This is a picture of Paul and me from last night. We ended up going to an Andre Rieu concert here in town. We hadn't planned to go. Paul had called a couple of weeks ago and found out that ticket prices started at $47, which
seemed a little pricey. In fact, just a week ago we had commented to eachother that for that kind of money, we could spend the night in a hotel away from the kids! But then Tuesday, I got a call from Clear Channel radio telling me that I had won two tickets to the concert! So, I called Paul to let him know that Sat. was going to be a date night and while we were talking, he got a call from Clear Channel letting him know that HE had won 2 tickets as well! We had signed up at the state fair last month. What are the odds of THAT happening? Well, actually, as the week wore on discovered a few other people in my circle of acquaintances had also won tickets, so I'm guessing the odds were pretty good!We're kind of assuming that they were trying to fill up the auditorium and gave Clear Channel many tickets to give away. We gave our other set of tickets to a friend of mine and her husband.I actually wasn't too sure about the concert. My tastes are more plebeian in nature (you might remember how I referenced a rather crass Toby Keith song in my last post!). I can stand to listen to classical music for a short while, but the yawns kick in if I listen to it for too long. And then as we were walking into the concert I got a little more nervous because I saw all these white heads going in - it was sure to be a snooze fest!
But it was amazing! I never knew classical music could be so much fun! At one point they dumped "snow" on some of the audience and balloons fell from the ceiling later in the program. The 2 1/2 hours just flew by. I could have easily listened for another 2 1/2! So who knows - perhaps we are classier folk than I realized!
I don't have a lot to report on from last week. This next week will be a busy one, though, that's for sure. Friday night, the youth group is attending Will's game in Pleasantville. Then, they are traipsing over to our house for food, then back to the church for an all-nighter. So, you know what I'll be doing all week long! Yeah, I see some definite cooking and cleaning in my future! We have been told that at last count, they are expecting 25-30 kids to come over. I'm wondering how they are all going to fit into my house! Will and I hammered out a menu this week. Tomorrow I shop for the food and then I guess I'll be cooking for rest of the week.
Next Saturday, the day after the youth event, we are headed to Council Bluffs. Paul's nephew is getting married and, while the wedding is taking place at the courthouse, they're having a big reception afterwards. I would be more excited if the bride and groom hadn't been living together for the past two years and didn't already have a child together. Yes, it's good they are doing the right thing, but I'm thinking a quieter, more intimate wedding would be more appropriate, under the circumstances. We are going for Paul's brother and wife because we really like them and want to support them. I know they are relieved that their son is finally marrying his girlfriend. So, we'll show up, give them some money, eat some cake, and spend most of the evening sighing, hoping against hope (and praying) that our children make better choices when they reach adulthood.
I found out this week that I am going to be writing regularly for Jewels for Encouragement. I figured that was the case, but it was nice to get the official say-so on it. My posts will show up the 27th of every month, but I'll put a note here so that you all can view them if you want to.
Life is speeding up, even faster than it was, if that is possible. I looked at the calendar and realized that we do not have a single Saturday free until maybe in November. Wow! And that's the month with two birthdays in it. I think I had better be taking my vitamins! And guess who is planning the town's annual bonfire/Halloween party this year? Yep...the people who normally do it don't want to. So, it was going to be scrapped. I know the kids really look forward to that every year and it's so good for neighborly unity. So, our city clerk and I are taking it on this year. I'll let you know how that goes!
I ordered a manual this week in hopes that it will help David with some of his learning problems. I am just convinced that he has both a visual/motor brain processing delay, as well as an auditory processing problem. I remember when he was 7 and we had him evaluated by the AEA that they did dx him with several learning delays. I kind of brushed the whole thing off since their solution was to bring him to school every day for reading class. That kind of defeated the whole purpose of homeschooling and it took him until he was 9 1/2 before he learned to read, but he did learn. And he's actually a pretty good reader today. But he has some other areas of struggle. They're not terrible and he's really a pretty good student. But they aren't getting better and I'm afraid that if we don't address them, they could have life-long impacts on his learning and eventually his vocation. We have a learning center in Des Moines that I have often wished we could take David to, but I know it's frightfully expensive. My chiropractor told me how he and his wife spent over $30,000 there getting their son's difficulties taken care of. We can't do that. But I did run across this manual in a magazine and finally ordered it recently. Now I'm studying it.
I was kind of encouraged last night while talking to my friend who met us at the concert so we could give them our extra tickets to find out that she is using the same materials with her daughter. It helped to validate my decision to spend $65 that we really could not afford right now. The book came and I was kind of disappointed at how small it was, but I'm reading it now and trying to gain an understanding of the exercises I'll need to do with David in order to re-train his brain. If it works, then I think I'll do some of it with Ben, too. I'm thinking that I need to get David on some specific vitamins, too, to help his brain function better. I'm kind of excited because David is such a creative boy and I know he's capable of so much more than what he can express right now. The manual explains that when you have a processing disorder it's like there is a wall between the right and left sides of the brain. The exercises in the manual help create a "bridge" to cross between the sides.
Well, tomorrow is my shopping day and I need to get some things ready for that, along with cleaning up the house. Will dumped a pile of laundry in front of the washer and informed me that it is all stuff that needs to be washed and dried by tomorrow's game. I've been thinking that it is past time that that boy learn how to do his own laundry. What do you think?
I'll probably write again in a week or so, post-youth group activity and wedding, so I'll have some things to report on. I'll probably be exhausted!
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