4/28/17 Lifting Gram's Health

This morning Heidi and I went to VDO to do some research. While we were there Gram spotted this flowering cactus. There are only a couple of days each year when these bloom so it was special to take a moment and notice them.
The topic of our research was on pool lift chairs. The VDO pool has a chair lift so we went there to try it out. Heidi helped Gram buckle in. I climbed in the water, thank goodness this pool is heated, and helped Gram unbuckle. Once in the water Gram was able to swim around and exercise her legs. The short answer is that this appears to be an effective way for Gram to get in and out of the pool. Next up is a question about whether we need a permanent installation or if one of the portable models will serve our needs. Papa has a friend in the pool business so he took the assignment to ask those questions.
This evening David went on a camp out in the Phelp's back yard. While he did that the rest of us went out to Grammie and Grandpa Mangum's house in San Tan. Heidi worked at soaking the ground so that tomorrow we can plant two trees.

4/27/17 Bean Bag Fix

On Sunday when I went home teaching with Pierre his wife told me she was going to throw out this bean bag chair. I asked if instead we could have it. Heidi has since washed the cover and sewn the zipper that was coming loose. David and Joseph were among the first to try it out. It is fairly comfy. The only issue is that the kids seem to feel compelled to leap onto it. Still working on a solution for that.
This morning while Heidi did Humanitarian Bob Rhyne and I tested out using the already installed Ethernet jacks to carry HD to the overflows. It appears promising. We got the signal from the AV closet to the distant YW room without too much trouble. On the down side the switch we used didn't work to split the signal so we can feed more than one room at a time. I think we had the wrong piece of hardware. Next step is to test that theory on Saturday. We'll see what we find out.

4/26/17 The EDGE Method

This evening David worked on one of his last remaining requirements for his Life Rank. This is pretty remarkable since he is only 12 still. He won't even be 13 until July. I'm not sure how old I was when earned Life but 15 or 16 is possible. I know I didn't finish my Eagle until I was 17 and a half. David has a goal to finish by the end of this year and he may just do it. Tonight he needed to teach the other boys some knot tying requirements using the EDGE method. It stands for Explain, Demonstrate, Guide and Enable. He did pretty well for being a first time teacher. Perhaps he understands better how his teachers feel when his classmates struggle to pay attention. I love to see David learn new things.
Earlier in the day I took a CPE class on how to recognize an abusive tax shelter vs a legit one (like a 401k). Basically if the only reason to invest in it is for tax savings it's probably a sham. You should invest in businesses that you legitimately believe have a chance of making you money. Even if it's not in year one but down the road that's still ok. However, if the deal falls apart without the tax savings you should probably stay away.

4/25/17 Temple and Learning

This morning after Heidi dropped off the carpool kids she went to Franklin East Elementary. This is the school the kids would go to if the house works out. There is a waiting list for all the grades. Meaning that for us to get in somebody else has to move out. While Heidi was there filling out applications and doing orientation the phone rang. It was a parent calling to drop out of all day kindergarten. This means that instead of being first on the kindergarten wait list Joseph is in. Having one child in means the others get moved up to the sibling list. Instead of being 8 or 9 on the wait list they are now 1 or 2. The lady at the school told Heidi "This almost never happens. Today is your lucky day". Is this Heavenly Father letting us know we're headed in the right direction? We feel pretty good about it.
I took the above picture of Peter and Joseph while Heidi went to the temple. The goggles made them feel like super heros. They had fun noticing how the tinted lenses made everything change color.

This afternoon Rebecca hit an amazing milestone (at least to me) in her Khan Academy. She has practiced all the skills in the Pre-algebra mission (94% complete overall). This is the stuff David is working on in 7th grade and she's in 5th. The best part is that she is genuinely understanding the mechanics of how the math works. Once she knows the new vocabulary she is able to comprehend how it fits in with the things she has already learned. It's fun to watch her excitement and progress. TJ and Sarah are both also making progress on their next missions. Today we also helped Orson Phelps with his math and Lauren Roche came over. With them we've had to help fill in some gaps that didn't get filled in earlier for the current material to make sense. Once that happens math becomes much more intuitive.
This evening Heidi, with a little help from me, filled the green van with leaves. Goodness, she is a hard worker. So glad to have her in my life.

4/24/17 A Donut and A Good Wrassle

This morning at Entz it was Donuts with Dudes. It was a chance for the kids to bring their Dad (or other father figure) and share a donut. Rebecca, TJ and Sarah and I enjoyed our donuts and a brief visit. I love spending time with my kids.
Later on I had my regular meeting at Empire. After that Heidi worked on getting the kids registered for their new school.

This evening Joseph was in a mood for a wrassle. Before I knew it Sarah, Peter and TJ had joined in. I'm pretty sure that wrassling is one of the 5 love languages. It sure cheered me up.
For FHE we talked about the family proclamation and how we can relate our family goals to it.

4/23/17 Family Council

This morning Heidi and I had our Executive Family Council followed by regular Family Council. It does feel like it is getting better. There is less crying, people are coming more ready to participate and we even stayed on our agenda. We reviewed he past week and talked about places we can improve. Then we talked about things already on the calendar and filled in the empty spots in the evenings. That last step has been much harder in the past than it was today. It was not perfect, there was some crying and one person felt they were being forced to sit there when they weren't contributing anything. We were able to talk about how this isn't a meeting for them to simply sit in so we can tell them what to do. It is a chance for them to influence the plan. If I had to give it a grade I'd say B or B plus.
After church Pierre and I went home teaching to the Porters. It was a fun, comfortable visit. I'm going to miss them if things ever work out in the housing department.

4/22/17 Yard Work and House Planning

This morning we dropped Heidi off at Stake Baptisms and the rest of us went to Grammie and Grandpa Mangum's. David and Rebecca tag teamed on the lawn. David pushed the mower and Rebecca kept the cord out of the way. Sarah and Joseph both helped me pull weeds for a short time.
This afternoon Heidi met with Gram and Papa Connelly to go over items needed for the new house. It was a long list. Heidi had done a lot of research so the meeting went well. Assuming the appraisal goes well it's going to be a busy few weeks getting prepared.
Later on today Heidi took the kids to the pool. I went on a visit with the missionaries. It is amazing to me how soothing it is to study the Gospel. It really helped lower my stress level.
This evening Heidi and I went on a short date to Goodwill. We found a couple of fun family movies on VHS for 24 cents each.