So, what now?

Struggling but also thriving.  I think a lot of us are in that situation. 

Riker.

    Written by Lillian

Riker our dog loves getting walked and due to the corona virus we have been take walks at parks every morning Riker seemed to have noticed I'm almost always there so this morning when my mom was waking me up Riker came into my bed and curled into a ball right next to me (Riker loves comfortable spots and will plop down all tired) so it took me a while to  get up but when I did he followed me every where finally we went on a walk to northgate.

Crazy Lock Down at the Hare's

 Made by Lillian, Lately, during this long spring break, we have entered a war zone of what to do in the morning and whether or not to have video games (some times that rebellion's meeting is five in the morning.)
it was pretty rough the first day of break which scared us to think we might tear down the house with our fights but now it,s pretty much resolved but they are wars on who gets to play the new animal crossing.

It's pretty fun!

Here are the people who run the video game rebellion

                                                  Anthony: Their leader

                                                     Jack: Ally
                                                   Patrica: The Slightly Innocent Follower

Is this life now?

There is Patricia, March 13th, in what Wes Sr. called 'the last public performance in Oregon'.  I don't even know what exactly to say about what social distancing, cancelling school for 6 weeks (at least), cancelling every public performance, meeting, conference, trip, etc.

On Wednesday and Thursday of this week, they started cancelling things.  Big things.  State Basketball playoffs, DECA competitions, Choir tours for the kids at South.  Then theatre performances.  At a certain point, I was in agony for all the people who were having events cancelled.  I was struggling to concentrate at work, I was SO distressed.  I kept thinking... this is like an 'extrovert's nightmare'.

Finally, I did something I hadn't ever had occasion to do before.  I accessed my EAP benefits and arranged for a phone counselling appointment. Friday, I spoke for 45 minutes to a very kind therapist who talked to me...At one point she asked, 'I wonder if this is all triggering something for you?' and I said, 'Now that you mention it...'

When I was 20, I ended up with bilateral reflex sympathetic dystrophy in both feet.  It became extremely painful for me to walk more than a few steps, so I became wheelchair-bound.  My feet were swollen, hot, and tender.  To really compound the situation, we moved, as planned, to Eugene, to complete our education at the University of Oregon.  We knew pretty much no one, and the people who reached out from church were mostly rebuffed by me, because I was so ashamed of my state, of the state of the apartment.  Additionally, for most of this 8 month period, we didn't know what was wrong with me.  So we didn't know if anything would ever be better.  We lived on the 3rd floor of an apartment building, I did school remotely, and I was alone all the time except for Wesley.

She asked me what things helped me through this period.  Suggested the tools I used then might help me weather this hard time as well.

So amazed by how helpful 45 minutes can be. 

Lillian is getting braces soon!  She has two orthodontists right now.  They're dueling for her business.  She's seeing one of them everywhere she goes, so I guess he's really trying to have her as a patient!

Roland's First Sacrament Meeting talk

Once the youth in our church reach the age of 12, they start participating in Sacrament Meeting, by giving short talks, usually based on a General Conference talk.

Roland's first talk filled us with pride, because he worked very hard on it, and other than listening to him practice it, we had no input.  A kind man in the ward asked him for a copy (the ultimate compliment), so I transcribed it for him, and decided to post it!

My name is Roland Hare for those of you who don’t know me.  I like football and the Ducks.  I didn't like the National Championship.  I've been asked to give a talk on Our Greatest Coach by Matthew Garrett.  

Coming to church is like a practice.  The scriptures are like a playbook, for any type of defense Satan sends that tries to put us down.  A normal day can be like a scrimmage or a game, at work or at school.

He is always teaching and challenging us, many times he gives us adversity to challenge us.  A coach might put you at defensive end, arguably the most disciplined player on the field, to strengthen you.  He might make you a high councilman.

He always has a game plan for each one of us, like ‘what job we have in the ward’  Home teachers are like personal trainers.

He knows our strengths and weaknesses, so whatever position we're in, he wants us to be there.

He inspires and motivates us, he wants us to return to live with him again.  He is like a coach, he roots for us even when we've lost the way.

He is always teaching.  The lord has said that we must be prepared and follow His instructions if we want to succeed.

He has a Game plan, he never lets us quit.  He pushes the team to the tend and expects hard work because he knows every second that passes is a second closer to the end of the game-and to reaching the ultimate victory.

He is aware of each player’s needs.  And no one loves us, knows us, or cares for us as much as our Heavenly Father.  

He knows when to call time-out.  Like a dedicated coach watching us in a game or practice, Heavenly Father knows how we are performing.

He inspires and motivates.  Like a coach who passionately roots for the players, Heavenly Father is always there to motivate, inspire, and cheer for us, especially when we face our toughest opponents.

He promotes unity.  We are all ‘sons and daughters unto God’. D&C 76:24.

He makes practice joyful.  As we learn and grow, Heavenly Father wants us to find happiness and enjoy each day, not suffer through life.  

He always helps us win.  If we remain faithful players on His team and listen to His divine instruction, we will win ‘a great victory’  2 Samuel 23:10,12 and receive the ultimate reward, even His kingdom and all that He has.

Fulfill your personal plan:  Seek through the Spirit to identify it and carefully follow that direction that the Lord has put in your life.  What you decide to do now will affect how well you fulfill that divine personal plan He has for you.

I have a testimony of the gospel.  I know Joseph Smith translated the plates.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Why do you arrange author visits?

So I've told this story so many times, it almost seems apocryphal.  When I was a little girl, 1st or 2nd grade at Sumpter, my class was ushered into the library at school to hear an author speak.  He was a young (seemingly to me at the time, tall), with a head full of curly hair.  I must have loved listening to him speak, because I still remember him telling a story about arguing with his publishers about whether 'inched across the room' was still appropriate now that the metric system was adopted in Canada, or whether 'centimetered across the room was the current usage'.  I doubt I understood what that was about, but I collected his books after that (sadly at the time, I had no book to be signed by him, my (possibly flawed) recollection is that we in my grade were included in this experience at the last minute).  I owned many books as a girl:  The Bruno & Boots Series, No Coins Please, I Want to Go Home, Who is Bugs Potter.    

I don't know what happened to any of those books, but even as an adult I would pick up his newer books, both children's and Young Adult titles.

When I started volunteering for the Scholastic Book Fair at Schirle, our wonderful Librarian arranged a visit for popular children's author Roland Smith to take place during my spring fair.  I was thrilled to hear this news, told that story to her, and worked to help take some of the fundraising burden off the library.

The kids responded to this visit with enthusiasm I hadn't imagined.  They lined up each book fair shift desperately trying to get more titles from the author.  I was sold on author visits even more than I had been!
Since then, I have booked or helped facilitate visits from:
Suzane Selfors

Stephanie Bodeen

Deborah Hopkinson

Robert. D. SanSouci

Which brings me to this year:
Gordon Korman

I had always had a goal of bringing him to my kids' school.  However, it is expensive, and he lives far away.  Due to the unprecedented success of a new fundraiser last year, I knew it was time to ask for the funding!

Many of the teachers (who were as excited as me) wanted to know:  how did you get him?  The answer:  I asked for the money and asked him.  It was more work than that, and I needed to find another school, as he wanted a 2 school commitment (he was already headed to LA for two days of this week).  Easy:  I asked my first choice school, Roland's (then future) middle school.  Even though it was a much bigger financial commitment for them (percentage-wise) they took a deep breath and said yes!

It was quite a bit of work to make it happen (I've never had an author come from farther, and I've never been point person when we were sharing an author with another school).  But it was wonderful.  The kids responded so well to his presentations, they laughed, and were generally very enthusiastic later.

Gordon Korman was so kind to me, and gracious to everyone he met.  I think it must be hard to through your lot in with complete strangers, but he is a champ.

Wesley and I had a chance to show him around downtown a little, and we enjoyed getting to know him.

Roland meeting the author, getting his books signed.

Crossler's day was pretty chill, but Schirle was a whirlwind of book signing, presentations, faculty luncheons, special guests from the district and Scholastic, and kindergarten classroom visits.

Some teachers were pretty excited!

I was so pleased it went off without a major hitch, and got a picture with the author before he left.

Major life goal:  Check!  Now I can't wait to book next year's author!