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30 maggio America's Underground RailroadI am really proud of my daughter. She and her class have been working for months on a series of projects as they study the Underground Railroad in history. She has had a list of projects to choose from and she has done an excellent job of staying organized, making sure that everything was completed and turned in on time.
She has asked me for a couple of weeks if I would help her make a costume for her program, but I have been sewing like crazy on the cushions and curtains for the motor home. So, yesterday morning, the day of the program, I pulled out some fabric and started creating. I would not have put that kind of pressure on myself if Jenny hadn’t been so responsible with this huge project, but she did great and I didn’t want to let her down. I think that the costume turned out great and Jennifer was adorable at her program. Great job, Jenny!
28 maggio What do you think of this?!This is an article from CitizenLink that I recieved today:
Myanmar Receives Condoms Before Food, Medicine
Myanmar’s military dictatorship has prevented aid relief from reaching its 2.4 million cyclone victims but allowed delivery of condoms to survivors. More than 70,000 condoms have already been shipped, and the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF) plans to deliver a total of 218,400. UNFP will also distribute the so-called “morning after” pill and manual vacuum aspirators for abortions, LifeSiteNews.com reported. Linda Klepacki, sexual health analyst for Focus on the Family Action, is horrified that condoms and contraception would take priority over food, shelter and medication. “Only a world nearly devoid of God,” she said, “could give supplies denying life before necessities to sustain life.” Fifth's DiseaseThis spring is filled with a sense of relief for me since I came down with fifth’s disease two years ago. This has been the first time in two years that I have been exposed to sun and heat without having a flare-up that wipes me out for days.
For me, having a flare-up meant that the weird rash was there again, but that was not such a big deal. The overwhelming fatigue, swelling and joint pain was the bad part. It was like I had turned into an eighty year old woman in a matter of a few hours.
So far, I have not found anyone that dealt with this for two years like I have. All of the information that I have found says that adults can experience flare-ups for months, but I haven’t seen anything about years.
Last fall, I went back to the doctor. I was very concerned that there might be something else going on. They ran some blood work on me and everything looked good at the time. I wasn’t in the middle of a flare-up though. We were going to have to wait until spring again; when I would be exposed to sun and heat. If I got sick again, we would go into more extensive testing with a specialist.
So for me, this spring has been the big test. I have been out at softball games and been out at the pool over Memorial Day weekend and so far, so good! I can’t express how relieved and excited I am to think that I won’t have to stay indoors the whole summer! 22 maggio James' first concert with the middle school advanced bandJames had his first concert last night at the middle school. He is the only guitar player and there just isn't music written for the accoustic guitar for band class, so he is learning the bass guitar and playing the tuba part. This is a real stretch for him. He's used to playing quite well on the accoustic and now he is having to back up and learn how to read music. I am very glad he's doing this. It will make him a much more well-rounded musician.
In typical "James" fashion, he did not inform us of the concert date until very late and then about an hour before the concert, he tells me that he is supposed to be dressed in black and white. "WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO ABOUT THIS, MOM?!" as he is frantically tearing through the house. I just had to sit back and let the stress rest on his shoulders, not mine. Now it could be that his teacher forgot to tell him what to wear because he is new, but I have a suspicion that James has just not been paying attention to the reminders until the last minute. Don't know for sure, but I stayed out of it...
It was sure nice of my mom to make it a point to attend the concert at the last minute. I am sure thankful for being blessed with such a supportive extended family.
Here's a video of the kids playing. I have a couple of my music students up there. The flute player that I zoomed in on is one of them. Great job, Joanna and James!
19 maggio Allowing your children to experience failureChris and I are going through some amazing challenges as we have decided to step back and allow our son to experience failure as a result of the decisions he has been making. James seems to be going through almost all of the problems that he tried to deal with when he tried a year of public school two years ago when he was in fifth grade. Unfortunately, not much has changed in James since he was a fifth grader. He is struggling with responsibility issues. He is not turning in his homework. He is not focused during class time. In general, he is not acting his age.
There are three things that really break my heart in all of this. One, James is a very bright and gifted kid. However, his teachers will not be able to see that because of all of the negatives that he has stacked against him right now. Second, he is not living up to his potential and that is just not okay. He is short-changing himself and all of those around him. And third, because of all of the consequences resulting from bad decisions, more of our time as parents have been spent on him which leaves Jennifer getting the short end of the stick. That's not okay, either.
So, for now, the things that have changed since we went through this two years ago, is Chris and I. James will not be going back to homeschooling. He is not going to be rescued from this bed he's made. He is going to have to learn how to recover from mistakes while he is still living in the safety of his family. He is going to have to learn that his decisions can have both positive and negative consequences from the world outside of his family. Chris and I are going to love him unconditionaly and provide everything that he needs to be successful, but his success or failure is up to him; not us. We want him to learn to live with integrity. That means being a whole person. We want him to be the same person throughout the week that he is on Sunday mornings at church. We want him to learn who he really is and what he really believes so that he knows what to stand for and how to journey through his teen years and have a good time doing it. We are going to guard family peace as a precious commodity, keeping the marriage relationship ahead of our relationship with the kids. That does not mean that we put the kids and their needs on the back burner. It just means that they move down one rung on the ladder of priorities. We have our children for a season. Someday, it will just be the two of us again and we want to have a great relationship when that time arrives. Our home will not be very healthy if our 13 and 11 year olds are running the show!
I know that James is fully capable, when he wants to be. A friend of ours left an incredibly timely message on our answering machine right when we were in the thick of things with James. She works in the church nursery with him and left a message praising James for the wonderful way that he is responsible and helpful when he's there. She loves to work with him. I played the message for James and said how wonderful it was to hear great things about him. Then I told him that I want his teachers to see that James!
James is sensitive, caring, artistic, creative, and funny. I love him with my whole heart. He is the miracle baby that I prayed six long years for. He did not become my precious toddler without taking some falls when he was learning to walk, and because I love him that much, I have to step back and let him fall so that he can learn to pick himself back up and become a young man.
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