My goal was to post at LEAST every month, since I have not posted since early September, I guess I better get at it.
There is not much of any 'profound' value going on here. We have been trying to get into a good routine with school, etc. But it seems there is always something throwing a monkey wrench in things.
Tommy took part in 'fall ball' this year, and enjoyed baseball practice and games very much, but isn't sure that is the sport he wants to stay with. He wants to try soccer in the spring, he thinks. He recently passed his blue belt in Tae Kwon Do.
Ricky is THOROUGHLY enjoying school. He has many friends, and is actually doing pretty well with his studies too. It has made things much more manageable at home too. We are also getting him some 'medical help' with the issue he has with getting to sleep at night, so that has probably contributed to his success too.
Emma has been focusing on school a lot and doing a lot of harp practice. She has decided that she wants to do symphony harp maybe next year. I told her that she needed to show me a bit more 'devotion' to her current harp, before I was ready to commit to buying a pedal harp. Those buggers are EXPENSIVE!
Sarah has been actively trying to avoid finding a job. So she has been helping with the paper route, to work off the money she owes me for her plane ticket this summer. She HATES the paper route, but apparently not enough to get out the door and find some other job... maybe it will be easier after she's 18. It does seem to be that that is almost a requirement for most jobs around here. What ever happened to 'teen summer jobs'?
Annie has been busy with her own paper route and she also had a job at a stable for several weeks. She would have stuck with it but it was 8-1 on Sunday mornings (apparently the manager has a hard time filling that slot, since so many people are in church then, around here) so she was working from 1:30-8 at the paper route and then going straight to the stable job... just wore her out.
Mayahna has been seeing a specialized counselor for her attachment issues. It's helping. But we have a long ways to go. She has really been pushing, trying this and trying that, to see if we will still love her if she... (you name it) It is TIRING.
We did manage to get away for a short break in early October. Just Lon and I and the three oldest girls, went down to the coast for a short vacation. It was nice. There was a tropical storm headed right into that area in the days leading up, but, thankfully, it fizzled and we just had a bit of rain the first day we were there... then, we came home, and I focused my energy on relaxing and 'getting caught up' on some of my reading for the second week of fall break.
This last weekend, Annie and I went to Atlanta together, to attend Women of Faith. It was excellent, as usual!
Now we are 'back into it' for a few weeks, until Thanksgiving, and then, before long,
we will be into the Christmas holiday season.
Oh - I believe I've mentioned here, that we have indoor cats, now. I've been enjoying that SO much. I don't know why I never knew I was a cat person. Perhaps it was because they always have had to be outside pets. But now, since I'm taking allergy meds every day anyway, we're able to have them inside, and I was enjoying Sarah's and Emma's so much, I decided to go get one for myself. His name is Max and he is a VERY affectionate, cuddly little thing!! He is a fun addition to our menagerie.
Hope all is well with all of you!
Monday, October 28, 2013
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
two weeks in...
So, we are two weeks into school (well, I suppose, technically, a week and a half) and we are already looking at some pretty major changes. We have been working with the school district all summer, getting Ricky assessed and trying to find out from them, exactly what services they would provide for him, if he went there, so we could decide if now was the right time to make that transition. Yesterday we went and met the lady who would be his teacher and saw the classroom, school, and fellow special needs students, where he would be enrolled.
Needless to say, we have many concerns. We are nervous about having him exposed to all the things he will be exposed to in a public school setting, but we are hopeful that with the extra supervision that takes place in a special classroom for Autistic kids, he will not get quite so exposed as he might otherwise. We are hopeful, that since when they tested him to see where he places on the 'spectrum' he was right AT the cut off number, thus making him the MOST 'capable' kid in the classroom, that his self esteem will be greatly boosted by the fact that he's the 'smart kid' in the class again, like he was when he was in a special needs classroom in Camas.
We have decided we are going to give it a try. With the understanding that if it is not working, we can always go back to homeschooling.
It was a wonderful visit that we had with his teacher, and he is VERY excited about going to school.
I am excited for him, and I am looking forward to the extra time I will have to spend on helping Mayahna heal more.
It's a journey, this ride we are on, called life, and it has been an interesting one!!
Needless to say, we have many concerns. We are nervous about having him exposed to all the things he will be exposed to in a public school setting, but we are hopeful that with the extra supervision that takes place in a special classroom for Autistic kids, he will not get quite so exposed as he might otherwise. We are hopeful, that since when they tested him to see where he places on the 'spectrum' he was right AT the cut off number, thus making him the MOST 'capable' kid in the classroom, that his self esteem will be greatly boosted by the fact that he's the 'smart kid' in the class again, like he was when he was in a special needs classroom in Camas.
We have decided we are going to give it a try. With the understanding that if it is not working, we can always go back to homeschooling.
It was a wonderful visit that we had with his teacher, and he is VERY excited about going to school.
I am excited for him, and I am looking forward to the extra time I will have to spend on helping Mayahna heal more.
It's a journey, this ride we are on, called life, and it has been an interesting one!!
Monday, August 26, 2013
Back into the routine...
So, summer is hard, in the area of 'things that need to get done, getting done'. There is no routine to our days or our weeks - which is the wonderful thing about summer vacation - but it seems that when that is the case, things slip through the cracks a bit... so, there was not much posting going on. Sorry about that. There were also, in spite of 'routine' things not getting done, A LOT of 'other things' that DID get done. I just didn't take the time to write about it...
School is starting today. God is using this fresh start to touch my heart in ways that I have not been ready for Him to touch it in the past. I'll share that journey with you more over the next few weeks/months, but suffice it to say that I could use your prayers as I dive into this new realm with Him.
School is starting today and I am sitting here, at 8:30, waiting for Lon to finish something on 'the program' that I need, before I can finish preparing for the school day today. That thing I mentioned in the last paragraph... about praying for me... yeah!
School is starting today and we are working in some new curriculum this year, that I'm excited about and some new subjects that will be fun (like physics, and ancient history!). We are going to be much more focused this year. My lessons are all entered for the entire year for most subjects, so, as soon as Lon finishes what HE is working on on the program where I have those all entered, so that I can generate the assignment sheets, I will be able to focus alot more on TEACHING, rather than 'logistics' that kept me so distracted last year.
It will also mean that when we have our break weeks I will be able to be more 'off' - and I'm hoping we will be able to do more 'playing' during those weeks. Going on fun trips, to Chattanooga, or Nashville, or Birmingham... etc. Or finding cool things to do here in Huntsville.
We are also being much more purposeful about finding time in our busy lives, to relax and enjoy life. Play games, have a fire in the fire pit, just because, and roast marshmallows, etc. We get so caught up in all that it takes to make this family work, that we sometimes forget to just have a good time together. That needs to stop.
Over the summer we were able to get a couple of 'situations' resolved or at least headed toward resolution. Ricky now has a counselor, at the Nova Center, that helps him work through some of his tough emotions as he begins to weather the teen years (he turned 13 two days ago!) He has had some anger issues, and we are hoping to nip that in the bud. So far so good. Emma has had a nagging health issue that we have attempted to resolve with a naturalpath, with a chiropractor, and we finally went to a pediatrician, who ran some tests (including an MRI!) and then sent us to a Pediatric neurologist who diagnosed her and gave us a 'treatment plan'. It's going to be a bit of a slog, to get resolution for her, too, but at least we do know how to get there now, and we know what we are dealing with. Mayahna is working with an attachment counselor now, and that is going VERY well. And of course in the midst of all of this, Lon and I need to keep focused on our relationship, and we sometimes need some 'outside help' with that too!! Lots and lots of 'appointments'. Oh, and Ricky and Mayahna are seeing a speech therapist now, too, who is working with Ricky on 'interpersonal skills' too, since his 'diagnosis' now includes 'Autism Spectrum Disorder'. So many appointments and so much help available... But it all takes time. Again, please keep it all in your prayers. It's a lot to keep track of.
So, at the beginning of a new school year, we have some new goals and some new feelings and some new work to do. It's gonna be a good year.
School is starting today. God is using this fresh start to touch my heart in ways that I have not been ready for Him to touch it in the past. I'll share that journey with you more over the next few weeks/months, but suffice it to say that I could use your prayers as I dive into this new realm with Him.
School is starting today and I am sitting here, at 8:30, waiting for Lon to finish something on 'the program' that I need, before I can finish preparing for the school day today. That thing I mentioned in the last paragraph... about praying for me... yeah!
School is starting today and we are working in some new curriculum this year, that I'm excited about and some new subjects that will be fun (like physics, and ancient history!). We are going to be much more focused this year. My lessons are all entered for the entire year for most subjects, so, as soon as Lon finishes what HE is working on on the program where I have those all entered, so that I can generate the assignment sheets, I will be able to focus alot more on TEACHING, rather than 'logistics' that kept me so distracted last year.
It will also mean that when we have our break weeks I will be able to be more 'off' - and I'm hoping we will be able to do more 'playing' during those weeks. Going on fun trips, to Chattanooga, or Nashville, or Birmingham... etc. Or finding cool things to do here in Huntsville.
We are also being much more purposeful about finding time in our busy lives, to relax and enjoy life. Play games, have a fire in the fire pit, just because, and roast marshmallows, etc. We get so caught up in all that it takes to make this family work, that we sometimes forget to just have a good time together. That needs to stop.
Over the summer we were able to get a couple of 'situations' resolved or at least headed toward resolution. Ricky now has a counselor, at the Nova Center, that helps him work through some of his tough emotions as he begins to weather the teen years (he turned 13 two days ago!) He has had some anger issues, and we are hoping to nip that in the bud. So far so good. Emma has had a nagging health issue that we have attempted to resolve with a naturalpath, with a chiropractor, and we finally went to a pediatrician, who ran some tests (including an MRI!) and then sent us to a Pediatric neurologist who diagnosed her and gave us a 'treatment plan'. It's going to be a bit of a slog, to get resolution for her, too, but at least we do know how to get there now, and we know what we are dealing with. Mayahna is working with an attachment counselor now, and that is going VERY well. And of course in the midst of all of this, Lon and I need to keep focused on our relationship, and we sometimes need some 'outside help' with that too!! Lots and lots of 'appointments'. Oh, and Ricky and Mayahna are seeing a speech therapist now, too, who is working with Ricky on 'interpersonal skills' too, since his 'diagnosis' now includes 'Autism Spectrum Disorder'. So many appointments and so much help available... But it all takes time. Again, please keep it all in your prayers. It's a lot to keep track of.
So, at the beginning of a new school year, we have some new goals and some new feelings and some new work to do. It's gonna be a good year.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Busy Summer nothingness... and a moment of insight.
I can't really say that the long gap since my last post was caused by 'being so busy', though we were. I can't say there was nothing to post about, there definitely was. I guess I can just say that we have been 'off of our regular routine' and somehow the posting to the blog fell by the wayside in the process.
It's been a busy month, with lots of fun activities like kids going to camp (all but ONE of the six were gone one week!) and taking advantage of our season passes at the swim park, and enjoying the free summer movie series at the local 'luxury' theater. There have been appointments with speech therapists, and the ESD, to see if enrolling Ricky in public school this next year might be a better choice. There was my 'fun' trip back down to the breast center, so that they could take a second look at one of the lumps I had found. (it was just another fibroadinoma - I've had them before). (still freaky to get that call!) There has even been an MRI in the mix, trying to figure out what has been causing Emma to have severe twitches... no diagnosis there, yet, but she's also been gone for the last three weeks. She'll be home tonight.
But there has also been a lot of nothing. A lot of sleeping in till 9:30 and just doing nearly nothing all day. It's been a good summer break. We are basking in the nothingness of it, because we know that it may be one of our last 'nothing to do' summers. Next summer we are hoping to go out to the NW for most of the summer, and then we are hoping to be onto 'our' property by the summer after that, so there will ALWAYS be things to do, once we are there.
Anyway, I don't have anything profound to post today. There have been some fun things that have happened, like Mother's Day, Father's Day, Lon's birthday, and my birthday. For Fourth of July, we just stayed home. There were lots of choices of places to go for Fireworks, but we knew we had to get up early for the paper route the next day, so we didn't want to get stuck in traffic and not get home till 11:00. So we pooled our resources with the neighbor and just got some stuff to set off here at home. It rained... ALOT... that day, flooding roadways, and nearby homes and businesses and all. We went to a birthday party in the afternoon and I was glad I had driven the Excursion because if we had been in the van we would have had to turn around and go home, there was water over roadways at least three times, in the 6 or so miles from our house to theirs, most of it had receded by the time we came back through, fortunately. We were concerned that we wouldn't get to set our fireworks off, but the rain did stop, just enough (there was still a drizzle), and just long enough, to get things set off. Then it started pouring again, which was also good, because it meant all the other neighbors went in too, and I was able to get to sleep quickly. : )
The 'thing' that made me make time to post today, though, was a cool thing that happened the other day with Mayahna that caused me to have an insight into God, and what He wants from us.
The lack of nurturing that happened with her, at such a young age, makes it very difficult for her to trust us. Much the same way that I have a hard time trusting God. There is healing that needs to take place in both of us. Her in her relationship with Lon and I, and me, in my relationship with God. I OFTEN see parallels between how she reacts to me as compared to how I WISH she would react, and how I react to God, which causes me to have insight into how He might wish I would react.
The other day she took break from her piano practice, and walked up to me and said, "Stop my timer."
I said, "Excuse me!?"
She said, "I need to go potty, stop my timer."
(What she didn't know was that her timer had already stopped, so she was already free to go)
I pointed out to her that perhaps it would be better for her, rather than TELLING me what to do, to state her need, first. Perhaps something like, "I need to go potty, can you stop my timer please?" That it was better to tell me what she needed, rather than telling me what to do.
As she trotted off to tend to her call of nature, I was contemplating how that must be what God wants from us too. Rather than telling Him what He 'needs' to do, just communicating to Him what our needs are, and letting Him tend to them as HE sees fit. And honestly, even telling Him what our needs are is kind of silly - HE KNOWS. What I'm thinking He REALLY wants is for us to communicate to Him how we are FEELING about our needs.
There is a subculture within the religious world that seems to indicate that 'feelings' are 'bad' and we should dismiss them. I have been caught in that trap for MANY years, and have some pretty bad habits regarding the ignoring of my feelings. I think what God wants from me is for me to express to Him how I am FEELING. He created emotions, and He wants to share in relationship with me. How can we build a relationship on 'I need you to' - relationships are built on 'I feel...'
Some days I think that He brought these injured children into our lives so that, in helping them heal, and learn to 'deal with' and 'talk about' their emotions, that WE would heal, and learn to 'deal with' and 'talk about' our own emotions. It's a beautiful thing, the healing that is taking place. Please continue to pray for all of us. And if you know of any good books about 'emotional healing' post a comment. I'm always open to 'outside insight', it's an uncharted path we are traveling on.
It's been a busy month, with lots of fun activities like kids going to camp (all but ONE of the six were gone one week!) and taking advantage of our season passes at the swim park, and enjoying the free summer movie series at the local 'luxury' theater. There have been appointments with speech therapists, and the ESD, to see if enrolling Ricky in public school this next year might be a better choice. There was my 'fun' trip back down to the breast center, so that they could take a second look at one of the lumps I had found. (it was just another fibroadinoma - I've had them before). (still freaky to get that call!) There has even been an MRI in the mix, trying to figure out what has been causing Emma to have severe twitches... no diagnosis there, yet, but she's also been gone for the last three weeks. She'll be home tonight.
But there has also been a lot of nothing. A lot of sleeping in till 9:30 and just doing nearly nothing all day. It's been a good summer break. We are basking in the nothingness of it, because we know that it may be one of our last 'nothing to do' summers. Next summer we are hoping to go out to the NW for most of the summer, and then we are hoping to be onto 'our' property by the summer after that, so there will ALWAYS be things to do, once we are there.
Anyway, I don't have anything profound to post today. There have been some fun things that have happened, like Mother's Day, Father's Day, Lon's birthday, and my birthday. For Fourth of July, we just stayed home. There were lots of choices of places to go for Fireworks, but we knew we had to get up early for the paper route the next day, so we didn't want to get stuck in traffic and not get home till 11:00. So we pooled our resources with the neighbor and just got some stuff to set off here at home. It rained... ALOT... that day, flooding roadways, and nearby homes and businesses and all. We went to a birthday party in the afternoon and I was glad I had driven the Excursion because if we had been in the van we would have had to turn around and go home, there was water over roadways at least three times, in the 6 or so miles from our house to theirs, most of it had receded by the time we came back through, fortunately. We were concerned that we wouldn't get to set our fireworks off, but the rain did stop, just enough (there was still a drizzle), and just long enough, to get things set off. Then it started pouring again, which was also good, because it meant all the other neighbors went in too, and I was able to get to sleep quickly. : )
The 'thing' that made me make time to post today, though, was a cool thing that happened the other day with Mayahna that caused me to have an insight into God, and what He wants from us.
The lack of nurturing that happened with her, at such a young age, makes it very difficult for her to trust us. Much the same way that I have a hard time trusting God. There is healing that needs to take place in both of us. Her in her relationship with Lon and I, and me, in my relationship with God. I OFTEN see parallels between how she reacts to me as compared to how I WISH she would react, and how I react to God, which causes me to have insight into how He might wish I would react.
The other day she took break from her piano practice, and walked up to me and said, "Stop my timer."
I said, "Excuse me!?"
She said, "I need to go potty, stop my timer."
(What she didn't know was that her timer had already stopped, so she was already free to go)
I pointed out to her that perhaps it would be better for her, rather than TELLING me what to do, to state her need, first. Perhaps something like, "I need to go potty, can you stop my timer please?" That it was better to tell me what she needed, rather than telling me what to do.
As she trotted off to tend to her call of nature, I was contemplating how that must be what God wants from us too. Rather than telling Him what He 'needs' to do, just communicating to Him what our needs are, and letting Him tend to them as HE sees fit. And honestly, even telling Him what our needs are is kind of silly - HE KNOWS. What I'm thinking He REALLY wants is for us to communicate to Him how we are FEELING about our needs.
There is a subculture within the religious world that seems to indicate that 'feelings' are 'bad' and we should dismiss them. I have been caught in that trap for MANY years, and have some pretty bad habits regarding the ignoring of my feelings. I think what God wants from me is for me to express to Him how I am FEELING. He created emotions, and He wants to share in relationship with me. How can we build a relationship on 'I need you to' - relationships are built on 'I feel...'
Some days I think that He brought these injured children into our lives so that, in helping them heal, and learn to 'deal with' and 'talk about' their emotions, that WE would heal, and learn to 'deal with' and 'talk about' our own emotions. It's a beautiful thing, the healing that is taking place. Please continue to pray for all of us. And if you know of any good books about 'emotional healing' post a comment. I'm always open to 'outside insight', it's an uncharted path we are traveling on.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
A Sabbath Afternoon Walk
So, I was thinking, the thing to do would be to go walk along that trail, and maybe some balloons would float over us, while we were walking.
Well, none of the kids wanted to go! (go figure!) so, Lon and I went, just the two of us, and Maggie. It was lovely. I'm sure we will go back many times and walk there or ride bikes. We didn't see any balloons, other than the two we could see in the distance as we were approaching the town. But oh, MY did we see wildlife and beautiful scenery. We saw Egrets, Herons, Cardinals, and many other birds. Many MANY squirrels, a chipper or two, and an armadillo - one of the first that either Lon or I have seen ALIVE - (think Opossums only WAY more prevalent) He just waddled up from the river side across the trail about 20 feet ahead of us, and off into the bush. : )
We also saw the wildflowers above - they are called Indian Pink's and they are 'uncommon'. Very pretty.
And we were blessed with a BEAUTIFUL sunset!
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