The calendar has officially passed the summer solstice, and we are enjoying a rare glimpse of early summer for eastern Washington. Normally, this time of year is like every other time of year---rain, rain, rain. A few years back, a friend of mine planned an outdoor birthday party for her son and husband whose birthdays fall only days apart in July. The sky poured buckets and we had to move the party indoors! This year, however, we've been treated to sunshine with regularity interspersed with bouts of rain. Many folks are spending extra time out-of-doors, working in their yards or gardens or playing with the kids. I'm sure some people are wandering around dazedly wondering if all the dire global warming predictions have finally come to pass! Our family chooses to take each day as it comes and enjoy whatever the weather is for that day.
Our oldest three girls are gone this week to Youth Conference in Santa Clara, CA. Amanda, Katie, Ashley, and a whole lot of other teens boarded the bus after church Sunday night, happy and chattering and (for the new teens like Ashley) nervous. This is Ashley's first big trip away from home; while excitement hummed through every vein, there was also a great deal of fear and uncertainty. After all, she would be gone for nearly a week; she would be in a hotel room with three or four other girls whom she was sure would be mean to her (!); she had to budget her food money to make it last the whole time; and she had two older sisters breathing down her neck. So far, none of her fears have come to fruition. Katie has been nice enough to let Ashley borrow her phone to call home, and Ash's reports have been cheerful and excited. The conference, according to all three girls, is going well; they got to visit a water park on Tuesday morning (part of the schedule); I'm sure each service is filled with lots of singing, preaching, skits, and good Godly counsel; and they still have two days to look forward to. Today (Thursday) is the last day of the conference, I believe. On Friday, our teens will take a tour of San Francisco before loading the bus for the 16-hour trip home. Each year that our kids go, they come back fired up to serve God and keep their lives on track for Him. It's definitely worth the time spent raising money, sorting clothes, packing and repacking, missing our children, and welcoming them back home, exhausted, hoarse, and probably sunburnt.........all so they draw closer to God. Yep, definitely worth it!
In our case, our girls also learn a valuable lesson in trusting God through this Youth Conference. Amanda and Katie both approached me last week before they left, expressing their fear and concern for Ashley's safety on the trip. As older sisters, they already feel responsible for her behavior and conduct. Since Dale's accident, they also feel responsible for her very life. Each of them actually asked me not to let her go because, to their thinking, if she never leaves home then she can never get hurt. Understandable, yes? We talked and cried together, reminding each other that God is in control at all times. Dale's accident, while not desired or planned for, was completely under His supervision. If anything should happen to Ashley (not so far!), then we deal with it as with every other part of life---trusting God to know what is best always, asking for His guidance, and always looking forward to Heaven where all earth's troubles will be forgotten. I confess: I did go to Mrs. Rau (lady counsellor) and Bro. Jon Minge (youth leader) both, letting them know my concerns and asking them to keep a special eye on Ashley so that Mandie and Katie would be able to enjoy themselves more. But, just allowing Ashley or any of our children to leave home is an act of faith on our part. Chad and I have had to face the very real fact that, though we are as careful as can be, we cannot shelter our children from everything in life. Unless we decide to lock the front door and never leave our house again, our family will probably encounter other hardships and possibly dangers. We trust God to keep us in His hand and, if He chooses to allow bad things to happen, we still trust Him. The Lord giveth and He taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord. Amen.
Meanwhile, back in the Hall of Ostrander, those of us left behind have been experiencing life with less chaos. Fewer children = fewer messes, less laundry, fewer complaints, and less stress! Chad and I took the remaining kids (Emily and Dale) camping on Tuesday which happened to be Emily's 7th birthday. She considered this to be a good tradeoff for having the girls gone on her birthday. We went to Ocean Shores for the night, intending it to be two nights but Chad's boss called and needed him to do a short run Thursday morning which meant we had to return Wednesday afternoon. Chad and Emily wandered down the path to the beach a couple of times, and Emily had great fun dancing around on the wet sand with "no shoes, Mom!" Dale and I tried walking the narrow path to the beach; he was doing okay for a short while, but the many distractions and difficulties proved to be too much for his brain to process and he had a seizure right there in the sand. It was strange; he picked up his leg to take a step and his knee sort of locked. I said, "Dale, just put your foot down," and he said, "Mom, I can't!" and then the seizure hit. Of course, there was no one around---Chad and Emily were far ahead---so I held him until the seizure released and then comforted him as he regained feeling and movement. This was no longer than any other (in fact, it may have been somewhat shorter) and Dale seemed to recover from it a bit faster than usual. He voted to keep trying to make the beach, but I told him Dad would kill me if he had two seizures in a row (!), so we turned around and headed back to the camp. When we were almost there, Chad and Emily overtook us, and we were able to explain what had happened. Dale was fine the rest of the night, although a bit tired, of course. We all voted for an early bedtime so as to better enjoy the next day. On Wednesday morning, we walked around the shops and looked at silly souvenir things. Our favorite was a shirt that pictured a shark with wide-open jaws and a caption that read "Send more tourists; the last ones were delicious!" :-0 We drove down to the beach to let Dad and Emily walk around once more, and Emily picked up three sand dollars, much to her delight. This led to all sorts of jokes about what kind of money do fish use. I think we all had a great time but were glad to head home.
To any who are concerned about Dale's reaction to seeing the ocean for the first time since his accident, let me set your minds at ease. He was absolutely fine. He has no recollection of drowning that he knows of and no underlying fear of the water. As we sat in the truck on the beach before we left, I asked Dale if he remembered going on that youth activity (where he drowned). He said he remembers going on the activity but nothing else. He was not scared of the ocean or the sounds of the waves or anything. And, obviously, we would not have taken him if he was. I try not to pry too deeply into his memories of that day, but once in a while I'll ask him about it. Sometimes he thinks he remembers being in the water but not being in peril. For the most part, my older girls carry the fear of the water. Amanda handles it pretty well, even being willing to go on the beach if it's not the same one where Dale drowned. None of us have been back to that particular area since his accident. Katie, however, won't set foot on a beach and is not interested in overcoming her fear. Last week, her Bible class had an activity to a beach in West Seattle; she refused to go, saying she didn't want to go near any water like that. I see no reason to push her beyond that boundary, realizing that I truly have no idea what that horrible day was like for them when their brother died. Katie does not have a fear of all water, however; she went in the pool at the water park (Youth Conference) and had a great time. Our family chooses to overlook the obvious desire to stay away from all water at all costs or protect our children to the point that they feel smothered. In fact, we tend to joke about Dale's accident and subsequent challenges as our way of letting stress bleed off. And it's not just the girls and I---last week, when Chad was planning this camping trip to the ocean, he said, "We thought we'd let Dale see what the ocean looks like from the outside!"
So you see, as in all things, our God is good to us. He gave us back our son; He gave us life eternal by sacrificing His Son; He gives us life each day; He gives us strength to handle each situation; He loves us. And that's what it's all about: He loves us. If we had nothing else in this life to cling to, we would have this knowledge and be content: God loves us. What a wonderful Lord!
I John 4: 18-19 "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love Him, because He first loved us."
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Monday, June 17, 2013
"Let go, and let God!"
Have you ever heard this phrase before? "Let go, and let God." It means to let go of our lives, our desires, our ambitions, our plans, and let God have His way in us. My preacher spoke along these lines in last night's sermon. He was preaching from the passage of Scripture where the angel announces to Mary that she has been chosen to give birth to the Saviour of the world. Odd verses to use on Fathers' Day, right? But, Pastor Minge drew our attention to the verse which states, "For with God nothing shall be impossible." He emphasized the fact that the verse says "with God", not "to God." The Bible isn't saying that God finds nothing impossible; it's saying that we will find nothing impossible if we work with God. And, usually, that means readjusting our sights to focus on what God deems important, rather than our own petty, personal goals. Pastor Minge challenged us to imagine what we could accomplish for Christ if we let go the tight grasp we have on our lives and let God use us as He desires.
There is another verse in the Bible that compares our lives to a vapor that is here for a short while and then vanishes away, a puff of smoke that lingers for a few seconds and then is gone. We humans, because we are human, tend to live as if this is the only life we'll get. In a way, that's true; we should live each day, each moment, as if it were our last because it very well could be. But, as children of God, we are promised eternal life---a new life that lasts forever in Heaven with God Himself. We should be so willing to let God have control of us here on earth, to let Him direct us in the paths that He chooses, to carry out His will and His mission.........knowing that a life everlasting awaits us once our time here on earth is spent. And yet we clutch our dreams and desires to ourselves and refuse to give God full control. We give God part of our heart, part of our week, part of our attention while chasing rainbows and following our dreams. Oh, I believe God wants us to work hard at whatever job we have; I believe He wants us to be diligent and hard-working and good stewards of our employer's time and money. But we should not have making money or climbing the ladder of success as our goal. We should not sacrifice time spent serving God for time spent serving self. We should not take time away from gathering at the church house and hearing His Word preached in order to spend time at the lake or work a double shift because that will impress the boss. We should not forego soul-winning time just to go fishing or catch the early opening of a new store. God expects to make out our schedule, not take whatever time we have left each week.
This goes for our daily activities as well. Sermons on giving God your all tend to address only the "big" things: church, soul winning, tithing. But God wants each minute of each day. He wants us to want to get up early in order to spend time with Him in the morning before we start our day. He wants us to let Him control our tongues, not our own minds or---in a lot of cases---feelings. He wants us to talk with Him throughout the day, making sure we stay aligned with His wishes and His will at all times, from the time we awaken to the time we fall asleep. I believe it was Dr. John R. Rice who was approached by some young men once, telling him they had heard about his ability to pray and wanted to follow him around one day and witness this prayer in action. Dr. Rice agreed and allowed them to shadow him throughout the day. He chose a day that he was on the road, traveling somewhere to preach. The young men were excited; they were getting the chance to see how Dr. Rice prayed! They observed him as he got up and prepared for the day, shaving and dressing. They watched him bow his head for a simple prayer before eating each meal. They viewed him as he dealt with his appointments. They waited rather impatiently for the time that he would push everything aside, drop to his knees, lift his hands toward Heaven, and address the Father. As the sun crossed the sky, the young men began to fidget and ask themselves, "When is Dr. Rice, this great man of prayer, going to actually pray?" The day began to wane and these young men began to feel ill-used. They had expected some dramatic, life-changing ritual of prayer that they could copy. They felt that they had wasted their time pursuing an overblown idea. Finally, as it was apparent that Dr. Rice was preparing for bed, the young men thought, "Here it is. Before he goes to bed, he will pray. Now we get to see it." But Dr. Rice merely reached out to turn off the bedside lamp. The young men could keep their disillusioned thoughts to themselves no longer. They burst out, "Dr. Rice, what are you doing? We wanted to see you pray, but you haven't stopped to pray once all day! Now you're just going to go to bed?" Dr. Rice, that great man of God now in Heaven, looked at the young men in some astonishment. He replied, "I have done nothing but pray all day long. I prayed as I brushed my teeth this morning; I prayed as I studied my Bible; I prayed as I counseled people; I prayed as I was driven to the church; I prayed as I preached; I prayed as I was eating my meals. I PRAYED ALL DAY LONG!" Dr. Rice was trying to teach these young men that it's not important just to have a prayer time.........we all need a prayer life. We need to give God every minute of every day, not just a couple of hours on Sunday. God help us to give Him everything, holding nothing back. Only then will we find perfect peace and know true joy.
On a more personal note, we're fine. :-0
Seriously, we're having a good summer. The girls (except Emily) are getting excited about Youth Conference next week. They leave after church Sunday night and will return some time Saturday---early, early Saturday. They will come back sun-soaked, possibly water-soaked, and hopefully Bible-soaked! This week will be spent packing, unpacking, repacking, and then cramming things in at the last minute. (Am I right or what?) Emily's 7th birthday falls next Tuesday, and the girls won't be here to celebrate, so we are having cake and ice cream on Saturday instead. That is also the day of our annual community yard sales; it's always fun to spend some time walking around in the afternoon and looking at stuff. It's even more fun to buy stuff, but we'll have to wait and see about that. So, as you can see, our week is full! Packing to get rid of three children and yard-saleing on the weekend........what more could you ask for? ;-)
At the end of the school year, Dale took an English diagnostic test to determine whether he should be in 8th or 9th grade English next year. I haven't fully graded the test yet, but it seems as if he'll need 8th grade English PACES to reinforce this last year's teaching. I thought the next book order day was in July, so I waited to talk to our school secretary until last night at church. Turns out, there was a book order day in June, and she just sent the order in on Thursday! So, Dale will have to wait to start those PACES---oh, well. No complaints from him, to be sure! We're looking forward to next year already but not focusing on it too much in order to allow the kids to enjoy their summer break. Plus, we're really working on getting Amanda ready for college, and that's taking up a lot of our money, time, and daily stress levels. (LOL)
We have so much to be thankful for at our house. And we waste so much time complaining about little things. Silly, isn't it? Thank You, Lord, for all the wonderful things You do and provide for our family. We are blessed to be in Your family and privileged to call You Father.
II Corinthians 2: 14 "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place."
There is another verse in the Bible that compares our lives to a vapor that is here for a short while and then vanishes away, a puff of smoke that lingers for a few seconds and then is gone. We humans, because we are human, tend to live as if this is the only life we'll get. In a way, that's true; we should live each day, each moment, as if it were our last because it very well could be. But, as children of God, we are promised eternal life---a new life that lasts forever in Heaven with God Himself. We should be so willing to let God have control of us here on earth, to let Him direct us in the paths that He chooses, to carry out His will and His mission.........knowing that a life everlasting awaits us once our time here on earth is spent. And yet we clutch our dreams and desires to ourselves and refuse to give God full control. We give God part of our heart, part of our week, part of our attention while chasing rainbows and following our dreams. Oh, I believe God wants us to work hard at whatever job we have; I believe He wants us to be diligent and hard-working and good stewards of our employer's time and money. But we should not have making money or climbing the ladder of success as our goal. We should not sacrifice time spent serving God for time spent serving self. We should not take time away from gathering at the church house and hearing His Word preached in order to spend time at the lake or work a double shift because that will impress the boss. We should not forego soul-winning time just to go fishing or catch the early opening of a new store. God expects to make out our schedule, not take whatever time we have left each week.
This goes for our daily activities as well. Sermons on giving God your all tend to address only the "big" things: church, soul winning, tithing. But God wants each minute of each day. He wants us to want to get up early in order to spend time with Him in the morning before we start our day. He wants us to let Him control our tongues, not our own minds or---in a lot of cases---feelings. He wants us to talk with Him throughout the day, making sure we stay aligned with His wishes and His will at all times, from the time we awaken to the time we fall asleep. I believe it was Dr. John R. Rice who was approached by some young men once, telling him they had heard about his ability to pray and wanted to follow him around one day and witness this prayer in action. Dr. Rice agreed and allowed them to shadow him throughout the day. He chose a day that he was on the road, traveling somewhere to preach. The young men were excited; they were getting the chance to see how Dr. Rice prayed! They observed him as he got up and prepared for the day, shaving and dressing. They watched him bow his head for a simple prayer before eating each meal. They viewed him as he dealt with his appointments. They waited rather impatiently for the time that he would push everything aside, drop to his knees, lift his hands toward Heaven, and address the Father. As the sun crossed the sky, the young men began to fidget and ask themselves, "When is Dr. Rice, this great man of prayer, going to actually pray?" The day began to wane and these young men began to feel ill-used. They had expected some dramatic, life-changing ritual of prayer that they could copy. They felt that they had wasted their time pursuing an overblown idea. Finally, as it was apparent that Dr. Rice was preparing for bed, the young men thought, "Here it is. Before he goes to bed, he will pray. Now we get to see it." But Dr. Rice merely reached out to turn off the bedside lamp. The young men could keep their disillusioned thoughts to themselves no longer. They burst out, "Dr. Rice, what are you doing? We wanted to see you pray, but you haven't stopped to pray once all day! Now you're just going to go to bed?" Dr. Rice, that great man of God now in Heaven, looked at the young men in some astonishment. He replied, "I have done nothing but pray all day long. I prayed as I brushed my teeth this morning; I prayed as I studied my Bible; I prayed as I counseled people; I prayed as I was driven to the church; I prayed as I preached; I prayed as I was eating my meals. I PRAYED ALL DAY LONG!" Dr. Rice was trying to teach these young men that it's not important just to have a prayer time.........we all need a prayer life. We need to give God every minute of every day, not just a couple of hours on Sunday. God help us to give Him everything, holding nothing back. Only then will we find perfect peace and know true joy.
On a more personal note, we're fine. :-0
Seriously, we're having a good summer. The girls (except Emily) are getting excited about Youth Conference next week. They leave after church Sunday night and will return some time Saturday---early, early Saturday. They will come back sun-soaked, possibly water-soaked, and hopefully Bible-soaked! This week will be spent packing, unpacking, repacking, and then cramming things in at the last minute. (Am I right or what?) Emily's 7th birthday falls next Tuesday, and the girls won't be here to celebrate, so we are having cake and ice cream on Saturday instead. That is also the day of our annual community yard sales; it's always fun to spend some time walking around in the afternoon and looking at stuff. It's even more fun to buy stuff, but we'll have to wait and see about that. So, as you can see, our week is full! Packing to get rid of three children and yard-saleing on the weekend........what more could you ask for? ;-)
At the end of the school year, Dale took an English diagnostic test to determine whether he should be in 8th or 9th grade English next year. I haven't fully graded the test yet, but it seems as if he'll need 8th grade English PACES to reinforce this last year's teaching. I thought the next book order day was in July, so I waited to talk to our school secretary until last night at church. Turns out, there was a book order day in June, and she just sent the order in on Thursday! So, Dale will have to wait to start those PACES---oh, well. No complaints from him, to be sure! We're looking forward to next year already but not focusing on it too much in order to allow the kids to enjoy their summer break. Plus, we're really working on getting Amanda ready for college, and that's taking up a lot of our money, time, and daily stress levels. (LOL)
We have so much to be thankful for at our house. And we waste so much time complaining about little things. Silly, isn't it? Thank You, Lord, for all the wonderful things You do and provide for our family. We are blessed to be in Your family and privileged to call You Father.
II Corinthians 2: 14 "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place."
Saturday, June 8, 2013
She did it!
After years of hard work, fun activities, and quite a few tears, Amanda has finally graduated high school! Yes, our oldest marched across the platform Monday evening to accept her diploma stating that she did indeed successfully complete the required course of study and is now officially a high school graduate. Chad and I and the family sat in the section reserved for graduates' families and shed a few tears/cheered along with them over our children's success. This was definitely a night of mixed emotions: excitement flowed from the graduates in an almost tangible river; parents were proud and relieved---for some this was their first child to graduate while for others this was their last; the audience was pleased and proud of those graduating for their hard work and perseverance against difficulties; the used-to-be-11th graders-now-turned-official-seniors were strutting around, already plotting their reign of terror next school year (just kidding---they're good kids); and the younger kids were just wanting to get over to the gym where there was a feast spread!
The ceremony began at 7:00 p.m. and lasted about 45 minutes to 1 hour, followed by the reception which lasted until almost 10:00 p.m. You know how Baptists like their food and fellowship!! Each graduate had a special table set up that their family had decorated with special mementos and pictures to honor them; we had spent time earlier in the day getting it all set up. My husband had made a small canopy to cover the table and arranged rather pretty valances over it. We brought in small balloons and pictures and stuff while Mandie put together a slideshow of pictures on her laptop which played during the reception. Each graduate stood by his/her table which allowed everyone to move around the room, congratulating each one and admiring their table. There was also a small basket on each table for cards and gifts; Mandie didn't open her cards until the next day, but, when she did, she discovered she had received a couple hundred dollars in various cards! Praise the Lord!! This she plans to use to open a bank account to draw funds from for college. She is planning to go to Golden State Baptist College in Santa Clara, CA, and will probably major in Elementary Education. She and Dad are already planning their trip down to drop her off at college and get her started on the rest of her life!
The rest of us have been enjoying our first week of summer vacation. In fact, we've been enjoying it so much that Chad has already begun to scold us for sleeping in and not getting any housework done. (And, I must admit, the scolding is most definitely deserved!) However, we will not spend the entire summer break in bed; I will make up short lists of necessary household chores for us to work on, and we'll check them off as we go. At least, that's the plan......it remains to be seen how much we actually accomplish!
We have each been to see the doctor, not because we were ill but to establish care at a new clinic. The care provider we have chosen is actually an ARNP---Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner who works at the clinic with a doctor, and she is very nice. We are all well pleased to be under her care (should we need it) and have already benefited from her advice. She confirmed our belief that Katie suffers from tree/pollen allergies and then diagnosed Emily and possibly Ashley with that same allergy. For now, we are dosing Katie with generic-label Zyrtec and Emily with generic-label Claritin; Katie seems to be responding to the medication---WHEN SHE ACTUALLY TAKES IT---sorry, family discussion spilling over, but we need to take a few more days before seeing if Emily will respond to her meds. They inherited these allergies from dear old Dad who suffers the same problems each year. I had kind of hoped his allergies would not be handed down, but there's not a whole lot to be done about that. So far, Amanda seems somewhat allergy-free (she only has troubles if she rolls around in a field of dandelions) and Dale shows no symptoms whatsoever. He's always been the healthy one in the family........go figure. I don't think I have any allergies, just children!!
God is so good to us, and it's so obvious to anyone who cares to look. Those who say that life is just full of coincidences or that God doesn't involve Himself in our daily lives are really just looking for an excuse to live their lives to please themselves. God's hand is evident in the smallest details......like the bouquet of flowers Amanda received from someone for graduation, beautiful orange flowers bursting out of a clear vase. Orange is not my favorite color at all, but it is Amanda's. The family who gave her the flowers didn't know that, but God did. God loves us just as earthly fathers love their children and expresses that love to us just as earthly fathers do. The only difference is God's love will never diminish or change. Nothing we can do will cause God to stop loving us. We may anger our earthly parents to the point that they say, "Enough! You are no longer my child! Don't ever speak to me again!" But that will never happen with God. No matter what we do, good or bad, God is always there. If we obey His voice and follow His will, He blesses us with manifold blessings. If we turn away from Him and do our own thing, God lovingly draws us back. We may even get so bad that God feels like He must take us on Home early to stop our wrongdoing, but He never turns His back on us. He is always there, whether we want Him there or not. God loves us so much, doesn't He?
Romans 5: 8 "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
The ceremony began at 7:00 p.m. and lasted about 45 minutes to 1 hour, followed by the reception which lasted until almost 10:00 p.m. You know how Baptists like their food and fellowship!! Each graduate had a special table set up that their family had decorated with special mementos and pictures to honor them; we had spent time earlier in the day getting it all set up. My husband had made a small canopy to cover the table and arranged rather pretty valances over it. We brought in small balloons and pictures and stuff while Mandie put together a slideshow of pictures on her laptop which played during the reception. Each graduate stood by his/her table which allowed everyone to move around the room, congratulating each one and admiring their table. There was also a small basket on each table for cards and gifts; Mandie didn't open her cards until the next day, but, when she did, she discovered she had received a couple hundred dollars in various cards! Praise the Lord!! This she plans to use to open a bank account to draw funds from for college. She is planning to go to Golden State Baptist College in Santa Clara, CA, and will probably major in Elementary Education. She and Dad are already planning their trip down to drop her off at college and get her started on the rest of her life!
The rest of us have been enjoying our first week of summer vacation. In fact, we've been enjoying it so much that Chad has already begun to scold us for sleeping in and not getting any housework done. (And, I must admit, the scolding is most definitely deserved!) However, we will not spend the entire summer break in bed; I will make up short lists of necessary household chores for us to work on, and we'll check them off as we go. At least, that's the plan......it remains to be seen how much we actually accomplish!
We have each been to see the doctor, not because we were ill but to establish care at a new clinic. The care provider we have chosen is actually an ARNP---Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner who works at the clinic with a doctor, and she is very nice. We are all well pleased to be under her care (should we need it) and have already benefited from her advice. She confirmed our belief that Katie suffers from tree/pollen allergies and then diagnosed Emily and possibly Ashley with that same allergy. For now, we are dosing Katie with generic-label Zyrtec and Emily with generic-label Claritin; Katie seems to be responding to the medication---WHEN SHE ACTUALLY TAKES IT---sorry, family discussion spilling over, but we need to take a few more days before seeing if Emily will respond to her meds. They inherited these allergies from dear old Dad who suffers the same problems each year. I had kind of hoped his allergies would not be handed down, but there's not a whole lot to be done about that. So far, Amanda seems somewhat allergy-free (she only has troubles if she rolls around in a field of dandelions) and Dale shows no symptoms whatsoever. He's always been the healthy one in the family........go figure. I don't think I have any allergies, just children!!
God is so good to us, and it's so obvious to anyone who cares to look. Those who say that life is just full of coincidences or that God doesn't involve Himself in our daily lives are really just looking for an excuse to live their lives to please themselves. God's hand is evident in the smallest details......like the bouquet of flowers Amanda received from someone for graduation, beautiful orange flowers bursting out of a clear vase. Orange is not my favorite color at all, but it is Amanda's. The family who gave her the flowers didn't know that, but God did. God loves us just as earthly fathers love their children and expresses that love to us just as earthly fathers do. The only difference is God's love will never diminish or change. Nothing we can do will cause God to stop loving us. We may anger our earthly parents to the point that they say, "Enough! You are no longer my child! Don't ever speak to me again!" But that will never happen with God. No matter what we do, good or bad, God is always there. If we obey His voice and follow His will, He blesses us with manifold blessings. If we turn away from Him and do our own thing, God lovingly draws us back. We may even get so bad that God feels like He must take us on Home early to stop our wrongdoing, but He never turns His back on us. He is always there, whether we want Him there or not. God loves us so much, doesn't He?
Romans 5: 8 "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Sunday, May 26, 2013
God is our loving Heavenly Father.
We are all sinners. This is made clear in the Bible (Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, and everywhere else!)) and even more clear in everyday life. We know that, as Christians, we have but to confess our sin to God to be forgiven and washed clean again, but that sounds kind of trite sometimes. "God, I sinned; please forgive me. Amen. Great---all done!" God showed me this week that I need to "keep a clean slate" with Him, even if it means going through the motions, feeling like I'm just saying words. Yes, God wants us to be sincerely sorry for our sin and strive not to repeat it, but He still wants us to confess our sin to Him even if we're not through sinning. Does this make sense? I'm not saying we have a license to sin, but I do not believe that we must achieve a state of true and complete repentance before speaking to our Heavenly Father about our transgressions.
I was teaching the Bible lesson in my third grade class this week when something that I was saying to the students really hit home with me. I felt the Holy Spirit guide my words so that the kids could learn from what was being taught but so that I, too, would get the message. Amazing how that works, right? God loves us so much that, even though He knows we are not fully repentant for what we've done wrong ("Lord, I know it was wrong, but, boy, was it fun!" kind of thinking), He still wants us to keep in the practice of confessing that sin to Him right away. He wants us to keep the lines of communication open and establish the right habits of always talking to our Father about what goes on in our lives because the more we talk to Him, the more we are listening to His reply. The Holy Spirit can convict a heart open to hearing Him much more easily than a heart closed off from listening. You see? God wants us to practice right habits even when we're not practicing right actions. Of course, having realized this, I was able to more sincerely pray and ask God's forgiveness for my sin without feeling so much as if I were a hypocrite or a liar.
Our Heavenly Father wants so much for us to stay in close fellowship with Him that He will listen even to a less-than-heartfelt confession, for then He can work even more in our hearts and bring us to a true confession. Isn't He merciful? How many of us have faced frustration when we feel our kids are saying "sorry" for something without really feeling sorrow? God faces the same situation each day multiple times with His children and shows us by His example to keep working with our kids toward the ultimate goal of true repentance which results in a changed attitude and life. Thank You, Lord, for Your mercy and love and for constantly drawing us to You for forgiveness, mercy, and life.
Amanda did all right this week, having missed her Senior Trip. She got to go out to eat with different folks a couple of times and stay home from school a few days. On Tuesday, Chad took Amanda and Katie to the Southcenter Mall to walk around and shop; the girls can't get enough of this mall---it's huge and cleverly designed so that there are literally shops around every corner. They came home happy and exhausted! Katie's birthday was Thursday; she turned sweet 16. This is a special birthday for the girls in our house because they get to start using makeup! So, Thursday night, Katie and I prowled through the makeup section at Wal-Mart and bought lots of products for her to experiment with. When we got home, Amanda and Katie sequestered themselves upstairs so that Mandie could show Katie how to put on her makeup properly. The finished result was absolutely beautiful! All of us were exclaiming over Katie's face so much that I think she got the message that we liked her makeup a lot! Then, Friday morning, Mandie chose to sleep in and not go to school, so Katie was on her own applying makeup for school wear. She did great! She got lots of compliments, enough to make her realize that she looks good with makeup, not like a clown as she feared. One more step to growing up for her!
Dale has done well this week with school. He's finishing up the year like everyone else and studying for his finals. We've about decided to order PACES for him for some of his classes next year. It's worth trying out to see if he does better working at his own pace to learn than trying to keep up with a class and huge amounts of material. Yesterday he was a bit sad because he thought he would have to go to summer school to make up for poor grades this year, but we think he'll be able to catch up pretty well. When I told Dale this, he brightened considerably!
This is Ashley's last week as an elementary student. As of 12:35 p.m. on Friday the 31st, she will officially be a seventh grader! So many changes are in store for her this summer: she will stop going to Children's Challenge and start working on a bus route; she will join the youth group; she will get to go to Youth Conference for the first time; she will be a worker at Vacation Bible School instead of a participant; and she will be going to junior high classes in the fall. Wow! The biggest sign that she's growing up? Oma (Mrs. Helen Hernandez) bought Ashley a whole lot of little pots and seeds and soil to start a garden, and---get this---Dad said she could transplant them into the flower garden at the front of the house when they get big enough!!! THIS is truly a BIG THING. A year ago when Ashley asked if she could plant some seeds there, Dad gave a resounding "NO!" But now, he willingly offered this area to her, showing her that he considers her able to handle such a job. She is over the moon with excitement! Please pray that her flowers and vegetables grow so that she is able to transplant them and see results of her labor. This is a good hobby to have, one that will encourage hard work and also help provide food for the household (her thinking). Ashley, Emily, and Dale sat out on the patio yesterday filling the little pots with special soil, adding water carefully, and pushing little seeds into the fresh dirt, then labeling the pots so they wouldn't forget what was in what! We'll see what happens.
Amanda's graduation is in one week now! So much to do this week to finish out the school year, order books for next year, and get ready for our oldest to graduate. We thought this day would never come, and now here it is! Praise the Lord for allowing her to grow up strong and healthy and bringing her along this way toward serving Him. What a wonderful Heavenly Father we have.
Thank you to each of you who read this blog, rejoice along with us over our victories, and pray with us during our difficulties. You are a special part of our family, and I can't wait to meet you all at some point---either here, there, or in the air, as they say! God bless you!
Hebrews 12: 6, 7, 9 "For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not? Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?"
I was teaching the Bible lesson in my third grade class this week when something that I was saying to the students really hit home with me. I felt the Holy Spirit guide my words so that the kids could learn from what was being taught but so that I, too, would get the message. Amazing how that works, right? God loves us so much that, even though He knows we are not fully repentant for what we've done wrong ("Lord, I know it was wrong, but, boy, was it fun!" kind of thinking), He still wants us to keep in the practice of confessing that sin to Him right away. He wants us to keep the lines of communication open and establish the right habits of always talking to our Father about what goes on in our lives because the more we talk to Him, the more we are listening to His reply. The Holy Spirit can convict a heart open to hearing Him much more easily than a heart closed off from listening. You see? God wants us to practice right habits even when we're not practicing right actions. Of course, having realized this, I was able to more sincerely pray and ask God's forgiveness for my sin without feeling so much as if I were a hypocrite or a liar.
Our Heavenly Father wants so much for us to stay in close fellowship with Him that He will listen even to a less-than-heartfelt confession, for then He can work even more in our hearts and bring us to a true confession. Isn't He merciful? How many of us have faced frustration when we feel our kids are saying "sorry" for something without really feeling sorrow? God faces the same situation each day multiple times with His children and shows us by His example to keep working with our kids toward the ultimate goal of true repentance which results in a changed attitude and life. Thank You, Lord, for Your mercy and love and for constantly drawing us to You for forgiveness, mercy, and life.
Amanda did all right this week, having missed her Senior Trip. She got to go out to eat with different folks a couple of times and stay home from school a few days. On Tuesday, Chad took Amanda and Katie to the Southcenter Mall to walk around and shop; the girls can't get enough of this mall---it's huge and cleverly designed so that there are literally shops around every corner. They came home happy and exhausted! Katie's birthday was Thursday; she turned sweet 16. This is a special birthday for the girls in our house because they get to start using makeup! So, Thursday night, Katie and I prowled through the makeup section at Wal-Mart and bought lots of products for her to experiment with. When we got home, Amanda and Katie sequestered themselves upstairs so that Mandie could show Katie how to put on her makeup properly. The finished result was absolutely beautiful! All of us were exclaiming over Katie's face so much that I think she got the message that we liked her makeup a lot! Then, Friday morning, Mandie chose to sleep in and not go to school, so Katie was on her own applying makeup for school wear. She did great! She got lots of compliments, enough to make her realize that she looks good with makeup, not like a clown as she feared. One more step to growing up for her!
Dale has done well this week with school. He's finishing up the year like everyone else and studying for his finals. We've about decided to order PACES for him for some of his classes next year. It's worth trying out to see if he does better working at his own pace to learn than trying to keep up with a class and huge amounts of material. Yesterday he was a bit sad because he thought he would have to go to summer school to make up for poor grades this year, but we think he'll be able to catch up pretty well. When I told Dale this, he brightened considerably!
This is Ashley's last week as an elementary student. As of 12:35 p.m. on Friday the 31st, she will officially be a seventh grader! So many changes are in store for her this summer: she will stop going to Children's Challenge and start working on a bus route; she will join the youth group; she will get to go to Youth Conference for the first time; she will be a worker at Vacation Bible School instead of a participant; and she will be going to junior high classes in the fall. Wow! The biggest sign that she's growing up? Oma (Mrs. Helen Hernandez) bought Ashley a whole lot of little pots and seeds and soil to start a garden, and---get this---Dad said she could transplant them into the flower garden at the front of the house when they get big enough!!! THIS is truly a BIG THING. A year ago when Ashley asked if she could plant some seeds there, Dad gave a resounding "NO!" But now, he willingly offered this area to her, showing her that he considers her able to handle such a job. She is over the moon with excitement! Please pray that her flowers and vegetables grow so that she is able to transplant them and see results of her labor. This is a good hobby to have, one that will encourage hard work and also help provide food for the household (her thinking). Ashley, Emily, and Dale sat out on the patio yesterday filling the little pots with special soil, adding water carefully, and pushing little seeds into the fresh dirt, then labeling the pots so they wouldn't forget what was in what! We'll see what happens.
Amanda's graduation is in one week now! So much to do this week to finish out the school year, order books for next year, and get ready for our oldest to graduate. We thought this day would never come, and now here it is! Praise the Lord for allowing her to grow up strong and healthy and bringing her along this way toward serving Him. What a wonderful Heavenly Father we have.
Thank you to each of you who read this blog, rejoice along with us over our victories, and pray with us during our difficulties. You are a special part of our family, and I can't wait to meet you all at some point---either here, there, or in the air, as they say! God bless you!
Hebrews 12: 6, 7, 9 "For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not? Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?"
Sunday, May 19, 2013
If only life came with do-overs
How many times have you wished you could rewind the clock just a bit---a couple of minutes, a few days, even a month or two---and change the way you handled something? Do you find yourself wishing you could travel via time machine back several years and warn your earlier self about __________ (fill in the blank)? That's the situation our family finds ourselves in right now.
For several months now, Amanda and the rest of her senior class has been raising money for their Senior Trip. For the first time ever, the seniors would be allowed to go on an Alaskan cruise for their final activity as high school students, and everyone was excited. Chad and I were at first reluctant to even allow Amanda to plan to go because the price seemed astronomical (after ballooning a couple of times, it finally settled at just under $1,000), but there were lots of fund-raising events that would help with the cost, and Amanda was able to raise the money without pitching in any from her own pocket. This was a sticking point because she needed to be saving what she could preparatory to entering college in the fall. There were a few seniors who had opted out of the trip for differing reasons, but most were really excited about going. The dates for the cruise were announced to be May 18 - 25.
There were several hurdles to jump concerning proper documentation and paperwork involved in allowing our minor children to accompany Bro. Jon and Mrs. Whitney Minge on the cruise. I take the blame for not getting the ball rolling earlier on this. I "thought we had plenty of time" to get what we needed, which was a government-issued ID card (since Mandie does not have her driver's license yet) along with a handwritten letter from us, her parents, stating that we give permission, blah, blah, blah. I thought we could just run down to the local Dept. of Licensing and get her ID card in a couple of hours, so I put it off until the week before the cruise. When I checked the website to see what we needed to bring for proof of identity, I discovered that we could get a paper copy of her ID card but not the real card---that would arrive in 7 - 10 days. At this point, the cruise was a little over a week away. Bro. Jon, Chad, and I all made tons of phone calls, trying to discover if Mandie would be allowed on the cruise with just a temporary ID card. Amongst the three of us, we probably made around twenty calls to various people, offices, and organizations. (Bro. Jon was directed to call our DOL, Canadian Port Authority, and---get this---even Homeland Security! All this for an 18-year-old to go on a Senior Trip!) No one would give us a straight answer, but the general consensus was that a temporary ID should be sufficient to allow Amanda to board with the others.
Amanda asked her father to go with her to the DOL to get the ID card, since, as she said, "Dad is more authoritative than you, Mom." True, true. In other words, if there are any unforeseen snags, Dad's the man to go to! So, last Wednesday afternoon, Chad and Amanda, armed with her birth certificate and Social Security card, went to the DOL to get her official ID card stating that she is who she has been for the last 18 and a half years! And may I just stop here and say how ridiculous it is that someone who is born in these United States has to go through more steps to prove they are who they are than someone who has entered this country illegally. There is something seriously wrong with our government that is supposedly designed to serve us, the people, when we have to provide three different forms of identification in order to obtain an identification card! And that, only after having filled out the proper forms and waiting a couple of weeks. (Picture me throwing up my hands in disgust.)
Anyway, about an hour and a half later, Chad and Mandie returned to the school, obviously upset. Mandie's face said, "I'm trying not to cry, so don't ask me anything." Chad just came out and said, "It's the wrong birth certificate." How do you have the wrong birth certificate for one of your own children? As it turns out, the birth document---with an official-looking seal and signatures and all---was just from the hospital, not from the state. For 18 years, we have held onto a birth certificate that was really just a pretty piece of paper. The lady at the DOL was very blunt when she stated, "This is just a souvenir from the hospital." We tried contacting the Indiana office of certification to maybe overnight a copy of her birth certificate but were told that if would take up to seven weeks to receive it. And we have no family in the area who could possibly walk in and receive a copy to overnight to us. Soooooo, that was that. End of the line.
People have been very sympathetic, but it boils down to this: we put it off too late. If we had only started this process a couple of months ago, we would have discovered the glitches in time to get her ID card and allow her to go on the cruise. But, these are the hard lessons of life. Amanda asked Bro. Jon if she could let someone else go in her place, and he was able to get the name changed on the reservation so that one of the other seniors could take the trip instead. I hope they have a great time and come back with lots of pictures to share. No matter how you spin it, this week is going to be hard on Amanda. We're trying to come up with some fun activities to help with the left-behind feeling; we'll see how that goes. Amanda definitely has displayed a forgiving spirit and is deliberately not blaming anyone, and for this I thank her and the Lord.
Enough tragedy..........on to comedy! Friday night, the high school drama class put on their Spring Play, written by the students and performed with great flair. It was a comedy, a farce about old Rome, except Caesar liked peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and his band of Roman soldiers was less than well-trained! It truly was alot of fun to enact and watch. Mandie played the part of the younger sister who got to watch her older sister being prepared for the role she would play as wife to some great man (which meant dieting ruthlessly, standing for hours for dress fittings, and watching her tongue) while the younger sister got to wear whatever she wanted, eat whatever she wanted, and say whatever she wanted. The plot twisted to reveal the fact that the reigning Caesar had had his older brother and family killed so that he could ascend the throne. However, the soldiers had recently captured some dissidents sailing in their waters, one of which turned out to be the daughter of the nurse of the older brother's wife and infant son. The son was now grown into a young man and able to reclaim the throne in his father's name. And all lived happily ever after........even the former Caesar who, though imprisoned and enslaved now, could eat as many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as he desired! We had a lot of fun watching the play and laughing at the various silly scenes, and it seemed like the actors enjoyed playing their parts, too. Bro. Minge, our principal who recently took over the play production, was rather relieved to have the performance finished at last; props preparation and rehearsals and such took up so much of his time lately. We held a bake sale afterwards to help balance the costs of decorations and costumes, so everyone got to stand around and fellowship for a bit.
And now, we enter the final sprint! There are only two weeks of school left in this year. Parents are pushing their kids to do their best on their finals while at the same time trying to fill out book order forms for next year. Students have been going crazy just thinking about the thrills of the upcoming summer break. Teachers have been doing their best to keep hold of the reins of the class and conduct their students to a safe and successful finish. When the final bell rings at 12:35 p.m. on Friday, May 31st, there will be great rejoicing from the student body and heartfelt sighs of relief from the teachers!
I need to go now; church is starting soon. God bless each of you as you live for Him.
Philippians 4: 13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
For several months now, Amanda and the rest of her senior class has been raising money for their Senior Trip. For the first time ever, the seniors would be allowed to go on an Alaskan cruise for their final activity as high school students, and everyone was excited. Chad and I were at first reluctant to even allow Amanda to plan to go because the price seemed astronomical (after ballooning a couple of times, it finally settled at just under $1,000), but there were lots of fund-raising events that would help with the cost, and Amanda was able to raise the money without pitching in any from her own pocket. This was a sticking point because she needed to be saving what she could preparatory to entering college in the fall. There were a few seniors who had opted out of the trip for differing reasons, but most were really excited about going. The dates for the cruise were announced to be May 18 - 25.
There were several hurdles to jump concerning proper documentation and paperwork involved in allowing our minor children to accompany Bro. Jon and Mrs. Whitney Minge on the cruise. I take the blame for not getting the ball rolling earlier on this. I "thought we had plenty of time" to get what we needed, which was a government-issued ID card (since Mandie does not have her driver's license yet) along with a handwritten letter from us, her parents, stating that we give permission, blah, blah, blah. I thought we could just run down to the local Dept. of Licensing and get her ID card in a couple of hours, so I put it off until the week before the cruise. When I checked the website to see what we needed to bring for proof of identity, I discovered that we could get a paper copy of her ID card but not the real card---that would arrive in 7 - 10 days. At this point, the cruise was a little over a week away. Bro. Jon, Chad, and I all made tons of phone calls, trying to discover if Mandie would be allowed on the cruise with just a temporary ID card. Amongst the three of us, we probably made around twenty calls to various people, offices, and organizations. (Bro. Jon was directed to call our DOL, Canadian Port Authority, and---get this---even Homeland Security! All this for an 18-year-old to go on a Senior Trip!) No one would give us a straight answer, but the general consensus was that a temporary ID should be sufficient to allow Amanda to board with the others.
Amanda asked her father to go with her to the DOL to get the ID card, since, as she said, "Dad is more authoritative than you, Mom." True, true. In other words, if there are any unforeseen snags, Dad's the man to go to! So, last Wednesday afternoon, Chad and Amanda, armed with her birth certificate and Social Security card, went to the DOL to get her official ID card stating that she is who she has been for the last 18 and a half years! And may I just stop here and say how ridiculous it is that someone who is born in these United States has to go through more steps to prove they are who they are than someone who has entered this country illegally. There is something seriously wrong with our government that is supposedly designed to serve us, the people, when we have to provide three different forms of identification in order to obtain an identification card! And that, only after having filled out the proper forms and waiting a couple of weeks. (Picture me throwing up my hands in disgust.)
Anyway, about an hour and a half later, Chad and Mandie returned to the school, obviously upset. Mandie's face said, "I'm trying not to cry, so don't ask me anything." Chad just came out and said, "It's the wrong birth certificate." How do you have the wrong birth certificate for one of your own children? As it turns out, the birth document---with an official-looking seal and signatures and all---was just from the hospital, not from the state. For 18 years, we have held onto a birth certificate that was really just a pretty piece of paper. The lady at the DOL was very blunt when she stated, "This is just a souvenir from the hospital." We tried contacting the Indiana office of certification to maybe overnight a copy of her birth certificate but were told that if would take up to seven weeks to receive it. And we have no family in the area who could possibly walk in and receive a copy to overnight to us. Soooooo, that was that. End of the line.
People have been very sympathetic, but it boils down to this: we put it off too late. If we had only started this process a couple of months ago, we would have discovered the glitches in time to get her ID card and allow her to go on the cruise. But, these are the hard lessons of life. Amanda asked Bro. Jon if she could let someone else go in her place, and he was able to get the name changed on the reservation so that one of the other seniors could take the trip instead. I hope they have a great time and come back with lots of pictures to share. No matter how you spin it, this week is going to be hard on Amanda. We're trying to come up with some fun activities to help with the left-behind feeling; we'll see how that goes. Amanda definitely has displayed a forgiving spirit and is deliberately not blaming anyone, and for this I thank her and the Lord.
Enough tragedy..........on to comedy! Friday night, the high school drama class put on their Spring Play, written by the students and performed with great flair. It was a comedy, a farce about old Rome, except Caesar liked peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and his band of Roman soldiers was less than well-trained! It truly was alot of fun to enact and watch. Mandie played the part of the younger sister who got to watch her older sister being prepared for the role she would play as wife to some great man (which meant dieting ruthlessly, standing for hours for dress fittings, and watching her tongue) while the younger sister got to wear whatever she wanted, eat whatever she wanted, and say whatever she wanted. The plot twisted to reveal the fact that the reigning Caesar had had his older brother and family killed so that he could ascend the throne. However, the soldiers had recently captured some dissidents sailing in their waters, one of which turned out to be the daughter of the nurse of the older brother's wife and infant son. The son was now grown into a young man and able to reclaim the throne in his father's name. And all lived happily ever after........even the former Caesar who, though imprisoned and enslaved now, could eat as many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as he desired! We had a lot of fun watching the play and laughing at the various silly scenes, and it seemed like the actors enjoyed playing their parts, too. Bro. Minge, our principal who recently took over the play production, was rather relieved to have the performance finished at last; props preparation and rehearsals and such took up so much of his time lately. We held a bake sale afterwards to help balance the costs of decorations and costumes, so everyone got to stand around and fellowship for a bit.
And now, we enter the final sprint! There are only two weeks of school left in this year. Parents are pushing their kids to do their best on their finals while at the same time trying to fill out book order forms for next year. Students have been going crazy just thinking about the thrills of the upcoming summer break. Teachers have been doing their best to keep hold of the reins of the class and conduct their students to a safe and successful finish. When the final bell rings at 12:35 p.m. on Friday, May 31st, there will be great rejoicing from the student body and heartfelt sighs of relief from the teachers!
I need to go now; church is starting soon. God bless each of you as you live for Him.
Philippians 4: 13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Dale's latest adventures
Where to start? So much has happened in this past week and a half that, if I were to recount every bit, this blog would be fourteen pages long! However, I'll try to give you some idea of how our days have gone lately.
Last Tuesday (April 30th) was Ashley's 12th birthday. We still had school, of course, but we allowed Ash to invite a couple of friends to come home with us afterwards for a small party. Ashley had decided she wanted to go walk around the mall on her birthday; Chad very kindly offered to take them so that I could spend some down time recuperating from the school day while simultaneously cleaning up the house and baking Ashley's birthday cake. Chad and the girls (Amanda included) were gone almost two hours and came home in great spirits. The girls said they spent nearly an hour in Claire's, and, since Ashley had some birthday money with her, she got to purchase something for each family member (except Dad and Dale who don't want something from Claire's anyway!) plus lots of fun stuff for herself. When they got back, we had Ashley open her gifts and ate cake and ice cream, then let the girls play around some before taking them home. Ashley seemed to have a good birthday.
Dale, however, did not enjoy quite all of Ashley's birthday because.......he took quite a bad fall on the sidewalk after school. He was heading for the van as usual---we try as much as possible to let him walk by himself whenever he feels like it to encourage him to feel more comfortable walking on his own---and had gotten about halfway down the sidewalk when he tripped up on something (maybe just an uneven spot on the cement), and down he went! I was only about three paces beyond the door---too far to help---and Amanda was standing by the van and could only watch as he toppled over. The bad news: Dale's head bounced off the cement hard enough for us to hear it. The good news: Amanda said it looked like Dale tried to twist as he fell so as not to land face first. This is actually really good! He was able to keep thinking enough throughout the fall to change his trajectory somewhat. Unfortunately, he still landed pretty hard on his left side, bruising himself and scraping up the left side of his face above the temple and on the ear. How he managed to scrape both the front and back of his ear, I'll never figure out! Dale wound up with some raw, bleeding patches on the side of his face and ear, a lump above his left eyebrow, and a bit of a headache. His scrapes colored nicely into a seriously black eye, and his lump slowly seeped down to swell around his eye, leaving him looking alot like Rocky! I told Amanda that his face was exactly what movie makeup people try to reproduce to make it look like someone has been in a fight---except, in Dale's case, the sidewalk won. When someone asked Dale what happened to his face, I told them that we couldn't afford a coat of many colors for our favorite son, so we gave him a face of many colors! Yeah, yeah, just kidding.
As if this wasn't bad enough, on Thursday, the very day Dale had a neurology appointment, he fell again---this time landing completely face first. He was walking in the gym and stepped on a small pebble which caused him to lose his balance. Our preacher was nearby and told us Dale leaned forward, trying to regain his balance, and almost had it before pitching forward onto his nose. Of course, this resulted in bleeding from both nostrils, a small lump on the bridge of the nose, and four painful bite marks on his tongue which proceeded to bleed profusely. All of this happened just before lunchtime which means the entire high school witnessed Dale's pain and tears. Most everyone responded with sympathetic looks and offers of help or just turning away and pretending not to see Dale cry. It took a while before Dale could manage to eat lunch, for obvious reasons. Then, within an hour of Dale's tumble, we had to leave for his doctor appointment. Poor guy! What a face to present to the neuro doctor!
The neurologist was pleased to see Dale and, during the course of the visit, put Dale through some simple tests to determine how well Dale is progressing in his comeback from drowning. Some of these tests the doctor had done before with Dale, like following the doctor's finger with just his eyes and tapping various rhythms with his hands, and some were new, like trying to walk heel to toe and trying to walk on his tiptoes. This was hard for Dale to do, but it gave the neurologist a better idea of how Dale's brain is working now. Something interesting: the doctor had Dale stand and close his eyes; then he pushed lightly on Dale's shoulders and arms to try to cause him to lose his balance. The result surprised the doctor---instead of losing his balance easily because his eyes were closed, Dale retained his balance with no effort, like we would. The neurologist said he thought Dale was taking alot of visual cues to help him balance and walk, which would perhaps explain why he falls sometimes. However, Dale's balance does not seem to be altered by loss of visual cues. This is both good and bad; if his balance was being affected by his sight, maybe we could take certain steps to fix that. Since this does not seem to be the case, Dale is kind of "on his own" still.........needing to control his balance and walking every single minute. But, Dale is doing well, disregarding the falls he takes occasionally. He just gets up and tries again, even bloody and bruised!
The verse I chose for the end of this blog is a good lesson for us all but especially descriptive of Dale!
I Corinthians 10: 12 "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." Apt, don't you think?!
Last Tuesday (April 30th) was Ashley's 12th birthday. We still had school, of course, but we allowed Ash to invite a couple of friends to come home with us afterwards for a small party. Ashley had decided she wanted to go walk around the mall on her birthday; Chad very kindly offered to take them so that I could spend some down time recuperating from the school day while simultaneously cleaning up the house and baking Ashley's birthday cake. Chad and the girls (Amanda included) were gone almost two hours and came home in great spirits. The girls said they spent nearly an hour in Claire's, and, since Ashley had some birthday money with her, she got to purchase something for each family member (except Dad and Dale who don't want something from Claire's anyway!) plus lots of fun stuff for herself. When they got back, we had Ashley open her gifts and ate cake and ice cream, then let the girls play around some before taking them home. Ashley seemed to have a good birthday.
Dale, however, did not enjoy quite all of Ashley's birthday because.......he took quite a bad fall on the sidewalk after school. He was heading for the van as usual---we try as much as possible to let him walk by himself whenever he feels like it to encourage him to feel more comfortable walking on his own---and had gotten about halfway down the sidewalk when he tripped up on something (maybe just an uneven spot on the cement), and down he went! I was only about three paces beyond the door---too far to help---and Amanda was standing by the van and could only watch as he toppled over. The bad news: Dale's head bounced off the cement hard enough for us to hear it. The good news: Amanda said it looked like Dale tried to twist as he fell so as not to land face first. This is actually really good! He was able to keep thinking enough throughout the fall to change his trajectory somewhat. Unfortunately, he still landed pretty hard on his left side, bruising himself and scraping up the left side of his face above the temple and on the ear. How he managed to scrape both the front and back of his ear, I'll never figure out! Dale wound up with some raw, bleeding patches on the side of his face and ear, a lump above his left eyebrow, and a bit of a headache. His scrapes colored nicely into a seriously black eye, and his lump slowly seeped down to swell around his eye, leaving him looking alot like Rocky! I told Amanda that his face was exactly what movie makeup people try to reproduce to make it look like someone has been in a fight---except, in Dale's case, the sidewalk won. When someone asked Dale what happened to his face, I told them that we couldn't afford a coat of many colors for our favorite son, so we gave him a face of many colors! Yeah, yeah, just kidding.
As if this wasn't bad enough, on Thursday, the very day Dale had a neurology appointment, he fell again---this time landing completely face first. He was walking in the gym and stepped on a small pebble which caused him to lose his balance. Our preacher was nearby and told us Dale leaned forward, trying to regain his balance, and almost had it before pitching forward onto his nose. Of course, this resulted in bleeding from both nostrils, a small lump on the bridge of the nose, and four painful bite marks on his tongue which proceeded to bleed profusely. All of this happened just before lunchtime which means the entire high school witnessed Dale's pain and tears. Most everyone responded with sympathetic looks and offers of help or just turning away and pretending not to see Dale cry. It took a while before Dale could manage to eat lunch, for obvious reasons. Then, within an hour of Dale's tumble, we had to leave for his doctor appointment. Poor guy! What a face to present to the neuro doctor!
The neurologist was pleased to see Dale and, during the course of the visit, put Dale through some simple tests to determine how well Dale is progressing in his comeback from drowning. Some of these tests the doctor had done before with Dale, like following the doctor's finger with just his eyes and tapping various rhythms with his hands, and some were new, like trying to walk heel to toe and trying to walk on his tiptoes. This was hard for Dale to do, but it gave the neurologist a better idea of how Dale's brain is working now. Something interesting: the doctor had Dale stand and close his eyes; then he pushed lightly on Dale's shoulders and arms to try to cause him to lose his balance. The result surprised the doctor---instead of losing his balance easily because his eyes were closed, Dale retained his balance with no effort, like we would. The neurologist said he thought Dale was taking alot of visual cues to help him balance and walk, which would perhaps explain why he falls sometimes. However, Dale's balance does not seem to be altered by loss of visual cues. This is both good and bad; if his balance was being affected by his sight, maybe we could take certain steps to fix that. Since this does not seem to be the case, Dale is kind of "on his own" still.........needing to control his balance and walking every single minute. But, Dale is doing well, disregarding the falls he takes occasionally. He just gets up and tries again, even bloody and bruised!
The verse I chose for the end of this blog is a good lesson for us all but especially descriptive of Dale!
I Corinthians 10: 12 "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." Apt, don't you think?!
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Who'd have thunk it?
Well, well, will wonders never cease? Dale's teachers have gotten in the habit of putting Dale's tests and quizzes in my teacher in-box once they have recorded the grade. This ensures that they don't get lost somewhere in Dale's backpack (or the garbage can); plus, I usually have to sign and return them since the grade is usually a failing one. BUT.........last week, Dale's English teacher put a grammar quiz of his in my box. When I pulled it out, to my surprise and delight, Dale had received an 88 % B- on this grammar quiz! Whoo-hoo!!! Then, to make things even better, his teacher had written at the bottom: Dale got the highest grade in the class! WOW!!! I was thrilled, my husband was quite proud, and Dale's sisters praised him briefly before questioning him as to why he couldn't do that all the time. This was definitely an uplifting report for all of us, Dale especially. He just sat there with a lookon his face which was part pleasure and part "no big deal"---typical of a junior high boy!
The rest of our children are doing fine in school. Emily is trying really hard to win one last gold star so that she will receive the honorable title of Star Student in 1st grade. This is not a one-person-only acheivement; several of her classmates have already reached this level and she wants to be one too. Ashley is chafing at the bit to be an official junior higher. She's still plugging away at sixth grade work though. Junior League Volleyball games will start soon, and she is over the moon excited about that. Dale's grades have shown us that he will need to repeat the eighth grade next year. This will help us see if extra review of the subject matter helps him retain the information and reproduce it on tests better or if we need to rethink the rest of his education. Katie is doing well, especially in Algebra II. She struggled so much with Algebra I and truly feared she would spend this year in math absolutely miserable, but the teacher has been patient and Katie has been willing to say when she doesn't understand something---thus her grades have been much better. She's been taking biology as well; just this week they dissected a pregnant cat. You should have seen the softened looks on the guys' faces as they talked later about handling the tiny unborn kittens. To my third graders, the whole subject seemed gross, but the 10th graders enjoyed it. Amanda is eagerly wrapping up her high school experience and looking forward to college in the fall. Her next activities include Senior Pictures, Senior Trip, Commencement Exercises, Youth Conference, and then COLLEGE! This is going to be a crazy, action-packed, tear-filled summer.
Ashley's foot has healed well. She wore the special shoe for about a week and a half. The day her father found her in the backyard jumping on the trampoline, he told her to start wearing regular shoes again. The swelling went down rather quickly, but the bruise remained for quite some time. I think she still has a purple stripe along the bottom of her foot.
A few days after Ashley's incident, Amanda rolled her ankle and had to wear her special brace for a couple of days until it felt better. She has bad ankles anyway---probably because, when she injured them initially, she wouldn't stay off them long enough to heal properly! Then, a day later, Katie's bad ankle started acting up; she broke it a couple of years ago and every once in a while it causes a bit of pain. Katie is still wearing her brace for PE and such, but she's getting better. I guess either Dale or Emily are next in line to injure a foot somehow!
Chad signed himself and me up for workout sessions at our local gym. I confess: I was furious at him at first, but I've come to enjoy going and exercising. Then, we went and did the same thing to Katie! She and I have been going together most afternoons. A couple of days ago, we met with a trainer who holds classes and agreed to attend her class two days each week. Well, that first day is today. I'm once again really upset at the idea of having to go to this class, but I'm willing to give it a try. I know I don't have to keep going if I don't like it, but I'm doing my best not to go in with the attitude of "I'm only going to prove I can't do it." I know I need to be more healthy in my exercise regime, my diet, and my attitudes which is why I'm going to the gym in the first place. I'm just terrified of having someone stand over me and bark orders! As if that's what the trainer will do!! Like I said, Katie and I met her on Tuesday and spent nearly an hour talking; she doesn't seem to barking type. I'm sure things will be fine, but that doesn't keep me from being VERY nervous.
Gotta go---class is about to resume. Have a wonderful day!
Isaiah 40: 10 - 11 "Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him: behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."
The rest of our children are doing fine in school. Emily is trying really hard to win one last gold star so that she will receive the honorable title of Star Student in 1st grade. This is not a one-person-only acheivement; several of her classmates have already reached this level and she wants to be one too. Ashley is chafing at the bit to be an official junior higher. She's still plugging away at sixth grade work though. Junior League Volleyball games will start soon, and she is over the moon excited about that. Dale's grades have shown us that he will need to repeat the eighth grade next year. This will help us see if extra review of the subject matter helps him retain the information and reproduce it on tests better or if we need to rethink the rest of his education. Katie is doing well, especially in Algebra II. She struggled so much with Algebra I and truly feared she would spend this year in math absolutely miserable, but the teacher has been patient and Katie has been willing to say when she doesn't understand something---thus her grades have been much better. She's been taking biology as well; just this week they dissected a pregnant cat. You should have seen the softened looks on the guys' faces as they talked later about handling the tiny unborn kittens. To my third graders, the whole subject seemed gross, but the 10th graders enjoyed it. Amanda is eagerly wrapping up her high school experience and looking forward to college in the fall. Her next activities include Senior Pictures, Senior Trip, Commencement Exercises, Youth Conference, and then COLLEGE! This is going to be a crazy, action-packed, tear-filled summer.
Ashley's foot has healed well. She wore the special shoe for about a week and a half. The day her father found her in the backyard jumping on the trampoline, he told her to start wearing regular shoes again. The swelling went down rather quickly, but the bruise remained for quite some time. I think she still has a purple stripe along the bottom of her foot.
A few days after Ashley's incident, Amanda rolled her ankle and had to wear her special brace for a couple of days until it felt better. She has bad ankles anyway---probably because, when she injured them initially, she wouldn't stay off them long enough to heal properly! Then, a day later, Katie's bad ankle started acting up; she broke it a couple of years ago and every once in a while it causes a bit of pain. Katie is still wearing her brace for PE and such, but she's getting better. I guess either Dale or Emily are next in line to injure a foot somehow!
Chad signed himself and me up for workout sessions at our local gym. I confess: I was furious at him at first, but I've come to enjoy going and exercising. Then, we went and did the same thing to Katie! She and I have been going together most afternoons. A couple of days ago, we met with a trainer who holds classes and agreed to attend her class two days each week. Well, that first day is today. I'm once again really upset at the idea of having to go to this class, but I'm willing to give it a try. I know I don't have to keep going if I don't like it, but I'm doing my best not to go in with the attitude of "I'm only going to prove I can't do it." I know I need to be more healthy in my exercise regime, my diet, and my attitudes which is why I'm going to the gym in the first place. I'm just terrified of having someone stand over me and bark orders! As if that's what the trainer will do!! Like I said, Katie and I met her on Tuesday and spent nearly an hour talking; she doesn't seem to barking type. I'm sure things will be fine, but that doesn't keep me from being VERY nervous.
Gotta go---class is about to resume. Have a wonderful day!
Isaiah 40: 10 - 11 "Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him: behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."
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