In West Philadelphia Born and Raised.

I don't know if you've noticed, but we get a lot of days off in September and October. This past Monday we had off for Columbus Day. It was primo weather, and we went to the "Castle Park" that is a whole 18 minutes away so we reserve it for special occasions.

There were a gabillion kids there, but fun was had by all.

What happened the rest of the days this past week? School days are always a blur for me. Wake up, read scriptures, get kids up, make breakfast, clothes, teeth, hair times 5, piano practicing times 2, drop girls off at school, take boys to gym and errands, lunch, pick up girls, homework times two, prep mediocre dinner that no one likes, laundry, laundry, laundry, pack lunches, baths, read books and scriptures, bed. It's all good stuff but I feel like it's all I can do to get through that and taking a picture of it would just mess up the semi-established routine I've got going.

But Saturday, we did not follow our normal routine. We went to the Philadelphia Temple.

It was SO busy. Our usual temple, Manhattan, is closed for minor renovations but will be up and running again in November. The Washington D.C. temple is closed for major renovations and will not be open for another year. So Philly was BIZZY. Dan didn't make it into the session we were planning on, so to fill up the extra time we went to breakfast.

On the walk to breakfast, Dan ended up hauling three of the four kids.

As I was taking this picture, I said, "Say CHEESE!" to the group, and out of nowhere this college-aged boy came running at me screaming "CHEESE!!!". He kept getting closer and closer until finally he was hugging me, and I was yelling "NO HUGS! NO HUGS!" And he said, "Oh sorry!" and ran away.

Dan just stood there and watched because he thought I knew the guy or something. Haha.

Somehow we were seated in a room all to ourselves. So shocking when that happens.

We made it back for Dan's session, and the kids and I waited in the annex. There were lots of other kids there, and my kids commandeered someone's LEGOs and were entertained for a very long time.

After Dan came back, we all went onto the roof of the annex and walked around. Another beautiful day, but each beautiful fall day has this sense of foreboding for me. Winter is coming. Dark, cavelike winter. I'm supes excited.

Gwen is wearing the new jeans I bought for June but that seemed a tad short on her. So I told Gwen to wear them, and it was a full day of her pulling up her pants. Many times she ran with other kids from other families up on the roof, and I would see her running with her jeans down around her ankles. She loved it. She thought it was hilarious. I kept yelling, "GWEN PULL YOUR PANTS BACK UP!" which is what every mother dreams of yelling at the temple.

And then we took the kids to see some Philly sites. We went to the Liberty Bell. This might be the most artistic shot I've ever taken.

A young child grappling with the meaning of liberty in her life and the freedoms she has been given. Not the liberty to pull down on the rope in front of the Liberty Bell, which is what she was really trying to do here. Nor the freedom to run around without pants on. So she struggles to know--What CAN I do?

And then we got ice cream. Dan is going to love that I posted this shot.

And of course church on Sunday.

I'm grateful that's an "of course" for us. I'm grateful for the Church.

For my Come Follow Me lesson at our Family Home Evening, we discussed Paul's use of the words "grounded" and "rooted" in his epistle to the Colossians. We painted trees. This makes it seem like I really go above and beyond for my lessons. I do not. I actually felt less prepared than I normally do this week. But I felt like it was one of those weeks where I came up short and the Lord made up for the rest (kinda like everytime). Maybe I was being blessed because of our temple trip. Maybe I was being blessed because the Lord loves my kids and wants them to learn even when their mom isn't quite up to snuff. I really feel He is helping me so much.

So when I was pulling stuff together last minute and I spied these unused canvases I bought for a project this summer, I knew I could use them for this lesson.

I also spied an article in the Friend magazine that I threw in there at the last minute. My girls struggle with using the Lord's name in vain. This is not something I have ever struggled with, and I don't know how to emphasize to them that it actually is really important. They hear it everywhere they go, and I think that since I also get after them for calling someone "stupid" or other words like that, they group it together with those types of words--words Mom doesn't like, but we kinda all say anyway.

We had had a big discussion about it earlier this very week, and it still wasn't hitting home. And then right before this lesson, I eyed an article about it in the Friend, and we read it together. It went along well with being firmly rooted in the Christ. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have done so much for us, and we would never want to use their names in a bad way.

I know I keep going on and on about it, but I'm grateful for the Church and its support of my teaching my kids!

And last, some pics of the bigger kids feeding the baby. I caught all three of them doing it at different times.

Does that baby look concerned to anyone else?

And another favorite dress passed down from Cousin Blythe to June to Gwen. Love.

The End.