March has felt long, “foggy”, and uncertain. We continued to deliberate over the future for our family in the summer and coming school year. Things are starting to solidify on that front but not completely finalized. Tim took Cordelia and Anthony to Arizona for the same week his sister was visiting for a mini family/cousin reunion. Tim also supported a three day work trip out to Julian. Alicia held down the fort with Tim gone and had some fun with Lydia and Natalie. We were all happy to be back together at the end of the month and celebrated Cordelia’s birthday. With all the family decisions and time apart, we’ve felt spread thin this month and very tired, running close to empty a lot of the time.
Cordelia is now 8 years old! At the beginning of the month she got her ears pierced! She’s very proud of her earrings and is anxious for the first two months to be over so she can switch them out for other earrings. Cordelia enjoyed visiting with her cousins. She had a small pre-birthday celebration while in Arizona. She got lots of fun gifts for her birthday, which is very important to her. She got a little cold during the end of the month but was able to get back to school and celebrate her birthday with doughnuts. The first Saturday in April she’ll be having a small party with her classmates.
Anthony had a fun time in Arizona too. He got to learn how to use a slingshot and went out in the desert to shoot cans with Tim. He also continues to practice his skateboarding and is slowly improving. He’s a sweet brother and is very thoughtful to his sisters. With all the changes to the normal schedule he’s had a bit more attitude and we’ve been working with him through that.
Lydia was a great helper to Alicia while Tim was gone. She’s been helping get her dinner ready. She’s also playing with Natalie and keeping her company while Alicia and Tim are busy in the kitchen. She’s getting more interactive and observant of her behavior and others. She had been asking for a while to go to Legoland, so Alicia took her while Tim was gone with Cordelia and Anthony. She was a great helper and a good listener.
Natalie is on the move! She’s 6 months old now and belly scooting all over the place. She continues to be healthy and weighed in at 14 lbs at her 6 month check up. She’s much improved at eating baby food. She certainly has things she likes and doesn’t like, so we’re starting to learn her unique tastes. Natalie enjoys being around her family and doesn’t like to be left alone for extended periods of time. But as long as someone is near by she’s a pretty happy and easy-going baby.
Alicia had a very busy month with lots on her plate. Throughout the month she wrestled with the decision of whether to stay working or stop working and homeschool the kids. This led to lots of late night discussions and multiple reviews of the family budget. But the day to day tasks still continue. Alicia gained more tasks at work and continued to show herself capable. Her boss and co-workers are all appreciative of the work she’s doing. AWANA continued with lesson preparations each week and managing the weekly responsibilities of running Sparks. At home Alicia enjoyed her week with Natalie and Lydia, but it was tiring trying to take care of them and still maintain all the needed house tasks.
Tim was also very busy this month. He took advantage of his paid family leave to take two more weeks off from work. He used his time well. During the first week he revamped our pantry, trading out cheap wire shelves for some beautiful wood shelves. The second week he spend in Arizona with his family. It was a good week, but all the travel was a bit tiring. Then on the work front he headed out for a three day work trip. He’s maintaining his tasks at work, but the work has been rather uninspiring lately, so we could use prayer for a clear path forward there.
As we head in to April we’re looking forward to a small respite in the middle of the month for our anniversary. We are finalizing our plans for the next school year, but some things are still in motion. After Alicia told her boss she was going to have to stop working, her boss offered her a part time option. That discussion is not formally approved yet, so right after we thought we had finalized our plans, new variables got added to the mix.
We’d appreciate prayers for rest for our family in this up-coming month. We pray that we’re able to give each family member the time and attention they need (including couples time!) We also pray that we will be able to completely finalize our plans for the summer and next school year, so we can move forward with confidence and certainty. We pray for the opportunity to re-connect with our church community and start attending a small group again. We also pray for the strength, wisdom, and energy to serve in the ministries God has called us to.
