January always seems like this looming long month after the hussle and bussle of Decemeber and so it is hard for me to believe that Feb. is just a day away. For some reason this January has gone by much faster than most and I have so much to be thankful for. I feel like I would just like to freeze frame life for a while and keep my kids their ages for a while. I would however set us in a little warmer time of year!

My cute sister MaryAnn turned 40 this week. Me and Katy had a fun time creating a cake that represented some of her favorite things. The shape was supposed to be a thimble which she collects. Next time I think i would do a little more sculpting before the frosting goes on. It was 5 layers high. I gained a new appreciation for proffessional cake artists and realized I have a long way to go in fondant design before I could really feel good about charging anyone for a cake. It is fun to get to use my creative side for a few hours and fun to work with Katy on it.

I went from thinking and praying about where I could give some time and service in our communities and schools to having two business offers in a matter of days. I have been connected with an amazing opportunity to help start a non-profit center to tutor dyslexic kids. Right now we are formulating ideas and structuring things. It is overwhelming but exciting and something I know I should be involved in. I have offered to head up fundraising specifically a 5k run and then going through the training to become a tutor. I am needing lots of support from my family and I feel like I am learning so much everytime we meet as an unofficial board. I am excited to see this new adventure through and hope it will be a blessing to families with dyslexic kids.

The second fun opportunity is being able to do demos for my favorite GF company who have just made their way into Utah stores. A good friend in our ward is now their regional manager and asked if Katy and I would be interested in doing demos for the company. I am excited to give it a try and always happy to eat good GF food and share it with others. I feel like two challenges I have had (celiac and dyslexia) are coming full circle and now I finally get to do some real good in helping others.

Kids got report cards this week and I felt so grateful for children who try hard and make a possitive contribution in their classes. I am amazed at how far Jacob and Hunter have come with their Lang. arts and am so thankful for a teacher who is so aware of their needs and really helps them individually, which isn't easy in a class room of over 30 kids.