Sharon Update - Midwives, Mosques, and Mythology

Hi Family!
It's been another fun week here in Pittsburgh.

Last Sunday we had a little get together, which turned out to be my birthday party. It was just going Gabe and our friend Amy over for dinner and games, but since half of the Proulx clan was in town, we had them all over, plus a girl Gabe met at the singles ward. I made chicken curry and Ant made me a really yummy ice cream cake. After playing Loaded Questions, which is a really fun game by the way, we headed off to the Mosque for a Ramadan celebration. Anthony's friend that we gave a Book of Mormon to, invited us for what they call Humanity day. It's an inter-faith celebration of...humanity I guess. Anyway, it was really good, and the keynote speaker was amazing.

My real b-day on labor day, was really laid back. Hurray for not having work! We went to the ward "picnic" which ended up being in the cultural hall since our park got rained out.

The main event of the week for me was finding a midwife that I like. The women's hospital here, has a team of 8 midwives. I've heard really good things about them...mostly. After meeting with them last week I had second thoughts. Most of the benefits of having a midwife seemed lost with their team. I think the midwife I was speaking with sensed what kind of birth I wanted to have, and she referred me to this guy named Patrick who refers to himself as Mr. Midwife. I had a free consultation with him this week and was very very pleased. He delivers in the women's hospital, but operates as a separate entity. His Cesarean rate is about a third of the other midwife team, he stays with you during the entire delivery, makes house visits if you'd like, and is guaranteed to be the midwife who delivers the baby. Oh! And my insurance covers him!

Work is going well. This is the third week of our "world cultures" lesson plans, so I'll be covering South America, the Polynesian Islands, and Africa. Woohoo! We try to teach to the interests of our kids, and one of our kids has been obsessed with Greek Mythology lately. So if I can pull it together, that'll be our theme next week. I don't really know much about Greek Mythology though, so if you have any fun ideas, let me know.

Anthony's classes seem to be going well. He comes home most enthusiastic about his Conflict Resolution class. He's been analyzing his personality type and conflict style, which has caused for some fun conversation.

Last night we had Christian Hurst and his wife over (for those of you who know the Hursts). It was really fun. They live in a town about an hour North of here, but come to Pittsburgh regularly. It was fun to hear her story of conversion and baptism before they got hitched. I made a really yummy 2 melon cold soup, if anyone's interested in the recipe. Actually, Anthony wasn't wild about it. But I ate left overs for breakfast this morning.

Love you guys!!! Hope the new school year is going well for everyone!
Sharon