Tender Mercies

In this chaos that is life I have recently been so blessed to have three prayers of my heart answered without even asking.  These things were on my list of things to pray for but they were not urgent or very imminent but they were answered just the same.  The first one if Connor's Eagle project and merit badges.  I had been thinking that we needed to get this wrapped up here soon since he will be 18 in January and if everything isn't done prior to the 18th birthday it doesn't count.  I was going to get on this after school started but Kent Barlow the Scout Master in our ward called me last week and said that he wanted to help Connor finish his r few remaining merit badges and that he would help with with all his Eagle paperwork.  There are only 6 merit badges that Connor needed and only 2 of them I was worried about-swimming and camping.  Connor did not participate in hardly any camping trips during the last 5 years he has been in scouts for a multitude of reasons and they have to get 20 nights of camping done for that badge.  It has only been this year that he went on any camping trips with his troop so he was so far away from those 20 nights.  Kent said that he would help us with those nights by counting any hunting trips or camping trips he did with the family and even the Father and Sons campouts that are held every year-those alone would be 4 nights right there.  His scout leader in the other ward said he would pass him off for camping and cooking right away.  Then Connor needed to do either biking, hiking or swimming which are all very challenging.  He started swimming last year so we thought we could just get him to finish it but then we found out that he would have to do life saving as well if he did swimming.  Bryan Dorsey who works with Connor and Grandpa offered to help him get the hiking merit badge and they jumped right on it.  Since Friday night when Connor told me that, Bryan has taken him on 2 10 mile hikes already.  Connor did a hike a few years ago with Kent that he said he would count so that means Connor only has to do 2 more 10 mile hikes and 1 20 mile hike.  There are 2 other merit badges that were in progress with 2 leaders in his ward-physical fitness and first aid and he can wrap them up pretty quickly.  Kent said that he would help Connor get all his paperwork ready for the Eagle Board as well. 

Another issue I have been stressing about for a long long time and fasting and praying about it for any many months. The schoo district here requires all the kids to pass proficiency exams before they are able to get a diploma and even walk at graduation. Connor has taken these tests 3 times and failed 3 times. He can take them 3 more times before graduation and even one time after but if he were still at the high school if he didn't pass he couldn't walk at graduation. Well we learned this past week at Beacon's orientation that they will still let the kids walk at graduation even if they haven't passed the proficiency tests. Then they can take the test again if they haven't passed in the summer to try and pass again.  If he still doesn't pass he can get an adjusted diploma or go back to school next fall and take some classes and try again. There is something in the works that would not make the kids in the class of 2016 and on take the these tests at all so if that happens then he could take a few classes next fall and then graduate in 2016 with a full diploma.  All of things given me such hope and peace for Connor and hopefully now he can relax about these tests because graduation isn't looming over his head. And even if he doesn't pass he will still get to walk and he will still get a diploma.  

I have been worrying and praying and stressing about Caleb because of the struggles he has been having with being honest and being obedient.  Because he has been having such a hard time with these things we told him that it was going to be a while before he could get his drivers liscense because we were having a hard time trusting him.  Recently he has been trying really hard to be obedient because he wants his permit really bad. He has to have his permit for 6 months before he can get his liscense. So this desire that he has to drive has given rise to him doing what is expected of him so that we can feel like we can trust him enough to let him drive.  

Caleb wants to go on the Back East trip in the summer with a tour group for our valley. It is very expensive but very worth it.  We went to a information meeting about it and they said they wanted a $250 deposit to secure a spot. They usually have lots of room left for a long time but Caleb was at a friend's house the week after the meeting and the kids mom asked if we had paid for his spot yet and he said no.  She told him that they had just paid the day before and there were no spots left.  He called me and told me so I immediately called the trip planner and she said that she has 1 place left and if I brought her the money that afternoon he would have a spot.  That was a tender mercy!

I have been worrying about Cayden going to middle school and riding the bus.  We want him to keep going to tutoring with Mrs. Parker but she starts at 6:30 and school starts at 7:25.  That meant that 2 days a week we would have to get Cayden to Overton by 6:30 and then go back to get him to school by 7:15. We were called the week before school started and asked to be in a carpool that would help us tremendously getting him to school during the week when he goes to tutoring and when he doesn't.    We are each taking a day each week so that will help so much. 

Cayden hasn't played with any friends since his friend Dallin left in June.  I asked him repeatedly during the summer if he wanted to play with someone and he always said no.  Finally 4 days before school started he decided that he wanted to start playing with Spencer, a boy in our ward.  They have played 3 times since last week.  I have been worrying and stressing and praying for him about his social skills and now he is getting out of his shell.  I hope he will have a good experience at middle school. He has come home most days this week talking my ear off about all that went on at school that day.  I didn't really want to send him down to the middle school for various reasons but I felt like it was the right thing to do at his 5th grade graduation in June when the middle school principal got up to speak.  I felt a spirit of peace come over me that helped me feel that this is the right thing for him right now.  I have been frustrated lately about his lack of "quickly obeying" and not being as responsible or as independent as I would like him to be.  This has changed this week 2 nights interestingly enough when I was gone. I had Relief Society Tuesday night and when I got home he had the kitchen cleaned up, Kyle bathed, himself bathed and the front room cleaned up.  Then on Thursday I went to the temple and when I got home in the early evening he had his homework all done, he had put away is lunch box and emptied his back pack and even had washed his PE clothes-although he didn't quite do it the right way.  He did tried to do a few loads of laundry this weekend so we had to have a lesson on laundry so he wouldn't stop the cycle partway through and put ringing wet clothes in the dryer.  

All of these things have been weighing on my mind and while there are some other things that haven't been as easily resolved,  these  things that have been resolved or are on the way to resolution have increased my faith and my desire to honor and obey the commandments and keep my covenants so that The Lord will continue to bless and strengthen me and my family.