A big change is coming...

...but hopefully a good one.

I am being held prisoner. I am under house arrest and can go out quite often, but then I am kept home for several days--unable to function beyond the "bare minimum." Because I am married to a most wonderful man, this has been tolerable. He takes over what needs to be done that I cannot seem to accomplish. It has been tolerable when I only work at home.

But, I am going to start working outside the home some time in March (hopefully) and then this prisoner life will be a huge burden.

I went to visit my doctor and asked her what my options were. From the possibilities (hormones, minor surgery, hysterectomy) I rejected the hormones because I am not a nice person when taking them. I thought the minor (outpatient) surgery called an ablation sounded wonderful.

Next stop, the OB/GYN. He does an ultrasound and says that the minor surgery is not a good option because I have fibroid farm in my uterus. Apparently this farm is growing and starting fibroids quite nicely. The anemia and pain with my cycles can be pointed at them.

Next stop was my wonderful niece who is a highly talented nurse/midwife. I asked her for advice on other options. She graciously sent me lists of things I could do that could/may help. I seriously thought about this and realized I can't even remember to take a iron pill--I don't think I'd be capable of keeping up with a regiment type treatment.

So, back to the OB/GYN. I am scheduled to have the hystorectomy March 25th. It will be overnight in the hospital and then 2 weeks or less to recovery. Then I'll never have to think about my prison again!!

The scholarship is still working wonders. There are signs that Sam still isn't ready to do school completely on his own--he is still unable to self-initiate. But he is handling Algebra 2 instructions from his mom--getting algebra instructions from me used to send him into a fit of tears--wanting to "never do school again." I'm so happy that he is growing.

We just started Algebra 2 yesterday. School schedules are for other people!! He is breezing through biology and history. Our writing assignments are all poems and Sam loves it because he can write very little and still be creative and express himself. Do you think his math/computer/science professors will let him write everything in poem form??

Learning

Sam has won a scholarship! He doesn't have to pay for his education anymore, which is good since he doesn't have a job. This scholarship comes with a small allowance and several responsibilities. He earns $3 each school day. In return he must begin school at 10:30, take no more than an hour off before school work is finished, and be finished by 3:00 at the latest. If he fails to do any of these things, he gets fined.

This scholarship has moved the responsibility of timing from my shoulders to his. His allowance is just big enough that he is willing to follow the rules, but won't break the Kinter Foundation's bank. We have had a peaceful week because of it.

I have tried so many different things to help Sam feel like this is something he should care about, which makes me wonder how long this one will last. The good news is that with this scholarship he feels positive instead of negative about school, so I hope it will work until his frontal lobe develops.

He has now finished Geometry and will be doing some Algebra review and beginning Algebra 2. This is going to be somewhat difficult because he HATES algebra. The review part is going to take a couple of months--I hate to start in on Algebra 2 without some review and it is not Sam's favorite, so he may not remember chunks.

All else in school is going swimmingly!!

What I learned in 2008

Okay, it has been ages since I posted and since it is still January I figured this was a timely enough subject.

1. Doctors are your friends, but they are not all-knowing.
2. Prescription drugs can greatly improve your life.
3. Mom is right--doing dishes can be pleasant (don't laugh--I know most people learn this before they hit 45).
4. If you step out in faith--God blesses your socks off!
5. True night people never out grow it, but that is okay--God walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day (NOT DAWN).
6. Ligaments don't heal.
7. Life with a torn ligament isn't horrible.
8. Dad is right--growing older gets better and better (except physically)
9. God enjoys and desires time with us more than we want and enjoy time with him.
10. What teens want from adults outside their family is love and acceptance.
11. You can be friends with people who do not agree with your theology, political ideals, etc.
12. Age doesn't matter when you're going to live forever. We're all infants compared to God!

So maybe some of these I've learned over the last 10 years rather than in 2008, but there it is. That leads to number 13--you are never too old to learn

Missions Trips are Great Learning Experiences

Sam experienced his first ever missions trip. The middle school kids (called Rock Solid) went to somewhere in central Pennsylvania and worked really hard. They were removing big rocks from a pasture so horses could safely graze. Then they went rafting. He had a great time. You'll have to ask him about it next time you see him.

I went to NYC with the high school kids. It was again, serving through work. Each day we worked at one or two different ministries. One day we helped sort some yard at a warehouse run by World Vision. This warehouse is a place for teachers from at risk schools and other ministries to "shop" for free supplies. Another day we led worship at a mission before passing out food and clothes. (Can you picture me singing with the teens in front of the service??? I did it!)

So, both of us did useful, helpful things for others. Sam had a fun time tacked on to the end, the high school kids did not. God used this trip to teach me something that my heart just hadn't grasped before. It is something I would have agreed was true, but I wasn't really living it (which means I didn't really understand/believe/trust). That truth is....


Love comes from God. We fallen humans are so pathetic we cannot long for God, seek and find him without Him giving us that longing...and once we do find him we are incapable of loving him (think agape) without getting that love as a gift from him first. It was an amazing discovery when this truth penetrated to my heart. I am changed. So, all of you who were praying, thanks. God is good and powerful and AWESOME!!!

The rest of our summer is filled with little things. We regretfully cannot travel to TX for my nieces wedding (congratulations Megan!!). We are just keeping busy here at home. Anyone wanna come visit???

Summer Plans

school is tapering off. It will be done by the end of the week. We will then go into summer mode (where we try to get a day's worth done each week).

Our "son" Gordon is now with us again. Our little house is a little fuller, but it is a good full. He is hoping to move to his family home to prepare for his family's return, so he may not be here the whole summer. We are all looking forward to the family's return!!

Sam will be going on his first mission trip to Pennsylvania. June 16 to 20. He is going without parents. He is very eager to go and I think it will be incredibly good for him. The trip involves working to serve and is not a sharing the gospel, but more of a learn to serve and think more deeply about spiritual things. It is for middle school students.

The following week I will be in New York City with the high school group. I am the only mom and the oldest person going. There is a HUGE part of me that is NOT looking forward to this trip, but God very clearly said "go," so I'm going. I am sure he will allow me to be a blessing to the teens and to the folks we will be serving. Each day we will serve in a different ministry and each evening we will eat at a different ethnic restaurant (the eating part I am looking forward to). We will be walking and taking the subway and will have a "native" to help us not get lost and such. I am worried that someone will not get on the subway and get separated--so maybe that will be a job God gives me--to make sure no one does that.

Our church as launched the 3rd (maybe 4th?) annual summer groups. Our home groups (bible study) are suspended for the summer and we instead get involved in special interest groups. I am participating in: "Mom's Paint the Town" which is mom's getting a night out away from children to just chat--great fun! "Cuong Nhu" (of course). "Flick Club" we are assigned a movie to watch each week, then get together to discuss it on Wednesdays. And there is one more, going through a book about learning to be more intimate with God--I can't remember what they are calling it. Since I am not working many hours at all this summer--I decided to have some serious fun!

Sam and Brian played with Zome Tools (www.zometool.com) that Gordon owns. They had so much fun that I purchased a bunch. I also bought the game "The Settlers of Catan" (www.catan.com) which is a very educational game. This will make the summer a very educational unschooling type of time. We like to enrich our days with things that teach without workbooks or "right" answers.

first part (of 3 new posts)

Since I have no idea how to get pictures anywhere but at the top (advice anyone?). Here is the three parter published so that they appear (I hope) in the order they should be read:

Howdy all. I didn't fall in a lake nor was I captured by space aliens. I was sick for several weeks and it seemed to have cause some asthma symptoms that would NOT go away. I was on every drug there is (or so it seemed) and still coughing my asthma cough. I also felt a little low on energy (hence the lack of posting). But today, my doctor decided to declare war on my asthma. She sent in the BIG GUNS--prednisone. This is the steriod that makes you feel GOOD and gives you LOTS of energy. No, I won't end up looking like the picture--that's another kind of steroid (I hope).

middle part

This is a picture of me doing the dishes earlier, though and Dwight tells me I’m talking pretty fast, too.