September was an active month for us. We started with a labor day week trip to Tuscon for three days and then a family trip to the Grand Canyon. We attempted to camp at the Grand Canyon but unfortunately we only lasted one night. The was a pretty large thunderstorm that came through and our tent was not water proof. So we packed up in a hurry and left. We did get to see some of the Grand Canyon in the morning before we packed up. The driving was a bit too much – especially for Lydia. We celebrated the Powers Cousins birthday at Legoland. We finished the month with a new tent purchase and camping out in our back yard for a few nights during a visit from Mimi and Papa.
We did to some minor house work at the beginning of the month. Tim changed out two lights for new ceiling fans. We also got the garage slightly more organize. We received a piano from Alicia’s Grandparents. It looks really nice in our front room with desks
Cordelia has been in kindergarten for over a month now. She’s having a fun time and making friends. We’ve noticed an improvement in her math skills. She now says 3+3=6 and 4+4=8. Corrie also started a dance class through her school and seems to enjoy it. They seem to focus more on ballet in that class rather than ballet/tap combo. Cordelia started first year of Sparks in AWANA this month. She seems to really be enjoying her time and memorizing her verses. She has been blessed with a good memory, like Alicia, so she’s able to do about 5 sections a week. Cordelia is also practicing the piano is starting to put three notes together into a song. Eventually we will probably start her with some formal piano lessons.
Anthony has mellowed some during this month. Bed time can still be a struggle but he is doing a better job of obeying. Anthony is doing well in swim class and is getting stronger at swimming by himself and coming up for breath. Anthony started doing gymnastics once per week while Cordelia is in school. His favorite activity at gymnastics is trampoline. He also started his first year Cubbies in AWANA. So far he seems to be enjoying it and hopefully it will open up more conversations for us to talk with him about God and Jesus. Anthony also likes playing on the piano
Lydia is starting to do a lot more talking. She now says Mama and Dada very clearly. We also think she’s saying Vale. She still does not like swim class. Last week one the ride home from swim class Alicia asked “Lydia did you have a fun time at swim class?” To which she quickly and clearly replied, “No.” Alicia then said “Oh well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out and be great at it.” And Lydia replied “No, NO.” Lydia is developing some attitude and cries, screams, falls down, or starts hitting when things are not going the way she wants. But she is making some good development in understanding and doing things. Alicia asked Lydia to throw something in the trash and Lydia went and put it right in the trash! So, we take the good with the bad.
Alicia’s work picked back up with a few projects keeping her busy. Things have not been super crazy but she has a solid work load for the month and going forward. At home, we have been enjoying some family time. The weather cooled down towards the end of the month so we were able to enjoy being in the backyard in the evenings and weekends. Alicia has been juggling her new volunteer role as the Sparks director for the AWANA club. It has been a bumpy start coming in without much preparation or understanding as to what her role entails. Towards the end of the month things are starting to get smoother as Alicia gets into the flow of things and understand what is needed for club nights. Even when it calms down it’s still likely to be about a 4 hr commitment during the week plus the 4-5 hr commitment on Sunday nights.
Tim’s work overall has been slow; his two main projects are both in a waiting state. He is on a higher profile task to create some diagnostic and qualification metrics for manufacturing. Unfortunately that task has not been as straight forward as desired and Tim is working to find a robust solution that handles the different operating conditions. At home the Tim continues to keep the yard maintained; we haven’t been doing many projects lately aside from general upkeep. With Alicia spending time on AWANA related items, Tim has taken on some more kids and house related duties.
This appears to be a busy season for us with much on the to-do list. The margin in our lives seems fairly low. Tim and Alicia are still trying to prioritize quality time with each other and with the kids. It is a blessing to have off-Fridays and an Au Pair that enables us to go out on dates. Our desire is to value the most important things.
We are struggling with our church situation. We’re not feeling very connected with the church we’ve been attending. Plus the kids ministry at the church is lacking structure. We’ve been feeling out a different church but are not really sure that’s a good spot for us either. So we continue to be challenged to find a church home that seems to be a good fit for us. One with people who are interested in building genuine relationships and deepening our faith. We are also beginning to look at what child care will look like for us next year when Valeria goes home, so please pray that we will have wisdom and a clear path forward there.
