"Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today" - Master Wu from Ninjago🥷

¡Hola a todos! 

TRANSFER NEWS 

I'm moving to Nogales! Which is just one area down so I'll still be on the same ward, but I have a new companion! I have to leave my favorite trainer ever Hermana Black  but thankfully I'll still see her all the time! We really thought we were going to be together for another transfer, but now all of our second transfer plans are gone  It's so interesting how you get to know someone really well for 6 weeks and you can hope that you can be together for another transfer, but you really have to make the time count while you while you have it. So actually "never put off until tomorrow what can be done today" because you never know what could be your last day with an awesome companion! 

Some highlights from this week: 

️Plants!!! We visited this sweet old couple in our ward and they gave us so many plants to take home! So now our house really feels like a home! 

️Priesthood Blessing! One of our friends got in a car accident this week - it wasn't too bad, but we had the awesome opportutity to bring the elders quorum president and his wife to meet her and give her a priesthood blessing of healing! It was such a special ans spiritual experience. 

️Following the Spirit - there was one day this week where we had been knocking a bunch of doors and we had time to knock one more. I had really tried to pick a spot that felt guided by the Spirit but we hadn't found anyone yet. I felt like we needed to knock a certain door even though it looked abandoned and there were no cars or lights on, but we knocked anyways! And this sweet young mom answered and we set up a time to meet with her and it was super awesome! God guides us when we involve Him in His work!! 

️My Violin!! My violin finally arrived!! Now I can fiddle away to my heart's content and do all the special musical numbers in the world! 

Lowlight: cockroach in the font... 

We were getting ready to give one of our friends a church tour and the elders told us to make sure there were no cockroaches in the baptismal font...uhhhh EUYUCK

But sure enough, there was one alive and running around stuck in the font  and I had to catch it and put it in a cup and take him outside. Basically it was the worst experience of my life 

Spanish word of the week: superar = to overcome  i use this word all the time in our lessons because with Jesus Christ, we can overcome all of the trials we have and mistakes that we've made. It's important for all of us to remember that we're not alone on our journey through life!

Bug of the week: the Scorpion Killer™️ 

This. Was. Crazy. We were knocking on this lady's door with a member from the ward, and when she opened the door we realized there was this giant horrifying looking bug right by her door about to crawl inside! She closed the door thankfully but that bug was still just hanging out on the porch with us interested in the lesson   luckily our member was so brave and just swept him off of the porch, but he was HUGE and the member said that it eats scorpions! I'll attach a picture at the bottom (if you don't want to see it I'll make it the last picture)

Spiritual thought: I studied obedience in Preach My Gospel (missionary handbook) this week and it said obeying commandments is an expression of love for God. God gives us commandments because He loves us! And He wants us to have guidance in our crazy lives. We can express love and gratitude for Him by showing that we value His teachings. I was also reading in Mormon 9, which says in verse 27 "Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart". I love thinking about beginning as in times of old because people like Moses and Nephi gave up their old lives in order to live a life that was more in line with gods will for them, and it blessed them exponentially! He can do so much more with our lives than we can. 

God loves you and I do too!! Im asking the same question as last week because no one answered  what are your favorite General Conference talks for motivation? I hope you all have an amazing week!!! 

Hermana Morales  

A few extra pictures and thoughts from Mom- 

Leah is not a complainer. Sometimes that makes it hard to know how she's really doing. BUT! I can testify that she has never once seriously complained of the heat, which is insanely impressive because it's near 100 degrees every day right now. She does an amazing job of looking for the beauty all around her, and I love seeing her discoveries in her pictures. 

Leah's violin did not, in fact, make the trip as safely as it should have. We were all devastated when she discovered the crack on the F hole that was definitely not there before the trip. Thankfully, the violin is still quite playable, it did actually arrive (eventually, heaven help me for the journey that it took because I put the wrong apartment number on the address), and miraculously, the insurance claim was immediately accepted, processed, and paid out for the replacement value of the entire violin. The crack can be repaired for a fraction of that price, but now Leah has a good and trusty mission violin with the funds to either repair or replace it when she comes home. Silver linings and blessings! 

Jesus Christ stands betwixt us and mercy! I love Leah's doodles. 

Another miracle- these letters from siblings arrived, even though the apartment number was wrong and most of them were addressed to "Mi hermana favorita" and "My best big sister!" 

Narwahl sisters forever!

Look at these happy, happy faces!  The bitterness of being apart makes the P-day reunions that much more sweet! 

Caught Up

 It is always my goal to keep 'caught up' on this 20 year old blog. But just as quickly as I get caught up, we live another bit of life and I am lucky enough to have another memory that I want to record. The happenings of our day-to-day lives seems so small, until I dive deep back into the volumes of this family history and recall small moments that I never would have remembered without writing them down. 

This week I want to remember that Leah sent us a card in the mail that we haven't opened yet because we always open packages when we are all together! I think she she sent us a postcard from Mexico, but it most likely had US postage on it, so it never got to us. Sad! 

Adam made a big, hard decision this week. I love that he wanted to talk to us about it and consider his options and practice what he was going to say. At the time of writing we don't yet know the results of the conversation he's about to have. 

Emma decided to cut her hair shorter this week. She was shocked to learn that she'll have to pay for it herself becaues I paid for the last one a mere five weeks ago. 

Noah slept and slept and slept this week. He could because our days at home have been super slow while the big kids and the father have been at work. 

He also beat me at Monopoly Deal every time we played it. 

Despite my best efforts, I have started thinking about going "back to work" for the first time in my life. There are a lot of changes happening at JC, and I hope that they are all for the best and that I can enjoy this new adventure. (If not, I'll be resuming my previous position as SAHM post haste.)

Jason was sure he was suffering from the early stages of heatstroke in the field yesterday, when the heat index was 117. I don't doubt it, but I did pause to remember what a BIG deal his grad school days in the field were for all of us. He had the wrong clothes! He didn't have any fancy gear! He's allergic to corn pollen! He worked such long days in such an unfamiliar setting. Now this is just life, and he handles it like a pro every season. 

We have been watching the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies. They are fun and silly and the boys have been warned that, when it's Emma's birthday week, we will be watching A Walk To Remember and Twilight. 

We tried starting The Office series but most of the kids were only mildly interested in it. It's an acquired taste for sure, and not one that we need to have. 

Adam saw a spider eating a fly's head off in the field today. He wanted me to mention that here. 

Emma got a new bike this week. It's the last bike we will buy for her, and possibly for any of the kids because they (the bikes and the kids) are all so big now. Noah probably needs one more size up once he's done growing. 

Noah looks a solid inch taller every time he walks down the stairs. I also took the hem out of his church pants this week. See the above comment about excess sleep. 

In the last few days, Laney has barfed on my couch, peed in my bed, chased down an Amazon truck into the road, rolled in something in the yard, and barked incessently at the workers from behind the office doors (which I had to tolerate for 2 minutes while I was looking for paint in the basement). I think she's hangry about her new diet. She is the best and the worst pup we've ever had.

Just when things get slightly settled around here, we seem to like to create more excitement. I think often about the constraints of time and how different heaven must be when we aren't constantly feeling the pressure to make the most of this one life we've been given. 

The dead tree is still down in the yard, and it will stay there until the weather cools off. It's a constant reminder that we aren't caught up. But the ceiling in our bedroom has been reinstalled and the GI Joe project is coming to an end and, just as we are heading out of town again, the groceries need to be restocked. I believe it's an art to eat down what's in the house just in time to leave for a period of time. 

It's also an art to slow down enough to recognize and record what a good life we have! 

Adam is 17!

 I don't really know how that's possible since he is just my little buddy zipping around the house in a Buzz Lightyear costume, but apparently it's true. Adam's on the officially countdown to becoming a legal adult. He started his birthday off as such, by getting up and going to work, because the corn stops for no one. 

Noah and I stopped by and decorated his car. He just loves this kind of attention. ;) 

We heard the sad news that our favorite seal at the zoo, Cheeto Puff, passed away earlier this summer. We were delighted to learn that they got Adam a birthday present- a new seal, announced on his birthday!

Silly boy, all cleaned up and ready for a party!

This is Adam's golden birthday- 17 on the 17th! 

Of course, he asked for Lego. 

Adam has a great group of friends that were all happy to celebrate with him!

Birthday photobomber!

Here we go! 

I love this boy!

Why?!

Why did you kiss my neck!?

That's better. 

The hoist!

Maybe this would be easier if he wasn't all arms and legs.

Whee! He makes it look easy!

For his birthdate, Adam requested that we go to HuHot and bring the babies along. 

We all loved it! (and we probably won't say yes to a family birthdate again. The kids just love the one-on-one talks in the car too much to sacrifice that special opportunity!) 

Consuming Kahn's Revenge was a choice. A sweaty one!

Adam is growing up so fast- he even talked to his grandparents on the phone with no prompting! 

We are so impressed with all that Adam has accomplished over the last year, and so excited to see what the second half of high school has in store for him. We definitely cheated time by sending him to school as late as possible, and today, knowing how fast this time actually flies, I'm so grateful for every day that we have together! 

This year, I think I'll focus on things the birthday kiddo doesn't like.

Adam doesn't like making decisions quickly, or without talking them over in detail first. He is deliberate and intentional and careful. 

He doesn't like cottage cheese. 

He still doesn't like M&Ms. How is this possible?!

He doesn't like obnoxious and/or loud kids, and he does not compete with them. 

Adam doesn't like it when I am being unfair to anyone, and is always quick to stick up for his siblings. 

He doesn't like going to bed without completing our loud and long secret handshake. 

Adam doesn't like missing out on sleep, but he REALLY doesn't like missing out on life, even if it means sacrificing sleep. 

Adam doesn't like hurting anyone's feelings, and he is very thoughtful about his words. 

Adam doesn't like being rushed. He'll get there when he gets there. 

Adam doesn't like when people don't lock in and work hard, especially when it comes to marching band  and drama (I can't say the same about show choir because everyone is crazy locked in for show choir). 

Adam doesn't like missing out on pup snuggles. He tolerates sleepovers with Laney the best of all the kids. 

He doesn't like days without music. There is always piano, voice, beatboxing, or trumpeting happening around here. 

He doesn't like letting too much time pass without attending the temple. We are mostly going strong with our monthly goal. 

He doesn't like a cold breakfast. He makes himself some sort of eggs and sides every single morning. 

Adam doesn't like to let his brain rest for long. He is always creating with Lego or rendering on a computer or planning his next adventure. 

Adam doesn't want to waste his time. He is impressively deliberate with every day, decision, conversation and relationship that he engages in. 

He doesn't like letting a second go by without responding to my requests, even if there are other siblings nearby who could do the job (there have been times in his life that I've had to tell him that he just can't do everything because then no one else will learn how to do anything). 

The future is bright for Adam. He is hardworking, smart, kind, careful, spiritual and sweet. To know him is to love him! 

Happy golden birthday Mr. Man! We love you!!