Sunday to Sunday

Fast-Sunday sabbaths are especially restful.  Ryan insists on game after game.  Mostly I work on church responsibilities, and Austin plays all the games.  

I guess he's just like his mom, because she stops to play with the children when we visit in the evenings.

Maisie is all over my phone, but she's leaving me, so I really like it.

Family Choir

It's time to move on in many ways.  The girls' furniture is too small for families to visit, so we are upgrading the full into a queen.

Austin also repainted the walls and put up trim.  Finished pics will come soon.

Monday morning we started our little home school.  Molly is our resident first grader with all second grade work.

Eddie is our sixth grader who still only tolerates reading -- I'll get him by the end of the year.

Ryan is our fourth grader who goes with the flow and completes all his work without much fuss.

And I love being their teacher -- WITH ALL MY HEART.

We fed the missionaries.  That blond boy is Elder Armstrong -- Elijah's first cousin!  He short and good and kind -- just like our E.

Austin's trim pieces.

We had a friend come while his parents were at the temple.  The boys +Mo were outside for eight hours.  I loved it.

Saturday we worked hard on random projects, so we needed a date.  Our giant plans and schemes are still beautiful, but they just look different than we thought 23 years ago. 

Still one cushion for all the children.

Sunday night Austin read to the children on the mattress, but there is a good view of the trim and new paint.  Prior to bed, we did start a thing where we took our family choir on the road.  We visited two families with pianos, insisted on singing with them and then went home.  We will never do it again.  The boys went ham and wouldn't settle down.  Boo.  Blast.  Tragic.

I spoke with Meg after church.  She prepared herself for church, so she found so much strength there.  Tomorrow is another big appointment, and she's feeling the babies move.  Her little apartment will hardly fit a gym and a nursery, but she's so happy planning for her little babies.

Elder Babcock called twice on Wednesday.  He guessed Eddie's novel, Hatchet, and suggested that Molly read, Charlotte's Web. We were quite enchanted by his recommendation, because that's the book I'm reading aloud each day to them.  "I'm reading The Boxcar Children," Ryan reported.

Andy looked super relaxed.  He said that he had napped from 8:30-1pm, and it was definately needed.  He said that they are baptizing a family of three this week, which "will be really cool."  He also gave an account of his mission thus far: "I drive alot.  I've visited every unit in the mission, because I travel twice a week.  I've been AP for six months, and I only have 141 days left.  I was in Murphysboro for 6 months, McMinnville for 3 months, Murry for 6 weeks, Paducah for 3 months, and I've been in Nashville for 6 months.  I can't get trunkie, because I always have so much to do -- there is no room for slacking.  This is the hand of the Lord working in my life.  But when I get home, I can't wait to take a month and lift weights, eat lots of vegetables and sleep."