Saturday, January 07, 2006

STACIA DISCOVERS ‘STRANGER DANGER’


Well thank God that it didn’t manifest before 2 Jan when Grandparents and sisters were here, but in addition to her new tricks described at the start of the week, Stacia has decided that all strangers are bearers of danger. In fact danger could lurk at any spot on the planet other than Mommy’s arms or Mommy’s hip!

This began Tuesday evening. I left her home while I attended Bible Study. I called to hear how things were going and could instantly tell that all was not well. I called back in 10 minutes and things were still rather loud. Mike agreed that it would be good if I came home…which I did. The fussing when not on my lap, in my arms or in my direct line of vision has continued. I’m wearing out and my arthritic wrists which were getting better are beginning to act up again. We are going to have to figure out how to nip this new trick right in the bud.

It was sad at the retirement ceremony. She’s always been one to let folks pass her around and smile at them etc and this time….so many tried to take her so I could eat etc and she was having no part of it. For those who had a child with extreme “stranger awareness” like this – how long did the phase last? I suppose I’ll have to dig out the mothering book and look this up.

This is not a trick endorsed by Mommy.

Protestant Women of the Chapel (PWOC)

Another first this week was that our local PWOC began a Bible Study. They haven’t had a Bible Study for a bit of time (at least since we arrived). Before they quit the study they had 3 or 4 attending.

We wondered what the turn out would be on Tuesday night. There were 14 women who showed up to begin studying “Breaking Free” by Beth Moore. Shannon, another chaplain’s wife, is leading it. I’m excited to see the rebirth of a study on the base.

In other news I did finally agree to provide leadership for our local group. I hate the “labels” but yes, I’m the President. However, Emma has agreed to stay on as treasurer. Shannon is teaching and I am actively seeking for other team members. I love to build teams and mentor leaders, so we’ll see how this goes. I know that God has a vision for THIS group and that is what we are seeking. I want our team to join Him where He is working rather than asking Him to bless OUR plans.

Lest those of you who know how over-committed I got in AK begin to worry….let me share that I’ve set BOUNDARIES this time (thanks Lynn). At this point I believe 10 hours a week is what I have to give. That means that we may grow a bit more slowly but I will not end up needing to give 30 – 40 hours a week to support a program while we wait for volunteers to step up. If I begin teaching, I will not do a lot of other organizing etc. Yes, I’m logging hours and yes, Mike is in agreement with 1. Me stepping up and 2. Me setting boundaries. {grin} The poor man has been very patient while he waited for me to decide to step up. I find it very ironic that after deciding in my new role as “Sr Prot’s Wife” that I would not take leadership positions in PWOC God would lead us to a base where the “Sr Prot’s Wife is ALWAYS the President”. What a hoot! I took that as a confirmation that God wants me to continue to use the gifts He has given me regardless of Mike’s position.

Hey Lynn, those boundaries are wonderful things. I have begun to see that being on a schedule that forces us to be done with school at a certain time or out of the house at a certain time stresses us out. I’ve said no to three “good opportunities” this week. It’s getting fun to say no….I have a strange sense of accomplishment as I say “NO”….because it allows me to say “YES” to those things that I know He is calling me to do…like leisurely schooling and mothering…and PWOC.

BTW I’m trying to come up with a catchy name for our PWOC newsletter. I know, I know….I’m living with PWOC for a NAME of a group but can’t we be a bit more creative than “PWOC NEWSLETTER”???? {big grin} I thought of “PWOC Connections” as that ties in with the PWOC USA mission as well…but noticed that our services newsletter is called that. I’ve thought of “PWOC Reflections” but now see that our local homeschool support group is naming their year book that. I’d love some ideas…..I’m even willing to steal names from your women’s groups. {big grin} Please share ideas.

That’s my new thing for the week.

NOLAN BEGINS SPEECH THERAPY

YES! Nolan began speech therapy this week. He will be seen privately twice a week. His therapist seems to be a very nice lady. He likes his time with Miss Natalie. I talked with her on Thursday about giving us some things we can work with at home.

I’ve been taking Arielle and Stacia with us to speech. Stacia has slept through both appointments – which has been a blessing! – and Arielle and I have used the time for me to listen to her reading. She astonishes us with the way she picked her pace up the last few months.

I noticed there are a lot of grandmothers who watch their grandchildren while their daughters and daughter-in-laws work. One of them kept quite an eye on us and asked a few leading questions. Finally I told her outright (as I could tell it’s what she wanted to know) that we homeschool. It turns out her daughter teaches at the local school and her son is the President of one of the Jr Highs or High Schools. She said she had found it interesting to watch me teach my daughter. Hmm….maybe we’ll take coloring books next week. {grin}