This Week at Our House # 33

1. We had an extremely busy week. Monday was the only normal day. Tuesday, John went to get his NC licence so we can get the care registered, but then he failed the vision test. On Wednesday, I took John into an eye doctor and he is seeing 20/80 and didn't even know his distance sight was bad. I think this is because he mostly uses a computer.
2. Like I said, we had a really busy week. I spent 8 hours on Tuesday driving to the birth clinic that I am planning on having the baby at. (It is a 2 hour drive away.) Then I took Kate to one of her favorite hamburger places from Utah, which happens to have a chain in Raleigh. When we got home, I went with John to get his licence where we found it he could not see well enough to legally drive without glasses. So I got home and made him and a bunch of the kids eye doctors appointments because everyone in our family actually needs to see an eye doctor. On Wednesday, I took John to the eye doctor (they dilate your eyes, so it is good to have an escort.) Then later we went swimming. A member of our ward is on a 2 week vacation and has offered us the use of their pool in exchange for taking care of the pool and feeding their cat. We think this is an extremely generous deal, and no matter how busy we are, I know the kids desperately want to go swimming. On Thursday, I was actually able to do a normal school day, but the evening was filled with having the missionaries for dinner, John going off to join a community soccer game and swimming. Friday morning I had to take Ruth to the eye doctor. Her eyes have gotten pretty bad too. But before we could pick out her glasses, we had to rush the car home to John to get to work for a meeting. Later we had to go back and get her glasses and run another errand before dinner and swimming. Saturday, I left in the morning to take Ruth and Kate to Charlotte to see my parents before Ruth heads off to college. We had fun with my family. But it s 8 hours of driving for 4 hours of visiting and I am completely exhausted. Next week is looking to be just as busy doing all that is necessary to get Ruth off to college and to getting the van registered in the state while homeschooling and taking the kids swimming. I didn't get the grocery shopping done or even to the pharmacist to get a prescription for a UTI the midwives discovered, so those move on to the Monday and Tuesday schedule. I just need to make it one more week.
3. We bought plane tickets on Wednesday for Ruth to go out to BYUI. She and I are going to fly out to SLC and then drive up to Rexburg. It's all settled now. She has her housing, her plane ticket and much of the things she needs to take on the plane. Some things we will purchase when we get there. She also receievd pelgrant money which will pay her full tuition and all of her books. We still owe a bunch on her housing, but otherwise, she is all set and ready to go, minus a few more things we will do this week. Ruth has been called as a relief society teacher in her current singles ward and had to teach her first relief society lesson today. She said it went well.
4. Kate was happy, happy, happy to get her hamburger. She got to see her friend Elizabeth in Charlotte and go shopping with her grandmother. I think she had a pretty good week. But she got the stomach flu two weeks ago and is still having a hard time with her stomach and feeling dizzy.
5. Johnny was my stay at home, babysit a ton, and clean the house hero for the week and he did a fabulous job. Johnny only started piano last January and he is now playing advanced classical pieces and harder hymns. I think he has talent on the piano much more so than his mother or father.
6. Adam was Johnny's helper. He struggled a bit this week learning to subtract negative numbers, but by Friday he seemed to have all of the concepts down. Adam is my superhero diaper changer or my kid who will do just about anything for money and that was real helpful this week.
7. Rachel got paid $5 to babysit Susan all day on Saturday. Susan was a challenge all week, and was not any easier for Rachel, but Rachel did a good job. Rachel was also good at doing her school independently all week. Rachel loved the swimming and can swim the long side of the pool now without any trouble.
8. Anya LOVED the swimming and is doing so well. She has never had lessons but she swims like a fish. 
9. Joseph didn't do his school work independently. He thought I would not check, but I did and then he had to do it later in the day. On a brighter note, he had a lot more self control this week and sat down for scripture study every single day.
10. Joshua enjoyed swimming. He wears a life jacket. On Friday, we took off his life jacket when it was time to go and John caught him just before he jumped into the deep end without it. It was getting pretty dark, and I was herding the other kids into the car, so that was a blessing. I have always thought that Joshua has a whole team of angels watching over him.
11. Arwen is a bit afraid to swim but always wants to do it. She was a but feisty and mouthy this week, but I was not around all that much which could explain that.
12. Susan completely regressed this week and I know it was because I was gone a lot. She pooped in her diaper and started getting into things again. On Tuesday while I was gone she broke a dozen eggs, climbed up a tall dresser and got into my jewelry box, she poured out sunscreen onto the carpet, and got into Ruth's make up bag. After that, I either made sure someone watched her every second, or took her with me. She was actually pretty good at the two eye doctors appointments, but I am sad that she is now pooping in her diaper again.
    
    
    Tender Mercies

I am adding a new section to my blog to help myself and the kids recognize the hand of the Lord in our lives and see His blessings more clearly.

1. Having access to a private pool for 2 weeks is a definite blessing. It is my favorite form of exercise; it is perfect for the hot North Carolina days; it is great family time during a busy week, and the kids love it so much!
2. John caught Josh just before he jumped unprotected into the deep end of the pool in the dark while I was herding the other kids into the car and would not have noticed.
3. While we have been extremely busy, the kids have still been able to continue on with home school.
4. I got to hear the babies heart beat for the first time. The growth of the baby is on track. I passed the 1 hour glucose test, and we are all just happy that while I am old things are going well with this child.
5. Ruth's pelgrant came through so we will not be burdened with tuition bills while trying to pay off our debt from more than 3 years of sparse employment.
6. John's job is going very well. 
7. The drive to Charlotte was cool, which was a blessing because the air conditioning died in our car last summer.
8. I woke up from a nap and felt prompted to get back on Facebook right away. I got on and the first thing that I saw was from one of my dearest friends, Natalie Larson, had serious complications and her baby will very likely die. I got the message within hours of when she posted it. I felt blessed to be able to pray for her and mourn with her.
9. At the same time I was prompted to get back on Facebook, I also felt chided because I felt like I needed to buy the plane tickets on Sunday and did not and needed to get that done. When I got on, the website warned that the flight traffic to SLC on those dates was very heavy and flights were filling up fast. I paid $60 more than I would have if I had listened on Sunday, but felt blessed to get the flights we needed and a rental car for reasonable prices. 

Pictures

This Week at Our House # 32

1. John just had an ordinary week. He worked. He exercised, and he played games and watched movies with the kids. John and I have begun going on dates again and that has been really nice.
2.  This past week I have been noticing the little things in my life that have turned into blessings, even if they seemed hard or something that would just not work out at the time. I have also been seeing how personal revelation has played an important role in our lives in recent years. It's hard to imagine how terribly things could have gone if we did not listen to the directions of the Spirit. One such thing was when we knew that we needed to turn the job search outside the state of Utah. It didn't mean that we moved right away, but it was the first source of contract work that kept up going for another year and a half. Selling the house when we did was important too because the contract company didn't pay us for many months. In fact, we were worried we wouldn't be paid at all. We didn't want to leave Utah. We especially did not want to sell our house, move our kids, change their schools and all of that. But it was our obedience to those thing that went against our will and our better judgment that made it so we could get through this difficult time for another year and a half. On a different note, I have already read the Pearl of Price, Old Testament, and I am two thirds of the way through the Book of Mormon. I realized that if I am steady in my scripture reading for the rest of the year, I can read the New Testament, and Doctrine and Covenants before the end of the year. I have read through the whole standard works a few times and the Book of Mormon countless times, but if I can manage this, it will be the first time I have completed the standard works in one year.
3. Ruth babysat all week. She has two more days and then the little girls start school and she will be done. She went to the mall with two of her friends on Saturday and took Kate along. They both had a fun time. Ruth really enjoys the singles ward here, and is really anxious to get out of the house and go to college. It is less than a month now.
4. Kate is fully into home school and very interested in her work. She has a huge list of books she wants to read and learn from. She is basically doing a full college schedule. All of her text books are college books, including the writing and grammar book I am teaching her from. She works about an hour and half to two hours each day with Johnny.
5. Johnny has been warned that if he does not take home school seriously, particularly writing, he will have to work out in the yard in the hot sun to earn the money to pay for online classes. He has never taken homeschool as seriously as he does public school. So far the warning is working because he is much more serious especially with his writing. 
6. Adam typically takes home school seriously. He really focuses and tries to get it done. He has been moving ahead quite quickly in his math. He still does not love to reading. You will never see Adam sitting down with a book unless it has been assigned. Hopefully one day he will love it, but I think he will be successful even if he does not.
7. Rachel is at an interesting in between stage. Sometimes she still acts like a toddler, like when she bit Josh for taking her toy and then lied about it even though there was an obvious bite mark on Josh. Other times she acts fairly grown up, She will do a chore just because it needed to be done and not because she had been forced to do it. She loves to play the games that the teens play and hang out with Ruth and Kate talking to them. She also loves to roll down the stairs with the little kids while wrapped in a blanket and play with the toys and the little kids.
8. Anya was told to clean her room one night. She came down and said it was done. I asked her if Kate would think so, and she went back upstairs. She came down an hour later and said it was done. The next morning Kate was complaining about Anya's stuff all over the floor and not being able to walk to her bed. I asked Anya if she cleaned her room the night before and she said she had and even fussed and said it was not fair because she did and should  not be accused of lying. It turned out that she was indeed lying. Now she is just in trouble for not cleaning and lying. I put her things in the attic and she gets them back when she learns to clean well and is not lying about things.
9. Joseph was hyper and difficult to teach most of the week. He was getting into trouble pretty much all week. He would not sit for family scripture study or do anything that John or I told him to do. He was constantly jumping around and being crazy and running into and bugging other people. For years, I have been trying to figure out what will motivate Joseph. I can make him work or ground him or send him in time out and nothing has ever worked. Finally I decided to take away dessert. I bought a chocolate pie and sent him to bed and did not let him have it and told him no dessert until he could calm down and sit and obey especially during family scripture study. He was really good the last two nights and we could tell that he was actually trying. So we gave him dessert. I think we will continue to withhold sugar unless he is good for family scriptures. He has also been better generally too. Hopefully this will help him to make long term changes. Sometimes award works and sometimes it fails as soon as the award is taken away. 
10. Joshua is learning well. He does not want to come and learn, but once he gets started on his work, he seems to enjoy it. He is also progressing well and quickly. I wasn't sure what he knew and what he didn't, but I am starting to figure that out and adjusting his lessons accordingly.
11. Arwen was gung ho about school the first week and less so this one. I went to the dollar store and got her a variety of coloring books and I let her color when she gets tired of learning the alphabet and sounds. She is pretty good considering she just turned 4.
12. I had to change just two poopy diapers this last week!! Susan went in the toilet all of the other times. A couple of times I suggested she try, but all of the rest she came and told me that she had to go. She is not at all potty trained for pee, but it seems she has gotten the harder, messier one down even though she still wears diapers. 

This Week's Pictures

I moved the Fridge in the dining room to the opposite corner and then put the table near the wall to give us more space. I wasn't sure if it would work. But it has made the whole dining/living room combination more open and comfortable. It's nice when just a little furniture move can make such a big difference.

This Week at Our House # 31

1. Whoa, I can't believe it is August already!!! John got his first paycheck and so all that worry about being able to pay bills in August went away. John has made fun of me for being too scheduled at times when no one was making me do anything. But I have to say that when John schedules himself he is even more rigid with his time and making sure things he wants gets done. Right now he is certain to get work done and over with for the first 8 hours of the day and then to spend the next hour and a half exercising. After that he sits down and writes his blog. Then he directs family devotional and teaches the kids the gospel and then he usually likes a snack and a movie or game with the older kids.
2. I spent the week being a teacher. I think our first week of the 2016/2017 school year went quite well. The kids settled into their schedules and work without any problems. I spent a little more money getting Arwen some preschool workbooks so she does not feel left out and because she is interested in learning. I went to Chapel Hill to check out the nearest birthing clinic in the state. I am planning on doing that for the prenatal care and delivery of the baby at this point. The main worry is that it is a 2 hour drive. A few of the draws there are the birthing tub, the freedom to birth in an upright position, the ability to leave 6 hours after the baby is born, and no worries about being forced to get a one day old baby the hepatitis b shot. 
3. Ruth babysat all week. She is watching a 6 and 8 year girl about 7 hours a day. She will work until they start school on the 17th. Ruth went up to Chapel Hill with me for the birth clinic tour. She got to watch her first birthing video, but she hung in there just fine. She then got to get some of her favorite restaurant food, and drove us home in the dark. She's apparently a better driver in the dark. Ruth will do a bit more driving this week and then try to go for her license test. Hopefully she will pass. She is a good driver, but it is tough to learn on a 15-passenger van.
4. Kate did fine with her school schedule. She was sick on Tuesday and Wednesday but still managed to do most of her school work. Kate also attended the Temple on Saturday with the youth in our ward. 
5. Johnny did very well with his school schedule. He is becoming a very good piano player. He could barely play one or two easy classical songs last January and now he can play several classical songs and several hymns and primary songs. He has even learned some of the hymns that I have felt like are too hard for me, like If You Could Hie to Kolob. Johnny also went on the youth temple trip.
6. Adam is now a 6th grader. That is hard to fathom. He will be 12 in November too. He did well with his school schedule and never complained about any of the work he had to do. He is also learning the piano and is doing quite well. He likes it a lot, so I never have to tell him to practice. His favorite part of school this week was making ninja balls from instructions on a youtube video.
7. Rachel is in the 5th grade. Her favorite part of the day is singing and even wants to practice on the weekends. She did a great job with her reading and writing. Her math is coming along well too. I think she will be about the same level Ruth, Kate, and Adam were at the same age.
8. Anya is in 3rd grade and working on level in about everything. She is probably a little ahead in math. When Anya was not doing her school work, she was building with legos.
9. Joseph is in 2nd grade, but he is doing everything the same as Anya, so basically he is in 3rd grade. This first semester they are mostly working with me at the table and that is helping Joseph to focus and stay on task.
10. Joshua is in kindergarten. I have imagined him in the cute little Legacy Prep school uniforms and that makes me a little sad about moving. But even then, I am sure homeschool is the right fit for Joshua. He still has a hard time behaving in primary, so I doubt school would go well for him. As it is, he is good at home. He likes his lessons and doing his workbook pages and he does not give me any trouble except in the mornings when he knows he has to get started. Once he gets going, he is fine, but I am not sure how that would turn out in a school setting.
11. Arwen does school right alongside Josh. She wants to be a part of things and often says she is a big kid. I give Josh and Arwen Friday off, though because they are little and by then, they just want to play.
12. Suzy missed hanging out with me as I was busy giving lessons all day. She is learning to come to the table with the school kids to hang out and draw.

This Week's Pictures

Adam's Ninja Balls. The kids loved them and played with them all day Friday.

Suzy got into my lollipop stash

The kids have been reading my blog and looking at all of the pictures.

Ruth still worries that she is fat

She asked me if she could have cheese. She meant she wanted her picture taken. I think this is a pretty good cheese face.

Kid Disconnection

Every now and then I miss Facebook because my kids say something crazy or funny and I want to share it. Right now is one of those times. I was looking up how to register our car in North Carolina, as this is our last month before our Utah registration runs out. I noticed that we have to have North Carolina drivers licenses even before we can begin the car registration process. I have a North Carolina license and John does not. So I was setting a time up for him to get it done early next week. Joseph looked at the picture of the DMV on the website I was using and said, "I want to stay in a hotel. When are we going to stay in a hotel." Then Adam piped in and said, "I want it to be a resort hotel." Hmmm... well we have no plans to stay in a hotel, especially a resort hotel. We just need to get the car registered. That's all, and there is nothing exciting about it. In fact, it is one of the more irritating parts of being an adult.

This Week at Our House #30

1. John worked all week and then took the teens to the Temple on Friday. He has been exercising regularly. Earlier in the year he tried out running, but it hurt his back and he was out for a couple of months, so now he either goes on a really long walk, mows the lawn, or lifts our one 50lb weight. 
2. Last April the kids and I made the decision to end school memorial day weekend, start it again August 1st, and then take from Thanksgiving until Christmas off as a long semester break. Well, Aug 1st is upon us. I spent much of the week preparing for the start of the school year. On Monday, I had no idea what we would be doing for the school year or what our schedule would be or even what books we had. By Tuesday, I at least knew what books we had, but by Friday, I had a good schedule written out, classes prepared and books ready or at least ones that would come in the mail soon. I only spent $26 and I only have one more book to purchase. But that one will be a little more expensive, so we will be waiting until September to get it. Still, I am very pleased at how easily I was able to get everything organized and prepared with full and complete high school schedules and all. I was feeling a bit scared about it all and was wondering if we would be able to stick to our plan. I think homeschooling tends to be more intimidating than it is hard. 
3. Ruth landed a very easy and well paying babysitting job for a nearby family with just two little girls aged 6 and 8. She will make enough money to either get a good savings again, pay for her plane ticket or buy a nice new college wardrobe. Ruth's choice is to get the money into her savings account. Ruth has always been frugal and good at savings, which, of course, is very pleasing to her parents.
4. Kate spent the whole week reading Fablehaven. She is halfway through book 5. Kate fussed some about her schedule. The thing she objects to the most is the fact that I am requiring her to exercise everyday and count it as a PE class. She will try out her schedule and then mess around with at as she wants, but her classes are set. I will probably let her switch PE out for something she is happier with after out Christmas break. 
5. Johnny has been begging me to cut his hair for a couple of weeks, and I finally got to it on Thursday. I gave all of the boys and John missionary haircuts. I think Johnny is quite happy with his, but Josh misses his long-ish hair.
6. Adam started writing a murder story this week. He has been very anxious to use my computer, but I must confess it is quite gratifying to have your 11 year old son want to use a computer to type up a story instead of playing video games.
7. Rachel loves to just be outside and will spend large parts of the day walking around the yard.
8. Anya was the first to start writing a murder story. She cut up some paper and formed it into a little book and has spent time this week writing. Her story is really cute and her spelling is even cuter. 
9. Since it has been so hot, Joseph has been inside a lot more and suddenly, I think we are all feeling like the house is smaller. I am trying to find things to occupy him. He has so much energy and that energy is great as long as it is directed.
10. Joshua keeps telling me how I should have cut his hair. But his short hair is his fault because he kept pushing his shoulders up to cover his ears and at one point pushed the buzz clippers right up the side of his head. I told Josh he was starting school and he complained that he is just a little kid and does not need school yet. I then explained that he will be doing school at home with me and then he felt better about it. 
11. Arwen had her 4th birthday. She really wanted a tent for her birthday and I thought that was adorable. She also got a baby doll that she then carried around zipped up in the tent bag. 
12. Suzy was jealous of Arwen's doll and kept trying to steal it. We gave her the doll that she got for her birthday and she threw it aside. I am very slowly potty training Suzy. I have not begun to potty train pee yet, but I do have her telling me either when she has to poo or as soon as she has pooed. She tends to go half in her diaper and half on the toilet right now. I think that is a nice comfortable start and we are relieved that she has not tried to change her own diaper for a while.

Happy Birthday, Arwen!

Our little Arwen has turned 4! Time sure flies. She has always been very easy going and independent. She is both one of our shyest kids and one of our most affectionate kids. She is bigger than all of her sisters were at this age. Her hair that has finally grown in is curly underneath and straight on the top. It is pretty cute. She usually prefers me to leave her hair alone, but will let me put it in ponytails when I insist. She mostly plays independently, but is starting to enjoy a little more interaction with the other kids. She was definitely excited for her birthday and has anticipated it daily for the past month. We are grateful for her peaceful attitude and joy she brings to our family.

Can No Longer Hide It

Last week Kate said, "Mom, you can no longer hide it. People keep asking me if you are pregnant and I am saying yes." I thought that was pretty funny and she is right. I am 24 weeks pregnant and it is obvious.

I got pregnant right away after Christopher's death and birth. That surprised us because I have never gotten pregnant so early after another pregnancy. The closest in the past was 5 months after a 1st trimester miscarriage. We certainly didn't expect it. But we are very grateful.

This is a very active baby. I have felt it move around everyday since I was 15 weeks along. That has been a wonderful thing for peace of mind. I have not seen a doctor yet, and I am still trying to figure out what I am going to do about it. I may end up driving 2 hours away for a birthing center if I cannot get in with the one ob here that is not associated with the medical school.

I do not want to go through the medical school. I did that with Kate at the University of Michigan and it was something between a horrible joke and a nightmare. Since this may be my last baby, I want to the birth experience to be as nice as possible.