The show opens up with warm sunlight shining into Eric and Annie's bedroom early on Saturday morning.  As they start to kiss, Ruthie comes in and jumps on the bed and asks "What are we doing?"  Then the door knocks and Ruthie calls out "Come in!" and Simon comes in and jumps on the bed.  Next comes Lucy then Mary who do the same.  Finally Matt comes in and tells his younger siblings that Saturday's are mom and dad's day to sleep in.  The kids all rush out and Eric thanks Matt before Matt leaves.

As the family sits down to eat, Simon is determined to keep asking for a dog which Eric and Annie feel he's not responsible enough to have.  Matt says that he has a date that evening, however Eric wants to shoot pool with Matt and talk which Matt doesn't want to do, but ends up doing.  Eric tells Matt that if Matt wins, they won't talk, but if Eric wins, they talk.  Matt comments that he's never beaten his dad and Eric smiles.  Later when Eric beats him at pool and they talk, Eric informs Matt that he knows about Matt's smoking habit which Matt refuses to give up.  Since Eric gives Matt an allowance which helps Matt to pay for his habit, he tells Matt to give him $20.  Eric then informs Matt that he's gotten him a job helping an elderly woman in the church.  When Matt shows up for that job, he finds the woman on an oxygen tank who only has one lung.  She asks Matt to get her cigarettes but he refuses.  Unknown to Matt, the whole thing is staged between Eric and the lady Mrs. Bink in effort to get Matt to stop smoking.

Meanwhile, Mary is consumed with thoughts of wanting her first kiss, but is annoyed that her parents will only let her date boys her own age who are all shorter than her.  Mary wants a taller guy and confesses this to Matt.  She tries to get Matt to teach her how to kiss a guy without them actually kissing and they have an awkward moment when Eric walks out and sees them.  Matt later confesses to Eric and Annie what's going on with Mary and Annie's all for letting Mary date boys a year or two older than her.  Later when Eric tells Mary that he and Annie agree that it's okay for her to date guys a little older, Mary gets angry that Matt told on her.

Meanwhile, Lucy is suffering through puberty.  Since her friends all seem to have started their period, she's upset that she hasn't started yet.  Eric tries to talk to her about it, but Lucy refuses to talk with him.  Though when Annie confronts her, Lucy's a little more civil with her.  In attempts to get her period to start sooner, she stands on her head from Mary's advice.  On Saturday when Annie is upstairs looking for Lucy, she finds Lucy sitting on the floor of her closet.  Annie sits down and starts talking with her, beginning a verse from the Bible that starts "For everything there is a season" but Annie can't remember the rest and Lucy doesn't feel any better.  On Sunday morning in church, when Eric begins his sermon with that same Bible verse, Lucy gets upset and runs immediately out of the church.  Annie chases after her and Eric is totally confused as to what's going on.  Later Annie informs Eric that Lucy thought he was going to tell the whole congregation about her.  Eric thinks that that's a ridiculous thought and wants to talk with Lucy about it, but Annie urges Eric to take a step back from Lucy and give her space.  Eric says that Mary was a lot more forth coming about the issue but Annie reminds Eric that Lucy is not Mary and that Lucy's a lot more sensitive.

Mary after church talks Lucy into going for a jog with her around the block and makes Lucy feel better when she tells her that she's suffering from pms.  As they jog, Lucy gets annoyed that Mary is going to fast for her.  Mary turns around and jogs backwards as she talks to her sister about keeping up.  Mary then trips over a guy who walks out onto the sidewalk behind her.  They stand up and Mary recognizes Matt's best friend Jeff who Mary's had a crush on since she was 10.  As they talk with each other, Lucy accidentally drops a tampon on the ground that Mary had given to her just in case it started when they were out jogging.  Jeff reaches down to pick it up until he sees what it is then embarrassingly stands back up without picking it up.  Lucy, feeling totally embarrassed, runs away.  Mary invites Jeff over to help her with her basketball before going after her sister.  Matt is totally against the idea of his sister and best friend dating, but Mary doesn't care since she likes Jeff.  Jeff does come over and they shoot hoops together as Eric and Matt keep their eye on her from inside the house.  Towards the end of the episode, Lucy's period finally starts and she celebrates with Mary and Ruthie in the hall by holding hands and jumping up and down.  Eric walks up and asks if congratulations are in order.  Mary pushes Lucy to tell Eric and she and Ruthie walk away.  Eric suggests that Lucy should go out with her mom and sisters to celebrate.  Lucy gives him a hug and then asks if he will go to the drug store for her which is what he had hoped she would do since that's what Mary had asked him to do when she started.

Meanwhile Simon's persistence to get a dog gets stronger as he prays and hopes, trying to convince his parents that he is responsible.  On Sunday, Simon camps out in the attic since his dad agreed that if a dog entered the yard and Simon didn't coax the dog in, that Simon could keep the dog.  So Simon keeps looking out the attic window with binoculars, praying that God will bring a dog into his yard.  When Eric finds a dog in the yard, Annie confesses that she had stopped by the pound to just look and found this dog.  Later she informs Eric that what made her take the dog was the fact the dog was going to be put to sleep in 24 hours.  When Simon, who is playing with some of his toys, hears a dog bark, he looks out the window to see a dog in the yard.  Excited, he runs downstairs calling out for his parents, passing them in front of the stairs as he tells them that there's a dog in the yard.  Simon runs out to find the dog and Eric and Annie come out.  Simon tells his parents that God answered his prayers and Annie confesses that she went by the pound.  Eric then informs Simon that God had nothing to do with this and Simon informs him that mom wouldn't have done what she did if God hadn't done something.

As the episode ends, Eric sent Matt to pick up Annie's parents before realizing that she was uncomfortable with Matt doing so since he's only had his license for two months.  However, Matt gets her parents home safe and sound.  As Eric, Annie, Matt, and Annie's parents sit around the dining room table, Annie realizes that something serious is up with her parents.  She asks Matt to go outside where Simon and Ruthie are playing with the new dog named Happy.  After he leaves, Annie's mother confides in Annie and Eric that she has acute leukemia and isn't given a good prognosis even with treatment.  So instead of trying treatment and spending her remaining days in a hospital, she wants to spend it with her children and grandchildren.  Annie, very upset over the news, gives her mother a hug.  Mary and Lucy run outside to join the others as the kids start playing in the yard.  At the sound of all of them, Eric, Annie, and Annie's parents all walk out to watch them.

2.Family Secrets

Simon walks into his room to find Happy eating one of  Eric's shoes.  Simon hides it with the rest under his bed.  He then joins everyone else downstairs to see Grandpa Charles and Grandma Jenny off.  Annie doesn't want them to leave and Matt knows that something is wrong.

Mary expects Jeff to call an Lucy's hopes that a boy she likes named Jimmy Moon will call her.  Simon frets about having to tell his parents that Happy is expecting puppies and becomes extra helpful around the house to get on his parents good side.  Jeff calls, but Jimmy does not.  At school, though, Jimmy did turn around and smile at Lucy and later Jimmy confronts her, but when Lucy is speechless, Jimmy gets the wrong impression and walks off, leaving Lucy upset.  Lucy finally calls Jimmy and leaves a message on his machine.  As a result, Jimmy shows up at Lucy's house to the surprise of everyone, especially Eric and Annie who won't let Lucy date.

When Matt tells his mom that he's going to the library, he doesn't come home until the next morning.  When Matt refuses to give details, Eric grounds him from the car for three weeks.  Simon thinks he can use this as his opportunity to tell his parents about Happy, but Matt warns him that since their parents are already angry, they'll just take it out on Simon if he tells them.  While Eric stays upset, Annie believes that Matt's not telling them something and she trusts him.  When the girl he said he was with that night calls, Annie invites her over to the house and the family learns that she is pregnant and Matt is supporting her through it.  When the parents are relieved that Matt is not the father, Simon blurts out that Happy is pregnant and has been eating Eric's shoes.  Simon's attempt to pay for the shoes is by passing out free lemonade at church.  However, when everyone realizes that Eric needs new shoes, people start donating money.

Matt gets annoyed with the relationship developing between Mary and Jeff and warns Jeff that he thinks that Mary is using him to just get kissed.  This leads to Jeff breaking up with Mary.  Eric gives Mary advice to tell Jeff that that's not her motive and she calls him back.  Eric wears his good shoes when making his hospital rounds because he can't find any other shoes and his feet begin to ache.  When on the phone with Annie, a nurse walks up to Eric and comes on to him and takes his shoes to get fixed, refusing to believe that he's married since he's not wearing his wedding ring that he forgot that morning.  Matt finds out the truth about his grandma.

Eric finds Renee's (Matt's pregnant friend) father to find that he's basically disowned her and can't get through to the man.  However, her father comes to church the following Sunday where Renee is singing a solo.  Eric goes in search of the man who got Renee pregnant to see if he will help her out.  He finds the guy's brother, but thinks it's the guy, Lou.  Lou's brother passes it on to him though and Lou shows up at Eric's house to talk with him.

3.In The blink of The Eye

At the beginning of the show, the family is all sitting down for breakfast when Eric breaks the good news to Simon that he's finally going to give Simon the bunk beds he's always wanted.  However, he learns the bad news is that he's going to have to share his room with little sister Ruthie while Annie's parents are visiting; Matt's going to sleep on the couch.  Ruthie's excited about  moving in with Simon but Simon is not.  When Annie's parents cancel their visit, Annie gets concerned that maybe her mom's health has gotten worse.  At Eric's suggestion, Annie schedule's a flight to Arizona to visit them.  Annie initially had told Lucy that she would get Eric out of the way for her evening of watching videos with Jimmy Moon by having him and her father go out for the meal on wheels ministry of the church, but now since her parents aren't coming, Eric has to stay home.  Eric and Annie grant Matt permission to drive (since he's still on his three weeks grounding from the car) to deliver the meals.  Matt then plans that after the meals are delivered, he will pick up a date and take her out, but doesn't tell anyone.  Since dad's going to be around for the evening, Lucy begs Mary to stay home to keep dad away from her and Jimmy.  Mary refuses since she has a date with Jeff, although her parents told her that she could not go to the party that she and Jeff had planned on going to.  When Lucy blackmails Mary be threatening to tell their parents that she planned to watch an "R" rated movie with Jeff, Mary gives in and cancels on Jeff who is upset by the short notice.  Mary chooses to tell him that her sister needs her and not mention that her parents said that she couldn't go to the party.

When Annie arrives in Arizona, she finds her parents house empty.  Alarmed, she begins calling all the local hospitals with no success.  Finally, her parents show up, laughing and having a good time.  Surprised to see Annie, they decide to all fly right on back to Glen Oak.  When Annie informs them that they can't find seats on such short notice, her parents say they'll fly first class.  Annie is surprised at how much they are spending, but doesn't say anything.

When Lucy informs Mary that she wants dad out of the way so that she can kiss Jimmy Moon, Mary decides to protect her little sister and winds up convincing her dad to get out his old guitar and go downstairs and sing - since that drove away Mary's first boyfriend.  Eric agrees and it works, Jimmy decides to leave and Lucy is upset.  Meanwhile, Simon realizes that by sleeping on the top bunk, Happy can't get up there to sleep with him.  He tries to convince Ruthie to move up to the top bunk, but she refuses, informing him that she's not his personal valet - which is what Mary told her to tell hhiim.  Eventually, the two try sharing the lower bunk.

After Matt is done delivering meals, he picks up his date from her part-time job.  As the hop in the meals on wheels van, they start kissing.  As he starts up the van, the girl pulls out a beer can and asks Matt if he wants a drink.  Matt says no and the two kiss again while Matt backs out, not realizing that there is a cop car right behind him which he slams in to.  Matt and the girl are both forced to call their parents and when the officer smells the beer that was spilt on Matt's shirt, he tests Matt to find no alcohol in his system.  Eric is relieved when he gets that news and comes down hard on Matt for breaking the rules when he was not suppose to drive anywhere but to deliver the meals.  Eric angrily tells Matt that he will never drive one of his vehicles again.  The girl's father then comes over and yells at Matt to stay away from his daughter.  When he realizes that Matt is a preacher's son, he makes a rude comment concerning it.

While all that was going on, Annie and her parents arrive home where they are greeted by Mary, Lucy, Simon, and Ruthie.  Annie hears Simon's complaints about not being able to sleep with Happy and she informs him that she'll have Eric put Happy on his bed when he gets home.  She also hears Lucy's complaints about dad ruining her evening with Jimmy.  The kids get excited when their grandparents all brought presents.  When Eric arrives home, he express his anger towards Matt for what he's done.  Annie's mom, Jenny, encourages Eric to forgive because life is short.  When Matt arrives home, he walks in to find his grandparents dancing in the living room.  He quickly leaves, walking back to the kitchen and Jenny follows.  When she makes it to the kitchen, Matt apologizes for interrupting but Jenny tells him that she doesn't mind.  They have a nice talk and Eric walks in.  Jenny leaves and Eric talks with his son.  Matt finally apologizes to Eric for the evening and for being a "total screw-up."  Eric looks at him in silence for a moment and finally informs Matt that he's "not a total screw-up."  They give each other a good, hearty hug.  Jeff comes over and throws rocks up at Mary's window.  Mary opens her window, but Eric also walks out onto the upper deck and hears Jeff ask to talk to Mary.  Eric gives them five minutes and down on the front porch, Mary tells Jeff about not being allowed to go to the party.  He asks her to be more honest with him in the future and they kiss.

The next morning, Annie is woken up by her mom.  She looks up at Jenny who tells Annie that it's time for her to leave.  Annie watches as her mom fades away.  Not sure if she was dreaming or what, Annie stands up calling out for her mom.  As Annie leaves the room, Eric wakes up.  Annie makes her way down to Ruthie's room where her parents are staying and arrives at the door just as her dad walks out.  Her dad informs Annie that her mom has passed away.  Annie then embraces her dad and cries as Eric walks up to them.  When Annie sees her husband, she reaches out to him and puts her head on his chest while holding on to her dad.  While still crying on Eric, she pulls her dad in for all three of them to hold each other and the episode ends.

4.No Funerals&Wedding

Annie feels anger towards her dad for not staying around and showing his love and support after the death of her mother.  As the funeral reception progresses at the Camden house, Eric gets involved in counseling a married couple.  The woman expects her husband is having an affair, the husband admits to having more than one wife as he had not totally divorced his prior wife before marrying his current one.  Eric informs him that because of that, he is not legally married.  Matt helps his pregnant friend Renee to the hospital where she names her newborn daughter Annie after Matt's mom.  Mary tries to figure out how to break up with her boyfriend, Lucy wanders around feeling sad over her grandma's death, and Simon walks around asking people where heaven is.

5.The Color of God

A normal morning at the Camden's was changed when Simon saw the Hamilton's church "Trinity Church" on the news on fire as the reporters told viewers that the fire was deliberately set.  Sunday morning, Eric invited the congregation to join them and Morgan Hamilton to preach.  At home, Matt, Mary, and Lucy were having trouble communicating with John and Keesha Hamilton.  Morgan told Eric that the arsonist's left a note saying that they would be back and he was concerned to take his family back home, thinking it could be the next target.  At dinner, Eric announced to everyone that he and Morgan had decided that the Hamilton's would stay with the Camden's except for Morgan who would be going home.  John demanded to go with him, but Eric said he was going and John and Matt would be the men of the house together.

On the school playground, a boy used a very offensive word against Nigel.  Simon demanded the kid to apologize, but the kid wouldn't.  Nigel told Simon not to fight ignorance with violence, but Simon punched the kid in the stomach anyway.  When Matt, John, Mary, Keesha, and Lucy came by to pick up Simon and Nigel, Nigel didn't know where Simon was.  Mary went in to find him and the school security guard came out and asked who owned the car they were in.  Matt told him it was his dad's and the security guard demanded to see license and registration.  When Matt refused to, the security guard told them to get out, believing them to be vandals.  Mary came out to say Simon had been suspended.  At home, Eric and Annie admitted they were each a little proud of Simon.  John assumed that Matt was afraid of him because he was black.  Matt told him he was afraid of John's attitude and nothing else.  Nigel found Simon playing tea with Ruthie and Lynn and Simon told Nigel it was so he would look good to Annie.  Keesha asked Mary why she didn't like her.  Mary didn't like that Keesha had apparently taken over her territory and hypnotized her sister.  Keesha told her she was trying to keep Lucy out of Mary's way because Mary acted like Lucy was in the way.  Morgan decided to continue services on his church site by setting up a tent and chairs.  That first Sunday back, Eric had his congregation go to join the Hamilton's congregation on this site as well as other faiths.

6.Hallween

The episode opened up with the kids all in Matt's room with the lights turned off.  Matt had a flashlight on his face as he told a ghost story.  Eric walked in and scared them.  When Annie joined them, she decided to stay, but Eric left because he hated halloween.

Eric's reason for not liking Halloween was based on a childhood memory where he had punched his friend for grabbing a Davy Crockett hat for Eric, but Eric misinterpreted it as his friend taking it for himself.  Ever since then, the guilt over it has led him to not like halloween.  When Eric learned that the old friend was in town, Eric visited him and they made up, even though his friend had forgotten about the incident.  Annie worked hard on preparing for the church's halloween carnival.  Matt decided to miss the carnival to take a date to the school Halloween dance, but when she was too controlling for him, he dumped her and went to the carnival.  Mary told her family that she was going to the dance except for Matt who she told that she was going to the carnival.  That way she managed to stay home and have the house all to herself, getting the privacy she longed for all episode.

When Lucy went with some friends to a guy's house who the kids liked to pick on, she accidentally ran off with one of his pumpkins.  When Annie found out where Lucy got the pumpkin, she made Lucy take it back and apologize.  There, Lucy learned that Mike the Mutant (Mike Mitchell) was actually a really nice guy who had been shot in the head while working, leaving him a little disabled.  He carved a picture of Lucy into a pumpkin and won the pumpkin carving contest at church.  Simon was bent all episode on winning, but admitted that Mike's pumpkin was better.

7.Saturday

It's Saturday and everyone was excited to be going to Mary's big basketball game.  However, Mary approached them at the beginning of the episode and asked them all not to come.  The reason being, they all made her nervous.  Everyone was upset that Mary didn't want them there, especially Lucy who had invited the very popular Ashley from school to go to Mary's game with her.  When Ashley got there, Lucy said that they couldn't go to the game and Ashley was ready to leave, but Lucy said that they could call boys.  Ashley agreed and they called Lucy's boyfriend Jimmy to see if Jimmy's friend liked Ashley.  Jimmy said no and the reason why and Ashley got very upset and stormed out of the house.  Once she left, Lucy suddenly realized that she didn't know where Simon and Ruthie were.  Since Eric and Annie had both gone to the store, and Mary had already left for her basketball game, and Matt went to his new job tutoring a girl from school, her parents had left her in charge of her two younger siblings.  Lucy went out in search for them.  Simon and Ruthie had started a spy game and were tailing the mailman as he went around delivering mail.  When the mailman got in his mail truck and drove off, Simon and Ruthie suddenly realized that they were lost.  Ruthie began to cry and when Simon spotted a police car, he flagged the officer down.  The officer turned out to be Sgt. Michaels who gladly took Simon and Ruthie back home.  When they got there, however, no one was home.  Simon said that they might have gone to the basketball game so Sgt. Michaels said he would take them down there.

At the grocery store, Eric saw a young man he had helped get into a drug rehab clinic stealing a watch.  Annie let Eric go after him and Eric caught up with the boy outside where the store security officer had stopped him and found the watch.  Eric stood up for the boy and the security officer trusted that the reverend knew what he was doing.  Eric spent time with the young man who insisted that he did not have a problem and that he didn't need the rehab clinic.  After the young man left, Eric went to talk to his parents who knew about their son's current situation and felt helpless to do anything.  Eric went on down to see Mary's basketball game and caught up with Sgt. Michaels, Simon, and Ruthie in the parking lot.  Simon explained what had happened and that they had gotten lost, but he flagged down Sgt. Michaels who took them home.  When no one was home, Sgt. Michaels took them there.  Sgt. Michaels left and Eric and his two youngest went into the game where the found Annie and Matt already watching the game.  Matt had lost his job because the girl he was tutoring was more interested in him than she was in learning the material for school.  Her dad had walked in on them, but he seemed to encourage Matt, who he thought of as the "Big Man on Campus" to put the moves on his daughter, so to speak.  Matt was serious about the job and didn't like what her father was suggesting so he quit.  The man then said that no one quit him and that Matt was fired, but Matt really didn't care, he just wanted to leave.  Mary was relieved that her family did show up after all because when she got to the gym earlier that day, one of her teammates said that it was bad luck for her to uninvite her family.  Mary had tried to call them to tell them to come, but she called when Lucy and Ashley were on the phone and only got a busy signal.

Mary won her game and they all went out for pizza.  When they got home, Simon and Ruthie were the first to enter and Lucy asked where they had been.  Then the rest of the family all came in and Lucy realized that she'd be in trouble for not watching Simon and Ruthie better.  She was very upset, though, that they all went to the game and she didn't, and that they all had dinner without her.  As everyone went their separate ways, Eric talked to Matt about drugs, since the young man he had talked with earlier in the day was still on his mind.  He made Matt promise him that he would never do drugs and though Matt had promised him that many times before, Matt promised him again.  Eric asked Matt if he thought any of his siblings might ever do drugs.  Matt said that Mary had basketball and Simon was too smart and that Ruthie was just too young.  Eric noted that Matt left out Lucy and Matt said that he hadn't, that Lucy was the one he needed to be concerned about because she always felt left out of everything.  Eric got it and went upstairs to ask Lucy out for a date, just the two of them.  Lucy was excited to go out with just her dad.  While she got ready, Eric lectured Simon and Ruthie about wandering off like they had and made them promise never to take drugs.  Ruthie asked about if someone gave her vitamins and he said to tell her not to take even those.

Eric took Lucy out and she talked his ear off about everything going on her 8th grade life.  When he got home, Mary relieved him by asking Lucy to go upstairs and tell her all about what they talked about.  Eric also made Mary promise not to do drugs.  Eric went and talked with Annie and as they were talking, the doorbell rang.  Eric went to answer it to find the young man he had talked with earlier in the day all beat up.  Annie came up behind Eric to see who it was.  The young man said that he was a loser.  Eric told him that he wasn't a loser because he was standing at his door.  The young man said that he needed help and Eric and Annie let the him into their house.

8.What will Peple say?

woman Eric is counseling is a victim of spousal abuse.  When Annie and the kids see Eric enter a hotel with the woman, their suspicions build as to why.  Eric keeps his vow of silence over the matter to protect the woman's reasons for seeking counseling which only causes more conflict between him and his family.  Soon rumors start to fly around Glen Oak and Eric faces the possibility of being fired.  As rumors make it back to the woman being counseled, she urges Eric to tell Annie the truth about their situation.  With her approval to do so, Eric finally confides in Annie as to why he's been seen alone with this woman.  Meanwhile Mary wants to go out with Richard and Simon has a crush on Gabrielle.  (Stephen Collins' real life wife Faye Grant plays the woman being abused.)

9.See No Evil,Speak No evil, Hear No evil

While in the car, a man with a gun stole from Matt and Annie, including Annie's wedding ring.  Afterwards, Matt was afraid to leave the house while Annie seemed to be fine.

Ruthie had the chicken pox and Simon was afraid that he'd catch them from her.

Both Lucy and Jimmy ran for class president.

Mary wanted to get a tatoo of her school mascot, the wildcat, on her ankle.

10.Last call for Aunt Julie

Eric's younger sister Julie comes to visit the Camden's for Thanksgiving.  All seems to be well with Julie as she smiles and laughs with everyone, giving gifts to all her nieces and nephews.  She's given Matt's room to sleep in and when she's finally alone in her room, she pulls out a bottle of liquor and drinks it.

Matt, Mary, and Lucy all have plans they want for Thanksgiving that does not include their family.  Eric and Annie finally agree to let Matt go away with his girlfriend and her family for the holiday, missing Thanksgiving totally with his family.  Mary is allowed to be with her friends and Lucy's allowed to go to her boyfriend Jimmy Moon's house, but both have to have Thanksgiving dinner at home with their family first.  Julie in the living room after everyone leaves, sneaks into the liquor cabinet.

The next day Simon's wearing the Batman shirt Julie bought for him and is playing with Ruthie and Happy when Julie walks into the room.  Simon keeps on playing, including Julie who plays along.  As Julie reaches for the liquor cabinet, Simon quickly pulls the key out in fun, not letting Julie have it in a teasing kind of way.  Julie smiles and laughs and plays with him as she tries to get it back, but Simon's persistence in not giving it back angers Julie and she finally screams at him and hurts him as she tries to get the key out of his hand.  Hearing Simon scream in pain, Annie runs in the room as Julie lets go of Simon and stands back in shock over what just happened.  Simon  cries in his mothers arms as Annie yells at Julie to leave.  Julie tries to apologize, but Annie's maternal instincts for the safety of her children continues to yell at Julie to get out of her house.  Julie runs out.  Later that night Eric finds Julie in a bar with a guy.  As he approaches her, Julie tells him to leave her alone.  The guy she's with is ready to fight Eric off, but when he realizes that Eric is her brother and a minister, the guy quickly leaves.  As Eric tries to usher Julie out the door, her fist flies into his face.  Angry, Eric grabs Julie and drags her kicking and screaming out of the bar.

At home Eric and Annie argue over keeping Julie in the house.  Annie is foremost concerned with her children's safety and does not want Julie around.  But Eric's concern for his little sister pleads with Annie to let her stay so he can work with her until her system has been detoxed.  Annie reluctantly agrees, warning Eric that her first priority is to their kids which Eric understands.

The kids all try to deal with Julie's situation in their own way.  Matt, like Eric, is willing to do anything and everything to help Aunt Julie out.  Mary comes to hate Aunt Julie as she'd always looked at her Aunt as a role model and now her role model has lowered herself to such a level.  Lucy like her older brother and Matt, is willing to help out however she can and feels particularly emotional over the whole situation, not knowing what to think or do, but feeling bad for her Aunt and her condition and for what happened to her brother and how it's affecting the whole family.  Simon in anger throws his gift back at Julie at night and Ruthie sides with him not understanding anything.

Eric stays by Julie's side almost the whole time, refusing to let her leave his room.  After a day or two, Matt comes to give Eric a break.  Feeling it's safe, Eric leaves Matt alone with Julie.  They sit together on the bed as they joke together and Matt assures her he knows how tough his dad can be.  When Julie begins begging Matt to go down and get her some liquor, his refusal to do so incites a crazed rage in his Aunt that he's never seen her yell at him that way before.  With mixed feelings over her reaction and her yelling at him to leave, he walks out of the room, closing the door behind him.  On the other side of the door he listens to her screams of how she'll never forgive him as he slides to the floor and begins to cry.

In the kitchen on Thanksgiving Day, Eric and Annie find the kids all up fixing Thanksgiving dinner.  They tell their kids that due to their circumstances, Matt, Mary, and Lucy should just go ahead and spend the day with their friends.  Matt states that they all want to be home and will fix Thanksgiving Dinner for everyone.  With the parents gone, the kids talk amongst themselves.  Simon and Ruthie have lightened up some on their Aunt, but Mary is hard-pressed against her still.  Matt scolds her that she should try to be like the rest of them and try to help.  Mary ends up going upstairs and cleaning her aunt up to make her look beautiful for Thanksgiving Dinner.

That evening as the family rounds the table, Eric and Annie ask about Mary and are told she'd be down.  Mary and Julie finally come down and Julie looks well once again to everyone's amazement.  Simon backs away in fear from his Aunt.  She approaches him and gives her a deep and sincere apology.  They hug and Simon lifts his shirt to show the Batman shirt he gave her underneath - a physical symbol to let her know that he'd already forgiven her.  As the family sits down for Thanksgiving Dinner, they all feel extra thankful that year.

11.Now You See Me

It's Sunday morning and Matt surprises everyone by telling them he's bringing his new girlfriend to church.  Eric gets slightly nervous since this is the first girlfriend Matt has ever brought to church.  Simon believes that he can make himself invisible by using ninja power and thinks it's working when Matt accidentally stumbles over him in the kitchen.  Lucy tells everyone that she plans to tryout for cheerleading and Mary is totally against her doing so.

When church is over, Matt introduces Tia to his parents.  Annie invites her over for lunch but Matt plans to take her out.  When Tia replies that she would really like to come over, Matt agrees and Annie asks them to pick up some ice cream on the way home.  Simon stops them at the station wagon and begs to ride with them.  Matt doesn't want him coming, but when Tia insists, Matt agrees.  Simon takes a liking to Tia when she relates to him on his level by believing a person can become invisible.  At home, Mary informs Lucy that she doesn't want Lucy going out for cheerleading because she doesn't like it.  Lucy feels hurt because Mary won't help her when she had helped Mary work on basketball.  Towards the end of dinner, Eric, Annie, Matt, and Tia sit around the table and Tia asks Eric to quote the Robert Frost poem he uses in that morning's sermon.  When he does, Tia suddenly gets upset and runs out of the room.  Annie tells Matt to go after her though Matt thinks Eric should since he made her cry.  Matt agrees and Tia confides in him that her parents have recently divorced.

The next day at school, Matt and Tia make plans for Matt to drop her off at her dad's and she'll follow him back to his house in her car so they can study together.  Eric comes home from work early and finds that Ruthie is out of the house and the rest of the kids won't be back for another hour.  Since Annie wanted him to add some surprises into their marriage again, he views this as an opportunity, but Annie gets upset, saying that she wants to be surprised with something Eric plans and tells him before leaving the room that he'll need to pick up Mary from practice later.  When Lucy walks out of her school, she overhears a couple other girls in front of her saying how Lucy's nice, but not good enough to get on the team.  When she reaches the station wagon, Matt can tell that something is wrong with her.  He refuses to let Lucy in the car until he tells him and when she does, he promises that he'll help her get into cheerleading like he helped Mary get into basketball.  Lucy is glad, but nervous, and gets annoyed when she realizes that Simon had been hiding in the back seat.

When Tia's mom drops Tia off at the Camden's, Annie gets a poor impression of Tia's mom.  Later that evening, Matt and Tia are studying in the living room when Eric and Annie drop in to tell them they're going upstairs for the night.  As soon as they leave, Matt informs Tia that that's their way of saying it's time for her to go home.  Tia agrees and leaves.  Around 2 AM, a phone call wakes Eric and Annie out of bed.  Tia's dad is home and says that Tia never came home and wants to know if she's there.  Eric says he'll check and he heads to Matt's room while Annie heads downstairs.  Eric peeks in to find Matt alone in his room then joins his wife on the front porch.  They see Tia asleep in her car in the driveway and Eric and Annie go to her.  They wake her up and bring her back in the house.  They then call her dad who is a little too happy to let Tia spend the night there.

When the kids see Tia there the next morning, Matt is alarmed and assures his parents that nothing happened which they tell him they know.  Tia tells everyone that she had planned on going home before anyone got up and will leave now to go get changes for school.  Mary tells her to come upstairs with her and she can borrow some of Mary's clothes.  Lucy goes up with them.  Eric and Annie talk and agree that Tia doesn't want Matt for a boyfriend, but wants to be a part of the family.  Annie figures that Matt will figure that out eventually.

Eric makes an appointment with Tia's dad, but gets nowhere.  Matt takes Lucy to a gymnastics gymnasium where he helps her to learn coordination and skill, taking her from a total klutz to being very good.  When Matt finds Tia in Mary and Lucy's room, he asks her if she'd like to go out with them but she declines, wanting to hang out with the girls. When Matt leaves, Simon informs Matt that it's obvious Tia would like to be adopted into the family.  Lucy's tryouts are a success and she makes the team as her entire family get very excited for her, including Mary who later buys her a sports bra to celebrate.  Eric arranges for both of Tia's parents to come over to talk with Tia about how she feels and the parents agree to see Eric with Tia for further counseling.  Eric finally plans a surprise that Annie enjoys.  He takes her up on the roof of the house with his guitar.  They share how their first night in that house, they had gone up onto the roof together.  Eric starts playing his guitar and singing and Annie joins in.

12.With Little Help From My Friends

The family got home from church and Eric was upset that Matt wasn't there.  He asked the kids if they knew where Matt was, none of them knew, but Simon figured it was a girl.  When Matt called, he asked Eric not to get mad, but he couldn't tell his dad where he was or what he was doing.  Truth be known, he was at Miss Bink's house helping her do simple tasks.  When Miss Bink kept calling Matt to come over to do different tasks, even calling him out of school, Matt realized that he she was more than he could handle, but Miss Bink refused to let Matt tell his dad because she was afraid Eric would put her in a home.

Simon was concerned and anxious in anticipation of Happy having puppies.  Lucy wanted a boy/girl party for her 13th birthday, but her parents decided against it.  Lucy talked to Jimmy about it on the phone.  Eric and Annie had to explain to Simon that Happy wouldn't go to the hospital to have her puppies.  Eric worked on trying to find a job for Steve, a member of the congregation with a wife and daughter who was out of work and living out of his van.  Eric offered to let them stay in his house, but Steve refused.  At school, Jimmy told Lucy that his best friend Dwight was having a birthday party on the same day as Lucy's birthday.  Dwight suggested that they make it a double party, but Lucy made excuses, not wanting to share her birthday with someone else.  Lucy got upset when Jimmy told her that he was going to Dwight's party.

When Lucy found out that Dwight came over to ask Annie to let Lucy come to his party, she got upset.  Happy finally gave birth to two puppies as the family rushed to see her.  Eric asked Matt and Mary about ditching to help an Aunt Gladys, but Matt and Mary both promised not to tell about Miss Bink.    When Matt couldn't make it to Miss Bink's before school, but promised to make it after school, Miss Bink tried to get her money can off a top shelf and fell down.  When Eric got angry at Lucy for being selfish in not going to the party, he chased after her and had a heart to heart.  When Eric got downstairs after Matt got a phone call, Matt confessed to Eric about Miss Bink.  Eric went with Matt to the hospital so he could talk to the doctor while Matt talked to Miss Bink.  The doctor told Eric that Miss Bink's problem was that she was mixing her medications but would suffer a broken leg for awhile.  When Eric peeked in on Matt and Miss Bink, she spotted Eric and he came in to join them.  Eric asked Miss Bink if she would hire Steve and his family to do work around the house until her leg got better.  She agreed and while they were working, asked Steve to turn the garage into an apartment and he and his family could live there until they got back on their feet.

At school on Lucy's birthday, Jimmy told Lucy that the birthday party for Dwight was a surprise party for Lucy.  Jimmy told her that because Dwight's feelings were hurt, he was going to hang out with Dwight instead of Lucy that evening.  That evening when Lucy got home with her family from dinner, she found the surprise party waiting for her in the living room.  Later that night, Lucy confessed to Mary in their room that Dwight liked her and she thought he was kind of sexy.  The family who was overhearing, waited until they heard them go to bed, then rushed in to surprise Lucy with their presents to her.  Eric gave her a framed picture of him holding Lucy right after she was born.  Annie gave her a locket that her mom had given her.  Matt and Mary gave her a basket of teen stuff.  Simon gave her a coupon for 15 days of bed making.  Ruthie gave her a Hoowie pass.  Simon had decided to give the puppies to Dwight when they were old enough.

13.America's Most Wanted

The episode opens with Annie and Ruthie relaxing on Eric and Annie's bed as Annie reads children stories to Ruthie.  Simon wanders in and out a few times looking for an excuse to join until finally Annie invites him in.  He jumps on the bed and Annie hands him the book to read.  Eric then walks in from going to a boxing match and expresses that he feels upset how it seems that hardly anyone knows the National Anthem.  Ruthie, fearful that Eric is going to ship her out of the country for not knowing it, rushes out of the room followed by Simon.  In their room Ruthie pleads with Simon to teach her the song.

In the kitchen the next morning Annie makes a complex breakfast.  Matt, Mary, and Lucy all figure it has something to do with their dad's rotten mood about the national anthem.  Lucy admits that she's having trouble starting a paper that's due the next day.  Eric walks in and Matt asks permission for him and Mary to go to "The Varsity" (a local restaurant) to meet John and Keesha that evening for dinner just to hang out with them as friends.  Eric, after giving the third degree, approves their request.  Lucy complains that she wishes they'd pick another night when she didn't have a paper to write so she could go to.

At school, Lucy asks for an extension on her paper but is denied.  She also breaks up with Jimmy because Dwight (Jimmy's best friend) likes her and she's having trouble figuring it all out.  At home that evening before Matt and Mary leave, Mary gives Lucy her old paper for the same class telling Lucy that she could use her quotes and bibliography and write her paper based off that.  That evening at the Varsity, we learn that the real reason they were all going to meet was because Mary was feeling pressured from her team to steal some item from the restaurant since everyone else already had.  At home, Eric finds the glass she stole and Matt takes the blame for it.  Eric is quick to believe Matt and scolds him, telling him to return the glass and apologize, then they'd determine his punishment.

The next day when Matt returns the glass and apologizes, the owner refuses to accept the apology and says that he's pressing charges.  At home Eric brings home a depressed Lucy and tells Annie that Matt never showed up with stuff for her cheerleading team.  The phone rings and Annie answers to find out about Matt's situation.  She tells Eric.  Up in their room Lucy dumps her stuff and finds Mary upset, though Mary doesn't want to talk about it.  Lucy, upset as well, finally confesses that she paraphrased Mary's paper and got away with it, getting a B+.  Mary decides to stop crying since they're both crying, but still doesn't tell Lucy that she stole the glass that got Matt in trouble with the law.

Matt tells Mary to keep her mouth shut while he takes all the blame.  John and Keesha's dad Morgan finds out about the situation at the Camden household and is able to figure out on his own that Mary stole the glass and that Matt is covering for her.  He grounds his son and daughter and tells them that he hasn't decided yet if he'll give this information to Eric or not.  John calls Matt on the phone to warn Matt that his dad knows and might call Matt's dad.  Annie reads Lucy's paper and realizes that Lucy plagiarized.  She tells Lucy that she has to confess to her teacher.

On the morning of the trial day, Matt sees his parents in the kitchen.  He says that he's leaving early and when questioned why, he tells them that he's going to talk to a counselor.  Eric tells Matt that he can talk to him, but Matt tells Eric that he wants to talk to a counselor about Eric.  Eric, hurt, finally lets Matt go and says he'll take the other kids to school.  Matt shows up at the Hamilton's residence and talks to Morgan about what happened.  Morgan makes Matt promise to tell his dad the truth after the trial (since Matt is adamant about not letting Eric know beforehand).  Morgan also tells Matt that he has an idea to try and help in out in court.

At school Lucy confesses to her teacher what she did.  Her teacher is so surprised by Lucy's honesty that she gives Lucy one more night to write a paper.  As she walks out into the hall, she tells Jimmy that she likes him like a boyfriend and Dwight like a friend.  When the kids all get home, they find Annie and Ruthie playing with the puppies in the backyard.  Mary and Lucy both state that they want to go to court to support Matt.  Annie reluctantly agrees, saying she'll call someone to see if they can come baby-sit.  Mary tells Matt that she has to tell their parents it was her fault but he tells her not to.

At home, the baby-sitter teaches Simon and Ruthie the story behind the National Anthem.  She then is able to finally get Ruthie to learn the song where Simon has been failing.

Right before Matt's court appearance at 4, Eric takes him out into the hall.  He assures Matt that good or bad, he will always love Matt.  Matt replies that all his life he's felt like his dad is always angry at him, ready to jump on him at any moment.  He tells Eric that there's something he wants to tell him after the court appearance that will probably make him angry, but he'll keep in mind that his dad loves him no matter what.  Eric tries to get Matt to tell him then, but Matt refuses.  Matt is called to the stand with Eric and Annie beside him.  Suddenly Mary calls out that it's her fault and walks forward.  When the judge questions Eric and Annie, they reply that they had no idea that Mary had really stolen it.  Just then several sports players from school walk in carrying stolen stuff from the Varsity.  The owner of the Varsity wants to press charges against all of them, but Eric and the judge talk him out of it, volunteering the kids to help clean up his diner.  Eric asks Matt if this is what he wanted to tell Eric after the court hearing and Matt says that it is.  Eric and Annie feel proud of Matt for sticking up for Mary and Mary for telling the truth in such frightening circumstances.

As they all arrive home, the greet Simon by the front door.  Lucy starts to tell him about court, but Simon interrupts her saying that they have a surprise for all of them in the living room.  They all walk in and sit down as Simon turns on the lights.  Ruthie stands on a chair in front of a flag that she, Simon, and the baby-sitter made as the baby-sitter plays the piano and Simon directs with sparklers, Ruthie sings the National Anthem to the enjoyment of the family and the pride of Eric and Annie.

14.Seven is Enought

Friday.

The kids are all out of school for the day and Eric and Annie have drug them to the airport to greet Eric's parents who have flown in to visit.  No one is excited to see them and the kids complain about having to spend a Friday off from school picking up their grandparents.  Eric and Annie remind them that it's tradition and that The Colonel and Grandma Ruth like the whole family picking them up.  They also complain about the candy that their grandparents always bring and Eric and Annie tell the kids to be appreciative of it anyway.  As the Colonel and Grandma Ruth approach, the kids all move to greet them and Eric mentions to Annie that if the kids complained about the candy that his parents might bring something worse.  Before greeting the kids, the Colonel and Ruth wonder why the kids like the candy so much when it doesn't taste good.

At home Eric and Annie give up their room for the Colonel and Ruth and take Matt's room and his single size bed.  Matt takes the downstairs couch for the time being.  Matt, Lucy, Simon, and Ruthie all meet out in the garage to discuss how to handle the Colonel and Ruth.  Matt gives them advice and Eric sneaks in to also get away from his parents.  Upstairs the Colonel and Ruth complain to each other about Lucy's non-stop talking about her life and boyfriend Jimmy Moon on the car ride home from the airport.  Annie approaches them and asks if they'd like to accompany her to the hardware store.  They both are happy for the opportunity and as they head down the hall they are greeted by Lucy who is eager to join them.  The Colonel and Ruth try to talk her out of going but Lucy insists because it will give her the opportunity to talk with them.  Mary comes out of her room and tells everyone that she'll go, saying to Lucy that she will give her grandparents someone to talk to.  At the hardware store, Lucy talks with her grandparents but gets the sense from them that they don't like listening to her.  Mary interrupts and a hurt Lucy walks on to meet up with her mom at the cashier counter.  As Annie talks to the lady behind the counter, she notices that the lady is wearing a necklace with an engagement ring and wedding band exactly like the ones that had been stolen from her.  As Lucy walks up next to Annie, she sees it to.  Mary then walks up next to Lucy to apologize and Lucy points out the rings to Mary.  Both Mary and Lucy make a fuss over it, but Annie quickly tells everyone that they look like hers but they aren't.  The lady behind the counter says that they were a gift from her son and are very special to her.

The Colonel walks into Eric's office at church smoking a cigar.  Eric mentions the church's no-smoking policy and the Colonel reluctantly puts it out.  The Colonel sits down across from Eric's desk and they begin talking, Eric obviously not in the mood to talk with his father.  The Colonel asks Eric how many people are breathing in his office at that moment.  Eric, thinking it is a stupid question, says two.  The Colonel stands up and walks to a rack of choir robes and moves them aside to reveal a young, dirty boy lying on the floor hiding.  Eric walks over not believing his eyes.  The boy introduces himself as George The Orphan.

At home Eric confirms that the boy's name is George and he is an orphan who ran away after being sent back from his 12th foster home.  Nine year old George had visited the church and asked about Eric, then ran away hoping to live with Eric, not realizing he was married with children.  Eric and Annie discuss George and determine that they want to adopt the seemingly sweet boy.  When sharing this with their kids, Matt, Mary, and Lucy all feel uncertain about it due to their already large family.  Simon feels the same way, though after sharing his room with George has come to a strong dislike for the boy.  Ruthie is the only one who is excited about the idea.  After getting to know George his first night in the house, the Colonel and Ruth determine that Eric and Annie aren't the right people to adopt George.  They tell Annie that they want to go to the hardware store and Annie tells them where the keys to the car are.

Going into Mary and Lucy's room, Annie finds Lucy putting some clothes up in her closet.  She notices that Lucy is crying and asks what's wrong.  Lucy, unable to find the words to say, tell her mom that nothing's wrong but Annie moves in closer.  As they sit on the closet floor, Lucy cries that her attempts to get close to her grandparents have failed because they don't like her.  She expresses her sadness over Annie's mom's recent death and how Grandma Ruth is now her only grandma.  She tells her mom that it was nice of the Colonel and Ruth to go get her wedding rings back for her.  Annie alarmed that that was the reason they left runs to find Eric.  They all run down to the garage where they find Simon, Ruthie, and George in the van - George had broken in to prove to Simon that he could.  Matt and Mary join them, hoping that Eric and Annie won't see the scratch and dent that Mary made when Matt let her drive without a permit.  The kids get out and Eric gets in a drives away.

Eric greets the lady behind the counter at the hardware store who says she hasn't seen anyone who fit the description of his parents.  He makes mention of the wedding rings around her neck but she holds close to them, not willing to give them up.  The Colonel and Ruth never went to the store, rather they went to discuss the adoption of George which was approved.  Upon coming back home, they tell Eric and Annie of their decision to adopt George which George overhears from the kitchen stairs.  Eric gets angry at them telling them that they are not good enough parents for George.  Later George finds the Colonel and Ruth packing and they tell him they'll be leaving in the morning.  George begins to cry, telling them that he wants them to adopt him.  The Colonel and Ruth try to influence him that he's got a good family with Eric, Annie, and their kids.  Eric and Annie overhear from the hallway and have a change of heart.

The next morning as the Colonel and Ruth are about to leave as the cab arrives, the kids all come to bid them farewell.  George is still upset over the decision.  Just before they leave, Eric and Annie walk in and Eric hands his parents George's adoption papers.  Eric and Annie both say they've decided that George should live with the family he wants.  Everyone is happy and rejoicing when the doorbell rings.  A man walks in and tells Simon that he won the drawing for a new red Viper. Simon, who was beginning to think George was jinxing his luck, feels lucky again.  The man mentions to Simon that he's not 18, the minimum age limit for the contest.  Simon understand and asks if his dad can take him for a drive around the block.  The man wants to say know, but the Colonel's intimidating presence makes him say yes.  Annie mentions that she wants to drive, but Eric says that it was his parents who had spent the last three days with them.  Eric and Simon hop in the sports car and Eric mentions that in six years he'll be teaching Simon how to drive.  Simon mentions that Eric will also teach his brother.  When Eric fails to understand, Simon points out that George will now be Eric's brother.  The two drive off down the street hooting and hollering.

15.Happy's Valentine

It's Valentine's Day morning and Annie informs Eric that they are going on a camping trip with Morgan and Patricia Hamilton.  Eric doesn't want to go since he doesn't like camping, but Annie insists.  Quickly, they try to figure everything out with the kids, who are less than enthusiastic since Matt had plans to double date with friend John Hamilton, Mary had already invited friends over for the evening to watch videos, and Lucy was hoping that Jimmy would stop by to celebrate Valentine's Day.  Eric and Annie okay the kids plans so long as the younger Camden and Hamilton children are taken care of.  Also during the day, the puppies are finally given away, despite Ruthie's efforts to coax her mom into keeping them.
 

When the parents are gone, Matt organizes it to where Mary and her friends will watch videos in the living room, Matt and John will entertain their dates in the den, and Lucy and Jimmy will take the younger four kids to the movies.  Lucy cons $20 out of Matt and Mary, but Simon and Nigel con that money out of her at the movie theater.  Simon didn't want to go to the theater because he felt he needed to keep an eye on Happy since her puppies were just sent away that day, but Matt promises to watch Happy.  When Matt, John, and their dates arrive home, they find a huge party going on in the living room.  Mary says that people just started showing up, but she's clearly enjoying it.  Matt and John realize that they'll be in trouble, but decide to enjoy the party anyway.  When Matt leaves his date to confront two guys who are drinking beer and John leaves to tell his sister to stay away from a certain guy, two other guys move in on the dates.  Meanwhile, Lucy gets annoyed at Jimmy in the movie theater by the unromantic card he gives her.  They decided to go to a french film while sending the kids to a cartoon retrospective.  When Simon gets caught throwing popcorn at people, they all get kicked out of the theater.

Eric and Morgan, concerned that the kids might be throwing a party, call Sgt. Michaels and ask him to check things out.  Eric and Morgan are miserable on the camping trip, but things get worse when Patricia's ex-husband calls.  Eric and Annie, who never knew she had been married before, learn that she married soon after high school on Valentine's Day and it only lasted a year.  The ex-husband, however, feels he should call her every Valentine's Day which annoys Morgan, but Morgan refuses to talk to his wife about her ex-husband.

When Sgt. Michaels stops in at the party, he finds his own son drinking beer.  He tells him to call his mom to come pick him up and as kids leave the party, he tells Matt that he found Happy on the road, hit by a car.  Matt goes to the animal hospital with Sgt. Michaels while John goes to pick up the kids at the theater.  Sgt. Michaels calls Eric to tell him about Happy and Eric, Annie, Morgan, and Patricia all decide to head home early.  When Matt comes home, he tells Simon about Happy and Simon demands to be with Happy.  Matt agrees and takes Simon to the animal hospital.  When the parents get home, all four question the kids at the house about what happened that evening.  As the Hamilton's leave with their children, Matt calls and tells Eric about Happy.  The girls demand to go to the animal hospital with their parents and they all go down where they learn that Happy's vital signs are good, but she just won't wake up, so no one knows anything.  Simon spends the night sleeping beside Happy while the rest of the family falls asleep in the waiting room.

The next morning, Happy wakes Simon up who quickly calls out for everyone.  Everyone is relieved that Happy will be okay and Simon forgives Matt for not watching her.

16.Brave New World

Ruthie starts pre kindergarten and Simon feels it's his duty to tell her everything she needs to know about school.  Lucy and Eric get suspicious about Lucy's friend, but Eric decides not to pursue it, so Lucy does.  She learns that her friend is pretending to live in a very nice neighborhood when in fact she lives in a very bad neighborhood in an apartment.  Lucy begs Eric to help the family out and Eric agrees to look into it.  He learns that the mom is working two jobs and her ex-husband refuses to pay child support.  When Lucy's friend finds Eric in her house, she gets upset and angry with Lucy.  Eric goes and talks to the father, a car dealer, and after playing several games of pool and beating him, the father agrees to help his daughter out with child support payments.  Lucy and her friend eventually reconcile with each other and are friends again.

Meanwhile, Mary is being sexually harassed by a boy named Michael Towner at school.  When Mary turned him down when he asked her out, he wrote a derogatory comment about her on the wall in the men's rest room which Mary snuck in to see.  Matt also saw it and decides to stick up for his sister, but Mary tells him to stay out of it.  Mary tries ignoring the guy, but he's bent on making her miserable.  When he finally passes her in the hallway and snaps her bra strap, she confronts him.  She follows him into the rest room where she sticks his head in the toilet.  The principal catches them and they have to face her after school with their parents.  In the conference with the principal and parents, Michael says he wants to press charges against Mary.  The principal then mentions that Mary will probably want to press sexual harassment charges against him.  Michael did not realize he was sexually harassing Mary and the principal makes it very clear to him that he was.  They decide to just drop the whole matter and the principal informs Michael that she'll be watching him.

Simon feels he's not longer useful when Ruthie makes a new friend from school, but Matt encourages him that he'll also be useful to her.

17.Choices

Mary was in detention for tardiness where she met a girl named Camille who was in there for smoking the boys locker room.  At home, Ruthie asked Annie for a pet but Annie wouldn't let her have one.  When Matt, Lucy, and Simon came home, Matt covered for Mary by telling Annie she was at basketball practice.  Annie told Lucy that her dad wanted to talk to her and Lucy automatically assumed that she was in trouble.  A former associate minister of Eric's, Tom dropped by the house for a visit.  When he asked for then to call him a cab to find a hotel, Annie insisted that he stay with them, but Eric confessed to Annie in private that he's always felt uneasy around Tom, as though Tom were hiding something.

Lucy found Eric and apologized for whatever she did.  Eric told her that she didn't do anything, but since she was 13, she could start taking confirmation classes to join the church as an adult.  Outside, Eric and Ruthie found a $50 bill that Tom had dropped and they decided not to tell anyone.  When Mary came home, she asked Annie if she could go to the mall with Camille.  Annie reluctantly agreed even though Matt was totally against the idea since Camille had a reputation of being wild.

Lucy went to see Tom at her mom's suggestion to get some help to study for confirmation.  Tom told Lucy that she should consider all her religious options before taking the class.  Meanwhile, in the kitchen Eric confessed to Annie that he always felt like Tom was hiding something.  When Simon asked Eric to take him and Ruthie to the mall, Eric turned them down as Matt and Mary came down the stairs.  Overhearing the conversation, Matt suggested that Mary take them with her to the mall and Eric agreed.  Back in the kitchen, Annie realized that Tom was having some kind of problem, but he decided not to tell her what.

Later, Annie found Eric in his den, hiding from Tom.  Lucy walked in and Annie left to leave them alone together.  Lucy asked Eric for a book on Buddhism, telling him that Tom had suggested that she look at all her religious options.  At the mall, Mary let Simon and Ruthie go to pet store next door while she and Camille shopped.  In the pet store, Simon and Ruthie learned that they could not buy a pet without parent's consent.  Outside the store, they found a man who had tried to sell ferrets to the pet store owner, but the pet store owner had told the man that ferrets were illegal.  Simon, not knowing they were illegal, bought the two ferrets for $50.  At home, Eric and Annie went to visit a woman named Judy who was struggling after her husband's suicide.

At home, Matt hung out in Lucy's room, listening to Lucy talk about Buddhism with him.  When Mary, Simon, and Ruthie got home, Mary told Matt she was going to bed.  Matt believed that something was up because it was only 9 PM.  Upstairs, Mary told Lucy that she was sneaking out to a frat party and convinced Lucy to cover for her.  Lucy went downstairs to distract Matt by talking with him more about Buddhism while Mary snuck out.  Simon and Ruthie ran downstairs to get food for the ferrets while the ferrets escaped.  When Mary got in the car with Camille, she handed Mary a dress that she stole from the store and told Mary to put it on.

When Eric and Annie got home, Matt was relieved to get a break from listening to Lucy.  Lucy told her parents that Tom went out for a walk.  When Eric said he wanted a bachelor's steak and pulled out a cereal box, they saw a huge hole in the box.  Annie, alarmed that they had mice, went in search of traps.  Matt asked Eric if he was going to eat it after mice had gotten into it but Eric ate it anyway.  Meanwhile, Tom decided to leave the pool hall where he was drinking Slice.  When Mary and Camille got to the party, Mary was alarmed because it was just a few people on dates and Camille set Mary up with a guy.  Back home, Simon and Ruthie realized that the ferrets were gone.  Annie came in and told them to go to bed and Annie informed them that they had mice.  Lucy continued all evening to cover for Mary.

Lucy went down to Eric's den to ask him for more books on religion.  After Lucy left and Annie came in, it was clear that Eric was uncomfortable with Lucy not joining their church.  Annie admitted to Eric that she was worried about Tom and Eric left the house.  At home, Annie saw the ferrets come out of her dresser drawer thinking that they were mice.  Simon ran in to tell Annie that they were his ferrets.  At the party, Mary told Camille that she was ready to go home, but Camille refused to leave.  Mary ended up calling home, getting Lucy, and asking for Matt.  Matt left to get Mary and ordered Camille to get in the car.

Eric found Tom at church where Tom confessed to having epilepsy.  He told Eric that he was thinking of leaving the church since he had a seizure during his sermon the Sunday before.  At home, Annie told Eric and Tom about the ferrets.  Tom asked if he could have the ferrets which Annie was going to get rid of anyway.  Matt and Mary came home and Mary confessed to sneaking out and going to a frat party with Camille who she met in detention.  When Annie realized that Lucy was covering for Mary, Eric used it to his advantage to get Lucy into confirmation class.  Upstairs, Mary talked with Matt and confessed to wearing a stolen dress.

The following Saturday, Tom preached a practice sermon to the Camden's and Judy before heading home.

18.Faith,Hope&Bottom Line

Simon's determined to play catcher in baseball, but was too scared to get his tetanus shot.  Eric, who was nervous about shots as well, volunteered Matt to take Simon, but Matt was also nervous.  Ruthie's excited about her phone number book she got at school and wants to try out the emergency numbers which resulted in trouble when she called 911 and said that her brother was barracaded in his room.  Eric wanted to hire an ex-convict as church treasurer, but the deacons refused.  The deacons hired Annie as a temporary church treasurer until the could find someone else.  The deacons wanted to install a security system for the church which Eric was opposed to.  Meanwhile, Lucy talked Mary into tutoring Jimmy for science.

19.It's About George

The Colonel and Ruth were visiting and Lucy was dreading introducing her boyfriend Jimmy Moon to them.  Matt and Mary put on a fabulous performance of a portrayal of the two.  At the end, they put the performance on for Eric, Annie, and Julie, not realizing that their grandparents walked in behind them and saw it.

Julie got out of rehab to meet Annie, Matt, the Colonel, Ruth, and George.  Eric missed it because he was visiting with a man who had to leave the country for his safety after helping the government.  Now he was back and was looking to find his son to start a new life.  The problem was, George, the boy who the Colonel and Ruth adopted, was his son.

Eric told his parents who for the first time in their life, felt helpless.  They pleaded for Eric to help but Eric told them that there was nothing he could do.  Meanwhile, Julie had to find someway of tolerating her parents and found it when she found her dad, the Colonel, in the backyard, sitting in the boat Annie had made, crying.  He confessed to her that he had lost Eric and her and was now losing George.  He believed he had failed all the children he loved.  Julie assured him that they hadn't lost her.

20.Say Good-bye