Lately in Stockton

Post 9-25-2015

            Hello from Stockton!  It’s warm weather here still, though it’s nice to have it cool down better at night.  This time of year the kids start talking about the Christmas season, and all the good things that come with Fall and Winter.  We’ve just had Natalie and Lindsey’s birthdays, and it will be almost three months before our next one: Janelle’s seventeenth.  

            The kids are doing well in school.  It can be a true circus from 3-8 p.m., where with all the needs it feels like we have 50 kids.  And it’s crazy how emotions, and the not-managing-them-well can be the source of tons of problems.  But of course, we’re learning, and that feels great.  It’s going better this school year than ever, so I am encouraged that we are improving.  One thing we’re doing differently in the last week is with cleanup after dinner.  Instead of giving the job to a couple of people we’ve been doing it all together so it will go faster this last year.  This of course poses the problem of well-working kids getting angry at free-loading kids.  We got more organized and assigned a leader to the other six of us rotating every night.  The leader assigns out the specific jobs that get the kitchen clean.  Once you’ve finished your job you can report to the leader and be excused.  It’s awesome to see the jobs get done faster and better because the kids are motivated to be free.  Once everyone is done the leader has to report to a parent and whatever is not done to standard the leader has to do.  This is fun and is helping us a lot.

            The “observe and serve” skill is not being practiced at the dinner cleanup, nor has it ever been, but we hope the kids can learn that at another time since we had significant problems with the other way.  :D

            We are taking the kids miniature golfing for the first time tomorrow.  We have been excited about this.  In fact, Brian and Jennifer’s Golf Land money they left us from years ago—which doesn’t expire—is going to use finally.  We tried another time, but we got rained out.  So here we go!

            Janelle and her friend, Sarah, are wrapping up rehearsals for their production of Annie, and will perform in a few weeks.  A lady in our ward is directing The Nutcracker for the ward, and soon after that Melissa, Rachel, Lindsey, and Natalie get to dance in it.  She has made the costumes herself, and I hear they are really fun and beautiful.

            Scott has put in a good bit of time looking at cars online this week because we are buying one.  Our Malibu has Got to go, haha, so it’s now a 2011 Ford Fusion we were able to buy wholesale at an auction.  We will get it on Monday. 

            We think of you often.  We mention your birthdays as we look at our extended family birthday tree almost everyone that comes up.  We miss you and pray for the best always for you!