I have made a new year's resolution even though it is not the new year yet. I have resolved to blog every day. Let's see how that goes.
It is the second Saturday in Leavenworth which means it is the second weekend of the Christmas Lighting. Each year, Leavenworth decorates its downtown with tons and tons of Christmas lights. On the first three weekends of December, the lights are turned off until the magic hour when the master of ceremonies has everyone turn their lights on. Sounds minor, but it is a BIG deal here. There is really more to it than that. There is live music playing from the gazebo. Christmas characters, such as Frosty the Snowman, Rudolf, Timothy the Christmas Mouse, the Grinch, Nutcrackers, Elves, Angels, Santa and Mrs. Claus and Father Christmas are all walking around mingling with the visitors. Vendors are selling roasted chestnuts, hot cocoa, and more. Kids are sledding on the hill next to the gazebo and the air is electric with all of the Christmas excitement.
This is our fifth Christmas in Leavenworth since we moved back. In those five Christmas seasons, we have dressed up as Christmas characters, manned the fire barrels with the Boy Scouts to keep everyone warm, and this year, since Brian joined the high school band, we volunteered with the Band Boosters to man the parking lots around town.
The first hour and a half was a bit boring, but by 10:30am the cars started rolling in. By noon, we had the lot filled to overflowing. It sure made the last hour and a half fly by. Next weekend Brian and I will help the Band Boosters by manning the concession stand for Leavenworth's theatrical production of It's A Wonderful Life. Can't Wait!!!
There is a dark cloud hanging
over our house. It has been there for over a month, let's be honest,
two months. This cloud has impacted everyone on multiple
levels....depression, frustration, bickering, crying, despair...you name
it. We've dealt with it. I think because we are starting to see some
rays of light that I am finally ready to talk about it and possibly
explain why my blog has set empty for so long. There is always that
question of how much one should share of their private lives. How much
is beneficial to write about. How much is harmful. Maybe I am opening
up because, for me, it is therapeutic.
This
year we made the decision to put our high school son into the public
school system. Not for an education, because to be honest he isn't
being challenged at all academically. Case in point, how is it
beneficial for the teacher to give the students their test the day
before the test is to be taken, have them google search the answers,
give them the correct answers, tell them to memorize the test, and then
have them take the exact same test the next day. Yes, this happens
regularly in science class. All I hear is that the teachers give the
students thirty minutes of work in a ninety minute class. I
digress...that is not my point...just getting a chip off my shoulder.
Back to the topic...my son was sent to the public school to learn how
to deal with working in a group, how to follow other's expectations, or
lack of them, how to deal with the "difficult people" in this world,
etc. He appeared to be doing fine, although very bored. A month into
school, however, we began to experience problems with our son. Lack of
energy, defiance, loss of appetite were some of the major things we
began to battle. My husband and I were dealing with each issue..
Correcting, disciplining, praying for answers. I began to see my
healthy, active son shrink, literally.
One
week the stomach flu hit the house and it seemed that our son got it
too as he was constantly running to the bathroom. I kept him home from
school, but while everyone else got better after twenty four hours, he
didn't. Something else was wrong. We talked. The band concert was
coming up and every time we talked about it I noticed his anxiety build.
That must be the culprit. He is afraid of performing in public. He
has always hated getting up in front of people. He is used to playing
the drums in front of others, but he has been asked to play the
xylophone, an instrument he is not fond of and still not comfortable
with. Aha...I think I found the answer to all of the problems we have
been experiencing. I encouraged him..prayed for him. The concert came.
He played well. That is an understatement...he played very well. I
cried he was so good. Okay, he missed I few bars when he played the
xylophone. Nobody knew, but him and his teacher.
Concert
over. Life should get back to normal, but it didn't. Things got
worse. My husband and I were perplexed more than ever. Finally, my
husband hit the nail on the head. Our son has struggled with
constipation off and on. It has been five years since his last bout and
we thought that issue was behind us, but my husband point blank asked
our son when he had last gone to the bathroom at which point our son
crumbled and admitted it had been over a month....almost two months!
Bingo!
Doctors
visits, x-rays, a cocktail of medications, days out of school, three
weeks of trying to clear out his system, contemplating hospitalization,
finally starting to see the light is where I am today, this minute,
praying that he might just be over the hill. Yesterday, my son told me
that for the first time he is starting to experience an emptiness in
his stomach and might actually feel a little hungry. Praise The Lord!
The worst isn't over. Tomorrow we start a twenty four hour colon
cleanse. I expect it to be a miserable day for all of us, especially my
son. Hopefully, when the day is over he will feel a sense of relief
that he hasn't felt in months.
I
am eager to hear him say he's hungry. I am eager to see him bound down
the stairs, to be on top of his chores, and enjoying school. I am
eager to see him put on weight. He has lost over 20 pounds, weighing in
at the doctors office yesterday at 105. His pants are falling off of
him. I am eager for this dark cloud to be lifted away.
Update: I wrote this yesterday morning while sitting in our co-ops study hall. I am happy to report that tonight my son's system has been cleaned out. He is hungry! His energy is up! He is talkative and interacting with everyone around him. Praise the Lord! I think we all might actually enjoy this Thanksgiving break. I will end with a little clip my son and I watched to get ready for the big colon cleanse.
The flu bug is making its way through the family. I thought the colds we had a few weeks ago gave us a buffer from the flu, but I was wrong. The missionaries who came to our church last week showed up with it. They were afraid of spreading it to our family, but I figured since they were sleeping next door that we would be okay, besides where would they go on an Oktoberfest weekend in Leavenworth. All the hotels are booked unless you are willing to pay $300 or more for a room and then you get to put up with loud, drunk neighbors. No, I don't regret letting them stay. To be honest, being sick has given all of us an excuse to take it easy. The boys and I stayed home from AWANA last night, napped and watched "Mom's Night Out."
If you haven't seen it, you should. The first five minutes made me think of my homeschool friend and fellow blogger, Sue. The main character introduces herself as a blogger - Sue, Dutch - Sue, can't think straight if her house is a mess - Sue, ....ok...you get my drift. Yes, Sue, you need to watch the movie. You will love it. By the way, that is about all you have in common with the main character. Oh, she has three kids, two boys and a girl. Ok...there are more things you have in common. lol
Anyway, the boys and I really enjoyed the movie. In fact, after it was over, Brian came over and gave me a huge hug. I guess it made him appreciate me even more. Oh... one of other characters in the movie is the pastor's wife with a teenage daughter. Yep, I might just buy this one for my library.
Today we celebrated Bryce's birthday. His friend Eli came over. We enjoyed pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread and presents before going to Brian's pizza for bowling and more food. Happy 13th birthday Bryce.
Bonnie and Brian hanging out together before the big parade.
It is finally time for our own parade here in Leavenworth and it's a family affair. Brian joined the high school concert band this year which is also our town marching pep and football pep band. Bonnie as Leavenworth's Distinguished Young Woman enjoyed greeting all of the Royalty who came to participate in our parade. She spent the two plus hours before the parade visiting with everyone and getting to know all the queens and princesses.
Watching the parade with Mom and Dad Ells.
Bonnie's DYW housemate and Washington State's DYW runner-up, Allison from Moses Lake
The Chewalah float is my favorite and also carries another DYW who won the talent competition.
Royal City is also a fun float with their comic book theme and another DYW.
What a fun, tiring day. Everyone is back home but there is a lot of excitement still in the air with all the people in town. Once again I feel blessed to be a part of this awesome town.
Another weekend...another parade....
This time we travelled to Othello, Wa. If you don't know where Othello is, just travel east on I-90 towards Spokane. Once you get to Moses Lake, get off on Hwy 17 and head north to Othello. It is a bigger community than Ritzville, in fact, they have their own Walmart. That means something, right?
The Othello parade commission had a 1955 Chevy Thunderbird for Bonnie to ride in and better yet, I was asked to drive it. Bryce came with us so he got to ride shotgun. It was a little scary since the float ahead of us was throwing candy and kids were running up to the car to get some. Fortunately, no one died. Lol....after the parade all of the Royalty met up at the park for a picnic and social time before heading home. Two more parades and then Bonnie can hang up the drindle.
