Virginia Sempervirens: October 12, 2014

October 12, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

This has been a busy week. M has been working extra hours so that he can take off a few days next week while I am out of town. It always seems like a busier week if M is working more...even if I don't do one thing extra. Monday night we had FHE and talked about conference while eating ice cream. The kids seemed to like it.

C loves sitting in random things right now.

Tuesday I had a presidency meeting at my house. That afternoon I realized that RM had pink eye. He was pretty uncomfortable. He even fell asleep in the middle of the study floor. I think the nap really helped him. That night B-man had football practice.

RM fell asleep like this while I was distracted.

Wednesday I did some last minute errands preparing for the Relief Society trip to the temple. I made dinner for everyone, and realized that there really wasn't quite enough dinner. M and I had to hold back a little, and thankfully I had a fresh batch of bread, so the kids weren't hungry going to bed. I left right after dinner and met at the church with the other women going to the temple. We had a group of fourteen total, which for the time of the day was a decent turn-out. We took the northern route to the temple and had a beautiful drive. When we hooked up on the 495 there was no traffic and we made it in plenty of time for our session. Being back at the temple was fantastic. I am getting excited that I can go more now that C is getting older. M reported that things went well while I was gone. He was sleeping by the time I got back to home.

Thursday RM's pink eye was gone. I'm so grateful that it went away on its own and that no one else seemed to come down with it. That morning we had several friends over for the boys to play with. They had a great time. That afternoon was crazy. I forgot that I had signed up to feed four missionaries. I was rushing to cook dinner so we could eat before a scrimmage for B-man, and the missionaries called to say they would be late. Great! That gave me time to figure it out. M wasn't even home yet. In the end I took all the kids to B-man's football scrimmage, and M got home just in time to feed the missionaries toasted peanut butter and raspberry rhubarb jam sandwiches. I'm a little embarrassed. Some missionaries go to their Bishop's home to be inspired, but when they come here they just get a taste of what their lives will be like in ten years. I'm not even that worried about it. They had a pleasant QUIET dinner that filled their bellies. When we got home, they were just finishing up. I then finished assembling dinner, got everyone fed, and then up to bed. That night M took B-man to a court of honor for two young men in our ward. It seemed like they had a great time, and that M' talk went well.

Friday was a pretty low key quiet day. We had pizza for dinner and watched a movie afterwards as a family. The weather was cool and rainy so no volleyball.

C loves her bath time.

Saturday morning a friend and I went to a community garage sale nearby. It started early and the first house we went to I got a bunch of great stuff. I love getting Christmas presents at garage sales! The weather was rainy, but there were lots to go to, in fact we had to cut it early so that I could get to a baptism. We both had a great day. The baptism was wonderful. Two children were baptized. One of M' counselors had a son getting baptized, and a friend that lives on our street had a daughter get baptized too. They were so cute. I ran B-man home quickly to get to a birthday party and then went back to the church. Eventually we all made it home. M needed to get back to the church with all of us so he could meet with a sister. (By this point everyone had left, and he needed me there in the building too) At the same time someone was test driving our old van to see if they wanted to buy it. They were taking forever getting back. In the end he left, finished meeting with her in the hall, and then came back just as the couple were getting back with the van. We had a few hours of quiet in the afternoon, and then did an early dinner and rushed to get ready to go to a training meeting for fifteen stakes led by the second counselor in the general Sunday School presidency Brother Duncan. The house was pretty much a wreck when we left (and when we came home) but the meeting was fantastic! It was a great meeting, and really effectively communicated what they want the teachers for everyone to be doing. On the way home we stopped for a quick bite to eat and dessert before getting home. It was a much needed date night!

C showing off her standing skills at the scrimmage.

Today has been another wild and crazy Sunday. C was crazy during Sacrament meeting, and really all of church. But we made it through, and hopefully everyone felt the spirit at some point. We are at home now, and hope M will be home soon. RM has really adjusted to life with a cast and is doing almost everything he could before he got hurt. He is most bothered by the lack of bath time. He really misses it. That and not being able to ride a bike. C has been perfecting her free standing. She can stand up in the middle of the room for quite a while now. I even saw her standing on our wood stairs! Yikes. That is not encouraged. J spends almost every dinner practicing his writing. Whenever I ask what his "word of the day" was he immediately runs to find the supplies to show us. B-man is loving fifth grade and still works to spend most of his time with friends.