Josie gets Floppy
We celebrated Sara's birthday with banana splits at her house. Justin had a stroke of brilliance to clean her kitchen after dessert. Sara's kids disappeared quickly. Justin found them and had those minions working to clean the kitchen! That is an awesome gift as a mom.
The older kids enjoyed youth activities this week. Phillip had sore leg muscles for a couple days because he was running around with the Deacons passing out Scouting for Food flyers. Amelia got to take the leaf blower to clean up leaves for several elderly folks in our ward. She was the star of the show.
Thursday started with the girls at the dentist. Josie got a muscle relaxer (like laughing gas but in liquid form) before the dentist removed two cavities in her front teeth. She unfortunately has a wrinkle behind her front teeth where sugar bugs like to hide. The dentist warned me she would be quite floppy. That was an understatement. I picked up the limpest sack of potatoes off the dental chair, she nearly slid right out of my arms. I laid her on the floor with my jacket as a cushion. Josie was staring at the ceiling like it was a captivating movie, goofy smile and all. Evelyn had a really hard time with her filling, it was fast but she cried the entire time. They should've used the muscle relaxer on Evelyn and not Josie. In the van Josie slid right out of her seatbelt the first time. I got her back on the seat and she flopped right over. Her speech was hilariously slurred and slow as well. Evelyn and I could not stop laughing. Justin video called to enjoy the hilarity, he asked how she was doing and she gave a slow motion dab as her answer. I let the little girls get a treat from the gas station (yay for sugar and more cavities). Josie kept sliding down, she had trouble turning her head. She reminded me of Wesley from Princess Bride after he got zapped/drained. Evelyn went to school while Josie got to park on the couch until she had control of her limbs again. I had a photo session while she was watching a show. Josie got hungry so tried to get up for a snack. She wobbled all over the place like a drunk. We all had another good laugh. The medication wore off around noon. By this time Josie was Hooongry. I needed to stop at Walmart for new polyurethane and a brush. She was very excited to spend some allowance money on a new baby Yoda watch and baby Yoda puppet. Josie earned a Happy meal for lunch. Right after choir I went to Parent-Teacher conference for Everett with the little girls in tow. The conference was student lead, which was a fun twist. Everett identified 4 areas he needs to work on: messy work, being a know-it-all, respecting other's ideas, and to control his anger when someone is wrong. I had to take a video of him explaining his reflection sheet. He is such a good kid.
Friday the kids had the day off from school. Amelia and Clare went to the mall for a few hours. Justin dropped them off and Esther picked them up. Esther picked up Evelyn and Josie on her way to the mall so the girls could enjoy some mall time. They had a great time picking out earrings at Claire's and eating candy from some fancy shop. The boys stayed home and played computer games for a couple hours. I ran a few errands so was gone for quite a while. Around 12:30 I went to the Elementary school for Parent-Teacher conferences for Josie and Evelyn. Josie is doing well. She is quite the artist and is picking up on her alphabet and numbers, she just needed more time to mature before learning those concepts. Evelyn is also doing well. She is struggling with reading like most kids in her grade after COVID school last year. I had a fun first birthday session with Diego. I cannot believe he is already one! Andrea had really cute decorations for a "Wild One" themed party. I stayed up way too late editing 6 photos so Andrea could use them at his party on Saturday. His birthday crept up on her, she works full-time and travels quite a bit so I can only imagine.
Saturday morning was our Primary Program practice. The kids did very well singing loud and strong. We enjoyed pizza as a treat! Justin worked to install a ABS switch on his motorcycle brake system so when he needs to he can bypass the ABS. Justin cleaned the kitchen last week, he threw away the ragged pile of string (which was actually a macrame plant holder that needed a plant hook before I could hang it). I was very sad but decided to make my own with hemp cord, it was messy but easy to tie lots of knots in some sort of pattern. I loved the plant holders with plates so...made mine large enough to secure a plate and plant! So fancy. I had two family sessions at Wilson Ponds towards evening. We went out to El Guero for dinner in celebration of Justin's birthday. The refried beans were spicy this time for some reason. Josie really wanted to eat all her beans so she took tiny bites, lots of water sips, and finished her beans. I was quite surprised she finished her beans, my mouth was tingling after a couple bites. I have no idea how they get so many flavors in their shrimp quesadillas, astounding! Justin will be 46 on Monday. Amelia accompanied me to Home Depot before I dropped her off at the Stake Dance. I searched several stores for indoor plants. I had no idea that plants would be so difficult to find! We were pleased to find cute little succulents and some fun colored plants. I picked up a 16' length of quarter round to trim around the island. Dog Vader keeps shoving his food under the island with his nose. Now to find someone who can cut the trim. I did not fully conceptualize the length of the trim and the length of my van. Gratefully, the trim snapped nearly in half while I was trying to shove it inside. LOL. Oh my brain! Amelia loves the Stake dances. She was asked to dance FOUR times last night. I waited up until it was time to pick her up again by slicing off the coffee table door top. It fits...looks a little rough but it fits.
My voice is sore from singing loud enough for the kids to follow my lead! The Primary Program was excellent. Most of the kids delivered lines they wrote in clear voices. The kids all sang loudly with gusto. I found her Ellie hiding behind some books in my room after 3 weeks MIA. Josie snuck Ellie into her purse, she was throwing Ellie around during the program. The wiggly sunbeams kept us amused with their random dancing and yelling. I am very excited to start working on Christmas music using the handbells I bought last month! Yeeeeeee!
This week our gospel topic was polygamy and temple sealings. I love learning from established church historians like Kay Godfrey, Farrell Pickering, Jenny Reeder and Robert Millett. One lesson I learned this week is to completely withhold judgment about those early Saints who were called to be polygamists. It was the exception to the rule, called into action in order to establish a strong base for the church. I learned about 20% or more of the current church came from polygamist ancestry. I struggle to understand Emma, why she stayed behind and her reaction to polygamy. I never realized that after she remarried her new spouse cheated on her with another woman who had his baby. Emma invited her and the child to live with them. She eventually learned how to live the given principle before she died. I love that Joseph welcomed her to heaven, she saw him reaching for her as she passed away. In Hebrew the word Abba means "daddy," did you know "mommy" is Emma? My heart just exploded with love for Emma our restored gospel momma! We all felt the spirit rest in our hearts during devotional one evening while I read section 128 out loud. My voice changed while reading, we all sat up and felt the testimony of Joseph on the glad and glorious tidings of the gospel for the living and dead.
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