Fall in Washington, Changes in Life

The last few months has seen a lot of grief and a lot of joy for our family. We will never fully recover from the breach we have suffered, at least not in this life. But we have made other major changes that I believe will be important for us to cope. We are meeting our challenges head on and making plans to improve our future.

The kids and I are staying with family in Kent. Leanne, Jeremy, and their five girls have been very kind in opening their home to us. All of the kids have become good friends; Kaedria, Leanne and Jeremy’s youngest who is four, calls Emily her sister. My kids love Aunt Leanne, and they love to wrestle with Uncle Jeremy, even Emily. School finally began in September after a two week teacher’s strike. The kids are trying to enjoy their time outside as much as they can before it gets too cold—which will be soon. It is definitely Autumn.

Dante is enjoying Kindergarten. Of course, he wishes that he could stay home and play video games all day, but life is tough. It is good for him to make friends and play, and even though he is more advanced than the other kids, doing easy stuff will help him get comfortable in a classroom setting. Plus, we are still doing some stuff at home in the mornings. At home, Dante seems a bit frustrated with being one of the younger kids (even though he’s the oldest in his family) and being bossed around by five or six people other than his own mom. He has enjoyed the bonding time with Jeremy, though, watching him play video games and boxing in the garage. It’s a new experience for Jeremy to have another male in the house. Dante is growing up way too fast.

Constance is probably giving me the hardest time. She can be so sweet and cute and funny at times, and at others so frustrating. She is having a hard time using her words, and she isn’t too fond of sharing. Constance has discovered Dora and Diego and can’t get enough of them. She is learning her letters and loves counting. She also loves playing with her little dolls and animals and dressing up.

Emily keeps changing. It is so fun to see her personality emerge as she gets older and learns how to express herself. She is walking pretty well, now. She was walking along the other day, and she would stop occasionally to clap for herself. Emily is also climbing, like on the baby gate. She loves pressing buttons, especially on the TV and surround sound. She enjoys playing peek-a-boo and waving goodbye and squealing. Being the youngest of eight, she has to make herself heard. She still only has two teeth, though. It’s weird!

In order to better prepare to support my little family, I have transferred to WGU (Western Governors University), which is an online, fully-accredited university. I will be taking classes in Early Childhood Education, and I will graduate with my teaching certificate. I hope to open up a preschool or a private elementary school (birth through 3rd grade) out of my home. That way I can still teach my kids, as I’ve been planning to do, and take on enough students to support us. I am hoping to graduate in about a year. I also volunteer in Dante’s classroom once a week. It has been fun getting to know his teacher and the other kids in his class. I have been getting involved in the PTA and am actually the chair of an art competition. It isn’t much work, but it should be rewarding.

So we are all getting settled in our new home and into our routines. We have a lot of fun things planned. As long as the passes are okay, we will go to the Tri-Cities for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I also hope to visit once a month. Dante has invited a few new friends to celebrate his birthday on Halloween. Dante had a field trip last week, and has another one planned to the zoo in the spring. Things will be busy, but I think that we will be able to make time to stay close as a family. And as always, we are happy for any mail, email, or calls to keep in touch.