So, I figured I could take some time to update.
We spent a few weeks trying to get my teenagers some work. And Alana has spent some time at our beach forging new friendships with a couple of very sweet girls.
After putting in applications everywhere we could possibly think of , and then doing that all over again, plus going by and bugging managers, we were about to give up. Reminding our young people that the Lord has never left us without supplying our every need, and that we the Upcott family have decided that we will live our lives by trusting God, and as a last ditch effort, we put an ad in the paper for piano lessons and resorted to posting services on Facebook. Mikayla has one piano student that she has been teaching, and she became a Nanny to two children at Camp Wapiti, a sporting camp that my friend owns. Nate has mowed lawns, walked dogs, and painted interior rooms. Hooray for busy teens! Mikayla really needed the work so that she could pay for books at college, and work she did! She took care of kids, did camp dishes, made breakfasts and lunches for the kids, homeschooled them, cleaned cabins at the camp that the mom owns, painted, and...the list goes on. So, I think she earned her pay, and we are thankful for her abilities and for God's provision. She has finished her work there for now. She is headed to summer camp one last time as a camper as a late birthday present, then she has less than one week to pack, and then we head south for a much needed family vacation before we drop her at Bob Jones University to begin her freshman year of college. Then, it's back home to start Nate's sophomore year and Alana's sixth grade year. We have opted to homeschool again, with slight variations. Nate will be attending the local trade school for Building Trades while continuing his college prep academics at home. I will have more one on one time with Alana, who has made great strides but still needs some remedial work.
I've had a few people ask when I would post about our eldest attending college even after we had made the agonizing decision to keep her home. I still feel unable to put into words this whole experience. And it is still ongoing. Daily. But, here goes.
The story begins probably back two years ago. I have written before about how the Lord provided and opened doors for her to go to Dublin. I tried to hold the doors closed, I must admit. I was really, pretty freaked out. But, here we are on the other end of that experience, and although I wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless circumstances were similiar, we have come through relatively unscathed. We are Absolutely positively sure and certain that the Lord wanted her there, and since that is how we try to live our lives, that is what we did. Yes, we know that we are simple people. At least that is what we have been accused of. LOL. It's not really that simple, just saying...
Looking forward to college, I forgot so easily to trust. It seems I will never learn this lesson. I don't know why it is so hard for me to learn since I have a lesson in it seemingly every day. I can only claim that being a woman and wanting that stability is just how we women are made, but then, that doesn't let the rest of the Upcott clan off the hook. sigh. :) Literally praying over the decision of whether to hold her back or let her go all year long (possibly longer, I lose track. It's been in the back of my mind since....age five??? Since she decided to sneak into the closet where my phonics curriculum was stored and teach herself to read at age 3??? Can this child really be mine??? haha), we finally had a very tough phone conversation with her, telling her that we just could not possibly afford to send her to BJU this year, nor did we think she was mature enough to handle it, and we didn't feel that it would kill her to work to help pay for it. I'm rambling...
Terry had to call her back later after we felt she had had time to calm down. He counseled her, prayed with her, told her to leave it in God's hands. Reminded her that if He wanted her to go, He would make it possible. If He didn't, then it would be wrong of her to force it. By the end, she promised that she would pray about. We weren't sure that she was really ready to leave this decision up to God and us as her parents. UHH! It was hard! We went to bed and really didn't sleep well, praying for her...
Do you really want the whole story, cause this is getting long...?
To be continued...
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