First week updates

this was after the first day of school, everyone looks a little tired

my bow-making/sewing set-up

first order done, 69 bows (I was supposed to do 50, next week 75, then 100 every week after)

Good morning all, I have several updates, though many of you I already have talked with and this is a repeat.  So, the first day went well for everyone!  Emily stayed the entire day without a problem, she loves her teacher and so far Science is her favorite subject (lots of experiments).  Luke ate lunch with his friends and found all his new classes just fine (the lunch thing was a big deal last year as there are limited seats at each table).  Heidi and Anna did not get lost and are meeting new friends while hanging out with friends from elementary school.  They went to their first high school football game on Friday, just to be social.  Each day following has been pretty good.  Emily is finding her rhythm and thankfully getting a good amount of sleep so that she isn't too tired.  Luke is home today with a really stiff/sore neck.  He is already struggling with liking school even though things are going well.  Heidi and Anna are bored, but it seems that they are doing a lot of review and covering rules, etc.  Anna said yesterday that she has 3 favorite classes, 2 of which are a favorite because Heidi is in class with her.  They should be starting to join some clubs soon, we will see what they pick and how involved they get.  Caleb really hasn't had too much time on his own just yet.  He had a dentist appointment the first day of school and we had a long cardiology appointment yesterday with Emily (and Luke is home today).  So all in all, a really good start, especially for Emily, which is a big answer to prayer!

One of the things that has made this back to school season more busy than usual is the bow-making.  I think it is awesome how God provided me with a space, long before I knew such a job/company existed.  Our bedroom is pretty large, it used to be 2 separate bedrooms that someone opened up into one and enlarged the closet.  I had part of the room set up with my sewing machine and fabrics from the start so transitioning to a space to make bows was easy.  I try to get some work done during the day but it mostly ends up being in the evenings so the kids rotate hanging out in our room while doing homework.  When it is quiet I listen to podcasts, something I just now realized my phone can do!

Back to the cardiology appointment: this is the appointment I dread, and yet the last few years everything has been stable so I kinda expect the same.  Go figure, this time things have changed, which really shouldn't surprise me given the summer Emily has had.  I think our cardiologist is somewhat under experienced so we might need to change, but Emily also sees a lipids specialists so hopefully they will work together.  I am still waiting to hear from the doctor this morning on the plan, but basically there is more regurgitation than in the past.  Emily has had some mild leaking for several years, but now it appears to be moderate.  It sounds like initially medication can/might help, and surgery could be a possibility down the road (definitely not what we want to hear).  Again, I am hoping the cardiologist gets some help on handling this.  At the moment surgery is still on for October 6th.  There are obviously some well-founded fears in doing this surgery, but I am constantly being reminded that fear is not from God, it is quite the opposite of what He gives us (2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.")  Emily has had several scary dreams lately, about falling down an elevator shaft or falling off a cliff.  And when discussing the next eclipse in 2024 Emily said that she kinda hopes she is not alive then.  She does have a pretty mature eternal awareness, but I trust that God is not done using her here just yet.  Anyway, I am just glad that she is starting out the school year feeling much better than she was a few weeks ago!  Between now and surgery we have many doctor appointments, and more importantly we have camp!!  Happy Tuesday!