It's been busy around the home front for sure! Aren't we all? I promised Hubby that I would try to write a weekly post with family news so we can send it to relatives. I do have family who check the blog, but for those who don't I plan to pass it on via email. I thought some of you might like to hear our 'local' news too. There are some tidbits of useful info in this post. :o) This week's news includes a new pet, update on A and E's move to Seattle, a raise, an award, a great test score and some creative photography, plus a prayer request for my Marine son.
My biggest 'personal' news this week, aside from the obvious--A & E moving to Seattle--is that we have a new family member…Kitty! She was Andrew and Ebeth’s calico cat and they didn’t think she would handle the trip across country at all. So we have ‘adopted’ her. So far, she is adjusting very well. By the end of the week, she had made it all the way from the bedroom on one end of the house to the coffee table at the other end. She tolerates our two cats, Midnight and Tiger, hisses at Percy, our dog, to keep him at a safe distance, and has managed to pull down the birdcage after three attempts. (Davy Jones is just fine.) We are going to have to hang the bird cage or eventually, she is going to get him.
She’s super cuddly and loves to loll around or drape herself over you in bed. And she is not at all shy about getting you to pet her. I had to hide my hands underneath me to get her to let me sleep while Tim was in Seattle with the kids. She is absolutely the most gorgeous cat! I’ve always wanted a Calico, but never thought I’d ever get one. But here she is.. (of course, A and E may decide they can’t live without her and pay to have her shipped and I wouldn’t blame them, but for now..I’m really enjoying her being here. It gives me someone to cuddle in place of the grandbabies. Sigh..
Lena Plays the Piano by RebekahSo..on to the news for this week.. Our biggest news is of course, that Andrew and Elisabeth have moved to the Seattle area (Kent actually)! I chatted with Ebeth and Lena (and Andrew) via webcam on Skype last night..and I’m feeling so much more cheerful about the separation. Lena giggled and laughed at me while crunching on goldfish crackers and toddled off to her bedroom to ‘show’ me where her toys are now. Thanks, Ebeth, for bringing along your laptop so I could see. :o) Ebeth was busily putting together a small dresser for the kids and they have almost all of their furniture in the house. Tomorrow, they plan to get a couch. Andrew starts work this coming Monday. They are as happy as they could possibly be with the new job and the new city. Andrew may even get to use the bus system to go to work which means they will only need one car. Sure hope we can make a trip out there soon.
Their drive across country went beautifully although they did have to back track an hour when they discovered the bad snow storm in Wyoming. Now they are scrambling to buy coats and winter clothes. It’s hard to find much here in Houston, so they had to wait until they got there to get what they need. Too funny really! And I got to talk to dear Augy too when Ebeth picked him up out of the crib from his nap. Is there anything more wonderful than video cams and skype for Grandma’s who live far from their grandbabies? I think not! They got to have dinner with Tim’s brother, Mike and wife, Kristi and the twins. (I’m just a wee bit jealous as I haven’t met the twins yet!) They are the most beautiful little kids I’ve ever seen..really!
Amanda, my DIL, is holding down the home front with three kiddos, two of whom celebrated their birthdays this month! Brennan turned 3 on Feb.11 and Nikolai turned 1 on Feb. 2nd..my birthday! Amanda shared photos on facebook and I really enjoyed them so much. I can hardly believe that they will be in Texas in only ten days! We will be having grandkids and lots of fun sometime in March! I’m so looking forward to their visit. I sent Colin, who is five, I think (yipes..my brain!) a little toy for Valentine’s day. It’s hard to be the only kiddo not getting a toy. When he’s older, he’ll understand better, but I wanted him to know Grandma was thinking of him too.
Matthew is part of the 2nd Radio Battalion in Afghanistan. We’re still praying very hard for him. He lost his best friend in action while on patrol only a couple of weeks ago, and then called last night to say that another friend was severely injured in the same way. He sounded very discouraged. War is just not something anyone is really prepared for I’m afraid. Our family shipped him a care package of goodies for him and his buddies today. I just wish we could do more. He’s called several times this last two weeks and I’m always so thrilled to lend a listening ear. That and prayer are all we can do. He’s in the Lord’s hands and we are trusting in God’s perfect will for his life.
Jacob just won first place in the Right to Life Oratory contest. :o) (Got some scholarship money too!) We are very proud of him and glad that he could share his heart in such a special way. He will be giving the speech next weekend at the Right to Life banquet and will also go on to the state competition. He also made a near perfect score on the ASVAB though they still won’t give him Tier 1 status (Highschool Grad. equivalent.) He’s categorized as Tier 2 or GED /dropout status. All because he’s homeschooled. I find that hard to understand considering he has a 4.0 gpa and 12 college credits at Lone Star. Hopefully, the military will get this figured out one of these days. A 96 on the ASVAB (50-60 is considered excellent) should mean something! :O) Ah..well.. They promise it won’t affect his career or his entrance into the college program with Texas Army Nat. Guard.
Our big kink this week is that when Jacob went through a severe spell of fainting called Teen Syncope (fainting), which he grew out of, we didn’t ever go back to the original doctor for a final bill of good health. So I spent the week driving from hospital to hospital to doctor’s office getting medical records proving they had found nothing wrong. We may have to go back to the doctor and let him do a final exam for that purpose in order for Jacob to get in. Lesson learned..get medical records and keep them. You never know when you will need them for your kids!
Rebekah has been working at Chili’s now for several weeks and just got a raise! She’s so excited! They also increased her hours and will be training her for possible future management position. She came home pretty excited today. She’s also working very hard on her flower bed and has planted some herbs and some flowers. I’m so relived that she is staying busy. Christian went with her to hang out for ‘ultimate frisbee’ day and they played sports for six hours with some home school and square dance friends. Christian adores sports and I was so glad Rebekah was willing to take him with her. She and Christian are both very athletic.
by Rebekah
One really special thing that has brightened my life considerably is that she is writing a daily online devotional called Life of Light. I read it daily and write her notes. I never realized what a great writer she was or just how deep her relationship with the Lord was until I began reading this blog. She inspires me! What a blessing! I’m going to start sharing her posts on Sundays because I think they will bless your socks off! And her photography is stunning too.
Christian has been diligently studying with his Dad and is now ready to write his first computer program. That just blew me away! Tim wants him to design a simple ‘hangman’ game. How fun! He loves learning to program and I think this may well be the direction that his life’s work will go. He and Tim are super close buddies and ‘hang out’ a lot. :o)
He’s also taking photos for me on commission. I pay him a .25 per photo. He’s starting to upload more of his photos on his photography blog. I think ‘hiring’ him helps inspire him to take his art more seriously. I’ve also commissioned Rebekah to do the same thing. I’m amazed at how good most of my kids are at photography. They take stunning photos with so little effort. They sure didn’t get it from me. I’m getting better but I have to take tons of photos to get the same results they do with just a few shots. I think it’s because they ‘think ouside the box’ so much better than I do. And they appreciate details…I’m always gravitating towards the ‘big picture’. I’ve had to train myself to stop doing old fashioned mom-style photography. :o) His photo blog is MiPixx .
This coming week, I'm planning to talk about...
- The Art of 'Keeping' House
- Tuesday Tea: The Need for Fellowship
- What is Boutis or French Quilting?
- Texan Beauty - Photo Shoot by Rebekah
- Stylish Blogger Award from The Clip Cafe--Thanks!
Well that’s all of our news for this week! Hope you are having a great week too! I’d love to hear all about your news too.
What’s the biggest news at your house this week?
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