There has been so much going on in our lives. Some good. Some great. Some troublesome. Some difficult. But no matter what it is, we are just attacking it day by day. We are not the ones in control. It is my prayer that as we move through this seemingly endless season of our lives that we show the love of the One who is in control.
Here is the scoop on the last 9 months...
Princess TD
Wow! She is turning into such a sweet young lady right before our eyes. She is about to be 10 years old, but has such wisdom. School for this year has had its challenges. She is capable of completing all of the work, but just like every other student out there, she would rather play than study most days. Especially in the very mild and beautiful weather we have had for the past few months. Hey, I am right there with her! I would rather be playing than teaching, cleaning, paying bills, etc. Academically, she is doing great. She loves math, science, reading and history. She is less fond of grammar, but does very well. She is still struggling some with spelling, but that has greatly improved this year.
She is still enjoying American Heritage Girls and is in her first year in the Explorer Unit. She is such a good helper to the Unit and to me as the Unit Leader. She and Little TD help me set up the room and break it down at almost every meeting. She still loves to earn badges and has deepened her interest in several badges she earned as a Tenderheart. Her goal this year was to earn the Presidential Service Award. She didn't want to just earn the award. She wanted to earn the Gold! She looked everywhere for opportunities to serve others. I rejoined a ladies Bible study, and she volunteered in the nursery. She absolutely loved it and adores all of the kids. Because of this, and our regular volunteering at a food pantry, she accomplished her goal! She earned 107 hours of service in 1 year! I am so proud of her!
She is still our little budding ballerina. She loves ballet and this year we added modern. She loved both classes and just completed her Grade 2 exam. This year her confidence, grace and poise has just blossomed. I love to see her stand tall and be proud. She is completely opposite of how I was at the same age. I absolutely hated being tall! She is proud and confident and loves the fact that she can reach the pedals and see over the steering wheel of a Ford Mustang at the age of 9! (Well maybe her love of sports cars is more like me than her daddy!) She is just over 5' tall and so very proud of it!
Little TD
What is there to say about this sweet boy! He is so kind, generous and tenderhearted. He is growing like a weed and just keeps getting taller and taller overnight! School for him is going well. He is my get there and just get it done kid. He wants to keep going until it's done so he can play. While Princess TD actually has true independent work, he is trying to keep up there with her. He is calling his handwriting and math his independent work. I think it's funny that he feels he can do math without instruction. Well, maybe not so funny, he can do most of it without help! Reading and spelling are his struggles this year. It seems like just as he is about to take off, something happens and he forgets everything he learned. I have come to the conclusion that what I am currently doing with him is not working and I am looking for new solutions for next year. I will keep you posted there.
This year was Little TD's first year in scouting. He has wanted to be a scout for so long and go camping with his friends like Princess TD does with AHG. This year we joined the Cub Scout Pack at the same church where we do AHG. It has turned out to be a pretty good year. He has completed his Tiger rank and will be bridging to Wolf this week. He is having so much fun and can't wait to get started on the Wolf requirements.
He played basketball for the second year with Upward. He had great coaches this year and Mr. TD even stepped in to help with the coaching of the boys playing post position. He has some natural talent (which obviously comes from Mr. TD and not me!), but needs to spend more time working on the basic skills. But hey, he's only 7, so he's not quite old enough to play professionally yet! ;-) He has also been playing catch with the neighbor boy who plays baseball. I am still hoping to have my ambidextrous boy be a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals...a mom can dream, right?!?
Mr. & Mrs. TD
I think we have had the roughest 9 months of our lives. Being a parent raising children, homeschooling, working, maintaining a home and being the only caretakers for an ailing parent is not a fun place to be. I have heard this called the "sandwich generation." That sounds great, but sandwiches are good and this is not a good place to be! It is hard to care for someone who doesn't want to be cared for, and doesn't want to care for herself. I know in my heart that this is the right thing to do, and I am so completely blessed to have a wonderful husband who will support me through this time. I know this is hard on him. I know this is hard on my kids. This is hard on me. I have spent quite a bit of time looking for resources to encourage me on this journey. I am looking for something from a Christian perspective on caring for a parent while raising young kids. There is not much out there. It was suggested that I journal my journey (which I am doing) and publish it. I have heard that said several times by several people who do not know each other. I don't know about publishing it, but I may consider blogging about it on a separate blog. Please pray for me to know if this is something that I should really consider. I don't want to add something else to my plate, but I feel like I need to tell my story. Maybe it is to make me feel better and confirm that I have actually extended forgiveness. Maybe it is because someone else needs to know that healing and forgiveness are available to them.
