Tomorrow's the last day of school

Well, the kids have made it through 5 months of school! They have learned a lot about culture, got their feet wet in the languages, and got established in our new community. I think the positives outweighed the negatives.

I hear some good French accents when I hear them reading, they can do simple Arabic dictations, and cursive writing has improved (the appearance of the writing is really important here).

My boys are a bit rougher too. It's cultural. I remember when we first arrived 3 years ago and I heard of groups of boys that would run around with shards of glass and throw rocks at each other. I was scared for my little band of cherubs (!!)--would they be safe? I mean, how scary!

The other night we took a walk as a family and I turned around to see all of my boys throwing stones at each other. And they were having a ball! I turned to Patrick and said, "Yep, they've acclimated."

Health update

I have an appointment with my Infectious Disease doctor on June 23rd. I'm excited to have some more light shed on what's going on in my body--is the valley fever gone or at least controlled? is the lung cavity gone? While I feel hopeful, I feel sober-minded at the same time.

Here are my 2 biggest prayer requests regarding my health:
1) That the lung cavity will have healed up
2) That the doctor will take me off the antifungals

Both of these are huge requests. If the lung cavity remains, I may need surgery or a longer stint with the meds. If I stay on the meds, well, quite frankly, I don't want to stay on the meds. They cause me grief. I know that the disease is worse than these meds but my body is on overload. Most recently, I have wondered if my adrenal glands have been affected because of my back pain, fatigue, dizziness, etc. When something stressful happens, I feel no adrenaline rush coming from the inside. The body is fried.

I trust in our all-powerful, all-good, and all-wise God to work this out in His time and for His glory. At the same time, I am petitioning Him for the above.

First things first

Patrick was encouraging the kids after lunch today to really get the most out of their Arabic class. "In fact," he said, "you could even study it in college and be really good at it."

JP, age 6, was listening intently and then spoke.

"First..."  His eyes were soft and curious.  "Can I play football in English?"

OK JP, you sure can.  First things first.

JP, my practical guy

gnisufnoc si loohcS

Sometimes school is confusing.  Take J for instance--he usually has French for 1 1/2 hours a day, Arabic for 1 1/2 hours, and Math for 1 1/2 hours.  They chose to do Math in Arabic too, so it's a good time to practice those comprehension skills.  

He did math homework the other night.  After he was done, the paper laid on the floor without a name for a long time, so I asked, "Hey Josiah, is this yours?"  Yep, it was.  He wrote his name and handed back the paper.

I looked.  He had written, "haisoJ."  I said, "Josiah, um, did you know that you wrote this, um, backward?"  

"Sure mom," he quickly said, "the teacher knows what I mean."  Oh yeah, I reminded myself, Math is in Arabic.   

Well, maybe school isn't all that confusing, maybe just the mom is confused (and hopefully not the future employer!).

Lovin' life

Back to school

Walking home from school

I think she looks darling in her school uniform.

Monday marks the first day back at school after spring break.  I don't think this creates "warm fuzzies" in my kids.  Would you pray for them as they reenter into their French/Arabic school?

--That they would know that the Lord is near

--That they would be bright lights for Him

--That the teachers would have much joy (they tend to spend a lot of time dealing with discipline issues which in this context is hitting and yelling) and that their students would learn (truly important for the next generation of our country)

--That our kids would desire to learn these languages and that God would give them love for others

Thank you for holding the rope for us!  

A day in the life of a spring breaker...

This past week has been spring break for our kids.  On Tuesday, we drove to a big city an hour north of us and enjoyed lunch at Pizza Hut.  Then we spent a nice afternoon at the beach.  It was truly windy (believe it or not, I was still wearing wool!) but the sun was beautiful.  Nothing like hearing kids laughing and the waves lapping.  Lovely.

Health update

My latest blood test showed lower than normal red blood cell levels.  I've been feeling OK, though tired.  Fatigued.  In body and soul.

Though today showed me a ray of hope--I had energy plus joy!  Someone must have been praying for me.  Patrick also bought me a juicer this week, so we have been enjoying a daily shot of carrot juice.  This has been good.

I'm curious if my current state of health is from the valley fever or if it's a side effect of the antifungals.  We plan to return to the states in June and I look forward to seeing my doctor (and hopefully hearing that the lung cavity is gone and being taken off of the antifungals).

Thanks for standing with me regarding these health issues.  I'm sorry that it's such a long road...for you too, the one praying.