Missionaries coming and going and the rest of the week

It has been exciting as a number of missionaries who we have known since they were 3 or 4 years old have returned--one to our ward and another to our old ward.  And then a girl Jena's age had her "farewell" last week (in the other ward) so we have been attending a lot of Sacrament meetings lately.

And it doesn't stop.  At the end of the month Sis. Cassie Slater will be returning from Taiwan (to our old ward) and will be reporting.  For the next year or so we will have to get tracking of missionaries coming and going throughout our Stake as so many of Jena's friends are serving missions.

The soon-to-be Sis. Holmes and Sis. Hall
They have been in Primary and YWs together most of their lives.

Other related news:  I have been called to serve as the Pack Committee Chair for our ward---and by the way, no plans have been made for the Blue and Gold in a couple of weeks.  Welcome to Cub Scouts!!  We met as a committee last week and I think we have a plan for Feb. 18th.  Cub Scouts is fun and Pack Meetings are on Thursday which is the one weeknight I am free usually. Hopefully that will remain true in the future.

Jena has a break for the next three weeks from Centerpoint as there is not a current production. Beauty and the Beast will open at the end of the month.  Here is a picture from last Monday when we were working with the fabric.

Some pieces of fabric are a two person job!

Two days this week I attend a conference down in Salt Lake (no not Root Tech which was also being held those same days), but  The Bridging the Gap Conference put on by The Children's Center which brings in presenters who talk about current research in the brain and interventions designed to help parents and children do better.  Society can't quickly change all of the factors which lead to stress and harm on children and families, but research is showing that certain types of parenting approaches can mitigate stress for children.  They presented two different programs to help with high risk families to improve their connections with their children.  It was very interesting and I am glad that I went.

It was held at the Salt Lake City Library.  As I walked back from my lunch at a nearby Subways, there was a large flock of birds flying together back and forth over the lawn east of the library.  I stopped and watched them for a little while.  It is amazing how they seem to turn instantly as a group.

You can see it was an overcast day.  I think it was about 20 degrees outside.

I am still struggling to get my back ground approved for my internship despite starting this process last July.  My papers were lost but no one told us until December, then we started them again and sent me to do "Life scan" finger prints.  I have done them 3 times now and my fingers keep failing.  The tech says my fingerprints are too "soft" meaning worn down.  Well, I am 60 years old.  I guess that could happen.  The prints are there but they aren't "deep enough" for the live scan.  The 9th is some sort of deadline but I am not sure what will happen next.  I had to stop seeing clients by myself which has been a pain and I can't get onto their computer system except my emails.  I am hoping that I can simply do ink fingerprints but we are waiting to hear back from the head people about my last set of fingerprints.  So mostly I have been going to meetings of all types.  Child Welfare is an interesting field and I am learning things.  I just wish I could do some things.

Baby headlines:  Scarlett is saying words and coping almost everything you say: Niki is a master block builder--I can't believe how many blocks he can put quickly in a tower; and Liam just figured out how to clap and is quite proud of himself.