Sun Valley Reunion - Friday, August 4, 2023

August 4th, we started our last of 3 family reunions this summer.  This time we drove up to Sun Valley, Idaho to meet with Trek's family again, but this time we got to spend some time with Tylee since she wasn't able to make it to the Park City Reunion.

It is a 6 hour drive to Sun Valley, but it's a beautiful drive & Sun Valley is just breathtakingly beautiful.  We left after Trek got home from work & we were able to arrive around 5pm which was perfect.  Tylee had rented a big house for all of us to sleep in out in the middle of nowhere which was SO nice.  125 Acres of beautiful rolling hills & mountains near the ski resort & it was ALL ours for the weekend.  It was us, Tylee/Jeff & their family, Talon & Carolyn & their family, & Opa & Oma.

Friday night, Tylee & Jeff had to work late, but had arranged for the grown ups to go out to a nice dinner together.  They had pizza delivered to the house for the kids.  We went to a wonderful restaurant called "Tundra."  It was super fancy (Trek & I aren't used to fancy things in life.). There were 6 of us eating & the bill came to $450!  I don't think I've ever eaten at a place like that before.  We had yummy appetizers like calamari, prawns, salads, bread, & more.  I had the spicy pork pasta for dinner.  Trek had the cod while everyone else had steak & halibut.  For dessert we had peach crisp, panna cotta, chocolate mousse, & carrot cake.  All of it was divine.  Tylee is so wonderful to treat us to something like that.  We'd never do it on our own. . . she spoils us.

We spent the rest of the evening making smores with the kids, playing games like Super Mega Lucky Box, & just chatting.  It was really nice.  I love family time.

 

Cadence - 4 areas in 4 transfers - November 2, 2023

 Сайн байцгаана уу?

So from my title you can probably gather that I moved again...yep I left Choibalsan after one transfer which is unheard of because that area is known for its missionaries staying excessively long. My comp will begin her 4th transfer there now. I feel bad because she was so convinced she was going to leave so we visited all of her favorite families and investigators the week before so she could say goodbye. Oh well. Now I am back in the city in the northern part called Jargalant. My new companion's name is Sister Tims and she is so cute and awesome! She just finished her training too so this will be a fun transfer full of learning. We also found out we will share an apartment with the Sukhbaatar sisters so the four of us have been having fun together! Also my old companion Sister Myers shares an apartment with us which has been a blast!

Sorry I haven't written in a few weeks. Honestly mission life has gotten so busy lately and I've been having to prep for going back to school some pdays (I can't believe I have to think about that now 😅). But I promise I'll be more consistent with my emails again now. In the past couple of weeks, we've been able to have a mission tour which was super fun! We learned a lot of great things from Elder McCune about improving the work here in Mongolia. He taught us about how to better work with members so this transfer, we are really going to focus on that.

Also, last week in Choibalsan, we threw a big Halloween Party for our ward. It was lowkey the most stressful thing I've ever done in my whole life because we had to figure out how to feed 100 people with barely any ward funds- also we did not use the funds ourselves because that is not allowed. We made a leader go buy everything for us. Yet it was still stressful planning it all. We settled on making tuna sandwiches and cookies for our party because that's honestly all we could afford. The day of the party, we went straight to the church and spent 5 hours prepping for the party. This included making 200 cookies, 100 sandwiches, preping games for the party, and making decorations for it all. It was a lot of work but the sweet youth in Choibalsan helped us out so much with making decorations. They were all for putting everything together to make the church look spooky. The day of the party, we discovered that it's actually illegal to throw Halloween parties in Mongolia because parents don't like how spooky and devilish it can be but we still did the party because яах вэ? Many of the people who came were English students so it was fun to be able to build relationships between them and members.

Honestly, when I left Choibalsan I was so sad. I really wanted to stay and keep up what we had going. We were working with some of the best people I've ever met here in Mongolia and they were so ready to be converted to Christ. But I am excited for the adventures that await us here in Jargalant. Like I said earlier, my comp is straight out of training and our ward just gained Elders this transfer as well so we're all kind of new. This means we don't know much about the area but we are excited to hit the ground running! I'm also super happy to be back in the city where I can meet all my old friends from previous areas. It's been a party so far!

Also we teach lots of English here! We teach at a middle school for 3 hours every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on top of church classes. The middle schoolers are so cute and anywhere from 9-14 years old. The school is like a private school so the kids are really invested in learning English and actually want to talk to us. I love it!

This week, I was speed reading the Book of Mormon and came across Alma 37, which is a great chapter. One of the things Alma teaches his son, Helaman, which is found in verse 34 really stood out to me. He taught:

34 Teach them to never be weary of good works, but to be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find rest to their souls.

I loved this verse and found so much comfort in it. First, I found it interesting how the Lord wants us to never be weary of good works, and in order to do that, we must be meek. If we are willing to love and serve our neighbor and put aside our pride, the Lord promises that we will find rest. Sometimes I serve people on the mission and it becomes super tiring for me. But despite how physically tiring service can be, Heavenly Father can always promise us spiritual rest from our labors. I have felt rest through Him over the course of my mission. I have felt His strength when I physically needed it and all the while felt peace and joy in the work I have done. I am thankful for His plan for me and thankful for this work. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Potter

Cadence - Gedes bol 2/10 - October 10, 2023

 Сайн байцгаана уу! This week was an interesting adventure for sure. For starters, we had 65 people show up to mutual so that was pretty awesome! We kind of spent too much time setting up and preparing for it so I'm glad something good came out of it because through that activity we gained 2 new investigators and 2 more potentially interested youth. We turned the chapel into a giant blanket/pillow fort and watched elementals with the kids and ate lots of snacks. The youth really enjoyed it and it got a lot of people to be active and participate! 

This week, I also tried some new food! Some ward members made us boiled sheep organs the night of fast Sunday...let's just say my hunger after fasting left really quickly after that haha. The organs consisted of stomach (filled with boiled blood and fat), stomach skin, lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, and intestines. The heart and liver were definitely the easiest things to get down. While eating, I literally started crying because it was so scary to look at but in all actuality, it was a lot less nasty than I thought it would be. So I was thankful that the Lord answered my prayers and helped me eat it all. On top of that, we ate tons of buuz this week...which was also not my favorite thing ever. But at one member's house, they fed us pumpkin soup, pizza, and chocolate cake with ice-cream on top! It was like a member visit in America! That visit literally made my day and powered me through the rest of the week!

English classes have been growing big as ever. In my beginner class, we have around 20-25 people on average. Piano classes are also growing a lot. I had 6 students at the last lesson between the ages of 10 and 65. It is sometimes really hard to teach such a wide age group but we have fun together! I also love teaching my english class here because they are always so excited to try and speak even if they say everything so wrong. It's fun to talk to them! Also, two of my students have picked up learning magic tricks so they show me a new one after class every day. This week, Mongolia also celebrated teacher's day and I was flooded with texts from all of my amazing students across mongolia. I've been so blessed to teach so many awesome people!

In terms of investigators, we have been progressing with a lot of people. When I first got here, I met one investigator who had been taking lessons for a year but never got baptized. My companion told me she couldn't be baptized because she has a tumor in her leg so she can't move on her own. When we asked her, she said people told her she couldn't be baptized so she gave up trying. Then, with the announcement of the temple in Mongolia, I just knew we had to baptize her because she wanted to go to the temple so badly. So after talking with my Mission President, we got special permission to help her with the baptism and she will be able to do it very easily. It hurts to think she could have done this a year ago but I am thankful for her patience with us and for her willingness to now accept the invitation to be baptized. 

We also met with a new investigator this week who sought out the church on Facebook. He was so kind and simply a sweet old man. He seemed skeptical about somethings we taught him but listened to us intently. Then we invited him to pray and explained how to do it. Later that day, he called us and asked us to remind him how to end a prayer. It was the cutest call ever. I know that the Lord has truly prepared people who are ready and willing to learn the gospel. When they truly believe, they will act on their faith. I want to be like them and act in Faith at all times. I want to follow their examples and seek truth like they do.

This week, I was reading in Jacob and came across this amazing scripture about prophets. Jacob 4:6 teaches:

6 Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea.

I love this scripture because it reminds us that the scriptures are not the only things we must study to grow our faith. Just like studying the scriptures, studying the words of the Prophet is so important. We have a current true and living prophet on the Earth today to help us. I am thankful to have a living prophet who leads and guides us. His words help us. We just recently had general conference so I invite all of you to go back and study all the things that were taught two weeks ago. Really try to apply them in your life. Those words have helped me in my missionary work and efforts. Thank you all for reading my emails and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Potter

Also we went and watched the sun rise this morning and it was so beautiful!

Cadence - So Many Flies! - October 3, 2023

 Сайн байцгаана уу! Sorry it's only been 5 days since our last pday so this email won't be super long hehe. Things out here have been amazing as always! However, we did receive some very special news this week that Mongolia is going to receive a temple! Isn't that so crazy? I woke up on Monday morning to our district leader screaming on the morning call. I had no idea what was going on so I just went to the bathroom to start getting ready for the day. Then my comp started shouting my name and I was so confused...then I found out that President Nelson had announced we would get a temple just an hour earlier! Facebook was swarmed with all of my favorite members posting about the temple. It was so cool to see all of their old temple pictures at the Hong Kong temple...and now they don't have to travel to China to go! I am so happy for the people here and the blessings that await them in the temple! I miss the temple so much so I can't even imagine how much joy they are feeling after never having one nearby.

Another wonderful thing we got to do this week was take fun walks to the river here in Choibalsan with all of our youth. The church building is right next to the river walk so we have fun hanging out after English together. I love the youth here in Choibalsan so much! They are all converts and all of them joined the Church alone, so they inspire me so much! It must be tough to change your whole life by yourself without your family supporting your decision at age 14. I have so much love and respect for them. We also had the privilege of running into some LA members throughout the week and with the Spirit guiding us, we were able to meet with said LA families and preach to them the good news about the temple. A lot of people here are excited to come back to church now that they are realizing what it takes to go to the temple. I think that building a temple here will be a big step in bringing the members here closer to Christ.

English classes are great as ever! This one sweet woman and her sister came to the church to find our English class the other day. We started talking to the woman about the classes and she told us that she had gone to the classes 10 years ago and that she just recently remembered them. She said she had fond memories of the classes and the feelings of our church building so she wanted to come back and give English another try. I know that the Spirit was talking to her and urging her to come back to the church building, even if it wasn't for church reasons. She felt the presence of the Holy Ghost back in the day and was reminded of it, which brought her back. I know that the Spirit works like this in all of our lives. Every time we are reminded of the fond memories we have with our family or coming to church are impressions from the Holy Ghost inviting us to feel God's love and come unto Him. God wants us to be happy so He is always open for us to come to Him.

Also I hope you all had a chance to listen to General Conference this past weekend. General Conference is an event that happens twice a year and it's broadcasted to everyone in the whole world. At this event, our Prophet, apostles, and other church leaders speak to us about messages God needs us to hear at this time. It's a wonderful way to learn about God's plan for us in the latter days and also a great way to receive answers to our questions from God. One message that really stood out to me was from our Prophet Russell M. Nelson, who talked about thinking celestial. What this means is that we need to start focusing our lives more on our covenants and our goal to be with our Heavenly Father again. I also really liked the message someone else shared where they said that we should not focus on making sure we do everything to get to the celestial kingdom after this life but instead focus on wanting to be with God after this life. I really want to work on developing more love for God because I know that through focusing on the celestial things and by loving God, we realize that the work God has put us on Earth to do is not hard. Our motivation to do the work He asks of us increases and our desire to be better improves. I am thankful that Heavenly Father is so involved in helping us constantly learn, progress, and grow. I am thankful for the knowledge He has given us about what happens after this life. I am thankful we can be together with our family for eternity. If you have any questions let me know! Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Potter

Also for context: I titled this email "so many flies" because there are so many flies here! It's crazy! They get stuck in my hair and eyes 24/7 and I have to walk around covering my mouth so that I don't breath them in haha

Cadence - An Adventure across Mongolia 🇲🇳 - September 28, 2023

 Sain baitsgaana uu! 

This past week was amazing! Firstly, we had a huge increase in people coming to our English class! Last Monday we ended up teaching 25 kids! It was chaotic but so fun in the end. We also got to meet with some of my favorite members in the ward which was super special as well. I love the people in Darkhan with my whole heart and visiting them has been a special experoence for me. Also, last Monday, people finally came to our YSA FHE, which made it a huge success! We played lots of American games that the new senior couple brought from America including Phase 10, Cover your Assests, and Farkle. I got to see one of our investigators again after a while of not meeting with her too which was a nice surprise. Also, the senior couple had all the missionaries in Darkhan over for enchiladas. It was probably the best food I've ever had! We also sang hymns together and prayed together like a big family which was very special.

Unfortunately, the transfer ended and I got moved again! I was so sad that I couldn't stay with Sister Quincy in Darkhan. It felt like we were together for such a short time! Instead of staying, I got sent to a cool new area called Choibalsan, which is a town far away from the city UB. So I traveled down from Darkhan to the city (7 hour train ride), waited a couple hours, then rode the bus for 12 hours with my new comp Sister Anujin. We got to Choibalsan around 5 in the morning, then slept for an hour and a half, then woke up and got to work. I have never been so tired in my entire life haha. But I love my new comp and new area so much already. Sister Anujin is literally the sweetest and she helps me so much with my Mongolian. I also enjoy helping her learn English. Together we make a great team! 

Choibalsan is such a cool area. There are no mountains so everything is completely flat. Also, the flies are so bad here! They buzz in huge swarms and cling to your clothes while your walking. I have to cover my nose and mouth to stop them from going it when we walk around haha. Also, apparently, the ward here is huge and our investigator list is massive so I'm excited to get to work here! Also, I'm the first American sister to come to Choibalsan in a year so everyone was pretty surprised to see an American sister again. The English class here is super fun and big and we also get to teach piano classes and teach kids English at a cute orphanage. I haven't taught there yet but I'm sure it will be super fun!

Nothing else is really new here but I am excited for all the new experiences we are going to make in this area. With the end of my mission approaching (final 6 months) I really want to make the most of the time I have left. So I want to work even harder to make even stronger relationships with people. Coming to an area where my Mongolian companion is leading is a little hard only because she has already made those relationships and she understands people perfectly. So naturally, everyone turns to her for advice and questions, including questions about me that I could answer myself. It's humbling to be in this position but it is teaching me patience and I am still thankful for the situation I've been put in. I will work very hard this transfer to apply my knowledge and build those relationships and I am thankful for this area!

This week, in preparation for our lessons, I studied examples of faith in the Book of Mormon. In Nephi 16, it tells the story of how Nephi broke his bow and how, through his faith, he received guidance from the Lord on where to hunt after making himself a new bow. The Lord guided them through a compass. He described:

28 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them.

29 And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read, which did give us understanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.

I know that we can receive miracles for our faith and diligence: however our faith and diligence must come first. The Lord works according to our faith and diligence, not the other way around. I know that faith and diligence are crucial to becoming a lifelong disciple of Jesus Christ and that if we do not continually strive to have faith, it is easier for us to falter. Faith has helped me through the hardest times on my mission because it pushes you to act even when nothing else seems to be going well. I am thankful for the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I am also thankful for the love Heavenly Father has shown me throughout the mission. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Potter

Cadence - Юмгүй дээ - September 19, 2023

 Сайн байцгаана уу ах эгч нараа! I hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far. As the fall approaches, the weather has gotten colder and colder. I am so excited for it to be cold again! With the approaching fall, I've also had the chance to make pumpkin cookies and pumpkin bread this week! While visiting a member, she gave us 3 freshly grown pumpkins and it felt like literal Christmas! I love pumpkins!

This week, many of our amazing investigators have been going through the ups and downs of coming unto Christ. It is always difficult to watch them struggle through discovering what they believe or want to believe as we progress in the lessons, especially because I know of the truthfulness of the things we teach. I know that the things we teach can bless their lives, but part of helping bring people to Christ is supporting them with patience and love as they develop faith on their own. It is so hard yet seeing them come to church and seek understanding is a tender mercy to me. Also one of our sweet investigators, Uilst, is working up the courage to convince her dad to let her join the church. So please keep her in your prayers and pray that her father's heart will be softened.

Our English class is steadily growing which is awesome! We had 5 new (adult!) students come to class yesterday which was a miracle! Class was chaotic because they all brought their 3 year olds - trying to teach English while kids bang on the piano and climb on stacks of chairs is a little stressful but it worked out okay. I love my English class because they are so eager to participate in the lessons here. There have been classes in the past that barely say anything but these students want to learn all they can which is awesome!

We also had the opportunity to visit many sweet members this week which was fun. Unfortunately, many members are struggling with really difficult challenges and it breaks my heart. But I am thankful that through Christ we can find hope. I am thankful I get the opportunity to share that message with all of the sweet members in need of some hope. It's still difficult to see them struggle. However, I just imagine how much harder it is for God to see us struggle since His love for us is even greater. I know that God gives us trials so that we can grow stronger and so that we can grow our faith. All trials are given to us for our good and that is something I love about life. Life is hard, and the mission is hard, but we can always overcome through our faith in Christ and through striving to be better. 

Other fun stuff:

- We got to pick berries at Oyuntsetseg's house!

- It rained 3 times this week!

- I've consistently learned 20 new words every day this week (finally haha)

- We did an exchange with the Erdenet sisters which was super fun!

- We also had interviews with President which was awesome!

- I taught the bishop how to check his email (it took 45 minutes)

- We got to help a cute lady in the ward at her job at a hospital - we carried stethoscopes and thermometers and a bunch of other stuff around the building for a bit. She also left us with the keys to the entire hospital haha

- I finished my 3rd mission journal this week

Today I officially hit 1 year as a missionary! One year ago today, I had no idea what I was getting into, but I was excited for the adventure that awaited. On this day one year ago, I studied 2 Nephi 28: 30 which says:

30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.

Over the course of my mission, I have come to know that this is true. There have been times where I have become frustrated with the language, or members, or my companion, or the work, or with myself because I didn't have all the answers. But Heavenly Father has all the answers. He knows what is best for us. That is why He expects us to trust Him. Little by little, He helps us grow and learn and understand. I am thankful for the opportunity I have had to deepen my trust in God throughout this year. I am learning so much from Him and from the people I have met on this journey. I am excited to tackle the last 6 months with all my heart, might, mind, and strength! I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Potter

Cadence - Highs & Lows - September 11, 2023

 Сайн байцгаана уу! This was one of the most emotional rollercoaster weeks I've experienced on the mission haha. Everything this week was great of course! There were simply many perfect days and equally many slow, unproductive days so it felt like a rollercoaster. 

First off, we gained 3 amazing investigators this past week. We've been fasting and praying for a while to receive help building up this area and we finally found people ready and eager to learn about Jesus Christ. The best part is that they all came through awesome members in the ward so they already have friends that fellowship them and invite them to all the activities! And all three of them are so eager to build testimonies and learn more...they even ask us when we are meeting next. I really love each of them and am so thankful for the opportunity to work with them. They help me see the joy of the gospel through an outsider's perspective as well. The biggest tender mercy was seeing our sweet investigator Michidmaa run up to us before sacrament and explain how she prayed and received an answer and now she is so excited to learn more about having faith in Jesus. We met with another investigator one night and she took the time to make us some yummy tsuivan despite the fact that she had been at work all day long. I felt her love through her service and I felt her joy deeply. I know that Heavenly Father has prepared people who are ready and willing to seek answers and seek faith. I love missionary work!

Another miracle we experienced this week was growth in our English classes! We were so tired of not having any English students come to our class in New Darkhan, so we made and passed out English flyers left and right and even made some English videos and advertisements on our English Facebook page. After praying and working really hard, we got a whopping 25 people to show up to our class out of no where! Unfortunately the other elders asked us to start teaching the Old Darkhan English classes, so we don't get to continue teaching all the new students but we are happy the class got built up! Now we will work on building up the Old Darkhan classes! Teaching English is so fun and I feel super lucky to have so many English teaching assignments here!

We participated in some fun member visits this week and the APs came all the way up here to do exchanges with the elders so we had a total of 9 missionaries in Darkhan! We got to pick Seabuckthorn berries for this sweet old lady, who then proceeded to give me a bunch of her old pairs of shoes as thanks for the service (the people here are so kind and loving hehe). We also went to one house where they served us tons of big fat chunks. Fat is one of my food weaknesses, and I wasn't feeling super good that night, so when the members left the room, I stuffed all the fat chunks into my jacket pockets. There were definitely better ways to get rid of the fat but my mind was running too fast to think clearly. I also stepped in the member's son's poop on my way to the bathroom so that was a surprise. Also, all the elders and my companion hate tomatoes and at one house we visited, no one would eat the member's homegrown tomatoes, so I took one for the team and ate at least 3 fist sized pickled tomatoes. It was hard but not as bad as eating straight fat.

This week, we were given the opportunity to serve many people and in each of these opportunities, I felt pure joy. I can testify that this is the joy we will feel in Heaven after this life. I have felt charity, the love of God, so much on this mission and I am truly so thankful for this small taste of Heaven on Earth. I testify that service connects us with others and with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Through charity, we can feel closer to Christ because we are following His example through our service. Before the mission, I was very lazy and selfish. I never wanted to do hard work so I didn't see the joy in service. But the mission has taught me just how important and impactful it can be in someone's life. I am eternally grateful for the lessons I have learned through the mission and I know that this one was the most important for me to learn. 

Lastly, I want to testify of the importance of hope. This week, I finally finished the Book of Mormon for the first time on my mission! It took a long time because I really wanted to study it indepth and annotate everything I learned throughout my mission. As I was studying the end, I came across two verses that really stood out to me:

Moroni 9: 25

25 My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever.

Moroni 10: 22 -23

22 And if ye have no hope ye must needs be in despair; and despair cometh because of iniquity. 

23 And Christ truly said unto our fathers: If ye have faith ye can do all things which are expedient unto me.

I love all of these verses that testify of Christ and the hope He gives us. I have felt this hope every day of the mission. I have felt His support and His grace and His strength and He has helped me along the way. I love in verse 22 when it says "despair cometh because of iniquity" because I've learned that our purpose is not to have despair. Our purpose is to feel joy and the only time we should feel sadness is when we make mistakes. But after that, we can feel joy again because Christ gave us the gift of Repentance. I really want to seek this joy and hope more in my life and after the mission. I am thankful for the hope Christ gives me. I love my Savior and I testify that He lives. He loves us and He suffered for us so that we could have this hope. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Potter

Canyon Gets Braces!

The first week of August, it was Canyon's turn to put on braces.  He is a little luckier than Bladen this time around because he gets to use Invisalign instead of metal bracket braces.  This is just phase 1 of braces for him.  The purpose of this phase is to bring down his top front teeth that are growing out rather than down.  If he were to have an accident & hit or land on his face, he has a bigger chance of breaking his jaw because of the direction his teeth are growing.  Since Canyon is my known accident prone kiddo, we figured we'd play it safe & bring those teeth into proper position now to avoid problems in the future.

The Invisalign are great.  They are clear so you don't see them & you can take them out when you eat so you're not restricted on anything like candy, chips, nuts, etc.  Each week, he throws away his current set of retainers & puts on the next one (they are numbered so we know what number we are on).  They are REALLY tight that first day & he says they hurt a little bit, but then his teeth move into position & he's great the rest of the week until it's time to put the next new one on.

He's very excited to see what these do for his teeth.  He's been SO good & SO responsible so far with his braces.  He takes very good care of them & of his teeth.  His smile has always brought me joy so I'm glad it is now bringing him joy too.

 

Happy Birthday Harry Potter

By the time July 31st rolled around, we were SO tired of not having our things.  Life just didn't feel normal & I could tell my kids were struggling for something familiar.

So. . . I planned a Harry Potter Birthday party & invited all the kids in the neighborhood.  We didn't know ANY of them, but put the invite out there anyway & several actually showed up which was awesome.

I still didn't have my cake pans or any of my decorating supplies so I bought 2 cheap discounted cakes from the Walmart bakery, a couple tubs of white frosting, & some food coloring so I could refrost the cakes the way I wanted to.  I put the frosting into a ziplock bag & "piped" it onto both cakes.  It turned out just fine.

The kids all came over & we watched Harry Potter 3 (because Canyon had just finished reading it the day before) on the one TV we had in the house.

I made butterbeer, celery wands, clementine pumpkins, & few other snacks to keep the bellies full & the excitement going.

It was a very basic party, but it felt good to do SOMETHING in our home with people.  We all desperately needed it.