September

September sort of snuck up on me, then was gone again before I knew it. We started out the month with Grandma Naomi and Grandpa Kip finishing up their visit, then just a week later my mom came to stay for a few days. 

The kids have been absolutely thriving both at school and at home. The boys get up every morning and practice their music, and are more often than not enthusiastic about it. They are also continuing with Brother Lignell's Saturday karate class and seem to be enjoying it still. All three kids started clubs at school this month: Hyrum is doing intermediate guitar, Abraham is doing taiko drums, and both Abraham and Mercy are doing salsa dancing. The clubs are all once a week after school, and are free and low key. Perfect for us! Homework gets done every day with minimal prodding, and there's been very little complaining about not wanting to go to school in the morning. Everyone always returns home happy with tales to tell of the day and generally positive attitudes. I couldn't be more pleased with how school is going.

Matthew and I were able to spend some time shooting at the property, and Matthew went on a fun filled three day hunt with Jeb. Things at work haven't quite sorted themselves out as we hoped they would, and it's been rather stressful, but he is learning so much and is on the whole glad to be where he is.

I've definitely kept busy all month long. In addition to all the normal errand running, grocery shopping, laundry, dish washing, and cooking that is the bulk of my every day life, I've been able to volunteer in Mercy's classroom and help her teacher with odds and ends several times this month. I also helped out with the jog-a-thon and have tried to volunteer with running club at least once a week. I had lunch with Nancy one day, and lunch with Hannah another. I made an experimental batch of macarons and a full French feast for book club, helped out with the annual counting of inventory at the Temple's distribution center, and fed the missionaries.

As a family, we enjoyed the family day at Dad's work. We also went to a wild game feast at Jebs, went shooting on the property, stayed for a linger longer at church, and have played lots and lots of Pokemon. Beto was hit by a car coming home from a priesthood meeting, so we spent a Sunday night supporting Cassie and getting them home from the hospital. He wasn't badly injured and the car seems to have only suffered cosmetic damage, so we are grateful it wasn't worse. Matthew was also (finally) sustained as the Stake Young Men's president. He was asked to accept the calling back in March and has been in something of a calling limbo for the last seven months.

Mission Prep:
I'm still calorie counting and have continued weight lifting three days a week. I've also added in some cycling just for fun. I keep being able to lift more and my body weight is going down, so on the whole I'm happy with my fitness progress. I spent a couple hours helping to count inventory at the distribution center one morning, which was a new opportunity to serve, and did initiatories another day. I was able to sit by myself in the celestial room for a while afterwards and had a very special, sacred experience there, for which I am especially grateful.

Meals:
Catfish po boys
Chicken tikka masala and homemade naan
Chicken noodle soup
Shrimp scampi and green beans
Steak and pasta
Antelope oso bucco (at Jeb's)
Fajitas
Milanesa
Pork chops and salad with carrot applesauce muffins
 Green chili chili and cornbread
Frozen pizza
French dip sandwiches
Crepes and sausages
Coconut basil curry and homemade naan
Chicken quesadillas
Macaroni and cheese with chicken nuggets
Clam chowder and homemade bread
Taco Bell
Baked beans and sausage
Swedish meatballs
Tacos
Quiche Lorraine
Ice cream
Chicken and salad with apple coffee cake muffins