September

For the longest time, it felt like each month just flew by, but these last two or three (especially September) seem to have dragged on forever. We worked really hard this past month and were in a state of semi-chaos for much of it. While I am really pleased with the progress we made and am not sad about our choices, I'm also not sad to see the end of these project weeks and to settle back into a more normal routine.

Labor Day weekend was at the beginning of the month, and Grandma and Grandpa Johnson came to visit. I spent the first week of the month taking down decorations, moving furniture, and planning easy to prepare meals. We started demolition after work on Friday the 7th and spent the next 8 days in construction mode. Matthew had one more week at his regular job after that and during the evenings we continued to work on flooring. During that third week we also had book clubs, back to school night, and the ward chili cook-off. Matthew started the Weapons Internship Program on the 24th and has come home exhausted every evening since. Sitting through roughly eight hours of lecture a day has been more mentally and physically difficult that he anticipated, perhaps because it's been nearly eight years since he's been in school mode. The first week of anything is usually the roughest though, and we are hoping that the long lecture days will be more bearable when interspersed with tours and projects.

I was a lot more involved in the renovation process than I've been able to be in the past. It helped that all three kids were in school for seven hours a day and nobody needed to be nursed or have their diaper changed. It was really fun to spend so much time with my husband, and I enjoyed the manual labor. After the bulk of the construction work was done, I found myself on the brink of being sucked into the PTO. I want to be involved with my kids' school experiences and I want to know their teachers and friends. I somehow thought I'd accomplish this by getting involved on a broader level, but came to realize that leadership in fundraising is not going to give me what I want out of "being involved" and it is definitely not where my heart lies. There is so much I want to accomplish in my own home and I simply do not have the capacity to add anything else to my plate. It is hard for me to say no, but it's a skill I am getting better at.

The kids did remarkably well with the chaos this month. They loved eating cold cereal out of paper bowls on the back porch every morning and having almost unlimited screen time every afternoon. Abraham played a lot of Minecraft while Mercy and Hyrum took turns watching Barbie movies and episodes of Pokemon. We also took a break from piano for two weeks, which in the kids eyes was the best part of all. Despite the lack of structure, there was very little fighting or complaining. We are also extremely blessed that all three are professional sleepers and our working with loud power tools late into the night didn't seem to phase them one bit.

Hyrum got into the guitar class at school and after a couple lessons we got him an instrument that fits him and that he can practice on at home. He seems to really enjoy it and is doing remarkably well. He practices guitar for 30 minutes a day, in addition to his 30 minutes of piano. He got moved into a new class mid month as they are still trying to manage class sizes, and his new teacher, Mr. Lucero, doesn't assign regular homework, so the extra music practice hasn't been hard to fit in.

Abraham spent the first half of the month working on a massive system of secret underground tunnels in his Minecraft world on his tablet, then one day decided he was done with that and returned to his art obsession, drawing and coloring picture after picture. His homework never takes him more than five minutes to complete so he often has hours after school to create to his heart's content.

Mercy continues to love everything about school and is really thriving there. She enjoyed all the screen time the most, and had the hardest time adjusting back to normal life when limits were back in place. The break from piano, however, seemed to be just what she needed. When we started up again, something just clicked and she's enthusiastically progressing much more than she ever had before.  She loves "reading" and being read to, and takes every opportunity to draw, color, or paint a picture.

Contributing to the most expensive month of our marriage so far (other than purchasing houses), we bought a new to us truck this month. We got it from a friend in the ward who didn't feel up to the task of fixing it. The timing is off, but in a way that is still drivable. Any moment it could slip, potentially ruining the engine, but Matthew can fix it for much less than a garage was willing to. We've been wanting a truck that we can all fit into more comfortably, and despite it not having a long bed, we are more pleased with it that we thought we'd be.

Mission Prep:
I registered to run a 5K with Hannah, Brie, and Becky (Smith) in February, so at the beginning of this month I decided I'd better start training. I did three miles on the first Monday of the month. I jogged nearly the entire time, which pleased me, but it took me 46 minutes, which was a bit disheartening as it's only a few minutes faster than I can walk. I kept at it though and went running four times that first week. Then we had our construction week and I didn't have time for my morning jogs (plus, I figured there was plenty of physical exertion happening that a week off was justified). The day Matthew went back to work, however, I woke up with my lower back hurting. I thought it was just sore, so I spent a week taking shorter, slower walks. The pain got worse though, so I took this past week entirely off from my morning walks. I've been taking breaks throughout the day resting with a heat pack and that helps, but I'm just not that good at not moving around. I keep telling Matthew that I'll be fine in a day or two, but he seems to think I need a couple weeks of taking it easy. As usual, he's probably right. I did make it to the temple, though I knew there was no way I could sit through a session with my back in it's current state, so I did initiatiories.

Meals:
Smoked brisket and corn on the cob
Frozen pizza
Clam chowder
BBQ brisket sandwiches
Chicken patty sandwiches
Pizza
Quesadillas
Burger King
Church's Chicken
Taquitos
Chicken nuggets
Bagels
Corn dogs
Chicken noodle casserole (from the Jensen's)
Frito pie
Brisket (from Jeb)
Pancakes
Pork chops and potato salad
Tacos
Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Hot dogs