Time Is Continuing

Wow
I am not sure why, maybe cuz I have so many darn kids, but I guess blogging has been back burner. I don't even think there is a pic of Johanna on here! She just turned 2 July 3rd!! As usual our ministry of a life has us pretty tied up hanging upside down. Yes, I used to listen to GNR;) So let's cut to the chase.

We got a couple new kids. A 13 year old boy with alphabet soup that has nowhere else and a 19 year old girl alone in this world. We continue to strive to live out our faith in all aspects of our lives and I think I need office hours to do all my administrative mom duties! I should be doing that now, but thought I should write instead, since I cannot sleep and all. Must have been the 3:30pm coffee.

We are waiting to hear back from the school district and meet with them where Jack will be going to school, he had a level 4 IEP (a more theraputic setting due to behaviors.) We are very hopeful that we can give him the tools, support, and love for him to be successful. We do have God on our side and he has never seen or known that GOOD NEWS before. He is already making great progress and we are fortunate to have services in place already for weekly counseling and OT.

I have to set up the parent portal thing and have Reany registered for MN K12 online school, really excited to have someone else be the teacher and I can mainly wear the mom hat. I am hopeful that by 9th grade she can go back to a more typical school setting, but for now with her vulnerbilities and level of academics, this is the best choice.

Libby is going to the christian school, which I am thankful we can make work, her heart isn't where the general public school peers is and it just wasnt't a good fit anymore. The only drawback is that our level of involvement due to our unique family dynamics will be limited for social type things. Ya get used to it. And in the end this life that we choose as parents, God will use for her good.

So that is 3 school calendars I will need to wrap my head around. Adam will do another year at the trnsition program but that is with the district schedule. My boys are all working now too, so that is neat to see them take their responsibility to the community. We worked with VocRehab on Adam getting a job at the travel plaza washing dishes and David bagging at Coborns; however, a neighbor referred Adam and Matthew to do a job share and they wash dishes at the legion. All in walking distance too, so that is great.

I started teaching Zumba in February, that has been great as I am offering free classes at my church to be a ministry to those that are not at a gym or would't otherwise be exercising. I also am teaching at the YMCA, so tht is reeally neat too. They are building a new one to open net year too so that is exciting. It is great accountability because I cannot skip my own classes! Since February and increasing my activity, I have lost 20 pounds from the spot I had been stuck at for about a year. I continue to eat mainly low carb days and also have come to love the bulletproof intermittant fasting. Having "brain octane," high concentrated MCT oil (what's in coconut oil;) and grassfed butter in my coffee in the morning is a 30 gram of fat breakfast that my body doesn't recognize as a fast break since not eating since supper the night before, keeping you fueled and feeling good until a later lunch about 4 days a week. I am not following their diet so much but overall the low carb components leaves me feeling great. Can't seem to get off the Humira though for my psoriatic arthritis and I am anticipating foot surgery this fall unless the rheumatologist says nay. They will put pins in my toes and shorten a bone due to structural damage before Humira. They also will do a bunion that isn't really that bad, and take out a little cyst. Nothing quite like killing 4 birds with one stone, I am just glad it is only in one foot! They tool a callous out too which was amazing and I did't realize was possible so until surgery they may just keep doing that.

My dad's health and behavior continues to regress due to his frontal temporal dementia, but he remains home and I am forever grateful to his incredible wife and caregiver. He has staff when she goes to work. I am actually going there later today to help too. We chose a wrestling camp for Noah there so we had an excuse to help out;)

Libby and I just got back from our Mexico missions trip. They had just gotten a new kid too, about the same time we got Jack. Betsy, the director, had said that they have a balance there and during that transition everyone is thrown off and needs to adjust and I can so relate to that. I pray for Santiago, who came from the colonias- their ghetto with anything used for shelter, no electricity, plumbing, or running water. He had ame with his brother and then the brother was not adjusting at all and both had been involved with gang activity. They do not keep older kids against their will and the brother was brought to his mother, who said bring him to the grandma, who said she was filing papers to come and get him and had not wanted Santiago. How great that Santiago chose to stay at the Haven and they delivered the brother, to not endure the heartache of knowing he wasn't chosen by his family. The brokenness and depravity of their culture runs deep. I am going to post a recap on the trip.

The sun is starting to rise and the rain is coming down. The provider knows what this Earth needs and it reminds me that he knows what each of us need too. There is no random, there is no mistake. Pressing on and trying to stay focused on who I am and where I am going.