Showing posts with label The Scout Master. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Scout Master. Show all posts

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Father's Day

You know what...this girl of mine is seriously crazy.  She loves her dad.  She loves surprises.  And she loves to be unexpected.  So, last month, while the rest of us were still thinking about Mother's Day, Savannah ordered this hot dog toaster from Amazon.  She enlisted the help of the other kids to pitch in for hot dogs and buns.

And they gave it all to Craig this morning.  He was thrilled!  

Of course he had to wait until after church to try it out because even the biggest hot dog fan doesn't want to eat them for breakfast.



 It's possible this could be the greatest Father's Day present Craig has ever received.  

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Winter Weather

It is seriously COLD today!  Even two hours after the sun has come up, it's still only in the 20s out there.  I have to get dressed and leave the house today, but I REALLY don't want to.  

Here's where Craig is this week…
Winter Storm Leon came in yesterday about 11am and continued to dump snow on Birmingham throughout the day.  When did we start naming winter storms??  Schools closed, businesses closed, traffic sat.  Craig sent me this picture yesterday afternoon after a long day of meetings...  
His office stayed open for any employees who were stranded because of the weather.  And amazingly there were a LOT of them who stayed.  Craig's hotel happened to be just across the parking lot so he and his other traveling companions were able to walk.  
This is Craig's business associate, Joe, who flew in from the McAllen office and that's a car on fire in the background that they saw as they walked across the parking lot to their hotel.  Crazy…

Since all their late afternoon meetings fell apart early because of the weather, Craig and Joe decided to grab some dinner.  Thank goodness for lots of restaurants within walking distance.  Their group of two quickly turned into a group of four and then 16, and they found a sushi place with a limited menu that was still open and serving dinner.  It took them over four hours to eat and get back out to their hotel.  What a crazy trip!  

People slept in their cars last night on the freeway because they could not get home.  Traffic all over Birmingham was just stopped for hours and hours.  I cannot imagine spending a night in my car in freezing temperatures.  Sometimes I don't even wear a coat (ok, I never wear a coat.)  I would be toast in that situation, for sure…a small, brown, frozen piece of toast.   

It's 12 degrees in Birmingham right now and people have been advised to stay inside for one more day.  Craig is supposed to fly home tonight at 6:00, but all flights into and out of Birmingham have been cancelled.  No one is thrilled about that.

I hate that he's stuck in a place that's not with us, but I'm grateful he's not sleeping in his car.  I'm grateful that he has food, a toothbrush and a hotel room, and companions who are in the same boat.  And I'm especially grateful today for heated homes and electric blankets and fuzzy slippers in weather like this.  
...maybe if I wait a little longer to leave, it'll get up to 45.   

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Companions


I was stressing out this morning about tomorrow's Cub Scout activity.  (I think they're called Den Meetings…someday I'll get all this Scout lingo down.)  My companion/co-den leader and I had spent the better part of one October morning meticulously planning all of our activities Den Meetings through the end of the year.  But this month we're working on the Scientist requirement and our Guest Scientist isn't available until next week.  Which meant a little shifting and scrambling would have to be done to fill in the gap for tomorrow.

I worried.  I Googled.  I read over and over again through the list of Scientist requirements to try and find ones that I'm qualified and prepared to teach.  (There are none.  I'm SO not science-y.  Where are the Music Requirements??  I could totally do those.  Or the Scrapbooking Requirements??)  I checked on YouTube for Pascal's Law and Newton's first law of motion to find out what the heck they even are.  And just as I was about to throw in the Cub Scout towel, my Co-Den Leader texted, "Just wanted to double check what requirements we're working on tomorrow.  Will you call me or text me back when you have a chance?"  EEK!  More pressure!  That's actually what I texted her back, too, btw.  "EEK!  Sorry, I don't know what we're doing tomorrow.  As soon as I figure it out, I'll call you and let you know."  

And here's where the clouds parted and the relief came…

Do you know what she texted back??…"Why don't you call me when you're free and we'll figure it out together."

TOGETHER!  Oh yeah, there are TWO of us.  I don't have to do this alone.

All morning I had been trying to be amazing, trying to come up with a plan, trying to figure things out ALL BY MYSELF.  I had said a prayer and asked for help, but it really didn't occur to me until that last text came that I had a COMPANION in this Cub Scout calling.  And not just any old companion…this one has been in this calling for over a year.  She's done all the requirements already.  She knows the Scout lingo.  She is practically an expert.  And I was turning to Google instead of her.  Crazy, huh?

I called Cali a few minutes later, and in less than 30 minutes we had come up with a plan for tomorrow's Den Meeting…TOGETHER!  I'm doing half of it and she's doing half of it.  Brilliant, huh?  

So here's what I learned today:  We're not supposed to do this stuff alone.  None of it.  Parenting requires a COMPANION.  Missionary work requires a COMPANION.  Cub Scouts requires a COMPANION.  LIFE requires a COMPANION.


The many missions which we have in life cannot be embarked upon successfully without the help of others. Birth requires earthly parents. Our blessing as a child, our baptism, our receiving the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, our receiving membership in his church, ordination to the priesthood, going on a mission, being married, having children of our own, blessings during illness and times of need—all require the help of others. And all these are acts of love and service which require the help of others and the giving of help to others.
When we return to our Heavenly Father, he does not want us to come back alone. He wants us to return with honor with our families and those whom we have helped along the road of life. In preparing this message, it has become very clear to me that the true nature of the gospel plan is the interdependence we have upon one another in this life and the estate in which we now live.  - Elder Robert D. Hales
I am grateful today for a Cub Scout companion who reminded me of the value of working TOGETHER.  I'm grateful also for the many other companions in my life, especially for my amazing, patient, steady, faithful, compassionate Eternal Companion/Husband who might not help me with Cub Scouts, but helps me with every other thing in my life.  What an inspired plan it was for Heavenly Father to provide companions for us, so we don't have to do this all by ourselves.

Sunday, June 2, 2013

The Field is White...

Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men.  Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.  Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work;For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul;And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.  Amen.   (D&C 4)
Last weekend, a friend mentioned to The Scout Master that since the wheat in our area was starting to look "white already to harvest," he might want to gather all of his Deacons Quorum, dressed in white shirts and ties, and convince his aspiring photographer wife to go out and get a few pictures of them.  I LOVED that idea.  So, after some prodding, the Scout Master sent a mass email out to all the boys' parents asking them to show up in this particular wheat field at 10:30am before church today to have some pictures taken.  

We showed up a little early with some extra lenses, a ladder and a model (for test pictures.)

These little wheat fields are on just about every corner in Allen, and while they look vast in these pictures, they really are just about a block wide.  With the ladder, though, it made them look like they went on for miles and miles.  

My friend, Amy brought her family a little early, too, to get some family shots, so I took some test pictures of them, too.  
Look at this gorgeous girl!  Is she totally stunning in this picture, or what!?  She is so beautiful and glowy that I had to catch my breath a little when I saw this.  LOVE it!  LOVE her!  Amazing future missionary, for sure!  I think this was the best picture of the day.  

When the boys got there, we took some individual shots of them and then some group shots with the Scout Master.  These are such amazing kids.  I can't even tell you how much I love these boys, and all the other boys who came before them and who have now graduated on to become Teachers and Priests.  If I had had my choice, they would have all been in this field.  





And then, since there happened to be an ACTUAL missionary with us (well, soon...he leaves in July) we took some pictures of him, too.  Isn't he so cute?  He's going to be such an amazing missionary.  I can't wait to hear his reports from the Dominican Republic.


I can't tell you how much I enjoyed spending the morning in this giant wheat field with a bunch of teenage boys practicing my photography skills.  I'm so grateful for that man who suggested we do this.  I'm grateful for surprising wheat fields in Allen.  And I'm grateful for these little future missionaries who hopefully caught a glimpse of who they can become in the very near future.  

Monday, April 1, 2013

Book of Mormon Pageant

"Diligently doing the things that matter most will lead us to the Savior of the world." - President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
I have been struggling for the past three days trying to pare down all of the amazing things I felt and heard and learned over the weekend into something concise and interesting to read. 

I mentioned a little about how frustrating last week was for me.  There were constant distractions, some of them worthy of my attention, but most of them just unnecessary noise cluttering my head.  There were sick children, field trips, music lessons, baseball uniforms, choir practices, doctors appointments, frustrated teachers insisting that I do something about McKay's inability to pay attention in class...plus packing that needed to be done, a house that needed to be cleaned and stocked with food, and a husband who was out of town for the third week in a row.  By Tuesday night, it was all I could do to keep us clothed and fed...and I really wasn't even doing that very well.  Doubt had settled in and I had completely convinced myself that I was NOT supposed to spend the weekend at Camp Wisdom playing around in the woods, and that everything else needed my attention.

By Thursday morning, thanks to some great words of advice from my patient husband, and a decent night's sleep, I had resigned myself to the fact that the Book of Mormon pageant was going to happen and that I was going to have to be there.  There was no way around that.  So, I said a long, desperate prayer, committed to packing and memorizing my lines finally, and at 6:30pm, left for the long drive into the unknown.  I made it to the hotel at 8:00pm, but decided to do a test drive to Camp Wisdom since my roommate and I would have to be there by 6:00 the next morning.  I am SO grateful for GPS systems.  How in the world would I ever get anywhere without mine??  My roommate, Mary, called shortly after I found the Camp, to say that she had been delayed at home and was just leaving her house.  I was a little relieved to know that I had at least an hour to stake my claim on the bed and the bathroom counter before she arrived.  

At 9:00, there was a quiet knock on the door of my room, and in walked the most wonderful, unique, spiritually intuitive woman I have ever met in my life.  She and I instantly connected and loved each other, and we spent the next 3 hours sharing all the little details of our lives.  At 12:10, we decided sleep was more important and we would have to continue our conversation in the morning.  

Five hours later, my alarm went off.  

I was still worried, but comforted by the fact that I had a new friend to help me walk into yet another unknown adventure.  It helped to have driven the route to Camp Wisdom the night before, and I managed to get both of us to the remote pavilion where we would be transforming into Nephites, on time and without any problem.    

Oh, I'm so sorry about these ridiculously bad, blurry, and far away pictures.  I only had my phone with me and I barely remembered or had time to snap a couple of pictures.  This is breakfast after everyone was dressed and ready for the day.  These are a few of the Nephite guards.  About 7:00am Friday morning.
After a nice outdoor breakfast and a quick check of everyone's costumes, we had a beautiful devotional by President Wright, our former Stake President.  He said some amazing things.  He talked a lot about the many hours that had been spent in preparation for this Priesthood Encampment.  It is no small feat to assemble 1500 boys and their leaders in one place and provide 48 hours of worthwhile activities.  He told us that the Book of Mormon pageant was the pinnacle of the events scheduled for the boys over the weekend, and that without it, there would have been no reason to have a Priesthood Encampment at all.  He thanked all of the actors who had committed to being there for the whole weekend, the directors and writers who had put the whole pageant together, and all the many, many hands who had worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make this happen.   And then he said, "There will be someone who is touched today by the things they see and hear during the pageant.  It will change a heart, or change a mind, or redirect a boy who may be heading down the wrong path.  And we don't know who that boy will be."  And then he challenged us to have a personal prayer before each scene and ask Heavenly Father to reveal to us which of the boys in each group needed to have a personal experience.  And then he said, "Most likely there will be someone in each group, or perhaps more than that, but even if there is only one person all weekend who is touched by this experience, all the hours, all the sacrifice, all the time will have been worth it."  And then he reminded us that the Savior made the greatest sacrifice anyone has ever made...for ALL of us, but even if it had only been for ONE PERSON, He still would have done it.  Amazing things to launch us into a day of fulfilling service...

Shortly after that, our "mothers' shuttle" (which was a tan suburban driven by one of the nicest men EVER, who tried ALL WEEKEND to pronounce my name and finally got it as we were all leaving the Camp) drove us and all of our props and personal belongings to our scene out in the middle of the woods.  

Oh, I can't tell you how I wish I had thought to take more pictures.  But, it was probably a good thing that I was thinking about being a Mother of a Stripling Warrior and not about writing my next blog post.  

There were about 12 scenes sprinkled throughout various locations in the Camp.  1500 boys and their leaders were divided into groups of about 40-50 and led throughout the day by "Nephite guards" through the woods to each scene.  There was some hiking involved and climbing a rope ladder up to the top of a bluff, and a little bit of distance between each of us, so they could really feel the experience of walking through the trail and coming upon an authentically depicted scene.  I can't tell you how many boys mentioned what a cool thing it was to feel like they were actually "walking through" the Book of Mormon.  We performed the pageant 15 times on Friday, and another 5 or 6 times on Saturday for each of the groups.  

Imagine hiking through the woods and coming upon this...


This is what our scene looked like...

We had about 20 minutes of downtime between groups, so we had lots of opportunity to really get to know each other.  One of the greatest and most unexpected blessings of this whole experience was meeting these other three women.  I feel like I've made lifelong friends in one weekend.  They are all infinitely talented and have more experience between them than I could have imagined.
This is Helaman sending a quick text to his wife while we waited.  :)
  
By Friday evening, we were all exhausted but happy.  You know that feeling after you've prepared and successfully delivered a talk for Sacrament or given a great RS lesson?  It was the most fulfilling kind of exhaustion.  The cast was invited to have dinner with the scouts and since I kind of like the Scout Master in our ward, I opted to have dinner with him and all of his little "stripling warriors."  
I was so happy to finally be eating food, and hanging out with my husband and these boys who I love so much.  They were so sweet and had nothing but kind things to say about the pageant.  

After dinner, we listened to some remarks about the day from David L. Beck, General Young Men's President.  He asked a few of the boys to volunteer to bear their testimonies about what they had experienced and 23 of them stood up!  Incredibly uplifting to hear so many of them say that they were touched by the mothers' scene, and that we reminded them of all that their own mothers do for them to prepare them for their own "battles."  Those sweet boys melted my heart and made it all worth it.  

Mary and I drove back to the hotel around 9:30 that night, took showers, and FELL INTO BED.  There would be no slumber party happening for us that night.  

The next morning, we assembled in the same area, had breakfast, had a shorter devotional and prayer, and were driven to our scene in the woods.  The first four groups of boys were HUGE, at least 100 in each.  I think the lingering spiritual high from the day before and the gorgeous weather helped us all to ramp everything up and perform the best handful of pageant scenes in the entire weekend.  Everyone felt the tangible Spirit among us, and sweet Mary said that she felt very strongly that there were other ancestor spirits among us encouraging all of us.  

We finished our official performances around 1:00pm and then had the opportunity to watch a few of the other scenes while they were being professionally video taped.  Taping, still pictures, clean up, lunch, and packing up the pavilion were tedious and exhausting again, but we all felt the exhilarating joy of having spent the entire weekend doing something worthwhile.  

I am in awe of the innumerable blessings I felt over the entire weekend...unexpected friendships, beautiful weather, kind and supportive helpers, the testimonies of all those teenage boys, successfully memorized lines, and an overwhelming feeling that Heavenly Father was happy with the effort I had made.  Had I known in advance that any ONE of those things would happen, I would have joyfully anticipated the weekend instead of worrying about it so much.  

I kept thinking about who those boys might have been who were touched by the Encampment experience, and I really have no idea who they are or how they may have felt, but even if there was only one...and there definitely was at least one...it was totally and completely worth it.  Even if the whole thing were just so that I could have a faith promoting experience and have a testimony of the Savior written more indelibly upon my heart, I'm quite sure that all those people would have done it anyway.  And I am so grateful to have been numbered among that kind of humility and greatness.  

I am grateful to have done something I thought was impossible, to have walked into the unknown and conquered a few fears, and to have had the help of the Lord to fill in all the places where there was weakness.  I am so grateful for the people who brought all of this together and who had the inspiration and vision to put together a Book of Mormon pageant so that SO many of us could feel the Spirit in a powerful and tangible way. 

I can't think of any better place or any more worthwhile thing I could have done with those 48 hours than to have been a Nephite mother in the wilderness.  



Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Snake Hunter

Evidently when you look like this...

 and packs of rugged boys call you "Scout Master"...

...people assume you are qualified for all things adventurous, exciting, and potentially life threatening.

Last night around 10pm we got a call from a neighbor.


"We seem to have a snake in our house and I'm a chicken.  I've trapped it under a bucket, but I can't pick it up.  Can you please come over and get it?  My wife is on the kitchen counter and won't get down until someone gets this thing out of our house."


The Scout Master isn't particularly fond of snakes, but apparently his inner Boy Scout took over and he agreed to go over and rescue our neighbor and his family from their slithery intruder.


"By the way," said the neighbor, "it's about 12-18 inches long, so you might want to bring a shovel just in case you feel like you need to cut it's head off." 


Serious???




Luckily I was already comfortably in my jammies, so I had a really good excuse not to accompany my husband on his rescue mission.  But even if I had been fully dressed and already wearing shoes, the words "12-18 inches long" would have kept me at home.   My fearless June, though, overheard the conversation and ever-ready for an adventure, hopped into the Jeep carrying the shovel.  

I waited anxiously (and safely) on the couch while they were gone...and I might have Googled to see if King Cobras were indigenous to Texas.  They're not.


15 minutes later, June came into the house carrying a bucket.  


"You better not have a dead python in there!"


"Mommy, look at it."


I got as far away as I could and craned my neck expecting to see a vicious, slimy thing wriggling around in that bucket.  


Wanna see it??




wait...let me magnify it for you...

:)

I'm grateful that I live in a house with a fearless husband (and daughter) and that I can now add "snake hunter" to his very long list of talents.  

Thursday, October 18, 2012

26 Years

Once upon a time, a million years ago, the Scout Master and I were in high school.  He was a sophomore and I was a SENIOR.  I had never seen him before in my life (probably because he was a sophomore and I was a SENIOR) until we both ended up in the same choir together.  I'm pretty sure I noticed him right away because he had the most beautiful, flaming red hair I had ever seen!
Seriously!  Look at that hair!  And those super short shorts and those acid washed jeans and the moon boots and tell me that isn't the most irresistible 16 year old boy you've ever seen!


From August to October of 1986, I worked on getting him to notice me.  I moved to the end of the alto section because it happened to be right next to the bass section where he sat.  I made friends with all of his friends.  I smiled every time he walked passed me.  I thought it was working and he was interested.  By the time the Homecoming football game rolled around, I was pretty sure he was going to ask me to go to the dance with him.  But...

...he didn't...

So...when another guy asked me, I said yes and went with him instead.
You might think that's where the story ends...but it doesn't.

I went to Homecoming with the super nice guy in that picture, but I didn't really want to be there with him.  His name was Jim.  We were friends.  He was great...polite, smart, interesting.  But he wasn't the boy I really wanted to be at that dance with.  I was preoccupied most of the night.  UNTIL...that sneaky red headed boy just happened to show up at the very same dance...alone!  

Poor Jim.  I am ashamed to admit how blatantly obvious I was about dancing with the red headed boy and flitting around to be close to wherever he was.  I knew he had come to that dance to see me and I wasn't going to do the right thing and stick with my date.  Oh, the selfishness of a 16-year-old girl!  I spent most of the evening with the red headed boy and although I'm sure Jim felt differently, I thought it was the BEST dance I had ever been to.  

That red headed boy asked me to every dance after that...until I graduated the following May.
Valentine's Dance
Prom (ok, I had to ask him to this one because he wasn't a SENIOR!)
Christmas Dance

It's been 26 years since that Homecoming Dance on October 18, 1986.  I'm so glad I was able to convince that 16 year old boy to look in my direction.  And I'm so glad we've added so many memories to that very first one.  

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Court of Honor

I had planned to mention tonight's Court of Honor in my High Five for Friday post, but after looking at the pictures, there's no way I could limit this to just a picture and a caption.  

On most days, there is so much estrogen around here that the Scout Master has become quite comfortable with all the girly things that fly in his radar.  He can delightfully gush over new jewelry and sparkly phone cases.  He has learned to appreciate a beautiful pair of shoes and the self esteem building value of a pedicure.  And he has mastered the delicate art of knowing when to give a comforting hug and when to hide out in a safe place during certain days of the month.  I am totally in awe of the way this extremely masculine man who grew up in a house full of boys has evolved into such an empathetic and compassionate husband and father.  So, the fact that he was called two years ago to be the Scout Master in our ward was, I'm sure, no accident.   He loves having an excuse to go camping once a month and hang out on a regular basis with 14 very masculine boys.  I'm grateful everyday that he has this opportunity to stay in touch with his inner Boy Scout.  



Sometime early last summer, after getting used to our new ward, his new calling and new responsibilities, and finally making the transition in his head from Elders Quorum to Young Mens, the Scout Master totally and completely threw himself into his calling.  I think it was after spending a week with the boys at Scout Camp, that he realized his greatest contribution in their lives would be to move them toward achieving Eagle Scout.  He made spreadsheets, set up quarterly in-home interviews with the boys and their parents, strategically planned merit badge activities that they could work on as a quorum, and lit some serious fire under some 12-year old bottoms.  It was Calling Magnification at its greatest, and he has sustained that level of enthusiasm for this calling and these boys through another Scout Camp and throughout the entire year.  

Tonight the boys had the opportunity to be rewarded for all their hard work over the past several months.  Since the last Court of Honor in February, this group of boys earned 110 merit badges and 21 rank advancements.  The Scout Master would never admit this, but their achievements tonight were due in LARGE part to all of his efforts over the past year.  Within the next 6 months, two of his Life Scouts will be eligible to receive their Eagles.  And 6 months after that, 8 more boys will be eligible to receive theirs.  It is a really remarkable thing to see all of these boys so excited about scouting.  And it is even more heart warming to watch the Scout Master quietly bask in the glow of their accomplishments.  When I watch him teach them and when I see the respect and love they have for him, I always think about Helaman and his "little band" of stripling warriors.   These are great boys and they have a great leader.  I am so grateful for the scouting program.