It's that time again, time to go back to school. Once again this school year brings us change and transition...seems like a theme we have going on! :)
Two years ago we felt like the best thing for our girls would be to take them out of school and homeschool them. We had two fabulous years all together. The kids loved being home, loved doing school together, and loved some of the perks of homeschool. I loved being home with all three of my kiddos and while it did pose some challenges for us, the benefits FAR outweighed any hardship we might have faced.
So, we head in to the 2010-2011 school year, with more change! After the struggles we had last year with Hannah's Lyme Disease, and the toll it took on the whole family, we felt God was calling us to place Kaitlyn in a local Christian school. We became introduced to the school through the Upward program, so we were confident in the education she would be receiving. Beyond that, we knew that with Hannah's illness I would not be able to devote the time and energy I needed into Kaitlyn's education, especially since she was entering Junior High. Kaitlyn was slightly apprehensive, but mostly excited about her new adventure. Jeff and I were also excited for her as she would have her own thing, and be able to leave the stress that comes with living with a Lyme Disease infected member...she needed some break time!
Kaitlyn headed off to SMCA this week to begin 6th grade! It is hard to believe she is a Junior High-er!! We also got our first 'teen' parent letter in the mail from church! ACK!!! I am not ready for this, but she is! :) I keep telling myself I'm not old enough to have a child in junior high school, but the truth of the matter is, I am! All kidding aside, we truly are thrilled to have a junior high-er and couldn't be more excited for the new chapter ahead of us!! Kaitlyn is an amazing young lady and I look at her with awe most days with how she presents herself, how she carries herself, how she cares for others, the list could go on...we are SO proud of her!!
Hannah entered 3rd grade here at home. We started two weeks before Kaitlyn's first day, to get a slight head start in order for the days to line up. It's been a rough go so far, but we knew it would be, that's the nature of the disease. We are still praying for healing for Hannah and know that God may chose to do that through long-term antibiotic therapy. We are so grateful He lead us to the right specialist to even BEGIN long-term therapy. It wasn't that long ago that we were watching this disease completely invade Hannah's body, affecting her central nervous system...if you know anything about the human body, you know that's not good!! Since starting long-term antibiotics in May, we have seen some glimmers of hope, though, which we are continually thanking God for!! Now, we just have to wait and see how the antibiotics work and wait until the disease is completely gone. But, despite all that Hannah has been through in her short, little life, she is such a wonderful, vibrant, sweet, kind little girl! You would never know by looking at her all the the medical issues she has had, mainly because she doesn't let them hold her back. We have no idea what God has in store for her, but we know it's got to be something great!!
Caleb started Pre-Kindergarten at home this year. I will be working with him 3 days a week on the 'academics' and spending the other two days on 'fun' -- well, he'll think it's just fun! :)
He is excited to start school, although he said to me, "Mom, I don't want to be homeschooled, I want to be TV schooled. You know, where you sit down and watch TV!" That sounds like my idea of 'school' too. Caleb is already reading and has been for a couple of months now. It is so much fun to hear him read and watch how excited he is to learn new things. It will be interesting to see the dynamic between Caleb and Hannah this year as I try to do school with the both of them. I am looking forward to what God has in store for Caleb and how He is going to work through Caleb's health issues as well.
So much for the 'short' update I had intended!! We are so excited for this new school year and all the new adventures it brings our way. More importantly though, we can't wait to see how God is going to work in our family this year!
