Heavenly Father's plan for us.

9) The next thing I learned is that the Spirit will guide others to intervene in my behalf. On July 11th, something happened that I never, in a million years, could have predicted. Bishop N. called Tim from Cedar City. He and G. were at the same conference I talked about at the beginning of this story. They had been waiting to talk to someone after one of the sessions, but had to wait because she was talking to someone else. The Bishop overheard a couple of key words: Department of Defense School, and Azores. Since he knows the entire story, he knew something was going on, and introduced himself. The person this lady was talking to was J.A., from the Lajes American School in the Azores. He has recently moved back to Utah, but is still acting principal until the end of July. The Bishop, being the good friend that he is, immediatly started selling Tim. G. tells me he literally accosted the man every time they saw him over the next 2 days. We are very grateful for his persistence, that he listened to the spirit and recognized what was happening.

You can probably guess the rest of the story. Tim had a phone interview with the current principal there, and when he called her back a couple of days later, she said, "First of all, let me welcome you to Lajes American School." That was exactly the right thing for her to say.

So we are moving to the Azores- a place I'd never known existed before last year. We still don't know exactly why we are supposed to be there. I suspect we will learn more of this story as we go forward in faith. I am sure that the Lajes Military Branch of the church has some jobs for us. I suspect that this will be an enriching and amazing experience for our children. I also know that there will be many challenges associated with this adventure: we will be far away from family and familiarity. Our children have never moved or changed schools before. Branches of the church tend to be very labor-intensive to live in. People in the Azores speak Portuguese. We don't- yet. But no matter what happens, I know that we are meant to be there, and I am grateful to Heavenly Father for letting us participate a little in this process. He could have arranged things to run smoothly, with no major decisions required of us. But insted, He gave us the chance to increase our faith in Him. We have been prepared and tested for the last year, and now we will be given opportunities to serve Him in another place. The Lord really does work in mysterious ways. We are ready to go to the Azores, to learn and grow and to serve. I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for His wisdom and guidance.

I hope that our experience has helped you also. I hope that you know of Heavenly Father's love for you, and of His interest in everything you do. I hope you know that He will answer your prayers, and that He guides your life. The Holy Ghost is the most amazing gift we could ever have- I pray that we can all work to make ourselves worthy to receive it and recognize it.

Did anyone make it through? I think I needed to review our experience as much as I needed to share it. I'll tell the next part of the story later- mostly because I need to continue to realize the hand of the Lord in my life.

Remembering

I am so grateful for the temple. Tim and I went while the kids were in school today, and once again I came away so humbled, peaceful and renewed. Nowhere else do I feel the love of my Heavenly Father like I do there. I know, logically, that I can receive revelation anywhere... in my car, in my bedroom, while I'm doing laundry, but there is just something about the temple (no distractions, maybe) that brings the Spirit into focus for me. I have had many amazing experiences- miracles have happened.

Today what I felt was love. That was what I needed. Our experience in going to the Azores was so amazing- and I was so involved with the whole process, that sometimes being here, now, is a little anti-climactic. Tim's PhD program, and the perks that go along with it, have been a great blessing. For the most part, though, I am not involved. This is all about Tim. I am relegated to a supporting role. Don't get me wrong- I love my supporting role. But sometimes, I wonder if what I'm doing is important. If I'm really needed.

After today, I know. The answer is yes. I am needed, I am loved, and I am doing the right thing. Heavenly Father knows me. Why is it so easy for me to forget that?

Utah Olympic Park

Needing something fun to do today, we drove to Park City and spent the afternoon at Utah Olympic Park. The visitor's center has two museums, one on the history of skiing, and another on the 2002 Olympics. The bobsled run is right next door, and there are ski jumps just around the corner, with people practicing on them! It was a great place to take the kids, especially since it is all totally free (unless you want to take a bobsled ride yourself, in which case they want $200. We opted out.). The only downside was the outside temperature- we would have watched ski jump practice longer if we hadn't all been freezing!

Virtual skiing

One of the cool, huge puppets used in the Olympic opening ceremony- there was also a HUGE bison head, but I couldn't get a good camera angle.

Our family the bobsled team! (Not to be confused with the Jamaican bobsled team.)

Rebekah and an Olympic torch

Outside with the cool Olympic standard thingy...

Standing by the bobsled track. Next time, I'll have to ask Tim to tell me when he's taking the picture! We were all FREEZING, so we didn't choose to stick around for a second try.

Our day was completed with a stop for Cracker Jacks, wherein we introduced our children to the joys of really, really cheap toy prizes. Fun!

Annie's First Piano Lesson!

A picture of Annie NOT blurry is extremely rare. Even during her first piano lesson. She was super excited to be learning how to play the piano like the big kids. These will not be serious lessons for a long time- mostly just developing finger strength and awareness right now. Thanks, Grandma!

New Year's Resolutions

During Christmas break I was reading a blog where a lady (I have no idea where I found this now) talked about how she'd been doing the Body for Life program for 14 weeks with her husband, and how much success they'd had. She had pictures of herself in her old "tight" jeans- with inches to spare. It made me start thinking. I tend to eat healthy and exercise for a day or two, until it gets hard and I give in to temptation. When I read this blog, though, I thought about those 14 weeks that she talked about. I decided that 14 weeks from now I could still be complaining about my bad habits, or I could change them and see good results. I mentioned my thoughts to Tim, and he said, "Okay, let's do it!" So we are.

Today is Day 5. So far so good- I really like doing this with Tim. It makes eating right easier- I don't feel deprived if he's deprived too, I guess. Working out together is fun, too. We have been going to the rec center (kind of hard to walk outside with 12 inches of snow on the ground), and we have liked it a lot.

So there you go. That was my bid to commit myself publicly. From now on, if you hear anything it will be only if there is good news. You'll never see a "before" picture, although we did take them. If I never post about this again, you'll know this was one more failed attempt.

But I am hopeful....

Christmas Piano Recital

January 2 the kids had their piano recital. They were amazing! I don't know where they got it from, but all 5 of them (Annie is still untested) seem to have this mutant gene that allows them to do BETTER under pressure. I don't understand it, but I am grateful- it makes performances fun! Annie had Joyschool today and they talked about setting goals. She has set a goal to learn to play a song on the piano. Mom is going to start teaching her now, too. I guess we'll see how her nerves are next recital.

For the record, here are the songs the kids played:
Rebekah- What Child is This, and Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree with Missy.
Price- Deck the Halls
Josh- Jolly Old St. Nicholas
Price and Josh together- Little Drummer Boy
Ethan- Up on the Housetop
Emma- Silent Night

We were glad that Grandma Shipley, Grandma and Grandpa Walker, Aunt Sandy and cousins Brian and Logan were able to come, too! It's nice to have an appreciative audience.