Taco Villa Monday on Thursday with Benja

The day after Elder Vore (aka Benjamin, aka Benja) got home we gathered at Taco Villa.  It was also the first week of school, so no teens, tweens or children were there.  I got to sit next to Benja and it was fun to listen in on the conversations he was having.  

He was also really cute to ask about Brinley.  I could tell he was really interested in her current assignment.  She is serving as an STLT which is a sister Assitant to the President/AP.  Benja was an AP for the last several months of his mission.  He said their mission doesn't have STLTs because it hasn't been authorized by the area authorities, but he thinks it is an excellent idea and would be really helpful.  I hope he and Brinley will be able to catch up about their missions in December.

Benja, Joseph, Kerry, Dad/Grandpa

Kerry, Brian and I all attended this Taco Villa gathering.  Everyone was in shock.  Brian would love to go each week if it worked with his schedule...Kerry and I...not so much.  It just kills my day to take a 1-2 hour lunch every Wednesday.  Plus we hang out as a family for hours on Sunday night.  Plus I eat out a time or two during the week with my mom or friends and that's not good for my health.  But it was awesome hanging out with Benjamin and the Vores on Thursday!

Kyla, Brit, Me, Benja, Joseph, Dad, Kerry, Bri, & Ang

 

Benja

We like this guy!  Benjamin served well in the Little Rock, Arkansas mission.  Welcome Home!

Ang w/ her baby boy.

The airport group.  Back row-ish: Grandma and Grandpa Honey, Brian, Emily Martin, Joseph, Laurel and David King, Me  Middle-ish: Charity, Benja, David Martin, CJ King, Ethan McKown, Grandpa Vore, Ang, Chris, Lauron, Adam, Amberly Jackson  Front: Kate Martin, Gram, Isaiah Martin, Haley Jackson, Kyla and Ryan McKown

The original Vore fam minus Erin.  Lauron (15), Chris, Benja, Joseph, Ang, Charity & Adam

We love this cousin.  He is a year older than Brinley and three years older than Parker.  He and Brinley were besties until they were around six or seven.  Benjamin paved the way for Parker at Permian.  He and Parker's paths didn't really overlap but they participated in football and track and hung out many a Sunday night and during family vacations together.

Gram and Gramp welcoming another missionary home from serving.  They are great to support in so many ways.  

After the airport, we gathered at the Vores for his release.  It was great to visit a little more with him.  They also brought in Rosas (Mexican food) which was delish.

The kids started school this week and so neither were at the airport but Aub was able to come by after volleyball practice.
 

Goals

August 7, 2021

I was cleaning out my office and found the goals we had written down for the year.  (Here is a link from the post in January were I shared about our FHE lesson.)

As I read over the goals, I was proud of us!  

I think each person accomplished the one goal they shared with the family.  I think when it's my turn for FHE, I will hand out everyone's sheet so we can review all of the goals we set, reflect and refocus on the remaining goals.

Brief recap... 

Brian: find a job  (He has a great job as a Safety manager at 3N.  I am so proud of him for taking classes at Odessa College in a totally different field in order to make himself more marketable.)

Erin: study the scriptures 10-15 minutes every morning  (I would say this is definitely a habit I have established.  Often I supplement by listening to Come Follow Me podcasts or General Conference talks.)

Parker: begin working on mission papers  (He just finished three weeks at the MTC-home and in Provo- and flew to Ghana this week!)

Tanner: get all A's  (I love that he chose to make a conscious decision to make certain grades.  He is very smart.  He made all A's except an 89 in AP History.  He was frustrated with that 89, but I think his grades were impressive.)

Aubrey: drink more water  (She's been doing that!)

I was looking at the other goals I set for myself, and I definitely need a reboot.  Here they are: 

-workout 4-5 x a week (I probably do 3x most weeks.) 

-get website up and running (I haven't done that and probably won't this year.  But I do want to set a new goal for my business.  I paused it in June for vacation and haven't really done much since then.)

-eat more veggies  (Ummm....)

-listen to podcasts, Alison Prince's training etc  (Definitely have rocked podcast this year.  Here are a few: Because I Can (Alison Prince/my business advisor), Don't Miss This (Come Follow Me), Clutterbug (decluttering/getting organized), All In (individual interviews with people and their examples of living the gospel, eCommerce Master Plan, Love Like a Mama (I was even a guest on this one!)

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August 14, 2021

Current goals

We had a little FHE this week, and we reviewed and reset goals.  We are working on the four areas in the Children and Youth programs at church: social, intellectual, physical, and spiritual.  Overall I felt very positive.  I don't know where I put our written goals right now but here are some positive ones I remember.

Brian: workout 3x a week, study scriptures every morning

Erin: I couldn't figure out a social one but mentioned I wanted to think about one.  I received a call the next day asking if I'd like to be on the basketball booster club.  My initial reaction, in my head, was "not really."  However, thinking about needing to grow and stretch and also that it's good to be involved in the community, I accepted.

Tanner: pray everyday, pay more attention in seminary this year so he will get more out of it, talk to others that aren't in his immediate friend group

Aubrey: maintain all As while being an athlete (It's going to be tough.  Honors classes at a new school and v-ball takes a lot of time!), kneel when saying personal prayers

Zits in Real Life

Probably three or four mornings a week my dad will send me a copy of a comic strip called Zits.  It follows a family with a teenage boy, and it is funny.  It is also Painful.  Teenage years can be so awkward.  Teens are emotional and can be so wrapped up in friends.   Living with them sure makes everyday an adventure. 

Honestly when I get that early morning text from my dad, my stomach reflexively starts to churn.  We are LIVING Zits over here in the Gwilliam household.

Here are a few of Zits cartoons.

So many things I do seems to embarrass/annoy my teens.  Haha.  I'm still going to work at making those connections.  (And my kids' friends are awesome...and I feel like Brian and I have pretty good relationships with both our kids and their friends.)  Also, teens in 2021 often come with phones glued to their hands, piercings and tattoos.

Tanner flips out occasionally when asked to turn off the game/put down the phone/pause the show and do his chores.  "Why do you always try to get everyone to do YOUR JOB MOM.  You are the MOM.  You just want to make us your slaves."  And that's when I walk away and whisper to myself, "A soft answer turneth away wrath. A soft answer..."

And the poor kids have to live with this ALL of the time!  They tease me about my many pairs of glasses that I can never find, and they often have to call my phone because I can't find it…and I do try to stay on top of the money transactions. 

And just when I'm ready to throw in the towel, something like this occurs.

Here are two real life Zits examples from the Gwilliam household this week.

Text from Tanner at 5:00pm 

Tanner: Went to eat

Me: I'm making dinner 😬

Tanner: You make dinner every night

Me: And I would like you home to eat it every night

Tanner: Well I hate eating as a family and I'm not going to eat dinner every night  It's the worst event of the day

Me: 😢

And also at dinner...it's been a rough dinner week apparently.  I think Brian was teasing Aubrey or maybe talking to her about being more confident in volleyball...and she was done.  

May we all survive and thrive in the Gwilliam household these next four years!!