We returned to school last Monday after two weeks of Christmas break. I think every day last week at school felt like a MONDAY! :) It was a long week for all of us, but by the grace of God, we made it through. I know our kids were feeling the effects of lots of driving, missing their daddy, too much sugar and junk food, and the challenges of starting school again. Like I said, by the grace of God, we made it through!
My friend, Allison and I did get away from school for a bit on Monday, (1/3) to have lunch together. Our time always flies by, but she’s a gem of a friend and one I will miss deeply when we leave Maine. Garett and Wyatt both had healthy child visits last week. They are both healthy and strong, but Garett does have a fatty tumor growing on his arm that needs to be removed. He had an ultrasound done last year, and we decided to leave it alone. But a year later, he’s starting to hit the lump on objects, and we should probably get it removed. Garett is in the 95% for weight for kids his age and the 92% for height. Wyatt is in the 50% for weight and in the 37% for height. We are thankful for healthy and strong children.
Roger has his ticket bought for the month of January! We are excited to see him next weekend actually! He will be coming home from January 21-26, so we are all looking forward to that. Chandler’s 14th birthday is on January 26th, so it’s nice that Roger will at least be here on the morning of his birthday. Roger has spent some time driving by some homes in Michigan, but that’s all we’ve done so far. There are not very many properties on the market, and per usual, Zillow can make all the properties look amazing! We are just trying to be patient and wait for God to provide us with the perfect property for our family.
We had a snow day on Friday (our first one this year). We were all happy to have a snow day, and I was so happy with the opportunity to try to catch up on some things around our house. It felt like we came back from our trip and jumped right back into life/school/church/ so it was nice to be able to work on some home projects. The kids and I went over to my friend, Hannah’s house for a bit. My children love her kids dearly, and it was fun to see them all tromp around in the snow. Since we are living in an apartment, our outside space is minimal. The kids were happy to shovel off the yard and put the snow into one big pile to build a snow fort. I was happy to sit and talk with Hannah, hold her baby, and drink coffee. And…all that fresh air helps everyone sleep better at night!
Last Saturday afternoon, we were able to go over to a friends house for a while. I teach at our school with Jess and Stef. We needed to have a curriculum planning meeting, but since we all have kids, it seemed easier to try to plan to do something not at school. We spend a LOT of time there already. Jess invited us all to come over to her house on Saturday, and the kids were excited about that. Since we had a snow day on Friday (YAY!) there was plenty of snow to play in. The kids (I think we had 12 of them all together) played outside and inside and all over while the three of us sat at the table and talked. It was an opportunity to talk and pray about many things. It’s an easy time of year to feel a little discouraged and sometimes a lot discouraged. We did talk about curriculum, but also about some of the challenges and joys of the school year. We wrapped up our time by praying about many things. If we really think that God can change things (and He can), it’s imperative that we ask Him to help us. I’m thankful for both Stef and Jess, and I count it a privilege to work alongside of them. This year has been different than any other. We’ve had multiple challenges, and it does feel like the Devil is fighting hard. I know that I will probably look back on this year as being a blur at moments and a complete drag at others. But through it all, God is faithful, kind and strong. I’m so thankful that we can always run to Jesus.
Sunday is always a full day for us, and a day that I especially miss Roger. Going to church has always been a priority in our family, and it’s hard when we aren’t doing it as a family. I’m finding that Garett and Chandler are really struggling to enjoy going to Sunday school, and it’s a challenging age for young people. I think I’m going to have them start going to the adult class with me. It seems like no matter where you go to church some of the challenges are the same. The challenge for people to be committed is a hard one whether it’s church related, job related and sometimes even family related. Or the challenge is finding people that are really fitted for the job. If every person in the body of Christ was exercising their gifts and talents would the challenge still exist?I tend to think not. I’ve just finished reading a book called “Hearts on Fire” and it was the story of eight women who have lived through extreme persecution and difficulty yet are on fire for Jesus. It was such a convicting read for me, as well as a hard one. I don’t like pain or persecution and the thought of someone harming our children makes my stomach feel sick. I’m thankful that God promises to go beside us and before us, and I don’t need to dwell on what my response might be. God will provide strength as it’s needed. I do know that I want to be faithful. I want to be faithful to love God with all of my heart, to be faithful to my spouse, to strive to raise our children to love Jesus passionately, and to serve Him fervently. I don’t know what any of the future holds, but I know that I want God to use me in a mighty way. (Preferably without pain- if I’m going to die, I’d prefer it to be quick) I know that sounds morbid, but I know what eternity holds for me- do you!?
Yesterday I had to step out of my classroom for a bit to take Travis home. He had come up to my classroom shortly before lunch to tell me that he had a bad headache. Per usual, I told him to drink some more water first. About 1:30 in the afternoon, he came up to my classroom again. He was white-faced and told me that his headache was so bad that he had thrown up in the bathroom. I knew he was having a migraine, and generally what helps a migraine is rest! Thankfully, our administrator and the secretary were able to cover my classroom for about ten minutes as I took Travis home. It’s miserable when you don’t feel good, and it’s always hard when it’s one of your kids. Travis slept the entire afternoon, but by the evening hours, he was feeling better. He doesn’t get headaches real often, but when he does, they are usually pretty bad. One of the highlights from this month so far has been the flowers that Roger ordered for me. He ordered some flowers and after school on Tuesday, Garett walked over to the flower shop to pick them up. It definitely brightened my day, and I was thankful for both Roger’s thoughtfulness and Garett’s willingness to serve me by walking over to pick up the flowers.
Overall, we are surviving the month of January. It’s been more challenging than I would like, but God already knew what we would face this month. I’ve been reading through Lamentations and one of my favorite verses in that book is “His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness.”
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