Shantel's February

A few glimpses into my February: 

This meme. 

When you've officially run out of excuses: "Will likely be a little late because of who I am as a person." There is more truth to this than I wish there was. I justify sometimes by saying that really I'm a maximizer and if I can squeeze in XYZ before I go then that's better than getting there and waiting around. But a little voice in the back of my head reminds me of the time someone told me that people who are late value their time more than other peoples and when they use their time selfishly it makes them late. Darn. I am actively trying to be better at this, but also - I can only give so many excuses before I just have to admit that I might be a little late no matter what. 

Some books that I've been reading. I made a new friend (@readintorebecca) through some Ward Conference visits that we did for Stake Primary and she's been supplying me with fun new books to read. I have been doing 99% of any book reading via audiobooks - so it's been fun to get some books back in my hands. 

I've been expanding and deepending my friend community and have attended some really nice things. Early morning temple visits on the first Friday of each month (Cara and Bethany). A "Bunco Birthday Party" for a sweet friend, Dani. Plus lots of Marco Polos, meaningful conversations during field trips or coop pickup times, and opportunities to rub shoulders with some really amazing people. 

I also was able to attend our Stake Women Conference and enjoyed the morning thoroughly. It's always so neat to be able to join as sisters in the gospel to strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ and be reminded that we are in this together to strengthen, love, and lift each other. This class was taught by one of my sweet Primary Presidents, Tenille. I'm grateful for my stake calling that has given me such sweet friendships with so many amazing women. 

Homeschool Retreat Planning 

These pictures make me laugh because it's incredible that this chaos turned into such an amazing weekend! Last year Ali and I planned a homeschool retreat together and this year we wanted to do it again. It was planned for February 15-17 and even though it looks a little chaotic, Ali kept us well prepared and on track. I think we make a really good team and I am overwhelmingly grateful for her friendship. Here are some of the details of the prepwork:

Homeschool Retreat 2024

The retreat itself was smooth and amazing. Once again, Kate Naylor blessed my life immensely by offering to drive her truck. I had been insisting that I could drive my van, but having her drive was a huge blessing because it snowed much of the way and I wouldn't have felt nearly as confident as she did in her 4x4 truck. Due to some issues with our Airbnb getting canceled (twice!) we ended up hosting the retreat in Garden City (Bear Lake) and we loved it! 

We had a lovely weekend of workshops, outdoor activities, personal homeschool time, and good food. It was amazing to see the organizational chaos turn into such a delightful weekend. I'm grateful to be surrounded by so many women who love and work and care for their families so diligently. Homeschooling takes courage and it's a blessing to have a community of people who are brave enough to choose this homeschooling path and will help support and encourage each other along the way. 

I taught a workshop on "The Power of Fun in Homeschool" which I really loved prepping for and talking about. We painted one night, went on a snow bike ride one day, and spent the rest of the time learning and working together and during personal time. 

Community is important to me and I've loved seeing my community grow and strengthen in so many areas. This month has been wonderful as I've connected with others and been able to accomplish a lot. 

 This month has also been hard with the recent loss of Sue, who means so much to me. The grief has impacted me in significant ways and it's been harder to do a lot of my normal things to my normal levels. I've been so sad. I've had a hard time balancing things that usually are easier for me to handle. I cry at the merest mention of anything emotional (which if you know me, seems like it isn't much different- but I'm talking sobbing, not just tearing up). I have also felt peace, hope, and happiness - and it's been an interesting thing to watch the happiness and goodness walk hand in hand with the sorrow and slowness. 

Lydia Temple

One of the sweetest things about watching Lydia grow is up is bring able to do things that I love with her and being able to enjoy them together. Lydia has expressed desire to attend the temple regularly to do Baptisms for the Dead. David stayed home with the kids so Lydia and I could sneak away to the Draper temple early one morning. 

Lydia went in January to both the Saratoga Springs Temple and the Provo City Center Temple (with Wendy and Aubrey Rencher). We are planning to go to the St. George Temple in just a couple of weeks. It's neat to be able to choose which temple to go to, but I do also think there is value in getting really familiar with one temple so we will see what Lydia chooses to do in the future!

Valentine's Day

We had some nice Valentine celebrations this year. I'm glad that we have community to celebrate holidays like this with. Here are some highlights:

SPARK Coop Valentine Exchange

The kids reused boxes that we made last year and had a great time picking valentines at the store and handing them out to all of their friends.

Thursday Coop (Big and Mini) 

The big kids celebrated Valentine's Day at coop (no pictures) and we had a Valentine celebration for Mini Coop, too. We did some fun activities, made a craft, and had a Valentine Gift Exchange. I took the kids to the dollar store on our way home from pickup and let everyone pick something to use for the gift exchange. Everyone got to buy two of the same thing. I told them they could buy anything in the whole store thinking that they would come home with some cool things - but no. They all just picked massive bags of candy. I tried to talk them out of the candy, or at least of ALL of them buying candy. But they reminded me that I had told them they could buy anything and so I decided to allow it. For the gift exchange, we put one of each item in a bag and then did a "left, right" story where they had to pass the present. They got to keep whatever present they ended up with. Then for our Valentine exchange they took turns handing out their little valentines and when it was my turn I handed out each of the items that they had picked at the store. It was cute and fun and they all took home a MASSIVE amount of candy. 

Our own family celebration was simple and nice. We set out a a few decorations the night before so when the kids came down for breakfast they found the table set with a box of chocolates, a heart sucker, a box of candy hearts, and a letter telling them how much we love and appreciate them in our family. 

That night we had a "red" dinner, with juice, jello, and a red entree. We usually do spaghetti, but I remember having the supplies for something else and I asked David "Can we do this instead, it's red." and he agreed. But apparently we didn't take any pictures and now I can't remember, ha. 

To conclude our family Valentine Celebration I want to note here that I am so grateful for my five Valentines. I am a lucky mama to have so many sweet people to love. I love them for their individual characteristics and for how they work together to create this wonderful family. 

I'm also grateful for my everyday-everyyear-always-and-forever Valentine, David. He means the world to me and I couldn't be more grateful that I get to partner with my best friend through this life together. I love him.