Family Update and Picture Dump

 

I am 34 weeks pregnant with my 13th baby. Never have I counted weeks like I am with this pregnancy, but this one has been so hard, everyday counts to me. I am sure that this one is the last one too. I am old and my body will not do this again. But I think in time I will miss these days of pregnancy and baby life.

Yesterday, I mentioned to Ruth that she will be older than this baby than I am of her. Life can be funny that way.

We are on summer break now and have been since the last week of April, but that will end around the

second week of July. I have our schedule ready and my ideas for this next school year ready to go. For summer break we have been doing a lot of reading in the mornings to afternoons. Joseph and Adam have been working on paying attention to what they read and learning through reading. Josh is still working on fluency. He has been reading about dangerous animals, volcanoes, meteors, and now insects and he is enjoying learning all about that. 

Rachel and Anya read Anne of Green Gables and now Rachel is reading Anne of Avonlea while Anya is learning to paint with acrylics. Arwen has read a variety of books and is now reading Fable Haven book 1 to me. I have been enjoying that book again. Susan is reading the Bob books everyday to me and I have been continuing to read the Little House Series to her. I am, at least, enjoying those books immensely. 

Sam and Gideon pick out whatever books they want me to read to them each day and often more than once a day. I have read several Holocaust books and am learning a lot of history that I could not have learned any other way. Biographies are a great way to learn how the people experienced history and I really love that way of gaining knowledge. 

The summer heat is upon us and we are spending the afternoons in doors. I usually let the kids watch tv and then send them outside to run out their energy around 6pm. They usually stay out until dark or afterwards and then come in for a late dinner between 8 and 9pm. Then we clean up. John usually sets us all down for family scripture study if we have not done it already and then its game time or more reading or whatever and a very late bedtime. 

My feet tend to swell at night so I usually head to bed to rest my pregnant body. 

In a couple more days, I will be driving Ruth, Kate, Rachel, and Gideon to Palmyra, NY and Kirtland, OH. We have been planning this since March or before. John has decided to stay home with the other kids. Not too long after we get back, I will take whatever kids desire to visit my parents for the 4th of July holiday. After that we have to get things cleaned up and organized, have two July birthdays, and get through two weeks of school before the baby comes the first of August. Once the baby arrives, we will take off two weeks of school and then resume on our normal 2 semester schedule. So life will be busy and fun over the next two months. 

Susan's Birthday

 

Susan is now 7!! She had her special day yesterday. The funny thing about her birthday this year was that she had been planning this day for the past 100 days or more. The few things that stayed consistent were a trip to the beach and me playing Smash Brothers on the Switch with her and that she wanted crepes with chocolate pudding for her dessert. 

On the whole, I think that Suzy had a happy day and happy birthday. She woke up very early-- I think before 7am. She played computer games for a couple of hours and then watched the Avatar cartoon series. Afterwards, we opened presents and got ready for the beach. Since Susan's birthday landed on a Saturday we were stuck in a long and large traffic jam to get over the bridge and onto the island of our favorite beach. 

Susan got in the water and swam the whole time. There's a tropical storm coming up and the waves were enormous and dangerous but the water was warm and everyone stayed in the shallow end. As per our normal, we purchased ice cream and cones for our drive home. 

Once home we cleaned up. Susan played outside a little before dinner. She did not want to come in for dinner and was not that interested in her chosen meal of spaghetti but eventually came in to eat. 

Later came her crepes which she ate with happiness then playing the switch with family. I went to bed before the party ended. I believe that John sent her to bed finally after 3am and she is still asleep at 1pm today. 

Susan is a sweet little girl and our littlest girl. It's a little sad seeing my baby girl grow up so quickly. This year my goal is to really get Susan reading. She's okay with that but a little intimidated. Reading has been hard for her but I have not pushed her. When she was 7 months old I took her to get vaccinated against strong feelings that I had not to. She experienced some brain swelling. I knew that I had done the wrong thing immediately when she would not be consoled. As a result she has been slower than her other siblings to talk and to read. I have been very patient with her and given her a slow and to her pace kindergarten and first grade. But she seems to be healing more now and I think she will heal all the way and be just fine. I think reading will start to be a lot easier for her now. 

Suzy is also a little spit fire. She has her own mind, but she is kind and sweet and we all love her and her pretty ways.  

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!