July 27 - Allan went on a camp out with the Deacons (the 12 year old boys) in our ward. It decided to rain all night long that night, but they managed not to get too wet even with the holes in the tent. They went fishing the next day and caught several fish. The biggest accomplishment though was that nobody got seriously hurt.
While Allan was gone I babysat 3 little girls ages 3, 5, and 7. The two older girls are super shy and will rarely speak or acknowledge others in public. I was expecting them to be more comfortable at home but still have a relatively quiet night. When I came to their house they were their normal shy selves. Then their parents left.... It was like opening the flood gates! As soon as their parents were out the door they started talking all at once and didn't stop until after I put them to bed! They showed me all of their favorite toys and books and read some books to me, played hide and go seek, the My Little Pony game, and High Ho Cherry Oh, and then I read them some bedtime stories - all while they talked my ears off! It was a blast, and I hope I get to watch them again in the future. Our last round of hide and go seek I thought I'd make it easy on them and hide behind the kitchen curtains. They are very thin and there isn't any space behind them so I thought they'd see the form of my body...and my feet and ankles poking out the bottom. That turned out to be the best spot imaginable! They searched and searched for me and finally resorted to yelling my name saying they couldn't find me (while they were standing in the kitchen!). It took all I had not to bust out laughing. I started to move the curtains back and forth. It took them a while to see it and then one of them said very calmly "Oh look. The curtains are moving. I wonder if she could be behind them." And then they talked about how it must be me because the sliding glass door wasn't open and there wasn't a fan on, then they came and moved the curtains. Now I know that the best place to hide in hide and go seek is the place I think will be most obvious!
July 30 - We got a call asking if we could do Foster Care Respite for two little girls ages 2 and 1. We would care for them 24/7 Aug 5-11. We would need to get certified in a week. We said yes. I know, we're crazy, but we thought it would be fun and a good chance to see how child friendly our house is!
August 2 - We found out that they found someone else that was already certified for respite care. We were bummed and relieved because that week was going to be busy for us anyway.
August 4 - I went to a 2yr old's birthday party and had a water fight with some little ones. So fun!
August 5 - For Primary we did the Olympics. I can't take any credit for this (or really anything else I do since I get most of my ideas from other people's blogs) because the Primary President started this with the kids on the last Sunday in July. She gave me all of her stuff, and I continued it this week. It was super cute and a ton of fun. I chose different children to be judges for each event, and they really enjoyed telling us if we got a gold, silver, or bronze medal. I am happy to report that we got mostly Gold medals! Woot! Woot! It also gave me a good idea about what songs and verses the children knew best and which we need to work on some more.
August 7 - I helped a friend clean out a little old ladies house. She has recently been moved to a nursing home to get better care. Always fun to serve!
August 8 - We made a trip to Phoenix to visit K and go to a birthmother support group with her. It was an amazing experience, and I wish that I could go every time they have one. These women have gone through quite the trials, and I am so amazed at their strength and faith to overcome. We really enjoyed seeing K and her mom again and are excited to spend some more time with her on the 18th. More on this in another post.
August 9 - Helped a friend clean her house. She's pregnant and super sick. That morning her little boy got stung by a scorpion! Poor little guy. So I went over and helped her clean up a little to see if we could find (and get rid of) any other scorpions that might be lurking about. We didn't find any, but her house looked great afterward, and since her son was on benadryl and slept most of the day, she got a much needed rest that evening.
August 10 - For the first time in several years Allan beat me at checkers! It was a monumental occasion and (although I was sad to end my winning streak) we had a great celebration for him. Streamers, brownies, ice cream, a parade.....just kidding. I did wish him a hearty congratulations though!
August 11 - We re-stocked our food storage and now have a full 6 month supply. Woohoo! Now to figure out how to put it all away....
Present - Today in primary we worked on the second verse of I'm Trying to be like Jesus. I found a really cute idea on sugardoodle.net and promptly stole it (or used it rather). One of the children came up and looked at themselves in a mirror and then at a picture of Jesus and told what they had in common - two eyes, a nose, etc... and then I asked all of the children in general "Who has two eyes like Jesus", etc. They were all so excited that they looked like Jesus. I talked to them about doing good things so they would look like Jesus in their countenances. Then I used that idea to learn the song asking them to listen for ways to do good things and be like Jesus. At one point I asked "What are some lessons Jesus teaches us?" The little girl I used to babysit, M, says "Don't go outside, you have to not go outside alone when your mom doesn't know." A couple of questions later I asked "What do we need to watch for?" (the song says watch for the day of gladness...) and M says "Watch out to not go outside alone when your mom doesn't know." Little M must have gotten into some trouble this weekend and it was fresh on her mind! The kids had a lot of fun and I think they learned the song pretty well. I lost my voice about half way through though so we'll see how they do next week.
I also subbed for the 6 year old class today which was a lot of fun. But, I forgot to give them the snack their teacher asked me to give them. Oops.
The lesson in Deacons Quorum this week was on respecting women. The brother who was teaching the class asked "How can you respect women?" One of the deacons promptly answered "Just listen and keep your mouth shut!" the only other answer was "Obey". Sounds like they'll do well in life. Haha! Also, just to prove that they are boys, when asked what their mothers do for them, most of their answers had something to do with how their mothers feed them. Speaking of that, I need to go feed Allan.:)
So great to hear an update on you!
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