New milestone

Again, I may not be posting but I'm still running. Today I ran Week 5 Day 3. I was thinking it would be an 10 min run cycle because Day 1 and 2 incrementally increased up to 8 min but to my surprise, it called for a 5 min warm up and then a 20 min run! Then it had a note saying not to be put off and I could do it. And I did! At 6 miles per hour, I ran for 20 min straight. It felt good. I started getting a little bored/tired at the 15 min mark but I know that will pass with more practice.

And so it is done.

Fulfilling a Mother's Dream on Father's Day

The second you realize you are going to be a parent, you start imagining the different milestones that you're going to experience. Visions of first steps, teaching them how to ride a bike, and wonderful family vacations where everyone gets along dance through your head. As a Mormon mother, my list also includes other milestones for my sons like their first day in nursery (a day that many young parents look forward to), baptisms, and serving missions. 

Connor recently turned 16 which allows a worthy young man to be ordained as a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood. One of the Priest's duties is to bless the sacrament before the Deacons, (12-13 year old young men who have been ordained as such), pass the sacrament to the members in the congregation. 

This past Sunday, Connor blessed the sacrament for the first time with his father by his side and his younger brother standing in front of them waiting to pass it. It was a wonderful sight for a mother to see. My heart was full of joy and still is whenever I think about it. 

I thank my Heavenly Father for blessing me with three worthy Priesthood holders in my home. 

Evidence

Finally, another milestone

When your children are young, there are lots of milestones that happen - first tooth, first word, first steps. Now that I have a teenager and a preteen, milestones are far and few. Other than receiving the Aaronic priesthood and hitting puberty, it's been a long time since anything happened that changes the way we live...until now.

Connor attended his first youth conference this past weekend in Montreal. There were about 180 youth from the Ottawa, Kingston, and Montreal stakes. By the end of this 3-day retreat, Connor was on cloud-nine with the amount of new friends he made. Facebook has been a wonderful tool for him to keep connected with them all.

But how did youth conference affect the rest of the family?

One of Connor's new friends is a girl.

Not only is she a girl, but she's a girl who may have a crush on Connor due to the number of times she calls him and writes on his Facebook wall each day even after Connor tells her he's interested in somebody else (that's another story). We've had to adjust to the number of times the phone rings in the house, limit how long Connor is on the phone, and start being stern when we tell him to get off the phone when it's time for dinner. Wait until this girl's parents receive the long distance phone bill!

That's not all though.

Connor's made other friends. These friends are older. These friends are female. These friends want Connor and a couple of the older young men in our ward to go hang out with them. Did I mention these friends live 2 hours away and I think one of the young men can drive?