This Week at Our House # 23

1. John is still looking for a job. If anyone wants to pray for us, we'd be very grateful.
2. I have been doing some freelance writing. BUT... I only get paid about $5 to $6 for an hours worth of research and writing. It's not that great. AND... it's honestly hard for me to find the time. I have rearranged my cleaning schedule to find more working/playing with kids time. That actually has been good. It really was time to readjust my schedule to better fit my large family.
3. I can't remember if I wrote about how much fun Ruth had on trek yet. She had a wonderful time! She came back happy. She hasn't spent so much time moping and complaining. Today in church, the Stake President came up to me and told me that Ruth bore a courageous testimony that a lot of the other kids needed to hear. He told me that what she said has helped other youth be happy. Of course, I asked Ruth what she said. She talked about feeling her pioneer ancestors and doing family history work. She talked about getting to know her ancestors and choosing to be happy in the face of adversity. Ruth is a good girl. 
4. Kate is having a nice relaxing summer hanging out with Ruth and Bonnie. Kate came to the Celebration of Marriage with John and I on Wednesday. Kate has spent a lot of hours talking to me and doing family policy political stuff. I love that Kate is interested in the same stuff I am.
5. I'm not sure if I mentioned this or not, but Johnny  had his first scout camp out. He had fun. He doesn't like fiahing, but he said it might not be too bad if he had a book to read while fiahing. I agree. Johnny said he thinks a lot of girls are pretty. Apparently, he likes girls with blond hair and blue eyes. Cute!
6. Adam had his last week of second grade-- finally! I was done two weeks ago. The last of any school year is crazy. I went with him on a field trip to the splash pad, and he had a little singing thing the next day.  I know Adam is glad to be done and on vacation.
7. Rachel had a little singing thing this week too. She is the cutest little thing. Rachel told me a lot about school. She said she is excited to start the second grade in three weeks. I am sad that she did not get into the charter school so she could be on a normal schedule. Rachel said she is glad because her second grade teacher is the funnest in the school.
8. Anya's been really cute asking me to play with her and read to her. I am always glad when my kids demand the attention they need in a nice way. 
9. Joseph is growing out of those toddler years. He is more mature. He's starting to think about things before he acts. Joseph has been LOVING the hot weather. He spends all of his free time outside and usually playing water and mud. I let him have his water and mud even though it is extra work for me. We have a small yard, and I know my kids need to be out and exploring, so I let them dig and play and water as much as they like. 
10. I love how Josh loves his cars and trains. A toddler that loves toys more than toilets is a really nice thing.
11. Arwen is standing up to things and even walking across the couch a bit. She is 11 months now, but still looks like she did at 6 months. Arwen is the sweetest baby! I remember feeling strongly against having more children after Josh was born. I feel blessed that Heavenly Father forgave me and sent little Arwen to brighten up our lives.

Poor Neglected Blog

I missed last Sunday and never found the time to make up for it. I want that to change. In fact, I've been thinking that I want to start doing more-- writing more-- upping what I do on the blog. Here is my plan:

• Sunday-- My This Week at Our House Post-- my kids have LOVED that!
• Monday-- "Management Monday"-- my tips, ideas, morning, etc on keeping house
• Thursday-- "Thoughtful Thursday"-- my thoughts on motherhood and life in general

Time for me to get back and care for my poor neglected blog.

This Week at Our House # 22

1. Just the same story. John had a couple of phone interviews, with another one scheduled for tomorrow. We're still praying and John is working full time on some android apps to try and bring in a little income.
2. I spent a bit of time signing up for at a couple of free-lance writer websites to see if I can bring a little more money while still being at home with the kids. It is still yet to be determined whether or not I'll even be picked to write anything, but at least I am trying.
3. Ruth had Trek Youth Conference! She had a wonderful time. I am so glad she went. She came home glowy and happy. I feel like Trek washed away my unhappy Ruth and brought back the girl I know. School was tough this last year. She is going to try and make friends that help her to be happy next school year.
4. Kate missed being old enough for Trek by 2 months. She was very disappointed and definitely lonely without Ruth. I love that my kids are good friends.
5. Johnny doesn't know it yet, but last week was his last free for all week, and starting tomorrow, I will be making him work a few days each week for the rest of the summer. He will be disappointed. That kid loves his free time.
6. Adam has a book report due Monday. I only found out about it Friday night when I got a reminder email from his teacher. After some coaxing, he finally brought me a pile of papers that I have seen sitting on his shelf for about 2 weeks. Ughhh. Fortunately, I had been reading Fablehaven with Adam. We finished reading right away and he spent all day Saturday getting his book report written up. Adam complained about having to do the report on Saturday saying, "But Saturday is my relaxation day." Sorry kid, that is only true if you have not procrastinated. 
7. Rachel talks and talks and talks and talks. I could write that some more and I am not sure it would get suffice for how much this girl gabs. She is cute, following me around the house telling me everything and when she is out of actual events, she tells me made up things. 
8. Anya caught a baby bunny. After, watching it, I knew it she had caught it because it was a sick baby bunny. It died a few hours after she had decided that it was her forever pet. Poor girl.
9. Joseph had a good week. Maybe he is easing out of his terrible threes. These days, I am finding that I think he is more cute than naughty. I like how time heals.
10. Josh seems to be growing more into the terrible twos. He was sent back to bed every morning for throwing a crying fit, and he had to take naps for the same reason. He's also back to saying "No" to everything, even if it is what he wants. Toddlers are funny. I think I will like them better when they are my grandkids rather than my kids.
11. Arwen got off her belly and is now crawling on her hands and knees. She is standing up and getting into things more. Arwen loves water. She loves bath. She loves the sprinklers at the local splash pad, and she loves playing in the water when she gets her hands washed. I suspect at some point, Arwen will discover the toilet and then I won't think her excitement about water is so cute. For now, I'll just enjoy how adorable she is around water.

This Weeks Pictures

 

 

Happy Father's Day

John is just the greatest father. He spends individual time doing something each kid likes each week. That is pretty awesome for a Dad of 9. He spends a lot of time teaching the kids gospel doctrine and making sure they are reading their scriptures. He loves holding and playing with the babies. He wrestles and plays with the little kids. He plays board games and wii games with the boys almost every night. My kids are down right lucky to have a Dad that cares so deeply about them, loves them, and like hanging out with them!

This Week at Our House #21

1. John and I had our 16th wedding anniversary on Friday. We are at 16 years with 9 kids. He is a good dad. He spends a lot of time playing with the kids. They are lucky to have such an attentive father.

1. On Saturday, I walked the half marathon that I did not train for. It took me 3.5 hours. There were a good 200+ walkers with me. Some had trained and some had not. The first 8 miles were pleasant and I kept a pretty good pace. The next 2 miles were more difficult, and I slowed down some. The last three miles were a bit grueling and many of the other slow joggers/walkers that I had passed earlier in the race, passed me. I only decided to go through with it on Thursday. After that I felt pretty nervous and frightened. In the end, I was glad I did it. John's  65 year old Dad and Brother Jeremy began the race with me. John's dad finished the race in 2:15 minutes and came in 4th place for his age group. He's pretty awesome. Jeremy came in under 1:45 for a new personal record. My friend Christina Bartholomew, a mother of 9, ran it and came in just over 2:15. I think I will walk some more half marathons, but actually train by walking long distances ahead of time. I do not plan on running anything so long until my little kids are older or all of my kids are much older. Running is not a stress reliever for me. I would run, come home tired and then feel grumpy that it was time to start the days labors. However, I think I may run a neighborhood 5K in a couple of weeks. I will make my 3 oldest run it too.
2. Ruth had a busy and a fun week. She finished the 9th grade off with some fun school activities. On Wednesday, Ruth had service day. They walked along the Legacy highway cleaning up the garbage. Ruth shocked a bunch of kids when she bagged up a dead snake. On Thursday, Ruth and all the other Davis County 9th graders spent the day at Lagoon. Ruth had one friend willing to go on all of the fun roller coasters with her. Friday was the last day of the 9th grade. I am glad to have Ruth home for the summer. I feel like summer vacation gives my older kids a time to detox from all of the friend drama that occurs in this age group.
3. Kate got into Legacy Preparatory Academy for the 9th grade. She is down right excited about getting to wear school uniforms. She has spent some time online looking at all of the options for her school. Kate is also glad about Legacy Prep because the education is a classical education, she gets to take art year round, and a lot of the kids that go to Legacy Prep are the calmer more studious kids.
4. Johnny and Kate spent the week playing outside and building legos. They spent a lot of time trying to catch the babies of the rabbits that ate our peach and apple trees last winter.
5. Adam had school all week. Adam got to be a part of the 200 hundred club. I am not sure what the name means, but it is a group of just 12 kids that had a party and were awarded for excellent behavior throughout the school year. 
6. Rachel had a good week. I am grateful that she is reading better and better all of the time. I am also grateful that even though it has been hard for her to learn to read, Rachel loves reading and can be found sitting with a Magic Tree House book.
7. Anya got accepted into Legacy Preparatory Academy as a kindergartener this week. I signed her right up because that is where I would like all of my kids to attend school as soon as there is room for them. This will make Rachel the only child at the public school and on a year round schedule. But, I need to put my kids into Legacy Prep as soon as the opportunity arises. I am hoping that Rachel, Adam, and Joseph will all be in Legacy Prep together in 2014. This school year will be a bit rough with one homeschooled 3rd grader, one kindergartener at one school, a second grader at another school. An 8th and 9th grader at another school, and one kid in the 10th grade in High school. I will still have the 3 littlest at home and will give Joseph a pretty structured pre-school to prepare hime for kindergarten. Anya is excited to attend school. She starts Aug 19th.
8. Joseph is definitely behaving better every week. I have been trying to remember to praise him when he builds things or cleans up after himself. The more I remember to praise the good, the less damage he does to the house.
9. Joshua seems to have switched from his sole love of cars to trains. He loves trains the most now. He plays with trains all day long. Joseph and Joshua build some intricate train tracks together. They are pretty clever little boys.
10. Arwen stood up for the first time this week. She's more vocal and has a couple of words now. Arwen is pretty friendly with people and still very adored by her family. One of the fun things about having such a big family is seeing the adoration my children have for each other. It must be great growing up with so many people thinking everything you do is cute.

This Weeks Pictures

Joseph hardly ever sleeps in his bed. He either sleeps on the floor or the bean bag.

This is the first time Arwen ever stood herself up just after she removed a bunch of books from the shelf.

I promised the kids a picnic dinner at a park where we could feed ducks.

Ruth made an annoyed face at me when I first took a picture of her. Then I reminded her that she would want a nice picture.

All of my girls have worn this little Old navy dress.

Once upon a time, I said that I would never have kids with messy faces and dirty shirts because you know, it only takes a little effort. Bwahaha

 

This Week at Our House #20

Hike to Ensign Peak. Ruth had too much homework

1. John has been actively working on writing apps for android, hopefully for profit, as well as writing a book. 
2. I have been having a hard time with the legnth of unemployment and the fact that unemployment benefits do not cover all of our bills. June bills are due again, and we are just about out of our savings. I may try and find a way to make some money in another month. But, since it is June, I now have the Supreme Court decision on DOMA and Prop 8, to keep my mind occupied and away from our problems. I already have 2 articles in mind to write up.
3. Ruth had 9th grade graduation. "Just another way to celebrate mediocrity". She moves to 10th grade,which is officially high school where we live. She still has one more week of school and finals. She is looking forward to summer break and Trek Youth Conference.
4. Kate's been reading a ton. This makes me really happy, because she has hated reading for years and years. Now, she is hard to get away from her book. She's mostly been enjoying Agatha Christie books.
5. Johnny has been lying around reading books too. His first scout camp trip is now scheduled, and Johnny is very much looking forward to that!
6. Adam was back in school all week. He definitely has the end of the year duldrums. Every day he asks me if school is out yet. Adam will be in school until the end of this month because he has year round school. But, since, Adam is going to homeschool next year, he won't have to get back into school stuff until September.
7. Rachel found out that she is on track c and will have Mrs. Banks for 2nd grade. She is very excited about that because Adam has Mrs. Banks, and Mrs. Banks is fun and kind and just an all around great teacher.
8. Anya is registered and all set for kindergarten. She is on track c and her teacher is Mrs. Lund. I've heard great things about her, so that is good. So far, next school year, I will have 6 kids in 5 different schools, and 6 different bell schedules and vacations.
9. Joseph is doing better at behaving and obeying. I have been making him practice reverence when he refuses to sit still and listen. That seems to be helping him settle down a bit. Joseph loves the warm weather and playing in water. He keeps our back yard well watered.
10. Joshua seems to love trains more than cars now. He carries trains around with him where ever he goes. He also spends a lot of time looking at books and you tube videos with trains. 
11. Arwen is getting around a lot more. She has tried to go out the back door a few times, and she is starting to pull herself up. Arwen also says "mama", "da", and "yeah". Every now and then, when I am feeling depressed about all of the money we have never had and I think "What were we thinking having all of these kids?" Then I pick up Arwen, and I am just so grateful we have all of these kids. They are better than gold!

This Week's Pictures 

View of SLC from Ensign Peak

Ruth and her friends at 9th grade graduation

My mini me

The Why

I was too depressed to write last weeks "This Week at Our House" because I was too depressed to report another week of unemployment. But my kids have gotten after me for this "oversight". They like hearing what I have to say about them each week. So despite no job, no job prospects, and feeling a bit down, tomorrow, I will make up for missing one week, and get back to my "This Week at Our House" series.