This Week at Our House #5

1. What a crazy, busy week for all of us. Work started out pretty difficult, but John was able to make some real progress by the end of the week. I have been so exhausted this pregnancy that John has been doing dishes, making the kids clean, and cooking meals. He even made the kids and had himself clean all three of our bathrooms. This is the first week since I grew up and left home that I have not cleaned a bathroom. I am very, very grateful for John's help. I really do need it right now.
2. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday morning I spent a couple of hours at the state Capitol at meetings for laws that UFU is going to support and helping out the interns learn about how to support laws that support family values. This is a little rough, especially when I have to bring 4 little kids. We still plan on doing this and making it to key committee meetings and standing there hanging out to give request slips to the legislatures when we have the time. On Tuesday, we had the Marriage Rally at the state capitol. We walked in with our whole family and it there was such a peaceful feeling there. The highway patrol was called in to keep the protesters peaceful. That made a huge difference. The speakers were wonderful, and the best thing of all was there were way more than the 1000 needed people attending!! A lot of work went into this, and it turned out brilliantly!
3. I got a call from Ruth's seminary teacher on Wednesday. He started by saying you have a wonderful daughter (I actually know that). Then he told me that there is a girl in the class with some developmental issues, who was crying because of some things that had been said in the class. During an assignment to practice being missionaries, Ruth chose her as a partner and helped her calm down and leave the class happy. I asked Ruth about this. Apparently, the girl was crying because the majority of the kids in the class were making fun of her. She said the other kids who were not participating, just kept silent. When Ruth had the opportunity she went to the girl. Ruth said she hates her new semesters seminary class because the kids are either mean or quiet. I know she had planned to change classes. A bunch of her close friends are in the other class at the same time. However, this incident has changed her mind. She has decided to stick it out and help this one girl. I am very happy with my daughter's integrity, and very sad for this poor girl and the other seminary kids that are hurting her feelings.
4. After school on Tuesday, Kate spent time making posters for the rally. Then we went to rally, got home late, had ice cream, and sent everyone to bed. Kate didn't finish her math homework. The next day, Kate told her math teacher that she did not finish her homework because she went to the marriage rally. Her teacher said, "Okay, that is a good reason." Then he said, "which rally?" She is lucky he is pro-family. There were opposing rallies at the Capitol that day. 
5. I finally found the right motivation to get Johnny to keep up with his school work. I told him that every time I look up his grades and find her has missing work, he will have to eat beans for dinner that night and lunch the next day. Since then, Johnny has finished all his missing work and kept careful track of his due dates. I will have to make sure to come through with this punishment. Next year, he'll be in 9th grade when his grades start counting for college. I shouldn't complain too much, though. He currently has 3.8 accumulative gpa.
6. How  do you get a quiet child to talk to you and tell you about things? Adam has never been much for conversation and John and I are trying to figure out how to make him our good friend. I try and get him to talk to me when I take him to school each morning. He just never has much to say. He does seem happy. He is obedient and good. He reads his scriptures and says his prayers faithfully everyday, so I think he is doing well.
7. Rachel has a new little friend that she has been walking home from school with. She's really enjoying his company. They are in the same class, and his family lives just around the corner from us.
8. Anya went faithfully with me to the Capitol building every morning. She saves her homework to do there. She's being really sweet (so far) about the back and forth to the Capitol and then immediately off to school. 
9. Joseph came with me to the Capitol the three mornings too. He gets a little whiney, but he's always happy to go back. 
10. I stayed home from church with Arwen today and Josh gave John a real run for his money during Sacrament meeting. It is very clear that Josh knows he can get away with a lot more with John than he can with me. He ran off several times, was loud, and just plain old naughty. 
11. At the Capitol on Friday, Arwen's little personality really began to surface. She would take her toys and stick them right in the middle of whatever the other kids had going on (drawings, trains, puzzles). When the other kids would try and remover her things, Arwen would scream. She was such a little stinker. I did not know she had that in her.
12. We had the ultrasound and baby number 10 is a girl!!!!! We plan to name her Susan after my great, great, great grandmother, Susan Ealand, who  immigrated from England. Baby Susan wiggled all through the ultrasound. I loved seeing her little profile and her wigglieness. Everything is looking great, intact, and measuring just right. She looks like another healthy little child We have been very, very blessed with all of our children and that my body has been strong enough to carry all of them.

This Week's Pictures