A belated Happy Thanksgiving to all. In the business of life, it is so easy to forget what we have. As we reflect on the many gifts and blessings God has given us, it’s a great time to be thankful. We got to spend some fun family time together this month. We had a great visit with Mimi and Papa with a fun trip to Belmont Park and a quieter day at home. We had our first rains of the seasons and some fires in the fireplace. Tim and Alicia are connecting with the people in our bible study life group. We’ve had some time for one-on-one kid time as well as a date night. We closed the month by celebrating Thanksgiving with the Powers clan and taking some quiet(er) days at home. Now we’re heading back into the weekly routine for a few weeks.
Things at Cordelia’s school improved this month. The boy who was causing trouble for several kids in the class was removed from the school. She’s having fun learning and is doing a great job with her homework this year. Her class is getting ready for their Christmas play in mid-December. Cordelia attended a basketball evaluation for a new league and was selected to be with some old teammates from her summer basketball team. She’s excited to be reconnecting with them. She’ll be starting practices and games in December. She’s continuing to improve her form and stamina in swimming. She graduated from her Basic 3 ice skating class and can move up to Basic 4. She is continuing to improve in piano and had a nice performance in her piano recital. We’re trying to make sure she has a good balance in her life and doesn’t get overfilled with activities.
Anthony has really been enjoying his PE class and Co-op meetings. Anthony continues to grow in his independence to complete his school work. While he still struggles with his emotions Alicia is learning that sometimes taking a more hands-off approach is more helpful. We’re continuing to remind him of his identity and how he can choose good because God is living in him. He’s also doing really well in his soccer class and will be moving up to the next level in December. In swimming, he started learning flip turns. Anthony enjoys playing the piano, some songs capture his attention more than others. He did well performing his two songs in his piano recital.
Lydia continues to learn a lot at school. She got a cold half way through the month that kept her out of school for a few days but she’s improved. Lydia enjoys her gymnastics and is still practicing her swimming. She bought a lego set with her own money she earned from reading practice. She enjoys playing legos and has a lot of fun playing with Anthony.
Natalie continues to grow in the toddler phase. She likes playing with buckles and exploring. She’s starting to flop herself on the ground when things don’t go the way she wants. She certainly can make her desires known between her babblings and signs. Unfortunately, she still strongly favors Alicia over Tim, which makes things difficult sometimes. She picked up the cold from Lydia toward the end of the month, which resulted in a mild ear infection. She spent one night waking up every two hours coughing and unable to breath. Fortunately, she’s much improved in the last few days and seems to be close to fully healthy again.
Alicia continues to evaluate and manage the balance of things. She’s been keeping occupied with her work but it’s not been so much that it’s unmanageable. AWANA still takes a large chunk of time. Fortunately, she’s getting some help on the teaching front, which will reduce her work load by an hour or so. She’s also relying on her other helpers to get the weekly tasks done. Navigating the homeschool front takes constant adjustment. Alicia is trying to give Anthony the proper amount of support and attention but not too much. Alicia continues transporting the kids to extra-curricular activities but has a lot of fun watching them. Grandparents Powers are still helping with some of the transporting and activities.
Tim has gotten fully engaged in his work, doing some pretty challenging tasks. He’s been doing some elaborate modeling. He’s also doing lab work and prepping for a short field trip in early December. Tim made some slow progress on his workshop, other things always seem to take priority. Tim worked on a wood working project for his dad. Tim faithfully serves our family by getting food on the table every night while Alicia is often out and about with the kids’ activities. Tim’s been having some fun with the kids and enjoyed the break days of home family time. He’s been playing ping-pong, basketball, and soccer.
We’re glad that we got to spend some group family time together. As we head into December, we’re looking to our holiday visits with family and wrapping up the year. Tim and Alicia are looking forward to an evening out at a company holiday party. We pray that in the business of life and ever-changing dynamics we can keep clear communication.
