Dreary Days

Winter has been rather dreary here...not terribly cold but not warm.  Hardly any snow, but damp.  I think I read that we've only had 10 sunny days since the beginning of the year.

I see that I last posted on January 3rd.  At the time, I had all sorts of posts rolling around in my head.  Now I can't remember any of them.  I do seem to remember wanting to post on my "Word of the Year" for 2020 which is Faithful.  Maybe I'll do that yet.

Life continues to roll along.  This week Autumn got her wisdom teeth removed.  I'm strongly considering sending the boys all to school next year and resuming my original plan of only homeschooling high school, so I've started talking to schools about doing evaluations and what not to see about making that happen.  Part of me feels like I "should" feel guilty about sending them back to school as if I failed.  Part of me feels relieved at the thought of having some extra time to things around here that need done.  Another part of me feels some trepidation at having to once again deal with high anxiety over homework every evening.  But I never really felt "called" to homeschool like some people.  It's just something I evaluated every year and did what seemed best per child per year...so I'm okay with however it works out for next year.  We will see how this develops as we continue, but so far it has changed one thing...I'm not looking at curriculum for next year!  I will need to do this for Janae, but she's my third high school student so I pretty much know what I do for them.

In the spectrum of large family living, I'm frequently thinking of what style of dress I want for my oldest son's wedding...while simultaneously gradually potty-training the youngest son.

In January we dropped OT and added weekly tutoring for one son.  He continues with ST as well.  We are working on adjusting meds for another son and resuming talk therapy as well.  We had taken a break after his last counselor unexpectedly quit.  We are in the midst of our winter semester of our home-school co-op.  I'm supervising/teaching Typing this time.  These things are necessary, but do take a lot of time and driving...I'm glad we bought a car so I don't have to take the big van everywhere.  :-)

Considering how many viruses have been around, we've been relatively healthy.  Four of the kids did get mildly sick and we've missed and canceled a few events/appointments, but still, it's been relatively mild compared to what I've been hearing from others. 

As always, I continue to read as much as I can sneak in.  But right now I'm blanking out on what I've read since I last posted.  I know I read "Detached" which was a fascinating story of a man who was diagnosed with RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder) written by him from his perspective.  I recently purchased "20 Life-Changing Choices Adoptees Need To Make" by Sherrie Eldridge.  I've been blessed by Sherrie's writings and am finally starting to add her books to my collection after years of wanting to do so.

Randy and I went out for the evening last Saturday night while our friends kept the kids.  It's always nice to get away for a few hours and be able to talk without interruption from anyone other than a waiter or cashier.  :-)

And my final random thoughts...I'm looking forward to warmer weather and spring flowers.  I've been thinking about Lent and whether I want to "give up" anything this year...but nothing has come to mind so far.  Fasnacht Day is late this year so I guess Easter is late as well.  It will probably snow in March since we haven't had much yet.

Blessings!
~Karen