Powell Happenings

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This has been an exciting week for our little family! Calvin took his first steps without holding onto mommy or daddy's hands. On Thursday, December 10, after Jake got home from work, we were sitting on our bedroom floor facing each other and letting Calvin practice walking back and forth. I was trying to show Jake how Calvin can stand on his own and Jake thought if he can do that, maybe he can walk too. And after a little practice, he did! He took three steps at the most and then would collapse into waiting arms. We are so proud of our little guy! And he is too! He couldn't stop smiling the whole time.

Last weekend was our Ward Christmas Social that I was in charge of. We did a ham dinner with a Talent Show following. Everything went fantastic! We had plenty of food (we're actually still eating ham and potatoes here at home!) and quite a few people signed up to share their talents! Jake and I performed a flute/guitar duet and played "Good King Wencelas" and "We Three Kings". Jake also did a guitar duet with our friend, Adam, and they played "The First Noel". And to kick off the talent show, Jake and three other guys from the ward performed an interpretive dance. It was classic!! (I've tried to post the video, but it's not working. Sad!)

On that note, a change happened this week. I was released from my calling as Activities Chair, that only lasted 3 months, and was a called to be the 2nd counselor in the Primary. I'm pretty nervous about what that entails, but I'm excited to work with the new President. Thankfully, the 1st counselor is a returning member of the last presidency, so she'll know what's going on. One good thing is that I won't have to attend Ward Council now, which is especially nice since we're moving to the 9:00 a.m. schedule with the New Year.

Jake had an interesting/scary experience this week in the clinic. He had a crazy patient he saw who has bipolar schizoaffective disorder. She was having a severe manic episode due to over-medication and couldn't fathom that her mental problems were a more immediate issue than the back aches she had originally come in for. She ran out screaming "Make him stop, mama! Make him stop!" An interesting phrase coming from a forty something year old! After an hour long interview with the patient and her screaming the entire time, the nurses finally took pity on Jake and came to his rescue telling him he had a phone call, which in fact he didn't. Just another day in the family practice clinic....

Other happenings this week, hmmm. We've started getting together with friends for FHE to play Nerts and have pizza. So fun! We have also taken the chance to drive around and enjoy Christmas lights. In Cape County Park north of town, there is a collection of light displays where anyone in town can set up their own display. So nearly every church, business and everyone else has one. It takes about 15 minutes to drive through and see them all. We did that last Sunday before watching the Christmas Devotional. All in all, it's been a fun week! We are really enjoying the Christmas time of year. We hope you are all too!