Weekly Newsletter

I should try to make Sunday the official "even if nothing is happening, I should toss an update up" day, hereafter to be known as the Weekly Newsletter!

We will go youngest to oldest as we started with Emerald the last post.

Benjamin is walking really well now; he still relies heavily on crawling because it is faster, and he can't step up like stairs or anything, but he is making very good progress with his mobility. Three new little teeth buds have broken through this week, making for a very fussy Benjamin who is clingy during the day and restless at night. He thankfully isn't having any serious symptoms like fever or vomiting or diarrhea, but he is using his grumpiness to the best of his ability so that he is held more, kissed more, and put in the playpen less. Curiosity and sociability are both strong characteristics--he can make friends with anyone and is forever on the go, exploring even where he is not supposed to (maybe deviously where he is not supposed to).

Gabriel starts back at school on Monday. His program provides breakfast and lunch, but he has to get on the school bus super early. The bus driver was quite kind and drove by to introduce herself and the bus aide that will take care of him in the morning. Meet the Teacher was last Thursday and Michael, Gabriel, and I went to that while Rhonda kept an eye on Emerald and Benjamin. It was a little stressful because they had meet the teacher for the entire school, they have inadequate parking (to put it mildly), early in the afternoon on a work day, and we were left milling about outside the locked hallway with hundreds of other people. Claustrophobic and unorganized, his teacher wasn't even present--she is on Maternity Leave until September sometime. All the discomfort was worth it when Gaby ran into his classroom with great joy, hugging the inclusion coordinator and touching all the things that he remembered like his locker, his chair, and his friend Peter.

Emerald is doing well at school. Ken went and spoke with the principal the day after Emerald was sent to see him; Principal Breaux said that they had talked about what she did wrong and why they have rules and better choices she could make in the future...he said he must have started going on too long because Emerald laid her head down on his desk and started snoring! Mr. Breaux said he had to take a moment to compose himself or he was going to start laughing. Emerald is such a stinker!

Other than that incident, she has has few difficulties at school. Ms. Robins said they changed her circle partner because they didn't seem to get along and her attitude has improved greatly since they did that. For now, we still use the prayer bracelet and I let her pick her shoes so that she won't want to kick them off. On Friday she got a "yellow bear" which means time out and a note explaining why; during library time, the teacher told her that it was time to go and she said "no" because she was not finished yet with her book. They said she was mega sweet before and after that, and she wasn't awful or rude, just told them that she wasn't done and refused to leave. After timeout, she apologized to Ms. Robins and when she came home she told Michael and me about what happened and promised she would try harder next time to make good choices and keep her blue bear.

I am currently getting a little more involved--I joined the PTFA (Parents Teachers and Friends Association) and volunteer once a week (the day Michael has off) to help Emerald's class with lunch and recess. At Monterey, our church, I am looking at volunteering as a teacher or an assistant for cradle roll/nursery and Michael and I signed up for small groups. We won't start going to service again until they have Heroes Children's Worship reinstated because it is a real struggle to keep Gabriel quiet under normal circumstances and the singing stresses him out. Right now, we go just for Sunday School class.

A few weeks ago, I spent four days hurting so bad I was living on acetaminophen and heating pad, so I went to the doctor. He said I was suffering from back spasms, likely from carrying around my chunko kids. He put me on some painkillers and muscle relaxers, and I seem to only have trouble if I am carrying loads of laundry or hefting a kiddo.

Michael is selling really well at work; everyone pray that he can get one more Suburu out this month which will help us with affording Emerald's and Gabriel's birthday parties.

In case you are planning on coming, we are looking to host it Sunday, September 9th at 4 or so at Ken and Rhonda's. Tentatively speaking, we are considering a beach-y themed pizza party, but we are keeping our options open as always to what we can pull together.

Not much else is going on at this time. Keep Amber in your prayers as she is having surgery on Wednesday to remove her gallbladder. Remember Jarrod and Dad as they are both following up on abnormal blood work, and Dad fell and hurt his ankle again.

Have a blessed week!
--Andie