A little bit of our lives right now

NAT

Nat is having a hard time with his health right now. He has a lot of pressure, similar to heartburn but without the burning. He has it all day, no matter what. The doctor put him on Nexium, ($150 for two weeks; ouch!), but it doesn't seem to be helping a lot.

I personally think a lot of it is stress. Man, work for him NEVER lets up. He is really struggling right now, and there are a lot of other issues at work that keep the stress level high. Also, I think he is just tired and can't relax. Christmas was just crazy for us, and Andrew has been sick so much that it has been a tough month. We trust and pray for growth during this time.

ME

Well, let's just say things are interesting right now. Most of you know that I work three days a week at RBP and two "half" days at home. However, with my new responsibilities, my workload is very overwhelming. I often have to put in quite a few extra hours. And since the boys are both active now, it is harder for me to work at home and get everything done that I need to get done. Nat and I are to the point that we realize that because of where we are as a family right now we really need to reconsider our current employment situations.

Along with that, we are looking toward this fall. Jack is 4 years old, and he really is ready for a pre-kindergarten class. We have looked into several in our area, but they don't work with my work schedule, and we REALLY want him in a Christian school. The public schools in our area are really, really bad; to Nat and I, they are an unthinkable solution for our family.

That leads me to the interesting part of my life. In the process of visiting Christian schools in the area, I was informed of openings at an AWESOME Christian school. I have been so impressed with everything I have seen and heard from this school and the Baptist church it is associated with. To make a long story short, I have been asked to consider one of the positions at the school.

The great news is that Jack (and eventually Andrew) would be able to attend the school tuition free! I would be on the same schedule with them, and that would be a huge help for us.


The down news is that Andrew would have to be at the sitters for five days a week next year (minus all the holidays that I as a teacher would have off). Our sitter is a godly woman, and she is just great; and the next year Andrew would be old enough for the 3 year old program at the school.

Decisions, decisions. A lot to think about and pray about for us.


JACK

Jack is growing up so fast, and we are really noticing that he is requiring a lot more patience. He is on his second set of glasses now to correct a vision problem, but we are also noticing a lot of really weird signs/signals of a lack of social development. He just doesn't get how to interact with other people. He tends to be very active, and if he is outside of our home or his sitter's home, he seems to forget how to act.

I am at a loss with all of this. We continue to spank him, but that is not an option out in public. And honestly, I think the issues go deeper. I just purchased Dr. Dobson's book on the strong willed child, and I also have on order a book that a godly woman recommended called, Don't Make Me Count to Three. I am hoping that we can glean some information from these books.

ANDREW
See post below.

Not feeling so great . . .

Poor Andrew!

He has a double ear infection and a bronchial infection and a sinus infection. He is miserable! And since he has been sneezing/coughing all over mommy for the past four days, I am now starting to feel yucky.

Jack is actually taking a nap right now; not necessarily a good sign in the health department. When Jack actually sleeps during nap time, be prepared for something funky.

In the meantime, I am working through 8 senior high lessons and 6 junior high lessons that need to be ready for my supervisor by 10:00 tomorrow. Can we say, "Late night"?

Actually, if I can get these done, then we will definitely be on schedule for this quarter. And next quarter is shaping up well.

I need to do a post soon on the whole schooling thing; I would love to get your feedback!

Happy New Year!

Well, were did the last few months of 2006 go? Let me summarize:

Andrew's mysterious virus found us at Northwest Community Hospital for a 48-hour ordeal.

Jack celebrated birthday # 4.

Thanksgiving was relaxing and fun.

Christmas was great, but we all ended up with a weird flu bug after Christmas.

I was in bed by 8:30 on New Year's Eve. (Pretty pathetic, I know. Blame it on the flu.)

So far, 2007 looks good!Speaking of looking good, didn't our Christmas pictures turn out cute? Andrew is such a fun little guy; he loves to laugh and to make people laugh. Jack really had fun too.