My New Favorite Day of the Week Is...

...Sunday!!

For some reason, I was in an extremely good mood yesterday--being at church was the best thing ever, even though nothing special in particular happened. I was just really, really happy to be there for a change. Primary is total chaos; it's a miracle. I love it--I don't know why, but I totally love it. 5 year olds are my new favorite crowd--don't get me wrong, I still miss my two year olds, but now I don't know why I was ever so panicky about teaching the 5 year old crowd. I even had my little solid ball of energy (seriously, he looks and sounds like every other child, but instead of bones and skin and normal bits, I think he's made of pure energy) and he didn't even stop my mood. Now, if I could just get better about preparing the lesson before Saturday night I'd be set...

As if church weren't good enough, Financial Peace University finally started last night. I've been itching to start for a month and it was AWESOME!! We signed up for a class at a Baptist church in Bryant, since it was the only class close enough at a time we can both make. The people there were quite welcoming to us, even though they all seemed to know each other already, which made it a bit awkward. The thing that surprised us the most was how young the class hosts are. We found out during the class that Jake (who is probably close to my age), the host, just started the whole program about a year ago and he and his new wife, Haley, got married in April, so they're still newlyweds. Wow! Adam told me after the class was over that he was expecting an older, established couple--not a couple my age who are still working the program themselves. I think it's going to be a fantastic next 13 weeks! I can't wait :)))

Hello 2010!

I can't believe it's already been nearly a week of 2010 and I haven't posted yet. I've had a lot swirling around in my head & I was definitely enjoying all the time Adam had off work. Now it is back to the same routine, so I have a little more time.

We spent New Year's Eve with some friends in Conway watching Monk until 3 in the morning (well except for watching the ball drop at midnight :) They are funny and we hope to see them more often in 2010.

Adam can speak for himself, but I haven't really made any "resolutions" this year. First and foremost on our plate is the debt payoff, which is why we're signed up for Financial Peace University (and I am itching to begin!) I wish now we had done it two years ago when we first got into Dave Ramsey. Oh well, this is the year.

Other than the debt payoff, I haven't spelled anything out. I plan on continuing to make tiny changes in a few key places so that doesn't really seem much of a resolution. Right now I'm on a quest to find cheap, tasty, EASY recipes that are 110% foolproof (you think I'm kidding when I say a can't cook) that are good for both our budget and our bodies. The key is attempting to cook them. Depending on how the debt payoff goes, my dream is to start acupuncture, but that only happens when we can afford it, so if it must wait one more year, it will not end the world.

One big change we both have (which I'm hoping will benefit us both) is our callings at church. I have been happily hiding away in Nursery for almost 2 1/2 years, but they decided I needed out, despite my efforts to convince them otherwise. Adam has been doing the same thing as the Primary Pianist, but for not quite as long. Three weeks ago, they asked us if we were open to new callings. I am the new CTR 5 teacher and Adam is the new Valiant 11/12 (10/11?) teacher. It worked out quite well that they wanted me to train the new nursery leader (me? seriously? the woman had at least 4 kids, I think) for the last two weeks of 2009, so my first day in Primary was the first Sunday of 2010. Adam was supposed to start the same time as me, but ended up starting the Sunday after they asked him. It's definitely going to be a year of growth for us. It kind of became my joke, but I was only half kidding when I said I was terrified of kids who can think and talk for themselves. Nursery was my first real calling as an adult and I saw myself more as one of the kids in there than an effective leader. I guess that's why they moved me. I haven't been to Primary since I was of the appropriate age...but I think I love the 5 year olds already. Bill Cosby was definitely right.

I noticed that with the exception of my high school graduation, anything important has happened to me in an even year, so I have high hopes for 2010! :)

May 16, 2009

Is there anyone in the world who is not doing something on May 16 this year? On the plus side, we have plenty of options for things to do.

1. Our ward is taking the primary and youth on a temple trip to Memphis that morning.

2. One of Jax's friends from her home ward is getting hitched in the Oklahoma City temple that morning.

3. Jax's younger brother has his high school graduation that night in Alma.

4. My favorite local motorbike store is having their "Super Saturday Sale" that day in Little Rock, which just happens to include a fabulous price on a set of tires, which I will be about due for in mid-May.

5. One of my motorcycle gangs has been invited to a motorbike rally in Missouri.

There's even more, but I can't remember it all since we already know which things we are going to be able to do and which things we are just going to have to skip. Is this what it's like to have a social life, only every day? Geez!

New Calling

So it finally happened. After years of not being in primary at church, they finally found me and called me to be the pianist for primary. For those who don't know (most people, I suppose) I played the piano for primary for a couple of years when I lived in Conway. However, the day I met my future wifey, which also just happened to be my birthday, I was released from that calling in Conway, and had to start going to Sunday School with adults. Adults! What silliness! What nonsense! Anyway, since then I have occasionally played for other stuff, but I have mostly managed to keep my talent hidden under a bushel, like the scriptures say...

So today as I was helping Jax get the rooms ready for nursery, a counselor in the bishopric pulled me aside to discuss something with me. I was worried he was going to ask me to speak, or worse, though I have a hard time imagining anything worse than speaking. But instead of asking me to speak or say a prayer he told me they needed someone to play the piano for primary.

Honestly, this was the greatest calling that I have ever had in Conway, and I reckon it will still be fabulous in Little Rock. But, I can also say with perfect honesty that I will miss my nursery kids. Sure I will see them again in a year (three weeks for the older ones) but I will greatly miss the chance to see them learn and grow. They grow so fast it's unbelieveable, and they learn so much so quickly that I can barely keeep up with what they learn from one week to the next!

So I'm excited about being back in primary playing the piano again, but I'm also sad because I won't get to see the nursery kids nearly as much anymore.