Back to School for Caitlyn

We took Caitlyn back to school on Saturday, but first we went to the Saratoga Springs Temple to see Quincy sealed to Katie and Ben.

It was beautiful.  They are such a special family and Quincy just fits right in.

Kiara asked me to be a witness.  That meant a lot to me, I was honored to be a small part of their special day.

I got a few pictures and then we had to rush off to get to Cedar City.

Wyatt and Hallee helped Caitlyn get the cars loaded up so we could leave as soon as we got home.

It's always hard for Caitlyn and Hallee to say goodbye.

It makes me so happy to see how much they love each other.

I rode with Caitlyn.  It was nice to have that time to talk to her.

She is in apartment 9 this year.  She got really anxious when we got there.  It was really hard for her to see Blakely and Amy moving into her old apartment. It's so hard as a mom not to go over and smack them for being rude to my girl! We met one of Caitlyn's roommates, the one she will share a bathroom with. She seemed nice, but she stares a lot, like a lot.  She will just stare and not talk. 

Caitlyn got more and more sad and anxious as time went on. We did our best to comfort her and help get everything set up.  After that we went to Cafe Rio for dinner and then we took Caitlyn to Walmart to get her some things she needed and her fresh groceries. It was hard to say goodbye to her because she didn't want to be there.  Luckily Amarie came over right after we left and that helped.  It's been a rough start for Caitlyn.  She is not enjoying it at all and feeling very depressed and anxious.  She is considering coming home and going to UVU instead.  She has a couple of weeks to decide while she can still get a full tuition refund so she is looking into all of her option.  We have had lots of tearful conversations with her and we are doing our best to help and support her.  Depression and Anxiety are so hard, but Caitlyn is a fighter and she fights through it.  I just wish she didn't have to fight so hard! We are going to have a family fast for her this Sunday.  I know she will figure out what to do and continue to make a great life for herself.

Hallee was asked to speak on Sunday. I was so proud of her for saying yes because she really wanted to say no.  She did a great job and said she actually enjoyed it and didn't feel to nervous. She wrote her talk all by herself and it was so good. She got lots of compliments about her talk and how well she did.

 She said: "Good morning, my name is Hallee Loosli and I'm 13-years-od and currently in 8th grade.  This is my first time speaking in Sacrament meeting so if I sound or look a littler nervous you know why. I was asked to give a short talk on the Word of Wisdom. The Word of Wisdom is righteous guidelines to help us keep our bodies healthy, holy and pure. I use the word guidelines because they are presented to help guide us to live a better life, they're not supposed to be binding rules.  Our bodies are in the image of God, the scriptures compare our bodies to the temple; a holy place that invites the Spirit. Although we aren't perfect now, the experiences we have with our bodies on earth will help us prepare to one day receive a perfect, glorified body. A more detailed explanation to why we have the Word of Wisdom that I found in the For Strength of Youth Guide is, "The Savior revealed the Word of Wisdom to teach principles of caring for your body, and to promise physical and spiritual blessings." Some of the blessings that we are promised to receive from following the Word of Wisdom are wisdom and knowledge, better health, and we will be protected from Satan. Two ways we can overcome temptations and bad habits are, First, seek help from Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. They have the power to help us and they are always waiting and willing to help us.  As long as we fill our lives with things that invite the spirit; such a s prayer, scripture study, and serving others. Not following the Word of Wisdom is the opposite of inviting the spirit into our lives, in fact it sends the spirit away.  When we're under the influence of anything i these guidelines it's very hard to feel the spirit. Second, seek help from your family, friends, or pretty much anyone you trust. They can also help you a lot, and lead you to the right path.  Although sometimes it can be our friends or people we're close to that encourage us to break the Word of Wisdom. It can be hard to say no in these moments, but I promise the hold spirit will help you as long as you listen for that small voice. Some reasons I personally have chosen to follow the Word of Wisdom are that Jesus and Heavenly Father do so much for us and I think that following the Word of Wisdom and their commandments are just one way we can show our loyalty, faith, and gratitude. God also worked very hard to make our  bodies just the way they are.  So I like to make sure that I'm treating it like the temple it's compared to in the scriptures, even though it can be hard to treat my body amazing all the time.  I've also heard of people getting their lives ruined because they made bad choices and didn't follow the Word of Wisdom.  So, it's pretty important to follow and understand these guidelines because God will bless you in may ways and help you live a better life. I'd like to bare my testimony that I know that the Word of Wisdom exists to help us. It can bless us in so many ways and help us grow closer to our Savior. By following the Word of Wisdom we can be happier, healthier, holier, pure, protected, and so much more. I know that Jesus will always help us through our struggles and help us resist temptations as well.  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

On Monday Mel took Wesley with her to see mom.  She said mom cried when Mel told her who he was.  He is adorable! I wish I could have been there.

Katie and Tiff also went to visit mom. Mom got to see Quincy too.  Hopefully seeing these cute babies lifted mom's spirits.  It breaks my heart that she is just stuck in bed all day, every day.  I visited her on Wednesday and she cried a lot. It is the saddest cry and moan.  She doesn't say much at all anymore, but last week she said, "I think I'm at the end of my rope" to dad.  It is just heartbreaking.

Wyatt's cheek started swelling on Wednesday.  I took yesterday off work and got him into the oral surgeon.  It's been four weeks since he got his wisdom teeth out and I was surprised to learn that is the typical time line for an infection.  Poor Wyatt, he has had a rough start to the school year, he has already missed 3 days and they have only been in for 2 weeks.  The doctor pushed on his incision to try and drain the infection and then put something in there to keep it open and told us to come back in a week to get it out.  He also started Wyatt on some antibiotics.  Wyatt said that was the most pain he has ever felt when he pushed on his infected gums, I felt so bad for him.