We started off 2019 with a determination to make it better than 2018...we are still going to shoot for 2020 to be exceeding 2019 because life seems to be kicking our trash! Sometimes we are just trying to stay in the boat and not be whisked away down a river of fear and circumstance. We finished Christmas break and tried to continue life as usual-one such "usual" event is a cavity filling. I never had any cavities growing up, so the status of our children's pearly whites never ceases to surprise me as we keep our dentist busy!
At least they have great movies and friends, what more could you ask for?!
We have had a good snowy winter thus far and Grant loved starting his Snowblitz program again. He's becoming a great snowboarder. We thought we'd branch out in the winter sports arena and attempt ice skating-it wasn't too shabby!
Harrison had preschool and the other peeps had the day off, so it worked out well, I don't anticipate Harrison taking to the ice so well!
His cute preschool did have a fun field trip this month, so he still had fun times without skating. We went to the library and did a little hunt and watched them sort books in the back room.
While Harrison and friends were fascinated, it just gave me all the feels-someday I may just get my dream job there. Ha!
Because January is so bleak for many people, I guess I thought it would be a good month to be born in-just to add some color to the grey skies.
Dave tried to have my mom make a surprise cake-my favorite angel food cake with a balloon inside that would pop when I cut through it. It was a great attempt at a surprise/prank, but I had the last laugh because my knife just moved off the frosting and didn't slice through. It was still a happy birthday to me!
Grant's birthday happened to fall on a day when Dave was a way on a convention. It is the first time he has had to miss a birthday and he felt badly about it.
Fourteen! Half way through junior high-Hallelujah! I hear High School gets better?!
We dined at Cheesecake Factory
and came home for donuts and presents.
The day itself was pretty low key, but that's partially because we had a huge celebration in honor of Mr Grant
just a couple of days later- his eagle court of honor.
Hours of service, countless merit badge groaning, super fun camp outs and experiences and this kid did it!!
Grant has been so lucky to have the best scout leaders anyone could ever ask for-they were consistent, reliable, examples, fun and genuinely cared about him and every scout in their troop. This is Jason Nigbur, Adam Van Leeuwen and Eric Harrison helping get his Eagle award on the newbie.
Their leadership, Jason's in particular, has influenced so many young men in our neighborhood. There was a good handful that welcomed Grant into the Eagle's nest...
It was so fun to have so many Eagles there, this is only a portion of the line up. It was neat having so much support from neighbors, family and friends.
The program
was the perfect length. We maybe gave a reminder to the grandpas to keep those prayers concise! Haha!
Grant's eagle project benefited the Kauri Sue Hamilton School that he has been volunteering at for a couple of years. The Vice Principal that he has been working with came and spoke at the court of honor and was so complimentary of Grant. We hope he never forgets that night-the leadership qualities and goodness he has inside can influence so many for good, if he chooses to continue to help in the community.
Thank heavens for the moms who already had Eagle decor
and Shannon who put it all together
-it looked awesome!
One neighbor even made eagle heads to eat, so every detail was covered.
Of course it was a proud parent moment for us.
No child can feel the depth of love you have for them. How I wish my kids could see themselves through my eyes. We love Grant so much and will always be here for him. My hope is he taps into his potential and makes choices so that he can have the bright future that so easily can be his.
I had to add this pic-gotta love those goofballs in the back. This is about when Brenna's friend Kate was telling us goodbye. She knows all the extended family and was saying, "bye Shannon, bye Brenna's grandma." Then she added, "Bye David James McArthur, you son of a Gun!" Well, then! If Dave is a Son of a Gun, I don't even want to venture what that makes Grant! Whatever he is now, we know he can and will be awesome!!!!
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