There Is No End to Grace

A quick roundup of what everyone is up to:

Griff had a hard week. Here is a scrape on his face from the pool wall to prove it. We didn't take pictures of all the crying about other things. Good things happened too though: the Rubik's cube arrived, we played at several parks and he made some money giving massages at Eve and Griffin's Spa. He is an entrepeneur at heart: always entertaining new business ideas. And he loves, loves, loves fantasy and telling people about how he loves fantasy.

Evie's week started out magical with finding a Kindness Rock and fun things kept happening. She spotted a newly-molted cicada on a walk, learned some new Spanish vocabulary and had her room rearranged.  Seven and a half is just wonderful on her. She is so, so much fun!

Homeschool allows us to do a lot of fun things. We met really great new people at a nature play, had a field trip to the Atkins-Johnson house, one of the longest continually occupied houses in Missouri, and had a morning at Antioch Park with Willa where Eve found a new friend, of course.

We celebrated the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage in the US with friends.

The spa has earned them $6 so far.

They couldn't get enough historical play! This house is in Clay county and was built just a few years before the "Mormon War." I kept wondering if this house held religious refugees in the 1830's.

We joined a homeschool group called Wild and Free KC with friends. 

Willa Jane got to work doing all the things before she left for school this week. She had a bunch of family photo shoots and included our family. She resized her blueberry duvet cover for her college bed and made a sham with the extra fabric. Plus she made a few matching masks while she was at it. She got the car ready for the long drive by royally cleaning it, having the oil changed and packing it all up with Wyatt's and her stuff. And she got a massage to help with headaches. That's a lot for one girl!

Wyatt graced our yard with another round of lots of yard work. He decided to make cinnamon rolls. And he hung out with two friends for a socially distant breakfast at the park that lasted 5 hours.

Eliza started her third year of law school (her last first day of school, she said) with new glasses and the cutest assistant ever at her side. 

And speaking of her assistant, let's just post a few pieces of supporting evidence. Does everyone feel that her grandchildren are just the cutest things they have ever seen? Or is this just a plain fact that mine really is? Be honest. 

I also love Evan Crespo. He is just so, so great.

Mariah has been really, really busy catching up on a backlog of haircuts, deciding on which car will be best for their future, and making a zillion bracelets. Her family she nannied for moved to Utah, in a serendipitous alignment with her needs. I got to talk to her for a few minutes while the librarians at the Corinth Branch were patient with me ignoring my little ones and sitting outside talking to my first one. Also she is quietly making a person I can't wait to meet! Even thinking about it is a thrill for me.

Alan and I had time together this week! We went on a date to Cacao (modern Mexican) and watched The Two Popes on Netflix (highly recommended by Wyatt, and now us!). We went on a couple of late night walks. We did a strength workout together once. We left everyone home while we picked up the takeout dinner once. And we brushed our teeth together and ate dinner with our kids multiple times. I remember when Alan was in med school hearing a doctor's wife in the ward talk about her dates with her husband. "We take out the recycling together." Bless MaryAnn Samuelson! I thought it was a little sad at the time, but I'm totally with her now. That's about what we can fit in. It's all good. Especially if I am rested. At the end of the day I tend to get a little weepy about it. 

Here are some times I felt God's hand in my life this week: meeting new friends and feeling inspired to tell them how we ended up having twins in our 40's, hearing Bethany Ward talk about how her mission allowed her to feel God's love for ALL of his children, eating a bunch of wonderful plant-based meals (this is actually a surprising and consistent blessing of this new lifestyle change), and hearing my husband bless Willa and Wyatt (and me!) as we are all about to start a new school year. Also reading the scriptures. That one is pretty reliable for me. What an amazing blessing that spiritual experiences can be had on the daily if you are just willing to open your scriptures and look for them!  Of course, it doesn't hurt that we were reading the first chapters of Helaman this week. Some of the most gorgeous words in holy writ live there. 

Isn't Willa so, so good at doing what she loves? Her pictures always amaze me.