This Week at Our House # 25

1. John is still working from home as a contractor. This week things went a bit slowly for him as he is trying to implement the thing he wrote into javascript and get it on the web. This is the first time he has ever done front end web development. But what he has does works well and is very accurate. 
2. We are getting our house ready to sell. I've been packing and cleaning out much of the summer, and now I am painting the walls. It's a slow process and so time consuming. I was thinking the house would be on the market by now, but it is looking like it will be another month before it is ready to go.
3. Ruth has been either working or helping me paint. This may not be a fun summer, but at least the kids are learning how to work hard and do practical things like difficult yard work, wall repair and painting.
4. Kate painted all of the doors to the bedrooms and closets in our upstairs. She has been doing a really good job. She has also found the time to read 2 books and is onto a 3rd. 
5. Johnny painted the upstairs hallways with me yesterday. He does a really good job and he is just so pleasant about it. He's been working hard all summer long and he has not complained once. He's really an amazing kid. I asked him about his scripture study and he said that he has 26 pages left in the Old Testament and then he will have completed the standard works. That includes reading the Book of Mormon at least twice and the Doctrine and Covenants 3 times. He will have accomplished this all before the age of 14. I am humbled that such a good kid is my son. 
6. Adam helped paint two bedrooms. He's does a pretty good job except that he gets paint everywhere!!! Adam is finally starting to read on his own because he wants to. His favorite things to read are Foxtrot comic books. They may not be the best thing, but I am over the moon excited to see him pick up something and read on his own for a couple of hours. At night I read to the older kids, and Adam is now getting interested in stories. I think in time, he has a real chance of loving reading.
7. Rachel has been the main baby sitter while I paint. I think it is a tough job for a 9 year old. She has been begging to paint and the older kids tell her how they always felt that way and now that they have to paint, they wonder what they were thinking because it is so boring. Rachel will get her turn, I am sure. But she is doing a good job taking care of the younger kids. She has been reading to them everyday and then playing games with them.
8. I have been so busy trying to keep up with the normal chores along with doing the extra work, that I have had very little time with middle kids. Anya is one of those. She is old enough to take care of herself, but too young to help with all of the work, so she kind of gets left by way-side. I feel guilty, but I have remind myself that what we are doing must be done, parents have done this for generations, and their kids have still turned out well. But I have let Anya stay up a little extra late if she wants to. Last night she slept on my legs while I read to the older kids. 
9. Joseph's primary teacher said that he is a very active child (boy do I know that) but that he knows so much and reads so well and can come up with the best answers. I know that too. Joseph really knows his scriptures.
10. I took Josh to his primary class today. All I can say is that I am glad that I am not the teacher. His class has all wild boys. I made Josh be reverent and good and sit when he was supposed to sit, but he still gave answers that were opposite of what he knew he should say. But he was good while I was there. I can see why he is having trouble, because there is one boy who is very difficult and has a tendency to get the other boys riled up. I think I will just continue to go to his class to help him to know how to behave. His teachers bring their husbands in to help and the class is still very, very wild. I know his teachers were glad that I came. They said bringing parents in has been mixed. Sometimes, like in the case of Josh, the kids behave better, and sometimes it is much, much worse.
11. Arwen loves her clothes and changes them 4 to 5 times a day. Some days when I don't have time to do a lot of laundry, she runs out of clothes and then wanders around naked.
12. Suzy has mom radar. She can find me no matter where I am in the house.

This Week's Pictures