Christmas Present!

 

So, for Christmas, the kids wanted another day at Escape theme park. Well, we managed to go one beyond that with a 2day-1night camping deal. It was difficult to get solid information about the basecamp camping, but we did our best and managed to end up only slightly overprepared.

We were given a tent within the theme park to leave our overnight gear while we played away the first day, and then we were escorted to basecamp for the evening.  

 Jasmin began the day with being the first person up the hardest wall of the Gecko Tower. Grace, Dad, and Aiden didn't make it. Grace got about 2/3rds of the way up, and even Jasmin had to take a few tries.  Mom stuck with her personal goal of making it to the top for the easiest wall - something she hadn't managed the first time we came to Escape. We left the Gecko Tower once our arms and fingers were trembling from the effort of hanging onto the wall - and went straight on to the main business of the day which was Monkey Business: the ropes courses. While we were waiting in line (the park was super busy!) Aiden lined up to try being an acrobat - they coach you through 3 trapeze moves.  He did pretty well - since he gets lots of bar practice at home :)

And the rest of us tried out stilt walking. It's super hard! Mom got the farthest on her first go, but with practice, Grace came close to beating her.  Most of the time, we couldn't even get up and standing, let alone moving, though Mom did make three small steps.

We did two of the hardest and highest courses in Monkey Business, but no cameras were allowed to come with us, so no pictures. Aiden, being the lightest, actually got stuck when he slowed down too quickly on a zipline. The rescuer was clearly jaded with the number of people who got stuck in a day, showing the girls how to do a rescue themselves next time!

We discovered, to our dismay, that the in-park food court is now only A&W, instead of the roti we were looking forward to. Not only so, but also there were only set combos to choose from so we ended up with 5 bottles of unwanted soft drinks. It was interesting watching the kids' reactions to root beer! The unanimous conclusion is that it is way too sweet, and tastes like bad toothpaste. So only 2 out of 5 bottles got drunk and the rest we returned.

After lunch we changed and entered the water side of the park. By this time we had more or less played ourselves out, and the girls were more interested in finding a quite corner of the splash park area to hash over book worlds, plots, and ideas. Aiden, Mom and Dad tried out a few more rides/play places. 

At closing time we threaded our way through the lack of clear communication and uncertainties to get to our night tents.  Unfortunately, their main basecamp area was not yet open, so we were essentially camping in a parking lot area - not exactly what we were expecting... but it did mean there were no mosquitoes to deal with, which was a small bonus. There were quite a few families camping overnight. The service was slow and sporadic, but we got tents, air mattresses, fire wood, BBQ grill, the fire started for us, table and stools, and even our own moveable lamppost lighting.  The lighting was very convenient - until there wasn't a way to turn them off all night! All the same, we all slept pretty well. Except mom, who kept waking up with the light and her aching back...

As usual, Aiden was the first up in the morning. And, very Aiden-like, made quick friends with a boy in the next campsite and so was happily occupied for the rest of the morning until the park opened. Dad did us a breakfast of scrambled eggs and pancakes of sorts as Mom was a bit too stiff to be bending over the fire.

And then we joined the park fun again for the day. We went straight to Monkey Business to finish the final level 3 course before the lineup got too long.  But there were much fewer people in the park so it was a much nicer experience our second day. A few times Mom's leg refused to do it's work, so after completing that course, we opted to explore parts of the park we hadn't done the day before.  We headed to Flying Lemur - lots of high ziplining.  But Aiden weighed in too light, so Mom and Aiden tried out Jumping Jack, And a scoped out a few other ones to try later with the girls (the weight difference between Mom and Aiden was too much for the Kite rider, the line up for rope swing was long, etc.) He worked on his flips at the Jump Park area, and we got to take in an acrobatic show while waiting for the others to find us after Flying Lemur. 

Once we managed to get back together again (Dad did Jumping Jack, the girls did the rope swing, Mom ran around trying to find everyone...), we had lunch (getting mineral water instead of root beer) and went into the water park. Dad, Mom, and Aiden did the longest waterslide in the world while the girls opted to climb the Gecko Tower one last time. Mom got separated again when she was told she'd picked up the wrong tube for the longest waterslide ride and had to go back to switch it. So she got a lone chair lift ride up to the top and a quiet solitary 1,111m waterslide down again. Excellent views, but much more fun when you can share it!

Back together again, we opted to go for the fast dry slide down the "mountain." Unfortunately, the wait time was huge - which you don't find out until after the chairlift ride up so you're kinda stuck... the ride is a lot of fun - sort of like loud, dry tobogganing - but the wait ate up too much of our afternoon. We got down just in time to try out the Banana Flip slide... Grace, Aiden, and Dad tried it again. Mom attempted pictures, but it is so fast, this one of Dad is the only one that is not all splashes!

Then we did a family race on side by side water toboggan tracks. Mom went the farthest, Dad finished first, Aiden nearly took off from the water going over the bumps... fun. But we only did it once 😁 Then we went down all the "ordinary" tube waterslides in various pairs, until our legs were jelly from climbing all the stairs! Dad and Grace also tried the more daring loop-d-loop and dead-drop slides. Grace got stuck in the loop and had to be rescued. Before closing, Aiden challenged Dad to races on the short water obstacle course, where they collected a new bunch of scrapes and plastic burns :)

We left quite satisfied we did the park justice, nicely tired, and happily not sunburnt.  It was unexpectedly a very good 2-day holiday: as we were approaching home, the scenery had that familiar-strange welcoming feel. A salmon chickpea supper rounded it out just nicely.

Thank you Imma, NiNi and Yea Yea!

Pieces of Christmas Week

Grace and Jasmin working on a video for a present - daily. hourly. still. On Christmas Eve. They joined with some friends to put together a Christmas video. It's going to be good, but it has meant they went from being really busy finishing school to really busy finishing this project.

Zoom calls as a family to family far away. Less of a celebration theme this year, as Omicron is ripping through Canada and has scrapped many travel and get together party plans. Still, it is good to see each other and share news. And next week we'll have happier news to share once we've got presents to talk about. 😏

A Physiotherapy appointment, in which I learn how to stand up. Apparently I've been doing that wrong for a long time, compensating for a weakened right side. I got odd looks from kids and husband alike, when I showed them what I can't do 😄 It was a particularly useful session, explaining many quirks and movement limitations of mine.

Fudge monster sort-of disasters.  We attempted make cute fudge monsters because Jasmin (who has all sorts of nicknames for Aiden) sometimes calls Aiden fudge monster, and uses it as a frustration exclamation.  The fudge didn't work so well in our climate, and remained pliable even after freezing for a few hours. And the icing refused to squeeze prettily out of the icing bag. And I couldn't find edible googly eyes. But... they taste good...and look sufficiently monster-like... Just not very cute. And definitely not like Jasmin's quick sketch imagining them!

Lots of Lego imagination games. Aiden and his friend are thoroughly enjoying their uninterrupted days of play. After some encouragement, Lego has again taken their fancy for play - once the allotted computer play time is used up, of course! Now the rest of us have to stretch our tolerance for a living room that is covered in Lego creations and the dangers of loose Lego though...

Jasmin and I finally got to the flower market! So we redid the balcony garden, adding more splashes of color and replacing the plants that we lost to various insect and disease invasions.

Neighbourhood caroling. This evening we walked through our neighbourhood and sang carols. Since caroling is not a thing here, we didn't stop and sing at houses, but just walked and sang. We thought it really ought to be a thing to carol here, where open windows and courtyard dinners create many more chances of people hearing you sing!  And then, since we had songs in our songbook left when we got back home, we walked and sang through the halls of our building as well. All in all we walked and sang for just over an hour! We went to bed a little hoarse (except Grace who can sing forever 😉)

Shared feast leftovers. Some friends of ours hosted a catered party and gifted us with the leftovers! What with an evening fogging (for which we eat out to stay away until the chemical smell fades) and other food gifts, I've had a break from cooking full meals even!

School's Done!

 This week has been all about getting our school done so we can have a clear Christmas break. It took A LOT of work - the girls finished their last piece after 10pm Friday night! Of course, that means there isn't exactly lots of enthusiasm for holiday planning at the moment...

Still, this morning we got up and went to a free rock climbing session. It was at a different venue than last time, and fewer climbers in the session we signed up for, so the kids came away with shaking arms and hands with hardly a grip left in them from all the trips up the wall.  They also got some encouraging remarks of their climbing skills from the team. There is hope that a kids climbing team will be forming in the new year with coaching for skill and speed improvement. We hope to join if cost and location is compatible with our location and situation.

A few other things than school work did happen also: 

Grace and Mom attended the 9 Carols and Lessons evening at a downtown Anglican church, which has sort of become a tradition. The choir singing was amazing in that they remained masked and there were no mikes but we could still hear them, and even the words were pretty clear.  Afterwards, Mom took Grace for her weekly date meal.

Tuesday night we had a new family over: one with a possible PhD advisor link, two young kids, and an interest in worship studies and music.  So Dad and Grace had good talks - naturally interrupted with fielding their baby's and preschooler's needs! - about the Gift and worship respectively. Aiden surprised us all by, after discovering the kids weren't interested to play with him, went to bed and fell asleep about 7:30pm!

We attended a drop-in Christmas party of former missions colleagues on Thursday, which happened to be Dad's birthday, so we celebrated with him in grander style than usual. Mom had made him an experimental cake (attempting to match a family joke) that turned out very blue... but we shared it with everyone anyhow, and they sang for him.

What makes Christmas?

Nearly two weeks into December

What signs are there that it is Christmas time?

Snowy days?

Christmas lights, trees, music, and decorations all through town?

Sweet treat baking and giving and receiving?

Feasting with friends and families?

Messages of anticipation, declaration, and celebration at church?

Nativity scenes?

The whirlwind of gift planning, buying, preparing, giving?

It's interesting that this year we each of us seem to be content to anticipate and celebrate in the quiet hum of normal. Other than our Advent calendar wall and a small nativity scene, no one is interested in decorations. It feels rather awkward and sad sometimes when you think of the thousands of Christmas traditions, activities, decorations, and tidbits there are out there and how full and significant they can make Christmas feel. And yet, are when they are missing, is Christmas missing or just different? Even so many years of Christmas (9?) away from Canada homes, still these thoughts arise :) 

Our signs of Christmas time are similar yet quite different from those above!

The crunch of school work to make space for a Christmas break

The need for a family calendar on the wall to keep straight the small flurry of special events, hosting, and invitations (that mostly have nothing to do with Christmas! Such as a free rock wall climbing promotional event, Chinese exams, etc.)

The gold-faced red hikers plodding up our Advent "tree"/mountain/wall

The new and old Advent/Christmas song playlists

Advent candles on Sundays and a pewter nativity that is still hunting for a resting place in our home

A single discussion and decision on what to use our Christmas gift money on - and we're done with Christmas shopping

Baking and boxing cookies for our neighbors

Preparations for our Christmas feast on the beach

And in the listing, contentment comes again.

Advent beginnings

A relatively rare occurrence: we went on a date!  Sunday we were going to check out a new beach together as a family, but Aiden got a lost minute invitation to play soccer with some friends and the girls decided they'd rather flop and read. Surprisingly (as usually this would mean we'd all flop/sleep/read), Michael took me up on the offer to go anyway - and added in a meal out as well. So, in true us fashion, we biked to the beach, had a quick swim in the coming storm-stirred waves, biked on to Tesco to change, and walked to a nearby Japanese restaurant (the kids don't like eating Japanese much). It was a lovely relaxing evening: the restaurant was quiet and nearly empty but small enough that it didn't feel awkward. A most delightful way to begin Advent!
 

Then on Wednesday we began our Advent tracking in earnest. We've chosen to walk through the Songs of Ascent for Advent - rather unusual as there's not really a focus on Christmas or even Jesus, but the psalms do fit in with the journey and waiting/longing aspects of Advent.

Already our family whiteboard wall is filling up with Christmas activities and invitations! There is an extra thrill to this after such a long time of isolating lockdowns and restrictions. We are finding it a bit more of an adjustment than expected to add in these extras, but more than glad to, of course.

Things Keeping us busy and a running poem

A few things that kept us busy this week:

Zoom calls 

Tracking down music requirements and the books to fulfill them

History projects

Failed Science experiments

Breaking and fixing the toilet

Surprisingly frequent power cuts and the resulting computer difficulties

The beginnings of Advent shopping

Dealing with sudden unexplained day of violent vertigo

Christmas recording with friends

Discovering new sneakers are not running compatible the hard way - sore feet and aching ankles

Reading aloud The Ship of Adventure and Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion

Weaving an Advent for the family from the Songs of Ascent

Drowning in lovely songs putting together a playlist for Advent and Christmas (making us miss participating in choir presentations!)

A girls' date at our favorite afternoon tea restaurant

Chiropractor and Physiotherapist appointments

Music lessons and practices

...

Morning Run in Thanksgiving

It's dimly dawn when I awake

And while quite light when I begin

Still freshly cool from nightly rain

Thank you God

My heart is full: each step I take

Becomes a prayer of small delights

The tree that smells of Earl Grey Tea

Thank you God

With birds a twitter and insect hum

A happy background song

In trees so green and very lush

Thank you God

A quiet road that's roofed in green

The hill that gives my eyes a feast

The drifting clouds with rising sun

Thank you God

Neighbors' nods and silent grins

Pairs and singles, groups of walkers

A cheery group of line dancers

Thank you God

The bent old man who cheers me on

The pulled along - a dog "walker"

The group of friends all a-chatter

Thank you God

The heady pockets of scented air

Hibiscus, blue pea, frangipani

Jasmine, and others I don't know

Thank you God

A phone to know the time is done

Misty mountains over sea

This my view when I'm home

Thank you God

Five Minute Friday - Range

 What a range of topics covered in conversation this week in our house!

Advent themes, Christmas songs, gifts, thoughts, and plans:
    Not exactly very focused, as there is still the sense of time to put off the hard work of planning... and yet, the unease of it's coming soon and we ought to be ready and we're not...

Boy's talk of Minecraft, sword fights, game plans, character antics:
   Boisterous and loud - hearable from down the hall - animated and exuberant!

Creative content planning:
    Endless chatter of home-grown character behavior, history, world building

Dizzying discussions of requirements and equipment:
    The girls planning and preparing for the next level music video production

Eek! Browsing university choices and program requirements:
    How each might change our return to Canada in timing, where we choose to live... (isn't it way too soon to think about this?!?)

Friends leaving - again. 
    All the whys, whens, hows, where-tos, and mourning the loss of yet another family of friends

Growing girls:
    Dreaming of where God will take them with the skills and gifts He's given them in writing, drawing, singing...

Hundreds more topics mundane and rare:
    Ink types, Jesus, Keeping pace, Linkword French mnemonics, Math, Note taking, Open church -yeay!, Physio results, Questions to ask admissions, Remedies for various plant ailments, Shades of green and blue, Tennis, University experiences, Vaccines, Worlds for book characters, X..., Y..., Zen!

The Week After

Opening the door home

Unpacking and returning things to their places

Putting a meal on the table from freezer and cupboards

Inspecting pets and plants

The happy sense of homecoming, belonging, finishing a job well done

Restarting household systems

Picking up the reigns of shopping, cooking, cleaning

Getting back into school slowly

Arranging in person music lessons as they are now allowed

Waking up sick - Dad, then Mom

Thinking of the next things to plan

Timing suddenly seems so short - Christmas, second semester, graduation

Remembering forgotten math

Rummaging for Chinese vocabulary for class resumed

Life back to normal 

Holiday!

Bamboo Cottage

A God-picked place for us!

Tucked out of the way in the quiet green

Laid back and casual 

Communal atmosphere with a common area

4 boys for Aiden to play with

Shared BBQ meals

Better than a hotel

Beach

Not quite pristine, but close

Pretty much all to ourselves

Unfortunately without shade

Starfish, hermit crabs, brilliant blue kingfishers

Fantastic clouds in a blue sky

Sky Bridge

Cable car up just over 700 m on a kinda cloudy day

Spectacular views all around

Walk the bridge between mountains

Cooling breezes, not thick with humid heat

Wide open views of rain forested mountains, open sea, islands,

The mysterious place where sea and sky meet and mingle

Surprisingly cheap ice creams at the top

3D Art Museum

Lots of pictures to take, poses to strike

Remembering and recreating poses of our Bangkok Art in Paradise visit

A rather cheesy Martian roller coaster IMAX show

Subway lunch in an empty restaurant

Aiden still has an aversion for museums apparently

He was done way before we were

Underwater World

A down day idea, something we could walk to

An amusing seal feeding show

A "broken" penguin that couldn't remain upright in the water

Ginormous fish

Beautiful, mysterious, always happy rays

And then birds and other creatures definitely not found underwater!

Snorkeling

Rather disappointing because of the time of year

Still, we swam with clouds of fish

Seven Wells Waterfalls

600+ steps to reach the top - not exactly a hike!

But well worth the trip

Mountain fresh water crystal clear

Rock water paths worn waterslide smooth

Finding sunglasses in the deep pools along with darting fish

Swooping down the flow of water into the pools

Exploring, climbing, sliding, swimming

Our best day yet,

Mangrove Tour

Speed boat whizzing through the mangroves

Aiden counting garbage pollution :(

Dad being pickpocketed by an audaciously bold monkey

Stalactites that seek the light, guided by algae

Watching a mixed group of eagles soar and swoop over the river close to our boat

Feeding schools of brightly colored fish - even a parrot fish

Swimming off an island cove

Feeding a ray at the fish farm

SkyTrex

The kids' chosen activity with saved up Christmas/birthday gifts

Just under 2 hours spent in the tree tops

Navigating a ropes course

Ziplines, ladders, monkey bars, tightropes, nets, and other various challenges

And then a walk for cheap ice cream

That turned into to a hunt for shelter from the rain

(We were very thankful that our start time for SkyTrex had been moved forward)

And ended with some shared Tea Live drinks.

Hanging Out

Aiden blowing through 3 audio books in the hammocks

Grace and Jasmin world building for their book characters
Mom crocheting

Dad talking with the 'man of peace' and getting to share our Great Hope

Milo and tea as often as we wanted

Cereal for breakfast!

Dad keeping the holiday full for Mom by cooking instead of her

Searching for the food we wanted and finding instead whole stores devoted to chocolate

And restaurants of Iraninan, Mexican, Italian, American, German food!

Eating well: shwarama, burgers, fish and chips, BBQ, ice cream, chocolate... 

definitely a place catering to international tourists!

One Adventurous supper: outside under a tent in a very present thunder storm that took out the lights even... using water bottles and phones for our table lights

And on the last day we found our looked for food: cheap, delicious, street-side Chinese hawker meals..

The Week Before

Monday: 22km for Grace and Mom for x-rays for chiropractor
Tuesday: 2km for market trip for Aiden and Mom, 10km for Grace and Mom to see chiropractor
Wednesday: 8km for Mom for physio
Thursday: 22km for Jasmin and Mom for Orthodontics' appointment for Jasmin, another 8km for Mom to get x-rays for chiropractor because of a misunderstanding
Friday: none!
Saturday: Grace, Jasmin, and Mom out (but not by bike)
Sunday: 10km for Grace and Mom to the chiropractor one last time.

84km of biking this week for Mom. Not bad - almost pre-pandemic levels 😏. It stands out now though, as a highly unusual week of outings. And all the more so as Monday we are leaving for a holiday... Squeezing in trip planning, packing, arranging plant and pet care, everything else that goes with a holiday away, AND enough schoolwork done that we don't get behind has been a little intense. It's being quite the week! It will make the holiday all the more sweet...

Some Poetry - from Jasmin this time

 I Looked and I Saw

I looked and I saw

A man

With healing hands —

Hands of a King

I looked and I saw

A son

With love for me —

Love that adopts

I looked and I saw

A lion

With roaring call—

Calling back all

I looked and I saw

A rabbi

With humble words —

Humble yet strong

I looked and I saw

A criminal

With false charges—

Charged and condemned 

And I looked and I saw

A lamb

With splattered coat —

Coat crimson red

And I looked and I saw

A tomb

With broken body —

Body laid dead

But then I looked and then I saw

A stone

With empty grave —

He rose again

So I looked and I spoke

A tale

With redemption —

Redemption for all

Dark, Light

Dark

Dark wails echo

Dark wails echo down halls

Dark wails echo down halls, haunting me

Dark wails echo down halls, haunting me, taunting me

Dark wails echo down halls, haunting me, taunting me — but remember

Dark wails echo down halls, haunting me, taunting me — but remember the light

Wails echo down halls, haunting me, taunting me — but remember the light

Down halls, haunting me, taunting me — but remember the light

Haunting me, taunting me — but remember the light

Taunting me — but remember the light

But remember the light

The light

Light

FirstHope

A tender white flower opens,

Glassy petals unfurling

Peeking through drifts of black,

And so First Hope is growing

To whom do I owe?

For whom do I seek?

My heart flickers, flickers,

My feet patter, patter,

But to where or for what

I do not know.

To whom do I yearn?

For what do I pine?

My voice sweeter, sweeter,

My thirst bitter, bitter,

But for what that can quench it

I do not know.

To whom do I fight?

For what do I long?

My words sharper, sharper

My temper looser, looser

But what kind words can soothe

I do not know.

To whom am I for?

For what am I worth?

My soul deeper, deeper

My will weaker, weaker

But to Him whom I am promised

I do not know.

A small pearl in the black

Tenderly lifted up

Cradled in worn palms

A whisper, “You are found.”

5 "when you..."'s from this week

When you assign work and then leave...😄 but not bad when 2 months ago they knew no French

 

When you don't want to take no for the answer...

you end up spending a lot of time and money on health care. This week Grace and Mom have been to a chiropractor, Mom to a physiotherapist, Jasmin and Grace to a dentist. These took up roughly 6 hours our our time this week, and unfortunately also broke up our days oddly so it felt like it took much more time than that. But, hopefully we are now on track for eliminating some troubling hip pain for Grace, discovering better habits/routines/movement for Mom to avoid further spine degeneration, and another year of healthy teeth. It seems like a sudden unusual load of health related outings, but the alternative of learning to live with things as is isn't an acceptable option. And now is a good time as healthcare here is no linger overrun with Covid cases, reliable, and not too expensive. Next on the list is some x-rays for Grace to aid the chiropractor during our next visit, and an expedition to the nearest vaccination center (which isn't that close). 

When you confidently try out a new hiking trail with no guide...

you switch to simply trying to find a trail that doesn't dwindle to nothing, you head for the waterfall sound (because who doesn't like waterfalls?), and you end up on the wrong side of the fence at a water treatment/catchment place.

Thankfully the gate was only wired shut not padlocked so we didn't have to climb the fence or fight our way back through the jungle.

When you book a flight after nearly two years of pandemic...

you have to be willing to navigate the ever changing rules on health procedures and an overburdened call center for when a flight is summarily canceled. Since we booked our flights a week ago, the Covid mitigation rules have changed for the airline, public transport to the airport, and for our destination at least once each, and there is little certainty over what some of the rules mean. Also, we received an email yesterday informing us our flight home had been canceled for "operational reasons" and if we wanted to do anything other than swallow the loss and rearrange different transport, we had to "talk to" the airline's chatbot. That was an exercise in patience!

 

After entering our details carefully three times, Mom was informed "she" couldn't help me and I'd have to wait in line for a live person chat. No problem, as that would be preferred anyhow. Except that there were 284 people waiting in line ahead of Mom... and the chatbot politely informed Mom she had to keep watch because there is no advanced warning that it is your turn. Over an hour later (but with only 150 people ahead in line), without warning, chatbot informs Mom what the live chat opening hours are and gives options to send an email about the request. As this was slap-dab in the middle of the stated opening hours, this was rather ambiguous if Mom was still in line or not. With some hesitation, she decides to send the email. After being asked again for our account and flight details  - twice (couldn't it remember?) -along comes more ambiguous instructions and questions. Again account and flight info has to be painstakingly entered. And then at the end of the sequence.... did anything happen? There is no indication at all if it worked or not, so Mom scraps that session and tries again. But still chatbot cannot verify our account or flight and can't help. A few more exasperated yet tenacious tries later, the chatbot did work as it was supposed to and it was a fairly painless process of rebooking. Lessons to apply elsewhere: one person's clarity is not everyone's - there were so many ambiguous choices, questions, instructions! - and don't try an automated system directly after a flight cancellation - a whole plane load of people are doing the same thing. And two bonuses: we now have a 1 day longer holiday, and after having entered our booking details over 6 times, we now have them memorized...

When you book a holiday in November...

you have to get ahead in work so as to not come home and have to catch up. And that calls for some pretty heavy work days for everyone! Dad is hardly to be seen except at supper time, and even then his mind is still more than half on the work projects he's trying to finish before we go. The girls are seemingly constantly at their computers typing away at some school project or paper. Aiden is not getting off to play until 3pm most days. And Mom is juggling the faster flow of work to be evaluated, math to be corrected, to do lists to be reviewed. What with the uptick in outings for healthcare this week and the extra holiday planning and preparation tasks, it's been rather a challenge to keep up and manage to run the household too.

A Blep Week - with Thanksgiving

Blep [blˈɛp] the perfect word for this week. It normally means when an animal's tongue sticks out of their mouth when their mouth is closed. But in our house, it has come to be first an exclamation of "I've really had enough of this/ I'm tired/ Ugh!" And this week has been full of that sentiment - enough so Jasmin began personifying blep in sketches on her math pages...

Saturday Jasmin and Mom left at 11:20am for what was supposed to be a relatively quick errand. Because it was expected to be quick, they took no water, snacks, or things to do. Five hours later they returned. Not how anyone wants to spend Saturday!  But the errand is done and we only have to repeat the process once more. I'm thinking we'll avoid Saturdays next time...

1. We were successful despite crazy wait times and convoluted processes.
2. Mom and Jasmin were together so had someone to talk to and could problem solve together.

Monday's MRI results were highly unsatisfactory. Not for being undefined or inconclusive, but rather because the results were "You have somewhat advanced degenerative disk disease with some nerve impingement (as in, this part of your spine looks like you're 60+). It is irreversible and there isn't anything we can do about it until the pain is unmanageable." And all the suggestions given for improving the situation and putting off seemingly inevitable pain I'm already doing. So good for me (for already doing all the right things) and not good for me (that there isn't something more concrete I could do to slow down the inevitable). Blep. And yet, thanksgiving:

3. Clear results.
4. I'm not in pain despite evidence of nerve impingement.
5. Treatment will not infringe on our upcoming holiday.
6. I've been doing the right things.

Tuesday I ended up going again to the hospital to decipher why the CD of my MRI appeared blank at home. Blep. Another trip out, wasting the better part of an afternoon. But, I was taken seriously and courteously helped to figure out the problem. Another type of CD was burned for me free of charge when it was predicted my DVD player couldn't read the correct format. So I was successful.

7. Ease of travel, despite pandemic rules and no car of our own.
8. I didn't have to push for help, but was willingly helped to find the problem and a workable solution even though it was my hardware that was the problem.
9. Success.

Wednesday was math wrangling. Both Jasmin and Aiden are part of a pilot project for a revamped math curriculum. It has been a rocky start as it is VERY different than what we know and love. After a page full of newly minted cute blep sketches and more confusion than understanding yet again, we came to the conclusion Wednesday that the revamped material not worth the continued fight for Jasmin. Blep. 

10. Frustration came out in creative sketching not bad attitude.
11. We had a math curriculum in reserve for just this scenario.
12. Jasmin's personified bleps are cute! She even animated one

Thursday was just a grey day inside and out. Blep.

13. We have a holiday to look forward to.
14. News that we are now allowed to have visitors so we can resume in-person music lessons after our holiday.

Thanksgiving Thoughts - Grace

 It's All An Amazing Gift

It's all an amazing gift of grace
A gift — that we could even run this race
We couldn't run to the holy place
So God has given us the gift of grace

It's all an amazing gift of love
That Jesus Himself left the honor above
Allowing Himself to be scourged, mocked and shoved
In God's sacrificial gift of love

It's all an amazing gift of good
The Jesus, the Righteous, unblemished, stood
And took both the standard and curse we could
Not reach, giving us His gift of good

It's all an amazing gift of peace
To know all our striving now may cease
And from every sin we've been released
Since God has given us the gift of peace

It's all an amazing gift of rest
For Jesus will stand with us through the tests
By Him, overcomers will be blessed
We trust in our God; His gift of rest

It's all an amazing gift of faith
That if we believe Jesus died and was raised
We can enter into the Father's embrace
Accepted as righteous by God's gift of faith

It's all an amazing gift of hope
In Him we overcome, we don't just cope
For Jesus has won and will bring us home
This promise is God's clear gift of hope

It's all an amazing gift of joy
Our God's got a plan He will employ
And one day what's evil will be destroyed
Then we'll be with God — His gift of joy!

It's all an amazing gift of life
Still renewed, day by day, gifted strength through the strife
And being made perfect to be His wife
Forever with God, Christ's gift of life!