Getting Ready

I rode the trainer Monday morning, then did my normal start of week chores. We had oatmeal raisin cookies and played Minecraft for Family Night. 

While helping Abraham with his homework the night before, I realized it was more work for me than for him as I spent half an hour looking up nouns in the Spanish dictionary. His behavior in class has improved, but he still seemed to be spending an awful lot of time playing with blocks while the other kids finish their work and after some more discussion, Matthew and I decided the bilingual class just wasn't right for him. On Tuesday morning I sent an email to the vice principle with whom I had met a couple weeks ago and asked again if he could switch classes. About ten minutes later I got a call saying she could go move him that very moment. He came home very excited to be in the same class as Taisley, a friend from church, and said his teacher was really nice and the theme in the classroom is Star Wars. The homework packet he brought home seemed much more appropriate and we all feel good about the change.

Riker came over Wednesday morning and while he and Mercy played happily together, I started getting ready for my trip to Utah. I can hardly believe how quickly the time has arrived! The weather forecast predicts chilly temperatures and possible rain, so I was worried about what kind of gear I should have. I also needed to go grocery shopping and was still on the lookout for a key piece of fabric. Matthew knew I had a lot of errands to run, so he walked through the door around 2:00 and said he'd work from home while I ran out by myself. What a thoughtful guy! I first went to Performance and got some leg warmers, then went to one quilt shop, then another. Finally, after five local stores and lot's of searching online, I found exactly what I was looking for. Huzzah! I then stopped by JoAnn's again for some cheaper boarder and backing fabric, then made my last stop at Smith's to buy lot's of our favorite ice cream which was on sale. I got home about 5:30, fed everyone dinner, did the dishes, and helped get kids ready for bed, then went to my book club. I love my book club. There's me and sometimes Hannah, then the next closest to us in age is in her early 60's. Many of the women are in their 70's and I just love the perspective they have on everything. 

Matthew was again not feeling great this morning, so I took advantage of his irritable bowels and ran to Walmart first thing. I got the rest of my grocery shopping done and put away by 7:30 am and had plenty of time to feed the boys and get everyone off to work and school. Mercy and I went to play group at the park, then had to drive back up to Performance to exchange the leg warmers I had purchased yesterday. Yeesh. This afternoon was spent packing and making sure everything was ready for Matthew's four days in charge of home and children. Things went so well that I was even able to work on my quilt for a while. I got in a quick 45 minute ride to keep me loose, showered, and now all that's left is to get a good night's sleep before heading off on my adventure in the morning. Poor Abraham had tears in his eyes and a sweet little quiver in his lip as I gave him his goodnight kisses. While heartbreaking, it's nice to actually feel the love once in a while and know that I'll be missed. I do love this family of mine.