I have a moment to breathe here. Today has been pretty non-stop, so it's good to just veg out in front of the computer and take a minute to gather my thoughts.
We had parent-teacher conferences yesterday. They all went really well. I was very happy to hear that Faith is adjusting just beautifully to Kindergarten and is doing well there. With two kids who were so far advanced with their reading and writing when they got to K, I wasn't sure how far Faith was along the continuum. I was relieved to find that she is doing very well -- just a little more average than her older siblings!
James is also doing very well this year. I think the teacher he's with this year isn't quite so put off by the idea of a special child, so he's not being pigeon-holed into this idea that everything he does is bad. He's going to be tested in the next few weeks for the gifted program and I hope that with some pull-out time for that, he'll get the academic challenges that he needs as well.
Deborah is great -- she's just a really mature little nine-year-old. She scored best in her class on a science pre-test and did very well in her WesTest last year (finally got those results back yesterday). No problems at all, just a smart girl who is doing well.
Tonight Jason and I went up to CRC for a small-group mixer. It was very nice. Got to meet with some people and found a group that looks like it will be a good fit. It's a very diverse group, which is neat. I don't relish the idea of travelling up to Mo-town a few times a week, particularly with the price of gas, but such is life. I need to plug into a small group, and quick. Hopefully this will be a place where we can settle in and really form some relationships.
When we got home from the meeting, the kids were still up, which was fine. And just before the babysitters left, Bubba puked all over the kitchen. Honestly, it was all over the kitchen. I don't think there was a space on the floor that he missed. It was absolutely nasty. I don't know what he ate, but dang! He's had a nagging cough that I'm sure brought this on, but yuck, yuck, yuck! Of course, his response was absolutely precious. I'm sitting there, paper towels strewn all over the kitchen, my really nice new pants all grody from walking around trying to keep animals from tracking it everywhere, and he says to me, "I'm a very good vomitter!" Seriously, what is the appropriate parental response to that??? I just kissed the top of his head and said, "Yes you are!"
I've been in a bit of a music mood lately. DC*B is coming out with a new cd on Tuesday, and I would encourage anyone who appreciates gorgeous lyrics to head out to your local music purchasing place (or, if you're like me, go to iTunes and download it!).
Right now their MySpace site only has Everything Glorious from the new cd (which does have some awesome beeps, especially at the beginning). However, at Worship Together, you can hear a few more songs, including "O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing" and the title track, "Remedy." Just click on the "New Song Jukebox" icon at the top left of the page. I think I've deciphered the lyrics to Remedy, and wanted to share them here.
I promise I'll write something from my own life soon. This song is just very cool and I want this album to hit the Billboard top 40, so if my vast number of readers (like all 3 of you!) go and buy it and make your friends buy it and they make their friends buy it and so on, perhaps it can happen. I promise, even without hearing the whole thing, you will NOT be disappointed!
Here we are, here we are The broken and used, mistreated, abused Here we are
Here You are, here You are The beautiful one who came like the sun Here You are
So we lift up our voices and open our hands To cling to the love that we can't comprehend So lift up your voices and lift up your hands To sing of the love that has freed us from sin
He is the one who has saved us He is the one who embraced us He is the one who has come and is comin' again He's the remedy
Here we are, here we are Bandaged and bruised, awaiting a cure Here we are
Here You are, here You are Our beautiful king, bringing relief Here You are (with us)
So we lift up our voices and hold out our hands Let go of the things that have kept us from Him
He is the one who has saved us He is the one who forgave us He is the one who has come and is comin' again He's the remedy
Oh I can't comprehend I can't take it all in Never understand such perfect love Come for the broken and beat For the wounded and weak O come fall at his feet He's the remedy, He's the remedy
He is the one who has saved us He is the one who forgave us He is the one who has come and is comin' again He's the remedy, he's the remedy, he's the remedy, he's the remedy! So sing You're the one who has saved us You are the one who forgave us You are the one who has come and is comin' again You are the one who has come and is comin' again You're the one who has come and You're comin' again To make it all right, To make it all right! You're the remedy (oh with us) You're the remedy (oh you're with us) You're the remedy Let us be the remedy Let us be the remedy Let us bring the remedy
Today be Talk Like A Pirate Day. Inspired by two brilliant men and promoted by Mr. Dave Barry himself, TLAPD be one o' t' most entertainin' holidays ever. Certainly better than Valentine's Day.
Anyway, call an old bucko you haven't talked t' in a long time and scare them with your piratey talkin'!
I was cleaning out my bookmarked sites today and ran across Bob Slatt's blog. He had stopped posting to it after the murder of his parents, and I didn't realize that he had started it up again after the sentencing.
A little more than a month ago, the man who murdered Bob's parents passed away due to heart issues. This post by Bob was one of the most powerful things I've had the opportunity to read in a long time. I hope it encourages you as it has encouraged me.
Of course, I come back home with a vengeance (so to speak). Jason has a week long business trip that will have him out of the house until Friday night. So my first week returning to SAHM status has me doing seriously full-time mom stuff. Honestly though, I'm really looking forward to it. I know it's probably a one year arrangement before I head back to work again (once all of the kids are in school), but I intend to relish this year at home. Christopher definitely needs mom here, and with Jason starting a new, very busy job, it will be good to get the house back into some level of order again. It's been really slipping in the past few weeks since he's been gone, I've been gone and the kids are in school. It's getting a little scary around here!
There's an Awana group starting down the road from here at a CMA church. The kids are excited about that, and they definitely could use some kind of "out of the house" group to participate in on a regular basis. We've been doing some memory work both at home and at church. The kids seem to really be enjoying that, and I know I'm enjoying relearning a lot of passages that help strengthen my own faith. It's good for all of us! I think this group will help encourage that immersion into the Word.
Speaking of church, we think we've found a home to settle into. We're travelling up to Morgantown, which is a bit of a pain, but honestly, it's a good environment. Jason went to the group for the arts on Wednesday, and we're hoping to hook up with a small group in a few weeks. I'm excited about plugging in more up there. The kids definitely enjoy the children's ministry, I enjoy being around so many young people (it's very much geared toward college students, with WVU right around the corner), and Jason is excited about being a part of a thriving arts community. I'm still feeling a little vulnerable in that area right now, but hope to find my own place there soon. I'm excited to see what God will open up there.
JJ Heller is one of my absolute favorite artists. She writes beautiful lyrics and has a gorgeous voice. I love listening to her and can't wait for her next cd to come out.
Anyway, one of the songs playing around the house a lot right now is her song "Small." You can hear it at the above link, but at the very least, enjoy the lyrics. This is a great prayer for each of us.
small
cardboard cutouts on the floor people wish you were more like what they wanted you to be eventually they won't have much of you at all in their theology the walls are closing in on you you cannot be contained at all
i don't wanna make you small i don't wanna fit you in my pocket a cross around my throat 'cause you are brighter than the sun you're closer than the tiny thoughts i have of you but i could never fathom you at all
broken moldings all around broken people hit the ground when they discover that you're not here for our benefit you love in spite of us, you use the least of us to prove the strong aren't really strong at all
i don't wanna make you small i don't wanna fit you in my pocket a cross around my throat 'cause you are brighter than the sun you're closer than the tiny thoughts i have of you but i could never fathom you at all
Sorry it's taken so long to get around to the update. Things have been a little nutty around here in the evenings, and this is the first chance I've had to really sit down and write for a little bit of time. I still don't have tons of time, as I've got a fair amount of work to do around the house today, but at least I can give the highlights!
School seems to be going pretty well for the kids. Only a couple of minor incidents. We're still in the process of getting James evaluated for AS, which is just taking some time. I do look forward to getting some kind of IEP going for him, as I think that will help a lot. Deborah started REACH on Thursday and is very excited about that. Faith seems to be enjoying Kindergarten pretty well, though getting her up in the morning is quite a chore. She's definitely a night-owl, and waking up at 6:40am is pretty rough for her.
On the work front, the company Jason works for secured a contract that allows him to keep his job for at least another five years. Hooray! After at least a year of stress about him having a job/not having a job, it's going to be nice to have a sure thing for a while. He's getting a raise, and hopefully in the next year, we'll see another one if he can get promoted to project manager. We just continue to pray about that.
Due to the improvement with Jason's job situation, I've put in my two-week notice at Aegis. I've mostly enjoyed my year there (just had my 1 year anniversary on Sept. 5), but since this is Christopher's last year at home before he starts school, I really want to spend time with him. Also, Jason's new job requires him to be at the office, so we were going to have to shell out money for a baby-sitter, something we've avoided for the past year. And honestly, if I'm going to have to give up a portion of my paycheck to pay someone else to watch him, I'd just as soon give it all up and watch him myself. I hope to find a few ways to make some money on the side selling crafts and what have you and certainly have to work harder finding the good deals to save the family money, but I'm excited to come back home.
As you can see below, we spent last weekend up in Sarver at my parents' house. And, even better, Laura came in from New Orleans! We hadn't spent any time together as a family since Christmas '05, so it was wonderful to visit. We had a cook-out, played Phase 10, ate french toast, took pictures (see below) and just generally had a good time. My dad is retiring at the end of this school year and we're planning a big family vacation next August to celebrate. This little taste of family definitely has me all juiced up for it, even though it's a year away! Laura wants James & Deborah to fly down to visit her sometime next summer, so we'll be putting away some money for that in the next few months.
I think that's at least a brief overview to get my readers caught up (I really have to find a link to that commercial -- I think it was for Sonic or Rally's or something like that). Enjoy your weekend and I'll write more soon!
No, I haven't abandoned my blog. Life is just pretty busy right now with the start of school and a new shift and all of that. I hope to write a little more some evening soon so I can let folks know what's going on in our lives. But things are mostly good around here (far more good than bad right now).
Pics and a real blog either tonight or tomorrow night!
