August started with summer camps and activities. Then the school year began. We also celebrated Alicia’s birthday and closed out the month preparing for Labor Day weekend. The weather was warmer, so the kids spent lots of time in the afternoons splashing in the blow-up pool.
Cordelia was stretched out of her comfort zone this month, with a lot of new experiences. She had some challenges getting dropped off at the summer camps, but she figured it out eventually. Corrie was very excited to start school again this fall. She was excited to see some of her old friends and get back to learning. She’s been doing well for the most part as we come to the end of the third week. Cordelia is doing ice skating and swimming and piano. Cordelia graduated to level 11 in swim, there’s only 12 levels in the program. Starting in September she’ll be doing a 7-week basketball league as well as entering AWANA 3&4 grade Truth and Training.
Anthony continues enjoying soccer. In addition to his weekly soccer class, he also did a morning soccer camp during the week before school started. He’s officially begun homeschooling and he’s doing great. Alicia had him take some placement tests for fun to determine his learning level. He’s well above his grade level, which is nice for Alicia – takes the pressure off. He’s starting to get a feel for homeschooling and is understanding that if he gets his work done more quickly, he has more time for “free choice” fun. Anthony is also doing swimming and leveled up to level 9; he’ll be starting on butterfly stroke. He’s also continuing in piano and graduated to the “elementary” level curriculum. Starting in September his extra-curriculars for homeschooling will begin. He’ll also start in his second year of AWANA Sparks.
Lydia started back at Legacy for school, which has been a good transition. She’s enjoying it a lot and has a fun time playing with her friends. She’s also doing some work on learning short words and counting. We have noticed that Lydia is not really extroverted so after a long day of hard work and socialization, she does best with 10-15 minutes to decompress in her room when we get home. Lydia is doing swimming and continuing to progress. She continued in soccer for Aug, but she’s not really excited about it. So in September we’re switching her to a gymnastics class. We did a trial class and she was very enthusiastic about it. Lydia will be starting her second year of AWANA Cubbies.
Natalie crawls and has started taking some shaky first steps. She still much prefers crawling, but she will walk while pushing something for stability. She got hand-foot-mouth disease at the beginning of the month, which made her sad. But she’s been a pretty happy girl for the last weeks of the month with no teething and no sickness. She’s doing well with continuing to get toted around to all the activities.
Alicia is working part time, starting the homeschool year with Anthony and adding in some bonus AWANA stuff. It all rounds out to a very active life. Somehow it all manages to be getting done. Alicia compares time to a gas – in that it compresses and expands to fill the available space. Sometimes it can’t compress quite enough and things have to slip. But we feel that God has called Alicia to serve in all these areas, so if He calls, he will provide the strength. Work has taken a bit of a back seat as the school year has started. It remains to be seen how things will equilibrate out. As the month closes and we head into September, the AWANA work load is quickly rising and consuming all remaining time.
Alicia was showered with love and appreciation during her birthday month. We spent a day at LEGOLAND and a day hiking around Lake Poway. And then the following weekend Tim planned a special surprise visit to the horse races and a quiet dinner as a couple. Alicia is so thankful for a loving, thoughtful husband and caring family.
Tim is transitioning back to his previous company. He gave two weeks’ notice at the beginning of the month and took the first of a two week break in between jobs for the last week of the month. While his time at ASML was short, he was able to accomplish one task for them. Tim’s looking forward to getting back to his former co-workers and a comfortable office where he can think in peace. While at home, he’s continuing to work on getting the landscaping completed in the front yard. Continuing to install PVC irrigation runs in preparation for us getting some more plants. He’s planning to doing a lot of yard clean up during his weeks off. We rented a dumpster for a week to remove all the unwanted rocks and other yard items. Additionally, he’s supporting Alicia with some kid watching and schooling so she can get in her work hours.
We added several new activities over the summer and now we’re trying to figure out what to keep and what to drop. With school and Alicia’s part time work, we’re trying to find a schedule that accommodates everyone. As we head into September we will add AWANA back into the Sunday mix. We’re going to try a Saturday night church venue and try to leave our weekend day times open for more family activities. We’re feeling a call to make sure we’re connected in community for this coming year. Pray we will be able to find a church community group that will fit within our schedules and provide us with support and encouragement.
