Monthly Archives: May 2023

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The Children Spring 23

April 9, 2023

Taylor and the kids have been enjoying church a lot lately. Taylor is getting involved with classes and the kids are going to choir and Awanas.

Anna June is still being a challenge these days — seems like I write that often! She asked me recently to tell her all the Spanish words I know, so I’m trying. She wanted to know how to say ‘I want to go outside’ — which I think is something like Quera vas campo… maybe? I guess I need to break out the old Spanish books.

April 12-13, 2023

Spending the day with Marvin today, as Taylor and Anna June are on the Turtle Center field trip. We’ve had a good day, though Marvin is still sick.

He’s thrown up, had an earache and going to the doctor. Anna June is sneezy and coughing, but seems okay.

She keeps asking me about “patterns” and asking if things are a pattern. She seems to be very good at seeing them. She truly fits the descriptions I see online of “the sensitive child.” Lots of empathy and responsiveness and imagination is part of that personality, they say. She’s that.

The other night as I was sitting on her bed at story time, she noticed me rolling my head uncomfortably against the wall, so she got up and got me a big pillow for my head. So sweet!

We keep talking about homeschooling, as we have since before Marvin even started school. Maybe soon, or maybe next year. Maybe a group thing? Lots of possibilities.

April 14, 2023

The doctor ordered an x-ray of Marvin’s chest. It’s very concerning, so we’re doing the nebulizer treatments and an antibiotic… he seems to feel okay today, but no school.

Turns out it’s pneumonia! So we’re treating them both for that.

April 16, 2023

Kinda returning to health and happiness now… but too sick for school. We are seriously considering not taking them back, since they seem to get sick again every time they go back. And they’ve missed so much school.

April 21-23, 2023

A shooting in the Food Lion parking lot has us worried about taking the kids anywhere! The world is going crazy!

We’re definitely making the move to home school. The kids seem happy to be home, so it’s going well so far.

A great day with the kids yesterday! We played with them a lot and had a fun time inside and out! Working learning into the fun is the main idea of this approach to school.

Marvin spontaneously wrote a big sentence on the sidewalk when we were “chalking.” Then he had a meltdown because June altered one of his letters!

Taylor took a very calm and constructive approach to his fit, and he got over it quickly. I need to work on being more calm in the face of their outbursts.

April 27, 2023

Marvin asked, “What is infinity?” Mom and I both said, “I don’t know.”

Anna June said, “Infinity is forever!”

Astounding! But this homeschooling may be a challenge! Child-directed learning.

May 4-7, 2023

June still wants to resist anything she’s asked to do. Otherwise the homeschooling is going pretty well. We’re trying to do something good every day, and we’re working out a schedule. Lots of exploring so far.

Marvin was in a play/musical at church this morning, so we had a nice family time! He did great, though he said he hated it. June wanted to be in it too, but not old enough.

She sang Jesus Loves Me for Granny today, and her voice was so beautiful! She was really trying to impress Granny! She gets all the nuances of the melody and the emotion!

She said she wants to be a rock star. And a princess.

Hope I live to see her grow up!

by

The Children, Winter ‘23

Winter 2023

November 2022

June was holding a pretend meeting with someone, though it was not clear to me who was involved. She was very serious about it all, and at some point, she said to the imaginary group, shrugging her shoulders, “All the boys are so stoopid! They don’t like their wives!”

I didn’t ask what she meant by that.

December 2022

We have all been sick a lot as the weather cools off. But we’re decorating for Christmas and visited the Live Nativity, which the kids loved, especially the animals.

And Christmas was good! Excited, happy kids all around! A new trampoline was the big gift, and they’re excited about that.

Had a great visit with John at the Sikes family gathering and oyster roast! So good to see him! He even came by on his way home and we had lunch together.

And had a great visit with Gene! We spend about three hours talking about all kinda stuff, reminiscing, talking about the world. We’re both feeling our mortality deeply these days.

January 2023

The kids are ever-challenging! June is not responding to our best efforts to get her to obey without threats of punishment. She just cruises above it all… wide open all the time! Bedtime is usually hard, sometimes impossible. But her potential is still shining through. She’s so engaging and so smart! How to keep her and everyone around her safe and within reasonable limits without crushing her spirit is the challenge.

I’m going through a bunch of old photos of some of the older times with family — not easy task.

February 2023

Another interesting story from June during some phonics activities… the word “backpack” somehow prompted a story of some animal friend of hers named Dory, who’s a tiger she met when she went to the jungle with her “sisters.” When I was shocked at the idea of a tiger, she hugged me and said, “She love everybody!” And she has a sweet tiger family.

Taylor and the kids are going to church pretty much every Sunday now, and they seem to be enjoying it. It’s a bit hard for me with my background with Southern Baptists, but they seem to all be very good folks.

February 17, 2023

June’s prophecy:

Documenting here that last night, June predicted that, in 100 days, Screven would have a “really strong storm” and we’d better make our house strong enough not to get blown down! (That should be about May 27 or 28…)

March 2023

I got to see my dear cousin Marilee and her husband, Bob, recently, and Taylor and the kids met them. Was so great! Family connections!

Then we visited with Linda and John on the way home and that was great too!

Then on Sunday, Stewart and I went to see Gene and Sarah. Really good visit, though he’s still not doing very well.

Marvin and June seem to be doing great in school, liking and getting along well at home most of the time! Though June has been on a stubborn streak all week — nothing terrible, but she just wants to resist everything!

Spring is here, tho cool weather still in store. We’re thinking of adding a deck.

Things are going well with the kids, though Marvin is having some issues with anxiety and various complaints about things physically wrong with him — his gums, his head, etc. He talked to the school counselor about and we’ve talked to her. She seems not overly concerned, but she asked about deaths or other trauma in the family. It could be related. He is still sad about Bob’s death.

June’s just wild! Hard to reign in. And she want us to have another baby.

My health issues continue, so that may not be a possibility!

I do hope we’re raising some strong children, as it seems as though the changes in the world are going to demand much of them. Maybe they will be “the generation” — the one who actually stands up to the authoritarian trends this world is facing.

Children raised to treat all others with kindness and respect is truly how we extend ourselves into the future.

We’ve all been sick a lot lately — seems the kids just keep picking up things at school.