2022- Week 8(Feb 21- Feb 27)

 When Melinda was at out house last week she asked me to look at a sore on Brooklyn's leg. She has water warts and one of them was infected. She took her to the dermatologist on Monday and they put her on antibiotics but it wasn't looking better and if anything it was looking much worse. I called my neighbor who is a nurse and sent her pictures and she said it looked very infected and that she should take her to the Instacare. Instead she called and got her in to see the pediatrician and he thought the antibiotic she was on was not strong enough so he put her on a stronger one and told her to watch it. This Monday she took her back to the dermatologist and they told her she needed to go to the ER and that it was very infected and they could not help her. They ended up admitting Brooklyn overnight to put her on an IV antibiotic. I went and slept at her house to take care of Brody and Bronson. Poor Bronson also has water warts in his arm pit and he cried every time I picked him up. They weren't sure if the treatment was working and they ended up doing a surgery consult in case they needed to go in and cut the infection out but it finally started looking better and they were able to come home Tuesday night. It got progressively better through out this week so hopefully she is on the mend. 
My cute friend Debbie Miller whose husband is the Stake President texted me while I was at Melinda's and asked how I was doing. I told her I was feeling a little overwhelmed because of what was happening with Brooklyn and that I couldn't be home and just a lot of the stresses we have felt since the whirlwind Sunday and she told me she was going to bring us dinner. It made me cry. I normally would have told her no because I have adult children that are more than capable of helping but they are also always gone and it took such a weight off my shoulders. She brought the most delicious enchilada meal with homemade guacamole and their famous homemade salsa from her garden. I didn't get home in time to eat with them but I tried it the next day. 

She will never know how her text came at just the right moment.

Speaking of support one of the cute activity day groups made Jeff a candy bar poster and brought it over on Wednesday.

Whitney came home from work with a low tire that quickly turned into a flat tire. She asked when Jeff would be home to help her and when I told her it would be late she started to cry. I said Whitney we don't need to wait for a man to help us. We are badass women and can totally do this ourselves. Of course I had never in my life changed a tire but she didn't need to know that. I got out the car manual to help us find what we would need and then watched a quick YouTube video because I couldn't see where I needed to put the jack and then we got to work. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be and we got the spare put on just fine. I took it the next day to get it fixed and all it needed was a patch. I want my girls to be confident woman and they never will be if I am not.

Ashtyn brought me such a cute children's book in Portuguese but the translation was very bizarre so I looked it up online to see if there was an English version and there was one at the library. When they say things get lost in translation they sure do mean it because it was the most darling story in English.

McDonalds has shamrock shakes again! So many of my fondest memories revolve around holiday milkshakes ha ha.

Sunday was Jeff's first day as bishop. I have never felt so out of place and awkward in my whole life and even though I know I have no reason to feel this it was crazy how anxious I felt the moment I stepped into the chapel. I think part of me worries people will hate us or judge us or get offended by us and then the other part of me thinks about just how long five years is and that I will be sitting in church alone for most of that time and I let it get the best of me. The Rich's sat behind us and of course I just burst into tears when I saw Tami. Then Scott said I hope you held Jeff's hand last week because it will be the last time you do at church for five years and I cried all over again. Ashtyn and Ethan got to sit with me so I wasn't alone I just got carried away. After that I calmed down and the rest of the day was fine. There was a youth fireside that night for youth and parents so we got to go with Ethan and Jeff got out of meetings early for it which was nice. Whitney made dinner while we were gone and then later that night Scott and Tami brought over the most thoughtful gift ever. It was a basket with bread, an old testament book and a beautiful Christ sign. I had admired theirs when I dropped off a thank you gift to them and had told Tami that my word for this year was Christ so she got us the same one. 

It was beyond thoughtful.

2022- Week 7(Feb 14- Feb 20)

I helped Ashtyn unpack. Her room looked like a bomb went off. That's what happens when you live in another place for a year an a half. You end up bringing a lot home.

I am trying to see more hearts in everything.

I ordered the sour dough starter set from Ballerina Farm. I am excited to try my hand at keeping a starter alive. I love Hannah and her family. They are so darling and I love how sweet she is with her kids and how they all pitch in. I especially love that she is a ballerina. My passion was ballet when I was younger it just wasn't something that I could ever pursue for long because we had really limited funds. I still remember every position and most of the names of the terms and poses. 

For Activity Days this week we played math games. I thought the boys might get bored but they didn't. We had them roll doubles and if they did they got to add the numbers from their dice to their score. We had them hold up a card on their heads so only the other boys could see and then we told them the sum and they had to guess their number. I made strawberry people with chocolate chip eyes for treat. It was really fun.

My story group wrote our children's birth stories this month. I'm not sure if I have written about my group before but we meet once a month and share something we have written in our family history. I love these ladies. From top left is Melissa Barney, Julie Young, Amee Rock, Leslie Varner and then me and Debbie Miller down front.

Miles threw a surprise party for Kristy this year because she will turn 44 on Tuesday 2/22/22. She had been texting me to see when they could come and see Ash and I had to lie and tell her she was going to see a friend on Friday night. The friend was Kristy. We all pitched in and made her favorite foods. I made deviled eggs.

Jeff took me to Beyond Van Gough for our Valentines gift to each other. Van Gough has always been my favorite artist. I love the colors, subjects and way he paints. He had a troubled mind and never believed anyone thought he was good enough. I wish he could see how admired he is today. The tickets were a little pricey but I loved every minute. I have not felt that relaxed for weeks. It was like we were inside his paintings. They had music playing and the paintings would come alive on the walls and floor. It was stunning and I loved being with Jeff. After we went to City Creek and got lunch. 

It was a nice date.

Sunday was Ashtyn's homecoming. They asked her to speak about the characteristics of God as our loving Heavenly Father. Our families came to support us and we also invited some of Ashtyn's friends. We also had a lot of family watching on the broadcast. She gave the most beautiful talk and I felt the spirit so strong and this set the tone perfectly for what came next. Jeff was also sustained as the bishop of our ward. This is something I will write a whole post about but we knew about this for two weeks and did not tell anyone because we wanted the focus to be on Ashtyn. 

Several of Ashtyn's companions came to support her. From left is Brynn Castillow(Calvert County), Olivia Williams(Gaithersburg- she was Ashtyn's trainer and the reason Ashtyn was so successful), Ellie Johns(Faro Portugal- Ashtyn's "mom" in Portugal), Ashtyn, Lindsey Gordon(Downtown DC), Kayla Braithwaite(Downtown DC). I love that she got to serve with so many amazing women. She had 21 companions in all.

We made homemade Cafe Rio salads for lunch after. I cooked all the meat the day before. I made the mistake of cooking an entire package of pork butt roast from Costco in one crockpot. My crockpots are huge but the roast barely fit and I had to cover it with foil because the lid did not fit on tight. It ended up leaking all over the island. I cooked them in salsa, root beer and brown sugar. The next day I made a sauce of brown sugar, red enchilada sauce and green chilies. I got the best tortillas from NPS and also some frozen cilantro lime rice. My sweet friend Elissa took me there on Friday and they have the most amazing deals on things. Sunday morning Jeff was helping me cut lettuce and I sliced right through the middle of my left thumb nail and into my thumb. It hurt so bad and I was bleeding every where. I had to go lay down for a while because I started going into shock. I went pale, felt nauseous, was sweating and felt faint. This made for a crazy morning but luckily church wasn't until noon. After I felt better and Whitney assessed my thumb to see if I needed stitches- which she could have done for me because she does have suture at our house ha ha. Then I got dressed and finished helping set everything up. All of a sudden I looked down and saw blood on the floor. My thumb had started bleeding through the bandage and I got blood all over my dress, the counter, the rug and the floor and we were supposed to be leaving. That and the anxiety and stress of knowing what was coming at church made for a crazy morning. Luckily the bleeding stopped and everything turned out well. President Evans came up to me and told me it would be a happy day. He said they had been praying for us and that calmed my nerves. Jeff and I ended up staying after church so he could be set apart so by the time we got home most people had left but our family and Elissa. What a day for sure.

Bishop Shaw

Jeff got a call from his friend Brian Brooks who is the stake executive secretary saying that the Stake President wanted to meet with us on Sunday February 6th. Jeff is the stake clerk so he knew that our wards bishopric was being reorganized but they hadn't discussed it at length. To say this made us nervous was an understatement. Neither of us could sleep Saturday night at all. My mind was a frenzy of anxiety thinking of all the worst case scenarios that would bring. The next morning Jeff went to the stake meetings like he does every Sunday and I was left to worry at home alone. I like to study Come Follow Me on Sunday mornings so I started to do the reading which was in Abraham 1 and 2. I came to verse 8 in chapter 2 and never had a verse struck me so strongly. Is says "My name is Jehovah, and I know the end from the beginning; therefore my hand shall be over thee." I just burst into tears and had the most calm feeling come over me that no matter what happened God would be in control. My word for this year is Christ. I have had a strong desire to turn my life completely over to my savior and "Let God Prevail". That thought came to my mind and I felt peace. We went to church and then after church Ashtyn called. She always does on Sundays around 3. We had told her that we were going to a meeting at 3 so she called a bit before. Jeff told her we were meeting with the stake and she said you are going to be the next bishop dad. Jeff told her that would be terrible and he would make a bad bishop and she said "Why would you even say that dad. You would be a great bishop and that would be a wonderful calling." It humbled us a bit. We left and when we walked up to the stake offices our fears and anxieties grew. They took us into a room and all three members of the stake presidency sat before us. President Miller, President Evans and President Gibbons. That really made our palms sweat. They didn't waste any time and called Jeff to be the bishop. We both started to cry. Jeff never cries so it is always unnerving to me when he does. We felt like deer in headlights. I don't remember exactly what was said but I did tell them about my scripture experience that morning. We discussed when it would happen. It was decided to do it the same day that Ashtyn would speak in our ward. They told us to ask her so that she would not feel slighted or that the attention would be taken from her special day. We thought this was a great idea because all of our family was already going to be there so we did not need to tell them what would be happening and that would leave the focus on Ashtyn. When we left they all hugged us and assured us that this would be a good thing but when we got to the parking lot we collapsed into each others arms and sobbed. We knew that this calling would mean big changes to our family and to be honest we didn't know if we would be qualified to meet the challenges. Both of us struggled to sleep that night and the next and the next and pretty much every night for the whole two weeks leading up to it. We made a concerted effort to kneel down in prayer together each night. Every time I looked at Jeff I would cry just thinking of the pressures and weight of such a calling falling on him. We did receive comfort through out this time and God would show me scriptures that would bring me peace but it was also a time of great turmoil. You really start to examine every weakness you have in something like this. I started to see Jeff through God's eyes and look past his weaknesses to the potential that our Heavenly Father sees in him. It was very eye opening and I felt ashamed that I hadn't always seen him this way. Jeff is one of the best people I know. I wouldn't have married him if he wasn't but I have a lot to learn as his wife. At family scripture study one night Jeff wasn't home and Whitney was teaching the lesson. She said she didn't understand how Jeff thought he wasn't qualified because he is the most righteous person she knows. He never swears. He is always praying. He is always reading his Book of Mormon. I told him what she said that night and it made him feel good. Somehow we managed to not entirely fall apart during this time. The day before we went on a date to the Beyond Van Gough exhibit and that was the calmest I have felt in two weeks then that night we had scheduled to go to the temple with Ashtyn for the first time since she'd been home and that could not have come at a better time. We were able to be in God's house and feel of his spirit and be buoyed up. It felt so good. The next day brought back the nerves again. We were stressed trying to get everything ready for the luncheon and I ended up cutting my thumb pretty bad and getting blood all over my dress, the floor and the rug while chopping lettuce but we managed to make it to church on time. Brian Hall came up to us and asked if we were ready for things. He is Jeff's new first counselor. Then President Evans came over to me and told me it would be a happy day and that they had been praying for our family and he gave me a hug. I really wanted to be able to focus on Ashtyn. She gave a beautiful talk and Jeff and I sat there with sweaty palms. Finally President Miller got up and proceeded to announce Jeff as the bishop and our families burst into tears. When Jeff stood up I felt so good inside and calm. They asked us to come and sit on the stand. Tami Rich and Bishop Rich spoke first and then I spoke. I talked about how much Jeff loves the Book of Mormon and how he knows it is true. I told them he is a forensic accountant and that he investigates fraud for a living and that if that book were a fraud he would know it, but not because he is a CFE because he has studied it out and he has prayed about it and God has confirmed the truth of it to both of us. I told them how I am good at remembering the hand of God in my life and my savior. How remembering binds me to Him. Then Jeff spoke. All I remember is him saying that they really just wanted to call me to be the Bishop but they couldn't so they called him instead. The closing hymn was Our Saviors Love which is my favorite hymn and that was a direct message from God to me that he is aware of me and loves me. After the meeting so many people came up to us and hugged us and told us they knew it would be Jeff and that they sustained him and supported us. It was incredible to see the out pouring of love from so many. He was ordained a high priest and set apart right afterwards. We got many many texts of love and support. We had visits from people. The Lays stopped by that night and the next night the Cope family came over and brought cookies. The activity day girls made him a candy bar poster. The day after Brooklyn ended up in the hospital with an infection in her leg and so I went and stayed over night with Brody and Bronson. I felt so bad because I really wanted to be there with Jeff and support him. He had met with Bishop Rich that night and he felt really overwhelmed. Debbie Miller texted me and asked how I was doing and when I told her overwhelmed she offered to bring our family dinner which lifted my burdens. Jeff has now met with his new counselors and things have calmed down. I wanted to write all this down so we can look back on it over the years and be uplifted when things get hard. I know that Jeff will be a good bishop because he is incredible, he loves God with all his heart and God will be the one in control leading the ward, not Jeff. Jeff's patience, love and compassion has grown ten fold in just a few days. I am just in awe of the spirit that has come over him. I will try my best to match it and to support him anyway that I can. 

People That Came: Tom, Sharon, Dinah, Melinda's family, Scott's family, Kristy's family minus Jenacee who is serving a mission. Aunt Elaine, Drew and Cathie, Shirlee, James and Topher Warden, Mike Shepherd, Landon and Marni Reid Family

People Watching Online: Peter and Yvonne, Barbara Christensen, Bob and Kara, Sue-Anne, Scarlett Oslapas, Ron and Jenny Stutz, Brian and Paige English, Brent and Rena Garrison, Christine Hansen, Bryan and Cassidy Brooks, Aubrey Carlson, Cade Poulter, Pam Sheen, Norma and Mike Nance, Paul and Kellie Shaw, Lisa White, Patrice Pedersen, Brian and Melissa Barney, Mike Godfrey, Trenda Poulter, Carol Holgate

Well Wishes

Dear Bishop Shaw

We wanted to "TAKE" a minute to let "U-NO" you will make the "MOST MARVELOUS" Bishop, and we're so excited for the fun "AHEAD". Covid has been a "ROCKY ROAD" but we know with your "SMARTIES" you'll show us the "WAY". Thank you for "CHEWSING" to serve. Hugs and "KISSES"

Aleah Poulter, Norah Farnsworth, Charlotte Clark, Emma Sims, Addie Elvidge and Juliette Olsen

Leaders: Leslie Varner and Callie Mundy

Tuesday night Jeff and I met with the Stake Presidency along with Jeff's counselors and their wives for bishop training. When I saw the topics they wanted to discuss I started crying. It all felt very overwhelming and I started thinking having Jeff as the bishop was going to mean a lot more than I thought but then I looked again at the agenda and noticed the opening song was Our Savior's Love and that is my favorite song and I just cried harder. It was a tender mercy from Heavenly Father to me. I feel revelation the strongest through music and I know he knows this about me and had them choose the exact song I would need to hear. It also happened to be the closing song on Sunday. It ended up being such a good meeting and I felt a lot of peace- lots of worries but what I call peaceful anxiety too. This week has shown me that God is infinitely aware of us. I have never felt more supported and uplifted than I have this week. I have also never felt such great anxiety. I keep thinking about Scott and Tami our previous bishop and Miles and Kristy, Scott and Malia and Paul and Kellie and all my other friends whose husbands have been the bishop and just how little we did to support any of them when they got called and just how overwhelming it can all be. Knowing this now will definitely change what I do in the future. You need heavens help during this calling. All of the calls, texts, hugs, treats, dinner, letters and support have sustained us.