Catching Up & Remembering Our Vets

I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted. You probably wouldn't have wanted to hear from me anyway - the elections weighed heavy on my heart, and I struggled to think of upbeat or even kind things to say. I know that God is in control, and while I have never doubted that, I have spent a lot of time praying and working this out. With all the "change," I will cling to the verse that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Isn't that encouraging?! Anyway, it's time to move on, and plow full speed ahead into this "new America" AND... the holidays!

We plan to visit my parents and sisters' families in New Mexico, so the girls are extremely excited. I can hardly stand the thoughts of driving for 8-9 hours, and I am thinking seriously of all the things that can be done to minimize the bickering and griping of our three little backseat drivers, including utilization of the luggage rack on top :) . Fortunately, we do have a DVD player in the van, and Bob has ordered the 3rd set of headphones so that he and I can listen to the radio up front while they watch videos in the back. Nathan will not be with us for Thanksgiving, but he will arrive home on December 20th for about ten days. I have no idea about Sam, but my guess is that they will either stay near the base or visit Kenzie's family, which is much, much closer.

In the meantime, I am up to my ears in third grade school work. Since the girls attend a core knowledge school, I am amazed at the things they are learning. Ruthie does not have too much homework, so she is fairly easy this year, but as for Joanna - AGH! Keep in mind that she has only been in the US for 14 months, and while her English is coming along very nicely, her comprehension still has a ways to go. Last night I spent a LOT of time reading her about Cupid and Psyche. (I don't know if I at one time knew this Roman myth or not, but nonetheless, I did not remember it.) What a sordid story!! It had been edited and condensed so as not to be explicit, but it is still not a nice story. We read through it three separate times, and when I realized that she still was struggling to answer the essay questions, I went through it paragraph by paragraph explaining what was happening. She finally "got" it, but then we had all the written work to do. It was a good thing we had leftover swiss steak, or I'd still be in the kitchen!

Today is Veteran's Day, and the girls' school is doing a special Veteran's Day program. None of the other schools in town are doing this, and I appreciate these efforts very much. Ruthie's class will be singing "My Country Tis of Thee," and Abby and I plan to attend. A special thank you to all of our veterans - my dad and my sons included!