NJHS

 I mentioned in Erik's birthday blog post that he is now a member of the National Junior Honor Society. It's been fun to see him interacting in this club with kids that have similar school goals and are service-oriented. They have to get so many hours of service in, a lot of which will be provided by the school. He already gets a lot in through church. Yesterday, he got to ring the Salvation Army bell in front of Kroger, though that was with his soccer team, and they all count towards his hours for NJHS.

Back in September, Kade, Erik, and I participated in a service project organized by our ward. It was supposed to be Austin, but he had a meet, so Kade took his place. It was supporting the Miracle League at a baseball game. Jason went with the boys last year and I was so happy to be able to attend this year. Each person is assigned a buddy to be with during the game. We basically just made sure they knew where they were going, were safe, and felt loved. That was it. There were no outs, fowls, or points. Everyone was given a chance based on their abilities. For instance, some hit the ball from a slow throw, while others hit it off a tee. They had bats of different sizes and materials for each as well.

Kade's buddy was really fast and knew what he was doing. He hit a homerun every time! Kade just had to follow him around and encourage him. Erik's buddy was in a wheelchair and Erik and Nick pushed him around and helped him hold the bat. My buddy was really friendly and into the fans. Following the lead of her sister from the bleachers, I carefully guided her with my arm around her so she would go to all the bases after hitting the ball, rather than smile at the crowd the whole time. She was so sweet and fun to be with. 

Kade and his buddy.

My buddy and I, plus Spencer, who was originally assigned to her, but I don't think he felt comfortable holding onto her, so he guided us through the game.

Erik, Nick, and their buddy.

It's going to be a fun rest of the school year for Erik in NJHS!