The End of Tournaments

Ruth had her very last regular debate tournament this weekend.  This was a large one at UVU and she placed 3rd in DI and 2nd in HI.   She now only has the National Qualifier to go and then her debate career will be at an end.  She will also be competing at the state DECA tournament in a few weeks.  In other Ruth news, Ruth got offered two scholarships this week.  A full ride scholarship to UVU which she is turning down, and a partial scholarship to the UofU, which she is accepting and glad to get.  We weren't expecting her to get any offer from the U so we are super happy about that.  Ruth also went to the youth council to spend a day at the capitol doing workshops and talking with our legislators. 

Beckys FS

A month into physical therapy has helped me regain some range of motion. After PT every week and a daily stretching regimen,  I can now reach my arm almost to chin level, which is a big improvement.  Still, I am living with constant radiating pain. I'm meeting with an orthopedic surgeon to see if I qualify for a surgical option.  I've decided to treat this aggressively as it has so drastically impacted my quality of life. Wish me luck.

Because I have been feeling a little better, I tried doing an event with HEROIC this weekend.  I went in figuring I'd stay as long as I could and then just go home when the pain was too much.  I ended up staying over 3 hours!  You'd be amazed at how many superhero poses you can do with only one arm!  Still, it was fun and I'm glad I went even though it knocked me out for the rest of the day. We had over 12 heroes from our club there.  

A Year of Churches

Chuck and I decided that this year we would spend every 4th Sunday going to a different church.  Chuck went to a few different churches when he was growing up, but I've never really attended other worship services and my kids haven't either.  So we thought this would give us some good perspective by seeing what other religions are out there and then talking together about what we liked and didn't like and how it related to our own religious beliefs.   Today we chose a non-denominational church not far from our home.   The people were very welcoming and we were shown around and felt comfortable right away.  We liked the service, though it was very different from what we were used to.  People dressed in casual clothes and there was a worship band that played contemporary music.   The messages were all very good, about how God loves us and so we should love each other. The sermon was on kindness and how important it is to make people feel welcomed and loved, that by loving someone first then they will want to come and be with the body of Christ because they feel loved and wanted there.  We had a good discussion on the way home from the service about what we liked and didn't like about the service.   It's become clear to me that I can't really judge a church by one experience, but it's interesting to at least get a glimpse.