In January, we had a casual first week together before the kids went back to school. We went and visited with Alicia’s grandparents for a day. Then it was back to the weekly routine. We had a great time celebrating Anthony’s 8th birthday with some of his closest friends from school. It was nice to connect with the parents of Anthony’s friends too. Mimi and Papa also joined us for his birthday weekend. Unfortunately, we’ve not be able to join our life group as expected during the start of the quarter. But we’re making opportunities to connect with the kids and have started doing some small/short bible studies with them.
Cordelia started off January well. One of her good friends came back to school and she’s very happy to be reunited with her. She continues to do well in school and is looking out for ways to help others in the classroom. In ice skating Cordelia leveled up at this end of the shortened January session. She’ll be starting in Basic 6 in February, which is the level before Pre-Academy. She’s building some really nice friendships with some of the other girls at the ice rink too.
Anthony has good days and bad days at school. He enjoys being there to have fun with his friends but isn’t always the most focused on his work. But when he sets his mind to it, he can be a very diligent worker. He continues at soccer to grow in his skills. In swimming he pushed himself to achieve level 12 (the highest level) and is basically ready to graduate out of the program. We’re thinking of signing him up for a soccer league in March. We’ve been working with him on respect in group situations this month. He seems to struggle with acting respectfully and appropriately in some situations. Anthony is now 8 yrs old! We had a really fun weekend celebrating his birthday. He went for a hike with Daddy and Papa up to Mt Woodson (Potato Chip Rock) from Lake Poway. He struggled for some portions of the hike but the group made it up and back down the almost 8-mile round trip hike. He had a fun time celebrating at his birthday party with his best friends from school – Ellen and Olivia.
Lydia is having a really good time in school. She’s working hard on her works each day and has a fun time with her friends. She’s starting to get a better understanding of piano and is playing her songs more independently. She’s having a fun time ice skating and is building a little friend group too. She moved to Basic 2 at the beginning of the year and will continue in Basic 2 for the next session starting in February. In swim class she’s starting to get the understanding of breaststroke, but still has a ways to go.
We attempted to potty train Natalie at the beginning of the month. We were partially successful but she wasn’t consistent enough for us to feel comfortable abandoning diapers. She’s improving but is not being proactive about going to the bathroom when she needs to go. We’re taking a more casual potty training approach with her and inching towards the goal. Natalie continues to enjoy school and does well. She’s generally outgoing and doesn’t mind getting dragged along to the various weekly activities.
Alicia jumped back into her work tasks with the beginning of the year. She’s pushing to get two of her projects to their next milestone so she can switch gears and pick up another project that’s waiting in the wings. It is gratifying to see how her projects and contributions are making a measurable impact on the overall product line. She’s been enjoying watching the kids ice skate and Anthony play soccer. She’s gotten a chance to talk to some of the other moms at ice skating. AWANA Sparks continues to require a fair amount of time but she has a lot of support. Thanks to Tim’s help with the kids, she’s been able to join some of the other AWANA directors for dinner after club nights as part of her effort to make some deeper friendships and share life with others.
Tim’s work has been a bit of a back and forth this month. Sometimes it feels like one step forward to take two steps backwards. He’s been in the lab a lot getting to do some hands-on stuff. At home he did some tidying up of the yard. He trimmed back the fruit trees and did some planting. He also got a chance to use the grill during Anthony’s birthday party. Tim’s being feeling God’s leading to engage with the kids more in spiritual discipling, so he’s been trying to find a way to regularly get that into our weekly routines.
In February we’ll continue in our routine. Then the kids have a week off for President’s day and they’ll be spending some time with Mimi and Papa in Arizona for that week. For February we’re praying for God’s direction in how to best use our time. With our time being so valuable and in such short supply we want to be spending it in the right places investing in the people God wants us to be investing in. We’re also praying for guidance in nurturing the kids to have loving and respectful behavior both inside and outside of the house.
