20 January 2019

We had another smooth and quiet week, which is always appreciated.  On Monday evening we had Family Home Evening.  Our study focus for the week was on Matthew 2 and Luke 2 and for our lesson we read Luke 2 and then the kids dressed up as individuals from the scriptures and described how the birth of Christ made them feel from the perspective of the character.  You would think that the girls were too big for dress up learning, but they were the most into it.  When we were done we split our activity time between "Just Dance Broadway" and "Mario Kart".  It was a lot of fun.

On Tuesday Helen had band and she is struggling to enjoy it and I’m not sure why.  I think maybe because it’s not immediately easy.  I told her I would like her to stick with it through sixth grade and then she can make the decision to continue it or not.  I told her that it gets a lot easier once she has daily band class instead of just once a week.  To be honest, I need to help her practice more as well.  After school Arlo and I dropped off eggs and picked up compost and then in the evening the girls had Activity Days and Young Women’s.  Felicity made a pendant for her activity, she chose a picture of her and Grandma.

The paint on my new built in shelves was completely dry and I started the task of loading them up with all our books and movies.  I had to cut some new shelves, which was great, so that I could utilize as much space as possible.  It also meant I had extra room for some nick-knacks and pictures.  When it was all put together, I was pretty happy with it.  Of course, I can see everything I wish had gone differently. In hindsight I wish I’d added molding to the ceiling and taken the shelves all the way up and I wish I’d used wider crown molding on the top.  I hate that the shelves are so close to the TV, but it’s really functional and I’m glad to have it done.  I still need to make some new curtains for the windows, since the existing ones don’t fit anymore and I want to paint the other walls so they match.

The kids were pretty happy with the extra time they had after homework to play outside.  Arlo is always looking for gun-shaped sticks to play with, this one he found was pretty convincing from a distance!

Friday was my off-Friday, so I went to the temple after dropping the kids off at the bus stop.  They changed the schedule, so now there is an 8AM session, which meant I didn’t have to rush to try and get there by 7:30.  I had a really nice time and I am grateful to have the opportunity to go more often.  Maggie had a booster appointment for her second Leptospirosis vaccine.  She is getting much better at walking on the leash and actually walked the entire way from the car to the office without being carried.  We’re going to keep working on her leash skills as I would love it if she would come running with me when she’s older.

The kids went to their dad’s on Friday night and I cleaned and did laundry.  On Saturday morning I got outside and started to tackle my list of projects.  I cleaned all the animal pens and did some repairs to the chicken coop.  The previous owner had left two industrial wooden spools on the property and unfortunately they were too rotted to repurpose.  Since I had the Christmas tree in the back that needed to be taken care of along with some other wood and debris, I started a burn pile.  I love being able to take care of trimmings and other waste that way.  The spools were pretty impressive to watch burn, one of those, “maybe this fire is a little too big” moments, but it went well and by the end of the day everything was reduced to a 5 foot ring of ash and metal leftovers.  After a day outside working it was nice to come in and shower.  I picked Felicity up from her dad’s in the evening and she and I got Chipotle and came home to watch a movie.

We were up early on Sunday to get ready for church since Felicity had a Bishop’s Youth Council (BYC) meeting.  She was recently called to be the Beehive Class President and so she needed to attend BYC at 7:30 and then a class presidency meeting at 8AM.  I’m really proud of her and am excited for her to have this leadership opportunity, I think it will be a great experience.  We enjoyed church at 9AM and I don’t think I made anyone cry in Primary this week, so yay for me!  After church I took Felicity back to her dad’s since the kids were staying one more night because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday.  When I got back home I finished up the crocheted hat I was commissioned to make.  I’m really happy with how it turned out and I hope that they like it. 

13 January 2019

It was a pretty quiet week considering that we were all back to our work and school schedule.  We decided to try something different in the new year and did our animal chores (feeding, watering, egg collecting, and basic cleaning) in the morning before school instead of in the afternoon after school.  It worked really well, it just required headlamps.  I found that it really helped pace our mornings as the kids knew they had to be dressed and ready to go outside at 6AM and we didn't miss the bus all week.  I also like not having one more thing to worry about in the afternoon when not everyone is home at the same time.   One of our academic goals for the year is to improve Helen and Arlo's spelling grades, they were their only "non-A" grades so we practiced spelling words back and forth from the bus stop this week and that was a success too.

We had family home evening on Monday after dinner and had a lesson out of our Come Follow Me: For Individuals and Families manual and then played a new "Just Dance" game on the Wii. Felicity was invited to do a middle school honor band with other students chosen from around the district.  She had rehearsal on Tuesday night at Cienega High School.  We drove that way after getting her off the activity bus and had dinner together at Panda Express before dropping her off at the high school at 5:30.  Luckily she was able to catch a ride home with a friend so I didn't have to drive all the way back out there when her rehearsal was done at 7.  It meant, however, that she missed the first mutual activity of the month.

Arlo has had a loose front tooth for days if not weeks and its been driving me crazy to see it dangling there by literally a thread of skin.  Mercifully it fell out on Wednesday and he now is missing both top teeth, he's pretty cute if I do say so myself.

I continued to work on my built-in shelf project in the evenings this week as it is STILL not finished.  It seems to be the project that never ends, but every time I'm tempted to cut a corner when a new challenge comes up just to get it finished I reason to myself that I want it done right, not just done.  The project has also inspired me to invest in an electric mitre saw as the mitre box I'm using is a pain in the rear and I'll be literally cutting a lot more corners when I get to installing the baseboards in Arlo's room.

The kids ended up not going to their dad's house this weekend, he wanted to switch for next weekend, so we were all home together in the evening.  I dropped Felicity off at Cienega for band practice and the other two kids and I watched a movie together until she got done, I met her at the end of the street around 9ish and she was pretty tired.  I drove Felicity back to Ceinega in the morning for her final rehearsal and I started painting the shelving unit.  The honor band performance was at noon so I went back to the school for that. They had an honor choir, orchestra, and band and they were all very good.  I'm so grateful for the musical education opportunities Felicity has had since we moved to this district, they really have just outstanding programs.

She and I went grocery shopping when it was over and then headed home.  When we pulled into the drive way, I saw what I thought were javalinas in the front yard, only to quickly realize they were our pigs roaming free.  I lured them back into their pen with an apple and then assessed how they got out.  Evidently they rooted up the buried fence and pushed on it long enough to get under it and out for a quick jaunt around the yard.  For a short term solution the girls helped me move five rail road ties from various places around the property to the outside of the pig pen.  As expected they were really heavy so we used the car to help us move them.  I realize this is not the ideal use for my fuel efficient compact car, but sometimes you have to improvise.  I sure hope I'll be ready to buy a truck this spring!  I re secured all the fencing and did some touch ups to other things that needed to be addressed in their pen while I was already muddy including fixing their water barrel and sealing some cracks in their hutch.

I put the finishing touches on the shelves Saturday night and will let it dry over the rest of the weekend before putting all the shelves in and loading it up with movies and books.  The kids and I played Mario Kart and really had a fun time before bed.

We were up early on Sunday morning to get ready for church and enjoyed our meetings at 9AM. My primary class went fairly well, there was still some crying, but nothing that I caused, so I count that as a win.  I'm not sure if I'm teaching four years olds to teach me to be more kind and gentle and patient or because they need to have a little more discipline...maybe the answer is both.  After church I met my mom over at her house and we went to pick up Grandma to visit an assisted living facility in Tucson.  She's wavered back and forth, but I think Grandma understands that living on her own in her 90s is not what's best for her anymore and now that Grandpa has passed away she can't cling to hope that he'll come home anymore.  She and Mom and my uncle had taken a tour when he was in town and she went again last week when they told her they had a soon to be vacancy for a first floor apartment.  She wanted me to see it and get my opinion.  We met the facilitator who took us to their dining room where they treated us to lunch, Grandma really liked the salad bar, and then we looked at the two available apartments.  They were renovating one that was close to the dining room and nurse's office and had a view of the courtyard.  When we were done with our tour we talked about the details with the sales gal and asked all the questions we all had.  I told Grandma it was a really nice apartment and that Grandpa wouldn't want her living in the house lonely worrying about the maintenance and the upkeep.  In the end she decided to put down the deposit and secure the apartment.  I was really happy for her and I think that it will be a great opportunity for her (and a huge wait off my mom's mind who worries about her).

On our way home we stopped and picked up a couple of papers for Grandma as Grandpa's obituary came out this week.  It was important to her that they put an obituary in the paper even though it was horrendously expensive and nobody really gets the paper anymore.  For her generation, that was the way you notified everyone you hadn't already called.  Now, I guess that's what we have Facebook for, although we as a society still haven't completely figured out and agreed upon the etiquette for that!  I didn't' get home till pretty late, so we had our scripture study and then scooted off to bed, ready for another week.

06 January 2019

I spent my New Year's eve working on my projects, really exciting, I know!  I worked through the day, and through most of the night.  I went out on the porch around 1am and it was snowing and like any Southern Arizonan promptly took video.  I went back in and kept working and around 4AM when I was ready to go to bed I checked again and it was still snowing.  When I got up in the morning to let the dog out (who I let sleep in the laundry room since it was so cold) the ranch and desert was covered in snow.  It was incredible and beautiful.  We got about 2 1/2 inches of snow.

I picked the kids up around 10AM and brought them home to play in the snow before it started to melt.  They ate the snow, threw the snow, and we made a ranch snowman.  He was probably 38% dirt and rocks, but he was pretty great.  We enjoyed the new TV and played some of the Wii games we got for Christmas.  I continued working on getting the bookshelves framed in.

When I woke up on Wednesday morning I was shocked to find everything was white again.  Never in my life have I seen measurable snow two days in a row.  This time it was over 4 inches.  The kids were up not long after and spent most of the morning playing in the snow.  Maggie loved the snow too, I thought she would want to stay in her dog house, but she was out in it, chest deep, all morning.  In the afternoon Nana came and picked the kids up to see a movie and have dinner with their cousin. 

By Thursday morning, most of the snow had melted.  In the afternoon Felicity and I went to lunch together which was really nice.  The older she gets the more I enjoy having one on one time with her and hearing about all the things she's passionate about, the things that are worrying her, and the people that are important to her. 

We spent the rest of the week enjoying each other's company, and playing with our new toys.  The kids built their Legos and we watched movies and played games.  We ate lots of terrible-for-us food and stayed up way too late; and we loved it.

We were up relatively early on Sunday morning to get ready for 9AM church.  As it happens, we've had church at 1PM for the last three years, so going in the morning was a change, but I think it was a good change.  The new changes to the schedule meant a shorter Sacrament meeting.  I also had my first Sunday with the CTR 4 class.  There were about eight of them.  We started in Singing Time and then onto our class time.  Since we have 50 minutes for both, it really wasn't very long in class.  And guess what?  I only had two cry.  I call that a win for a first Sunday with four year olds.  We came home and did a family Sunday school lesson from the new Come, Follow Me curriculum.  I will openly admit that I've felt insecure and overwhelmed with the added emphasis on teaching in the home.  Don't get me wrong, we consistently have Family Home Evening which includes a Gospel-centered lesson, and we do family scripture study; however, knowing that my kids will get less time learning at church and that more of the responsibility comes to me has been daunting.  Intimidation aside, we dove in and used the new family manual this week and the more we used it, the more comfortable and confident I felt.  I also felt that our discussion and learning was more meaningful.  At the very least, its good motivation to make sure we are consistent. 

In the evening we went to my parent's house for dinner and visiting.  Bedtime came early, or at least it seemed very early, since we all need to be up early tomorrow as we head back to work and school.

30 December 2018

Merry Christmas from the Davidson Family at Two Jack Ranch!  We had such a lovely week.  On Monday we did a few chores around the house and I finally sat down to wrap some gifts, nothing like waiting till the last minute!  We picked up Grandma in the afternoon and headed over to my parent's house around four.  We had a nice dinner and visited and then opened our gifts from Nana and Papa.  We got a lot of really nice things and had a really fun time. The kids were good about going to bed when we got home, which was nice since I still needed to wrap all of their gifts!  It took me a couple of hours, but I got them wrapped and under the tree and the stockings filled before heading to bed.

 The girls woke me up around 6:30 and we took our Christmas morning picture, read the Luke account of the Christmas story and then opened our presents.  Helen had used her own money to buy me a mug at the school Christmas shop and something for each of her siblings.  The rice bags that Felicity made were a huge hit, I love min.  I took Arlo last week to shop for his sisters and he got them each a new game, and there was even a present under the tree from him to me...it was a yellow rose from my rose bushes.  There were lots of new Lego sets this year, which they started assembling right away.  We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast and played with our new things.  I will have a new trampoline to assemble in the coming week as I replaced the one that got destroyed by the wind last spring.  I will make sure to stake it down well this year.  Their dad came to get them at about 10AM for their visit with him and his family.

Once they were gone, I set to work finishing the crocheted hats that I didn't finish before Christmas.  I was able to complete Helen's which was a sloth and Arlo's which was a BB-8, I will just have to keep working on Felicity's.  Better late than never I suppose!

I started putting things away on Wednesday and took the Christmas tree out back and took down the lights.  They were such a pain to wrap that I didn't do a very good job, I'm going to be hating myself next year, but that's a whole twelve months away, so I didn't feel too guilty!  I ventured out to get materials for a few household projects I wanted to tackle while I had time off of work.  I got what I needed at Home Depot and stopped in at Walmart and Target to look for discounted Christmas stuff.  My goal was to pick up next years' gingerbread house kits and an artificial tree.  We've never had a fake tree and I figured I'd get one if I could find a nice one inexpensively which will give me the option to put up a real tree and the fake one, or just the fake one.  I was able to find a tree, but not the kits.  I also picked up some other cheap odds and ends. 

I harvested our oranges and got several pounds.  They are very sweet and easy to peel, the only down side is they have quite a few seeds in them, but that's to be expected with home-grown citrus.  I also got a couple of really good lemons from the tree I thought was only root stock.  I guess I will trim it up and let it live!  I covered the trees as I had a feeling we were in for some freezing nights.

I started my projects full steam on Thursday.  I have been wanting to attempt the family room built in shelves project since we moved in, but was intimidated to start it.  So I pulled all the movies and books off the existing Ikea shelves and made a big mess which I new would motivate me to work on it.  I also pulled my table saw out of the shed which was a chore. I bought it before we moved and haven't used it.  The goal is to frame in the Ikea shelves using molding to make the entire south wall of the family room one giant built-in piece of furniture.  Well, as projects go, it was arduous.  I had to paint the wall first and then spent the better part of a day hanging a new flat screen TV.  Of course the studs weren't centered and that threw off my design so I had to redraw it.  I had to hook up all of the peripherals and realized that it didn't have inputs for more than one of my archaic machines.  This meant I had to go back to using my old receiver which I could attach the VCR, DVD, and Wii to; however it was far too wide for the shelves, so I had to cut a hole between the studs to get it flush on the front, which further threw off my design and I had to re-draft.  By the way, walls in a house aren't plumb nor is any corner a good 90 degrees, so don't draw a plan with that assumption...iteration three of the plan is drafted and three more trips to Home Depot ensued.  In the mean time I also did some painting in the kitchen and completely de-cluttered it, added shelf liners to the drawers, fixed the tiles that had come off the counter the summer before I bought the house, and re-caulked all the counter surfaces. 

I took a break from my work on Friday to go see Aquaman with Mom at Park Place.  It was pretty good and I was grateful for the break.  I was back to work bright and early Saturday morning and got all the wires for the TV connected and got the final layout for the shelves.  I also came to the conclusion that I was going to have to build some irregular shelves to finish off the sides.  I taught Primary on Sunday, our last three hour block meeting.  It was also my last week teaching the ten and eleven year-olds as they are moving me to teach junior primary next year, CTR 4.  I have a feeling its going to be disastrous, I (not purposefully) made quite a few kids cry the last time I taught junior primary, but I am willing to try, I figure there is something I am suppose to be learning.  After all, I will only be alone with them for less than an hour next year with our new two-hour schedule.  I rested and worked on a hat for Felicity for the rest of the evening. I'm hoping to finish up the family room project and put together the new trampoline and a new windmill next week, hopefully I make good progress.

23 December 2018

That Christmas excitement is in the air.  It was our last week of work and school for the year and the anticipation of freedom from schedules and homework was almost tangible.  On Monday the kids helped me in the kitchen with some more baking, since I was terribly behind.  We watched Elf for our FHE activity.  Tuesday was busy as usual with compost pick up, egg deliveries, and church activities.  I dropped the girls off for Activity Days and Mutual.  Helen’s group was doing a cookie exchange and the young women were caroling.  Arlo and I ran to the store for something quick and then got back home to continue the cookie baking.  While we were gone, the ward’s young men’s organization dropped off a card and poinsettia which was very nice, although I was quite embarrassed at the state of the kitchen that I’m sure they noticed through the windows on the porch.  I’m not used to people coming up to the house so I’m not in the habit of closing the blinds, even when things are a disaster!                                   

I worked from home on Wednesday and Thursday and was able to finish up my cookies just in time.  I was pretty excited to close my computer on Thursday afternoon.  In the evening the kids helped me plate up the cookies and wrap them. 

Friday was the kids’ last day of school and they had a ½ day and a PJ day.  Once they got home, I drove into Tucson in the afternoon and met my mom and grandma to celebrate grandma’s 92^nd birthday.  We went out to eat at Longhorn Steak House and then I treated them to a manicure.  I think Grandma really enjoyed it.

Saturday morning we went to Denny's in our PJs for breakfast.  We had hot chocolate and enjoyed a fancy breakfast; it was fun and I enjoy making fun Christmas time memories with my loves.  When we got home we spent some time cleaning up the kitchen disaster.  

 Felicity wanted to make rice bags for her siblings and for Grandma, Nana, Papa, and myself.  She dug through the fabric hoard and picked out fabric for everyone and washed it.  Then I showed her how to square it up and she measured and cut them out.  We had a quick sewing tutorial and she was able to make them, six of them, in an afternoon.  She was so proud of her home-made gifts.   In the evening we went with my mom to see the new Mary Poppins movie at El Con.  It was such a lovely movie, we really enjoyed it a lot.

On Sunday we drove into town and picked up Grandma to take her to church with us.  We only had Sacrament meeting and it was mostly just music so I thought it would be a good opportunity to take her with us, I think she enjoyed being out and about.  We stopped over at Mom and Dad’s briefly before taking Grandma home.

16 December 2018

 Monday we had our 11th annual Gingerbread Family Home Evening.  Each year we invite a handful of families over for a Christmas Family Home Evening lesson and then we decorate gingerbread houses and do some caroling.  We had so much fun this year.  We had our lesson on the gifts we receive because of the Savior's birth, we decorated our houses, and my lovely friend Emily was such a good sport and played piano for us so we could do some singing.  We must have had just the right combination of kids this year because there was practically no mess to clean up, they were so good!  I love this tradition of ours and am so grateful for the wonderful friendships we have developed since moving out to our little ranch.  I'm especially grateful for the friendships my children have been able to make; its comforting know they surround themselves with such good people when they are away from home.

I was home with Arlo on Tuesday since he had a doctor's appointment.  We dropped the girls off at school and then he and I drove into Tucson.  We went to Boot Barn to pick out some new boots for his birthday.  He tried on quite a few pair, but settled on some square-toed Ariats.  I can't believe he wears the same size as his next oldest sister!  We went to see Dr. Shultz for Arlo's seven year well check and he is 66.2 pounds and 4 feet 2 inches tall; still well above average for his age.  He did a great job answering her questions and he was even brave when it came time for his flu shot.  Poor Arlo, he doesn't need any more vaccinations until he's 11, but because his birthday is in December he always sees the doctor during flu season and ends up having to get a shot every year.  She told him that maybe next year they would have the efficacy of the nasal spray up and he could do that instead, he was not impressed by her optimism for next year.

When we were done with our doctor's appointment we called Nana to see if she would like to have lunch with us.  As it turned out, she was going to have lunch with Grandma and Uncle Robert, so we met them at Lerua's on Broadway.  We had some really good Mexican (and believe it or not, really tasty tamales...and I'm a pretty harsh critic).

Tuesday night I went over to the Nelson's and Kevin helped me start to butcher mine and Felicity's deer.  Unfortunately it wasn't as thawed as it needed to be so we didn't get to the back quarters.  I stopped at Fry's on the way home and picked up some ice cream and we celebrated Arlo's birthday again with some fancy ice cream in fancy waffle bowls with fancy chocolate shell.  It was pretty good!

After the ice cream and teeth brushing we were getting ready for scriptures and prayers when Helen tells me that there was a baby rattlesnake in the hay stack (the one we use for target shooting).   Skeptical I ask her "how do you know it was a rattle snake?" to which she replied "well Arlo thought it was a gopher snake so he got down right by it and put his face up to it to get a better look and it coiled up really fast and started rattling at him."  So, needless to say, we had a family discussion about the new Two Jack Ranch rule: Do Not Approach ANY Snakes Unless Mom is with You.

Wednesday morning Felicity stayed home from school as she had an orthodontist appointment.  We dropped Helen and Arlo off at school and then she and I drove into Tucson.  Her appointment went well and they replaced her wire and much to her chagrin, put her back in rubber bands. She opted for the more mature silver ties instead of the festive red and green option...they grow up so fast!  When we were done we went over to the Masonic Lodge where the Mason's were holding a last rites ceremony for Grandpa.  It was neat to see Grandpa's picture on the wall with all the other men who'd served as head Mason honcho (not a technical term) over the years, there were some that dated as far back as the 1850's.  His involvement in the fraternity was very important to him over the years, so it was nice that they put on the ceremony for him and they even had a little reception after.   It was also nice that they included a portion where they had some of the men talk about their memories of Grandpa and it was fun to hear his friends and colleagues tell stories about him, and to know he was the same person he was with his friends that he was with his family.  Memorial services really bring out themes in people's lives.  His dedication to doing things right, his amazing and creative carpentry and wood working skills, and of course his clever sharp wit and ability to tell a story all came out in the things that his friends had to say about him.  Its neat to experience someone you've loved all your life through the stories of people you've never met.  We will be having a personal memorial service for him after the holidays.

Wednesday night I took the remaining 4 hindquarters of our deer over to my parent's house and finished butchering the meat.  When all was said and done and packaged, we had about 45-50 pounds of meat.  I think we'll be set for awhile!

I was back at work on Thursday, it was nice to have time off, but I had a lot of work and emails waiting for me when I got back!  Things are rapidly winding down at the office and most of my colleagues are already gone for the year.  Thursday night Felicity had her first semester band concert.  It was exceptional, I have been SO impressed with the music program at Corona Foothills.  She did both 7th grade jazz band and symphonic band.  I think its weird to have a flute in jazz band (and it looks like he stacks a more traditional line up for 8th grade jazz), but what a great experience for her; she's even talking about picking up tenor sax.  Any of the kids that wanted to do a free-style solo was encouraged to, Felicity said she was happy to hang back and not solo.  The 7th/8th symphonic selections were great.  Felicity had talked and talked about performing The Haunted Carousel by Erika Svanoe and it was such a fun piece, it even included a student on the theremin.  The calibur of the program is just incredible, they honestly sound like a high school band.

I worked from home on Friday and when I was done with work I finally got around to designing this year's Christmas cards.  They are not as creative as I would have liked, but they got done!  I feel like I'm terribly behind in everything this year.  In the evening I went to a Bunco game with some girlfriends from our stake.  It was fun and the hostess made an incredible gourmet meal.  It was nice to spend time with other adults (that I don't work with) and making new friends.

Saturday morning I was up early and took care of my outside chores first, then with the kids' help I picked up the house.  I was finally able to start my Christmas baking and accomplished several loaves of pumpkin and banana bread, haystacks, angel sweets, and dough for my gingerbread men and cut out cookies.  I had intermittent help in the kitchen this year, which was fun...don't worry I made them wash their hands and I was the germ police while they were in the kitchen; if you get a cookie plate from me its safe to eat.  So I had Christmas music playing in the kitchen while we baked, until I left the room for 30 seconds at which time the music was changed to the Les Miserable sound track...Felicity's newest, drive me bonkers, obsession.  Seriously, is it normal for 12 and 1/2 year olds to be so incredibly obsessed with things?  She got The Greatest Showman soundtrack awhile back and when I got sick of that I put on my copy of Les Miserable to change it up a bit and she got hooked.  She even begged to watch the movie version when she was home from school on Monday, which I allowed with the understanding that I'd be skipping a few scenes.  So now it's all she talks about and all shes listening to. She commandeered an old iPhone I had in my desk and the stinkin' soundtrack is on all the time (well, honestly I don't allow free reign with a phone so its not ALL the time).  Its amazing how a tween can take something you like or even love and twist it into something you can't stand for another moment!

We attended our church meetings on Sunday which were nice.  I got a couple of really nice gifts from my primary students.  My whole class will be transitioning to the youth organizations in January with the institution of the new church policy.  It also means that Helen will get to start the Young Womens program next January.  After our meetings we went to Nana and Papa's house for dinner and to visit.  I worked on a crocheted hat for Helen as I am running out of time to finish them, I still have all three of my kid's hats to complete before Christmas.  If I can get the baking out of the way by next Tuesday night, I should be able to accomplish it!  I have a short week at work next week and am very much looking forward to a nice long winter break.