7 in 7: Day 6

Well, I'm glad this is just a 7 in 7 challenge. I'm barely making it each day. Not that I don't want to write more regularly, but when I have to, it sort of takes the fun and creative out of it. Of course it does build better discipline.

Once again, I'm on my iPad typing up this post totally on the fly and when I'm already tired from the day. I'm sure it'll be great as you read whatever I blather on about tonight. Ha.

Okay, quick updates on the kids because I know family reads my blog and I'm not good at updating them about stuff otherwise.

Starting with O, he is doing fairly well overall. He's about to start third grade in school. I think he's making good, steady progress except in reading. He's seen a doctor who assessed the situation and decided to go ahead and test him. So in a couple weeks, he'll begin six hours of tests. Hopefully they'll reveal why he struggles and we'll better be able to help him from there.

You know there is trouble when the trained doctor asks if English is his first language. I just answered, "Yes, but I have a hard time understanding him, too."

Growthwise, he's still small for his age. But he is certainly a big dog in a little dog's body. Fearless as ever and if anyone so much as glances in his direction the wrong way, his teeth are quick to grab hold of said offender's thigh meat. We are working on that.

Next up the chain is J. She's about to start fourth grade and seems to be looking forward to school starting back up. She is a good reader who practices every night. She even reads to O, which is helpful. She puts on her mama-teacher voice and lovingly tries to teach him words so that she can tell me what she managed to teach him. Of course his memory is short so when she calls him over to demonstrate, he can't remember what she said. Then she gets frustrated with him. A regularly occurring cycle.

J is tall for her age and so that puts her a good head over O. While she isn't fearless, like O, she is fiercely independent and very intelligent. She is also still in love with arts and crafts and was determined to build me a curio cabinet big enough for my collection of giraffes. I had to stop her search for tools and materials to wait for her Daddy to help her because "glass is involved."

C's response when I told him was, "I admire her confidence in our abilities in cabinetry."  In J's world, nothing she thinks up to do is impossible -- or even a challenge, really.

In the middle is Z.  He doesn't throw nearly as many tantrums as he did a couple years ago, but he can still be a challenge for us. He's what I think of as a little dog in a big dog's body. Opposite of O. He's hyper and yappy, but has no perception of his giant size and therefore is like a tornado blowing through the house as he runs around, barking like crazy. He knocks stuff down, stomps on things not even in his path and runs into people seemingly on purpose.

He is going into sixth grade, which means he's eligible for youth group. Like H, it's taking time for him to settle in and find his role among the many teens there. But he'll get there.

A conversation I had with Z the other day:

Z: What?  Did you just call my name?!

Me: Nope.

Z:  I must be hallucinating! I thought you did.

Me:  I think that's only when you see something that isn't there.

Z:  Ok then, I'm hearinating!

Yes, he still has that quick wit and abundant charm.

Then there is H. He's in eighth grade this year and even though we homeschool he still has the attitude of a big fish in a small pond mentality like many public school eighth graders. It's weird. But anyway, besides constant obnoxiousness, he actually learning a little at a time to step into the oldest kid role and tries to be helpful around the house and stuff.

When not playing Legos or DS or watching TV, his favorite places to be are with his friends and/or at the library. He's pretty simple to figure out. There are a lot of reality shows he likes, such as Duck Dynasty and 19 Kids and Counting.

Finally there is S.  There isn't much we know about her life right now, but she seems to be reaching out to us more often, though still inconsistently. She lives near Clovis, NM after leaving Carlsbad. She has a new boyfriend and lives with his family. They are Christians, she says, who make her come to church with them and encourage her to read the Word daily.

She did talk to me on the phone a couple times last weekend and she talked about how hard she tried to turn away from God and faith and how ironic it is that He found her anyway. I think she may be beginning to grasp the smallest tip of His infinite love for her. To that, I say, "Hallelujah!"

As far as we know, she has still not found a new job in her new town. Please continue praying for her, for our family and for the family she stays with -- that they may be just the people God wanted in her path of self-discovery and transitioning into adulthood.

I think that's it for now. Goodnight and blog you tomorrow.