End Of Semester Break!!

I made it to the end of semester one alive. Well just, but that's another story. Officially the 2 week break doesn't start until next week but Daddy has the week off and he is taking the girls camping.

The joy of this news was very short lived as the engaged daughter has found the joys of marrying a Soldier a little overwhelming and has moved the entire wedding from Christmas Eve to the 13th August. Yes 7 short weeks away, while he, the groom,tries to avoid the slow boat to Afghanistan or plane or however they deliver the Army over to the desert so that he can be here to get married. Welcome to the grown up world kids!
Us on the other hand will be waiting for the "windows of heaven to open" because that is a slight hit to the budget? Really relying on those blessings now!!! However after our last attempt at tithing settlement with the Bishop, not so sure if God will be up to it?

This is how it went for us a couple of weeks ago.

As members of our faith believe in being full tithe payers (you give 10% of you earnings to the church) this is something that my husband and I have always taken very seriously and always done and have seen the blessings of this principle in our lives. Well each year you have a meeting with your Bishop and he asks you if you are a full tithe payer. So here we are the kids, husband and myself in the Bishops office and he asks my husband and I if we are full tithe payers. Yes we are. Then he moves on to Jessica and asks her the same question. Well she bursts into tears and says no because she hadn't paid tithing on her last weeks pocket money! We calm her down and he lets her know that that's quite alright and she can take care of that and all is well. He then moves on to Maddie who has been sitting there quietly doing the maths in her head. The Bishops asks her the same question. Maddie are you a full tithe payer and the answer is NO! He then asks would you like to be. Again NO!! Well Mark and I are ready to die, Bishop lets Maddie know all the wonderful things that the money is used for in the Church but still NO!!! I wondering what the heck is going on then it occurred to me that Monday we are going to get the new Beanie Kids that the kids had been saving for and if she pays her tithing for last week that would mean that she would be short for that Beanie Kid. So I have to swing into damage control because Maddie was not going to give that one up. So here I am negotiating a deal with Maddie in front of the Bishop which was coming off like we were one or two lessons short on tithing for Family Home Evening. It really wasn't a good look, but you have to love the honesty of kids.
Monday came, she cleaned the car and got the extra money, put her tithing aside and bought the new Beanie Kid. Then of course Sunday came and she had to actually part with the coins and she comes up with " but my teacher said you only have to pay 10 cents!" Yes Maddie, ten cents for every dollar. No, my teacher said 10 cents!!
Well kids are a work in progress like the rest of us. Looks like a few more lessons on this one. Mean while, this all took place while Lucy cried because she wanted to play with Oakley not the Bishop, even if he is Louisa's daddy. Unless he was about to have Louisa pop out from the cupboard, she wasn't going to stop screaming anytime soon. Always next year.

Anyway looks like I'm going to spend the holidays getting a wedding ready. Wish me luck?