Dear Family,
I saw the letters come out this morning but since I am Ruth’s favorite I am hopeful she will waive any late fees.
This last month with some good weather was a good time to get some things done around the house. I don’t know if I wrote this previously but we decided to change our furnace filter. Carole had mentioned to me that she was tired of having dead birds found each year during her service call and I got to wondering if I should have our system checked out. It seemed to work fine (just a little week) but I decided to take a look at it myself. Lo and behold I found a little door labeled “filter”. Upon further inspection I figured out why the kids have to fight over the heater vents and the trickle of warm air they emitted. The filter was severely bowed from the fan pressure and there was almost one inch of dust/lint on the filter. I guess seven years was a little too much to expect from it. Susan tells me I am lucky that our furnace motor didn’t burn out. Suffice it to say a new filter was installed and the house almost seems tropical with the strong warm breeze now coming out of each vent. I also noticed that our shower (used by the whole family) was not draining as well as I thought it should. I was a little worried since sink traps are a little easier to access than showers and perhaps something had dropped down and plugged it up. I took off the drain cover and with the end of the screwdriver tried to fish out whatever was causing the problem. I was amazed as out came what looked like a dead squirrel – just over 10 inches of densely matted mess. The drain works fine now and it was an opportunity to be thankful to live with four beautiful girls. I am sure Dad was even more grateful. I do ok each year blowing out the sprinklers, aerating, hacking up the bushes, etc. I also enjoy cleaning toilets, vacuuming, and washing dishes … but I have forgotten the routine maintenance! As I have some peeling paint or caulking separate around the windows I have felt a little (unrighteous) anger towards our builder. But I guess I after seven years some corrective maintenance is to be expected.
As I travel to and from Canada, Megumi continues to keep the home and family together. Whether I am home or not she ensures that we have scriptures and family prayer each morning at 6am and family home evening on Sunday afternoon. Marianne also says that Megumi is the best Activity Days leader in the world. I agree. She puts so much thought into not only making the activities enjoyable for the girls but also making sure each feels loved and takes home a positive lesson. This month she had all the girls over to decorate mirrors and talk about what makes them beautiful INSIDE and out. Megumi also is so good at visiting members in the ward to help with their challenges – a meal for a family whose mother had a serious operation, another for a family whose mother was hurt in a hiking accident, and help for a family with a handicapped daughter during heart surgery. With all that going on Megumi still found time to sew costumes for the kids to wear on Halloween. But that is not all, no that is not all. Each time I arrive back in town she invites me to go play tennis in an attempt to slow down the spread of my abdominal tumor. She usually wins if we play more than two games because by then my pulse is racing and I am out of breath.
I wish I could update you on the kids … but since I’m not home much (I know, bad dad) … I’ll let Megumi take over:
Lillian – she enjoys school and socialization (sometimes too much!). We’d like to homeschool but so far she is resisting. She has a lot to do with tons of homework, projects, practicing piano and violin, Utah Youth Symphony rehearsal every Saturday, teaching piano and violin, and learning the organ. Something new for Lillian this year is going to early morning (6:30am) archery club on Friday. We’d like her to join the YW sports but doesn’t have the time. She wakes up at 4:45am to practice 1 hour of piano, 45 minutes of violin, eat a good breakfast, and then heads off to school. Luckily her bus stop is now right in front of our cul-de-sac and that saves her about 10 minutes. She comes home and fits in 2 more hours of piano practice between teaching lessons and her homework. She usually has two or three hours of homework and sometimes doesn’t get to be until after 10am or asks her teacher to postpone the due date for her class. We think she needs more sleep but she still finds a little time to hang out with her friends on the weekend. She enjoys YW activity every Wednesday and will not miss it no matter how busy she is. She strives to maintain straight A grades because of the fear of homeschooling. She enjoys piano lessons from David Glen Hatch and it is our (Megumi’s) highlight each week. He is an amazing pianist and teacher. We have made a deal with Lillian to let her continue with Dr. Hatch but she needs to perform (at our request) up to four times per month without complaining. She gets asked a lot and it might be overwhelming for a teenager. She did the piano accompaniments for a violin teacher’s group lesson a couple of weeks ago while getting ready for a piano competition and finishing a 20 page book report. She won the piano competition last week at the Northern Salt Lake Ensemble and Carole was kind enough to come listen and save us seats at the honor’s recital. She played the organ for sacrament meeting yesterday, was the substitute choir pianist at choir practice, and is helping on the violin for the Primary program next week. She is asked a lot without much notice and is is a lot for a 13-year old to deal with but she did it anyway. I appreciate her!
Marianne – When she is happy our house is very nice and cheerful. But when she is in a bad mood I feel like I am going to have a meltdown myself. She is an angel but she has to deal with a teenager, Hannah, and Thomas and sometimes it is not easy for her. She is 9 years-old and the doctor said it has something to do with hormone changes. I am not ready for two teenagers at home! Marianne also enjoys school and she volunteers as a student counselor. She is running for class governor in the school government. She also practices piano and violin even though she doesn't like violin so much. But she does it anyway. She got up by herself this morning to do personal scripture study. Marianne and I were doing a Mommy and Daughter exchange notebook that we made at Activity Days. I write her and she writes me back and it is so much fun. A middle child sometimes need special attention, especially one like Marianne who tries to be good and is naturally born with a happy spirit. She comes to choir practice with David and I every Sunday. I have to bribe her with a prize, but I know she enjoys singing and I need her voice to help me sing along. She is not a hard worker like Lillian and that sometimes makes us laugh. She usually resists cleaning her room or doing chores and tries to use Thomas to do the things she doesn't want to do. She told David, “I wish I had a robot to clean my room." David said, “Why don't you invent a robot to clean your room?” She replied, “I want someone else to invent a robot for me.”
Thomas – Thomas also volunteered as a student counselor because he wanted to sell beef jerky. He also wanted run for “judge” but he thinks his friends are already voting for someone else so he didn't run for the class government. He is doing great at school this year since he is in 4th grade and all the big kids who teased him went on to the intermediate school. He has started doing Karate and loves it. He is controlling his temper. Karate is teaching him self-discipline and self-defense. It is good for him. He is going to have a test to receive his orange belt soon and is very excited about it. He also found a friend he likes in our neighborhood who just moved in few months ago. They seem to get along well. He is taking piano lesson from Jan Judd (she is related on both the Barrus and Judd lines) and just finished book one. He has been having piano lessons for 3 years and I am happy he is progressing! He is a very good worker and a good helper. He loves his Kindle, watching Magic School Bus DVDs, and listing to Magic Tree House CDs from the library. He is very creative and sometimes very funny and makes others laugh. He loves cooking pancakes and sausage for breakfast and dinner. I signed Thomas, Marianne and Hannah up for tennis lessons for 6 weeks and Thomas can hit the ball forth and back with me now. He loves scouts and just got his Wolf badge. We went to the Scout 100-year celebration at the stake center and he was remembering the song he sang for President Monson's 84th birthday Jean invited him to participate in. It was fun to watch him start humming the song.
Hannah- Oh my goodness! She is finally a first grader! Hannah has started reading well and tries to listen to the teacher. At home, she is the hard one to manage. She behaves better when dad is at home, but she has a little attitude. She screams a lots and knows how to annoying others very well. It is not easy to get violin and piano practice done in the morning. Very stressful! One day, she stuck the bobby pin in the electric outlet and was a little electrocuted. It hurt so bad and she needed to sleep with ice cubes in her fingers. We just had an FHE lesson the night before about home safety and talked about not sticking fingers in the plug. She got mad one day while we were rehearsing for Lilly's student recital and threw her violin bow and broke it. One of the carpool moms had to call me because she didn't put her seat belt on and refused to wear it. She also refused to pee in the cup at the doctor's office. Last year, her urine sample had to be sent to the lab so I wanted her to pee in the cup for a urine sample. I told her if she didn’t pee they might have to poke her with a needle and get a blood sample but that didn't work. I told her she may not get to go to a friend’s birthday party but that didn't work. I told her she may not get to go trick-or-treating if she doesn't pee but that didn’t work either. I need a parenting class for this girl. She says thing like, “if I don't get to eat Cheetos (her favorite snack) right now, I will not eat dinner” or “if I don't get (this) I will get lost and die and you will be sorry.” We have lots of stories about our youngest daughter, Hannah! We love her anyway!
Okay, I (David) will add a few things …
Lillian continues to amaze me with her talents and dedication. She is up at 5am practicing piano, still teaching neighborhood kids in the afternoon, and then more practice (piano/violin) and homework until late in the evening. So far she is maintaining straight A grades in school and in general is a joy to be around. She held her annual recital for her students at the senior citizens’ center and the kids wore Indian costumes that Megumi made. Lillian also participated in a piano competition and won along with her duet partner. I was unable to be there for the award performance but thanks to Carole, seats were saved for the rest of the family. The only thing I have been less than enthused about regarding Lillian is her bedroom that sometimes reminds me of the dumps in Mumbai I used to drive by and the language she uses – the too frequent use of boys’ names.
Marianne is still my sweetheart. Sometimes it is hard to get her moving and doing the things she needs to do but she is generally happy and cheerful. And just like her older sister she is getting so good at piano and violin. It is fun to listen to her. She is enjoying her GATE class this year with a different teacher and she really can speak Spanish courtesy of the dual immersion program she participates in.
TJ is continues to be the helper around the house and is making great progress on his scouting. He is working on his Bear award now. He is good to invite me to play catch when I am home and is always making something.
Hannah sometimes gives me candy with sweet notes. But Megumi is right – she is challenging for us!
This last month we also had one of Lillian’s friends, Erin, stay with us for a few days (around Halloween) while her father was on a business trip. The parents are going through some things and present and it was nice for Lillian to have someone to hang around with … although her homework and music practice didn’t quite get the usual attention. For Erin’s part she had to put up with riding around to all of Lillian’s music events and didn’t really have much time to do what she wanted.
I usually dread leaving home each week but one of the highlights of my month came when leaving to Denver last week. I usually go straight to security but had a box to check so went to the Delta counter. In the middle of getting things taken care of I hear, “Dave!” What was my surprise (and delight) when at the counter right next to me I saw Elder Tanner Park, Gene, Tanya, and Landon. They had “business” to take care of so we only spoke for a few minutes but it was so nice to see them. It gave me the opportunity to ponder on what amazing nieces and nephews I have, see Elder Tanner’s magnificent smile once again, and warmed my heart the entire day.
The annual Mentor’s International Gala provided another opportunity to be with family (Bruce, Jean, Susan, Curt, Patti, Carole, Gene, and Tanya) and an excuse to be on a date with Megumi. The cause is just and it is a great experience to rub shoulders with the “upper crust” courtesy of Jean and Bruce. The way Mentors is organized and what they accomplish is what draws me. They don’t take government money, cover administrative expenses with other sponsors so 100% of money contributed actually gets to those in need. And they don’t do things for others … in the Lord’s way, they help others do for themselves. It is a cause that both the Church and Dad felt very good about supporting … so get out your checkbooks! The stories of success are heartwarming. BYU’s Vocal Point provided the entertainment and Megumi said that was her favorite event so far (even more than David Archuleta). But being with family was the main attraction. It will be a memorable evening for us. I saw Susan’s letter that mentioned “nothing to share” but that was for September. Stay tuned for Susan to share more fun experienced on this magical evening.
We love you!
David, Megumi, Lillian, Marianne, Thomas, and Hannah
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