FHE

It rained today so that meant no baseball or riding lessons. Instead we went to Target to buy some church shoes for Lu and to noodles &co.

Then we came home and made carmel  apples and watched a favorite talk from this weekend. 

All Good Things Come To An End

And Conference is over.  There were some amazing talks, I can't wait to watch them over again, and to read them.  This may have been the best conference yet!

Lu is making an embroidered pillow case for her school teacher for Christmas.  She worked on it while watching conference.

For the last session the Martines' came over to watch with us and to have dinner after.  It was really fun to visit.  It's been awhile since they came over and awhile since we've had another family over for socializing.  We all enjoy that so I need to make a point of doing it more.

Picture from Saturday, the boy hard at work helping his dad.

Conference Weekend

Conference weekend, one of my very favs.

In other notes our deck is coming apart.  Very dangerous and upsetting since we spent several grand having it built just 3 years ago.  So today the boys took it upon themselves to fix it.  It required a trip to Lowes (goes without say) and some hammering, applauding, a smashed finger :(, some barking dogs and ice cream treats. 

It's nice to have handy men around, and a little man in training.

Other things that happened today.  Ethan went to Webb's birthday party at Leonard Hall where the boys played soccer for two hours and then ate cake.  Then he went to Webb's house where they played soccer some more.

Grace played with Madison, who came over. We played CAMP and they stamped Ziva with pink ink and rode their bikes.

Hannah went to Salsa's to meet with the YW haunted house committee for the ward Halloween party.  Then Melanie came home with her and they hung out and had a fun time.

Lu and Dad got to take a quick fishing excursion.

I got to watch 3 sessions of conference (well technically the third is just starting now but short of the sudden end of the world I will see it to the end too). Amazing, uplifting, wonderful talks.  Can't wait to rewatch them!

last week's family fun day

This week 3000 employees received their furlough notices thanks to the government shut down.  This week as I have walked around the neighborhood with the girls I have waved and chatted with moms and dads normally at work but who are not now.  Some of them are hopeful for back pay, others know they won't get it. This is insanity.  Everyone wants the same thing, we want to pay our bills, go to work, take care of our families. It's scary how difficult that is right now, and the light at the end of the tunnel is pretty dim.  For many of our friends this is the second furlough of the year and that's a tough pill to swallow.

That said I am grateful that Rob's job has not, as of yet, been impacted. I pray for those who are worried and scared and for the leaders of our country that they will look to the greatest good and make wise choices.

And I am grateful that it's conference weekend, what a peace that gives to my heart.

Is it any surprise?

Hannah said to me this morning, mom I couldn't get my reading done. Then I saw on her Instagram this picture. There is her reading book, the Lord of the Flies. And there is Vampire Diaries on her laptop. I wonder why she didn't get the reading done?

always on my toes

Monday was the perfect example of the extremes our days go to with our little Lu.  In the morning I met with a counselor.  We've had her on a waiting list for over 6 months and finally got in.  It was a history taking, concern sharing time. Next week Lu will get to visit with her.  The discussion we had was about a little girl who is extremely defiant and unconcerned about how others feel or how they think about her.  One who is often sad, or angry and doesn't know what to do with those feelings.  Who throws screaming kicking fits and says mean and inappropriate things. This Lu causes us great concern.  We have spent  a lot of our energy of the last couple of years trying to help her and teach her and have not had a lot of success.  There is another Lu that shows up from time to time.  This one is sweet and engaged and a delight to have around.  Both are the same little girl, we'd like to see the sweet side a lot more often.  Grace is really smart, and she is talented in many things.  We love her very much and want her to be happy and healthy.  She is a wonderful student and she is funny.  We, and she, need the tools to make sure that side of her grows and develops and the ornery side, the troubled side, get's it's needs met and grows quiet.
After my meeting I called Rob and we talked about her and our plan (again...this is a not a new conversation) It is exhausting and discouraging.
Then came Monday afternoon, our favorite of the week because we get to go out to the farm and Lu rides.  It is so gorgeous and peaceful on Bobby's farm.  I LOVE to walk around and say hi to the horses while she has her lesson.  It is exactly the setting I imagined in my girlhood dreams when I thought of the perfect place.  Grace loves it and is excited and cooperative and happy there.
Extremes.

She makes me laugh...really, because I never know what we're going to get.  One morning this week she woke up pretty early and we brought a game onto my bed and played it before showers and breakfast and all that.  We laughed and even though I won she wasn't upset.  Our morning was so nice, no complaining and off she went.  Another morning this week her clothes were itchy, her shoes were stupid, she didn't like cello and hated her lunch, breakfast was icky and she refused to get in the shower, then refused to get out.  By the time she caught the bus I was ready for a nap.

Another extreme is with music.  She really wanted to take cello.  She NEVER practices.  Ne-ver.  She says she is doing well at school and it's too easy and she wants to take private lessons.  We said she could IF she practiced first. In contrast all the 3rd grade learns the recorder.  Lu loves the recorder.  She came home on the first day of recorder lessons and took her music and learned all the pieces for the year and memorized them.  She is really good, she taught herself last year to play by ear and this year is learning how to read recorder music and already is doing really well.  She plays non stop.  This makes me think we should bag the cello and next year when she can start a band instrument get her on the clarinet or some other recorder like instrument.

Well to be fair, I am happy to report that we have had some progress and even the last couple of months have been better...I am sure she will grow up and be a delightful, accomplished, kind, happy young woman. And Rob and I, we will be gray and old and happy that we had 6 children (and not 7 because that would have been too much :) )

Art Class

Tonight the Brownie troop is working on the art badge. We are meeting at the Yellow Door and the girls are hard at work creating!