Happy Valentine's Day!!
As I ran into Smith’s a few weeks ago for some birthday balloons for a neighbor, ALL of the plants happened to be marked down (!!! I didn't even know they carried plants beyond the floral shop!!!), & they were HUGE and beautiful 
. My goal to have one plant quickly turned into getting 3! They may not all survive, but for a month we've been loving them, and I loved that one little goal could become so much beauty. Almost as great as Anne setting a goal to bear her testimony, and standing up to do it last Sunday. I'm still not sure I have the hang of this goal thing, but I have decided that going one at a time is okay.
Other Jan/Feb Highlights:
Brian turned 51, and after started his Saturday refereeing of basketball games. He and Spencer built a great set of shelves in our storage room, (finally getting me to go through endless tubs of kid clothes--and donating 12 bagfulls!).
Emily got her wisdom teeth out as part of her mission preparation over President's Day weekend, and is still loving her roommates and college life. We love seeing Brent and Breely Sunday nights, and getting as many snapshots of Baby Thomas that we can.
Spencer got asked to Morp (prom backwards, therefore Girls Choice), and the sisters all here got to celebrate for him. He's started the stake's mission prep class, and fits in as much tennis as he can for winter. He went to Morp last night (prom backwards) with one of the dearest girls in the world--he has a jackpot of friends, which helps make up for the heart attack his grades sometimes cause.
Anne officially became a teenager this month, and her only request was to have a thriftstore shopping trip! She is having fun navigating friendships that are always in flux and full of insecurities/questions: Do they "play" or "hang out"?, and how to meet people she has things in common with? She is great to keep planning game nights or movie nights on the weekend to connect with people, or join her younger sister (when they can put up with each other). She started voice lessons and her first indoor soccer season, and seems to thrive on staying busy. She is becoming a fan of musicals, and when Studio C did an Andrew Lloyd Weber mockup called "Eggs, the Musical" https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Robotics revived for Lucy, and she turned 11 yesterday! She wanted to have a few friends over, and Anne jumped in helping her make invitations, a party schedule, and treasure hunt with treats! She even decorated the Tennis Ball cake Lucy wanted (YAY Anne!) We ended up being at a funeral, so only popped in for the last half hour to hand out pizza and take a picture---best party ever!
Jane's getting better at reading, and now acts like she's 37 in her seriousness and logic (except when injustice hits so hard that she tears off her clothes and screams and bangs the floor while insisting _________ is the favorite child instead of her). She also loves running around with the 40 little girls on our block (okay, more like 5, but it feels like 40). Though the most allergic to dogs in our family, she is lately obsessed with saving all of her money for a husky. (the longer the hair the better)
Seth: caught a cold/sore throat that finally seemed to cure him of his constant shrieking; Still calls nearly EVERYthing "Ball" (though he is adding sibling names and food words to his one syllable vocabulary) and throws anything he can get his hands on (especially down the stairs). He has reached the delightful stage where he thinks it's his duty to open and explore (dump) every cupboard/drawer/container/
I changed/helped Brent change a couple of car batteries (thank you winter) & about had a heart attack having one of my old Laurels surprise me IN OUR BASEMENT while I was just watching a movie--I didn't even know she was home from her mission, let alone in Utah (since her family relocated while she was gone)!!! SO great to reconnect!
With winter eliminating so many options, we've become avid Skull King players, and for most of January, there were rounds before school every morning (we're on an hour late start), and after dinner almost every night, so if all else fails, we can fall back on pirating.
We had our first ward funeral in our ward a few weeks ago, and yesterday attended the funeral for Dear Ben Gerlach --Brian was his counselor in our Syracuse Bishopric. It was such a tender reminder of the bigger picture of this life, and the things that matter most (relationships with God and each other). Besides being great alone time for Brian and me, it was also heart therapy being surrounded by that group of Syracuse family that we love so much, and being reminded of how blessed we've been wherever we've lived. And to cap it off, one benefit of this awful is that the technology is in place so that I could listen to Mom speak in her stake conference 2000 miles away.
There are good days and bad--I have to ramp up my Vitamin D to get through the winter, but after a rough/dark morning last week, I got a call from Maddie that her Brian had gotten the amazing promotion we had all been praying for, that they love their ward, and in essence, that things were coming together. I loved how she said, "It doesn't feel like it's working out.... until it does." Life is so like that--where it feels like I'm lost or disoriented. I'm not sure if I'm making progress (or if I can even set a goal!), and then something clicks, and somehow everything seems beautifully organized and prepared. Even just in that day, I went from this hopeless state to "This is the joy in posterity!---I could live in a dungeon suffereing anything if I know my children are finding joy in life." Love them, and all of you so much!
Love, Charlotte
