Let me start out by saying THANK YOU to all who were praying for this to happen for us. God is good.
Signing will take place on Feb 28 and we will be all moved up there by March 9, hopefully.
So we are in the 'packing mode' now, though I've taken a bit of a slower start on it this week. First of all we didn't hear for sure till Tuesday afternoon. There was alot of craziness going on when the news came in (long story - there is a quick synopsis of it on my facebook timeline) and we have had some crazy weather this week, too, and thus had people home from school who were not usually here, etc. And we're trying to get people trained in for our paper routes too, so have been busy with that, alot, this week. Crazy week. I got some small other things done that needed to be done, such as getting the church membership change in the works, since we need it to be up there, when we enroll the kids in school, in order to get that all-important member discount. Rest easy Grace people, we are leaving the memberships of Annie, Sarah and Emma at Grace for now. They'll likely be down here more than they will be up there. Though they have been put on to a church that is apparently just south of Nashville and reportedly has a large population of young adults, so we'll see how things work out in the end, but for now, it's just Lon and I moving our membership.
I tried to get the move entered into the US post office address change site, but apparently they only post one month at a time, of dates available to select from, so that will have to wait. Since we are not up there 'full time' till the 9th, I can do it just after the first.
I got U-haul trucks reserved. That was pretty cool. Looking at when we will pick the truck up (would like to do that Saturday evening, so that we don't have to wait till they are open in the morning, Sunday, to go get the trucks, and that way we could start loading much earlier in the day, Sunday) the preferred thing would be to pick them up just before closing time on Saturday evening. The weeks we have trucks reserved for are March 2 and March 9. March 8 is when we make the switch to Daylight savings time. So the very next weekend, sundown on Sabbath evening will be late enough that we wouldn't be ABLE to go pick up the truck on Saturday evening, as they would be closing before sundown hit, when it's still Sabbath, and we choose not to take part in business transactions. So, the two weekends we are needing trucks are the last two, this year, till fall, that we would be able to get the trucks early. (oh, and yes, I did talk them into just charging us for one day, rather than two, since I'm literally picking up JUST before they close - it took four transfers and explaining it to four different people, but eventually we found the person who could, and he did, cheerfully)
A friend here, whom we were helping out recently with some transportation issues that they had, called and asked if they could help us get boxes, as 're-payment'. So between them, and the load of free boxes that Lon got a couple of weeks ago, and more we may get from a CL ad, we are doing GOOD on boxes. Now we just need to get packing!!
We've spent quite a bit of time planning logistics, and scheduling, etc. So I think, come Sunday, we should be set to start getting serious about the packing that needs to happen.
I'm done with paper routes, so Sunday's should be more productive for us, for sure, no more need to sleep all day!
Mayahna's therapist gave us some great ideas for helping ease the transition for her, and we are working with the boy's counselors and the teachers (here and up there) to simplify things for them too. It's still a lot of unknown, and it IS affecting people's behavior, which makes life challenging. Even more than it usually is. Knowing that I have a 'trauma Mama's' retreat coming up is helping me to 'just deal with it' and not let it get me tied up in a knot.
We are going to still be pretty purposeful about taking time to stop, and 'chill' - having the Olympics to watch in the evenings is helpful. We're enjoying that, quite a lot, right now. That and the fact that we will be switching 'cable' providers and will lose everything that is currently saved on our box. So we do spend some time relaxing, in the evening, watching some of our favorite shows that we have 'taped' before we lose them!
However, you probably wont hear much from me, here, over the next few weeks. Finding time that is not chaotic and full of interruptions is extra challenging. My next post will likely be after we are up in Tennessee.
If you have a minute, and you want to share, I'd love to hear thoughts and ideas for making the move easier for the kids and/or the pets. I do check for comments.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Saturday, February 1, 2014
oh well, ALMOST made it....
10 out of 12 for last year, isn't TOO bad. (for those who don't know, I had set a goal of posting at least once every month, last year. I almost made it)
Life started to get just a little crazy in November. Lon and I decided (with some nudging from On High) that it might be time to start looking toward moving up to Tennessee to be a bit closer to Lon's work. So, for our anniversary this year, we went up and stayed in a little town, called Woodbury, not far out of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. It is an area that has intrigued us because it is very pretty, and reminded us of our experiences growing up in the Willamette Valley (though it is decidedly missing the snowy peaks in the distance, but you can't have it ALL!) There is even a little town not far from Woodbury that is named McMinnville - story goes that the man who founded McMinnville, Oregon came there from McMinnville, Tennessee, and it seemed so similar that he named it the same. We can see why.
Anyway, we went back up in January, twice, and eventually found a place that will work quite well for us. But, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. Many of you know that we have had, for quite some time, a long-term goal of running a small Christian retreat center as a family business. 6-8 small cabins and a small lodge, where groups can come away and have some 'down time' together. We also hoped to be able to offer it as a wedding venue location, possibly... So, we were not 'just' looking to be closer to Lon's work, we were also wanting to choose a location where we might start that business. Or, at the very least, hopefully be in or near that community now, so that we could start getting familiar with things, and be in a better position to be ready to buy, if the right piece of property came available.
Lon has this thing, where he believes God talks directly to him. I'm still a little unsure what to think about it all, but let's just say that God told Lon a specific area where we should focus our attention when it came to looking for land to purchase. We were open to just getting near to there, for now, with the goal of eventually getting a larger piece of property in that specific area.
We went up twice in January, as I mentioned, and eventually found the place we have made an offer on. There were several others that had great potential, but this one HAS it, and it's not potential, it's in very good shape and needs very little work. We didn't sit down and write a list of things we were looking for, though we did have a pretty good idea because of other such lists, in our not-too-distant-past. But the more I think about the things that WOULD have been on that list, this place has every one of them (there is ONE small exception, but we think we are going to be able to do a work-around on that).
We wanted enough property to start doing more gardening... check. Maybe put in a small orchard... check (some fruit trees are already there!). Space to put up a green house maybe... check. And berry bushes... check. Room for goats, maybe a llama or two, and of course our chickens, check, check and check. Annie may even want to get a horse, so there needs to be a place for that, too... check. Space for Lon to do his woodworking and also a place for him to set up an office so that when he does work from home, he is more remote from the rest of the family so he gets fewer interruptions... check and check. Space for me to do my various forms of artwork more easily, which means room for a kiln, a wheel, a loom, stained glass work supplies and tools, and, of course the obligatory 'crafting' and 'sewing' space also... check, check, check... you get the picture... A house with smaller bedrooms than the enormous ones we have now, and larger living spaces than the TINY ones we have now... check and check (YEAH!). Hardwood floors would be nice, (I'm really liking carpet less and less as time goes by, particularly with cats in the house now)... check. A kitchen floor that doesn't show every little thing you drop on it... check! The girls were all hoping for their own rooms... check, check, and check. Emma wanted woods and a creek... check, and check (times two, on the creek!) She also wanted a SMALL room (she likes small, cozy spaces)... check. I wanted a quiet street... check. The boys want a place to put up a tree fort and a tire swing... check and check. A willow tree would be lovely... check. Some sort of storm shelter or basement... check. I wanted a church community where home schoolers were not looked askance at, because we were not supporting the little Adventist school that the community was working so hard to keep alive... HUGE CHECK! - (more on this miracle later) A screened porch would be nice... (this one will take a little bit of work, but VERY do-able) check. Maybe even room to start practicing with some cob construction techniques so that we are ready to start building when the time comes for the retreat center... check! (the only thing we really WANT that it doesn't have is a good-sized utility room with a utility sink. We are thinking we'll be able to add that to a little lean-to that is on the side of the garage, we'll see.)
So, you can see that the house/land seem pretty perfect (there are almost 5 acres, by the way, because I know some of you are numbers. people, and the house has about 3300 sf) AND our payments will be several hundred dollars less than our rent is now.
There is also a time-line issue that you should be aware of. I was hoping to make a trip out to the west coast this year, to be at Oregon Campmeeting in July. Then, it turns out there is a good reason for Lon to be a Walla Walla Alumni weekend this year, in late April. So, we were thinking we would go out, for that, and then the kids and I would just stay, through till July for campmeeting... just visit various family and friends, and hunker down here and there, and do some school wherever we are... etc... I was REALLY hoping that we could work it out so that we ended our lease here, just before we left, and then, didn't start our payments up there, till we got back... how perfect would THAT be? No house payment for three months, while we were essentially RVing it. So I was wanting to move a bit more slowly, and not rush things.
So, I was not excited, when it worked out best for us to make two trips in quick succession right after the first of the year, to look at things... and then we FOUND it. But Lon asked me to pray that I would be open to God's timing on things.
When we went up in November, we had taken time to go to the little school there, and meet the teacher. I was (am) so impressed!! First of all, when we walked in, she was sitting at her table, 'checking their folders' which looks very much like what we do, to end our school day. Then she spent an hour and a half chatting with us! On a Friday afternoon!! We will work very well together!! There are several families that do and/or have homeschooled. They transition easily in and out of the school and it's never a problem. I think she will have an easy time understanding some of the issues we have with the younger kids, (she even has some 'foster' kids living with her right now!) and I can see that even if my kids are all at home, she and I will be very good friends. But several things she said, on that first meeting made me think that maybe it would be better for at least some of the younger kids to be with her. AND she is willing to take Ricky on, and see if that works too. So we were planning, right away, to at least put Ricky with her, and get him out of the public schools (though we had also met with the public school teacher, while we were there in November, and felt it was a pretty good option for him too) anyway, the more I thought about it, the more I thought that perhaps Tommy should be there too, and maybe even Mayahna also. Then I started thinking about what I could do with my time, if the three of them were in school. The idea of focusing on Emma for a while sounded pretty nice. I was envisioning she and I doing animal care, and gardening as part of her school, and really getting her strong in her scholastics, so that she places well in the SAT/ACT's and gets national merit scholarship money to help pay for college, since she wants to be a vet. I REALLY started liking that idea. PLUS, since putting Ricky in school, he and I have started having a much better time together. So, I'm kind of hoping that will be the case with Mayahna too. If I get some 'respite' every day, then when she is home in the evenings I will be able to be more of the kind of mom she needs me to be.
So, as I started thinking about transitions to school, and the trip and all of that, God really did bring my heart around, and we have changed the plans for the trip. We won't be doing campmeeting this year, just alumni weekend. And not all of us, just some. And that opened the door for the move to happen sooner, and so then we started thinking why not put the kids in school this spring, rather than waiting for next fall... etc. And suddenly, rather than dragging my feet, and trying to slow things down, I'm ready for it to happen FASTER. And when we made the offer we put in a closing date of Feb 28. We thought they would probably bump it out a month, as we happen to know that they have a vacation planned for two weeks of February, but they did not... so it looks like we are going to be moving in about 5 weeks time. And when I called the teacher, to make sure that it would work for the kids to start right away, she said it was PERFECT, they will start the day after spring break is over, which is the first day of the last week before a new grading period. They will spend that last week of the old grading period, sort of in 'orientation' and then they will be 'on record' at the beginning of a new term.
It's all happened so fast, but I can definitely see God's hand in it. I'm still a little nervous about the funding on the loan. Lon IS in a contract position, after all, and that can complicate things. The mortgage broker didn't seem to think so, but we won't know for sure till we get funded by the underwriters. That should happen within the next two weeks.
So, if you are the praying type, please keep that funding situation in mind, and ask that God's hand work in the way that will bring glory to Him. Already there have been so many miracles that have happened in relation to this property, and how perfect it is of a fit for us, and how well the timing has worked out, etc... WE feel it's the one He wants us to have, we know He wants to give us good gifts (today's text at church was even I John 1:9!) but it won't be clear completely until we have the loan in hand. Also, please help me to relax into the knowledge that if this one doesn't work, that He has something better in mind for us. (we even found another 'perfect' house, as we were looking, before we saw this one, that had an offer on it already, so it was not available - so as disappointed as we were that we couldn't get that one... we knew then, that God had something better for us... this one seems to be it, but if the funding doesn't work, then there must be something even BETTER that he has in mind!)
Oh, did I mention that the house is IN the area Lon felt God leading him to look in, and that there are three different large pieces of land behind us, that we may be able to purchase in the future? Two of them are even uninhabited land, so that means that they SHOULD be easier to purchase, when/if we reach that point. God is SO good. As I look at the list, that we never wrote, and how He saw to it that all of the little details are tended to and provided for abundantly, and when I think about the time-line, of when we went up to look, and when the kids will start school, now that the move date is set when it is, and the fact that the owners have another person in line, now, that will buy it if we don't - if we had waited even another week or two, we may not have gotten it... God is CLEARLY in control. What a blessing it is to be a child of God, and have His hand in our lives, working all things to the good on our behalf!!
I guess, when we move, I'll have to change the name of the blog to 'Our Tennessee Adventure'!
Life started to get just a little crazy in November. Lon and I decided (with some nudging from On High) that it might be time to start looking toward moving up to Tennessee to be a bit closer to Lon's work. So, for our anniversary this year, we went up and stayed in a little town, called Woodbury, not far out of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. It is an area that has intrigued us because it is very pretty, and reminded us of our experiences growing up in the Willamette Valley (though it is decidedly missing the snowy peaks in the distance, but you can't have it ALL!) There is even a little town not far from Woodbury that is named McMinnville - story goes that the man who founded McMinnville, Oregon came there from McMinnville, Tennessee, and it seemed so similar that he named it the same. We can see why.
Anyway, we went back up in January, twice, and eventually found a place that will work quite well for us. But, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. Many of you know that we have had, for quite some time, a long-term goal of running a small Christian retreat center as a family business. 6-8 small cabins and a small lodge, where groups can come away and have some 'down time' together. We also hoped to be able to offer it as a wedding venue location, possibly... So, we were not 'just' looking to be closer to Lon's work, we were also wanting to choose a location where we might start that business. Or, at the very least, hopefully be in or near that community now, so that we could start getting familiar with things, and be in a better position to be ready to buy, if the right piece of property came available.
Lon has this thing, where he believes God talks directly to him. I'm still a little unsure what to think about it all, but let's just say that God told Lon a specific area where we should focus our attention when it came to looking for land to purchase. We were open to just getting near to there, for now, with the goal of eventually getting a larger piece of property in that specific area.
We went up twice in January, as I mentioned, and eventually found the place we have made an offer on. There were several others that had great potential, but this one HAS it, and it's not potential, it's in very good shape and needs very little work. We didn't sit down and write a list of things we were looking for, though we did have a pretty good idea because of other such lists, in our not-too-distant-past. But the more I think about the things that WOULD have been on that list, this place has every one of them (there is ONE small exception, but we think we are going to be able to do a work-around on that).
We wanted enough property to start doing more gardening... check. Maybe put in a small orchard... check (some fruit trees are already there!). Space to put up a green house maybe... check. And berry bushes... check. Room for goats, maybe a llama or two, and of course our chickens, check, check and check. Annie may even want to get a horse, so there needs to be a place for that, too... check. Space for Lon to do his woodworking and also a place for him to set up an office so that when he does work from home, he is more remote from the rest of the family so he gets fewer interruptions... check and check. Space for me to do my various forms of artwork more easily, which means room for a kiln, a wheel, a loom, stained glass work supplies and tools, and, of course the obligatory 'crafting' and 'sewing' space also... check, check, check... you get the picture... A house with smaller bedrooms than the enormous ones we have now, and larger living spaces than the TINY ones we have now... check and check (YEAH!). Hardwood floors would be nice, (I'm really liking carpet less and less as time goes by, particularly with cats in the house now)... check. A kitchen floor that doesn't show every little thing you drop on it... check! The girls were all hoping for their own rooms... check, check, and check. Emma wanted woods and a creek... check, and check (times two, on the creek!) She also wanted a SMALL room (she likes small, cozy spaces)... check. I wanted a quiet street... check. The boys want a place to put up a tree fort and a tire swing... check and check. A willow tree would be lovely... check. Some sort of storm shelter or basement... check. I wanted a church community where home schoolers were not looked askance at, because we were not supporting the little Adventist school that the community was working so hard to keep alive... HUGE CHECK! - (more on this miracle later) A screened porch would be nice... (this one will take a little bit of work, but VERY do-able) check. Maybe even room to start practicing with some cob construction techniques so that we are ready to start building when the time comes for the retreat center... check! (the only thing we really WANT that it doesn't have is a good-sized utility room with a utility sink. We are thinking we'll be able to add that to a little lean-to that is on the side of the garage, we'll see.)
So, you can see that the house/land seem pretty perfect (there are almost 5 acres, by the way, because I know some of you are numbers. people, and the house has about 3300 sf) AND our payments will be several hundred dollars less than our rent is now.
There is also a time-line issue that you should be aware of. I was hoping to make a trip out to the west coast this year, to be at Oregon Campmeeting in July. Then, it turns out there is a good reason for Lon to be a Walla Walla Alumni weekend this year, in late April. So, we were thinking we would go out, for that, and then the kids and I would just stay, through till July for campmeeting... just visit various family and friends, and hunker down here and there, and do some school wherever we are... etc... I was REALLY hoping that we could work it out so that we ended our lease here, just before we left, and then, didn't start our payments up there, till we got back... how perfect would THAT be? No house payment for three months, while we were essentially RVing it. So I was wanting to move a bit more slowly, and not rush things.
So, I was not excited, when it worked out best for us to make two trips in quick succession right after the first of the year, to look at things... and then we FOUND it. But Lon asked me to pray that I would be open to God's timing on things.
When we went up in November, we had taken time to go to the little school there, and meet the teacher. I was (am) so impressed!! First of all, when we walked in, she was sitting at her table, 'checking their folders' which looks very much like what we do, to end our school day. Then she spent an hour and a half chatting with us! On a Friday afternoon!! We will work very well together!! There are several families that do and/or have homeschooled. They transition easily in and out of the school and it's never a problem. I think she will have an easy time understanding some of the issues we have with the younger kids, (she even has some 'foster' kids living with her right now!) and I can see that even if my kids are all at home, she and I will be very good friends. But several things she said, on that first meeting made me think that maybe it would be better for at least some of the younger kids to be with her. AND she is willing to take Ricky on, and see if that works too. So we were planning, right away, to at least put Ricky with her, and get him out of the public schools (though we had also met with the public school teacher, while we were there in November, and felt it was a pretty good option for him too) anyway, the more I thought about it, the more I thought that perhaps Tommy should be there too, and maybe even Mayahna also. Then I started thinking about what I could do with my time, if the three of them were in school. The idea of focusing on Emma for a while sounded pretty nice. I was envisioning she and I doing animal care, and gardening as part of her school, and really getting her strong in her scholastics, so that she places well in the SAT/ACT's and gets national merit scholarship money to help pay for college, since she wants to be a vet. I REALLY started liking that idea. PLUS, since putting Ricky in school, he and I have started having a much better time together. So, I'm kind of hoping that will be the case with Mayahna too. If I get some 'respite' every day, then when she is home in the evenings I will be able to be more of the kind of mom she needs me to be.
So, as I started thinking about transitions to school, and the trip and all of that, God really did bring my heart around, and we have changed the plans for the trip. We won't be doing campmeeting this year, just alumni weekend. And not all of us, just some. And that opened the door for the move to happen sooner, and so then we started thinking why not put the kids in school this spring, rather than waiting for next fall... etc. And suddenly, rather than dragging my feet, and trying to slow things down, I'm ready for it to happen FASTER. And when we made the offer we put in a closing date of Feb 28. We thought they would probably bump it out a month, as we happen to know that they have a vacation planned for two weeks of February, but they did not... so it looks like we are going to be moving in about 5 weeks time. And when I called the teacher, to make sure that it would work for the kids to start right away, she said it was PERFECT, they will start the day after spring break is over, which is the first day of the last week before a new grading period. They will spend that last week of the old grading period, sort of in 'orientation' and then they will be 'on record' at the beginning of a new term.
It's all happened so fast, but I can definitely see God's hand in it. I'm still a little nervous about the funding on the loan. Lon IS in a contract position, after all, and that can complicate things. The mortgage broker didn't seem to think so, but we won't know for sure till we get funded by the underwriters. That should happen within the next two weeks.
So, if you are the praying type, please keep that funding situation in mind, and ask that God's hand work in the way that will bring glory to Him. Already there have been so many miracles that have happened in relation to this property, and how perfect it is of a fit for us, and how well the timing has worked out, etc... WE feel it's the one He wants us to have, we know He wants to give us good gifts (today's text at church was even I John 1:9!) but it won't be clear completely until we have the loan in hand. Also, please help me to relax into the knowledge that if this one doesn't work, that He has something better in mind for us. (we even found another 'perfect' house, as we were looking, before we saw this one, that had an offer on it already, so it was not available - so as disappointed as we were that we couldn't get that one... we knew then, that God had something better for us... this one seems to be it, but if the funding doesn't work, then there must be something even BETTER that he has in mind!)
Oh, did I mention that the house is IN the area Lon felt God leading him to look in, and that there are three different large pieces of land behind us, that we may be able to purchase in the future? Two of them are even uninhabited land, so that means that they SHOULD be easier to purchase, when/if we reach that point. God is SO good. As I look at the list, that we never wrote, and how He saw to it that all of the little details are tended to and provided for abundantly, and when I think about the time-line, of when we went up to look, and when the kids will start school, now that the move date is set when it is, and the fact that the owners have another person in line, now, that will buy it if we don't - if we had waited even another week or two, we may not have gotten it... God is CLEARLY in control. What a blessing it is to be a child of God, and have His hand in our lives, working all things to the good on our behalf!!
I guess, when we move, I'll have to change the name of the blog to 'Our Tennessee Adventure'!
Monday, October 28, 2013
Quick, before the month is over!
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!
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!
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.
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