Fall Facts and Fun

Hi, I wanted to update everyone on how our fall is shaping up. If you could call this fall when it is still 90 degrees! In the past month, many things have begun and a few have ended. Bye bye backyard swimming pool and unstructured days. At the end of August we celebrated 36 years for me (and yes, all the candles still fit on the cake) and we enjoyed meeting up with Tim's godfather, Duane Roller, who lives in a neighboring town to us. I also have encountered allergies of various kinds and know the testing of my immune system produces mucus and mucus when fully. . . . oh, never mind. :)

The kids have started school with Daddy and have had a few weeks of their homeschool group, Classical Conversations. Things are going well, though there are adjustments to be made for everyone. For CC, they have to do a presentation each week and it ends up being a lot of work for Mommy! But it is good for them to learn to prepare these little speeches on things they are interested in and learn to present them. As far as the bulk of their school, Tim is an excellent teacher for them and I have been impressed with his dedication and organization. It has been a relief for me, though I am still working with the kids on many things during the day.

I have started teaching 7 piano students so far (not counting Rachel and Ruth.) Hopefully there will be more. If I had any concerns about leaving at supper time, this week put those concerns to rest. I had given Rachel instructions about doing a lot of the supper prep herself but I knew Tim would be there to help her. Well, he confessed to snoozing on the couch and I came home to homemade banana bread and tacos which Rachel had made from start to finish! She keeps wondering why we are so proud.

Rebekah is growing into the 2-year old that she is now. She is very excited about the "bike" she's been given to use (it's really a tricycle with a push-handle for us to maneuver her) and equally thrilled with her new "holmet" as she calls it. She is very happy to use her little potty frequently, though she is not fully trained, and she is getting more talkative all the time. I won't give you a run-down on all the kids, but she's probably changed the most since we moved.

God has really provided what we've needed this past month. We hit a point of crisis financially (or a realization that we were already there) and we chose to find counsel and act on it. We've seen amazing provisions rain down especiallly since we decided to give the whole tithe in faith. We are still trying to sell a car and a house, of course, and ask your continued prayers for those things.

We miss everyone back "home" in Minnesota and other friends and family that may be reading this, too. In particular, we have grieved with those who have lost loved ones in the Faith Baptist family during this past month or so. We have also rejoiced with good friends who have adopted and given birth recently. It has been very difficult to do those things with the amount of distance that separates us but our hearts are definitely there. We are looking forward to a visit from my parents in October and in a couple more months hopefully coming back to a white Christmas! God bless!