He's How Old?

So, Adam's birthday was yesterday. It's amazing to me how quickly the time goes. He's 14 now. It seems almost "like yesterday" that he was born and Brian and I were figuring out how to be parents. We had been married several years before Adam joined us, so we thought we knew each other pretty well. Were we in for a surprise! Life changes completely when you have a child. Crazy!

We're so glad for the kind of young man he is. He is very stalwart and sober and kind and talented and fun to be around and a good friend. He was ordained to the office of Teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood yesterday by Brian. It was so great to see that happen. It was especially good to have Grandpa Taylor there as well as almost all of his Young Men leaders in the circle. Brian and I are so grateful for good men who serve and teach and guide all of the young men in our ward, especially Adam.

~Bobi

P.S. Now that both Brian and I have decided to make blog entries, we thought we would copy some other friends that share a blog (Thanks, Maeve and Chris!). My entries will be in one kind of type and Brian's will be in another -- like mine is straight and his is italicized or mine is in one color and his is in another. We haven't decided which will be which, so watch for more updates!

He's Off to a Great Start!

I realized that my first two forays into blogging have been about Lyssa. I decided I'd best post some things about Adam.

1. He is an amazing young man.
2. He is in 9th grade at Matheson Junior High School.
3. He has a 4.0 GPA for the first quarter of his high school career.
4. He is the 1st Vice President of the Student Body Officers. (He has an awesome letter sweater to prove it!)
5. He has taught himself how to play the string bass. He started in September to help out the band/orchestra teacher. Side note: I'm really glad the instrument is 1/2 size. I thought it would fit in Brian's car. It doesn't! It fits in Mascha (my sister Amy's car that we are borrowing while she's living overseas), but only if the back seats are down. Even then, the scroll fits between the front seats!
6. He is turning 14 this coming Sunday. (Where has the time gone?)

The title of the blog is in reference to #3. Last year, I asked him why his overall grades weren't better (as in more A's than anything else -- his grades were fine, just not what I knew he could do). His response? "Why work hard when it doesn't count?" Hmmm. At least he recognizes that "it counts" now and is doing what he knows needs to be done to succeed.

What's Pretty?

This morning, after Lyssa had showered and gotten dressed (but not brushed her hair), she told me that yesterday, a friend from school told her that another girl from school said that Lyssa wasn't pretty and she didn't get that because her mom (meaning me -- Mom -- Bobi -- me) is pretty. (Is that convoluted or what?) Anyway, that was upsetting to Lyssa because, and I quote, "I don't know why she said that. I have good fashion sense!"

I got to explain that "pretty" seems to mean "face and hair", not "cool or stylish clothes". We had a discussion about the fact that since everybody says she looks like me, and I'm pretty, then she is pretty also. She accepted that without much ado. Then, she told me she was going to go brush her hair and even dry it so she could style it nicely. When she left for school, you could tell she had made the effort. Her hair looked very pretty! Since she usually only worries about being dressed, that was a big step for her!

It got me to thinking about "what is pretty?" Why does it seem to mean "face and hair" and not a good fashion sense? Why don't we say "pretty" when talking about someone's "insides" -- their ability to connect with people and have them feel good about themselves or someone's ability to be kind to one and all?

I'm curious to see what other girls Lyssa's age think about this. I will be having the opportunity in a couple of weeks to have a similar discussion with my Cadette Girl Scout troop. There are 10 of them and they are all different individuals. I think it will be an interesting conversation about how they see themselves and how they see others and the criteria that they use to make decisions about other people and how they are going to relate to them. I expect it to get pretty lively!

Lyssa's Apple?

So, yesterday during church, when the kids were getting a bit squirrely because it was almost time to be done and they weren't enjoying the talk that was being given, Lyssa looked at me and whispered:

Lyssa: "What's that bump on Adam's neck?"
Bobi: "It's his Adam's apple. You have one, too."
Lyssa: "Wouldn't it be Lyssa's apple? I don't want Adam's apple."

Can you keep a straight face? I know I couldn't!