Meredith-

Meredith is such a good student. She always tries so hard to get the best grades she can. She is always studying!!! She first got inducted into Beta Club in 6th grade at her middle school, and once again in her new HS, she has been inducted into Beta. 

One of Meredith's hardest classes this year has been her English Prep class. Her teacher is a HARD, HARD teacher, but Meredith loves and respects her so much. At the beginning of the year Meredith struggled tons in this class. She stayed after many days with her teacher and peers trying to keep up. After several months she turned a corner and began to rise to the top. Her teacher has used her papers as examples, and she compliments Meredith's writing style a lot. 

Meredith was thrilled a couple of weeks ago when she received this post card in the mail from that teacher.

Art-

Meredith excelled in this year! Her teacher has enjoyed her work and compliment her  work all year. He thinks she is so gifted at it, he insisted she take AP Art next year. He has pushed Meredith in her art ability this year by grading her a bit harder than others in her class. She has enjoyed this class though, and is looking forward to the AP Art class next year.

 I love her Merilyn Monroe picture. I couldn't believe it when she brought it home. I will be framing this one for her room! The picture below was her guide. I think she did great! She only got 89% on it though, which shocked me!

 She got 96% on this paper bag. I love all the detail! 

 Physics!-ugh!-Not one of Meredith's strengths!!! And I definitely couldn't be of any help to her, nor could Michael. So, we got her a tutor. A WONDERFUL tutor, whom we have loved, loved, loved having in our home. She has been such a help to Meredith. Meredith's grade came up to an A with her help!!!! Yay!!! Meredith, who was usually the one in class always asking for help, was excited to come home and tell me that kids in her class were actually asking her for help a few weeks ago. Emma (the tutor), came for an hour and a half each week. She even came one morning at 7AM before Meredith's last big test!!! Did I mention how much we LOVE her :) 

Last week was Emma's last week with us though. She and her husband are going back to China for the summer, then coming back to the US and he will start graduate school at Harvard University...yeah, one smart couple!

 Emma will be missed!

Can you tell this is the 7AM day. Meredith looks like she just rolled out of bed :)

Southern Lights: Atlanta Temple Youth Cultural Celebration

Last weekend on the 30th, my kids, along with 2700 other youth in our church, got to participate in a Cultural Celebration for the re-dedication of the Atlanta Temple that has been closed for almost 2 yrs. for renovations. I was fortunate enough to get to chaperone this awesome event. I wouldn't have wanted to miss seeing all the kids as they came off the stage for the world! It was an amazing experience they will never forget. As President Monson told them, "One day you youth will look back on this night and it will bring June flowers to your December days".

Atlanta Temple Youth Tour

Our 3 oldest children are youth age at our church.  They, like many other churches, meet on Wednesday nights for youth activities. On a usual Wednesday night, they might play dodge-a-ball, do a service project, work on personal progress for the girls, or scouts for the boys, etc...BUT, last night was a special Wednesday, because they got to go tour the Atlanta Temple. 

When they got home they all piled up on our bed to tell us all about it. All three of them said it was the most beautiful place they had ever been. Each one of them had something different that was special to them. 

We are going as a family on Saturday...can't wait!

You can read more about it by clicking this link: Atlanta Georgia Temple and click here for frequently asked questions.

Southern Lights: Atlanta Temple Youth Cultural Celebration. The chance of a lifetime!

Ye are all the children of light

1 Thessalonians 5:5

With the temple re-dedication we have reason to celebrate, and our 3 oldest get to be a part of this once in a lifetime opportunity! Countless hours have been put into this event. For the past couple of months on Wednesday night kids in our church from all over have been hard at work learning dance routines. Kids from all around the area, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida are all learning different dances. There are approximately 2700 youth preparing for this performance. The boys in our particular church are dressing in football uniforms and doing a dance. The girls in our church have a cute little jazz outfit, and they are doing a flag dance. This past Saturday, and the next two Saturdays to come, the kids have traveled and met together so they can practice, practice, practice. I am excited to get to be a chaperone on the day of the event. I can't wait to see the excitement on the kids faces when they come off the stage, where they got to perform for our beloved profit!

Pictured below are some of the girls in our church who are headed to practice! :)

You can read more about it by clicking the links below :)

Southern Lights: Atlanta Temple Youth Cultural Celebration | Atlanta Mormon Temple

Southern Lights.

TN Church Prom 2011

Last fall Meredith received a phone call from one of her oldest, dearest friends. He wanted to know if she would be his date to the TN church prom.  Meredith was flattered! These two have been friends since birth.  Actually, they were the first people to come visit us at the hospital the day Meredith was born. We love them dearly. They will always hold a special place in our hearts, they were our first friends in the 'boro.

Meredith was excited to get to go back home and be with all her friends. She misses them so much.

Meredith and Abigale. 

We all miss little Abigale. We loved that she would come sit with us almost every Sunday at church.

Fort Walton Beach Spring Break 2011

What a beautiful sight this is. We heard lots of squealing going on in the back of the van, as the kids started to see the water. 

 The first night we got there the boys had to go get some fresh shrimp. I think Max could eat his weight in shrimp.

The kids couldn't wait to get up and go on a morning walk each day.

 This was a first for Max. We haven't been to the beach since we adopted him. He loved everything about it. He told me that when he gets big he is going to have a house on the beach.

The kids were tuckered out by the time the sun went down. Max loved sleeping in the hallway bunk beds. He couldn't believe it when he first walked in and saw them. 

 Though we loved our vacation, it wasn't the same without our Meredith. BUT, she was having a blast with her friends and their family at Disney World. We missed her terribly the whole week. It was really hard to share her, especially knowing she will be going off to college soon. The kids kept saying this is what it's going to be like when Mere is gone to college. One night Mallory was missing her so much she cried and had to call her :(

 Meredith text me this picture one day asking if I remembered the same pose with Mickey and Minnie when she was 10. My reply was, "yes, just like it was yesterday"!

Mitchell is such a good driver, he drove half way to the beach, and half the way back. 

 We wanted to take Ollie with us, but there were no condos with pets allowed. We made sure and got him a good dog sitter. Our sweet neighbor Sophie watched him for us, and she did a wonderful job! We will definitely be hiring her again!

He seemed so much bigger when we got home. He looked like he had gained 10 lbs while we were gone. We were glad to get home to him, we all missed him!