In the PIt of Despair

This little clip from the Princess Bride movie was running through my head last night.  It seems we are in the Pit of Despair right now.  Everything that has an engine and moves right now has a problem with it.  Pretty depressing.  After Todd and I went to the lawyers in Wenatchee on Monday he realized something was once again wrong with the Blazer.  At first he thought it was a coolant leak, but we can't be so fortunate.  Mercifully Todd was able to drive the car around the block and park it in our driveway before it took it last breath and revealed that the leak was transmission fluid.  Not an easy fix.  We are praying that it is a gasket issue or a hose that needs replacing, but if it is the whole transmission that needs overhauled, well....let's not go there for now.  The van is running but my passenger window has not worked for two years now.  Todd has had it on his agenda to fix but it keeps being put on the back burner.  Looks like with the Blazer problem, my window will forever stay closed.  The diesel truck has window issues as well.  Todd has to manually take off the door panel to pull the window up.  Then there is the backhoe.  Todd jumped on it yesterday to drive down to the church to do some work on the church parking lot. Unfortunately, the back hoe started spewing out black smoke everywhere.  All these things can be fixed, but as one vehicle reared its flaws one after another Todd and I sat around looking at each other and wondered  why?  Why?  Where is he going to find the time or the means to fix everything?  To top it off, he has to be in Seattle on Monday for a pastor's retreat/meeting.  I wish he could stay here but since they are discussing the Regional Family Bible Conference that our church is hosting it is imperative that he be there.  At least the van and diesel are drivable.  Until then, we will lie on our backs and cry out to God for mercy as we find ourselves in the ...Pit of Despair.

Things are in the Horizon

We have finally hit our first FULL week of school.  So far so good.  Bryce and I read in his Bible book a story of a Muslim girl.  It seemed like this was a good time to write a Compare/Contrast paper on Muslims vs. Christianity.  I keep telling Bryce that we have two years to get ready for high school.  I read on fb an article today about how to get your kids ready for high school. I was happy to see that we are doing just about everything on the list.  Bryce is taking typing lessons every day.  We are also working on writing and taking notes.  All three of things were on the top of the list to do. 

Brian is continually doing well at school.  Friday was the first home game and Brian's first experience playing in the pep band.  He had a lot of fun.  I have high hopes for Brian in band and have decided that I really like his band teacher.  This Saturday Brian has band practice all morning to get ready for the big parade in town - Autumn Leaf Festival which is at the end of the month.

For Todd and I, our afternoon was spent with a lawyer.  We are in the process of putting the Chumstick property in our name.  Once the land is deeded to us we can approach a builder to have a house built on the property.  We have found a builder we like and have two house plans were are interested in.  My favorite plan is the Mia. 

It is a pretty simple house but has all the room we need.  Todd and I walked through the model and I really liked how it felt inside.  The main level has the living room, dining, kitchen, family room, bathroom, and laundry. Upstairs is the master bedroom with a walk in closet and bathroom, there is also three other bedrooms and a bathroom.  The best part is that talking to the financial adviser our monthly payments would  be the same or less than what we are currently paying in rent.  You can't beat that. Hopefully all the paperwork is under control and we can have a serious talk with the builder and get the ball rolling. 

Ritzville parade

 Today, Bonnie and I headed over to Ritzville, Wa to participate in the parade.  It is a little farming community that reminded me a lot of my parent's hometown of Alexandria, Indiana.  Several DYW representatives were there so it was a great time for Bonnie to reconnect with the girls that she had spent so much with in August.

 

After the parade everyone headed up to the park for a BBQ luncheon.  Bonnie and a few of her DYW friends had fun swinging and playing on the merry go round.  It was a fun day.  

Bonnie has at least two more parades to end out this year.   

One week done thirty-eight to go

I kind of like this graduated start.  To be honest, I didn't want to start school at all this week, but three days of school is not so bad.  Everyone keeps asking how Brian is doing.  I struggle with a response.  On one hand he is doing fine.  He is excited about his band class and feels that he is going to really enjoy that time with the concert band.  He is still trying to get going in his video game programming class.  The first day the computer system was not set up for him to log in so he could not do anything.  By day two he was in the system but couldn't access the sites he wanted to.  His assignment is to take his favorite computer game and remake it.   His problem is that the school system will not allow him on to the game site he uses.  It's blocked.  The solution is for him to talk with his teacher and find a way to problem solve.  I am praying that he does that today. 

Brian had his first homework assignment on Tuesday when his science teacher told the class to write about what they thought were the top ten scientific discoveries and why with a picture included.  Brian brainstormed at school but when given the time to work on it at home doddled (is that a word)....he squandered his time...Oh know...I thought...here we go again.  After his dad gave him a time restriction he got to work but due to a poor attitude was not able to finish the assignment.  All my fears surfaced and was ready to scream...not again....Brian pulled it together and before school he had the assignment completed.  Of course, he came home yesterday with another writing assignment this time from English.  A story about a school memory.....according to Brian he has no memories.  He purposefully forgets everything concerning school and therefore has nothing to write about.  The horror starts again.  My stomach sinks.  My fears renew.  Finally, Brian puts together a paper about his first day of school.  Relief fills me.  I can sleep again. 

So how is he doing?  He is doing ok....it is not going to be an easy semester. Not with English and all the writing assignments he will have to complete.  So I am still on edge.  Waiting for the ball to drop.  Waiting for the power struggles.  Hating to let my boy fail but knowing that it is the best teacher.  Knowing that he may have to fail in order to motivate him to succeed.  Trusting in love and logic is so much easier when reading it in a book but so hard to live it out.  One down; thirty-eight more to go!

DYW Pics

A short time ago I got a thumb drive full of pictures from Bonnie's competition that I purchased since we were not allowed to take pictures during the final competition.

 Right after the girls arrived for the competition and got everything settled, they all went out to play putt-putt with their host families.  Here is Bonnie with her host parents and her fellow competitors, Savannah and Allison.

 During the week the girls  had lunch with groups like the Kiwanis club and the local Senior Center. 

 The theme for the competition was A Day at Disney.  They played all the old Disney music like "Zippidy Doo-Da" and such.  The girls were asked to dress like they were going to Disney for the day for the opening number.  We were thinking about Bonnie dressing up like Minnie Mouse with the red dress with white polka dots but glad we didn't go that route as several girls were dressed like Minnie.  Instead we found this really cute shirt on Ebay.  We then made a cute hair bow for Bonnie to wear and red shoes to finish the outfit.  I thought she looked cute.

 The talent portion was right after the opening number and Bonnie did a quick change to sing the song "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables.  She sang very well.  In fact of the seven girls singing I ranked her in the top three.

 After talent was fitness.  Wow...what a workout.  We knew this was Bonnie's weakest portion.  So many of these girls were dancers and gymnast who could easily put their legs behind their heads and fold up into a pretzel.  Despite it all, Bonnie did well.

 Finally was the Self Expression segment were you showed poise, grace, and confidence under pressure.  The girls were given a question to answer and a time limit in which to answer it.  This picture was actually taken during a dress rehearsal.  Bonnie had two self expression dresses.  She wore the pewter dress during rehearsal but chose to wear the red dress for the actual competition which I am glad she did.  The red dress was more flattering than the pewter dress. 

 Finally over,  after the last award was given and the curtain drawn, the girls gathered for one last photo.

First day of school

Summer Over?

I can't believe our summer is over.  I am not ready for this season to end.  If I could eek out another week or two I would, but ready or not it is time for school to start.  This year Brian will be going to the public high school.  Last week we registered him for classes, attended orientation, and got his class schedule and locker.  Cascade High School has a block schedule which means instead of having eight one hour classes all year, they have four 90 minute classes each semester.  Brian's schedule for first semester is PE/Concert Band, Video Game Programming, Inquiry Science I (Physical Science) and Freshman English.  Next semester he will take Living Skills, Metal Shop, Geometry, and Health. School starts on Tuesday this week.  Our school district does a graduated start.  They start the year with a three day week this week, four days next week, and then five days. 

Bryce and I will start school at the same time Brian does.  This year I signed Bryce up to attend the Columbia Christian Homeschool Co-Op.  He will be taking English II with Matt Turnbull who uses the Institute for Excellence in Writing curriculum.  I am really excited about Bryce participating in this group.  I tried to get him into a few other classes but since there were not enough students they were cancelled.  Besides his English class, Bryce will be taking Pre-Algebra (Saxon), Apologia General Science, Tapestry of Grace Year 4 (1900 to present), Introduction to Great Composers for music, and Spell to Read and Write spelling program.  Other skills he will be working on will be typing, penmanship, and art.  Bryce and I will also continue to go to the gym every day for PE. 

Bonnie will be taking all of her classes at the community college which starts September 22.  She is excited to have the next three weeks to her self.  She has worked just about every day this summer so to have no work and no school and no brothers around will be her own vacation.  She still has a few parades to attend as Leavenworth's DYW.  Saturday we will travel over to Ritzville for their parade, then two weeks later we go to Othello, then two weeks after that will be Leavenworth's Autumn Leaf Festival.  She will also be working with our local DYW board as they put on this year's program to find the next Distinguished Young Woman. 

I can't believe my little girl is 17 and finishing up her last year of school.  She is still not decided on what she will do next year.  I am leaning more and more on her attending Washington State University, mainly because it is more affordable.  I know they have Christian housing, several churches close by, and Christian organizations on  campus.  She would like to go to George Fox but for one year of George Fox University she can attend three years at WSU.  

So.....one more day of summer break then we are off.