WOOHOO!

Mikayla is coming home this weekend!!!!

New

So what's new? Well, we have had some new things going on in our family. Mikayla being away at school is the newest, and the adjustment on this end is...hard...and odd. I was asked if the household was different without her here. It's crazy different! And it takes some getting used to, believe me. I'm so used to having the kids right here, or at least I know right where they are and what they are doing and when they will be home. So what's different, you ask? It's quieter. Mikayla is a talker. The other two go off and play or whatever, and it's...quiet. Weird!!! There is less drama. She's also a teenager. haha. The bathroom is freer. hahaha! I find myself watching the clock to try and figure out what she might be doing, but the truth is, I never really know unless I have a chance to talk to her. When she calls, she usually opens with saying that she only has a few minutes to talk. *sniff* I am not running from pillar to post trying to get the kids to all their different activities. Lanie opted not to play soccer this year, and Lanie and Nate are sharing a piano lesson time. That only leaves Nathanael's public school classes, which are back to back, one soccer team, and one piano lesson. It's downright bizarre feeling. BUT, those strange feelings, plus missing her like crazy are the cons. I would give anything to have that school within a few miles of us!!! As a matter of fact, the first week of school I could not keep that thought out of my head. I found myself thinking, "it's just not fair that this school is so far away and that there where no other options for her." Silly, considering the way that the Lord provided. I had to talk to the Lord about it , and those talks usually ended with, "but I MISS HER!!!" But there are pros, too--- Lanie and Nate come downstairs in the morning, giggle through breakfast, sing through showers, do chores, and go get at their schoolwork. Lanie is learning to be more independent since she doesn't have a big sister here all the time telling her exactly what to do. I am able to really concentrate on Alana's remedial work, and it shows! I'm so glad that I had her do third grade again. Fourth grade is a breeze for her so far. YAY! I am able to spend time just listening to Nate. He has the most fertile imagination I have ever encountered. He is loving his computer class that he is taking this year. Mikayla is taking Dublin by storm, landing the lead in the upcoming play, and auditioning for the ministry team and making it, loving the social side of being in school, as well as learning what real studying is. She is able to be challenged and stretch her wings a bit, as well, all while the values that we worked so hard to instill at home are being reinforced and hopefully strengthened.
We have had some new things going on in Church as well. This year we started a Good News Club. VBS saw us with a whole new bunch of kids whose parents seemed to be searching for good things for their kids to do. We decided on the Thursday night of VBS that we could try an after school Bible club to reach these new families on a weekly basis. I went to the computer, fashioned invitations ,coming up with a time and a name for it off the top of my head, printed them out, and sent them home with the VBS kids Friday night. WOW! Although it sounds like we were going to be flying by the seat of our pants, we have run all sorts of Bible clubs before and figured that it would be best to do one with just the basic salvation and Bible stories, songs, and crafts. Usually when we start something like this, we see our own church kids come and then maybe a few of their friends in the following weeks. Our first Good News Club, sans new music, awards, and 'bells and whistles', we had twelve children only two of which were our own church kids. The second week we had twenty, all of whom left with an invitation to give to a friend. Isn't that awesome!! We still have new contacts from VBS to call on, too. The first night we did a lesson on the wordless book and then the children made their own. I was amazed at how engaged they were as we sang the very old wordless book song as they turned the pages in their very own books. The second week the lesson was on sin and salvation, along with a review of the wordless book. We made key chains with ABC beads reminding them that one must admit that they are sinners, believe in Jesus, and confess. All the old Child Evangelism Fellowship songs are being sung lustily. It's funny how sometimes simpler is better, and old is new and wonderful again.
We now have a mini orchestra in our church that plays during congregational singing in our Morning Worship Service. We are blessed every week by this and it adds so much to our singing. This family is thinking about joining our church, too. That's new!
I need new curtains in the dining room. Why, what's wrong with the ones you have?? Well, I decided to wash them and they were so old that they literally came apart in the wash. Ok, then, I guess it's time for new curtains. Anything would be better than the sheet that hangs there now. :)

I'll Never Forget That Day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW8puRqE4Sc

The Final Word About Dublin

Mikayla is going to Dublin Christian Academy! It's the miracle we prayed for! When I said at the beginning of this endeavor that it would take a miracle for her to go, I wasn't kidding. Terry already has an extra job to make ends meet as it is. Soooo, as most of you know, I applied for a scholarship. She got one covering 60% of her tuition. We got really excited over that, but after looking at what was left to pay...well, let's just say, we still needed a miracle. I almost brushed this idea off as way too pricey for us, BUT, we decided to go ahead and do up the paperwork needed and then we visited the school on our vacation. LOVED it!! You should have seen this kids big brown eyes light up and stay lit throughout the entire visit. Had a wonderful meeting with the administrator and headmaster. Had a great tour of the place with the secretary. Went home and waited to hear from them again. See, after he met with us and then Mikayla separately, the administrator said that he would look at our financial situation again. After several agonizing days after returning from vacation, we could stand it no longer and Terry finally broke down and called them to check on the status. They called right back and said that they had upped the scholarship to 75%. Excitement took hold of us again as Terry took out his trusty ledger and pushed numbers around. There was/is room and board, fees (for every little thing, it seems), books, uniforms, and little things that you need when living away from home, to pay for. We prayed about it, and literally had to shrug our shoulders because it was sooo out of our hands. I went ahead and started looking for books and uniforms finding them on ebay and used book auctions. I would find a book that she needed, watch it for days with bated breath, and then bid in the last seconds to get the cheapest price. I listed some of my used homeschool books and sold them, too, using that money to buy her new ones. I figured that the Lord was at work here. 75% off tuition is nothing to sneeze at and if the Lord wanted her to go even at the last moment, she would be ready. As of today, all her uniforms have been provided, one complete outfit from Nana, a bedroom set bought by Grandma, and all her books and school supplies have been purchased. The school let us set up a twelve month payment plan even though the billing for that starts in June. They also combined the registration fee into the twelve month plan, meaning that we don't have to come up with all of that next week. One of our close friends came over the other day to buy some used curriculum from me and paid way more than what I was asking so that we could pay the music fees. Is God at work here?? Oh, I have NO doubt whatsoever! There have been some difficult things come up that almost derailed us, and we realize that there are more hurdles to jump and some tight days ahead until tax season, but God has made it possible for her to go. She is ecstatic, anxious, sad, and dying to go right now, all at once. AND she is recovering from having her wisdom teeth out. Ah, there's another little piece of our miracle. This oral surgery was not within our ability to pay for. We hated it, but we applied for the state healthcare in order to get it done. It was supposed to take forever to get scheduled. Mainecare was supposed to take forever to answer the request for the surgery, and there was supposed to be all sorts of red tape and I don't even know what all, that had to happen first. But, we got the consult done, and they accepted our letter of acceptance from Mainecare in place of the cards that hadn't come yet. Then, they told us that mainecare had to approve the surgery and said that it usually took three months or more to get said approval. Well, I have to admit to calling and unashamedly bugging them, but they finally scheduled it for September 8th. I called two more times to bug them and got it scheduled for the 23rd of August. Done and healed before school starts!!! YAY! Yet another part of this miracle that convinces me that God has been working on this before we even thought of it, is this: Terry felt, at the beginning of 2010, that times were going to be uncertain, so he paid all of our bills ahead for the entire year and set the rest aside in a savings club. I thought it sounded good at the time, but now? I can only say that God must have put that in his head to do. Don't we serve an awesome God?!

PS. You can check out the school if you scroll down to our "links we like" and click on Dublin Christian Academy. Be sure and check out the Chorale's pictures. You can find them by looking for photo albums and then Chorale Tour. Mikayla will be joining them this year!