We finished off summer break with several fun activities. Cordelia did a gymnastics camp and Anthony had his “Camp Grandma” week. We also had a Powers clan summer vacation in Utah before getting into the school year. Both Cordelia and Anthony are excited to be back at school. We finished off the month with an “open house” style baby shower and were blessed to have several friends show up.
Cordelia had a really fun time at her gymnastics camp and enjoys her gymnastics class each week. She’s much improved in her piano since she’s been taking actual lessons and enjoys practicing each day. Cordelia enjoyed our family vacation in Utah and the chance to play with her cousins. Cordelia is especially excited to be back at school, seeing her friends and continuing to learn.
Anthony had a super fun Camp Grandma week. With trips to LEGOLAND, Sea World, and Disneyland he had a fun and full week! He also enjoyed the trip to Utah. Anthony’s been doing “ninja” gymnastics for a while but the gym is finally opening up a boys’ gymnastics class and he’s excited to start that in September. Anthony was happy to be back at school with his teacher from last year and several friends from last year. He’s also making new friends and we’re hopeful that this will be a positive year for him.
Lydia continues to grow, both physically and mentally. She’s growing more into a fun little girl who is super imaginative and mostly kind. She’s certainly three and has her moments of disobedience and unpleasantness. But she is learning how to play nicely with her siblings. And she’s especially happy to give hugs and hold hands. Lydia did not return to school this year, but she’s been doing lots of fun things at home with our au pair.
Alicia wrapped up her projects and responsibilities this month. While the transition to a PE role when she returns is not finalized, Alicia left things off in a good state with her current group. Alicia worked until the last week of Aug and is now taking time off until January of 2022. Alicia continues to be healthy through this pregnancy and the baby appears to be healthy and growing at a good rate. We’re heading into the final 2-3 weeks as we enter September before we welcome our new addition to the house. In the midst of transitioning out of work and preparing for a new baby, Alicia has picked back up her role with AWANA as Sparks director. While she’s not going to be in person during club nights, there’s a lot of preparation work going on to get the club year started.
Tim had a very eventful month of work. He’s been doing very well on his projects and has presented to serval director and VP level people within his company. Things continue to trickle in for him, so there’s always some work to be done. He did end up getting a job offer from another company, but after serious thought and prayer, he decided it would be best for him to stay put at his current job. On the home front, continual maintenance of the yard and house take up large portions of the weekends. He made some slow progress on a long bench in the shop, still more work to be done. When not on vacation Tim’s been keeping up with his new exercise regime of lifting weights and running.
This month things have been improving on the home front with kids and childcare. With camps, vacations, and the older two back in school, overall family life has improved. Especially now that Alicia is on maternity leave, the last week of Aug has been much smoother. We’re praying for wisdom and patience to decide on the right course of action for our family in terms of childcare; but it’s more of a long term than immediate concern. We’ll see how things change once the new baby arrives and shakes things up!
We are thankful for all the family and friends who continue to support us. As we enter back into the newborn world, we know there will be some big challenges for us soon. Please pray that September would be a smooth transition month and we would be able to value each one of the kids God has blessed us with.
