At the coaxing of my friend Amy, decided to sit down and blog. Has been far too long. Lots of happenings since the last posting. Hongru has been here about 6 weeks now and has done a fine job adjusting to our chaotic life. What a change for him---coming from his homeland as an only child and entering our not-so-typical American life and becoming one of 6. We have taught him some everyday slang and he has taught me some big English words that he has learned from one of the dozen SAT prep books he is working his way thru. Kinda funny. One of his first slang words learned is what "freaking-out" entails, which Keaton has graciously taught him (and showed him on way too many occasions). Hoping my child finds a more effective way to express his displeasure in the very near future but I am not holding my breath. For if I did, I would surely die....
We went to Disney for a nice long vacation. We've had this vacation planned for a long time and when we planned it, putting the kids back in school was not part of the plan so really the timing wasn't the greatest. Have been trying to play catch up ever since. Such an adjustment getting back into someone else's ideas of school and then throw in the mix taking off 2 weeks and make-up work, adjusting to having another family member, selling a rental house, and then the everyday stuff, and you will quickly see why it has been almost 2 months since I have blogged. Have also been fighting off illness amongst it all. So, just a couple things going on..... but I think we have finally climbed over the peak of the challenges. My mom has been a big help--coming over to help w/ homework some eves, taking a kid here and there to change up the "chemistry" here at the house, and such. So, she pretty much rocks. Maybe by March we will find a rhythm, have a few smooth sailing months, and then summer will be here and we will start all over again in August. Abby continues to cry at the thought of school, gives me the big crocodile tear look when she turns to walk into school, and insists that she is NOT going to school next year and that I will be homeschooling her once again. So, that gives you a little take on her opinion of our new changes. Gradewise, she's good--as is Keaton. My Kyle, on the other hand, is struggling and I have quickly found out that I am not smarter than a 7th grader. So, Kirk and I have been tag teaming him in the evenings and we are keeping our noses just above water. We are going to have him seen by an educational specialist in the coming weeks, I think, to see if there are some identifiable issues with him (namely dyslexia or an ADD kind of thing going on) or if he is simply uninterested, lazy, and/or unmotivated. Time will tell on that one....but he is hanging in there, as are we.
As I am reading back over this post, I sound kinda grumbly, don't I? Guess all my posts can't be roses. But, it's my reality. We all have seasons. Some are better than others. Some seasons are full of emergency room trips(like this week---Kyle ended up w/ stitches and Bri fractured her collarbone. SIGH!) and asking a kid for the umteenth time to pick up his dirty underwear off the middle of the bathroom floor. Others are full of games and giggles. It was never promised that all of life would always be good things. But, it's in those tougher times, that lately I muster up the effort to look at the good and I soon realize that 95 percent of whether or not things are "going well" for me is all based on my attitude and perception of a situation. As an example, morale at one of my jobs right now is awful and I wonder if I should just quit and be done with it. Then I think of the fact that some people right now don't even have a job and that puts it into perspective. Or maybe there is a day where my kids are dancing on my very last nerve and I just want to walk out the door and drive to Fannie Mae for some Pixies----lately, I've tried to look at the fact that I've been entrusted w/ 6 individuals and there are many couples out there who have not even been given the opportunity of parenthood at all. When I look in the mirror for the 30 somethingth year in a row and can't help but wish I could be thinner and there are those out there who are wasting away from malnourishment or, worse yet, a debilitating illness.....who would give anything to have my health. So much to be thankful for even in the trying times of life.....so, I choose to see it this way---well, that is my goal anyways! Doesn't always happen, but when it does, I find the biggest changes of a situation to be more in my own reaction and feeling on the matters rather than in the situational circumstances themselves. Go figure!
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