Family Update June 18

I think it has been nearly 2 months since I wrote  a serious update.  That's a LONG time for me, especially since my goal is weekly or bi-weekly.

Karen continues to recover from her major operation.  We figured the other day, that I had had Bethie for almost 3 months solid (as Paul turned 3 months on Sunday), and I started to keep Katie and Matthew after another 2 weeks so they could get some school work caught up too.  We had Esther for the last 3 weeks, with only a Sunday afternoon break (so they could take naps after church) and then next week the kids had a weekend at home.  By the time last Friday came around, even Bethie was begging to go home.  All in all, you couldn't have asked for better behaved children.  The fussiness was minimal, only a handful of temper tantrums - mostly the extra work was meals, dishes, and laundry.  Of course there was the extra time of getting little people dressed, bathed, hands washed, food cut up ...  all the stuff that goes into raising little ones.

But I had a work force - or would have collapsed.  (Kind of did those last few days - I was fighting allergies and a sore throat and was so tired).  Kendra was in charge of Matthew and Joel.  They slept on the bottom bunk in her room.  Both boys are pretty close to self sufficient, so this was really an easy job.  Vannan had Bethie, Bethie enjoyed being self sufficient - but Vannan is still looking for things that Bethie walked off with - like her little planner gadget Palm m100 that I had tucked into a drawer after I could no longer see the screen.  She hasn't a clue where Bethie put it.   Katie had Marriana and Esther.  They all slept in Marriana's room, so it made sense.  Katie did an excellent job of getting them through their days, though with Esther, she didn't get as much school time.  We also did some potty training time.  It gave Esther something new to think about.  She's still got a ways to go - Pray for Karen.

This week, Joel turned 5 on Saturday.  So as an extra special treat, we let him go spend the week with Aunt Cindy and Uncle Tommy - Camp Aunt Cindy.  They've visited city parks with water sprinklers and wading pools, children's museums, the zoo, and crafted and sewed.  He comes home tomorrow.  It has been so quiet!  Marriana has been at loose ends  as the only little one other than LaRue, and forgets that LaRue is not a doll and not a big girl.  One thing she is really good at though - stays put when she is put to bed and usually goes to sleep - whether naps or at night.

I'm sure everyone is bursting to know how LaRue's last big city hospital visit went several weeks ago.  It was on the same day that Karen went in to have the big "cyst" appointment done - and plans began to go in the direction of surgery ..... but back to LaRue.  The doctor is very slowly having us reduce her meds, and things appear to be good to go.  That's all I can say because of the lawyers.  Sigh.

LaRue has just passed 8 months.  She is so giggly and sweet.  Yesterday, we were so busy, Rhoda gave her a feeder bottle and we filled it up.  She was so delighted to be feeding herself!  She can now pull herself to standing if she can get a good hand hold.  She scoots forward while sitting up to get what she wants.  She can lean WAY forward to reach something, gets up on her knees reaching out, and then is all upset when she flops over onto her stomach.   She studies everything was a cute curious look, and imitates every sound she hears.  She also has figured out that she knows how to roll from her stomach to her back, but has no interest in rolling the other way.  When she is asleep, however, she can scoot and roll half off the bed!  And she LOVES telephones - that spiral cord that goes with them.

Marriana is improving by leaps and bounds.  I can now allow her to run back and forth between the two houses to get shoes, cups of water, lunch boxes, school papers, etc.  And she does it quickly.  She is actually my most obedient child most of the time.  And my most challenging.  But she's mostly a pretty typical nearly 4 year old child.

Joel is going through his school books with great speed.  He is right at that edge of "reading" and "not reading."  He recognizes by sight nearly 100 words - and can spell them too.  But it's not the same as reading them.  He loves playing on the computer and has become quite skilled at playing the facebook games.  He knows how much money and what kind of money buys things, and how to send gifts (it's a good thing to give people presents - he says) and loves to tell them that he wants to someday go to the zoo.  He can add and subtract, and loves to draw.  I've got to post the two pictures he drew.  Aunt Cindy says he's pretty much ready for first grade.  WOW.  But I'm going to let him stay in the kindergarten class with Shianne, Avery, Alex, Matthew, Marriana, and ? whoever else is there.  I'll tell you my plans later - and we all know that plans can come apart at the seems!

Vannan had 18 bunnies.  She sold one.  Two of them that was planning to keep got out of the cage one night. But, she hasn't been able to get rid of more of them.  They are beautiful - and almost every one of them were males!  She is working hard in school - and moving at a pretty good pace, except this week - we've been cleaning and rearranging and this is the first time since the middle of March that she has NOT had Bethie sleeping with her.  She loves Bethie, but she is a lot of work.  On the other hand, Vannan has been going with Bethie to her horse therapy and is loving it.  She wants to volunteer just as soon as she turns 14.  She has discovered that she seems to have a gift for working with special needs children.  I am currently looking for other opportunities to let her meet children with special needs.  Most are not as easy as Bethie.  Oh yes, She'll be getting her own Facebook account for her birthday.  She is so excited.  Don't worry, Tim and I are friends with nearly all of their friends and reserve the right to access at any point we desire, and they are both set at Maximum security.  We don't allow them to accept any friends that we have not approved ourselves.

Kendra ... is an excellent cook - and has been a huge help with my topsy turvy living room plans this week.  She's my kid that if the round peg won't fit, she gets a bigger hammer.  She wants to be an author when she grows up - and spends every spare moment (and many she can't spare) writing.  Or reading.  Or knitting.  Or crocheting.  She wants to put some knitted items into Aunt Cindy's new Etsy store.  I'm sure I'll have more news on that later.

Tim is still job hunting - but now he's doing training to do Volleyball reffing come September.  He's also doing tons of research in the area of prophecy.  He has a blog.  http://pretribactivist.blogspot.com/

Matthew and Joel had their 5th birthday at the park.  It was a lot of fun - but another party had also reserved the pavillion, so we had to move out before we would have normally would have.  Pictures will follow.

I'm sure I've forgotten a ton of things.

Prayer Requests.

--LaRue's continued good progress.
--Kendra and Vannan to be able to have time to do their last year school work.  They have been interrupted so often this year.
--Tim to find a source of reliable income.
--Vannan to sell her bunnies.
--Vannan as she explores this new idea of working with special needs children.
--Me for wisdom as I deal with people and my children from day to day.
--A friend who is dealing with spiritual challenges.  A dear friend of his has been dabbling into the occult.  He will need all the spiritual prayers backing him that he can get to stand firm.  Pray for him to meet the right people to help him.
--Karen as she continues to heal from her surgery.  Strength as she wants her children at home more again.  ----Katie too needs prayers for time for school so she can finish up her books.
--Steve's mom who has ahltimeres.  She is seeing things and not wanting to take care of herself properly.  She lives at home next door to Steve and Karen.
--My sister Ruth's pregnancy, she is going back for a second sonogram and may require a C-Section.  She is praying that she does not.  Her chances are very good that the problem will resolve itself and has been told she has at least a 75% chance of a positive outcome.

My Dad just informed me too, Mamaw in back in the hospital due to dehydration.