SIZZLIN' JULY!

Actually, we haven't had that much heat yet--we continue to get rain quite regularly and everything is still beautiful & green. I've been running the AC for the last two weeks trying to keep the house cool enough to work. With the rain everyday, the humidity has been high at times--something I'm not at all used to. So when I'm painting the AC goes on when the temperature reaches 73 degrees in the house! It's the only way I can keep going. And the fans run all the time, night and day.

Just to let you all know--Loren blessed little Sophie today! He said everything went well even when she began squirming. That didn't bother him much, because he was fully concentrating on what he wanted to say. Good for you Loren! We're all so happy for you, Erica, and Sophie! Having the Melchizedek Priesthood in our homes is such a blessing. And having a husband/father who always stands worthy and ready to bless his family is an equally wonderful blessing! I've been without a priesthood holder in my home most of my adult life--you older children remember how we were fortunate to be close to Grandpa Schenk, Uncle Glenn, & Uncle Kim through some of those years. And we also relied on our home teachers. The years that we spent with Dad, we could always depend on him anytime we needed a blessing. I told him often how much I appreciated the fact that he was always willing and ready to use the Priesthood on our behalf. I'm thankful to have Joel close and to know that he is always ready to help me and Sherilyn. We also call on our Home Teacher often for blessings.

Loren and Erica have set a date for their Sealing in the Bountiful Temple--August 18th. I am so happy and excited that they have made this a priority in their lives! I am so proud of both of you! It will be a glorious occasion to see you and little Sophie sealed together for all eternity!

There are many difficulties and challenges that we each face in our lives. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed when I deal with my own package of problems; and even more overwhelmed when I learn of yours. I've learned through my life as well as through the experiences of others including Father's children in the scriptures, that adversity is a necessary fact of this mortality. It's one of the reasons we are here--to have experiences that will give us an opportunity to walk by faith and to test our obedience. And I've learned something more about faith the last few years than I knew before: it's in those moments when we are most tested--in the greatest pain--when our doubts are greater than ever--that faith is the most necessary and seems to count the greatest. When everything seems to combine against us and hedge-up our way and the "world" is doing it's best to convince us that our prayers are unheard and even if they're heard, no One cares much about us---THEN is when having faith will make the most difference: Faith that Father DOES hear our prayers, that he DOES love us and wants to help us, and that all will be well.

I have some important tools that I use when life looks a bit dark and frightening: (1)I've learned to get to my knees pretty quick; (2)I find comfort and encouragement in the scriptures; (3)I sometimes ask for a Priesthood blessing; (4)I go to the temple where I can put things into perspective better, as well as do service for someone else; (5)I try to turn the focus away from myself and toward others in my home, ward or anywhere; and certainly not least (6)I exercise my faith especially in those moments it all seems most impossible. And I guess at that point (7)patience is a necessary thing. I've seen so many miracles occur; and I'm convinced that they will continue to occur. I truly stand amazed that my Savior and my Father love me! My prayers are answered! My needs are met! All is well!

I pray for each of you daily: Seth, Kimberly, Randy, Emma, Camilla, Rebekah, & Joseph, Boyd, Emily, Gavin & Eli, Joel, Coryn, JJ, Jensyn & Lincoln, Mollie, Loren, Erica & Sophie, Sherilyn. You are each so dear and precious to me; and I pray that you can withstand the temptations and difficulties that you face. May your faith be strong. May you trust in our Heavenly Father's love and care.

Randy's birthday is this month! On the 28th! Happy Birthday Randy! I love you and am thankful that you joined our family almost 14 years ago. I appreciate your enthusiasm and great efforts for preserving freedom and righteousness in this great land. I hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Love you all!

Mom

Raising the Academic Bar a wee bit

Hello, wonderful family of mine!

I just wanted to put a little note on here, because, frankly, I am too big for my britches at the moment- I am quite pleased with myself- and I wanted to share it with you.
I took the ACT again just about a month ago, and I got the scores this past Monday. I got a 31! I know that's not the best in the world, but it feels so much better- so much more like myself- than that yucky 28 I scored back in April. It now seems feasible to my occasionally faithless mind that I can get into Yale for fall 2010. And, because I am probably ambitious to a fault, and rather determined, I think I might take it again...and see if I can get it a little bit better. :)

I love you all!

lil sister

A Quick Update

It's great to hear from and see you in your posts! I know I'm rotten about keeping up with you, but I'll keep trying as I can. Sometimes I feel like I run from thing to thing the entire day, with no room to cram in anything else.

We finished are home school work for the summer this week, so we are enjoying a little break. Hooray! Now I'm busily planning history and science for the fall. It would be easier to just purchase a curriculum and stick with it, but I get annoyed with other people's quirks and want to do things my way, so here I am giving myself more work.

Emma is enjoying her new violin very much. The sound is exquisite. She tried about six different instruments before she decided on this one. It looks hardly used, but it was made in Bohemia about 1890, and has the quality she was looking for. Now I hope we can get it back to the US without damage. Meanwhile, Emma is preparing for another major exam, this time a grade 7 level that includes theory, aural, sight-reading, and performance components. We have been working like crazy to try to bring her up to speed identifying chords, cadences and modulations, as well as listening to musical excerpts and answering questions about form, period, articulation, and expression. This is hard stuff. I keep thinking she really has guts to see it through. Anyhow, the exam is on July 7th, and we are really hoping she will pass. The world won't end if she doesn't of course, but it would be a nice feather in her cap and good prep for college.

Camilla has started riding lessons again and really loves them. She gets to groom and and prepare the horse first, so she gets a taste of what caring for a horse is like. Her favorite part is jumping, which she describes as "soaring" through the air. I try not to worry about her getting hurt, but I'm afraid she has fallen off once, so now I'm uneasy.

Both Camilla and Rebekah are doing swimming lessons right now in the evenings. Camilla just moved up a class and has started diving a little--I'm so pleased at how she has progressed lately. Her determination has payed off and she is overcoming her fears bit by bit. Rebekah is too, at last. The little girl who wouldn't let go of her teacher or put her face in the water has finally started to move through the water on her own a little and jump in of her own volition. We all went swimming for family night on Monday, and I didn't have to hold her even once.

Joseph is just busy as usual, though perhaps it is more with toys now than with messes of other sorts. Thank heavens! He continues to love trains, so I purchased a small wooden set this week. He cannot leave the house or go to bed without dragging his little train along. Unfortunately, he gets so frustrated if he can't put it together on his own, that he threw the pieces today and broke one. Aarghh! On the happier side, however, he has decided kisses are great and loves to cover our faces and heads with them.

Randy keeps going to work everyday, returns home just in time to rescue the family from a frustrated mom, and continues to search for a new job. We are hopeful that something will come through soon.

Okay, bedtime for Cinderella.

I love you all.

Kimberly

I'm employed!!!!

Hiya everyone!

I got hired on the spot during my interview at Granny Scott's Pie Shop this past week! I start work on Tuesday, and I hope to be able to keep the job until college next fall (WOW, it's weird to use the words "college" and "next fall" in the same sentence! Eeek!) Anyway, pay starts at minimum wage- 7.26/hr -which isn't too bad for me, and it will go up the longer I work there. One of my good friends from church is working there too, so I am excited to start!

I'm also taking tap classes this summer in preparation for this coming year's musical...........*drumroll*.............42nd Street! I am really hyped for that too; tapping is SO much fun! Randy Souza is our choreographer again, and he is FABULOUS. He's a great teacher, and he is really knowlegdable about everything he does. He has his own theatre down Wadsworth (not too far away from where we are) called Gotta Dance! Gotta Sing! Theatre. That's where I'm taking the classes this summer. Randy worked with Disney for a long time, simultaneously performing all over New York and California, and he's been a "professional" dancer in ballet, jazz, tap, and ballroom since he was 6. Crazy! Anyway, it's great working with him, and it's a heck of a lot of fun!

As for the rest of my summer, I'm helping Mom repaint the interior of our house, and I'm trying to keep up with all the college prep stuff I have to have done before Thanksgiving! I took the ACT again (but this time with writing) this past saturday, and I am gald to have it behind me!

I look forward to seeing you all sometime!! I sure miss everyone! I love you!!!

Love,

Sherilyn

lazily dream

Oh What do I do in the summer time?

Lazily dream on the banks as the clouds roll by...

Finally, we meet

I was lucky enough to meet little Sophie a few weeks ago. I am pretty sure I am her new favorite Aunt. haha. It was great to see Loren and Erica too. Sophie is so beautiful.

Oh, What Do You Do in the Summertime?

June is the time all the children look forward to: school's out, no homework, no "teacher's dirty looks," Elitch's and Water World are open, lots of fun in the sun, etc and etc. I remember those days as a child and I was definitely happy school was out; but it was also the beginning of the real work.

Our family didn't have playdays and outings much. We looked forward to July 4th when we went to the parade in Soda Springs, then usually rushed home so Dad could continue mowing or baling the hay in the fields. Many times Dad wouldn't go to the parade with us but would stay and work. If I was lucky then the "stacking" wouldn't begin for another week. The evening of July 4th was even better than the parade: we traveled to Lava Hot Springs, sometimes enjoyed getting in the old "State Natatorium" or the "Hot Pots" (the steaming hot baths), and watched in awe while the fireworks were set-off atop the mountain towering over the little town. Sometimes the ash rained down on us. The grand finale was a breathtaking "waterfall" tumbling over the cliffs at the very top of the mountain; and many times the mountainside was set ablaze, adding another dimension of excitement to the occasion.

Another occasion that we kids always looked forward to was July 24th celebrations--Pioneer Day. It was the biggest day of the year for Bancroft; and everyone came out in their summer best. Dad usually declared this day a holiday but was still up early. He always cooked for the Lion's breakfast--I remember him flipping pancakes, but he probably did other things too. One of the best breakfasts of the whole year! The parade was always great too--we children were quite often riding our beautifully decorated bikes; pulling our covered wagons and wearing pioneer dress; riding on one of the floats or marching in the marching corps. There was always a program at the church after the parade. The Daughters of the Utah Pioneers were in charge, which meant Mother quite often was on the program. That also meant that we kids were often on the program too. It was always a great tribute to our pioneer heritage; but I remember when we were little, it was so hard to sit through the talks--there was so much excitement awaiting us at the park and down in the business section of town. Then the rodeo at 2 pm. Sometimes we went, sometimes we didn't. We always had a wonderful dinner at home in the afternoon: fried chicken, rolls, watermelon, potato salad and wonderful desserts and treats. We often had company too: Aunt Louna and Uncle Harold joined us for most of these summer celebrations; older siblings and their families, sometimes other aunts and uncles from farther away.

Another gathering that we looked forward to was the Samuel Schenk Family Reunion which included Dad's brothers, sisters, cousins, and distant cousins. The reunion was often held in Lava Hot Springs or at Downata Resort close to Downey; and of course swimming was always involved in those locations. So many of the relations were distant enough that this was the only time I ever saw them. Also many of the faces were different from year to year, so I never got to know most of them. Only the closer relations were familiar. That didn't stop us kids from having a great time--there were always enough kids in our own family.

And beyond those three days, my summer took the form of work, work, work. I helped with the gardening, weeding, mowing, watering. I helped with the animals, bringing the cows down from the hills to be milked, herding them in and out of the barn; helped with the milking--to a point: I was always afraid of the cows--I was taught to "strip" the milk from the cows to give to the cats but I never did a very good job of it. We girls were sent to take fresh cold water or milk to the men in the fields; and then to help take dinner to them if they were so anxious to finish their work that they couldn't come home to eat. In the afternoons we would also take a snack of some kind to them along with more drink. I also spent a lot of my day helping Mom fix meals and bake goodies to satisfy the working men. Then came the harvesting as the garden grew, picking, digging, pulling, then shelling, cleaning, scrubbing, then all the steps to canning and freezing, or simply storing in the cellar.

Moving the water pipe was probably my least favorite job ever. Not only did we have to move around the clock every four hours sometimes, but the huge rubber gloves made my hands stink, I got muddy and dirty, and it was hard work, especially when I couldn't get the pipe to lock together correctly causing an explosion when we turned the water up! Many a time when we finally got the line working, my sister and I left the fields crying in frustration and feeling sorry for ourselves. I didn't like the haying much either. I guess I was about 10-12 when I began to buck the heavy bales around. That was really hard work!

But, you know, I knew that's what we did, and even though I probably did my share of complaining, that was my life and I didn't mind that much. We found ways to have fun while we worked and I certainly learned how to feel that satisfaction of a job well done! We kids were usually allowed some time after lunch when we could do what we wanted for a little while. That's a story for another time!

I guess that's why I always felt my own children should have responsibilities around the house since we didn't have cows to milk or fields to plow. Learning to work and to take responsibility for one's duties is a good thing; and I think you are all better parents and providers because of that!

I'm also pleased when I see those of you with children teaching them to work--even the very young ones can have little chores. Children look at helping as great fun when they're only 3 to 5 years old! Developing talents and learning good skills is also an extremely great use of time for young ones.

My grandchildren are the most beautiful, talented and intelligent children in the world! Just ask me. They are such a precious gift to you parents and to me as grandparent. I've felt impressed recently to caution all of you about their safety. Even at the grocery store, the park, anywhere you go--be ever watchful and aware of possible dangers. There are many childless people out there who are desperate and will risk anything to have a child. Then there are those who abduct with terrible intentions. The numbers are up and climb every year. Please don't let these young ones out of your sight except when you know they are in the care of someone else who won't let them out of their sight. I love them so much!

Speaking of grandchildren---

GAVIN has a birthday this month! He will turn 4 on the 28th. Happy Birthday little guy! We all love you!

Another event that I can tell you about is Loren, Erica, and Sophie's visit to Colorado this month. I'm not sure what date they are arriving, but they will be here the weekend of the 21st. Yayyyy! We're excited! We should have a picnic or cookout--what say you?

This mom and grandma loves you all so much!