Checking in...Finally!

I was shocked to see that it has been over a week since I've last written!  My goal is to write twice a week, but I can see that it's going to be challenging to do that.  Unfortunately, because it's been so long, I have quite a lot of news to report.  So as not to write too much, I'll sum up:

• We found out on Friday, Dec. 3 that my dad does not have Alzheimer's.  I'm sorry, that was rather abrupt.  Let me explain.  I mentioned in a previous post that my dad was having some health issues that were necessitating an eventual move from their beloved homeplace.  Specifically, my dad has been having some pretty significant short-term memory loss.  He has been undergoing tests for the last month, and the neurologist discovered that my dad had been having mini-strokes.  These were the cause of the memory loss.  The doctor has prescribed some medicine to aid with this problem, and is exploring a course of treatment to prevent further strokes.  To my family's way of thinking, this is good news.  Not only is there an answer for my dad's memory loss, but there is treatment.  We were afraid that either there would be no explanation, or that he would be diagnosed with Alzheimer's.  My grandmother's death from this terrible disease in November of 2005 still looms large over our family, and we were afraid of my dad having it, as well.
• Brian had a great first week of work with the new company (Southwest Construction Services).  He is enjoying the new position and is getting to know the people at the office.  We are truly grateful to God for the new job.  He goes in early and gets off early, also.   The new job has also created new challenges for us, though. Because he goes in so early, I am supervising getting all four kids to school.  Last week, we had a couple of hiccups, but I think that we'll all get into the routine.  Let's just say that I'm grateful that the kids can ride the bus to school.
• I've been subbing quite a lot.  I had jury duty last Monday, the 6th, and had to turn down three jobs.  I was scheduled to work the rest of the week, and had to miss one of those days because I had to take Matthew to the doctor for a sinus infection.  He's all better after a round of antibiotics.  (Obviously, I was not chosen for jury duty.)
• I finished up my Effective Teaching Practices class this past weekend.  I turned in my final assignment on Saturday evening, and I received notification this morning that I earned full credit for the class.  The class met on Saturdays, so I missed a lot of fun stuff, like Jacob's wrestling tournaments and the ladies evangelistic brunch on Dec. 4th.  As of right now, I am halfway through my coursework.  I've completed two classes and my Field-Based Experience (class observation).  I start my next classes on January 4th, and these are going to be night classes. 
• Jesse is  being evaluated for dyslexia.  He's been struggling with reading and spelling for quite some time.  I think that if he is admitted to the dyslexia program at school that it will help him quite a bit.  He's a smart boy, and we don't want him to lose confidence in himself because of the challenges he is facing in reading. 

All in all, it's been a good week.  After the challenges of the last year, I'm grateful for busy, productive days.  OH!  I just remembered!  Maybe the biggest praise of last week was that Brian received a significant portion of the severance/back pay that his former employer owed him!  We were so glad, too, because it came just in time for us to pay our property taxes.  No, really, we were glad to be able to pay those taxes.  We were just about to draw out money from savings when the money came.  We were rejoicing and praising the Lord, I can tell you. 

I guess that hits all the highlights, and hopefully explains why I haven't posted in a little while.  I'll try to do better.  So many of you are writing to me to encourage me in writing this blog, and I don't want to let you down.  It helps me, also, to get things off of my chest.  I feel better already....

Many blessings,

Jennifer