Year 5, December 10th-12th, 2020: It's Official!

We had a GREAT Friday, but here's the "Official" news: Benaiah was officially accept into Ozark Christian College!  Easy peasy lemon squeezie! We filled out a form online, sent his current GPA/Transcript, sent his (not so good in my opinion) SAT and ACT scores, and bam! Accepted. That's the easy part! Now, the financial piece is still in the works and still being debated and all that. And he is still going to take that gap year, so he won't be going until 2021.  However, let's just get a normal moment in a child's life and celebrate! Firstborn's accepted into college! First grandchild! Here we go! Ok, ok, we all know that going to college isn't the only thing you can do straight after high school. But after a kind of hard week in our relationship, it feels good to have something positive to think about! Ah, it feels good to have this #parentingwin. If you only knew our family's whole story...well, we'll save that for another day. Man, it just feels SO good to be SO normal. Next up, senior prom, graduation, open house, all the stuff! How did we make it here so fast? What in the world?! It seems like I just graduated with an almost 1 yr old Benaiah on my hip! It's not that hard to get into Bible college, but not everyone has the privilege or even the mental capability to do well in school. And I do I give myself a little pat on the back because I taught him how to read. I taught him his basic math skills. He knew how to write before entering high school. He might have finished at Southside, but he got his start at home. Yeah, I'm proud of us. Jared, Benaiah, and I. We made it! Phew! The rest of the kids will be a breeze, right? Probably not, but maybe we won't stress out so much. Ok, Ok, my Enneagram #6 is analyzing it too much.  Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

Ok, let's backtrack to the beginning of this very rainy day. The other boys and I got to gym day about 15 minutes later. And as expected, there were a lot less families. Everybody shows up the first couple of times, and then it dies down to about a dozen families. No biggie. Abishai didn't want to share his ball he brought with the other little kids, so I was dubbed the ball protector. But he was proud that he could pull Eli around on one of those scooter things. I got to talk to another mom for a little bit, so that was nice. Yup, normal day there. Abishai was then starving, so I promised him he and I would go to McDonald's near our house so he could play in the playspace. I had his gift card from the Smiths with me, and he was very excited to use it! We dropped Justin back off at home first so he could work on his school work. Keturah had slept in and then worked on her school work while we were gone. Jared had an early meeting at the school, so he came home to check on her. I took Abishai to McDonald's and played for another hour while I checked email and ate lunch and had a yummy mocha. I am exhausted after a week of very fitful sleep. In fact, Jared and I switched sides of the bed, and he said when I'm on my right side, I don't snore or breathe heavy, but I do snore when I'm on my back of left side. I need him to record me sometime because I find it hilarious!  He says he pinches my nose to make me stop and sometimes I don't stop! My mom and dad both snored and ended up sleeping in separate rooms because of it. Not really healthy for a marriage, but they didn't have the funds to look into it medically. ANYWAY,....

It was pretty quiet at McDonald's, but I did hear a preschooler say to Abishai, "I don't like your name." Sad face for me. I think Abishai said, "Why don't you like my name?" but I didn't hear the rest of the conversation. I think the same little girl said later on, "Don't talk to my sister." They had the sweetest and calmest Grandma with them, so I'm guessing the little girl is just in a phase of being mean. I mean, Keturah can get that way sometimes. Abishai didn't get really offended, thank goodness. Later on, he did find a new friend to play with and he thinks the boy's name was Chewie. I doubt that, but that's ok. I think I overheard them talk about where there dads were and what their dads names were, etc. It's so fun to listen to their little conversations, especially when they are now more grown up. Ah! Before we left, we bought a pop for Justin, an ice cream for Keturah, and fries for Daddy. We delivered the fries on the way to the library. Daddy was the only one in the building! Grandpa had left for the weekend. Then we spent another 45 minutes at the library. Abishai played his favorite games on the computer while I laid down on the bench wanting to sleep. Then he picked out a few new books and I checked out literally 25-30 items I had ordered. I need to preorder the next round because in a few days, the library's website is going to shut down for a couple of weeks for a big update to the system. They've extended everyone's renewals until after the update is complete. Oh, and we did all of this in and out in the rain, yuck!

We finally got home around 4pm. We had left at 9:30am. I'm exhausted. But I rallied when Benaiah brought Ava over. They decided to buy groceries and make a soup that Amy makes all the time and a special peanut butter fluff dessert. So very domestic! Lots of "I'm a control freak, you know this!" from Ava and Benaiah being goofy and saying "Well, it doesn't matter if it's done exactly this way." Oh the back and forth almost sounded like us, only theirs were much more teasing and we actually get truly frustrated and angry.  I kept saying to Ava that I'm the failure for not teaching Benaiah, but in my defense, he's not home long enough to teach. And Jared learned all his cooking skills after we got married, slowly, over time, without a program or recipes. At least those two can do a little cooking and following recipes and shopping. A lot of kids can't. Again, parenting win! Then I cooked our dinner and all 7 of us ate together! Wahoo! I cleaned up the kitchen (not the dishes, that's Benaiah's job) while Benaiah set up a monitor and his PS4 to watch TV with Ava in the fireside room and Abishai and Daddy watched part of the original Avengers movie and played Jurassic Park Lego game. Oh my, after watching End Game and Infinity War recently enough, or even Thor Ragnarok, being thrown backwards 10 or more years in the character and actors' histories, threw me for a loop. I could really tell how much younger they were, and how unsure they were of working together both in character and out of character. It's crazy how quickly people change! And the costumes. Oh man, fun times! I think Jared is enjoying playing snippets from the different Marvel movies for Abishai. He won't admit that how much he likes the "derpishness" movies, but I think he does appreciate them.

And now, time for bed for some and time for me to dig into my desk and get some paperwork sorted. I have a baby shower tomorrow, but after that, it's organizing taxes and then Christmas decor needs to be put away. I took it all "down" and put it under the Christmas tree (except for the tablecloth) but now I have to bring in the boxes and officially fit them all back in. That takes physical energy. I don't have physical energy. So, taxes it is. Once Christmas is done THEN I can do my fun (really, I love doing these things!) pantry makeover. It probably won't happen until later next week but that's ok. First things first. Paperwork, after Bible study, after blog.

TobyMac wrote a song called "21 Years" expressing his feelings surrounding the death of his oldest son, who was 21 when he died in November. I can't imagine. And this song will make you cry if you've lost a child, grown, or in the womb, or another loved one, or if a child is going off to college even. *cue the tears*

Then there's this little guy, who still has a lot of growing to do, but man, he can also do big things! Abishai is pulling Eli on the scooter.

"Mom, I don't want to take a selfie!" Well, it's an Abishai and Mommy lunch date, so, you will!

Ooo, I love this graphic about our annual and upcoming Home School Day at the (State) Capitol on Monday. It's so important to show up! Let's go!

Abishai LOVES this pogo stick feature on the playplace! I hadn't been in this McDonald's yet. It was clean and nicely laid out. At this time of day, there were several older people who were working, which makes me sad to think they have to work at McDonald's to supplement their income, or if they are bored at home. I'm talking people in their 70's and 80's. But they do serve others well, too.

Abisahi watched his favorite videos and played his favorite games on the library computer. It's amazing how easily he can navigate the screen now. I used to have to do it all for him two years ago.

This happened out of the blue today. He was very serious about seeing the REAL cross!

The almost adults being all domestic.

I can't measure!

Ava giving instructions.

Hm,...I think we might just need this!

Oh wow, this stuff is yummy! They made it from scratch, including using real whipping cream and powdered sugar, peanut butter, the cream cheese, and the graham crackers. Way to go!

They also made this soup that Ava's family loves! A can of tomatoes, chicken broth, oregano, salt, onion, noodles, and precooked chicken. Sweet!

Reading his acceptance letter from Ozark! I need to work on his reading aloud skills though. Slow down!

 It's official! We have an Ambassador!

This is the best smile I could get. Letter of acceptance, handwritten note, t-shirt, and $3,000 scholarship per year for 4 years based on GPA, test scores and attending the Tuesday tour day.  Currently, their tuition with room and board is a little under $20,000 a year. We/he has a ways to go.

Official and signature from President Matt Protor (who is a good friend of Gary's).

Woot! Woot! Show me the money!

Ready to be an Ambassador!  Now, where do I get my "Mom of an OCC student" t-shirt?

Nice packaging Benaiah opened up all crazy like.

Tickle fight!

17 years ago. Time flies! Yes, that's baby Benaiah, not even a year old yet.

Oh man, we look so much younger! And a lot tanner. Those were the days that a certain person were going through their mid life "crisis" and went to the gym and tanning bed a lot more often. And yes, he also had a convertible Z3 sports car. Time flies so fast!

Saturday was a long day. I'm exhausted. I was invited to a baby shower, last minute, and then late last night I was asked to take photos during it, because it was the same young lady that had a bridal shower we went to two years ago and I took pictures then. Ok, not my plan for my Saturday, but I can put away my selfishness and bless this beautiful family.  It was a 4 hr baby shower, which, I actually like because it didn't feel rushed. I got to hang out with a lady I know, Wendy, and a new lady that I just knew her face because she sings on stage. There was all the usual goodies, but it was all set up very beautifully! I couldn't eat much of it, but that's ok, I don't need the carbs anyways. Leah came about 1/2 through it after her very social morning of Bible study and a lunch thing. I enjoyed the baby shower, but I was glad to go home, too.  When I got home, I did my usual "this house is a mess! What have you been doing all day?" ranting. But, I stepped back and noticed that the two big things I asked to be done, were done. Jared and Justin took down the Christmas tree and Benaiah washed most of the dishes from last night before he went to work. And, there was no food left out.  I had to get Keturah to finish her morning routine (at 4pm mind you). And I still had homework to go over. with both of the kids. And as I type this, I forgot to go over Justin's math. I guess we'll do that tomorrow afternoon. Sigh. And set up his Spanish. Yikes, I'm so behind!

But, I pushed through and put away the rest of the Christmas decorations and cleaned up the garage. I told my self that I had to put away Christmas before I can do the fun job (I love organizing) of organizing the pantry! I can do that project a little bit in stages, so we'll see. But I have to work on the taxes first that we can pay the chiropractor in full on Monday knowing that we'll be replacing that money soon. We hope. But now I know who to call if it gets stuck again. I'm so tired and can't put words together, can I? Moving on I guess. I didn't take many photos on my phone today because I was so busy. I didn't do a before and after the Christmas stuff. I really need to purge some of that stuff in a year that I am in the purging mood. Ok, back to life I guess. Normal Sunday tomorrow. Here we go.

Sunday is exhaustion day. I didn't actually hit the wall. I have made some modifications for the week and have seen where I can rest, so that has helped me push through today. Jared is wincing a whole let less, so his healing process is getting there. He is still sleeping in fits and starts and can only sleep on his stomach with his head and feet propped up. It's really weird, but it's working. This whole thing is also very weird to me and I didn't anticipate having such strong emotions to it. Most nights I go to bed praying for Jared but also crying about it. I don't like to see him in pain, but more than that, I do get fearful because Jared is the one that takes care of me most of the time. I can pull my weight and push hard for about a week or so, but then I'm done. We've had such a great ebb and flow in responsibilities and care giving in our relationship and to have it be so one sided is very startling.  I know I'm not alone. I take the Bible very literally when it comes to Biblical leadership in the home, i.e. God, husband, then wife. Husband protects and provides financially for the family. He takes care of us like Jesus cares for his bride, the Church. In return, we submit (yes that word) to the husband's care and servant leadership out of respect for him. And always remember that the verse before those verses in the Bible says, "submit one to another." Point is, I look up to Jared in many ways, and I look to him to lead us. I'm not fond of picking up the pieces when he fails to lead (which is much more rare these days), but I will when necessary. All this to say, I really don't like it when my man is out of commission! It's brought out more emotions that I didn't know I had and more self awareness. And now I find myself more upbeat now that he is getting better and back to his normal routines. And of course I get that it's a minor problem compared to one of Justin's small group leaders, who is our age and has two boys are kids' ages, who is going through cancer treatment right now. So I'm trying to "get over" my feelings and just do what needs to get done. I'm very, very sore though. God has given me the mental capacity to keep going, and for that, I am grateful. I just need to remember to sit down a bit more and wait patiently to do the projects I want to do (pantry).

Today was a regular Sunday. It was much colder, so we did see snowflakes! I was underdressed, but that's ok. I ended up helping in nursery at 11, so I attended the 4:30 service after a brief meeting of all the nursery A workers, which was before the meeting that is usually held before 4:30 so Joanna can share news, a devo, prayer requests and pray over our time in the nursery or preschool. I was kind of happy that I could actually help out this time. A lot of times, I'm already working in the nursery at 4:30, so I have to stay in the 11am service. Joanna is very adamant that we all get to a service and trust that other volunteers will show up in time. We had 23 2 yr olds and 5 workers, one of which was actually assigned to one boy has some disabilities. Thankfully, the other nursery workers know the little guy well, so the access ministry helper could help out other kids as well.  I'm so grateful we have the disability ministry, with one on one buddies, so that those parents can also attend church and get a break.  It's just a reminder that ALL people are made in the image of God and we do our best ot take care of them.  There was one little boy who cried the whole time, but other than that, I think the hour went pretty smoothly. We couldn't find the child who had a stinky diaper, but that's ok. It was close to pick up time anyway.

We had Wolf come over for the afternoon, which was nice. We hadn't had someone over for a couple of months, so although we all had to go back to church at 3:45, it worked out just fine. Justin and Wolf and Keturah just hung out in the East Hall while I was in service, Abishai was in Sunday School and Jared was in the nursery volunteering. Abishai hesitated on going to class because it was not his normal room and he wanted to stay near me, but I insisted he went so I wouldn't have to deal with wiggly kid in service.  He was fine. Then the middle kiddos stayed for small group and youth group and we brought Abishai home. Abishai said that he didn't need supper because he was full of goldfish and read for the screen (his tablet time). Um, no, you can wait a little bit. I got the rest of the house perfectly picked up and when I left the kitchen 3 hrs ago it was clean. But both Jared and Benaiah have been in it since, so who knows. Laundry is caught up as well. I did a preliminary run through of taxes so we would know approximately how much of a refund we are getting and how we can pay for medical bills this year. I've got it all sorted out for now. Phew.

Time to have some downtime and head to bed. Tomorrow is the Home School Day at the Capital, and although it opens at 8:30, I don't have any responsibilities or tours or specific things I want the kids to do, so I'm ok leaving a little later and not pushing myself too hard in the morning. The rally is at noon. We'll bring some school work to work on and they can hang out with a few of their friends. We have to leave right after the rally to get to Keturah's choir practice. Then on Tuesday, I'm home all day and can rest and do a lot more school. I hope to maybe get into one of the galleries at the State House and see some legislation taking place, but we'll see. I also wish we had our gold IAHE badges, but our leader said we should have them in time for convention. Jared isn't coming with us because he needs to teach and work. If he hadn't had such a bad week last week, I would encourage him to come with us. This rep position is for both of us technically. Anyway, so I get to sit back and observe. Should be fun!

Abishai got really giggly when he used the massage wand on Daddy's back. And then Daddy used it on Abishai's tickle spots and he went crazy!

Helping Daddy feel better.

Today, the cups are his force field and Daddy was pretending to run into it and get hurt by it.

The trucks at the bottom of the picture are construction trucks going to another job site to build a house. The blue crate way in the top of the picture is the jail and the rest of the area is the police station.

Playing Minecraft, as always.

Man, he's getting big! Abishai stayed with us during the meetings so he got to play in his old room at church. Abishai is still only 34 lbs, but I can't believe he's not been in this room for 18 months or so. What a big guy!

Is it spring already? So much rain! So much flooding! And so warm! But then we'll eventually get colder.

Still warm until Thursday and then it dives into below freezing. I hate the rain, btw, hate it. Give me snow or sunny skies. Rain just makes you wet and you can't really play in it like you can in snow.