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I put this picture here, because when Glo sent it to me, I just felt such gratitude that she keeps on trying to do all that is good and smart and kind...while wearing her new Darth Vader sweater ;-) Since receiving the exhortation from President Nelson to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year, along with the challenge to increase temple attendance, and to be a light, life has been busy for the Kennedys.  I think I feel the most sympathy for my student children who already have so much to do, and for Rebecca, who is a full-time, 24/7 mom who is still nursing a baby.  However, in so many ways, they are stepping up to do what they should be doing. I have been surprised to hear that other women and youth are not doing the Book of Mormon challenge, and that's been difficult for me to process.  I have always hated the fact that people mock the ancient people who didn't listen to the prophet (Noah, Moses with the brass serpent, Abinadi), but then turn around and d...

A couple of years ago, the boys ran the "Iron Turkey" in Dexter with Rebecca running the 5K.  The Iron Turkey is a really fun idea:  it begins with a 5K (there are quite a few runners for this race) at 9 a.m., and 10K then begins at 10 a.m., so depending on how fast you finish the 5K, it will affect the break you have before you begin the 10K.  There are a couple of challenges in this, the biggest one being that if you really go all out and start sweating during the 5K, you will be wet during that break.  That first year,  I showed up to watch little Baby Annie during the first race.  It was a crazy cold day, and during that break, there was horizontal snow happening, and everyone was freezing .  However, it is worth the hefty registration price because you get a t-shirt for doing the 5K as well as for running both races, and there is a medal for each as well which fit together with magnets.  I was all in for this year. I was really happy when ...

There have been a lot of changes for us since we moved to Michigan.  Chief for me has been losing my army of health care professions which I have slowly and reluctantly needed to replace.  An allergist, an ENT, a dentist, an optometrist, and an orthopedic surgeon.  I've also needed to find a new cleaning lady (the allergies don't allow me to work around dust or mold)--man, do I ever miss Lorrie who probably knew my house better than I did.  And hair.  Goodness, I'm trying my third salon next week after making the six hour drive to see Jess back in State College last month.  We had definitely put down some roots in State College, and it's taking time to pull those up and establish new ones. We also had to replace the license plates on six of our cars.  We had been driving around with expired plates for over a year.  Why?  We hadn't sold our home yet, but in order to get new Michigan plates, we needed to prove residency in Michigan.  By ...

The big thing right now is meals sent directly to your home with all of the ingredients included with easy-to-follow instructions.  I got a big old coupon for Blue Apron last spring, so I decided to try it.  I must admit that I didn't love most of the meals, so I stopped the service. John, however, really enjoyed the idea behind the meals.  He has never worked with me in the kitchen, but with the instructions all laid out (even with pictures), he found that he actually enjoyed it.  Plus, the meals are rather healthy with lots of lean meat and vegetables.  I think it's a good answer to wanting to eat out, but not wanting to pay to eat out. So when I got another coupon a couple of months ago from the meal-delivery service, HelloFresh, I decided to try it again.  And here we are, still receiving deliveries once a week for two meals, and we love it. In fact, the other night, I was getting ready for everyone to show up for the Turkey Trot, and John headed...

I'm really grateful that our move to Michigan has provided us with a lot of things (some new challenges as well), but I think I'm most grateful for the opportunity to serve.  I felt so isolated and lonely back in PA with little to no interaction with anyone that I didn't pay (hairdresser, house cleaner, doctor) that it really messed with my sense of self-worth.  I feel like now I'm able to be my old self, and it's a relief to say the least. Last Monday, John and I were out for our Monday night dinner at Texas Roadhouse.  Really, it has become our thing to do, and it's never even a question.  I completely associate the experience with Hannah's mission emails because they always arrived while we were there, and I would read them out loud to John while we waited for our Oven-Roasted Barbecue Chicken (John) and salmon (me).  It brings up seriously happy feelings.  I got a phone call from our Primary president, Julie Gibb, who was one of the first people in th...

This past weekend, we celebrated Baby's third birthday.  I can hardly even believe that it's been three years since we watched her come into this world, and yet I can't imagine there was ever a time when she wasn't with us.  Maybe that feeling comes from the idea that we all knew each other before we came to earth, so really, it was just a few years of being  separated before we were reunited with her again.  Who knows? In an unfortunate turn of events, John's call in Altoona was cancelled last minute (where we were all supposed to meet) so fortunately Ethan and Rebecca made the long trek from DC to Dexter for the long weekend (thank you, Ethan, for taking Friday off).  Of course, John and I were rather nervous about them arriving, because we knew that they were coming sick.  Coughing and sneezing from three of them, and John and I are headed on a dive trip in just two short weeks.  No joke, I wore a mask the first day. Friday morning, bright ...

When John and I were first married, we owned two things:  a queen-size bed (we bought the mattress used), and a small round kitchen table with four chairs that someone gave to us after using it for 20 years with their own family.  Needless to say, when our home teacher in Wymount Terrace came over for the first time, and noticed that we didn't have anything in our apartment but those two things, he immediately called the bishop and got us store credit at Deseret Industries so we could buy a very small sofa and a matching chair. We didn't need much really. I put towels over the moving boxes that we had and called those end tables.  And we had milk crates too for furniture.  However, about six months into marriage, John stumbled upon a garage sale (although nobody in Wymount had a garage, but anyway...) and found a very old, very used TV for $20.  The problem was that it was a green and white TV.  Yes, GREEN and white.  Not black and white, and certain...

Glo's birthday this year was a little anti-climactic, seeing as she didn't come home on her birthday itself.  Normally, we spend her birthday weekend watching General Conference and building Legos, but we had to just FaceTime her for her birthday unwrapping (this was the first time we had contact with "Glo's Ethan" though, as he was sitting in the room but Hannah and Glo kept him off camera). Never keeping things easy though, we tried to get everyone in on the birthday call which meant Ethan and Rebecca were part of it as well.  Glo got a new pair of Maui Jim sunglasses from me, and Baby didn't let the moment pass to show that she also has a pair of sunglasses ;-) #MeltMyHeart We did bring her and Johannah home a couple of weeks later though to go to drink apple cider. And to attend a Michigan hockey game. And to go to Cedar Point Halloweekends, because let's face it, it's no October without a visit there. And every year, Glo brings he...