Eighth Grade Promotion

Anna was able to participate in her school's Eighth Grade Promotion Ceremony this week. She was nervous and excited at the same time. I was rather impressed with the program and with the apparent quality of her classmates. I feel so much better about these kids and Anna interacting with them than I did her previous classmates.

For the ceremony, Anna wore the dress I brought back for her from the Philippines and a necklace that I let her borrow. She looked great, especially when she smiled.

Her last Junior High School Report Card arrived in the mail yesterday. She had all A's in her classes and received Honorable Citizenship Scores in all classes, too -- the highest citizenship scores she's ever received. I'm so proud of her for the progress she's made.

CONGRATULATIONS, ANNA!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anna's First School Dance

Anna attended her first school dance today. It was an end of the year reward for the kids in her school. She has been excited about it all week and eager to dance with one boy in particular. She reported that she almost cried when she couldn't find him after he told her, "Maybe later" when she initially asked him to dance; however, she didn't let that stop her from having a GREAT time. She was so excited when she called me after the dance that I had difficulty understanding her. I'm glad she had such a good time.

Bella, the Escape Artist

When we moved into our current home, I got in the habit of leaving Bella in a pen in the kitchen when I wasn't home. After a couple of months of this, she learned how to escape from the pen. She surprised me by greeting me at the door when I returned from work one day.
The pen is three feet tall. Bella stands about one foot high. I examined the pen and discovered one of it's fasteners had come off near the bottom. I fixed it. Imagine my surprise when she escaped again the very next day. In fact, she was out of the pen in less time than it took me to lock the door and get to the car. The pen was retired.
Outside, she spends time on a tether. Several months with the same tether and she escaped, or so it seemed, again. Turns out this time it was the tether. It broke. So I replaced the tether.
Then, today, I received a knock on the door. My wonderful neighbor was letting me know that Bella was loose. The tether is fine, but Bella was loose. I'm hoping I was simply not careful when I put her on it. Until I have a chance to find out if she escapes again, I'll be taking her out of the leash and she'll be spending more time inside. After all, I can't have her running loose in the neighborhood. She's a little smarter than I want her to be. :)

It's been too long!

I really want to be better at updating this more often. That shouldn't be too difficult considering it's been more than six months since my last post. In that time, I've continued my schooling and my job as a grounds keeper; the job has grown on me some though I still look forward to having a "clean" job again some day though.

Anna came home in January and has been doing really well over all. No one expects her to be perfect, least of all me. It's wonderful to see her succeeding in school and growing in the Gospel.

Bella's second birthday passed in March and I felt a little badly that I didn't acknowledge it the day of. That said, though in many ways she's my "baby," she is a dog and a spoiled one at that.

In February, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to the Philippines and meet an amazing man with whom I've now been corresponding for over a year. After about three weeks with him and his family, (who are also amazing and whom I also love) he proposed to me in a very unique manner. The love I feel for Rey has filled a part of my heart where something had always seemed to be missing. I am eager for the day I will become his wife, not just for time, but also for eternity. I'm grateful to know that all will happen in the Lord's time.