This Week at Our House # 28 Van Trouble

This week did not turn out at all like we thought it would. On Monday when I went to  grocery shop, the battery had died in the van. This was the second time in a week and a half. Late Tuesday evening, John asked the neighbor for a jump start. On Wednesday, when I was planning to grocery shop and get the new tires and brakes for the van, again the van would not start because the battery was dead. We knew there was something going on and had to change plans.

Thursday morning, I asked another

neighbor for a jump start and it took fifteen minutes to get it to work. We kept the van running while we decided what we would do. John and I decided to just go together and find a place to get it fixed. After driving around for a while, we went to the place I had planned on getting new tires and brakes. They tested the battery, the alternator, and the starter. All tested good, so they sent us on to a place that can diagnose electrical problems. They did not charge us anything and they called the other place for us to ask if they could get us in. The other place said they would take us.

We did not know at the time, but the place we were sent to had actually closed down for a month to catch up on the work they had. While we were there, they turned two other people away. We were really blessed to have them take our business and take it right away. We explained some funny things that had been going on with the locks of the van.

The electrical locking switch on the drivers side turned out to be the problem. The technician ran diagnostic tests to first see if there was something draining the battery and there was. Then he tested the individual parts. He removed the locking device and showed us how to replace it ourselves. Then charged us only $85. They were so generous with us, even though they knew nothing about us.

The next day, we got a call from the place that fixed our car. They had left a magnet flashlight under our dash board and needed it back. I got it back to them right away, and had a very pleasant surprise. For a year, our a/c in the van had not been working very well. It now works perfectly. We are guessing that little locking piece has been causing electrical havoc for sometime. And, we feel very, very blessed. We got our battery problems and our a/c problems fixed for $85!!!! The Lord has been very good to us with this van. It is 12 years old and has over 200,000 miles on it, and it is going strong and has never cost us very much except in normal wear and tear such as struts, and brakes, and tires.

The kids are good. CPS finally called my family to check and see if we are not big liars. We thought they would be at our house on Friday, but they have not come yet. We still expect them. They are supposed to visit the open cases each week, so obviously, we are not their priority.

Here are my thoughts on each child:

Ruth and Kate are not children anymore. John lets Ruth and Kate do whatever they want to. I always wondered how John would be with his adult children. He's exactly as I would have him be. They can come and go as they please, eat what they please, go to bed when they please, etc. They still help me a lot around the house. Both girls are working on the continual project

to transcribe the Joseph Smith papers. They work on their art and writing. Kate does math and is working on cooking. She tries to make new things each week. More recently, Kate has been making pasta. We do not have a past roller, so it is tedious, but she is getting better.

Johnny is my repairs companion. He has a game that he is programming. He has learned a lot of programming in the last year, so John even goes to him for reference every now and then. Of course, Johnny goes to John for reference too.

Adam is my second repair partner. He is also our music man. He keeps music playing in the house if he is not playing the piano. He's our jokester too. Adam and Kate always banter back and forth.

Rachel's sense of humor has developed more recently. She played a game with the family and instead of playing to win, she played combinations that would be humorous.

Anya's art is up another level. I think she is going to get really, really good in the next couple of years. I remember when she was 2 and started to draw. She would draw recognizable lions and giraffes. I need to photograph her drawings more. Ruth asked Anya how she could read so well and spell so terribly. Anya said, "ask Kate."

Joseph continues to be our chicken shepherd. Several times each day, he goes outside to check on the chickens to make sure they are safe. When he cannot find one, he cries and worries and rallies help.

Joshua has been making paper boats galore. I had to stop him because he would use a ream of paper a day on boats. Josh finally lost his first top tooth. The tooth underneath has already come in, so he does not have much of a gap. His other top baby tooth is still not even very loose.

Arwen's birthday is in two weeks. She has been giving me a list of things she wants for this birthday for the past 50 weeks. I finally told her to write them all down. I think I have gotten probably five different dinner requests.

Anya told me this funny story about Susan: "We were climbing a tree and uh susan was like "let's play climb the tree!" and started climbing with me. Then I climbed to the highest I can get and I said "Susan do you think you can climb that high" and Susan said "no I will get scared fall down and die" and then I am like "if I go back will I get scared fall down and die" "yes you will get scared fall down and die".

We finally got most of the garage cleaned. This has a lot to do with Sam because he has ravaged that garage for a year. We are now keeping it locked, so it stays clean. Sam will miss "his" tools. I finally took Sam to nursery today. He is so shy around strangers. I pulled up a chair and sat down. Sam pulled up a chair and sat beside me and watched the kids play. He would not even touch the toys. However, he willingly went for snack and he even listened intently and with interest to the lesson. I wonder if he will go to primary in January.

Gideon played with the toys in nursery, as well as charming everyone with his dimply smile and his bright happy eyes. Gideon is not shy at all. He loves to look around at all the people at church. Gideon is still scooting with his belly on the floor, but he can really move now. He has now made it into every room in the house. He likes to be put down and likes to go and explore now. He will be 6 months in 4 more days.