I'll post separately about my Lent experiences this year. In this post I wanted to try to update you quickly on what's been going on at Maple Grove Farm since mid-February.
1. My Dad entered a nursing home in St. Louis in late February. We were so blessed to find a wonderful, family-owned, smaller nursing home. Dad is content there. He likes the food (as my sister said, with Dad, that's more than half the battle!), the staff are warm and kind, the doctor has made a few positive changes to Dad's medicines and routines. As painful as the entire process was, we were blessed to face it as a family and to support each other and Dad throughout the process. I've never been so proud of my siblings or loved them more.
2. My stepmom is having total shoulder replacement surgery on April 13th in Los Angeles. Her daughter lives there and can nurse Rena while she recovers. The surgery was the reason Dad had to enter the nursing home though the decision probably should have been made several months ago. She will be out there at least three months as she won't be able to lift anything heavier than a teacup at least that long.
3. Terry, Cassie, her boyfriend Sam, and I enjoyed a spring vacation in Naples, Florida. The weather wasn't great, but it wasn't snowing either. I read three books that week: "The Blind Side", "How Green Was My Valley" (a second reading), and "Running with Scissors". We played games, cooked wonderful dinners, took a boat ride, went to the beach, and enjoyed the heated pool and hot tub in the condominium complex. It was a restful, relaxing week. Luke couldn't join us because he was writing his senior thesis.
4. I'm halfway through my second semester of classes toward my teacher certification. This semester is going much more smoothly thanks to the experience gained last semester and one less class. I'm so thankful for the distance program which allows me to continue substitute teaching, make trips back and forth to St. Louis, and go on vacation with my family while staying on track with my college work.
5. Terry, Cassie, and I will be in New York when you read this. We are there for Luke's reception and confirmation into the Catholic Church. Luke has been journeying this path for four years and took RCIA this year. I am so proud of him for following God's leading and call on his young life.
6. We had a pretty spring day last Saturday and worked all day outside. Got the mower going, cleaned out the garden, picked up lots and lots of sticks, mowed about half the front field. Why do I love the first mowing of the season so much?
7. Tomorrow is Opening Day. Need I say more??
8. A good friend was diagnosed with liver cancer, after years of liver problems. The next day, Jeff sat down and emailed his friends individual notes to let them know and to tell them how much he had enjoyed their friendship. He will undergo experimental treatment which may leave him with dementia so he wanted to take care of business. His grace, humor, and tackling this head-on was all so characteristic of him. Jeff once loaned me his truck for a 300 mile round trip Girl Scout camping trip when my vehicle had nearly 200,000 miles on it and no other parent in the troop could drive or let us use their car. Jeff's only interest in the trip was that he was a friend of several parents in the troop.
9. Substitute teaching continues to be a wonderful time. The highlight was subbing two days as the personal assistant for a freshman boy who is hearing and vision imparied. He was such a nice young man and such a hard worker. He needs large print texts and all handouts are enlarged for him. His assistant helps him take notes in class, makes sure his handouts are enlarged, tells him anything the teacher says he doesn't hear, accompanies him to all his classes and sits near him at lunch to make sure he doesn't choke (he has some other physical disabilities which made it impossible for him to swallow until he was in the fourth grade). Watching him interact with the other students was so heart-warming. They were kind and accepting. I also got to sit in on his annual IEP (Individualized Educational Program) conference with school administrators, special education teacher, hearing and vision therapists, several teachers and his parents. I'll be involved in a lot of these IEP conferences as a special education teacher so it was nice this was my first one. This student is a special education success story! He currently ranks 14th in his class of 79 students.
10. We've been enjoying some new food around here lately. Ree's quesadillas de camarones are a favorite Friday dinner. We've also been experimenting with tilapia cooked many different ways. It is my new favorite versatile, healthy food. Tilapia is such a mild fish and takes well to whatever sauce you like. We've done Mexican style tilapia with spicy tomato sauce and monterey jack cheese; Italian tilapia with basil and garlic tomatoes and parmesan cheese; tilapia with onions and red peppers.
That's the brief update! I missed you all and can't wait to hear from you soon.
1 comments:
Welcome back, friend! Wow, you've been busy.
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