FUMA or Bust

I'm not sure where to begin since things have been incredible hectic this month. It takes me days to finish one blog, and I am going so much it seems the days all blend into one another.

Let's just start with Olivia (16 months). Olivia has cut another tooth this month. Teething has been worst on her than all the others. As a result, I am very tired. She doesn't sleep or eat well when she is teething, and nothing seems to make her happy. I am so glad the molar finally came through yesterday, and it seems she is making her way back to normalcy. Maybe I can get a decent night sleep sometime soon. Other than that she is doing great. She is still a little thing so I guess I will hear more about that when I take her in for her next well baby. Unfortunately I can't make her grow -- only God can do that. She is still very girly, and it is cute to watch her feed her babies and wrap them up in blankets.

Caden (3 years old) is going through a "testing phase" right now. In general he is stubborn about pretty much everything and yells (A LOT) when he doesn't get his way. It is funny, I tell everyone non of my kids went through a "terrible twos", and once again this has proved true. No terrible twos, but the tail end of three is proving to be quite the challenge. He is doing really well in his school work though. He loves school, and begged to start doing school this year with "the Big Brothers". He learns at an amazing pace. With his focus and love of doing the work, I wouldn't be surprised if he is reading by the end of the year. One of his favorite things to do is cut with scissors ( I have included a picture of this in today's blog). He is also very excited to start Tae Kwon Do when he turns four, and is trying to learn how to ride his bike without training wheels before daddy gets home from deployment. This year he gets to switch to Cubbies in Awanas and is excited about being able to earn patches and stickers for memory work. In Puggles they got to wear a cute little shirt and that was so exciting to him but stickers and patches are so much better.

Ezekiel ( 9 -- 1 Sept) is doing well in fourth grade. I think he is still a bit overwhelmed at the increase workload from lower elementary, but for the most part he has really been doing well and working diligently without complaint. He seems to be really enjoying learning this year. He tests for Green Belt in Tae Kwon Do in a couple weeks. Once he gets his green belt he can start sparring. He has been living for that day for 9 months. Now, he can try out for the competition team in a couple months. He would like to compete in sparring and weapons. He also watched the demonstration team at the county fair and thinks he wouldn't mind doing that as well. Demonstration team is only for the top ranks except for a few lower ranks being invited to participate, so we will see. It will probably take him a little more than a year from now to earn his Black Belt. We are also looking for swim lessons for him to take. He wants to be on a swim team but that will have to wait until he makes black belt because Tae Kwon Do classes take up too much time every week right now. Zeke is also excited about Awanas starting up. We were unable to get involved until halfway through the year last year, so he is really excited to have a whole year to work on his patches this time.

Now we get to Russell (13 years old). A while back we received news from FUMA that they did not consider us to be in need of financial aid to attend their school (excuse me while I pause to laugh). Ok. Well, he had already joined another football team and we already bought homeschooling books and he had already started 8th/9th grade stuff. Then, last Saturday morning (out of the blue) we get a call from Fork Union saying they have decided they can give us Financial Aid. What? Chris was deployed and had just gone out on a mission. I didn't know when I would hear from him. I couldn't make the decision on my own, and school starts next Monday. I told them I would have to wait until I could speak to my husband and explained to them his situation. Well, minutes after I got off the phone with the school, Chris called to tell me his mission had been cancelled. HMM. We talked about it and both prayed all night. Then we talked about it some more the next morning. We both decided it was the best thing to go forward with trying to get him there for school next Monday. So, we have been in the mad dash to get school paid for, school supplies bought, a school physical done, and all the other paperwork ready. It has been a long week. He is so excited about going. He has been reading the handbook everyday trying to learn how to stay out of trouble and MOST importantly how to EARN privileges. He is a little disappointed to be going back to 8th grade Science since he has been doing High School Biology for a month. He is also a little worried about the placement tests, because he is in Algebra 1 at home (he took pre-algebra last year), and he doesn't want to go back to Pre-Algebra. Also, they have an elective period that is Art or Drama (not his things) or Spanish I. Of course they use the placement tests to decide whether you can take Spanish I. He really wants to do Spanish because he has been taking it anyway for a couple years, and like I said -- Art and Drama are not his things. Most importantly he is excited about being able to play on a football team where his weight does not determine the position he can play. In the recreation leagues they set a weight limit for all but the linemen, so they don't hurt the little guys. This year Russell exceeds the weight limit so he can' play any of the positions he has played since he was 5. (He has grown 6 inches this year and is now 5 foot 5 1/2 inches tall, and 155 pounds.) They had him on the line (not his favorite). Now he will be eligible to play anywhere. Yeah.

So, Daddy is gone, Olivia is teething, and Caden is incorrigible. Add to that Russell getting ready for school Monday, and Zeke having a Birthday Tuesday and I am exhausted. Monday should be interesting.