Let Chat – Just for Fun!

Tristan – hope things go well with this surgery for Mason. And I hope that the remainder of this pregnancy is joyful, even through the stresses surrounding you. I hope that you all have a Merry Christmas. =)

I had my last major surgery in August and recently finished the PT at the clinic, and have a bunch to do at home. It is great to be pain free (mostly) and be able to resume my wife and mama responsibilities more fully. I have taken up quilting and listening to audio books – I have finished several wonderful classics while cutting and sewing.

The kids are doing well – the youngest has taken off with reading and told the doctor on Monday that she loves school – her math, her reading, copywork and Rebecca (of Sunnybrook Farm), Peter Pan and Understood Betsy. Made me smile.  Two middle kids are well – we take their challenges a day at a time. Learning challenges are stressful, but we are making progress. And they are fun to be with.

My oldest has her license, is attending classes 3x a week outside our home, and is looking to get a job. She wants to finish school, take a semester of college and serve a mission, then move to BYU-Idaho and finish her college classes there. I used to think that it would be easier than having toddlers, but I am learning that there a varieties and levels of needs and seniors might be worse than toddlers. LOL

In the meantime, we are preparing for Christmas and enjoying Advent. I’m looking forward to Christmas baking and movies next week!

Tristan, you never cease to amaze me how you Do so much and take everything in stride! God bless you and your family this holiday season and your pregnancy to the end. I will keep your son I’m our prayers as well. I’ve seen before about many health problems with one of your children. I’ve not really been on this forum very long but have read tons and tons even old posts learning and listening to others. I am currently in my 5th pregnancy (24 weeks) 4 th child. i have a colorful history of bad pregnancies and preterm births. It’s been rocky so far but I keep reminding myself gods got this and every week is another week closer to term. We have had a very rough year financially with my husband loosing his job to a lawsuit that isn’t resolved yet and lost all our savings and current cash just to keep us fed. It was scary a while we were down to our last 100’dollars and no food or rent money as our utilities went off one by one and god showed up!!  He provided a job and lowered our rent a few hundred dollars and brought food back to our home in days. It was an amazing blessing just in time. We didn’t have any money to buy curriculum this year so I am just trying to expand on what we have left from last year till we can one day. Christmas was scary this year when my car broke down and we didn’t have the funds to purchase anything at all and god came through again. My husband got a small bonus at work That provides just enough for a couple gifts. My dad is coming to visit us this year for the holidays as well. We have t seen him in years. 2 weeks ago my eldest son (10) had dropped boiling sugar water  all over daughter (7) from her chin to her waist and we had to rush her to the emergency room. It was so terrible and traumatic for everyone involved. It was purely accident and her kind godly heart never blamed him For a second even when I did. She just laid there crying n shaking n hurting praying for gods help not to die and forgiveness for her brother. As we stood there over her praying with all my heart for her to be ok while she was hurting so badly, god was healing her! She only had 2nd degree burns and it avoided her face and privates which would have burned more badly if it had touched there they said. The dr said it would be lots of scaring and tremendous pain for her. She hasn’t had a spot of pain since the next day. And she has no scarring yet. Her skin is very discolored but smooth and she is healed. I believe her skin color will return to normal with time. Now god is working in her inside trauma. She is terribly afraid of baths and warm water or the kitchen and anything cooking. But she has made progress in those areas as well. We didn’t have any money to buy curriculum this year so I am just trying to expand on what we have left from last year till we can one day. Christmas was scary this year when my car broke down and we didn’t have the funds to purchase anything at all and god came through again. My husband got a small bonus at work That provides just enough for a couple gifts. My dad is coming to visit us this year for the holidays as well. We have t seen him in years. It has been a downward spiral this year but god has given us so many small blessings that meant so much to us that I couldn’t help but share his glory in all he has done in our lives this year. I pray for all of y’all to have the  happiest of holidays and many blessings to come. 😊

We’re doing well. Enjoying our family traditions – decorating after Thanksgiving, listening to The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, enjoying advent with Jotham’s Journey. Oh and we have a new to us puppy   We adopted him in April and he’s an adorable fluffy beast, a Giant Schnoodle. Just the name makes me chuckle. He’s 62+ lbs at 10 months old!!!

Our oldest, dd16, will be unexpectedly graduating in May 2018, a full year early.  She has 3 jobs right now – grocery store cashier, pet and house sitter (her own neighborhood business), and she was just hired at a local gourmet seafood market. It’s likely she will stop one job come January.  She’s wrapped up her first semester of college via dual enrollment.  Going unexpectedly from junior to senior mid year has added things to the to do list for sure! Oh, we just discovered she has gluten and dairy and other food sensitivities. We’re working through what that entails for her.

My boys 13 and recently 8 continue to play and enjoy baseball. Ds13 would like to play for a high school next year. We’re looking into that for him.  Ds8 has taken off reading and it’s a joy to watch. Ds13 broke his nose playing in June when he fouled a ball into his nose   Don’t ask me how he managed that   I witnessed it and I still don’t know. He had surgery to repair it a couple weeks later and all went well.

Dd10 is my most academic learning one, but also my resident day dreamer and artsy family member.  Right now I’m in NYC with her for a special Mommy-Daughter Trip.  We’re blessed to be able to travel inexpensively due to frequent flier miles hubby earns from flying for work.  We’ve seen Christmas windows, Empire State Bldg, Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, Trump Tower, and several shows. It’s been a whirlwind and today that wind turned bitterly cold! Looking forward to returning to the sunshine state tomorrow. This has been a super special time together!

We’ve just completed a remodel of our kitchen that was long overdue along with our “mudroom”.  The “mudroom” is essentially a closet under the stairs, but I had cubbies for all family members built to hold coats, purses, bags, etc., plus charging cubbies for each. I even have a few extra shelves and hooks for misc.  This tiny area is hard working and is my fave of the remodel!

We are finishing up our first term with the Alveary, and our first ever exam week.  Shh–Don’t tell the CM police we’ve never done exams!

Next week I’m planning a Christmas fun extravaganza.  Christmas crafts, picture books, baking, singing carols, watching movies, etc.  We stocked up on some fun crafty things at Michael’s today.  I’m doing Weight Watchers (and down 1o+ pounds), so I’ll have to get creative with the baking.  😛

Our first term with the Alveary has been good, but difficult too.  It did give me the accountability I was hoping for.  I felt that was important with me now the only parent.  We also have joined a wonderful CM co-op, which has given us great fellowship and more accountability.  The kids had a blast with Shakespeare in a group setting!

Missceegee–We got a standard poodle last spring (she’s 9 months).  She’s an absolutely adorable clown!

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

I just now sat down to read some forum posts and came across this one.  Thought I’d chime in, although my frame of mind is not so jolly these days….

Starting with the fun, I will tell you that we had a nice Christmas day, and leading up to it, I got every single gift wrapped before 9 pm on Christmas Eve.  (That’s a first for me as I usually don’t start wrapping until late Christmas Eve!)  And the house is even more nicely decorated than in recent years, DD17 and DS18 put up outdoor lights for the first time in 3 years, so our home is looking rather merry and bright.

I have not baked a single Christmas cookie or treat (although I bought almond flour and a stevia-blend for baking) since I have cut out refined sugar and wheat flour back in late spring.  Just didn’t manage to find time to look for recipes and bake them.  DD19 and DD17 baked some regular Christmas cookies, though, and I’ve only eaten one of them.  On Christmas day after dinner.  Had annoying digestive issues a little while later.  Won’t eat that kind of thing again!  But, I digress….

We have been on break since the week before Christmas, so it’s been a welcome school vacation.  DD17 is taking Algebra 2 this year.  She did well with Geometry, and I thought she had done okay with Algebra 1, but she seems to have forgotten a lot of it and is struggling with Algebra 2.  We’ve only done the first two lessons (MUS) since she took Geometry over the summer and just finished it up in early November.  I’m thinking I should go back and have her review and practice the parts of Algebra 1 she didn’t do as well with, maybe have her use Khan Academy videos to review them.  I’m having a little trouble matching up the lesson names from MUS Algebra 1 with Khan’s videos, so we’ll see.

Otherwise, we have enjoyed school this year.  We are quite busy taking care of my dad, who just turned 91 last week.  He has Alzheimer’s, so it’s kind of stressful.  Example:  I had not quite fallen asleep one night, and just short of midnight, I heard him go downstairs and out the side door.  I hobbled downstairs to find him standing in the driveway.  He was heading down the street to his favorite diner for lunch.  He thought is was early afternoon….so now the entire neighborhood knows what my voice sounds like bellowing, “Dad!  Come inside!  COME INSIDE!  iT’S NOT TIME FOR LUNCH, IT’S TIME TO SLEEP!!!”  (Did I mention that he also is badly in need of new hearing aids?)

I am also learning to “be content in all things.”  I have experienced some circulation problems with my right leg, and while we’re working on that, I have to put my feet up a few times a day.  I also cannot manage to shovel snow this year (asthma kicks up when I do), so I have to allow my daughters to do that.  One is very willing to do it, the other complains.  I feel lazy sometimes…..

The other issue is severe eczema, all over both arms, on my face, under my arms, on my lower back….so I broke down and asked for a steroid cream since it was so painful with constant itching, and nothing natural was doing much for it.  Problem is, the doctor did not specify how long the cream should last, so my insurance would not cover the refill, saying it was three weeks too soon.  (It costs $300 without insurance….no, I don’t have that.)  The pharmacist managed to get the insurance to cover it sooner, but I still have to wait another five days without it until they will cover it.  Meanwhile, it is itching terribly again and spreading to my stomach and parts of my back that I can’t reach.  Oh, and my sciatic nerve pain has started up again.  What a contrast–I have to put my feet up and stop moving to help my right leg, and I have to keep moving to help my left hip.

The bottom line is that I feel as though I am going through a season with all of this, and God is showing me that simple is better, especially with schedules, and I believe He is bringing forth healing–I just haven’t seen it yet.  Believe me, I have cried out for healing many, many days & nights.

This season of joy has been a blessing to me over all of this “stuff” I am dealing with.  The house is cozy, it looks cheerful, we have had fun being together for the holidays, and we’ve had a riot playing “Suspend,” the new game my oldest got us for Christmas.  Family makes everything better.

I haven’t been here much this month, so I have just seen this thread.

We had a very nice Christmas. Our son, who pastor’s a church out of state, came with his family. So, we were able to spend time with grandson (8), and 3 granddaughters (5, 2, and 1). On January 15th, the children will be staying with us for 5 nights, while my son and his wife take an early 10th anniversary trip before the birth of baby #5 in April.

This year has been one with many bumps, but many blessings. Our oldest daughter, who also lives out of state, had a third boy in October 2016. He had a heart defect, and early this year we thought we were going to lose him. But, the Lord brought him through that, and we have had some precious visits with him since. He will need more surgery and the future is uncertain, but we are thankful for whatever time God allows him with us.

My father-in-law passed away in October, so we are experiencing family changes in this way.

Time eventually brings death and we all have to deal with challenges and difficulties along the way. But, being a child of God, through His Son, Jesus, I can serve the Lord with gladness, because I have an expected end. I am looking forward to what God has in store for 2018. Who knows? Maybe it will be the year when Jesus comes:)

pangit – We are dealing with a similar issue with our struggling 14yo. While we do not have a church school for her to go to for instruction, I do plan to meet with our evaluator, who was my teacher in a church school 40 years ago. She is going to help me come up with a plan for high school. I think much more focus will be put on life skills for her training, especially in math. I have often felt like a failure as far as school is concerned. But, when I see spiritual growth and maturing coming through, I am thankful. That is the most important part of teaching our children. To be all that God wants them to be.