I am officially terrible at this blogging thing! It has been so long since I have posted, I am afraid I won't have room for all the things I'd like to say. I have seen a few ideas on little updates I can do each week, and I think i will start doing it. First, lets see what if we can catch up.
- For those of you that I haven't told (I may be addressing an imaginary online audience) I did not pass the Foreign Service test on the first try. I was a few points shy but I am confident I can pass once I brush up on American History. I feel better about it because I will know what to expect going into it next year. I read a lot of advice online on different topics to study, what to memorize, etc. After taking the test, I would say most of the information was not extremely helpful and was not needed at all. Just like most tests I have taken, the answers can be logically deduced if you have an idea of which answers are wrong. So, if I know the 13th Amendment abolished slavery, then it cannot be the correct answer for which amendment is known as the "lame duck" amendment (that is the 20th amendment btw).
- Another huge change that has happened, we have moved to Ohio. We have taken up a ministry opportunity here and we love it. No matter where we have been, it all feels like home. I think having the immediate support of church family makes it feel that way. I can't imagine what it would be like to move and not have that support. There are still things that cause chaos, like packing nearly everything on the 16' truck only to realize we should have gotten the biggest truck; even though we fit everything on a 16' truck only 9 months prior (proof that our stuff does in fact multiply!). And forgetting the freezer full of milk that we should have grabbed the morning we headed out. Thank goodness M and B were amazing landlords and stored it in the freezer in their basement until we came back through a few weeks later. We are still unpacking things although it has been slow going lately. I really enjoy the space we have here, I don't feel as cramped. We have a dining room now, a garage, and even a room downstairs for DH to store a SMALL amount of musical equipment.
- That leads to another change that has happened. I will be enrolling in college next fall to finish up my Bachelors. We have just arrived in Ohio so I have more research to complete, but right now it's between Malone and Kent State. I picked next fall because DD will be in kindergarten and I will only need to find childcare for DS who will be closer to two years old. I plan on finishing college debt free, so I also want to make sure I have the time to apply for scholarships and grants before the deadlines pass. Plus, I should qualify for in-state tuition by then.
- DD has gotten so big, I think she has grown half a foot in the last 6 months. Pajamas she got in February are like capris now! We looked at quite a few preschools in the area before deciding to keep her home one more year. When we looked at the cost, number of hours taught each week, and the Ohio early learning standards, and felt it would be best to do "preschool" differently. We are focusing on learning while at home, and will continue to schedule play dates and involve her in extracurricular activities this year. By not paying for preschool, we can enroll her in classes and have family field trips instead. And I believe she is on target for where she needs to be going into kindergarten. Next year will be the big decision: public or private school. We visited a very nice private school in the area and I loved it. It is exactly what we would want for her in terms of education, environment and everything else. Tuition, however, is quite a bit. We will keep praying about it and see which one is best for our family.
- DS is growing as fast as his sister! He has four teeth and is starting to be mobile, but not like I would expect. He will roll over on his back, plant his feet, and push down. He will scoot around on the floor like this for a few minutes before becoming frustrated. If babies can have a favorite toy, he loves balls. He is fascinated by them and gets really excited when you hand him one. We are also working on breaking the co-sleeping habit. With the move and other changes, it has just been easier for him to sleep with us but we are ready for a better nights sleep. He has been doing really well, although I am still getting up a few times each night to comfort him. He is also sleeping in the play pen (toy free of course) because he shares a room with DD and I don't want her to wake up everytime he cries.
