Saturday, November 10, 2012

Has it really been THAT long since I updated??? EEP!

I suppose it is time for a real update... it has definitely been too long since I've posted anything here on BBB. My, how the children grow...





We have successfully PCSd to Oklahoma. We pulled out of Virginia the morning after that huge derecho storm. We drove hundreds of miles without seeing power. When we finally arrived at the Columbus, Ohio hotel for our first night, power had just been restored an hour before. It was the only major hotel in the area with power. Chad went out in search of gas for the car, not sure what was going to happen the next day. It was sweltering hot, too. Hotel staff had brought their families to the hotel simply to have a safe place to stay.

Chad really enjoys the people he is working with here at Tinker AFB, and the job is going well. He was scheduled to deploy this winter but that has been cancelled due to a shoulder injury. He was hurt playing crud. Yeah. (Air Force people will understand.) He has a broken scapula and a torn rotator cuff. He is certain that he will have to go next summer now.

We have settled into a church, though it took some doing to find. Heritage Presbyterian (PCA) has welcomed us with open arms.

I'm home alone for the first time ever, although I do volunteer at the school from time to time, mainly in Ilsa's classroom which requires a bit more assistance than Ingrid's third grade class. I will be helping out with the first graders in Ilsa's class who are struggling to read. Speaking of Ilsa, she has been placed in the advanced reading program, and will be tested for giftedness presently. If it turns out she isn't classified as such, great. If she is, great. We are not hanging our hat on this. The school approached us with the testing.

I've started baking bread once again, after perhaps baking only five loaves in Virginia the two years we were there. The kitchen was minuscule -- on par with our kitchen in Minot, although it was beautiful. I'm still rather obsessed with Doctor Who. This was Chad's idea, and it thoroughly embarrasses Ingrid, although everyone who sees it thinks it is, to quote Nine, "Fantastic!"


We are living in brand new base housing. We aren't allowed to paint the walls, and management suggests vinyl clings, which we have placed throughout our home to make it ours.

Living room

Ten in his Void Stuff 3D glasses
An apple on our kitchen pantry

Here's World War I Flying Ace keeping watch in our kitchen

 Ingrid's room


 Powder room -- we had the letters produced backwards, 
so that the view in the mirror is correct. Tricky, huh?
I built a new wild yeast starter. It is very healthy. 

First 100% sourdough with new starter.

We have started juicing in earnest.

In August, the girls started school. (We are not homeschooling this year for reasons I'll outline below.)


Ingrid is in third grade, and is catching up after being off for the entire spring. Her health has stabilized somewhat, and given the stress of the past year, it was a very wise decision for our family to send her back to a traditional public school. I needed a break. Caring for a child with an illness is exhausting -- two medical appointments a week, one that was nearly an hour and a half away by Metro, arranging for care for Ilsa while we were at the doctor, not to mention the day to day stamina to stay patient, kind and strong while she is railing at you does things to a person. (E-mail me if you want the details about her health, but at this time I don't want to give specifics on my blog, for her sake.)

She is doing much better in a social framework with a lot of children than she did alone at home with me. The loneliness was debilitating and exacerbated her symptoms. I'm more convinced now than ever that homeschooling should be considered on a case by case basis. Ilsa would probably thrive in it. Ingrid just didn't. Her teacher is very understanding, and she has an advocate in the vice principal. We've had a bit of a challenge getting her classified as medically challenged because her disability doesn't affect her school work (in other words, she has to be FAILING in order to qualify -- not true, but that was the original opinion of the school counselor). She puts on a perfect mask at school, but many days, it shatters the moment she is home. It takes a lot of energy to hide her real self...

Chase has settled into our home (too) well, and is a scamp... he can be very naughty sometimes! He has a penchant for trying to steal from the garbage can, likes to hide our shoes, and loves stuffed animals -- but only Ilsa's for some reason. He has recovered from his tail injury. He is only six and a half, but seems to be showing his age a bit.... just like us!


 This was the day of our garage sale in early September. GREAT weather, huh? About ten minutes after this picture was take, the wind blew in and about fifteen people helped us scoop up everything that was in the driveway and shove it into the garage.

 Yes, Ingrid is riding in pajamas and barefoot.

 Ilsa has been reading the Bible every night. She fell asleep like this last week.

Halloween 2012
Ingrid is some cartoon character from a cartoon called Monster High(?). She's never seen the show -- just liked the costume and the wig. (The wig was pretty cool.) Ilsa is an Ice Princess. Haven't had such a fun Halloween since Minot. Chad lost count of the number of children who came to our door while I was out with the girls. It was well over 250. Everyone was so polite, parents were chatty, and homes were decorated tastefully -- not insanely scary.


1 comment:

Esquire's Wife said...

Welcome back to the blog world! :) You have been missed! It's so nice to hear an update. Glad you are enjoying life in OK. I cannot believe how big the girls are! Time flies! You should post your sourdough starter and bread details, by the way. I've been starting to dabble in bread making. Hugs from Almost Canada!

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