Joy Family Update

Here's an update on what has been happening in our world. Starting with:

KATE: Kate started her second semester of her Sophomore year a few weeks back. She has made some changes this semester after her GPA took a hit last semester due to focusing her attention on outside interests. So, while she was here at Christmas we sat down with her and agreed that she would quit her job at Abercrombie and Fitch AND give up her sorority. Unlike other majors, her GPA HAS to be above 3.5 in order to get into the 2nd part of her nursing program. She has this semester and next to complete her pre-recquisites for the Bachelor of Nursing major and then she will apply for part two which is the actual nursing program. It is very competitive and a low GPA is NOT AN OPTION. She chose to re take 2 classes that she took last semester to improve on the grade she received in those classes. This puts her behind a semester now and instead of graduating in 4 years, now it looks like 4 1/2- 5 years. We've agreed to support her for 5 years of college and then it will be Kyle's turn.  Kate was very saddened to leave her sorority as it was a very positive experience for her being a part of Pi Phi. However the time commitment is huge as well as the financial commitment. The dues alone are ridiculously high and then there is all of the social events in which many of them require semi formal wear and business attire. My Dad put it best when he said it is like being in a country club. If you can afford it and have the time, great...Kate however is not in a season of life where the country club lifestyle works! This semester she is taking 5 classes and 3 labs. It is her largest load yet, however she knows that she needs to step it up a notch and is committed to getting her 3.8 GPA back that she had prior to last semester. Kate continues to enjoy being with her cousin Brandy on a daily basis. Brandy is Kevin's sister's daughter. She too is a nursing major at the same university. Although not room mates, they are either together at Kate's apt or at Brandys. They study together, eat together and occasionally play together and are the very best of friends. Knowing that Kate is with her cousin brings Kevin and I a great sense of comfort. No one has your back like family. We know that Brandy will look after Kate and vice versa. The girls are heading our way on a road trip in March for Spring Break. They will be here for a week. We look very forward to having the girls here!

KYLE: Our move last Summer has been tough on Kyle. After being bullied in the public middle school (so serious that a death threat was made against him), we pulled him out and placed him in a Charter School. The school  offers several programs including his which is a "hybrid" program that consists of 2 days a week in school and 3 days a week of home school. I would be lying if I said I love home schooling Kyle. Kyle is a VERY social kid and not having the day in, day out social interactions with other kids is really taking it's toll on him. Additionally I am not current with my algebra skills and really struggle with helping him in that area. Also, there are days that "student and teacher" butt heads and that can be stressful. I am committed however to seeing this through and in four short months he will be done with 8th grade. Regarding the socialization issues: with Kate being away at school, he does not have any siblings to hang out with, so being here at home 5 days a week becomes quite boring for him most days. Up until December he had a small group of boys in our neighborhood that he would hang out with at the park next to our house. Unfortunately though, one of the boys in that group spread the word that Kyle refused to fight the bullies at the middle school and soon he was being teased and called a "wimp" and when he would go to the park to hang out, his friends would just walk away from him. Seeing him suffer yet another social set back here was heart breaking. Academically he is doing well. His grades are fantastic and he is moving through the curriculm that they have provided with ease. Kevin is committed to helping him most nights and some weekend days with the math that I don't understand and can't help him with. He has done a lot of creative writing and his stories are really imaginative and fun to read. Outside of school, we signed him up for CYT (Christian Youth Theatre) which is a very popular and wonderful acting program here in our area. They offer a wide range of acting workshops and the kids can audition and be in 2 musicals per year. Kyle is taking a comedic acting class which he LOVES each Tuesday night. He chose not to try out for the current play until he gets some acting experience under his belt. Additionally he attends a youth group each Wednesday night at our church. He is making a few friends there and has had a new friend Preston over to the house a few times. Kyle and I have started working out together several days a week at our neighborhood gym. We usually go in the afternoons after homeschooling and on the weekends. We have offered him the opportunity to join a team sport, but for now...he is not interested. Instead, we are going to find him a new drum instructor and he will resume private drum lessons. (he took lessons for 2 years in Vegas) Kyle is much more interested in the arts, ie: acting, music etc. than he is in playing sports.

KEVIN: Kevin got some news about his job last week that we are not thrilled about. As it turns out, the military base that he has been working at for the past 6 months over estimated the need for the construction company that Kevin works for to be there until they are farther along with the first project. (he was hired to be part of a 4-6 year contract retrofitting and modernizing the base with a variety of new buildings and infrastructure) They feel that in 3-6 months they will "possibily" be ready for them but not now. As a result, 4 of the 23 people that his company hired for this contract were laid off and the rest of the crew is being re-assigned to other bases. (the government contract is for bases through out our state) So due to this, Kevin has been re assigned to a base that is 60 miles from our home and due to heavy traffic is a hour and 1/2 commute each way. We feel lucky that he was able to get this base as many of the others were sent to bases that are anywhere from 2-7 hours away! The government will only pay per diem for living expenses for those employees for up to 2 months which will put many of these employees in a real bind if this situation goes on 6 months. Kevin tried to negotiate getting more money to  off set the increased cost of gas he will incur (not to mention wear and tear on the car), citing the fact that if we had known this would happen we would have moved closer to that base! Sadly, his request was denied. Today was Kevin's first day commuting to the other base and he left our house at 5:30 am to get to work at 7, worked until 5:45 and returned home at 7:15. He was mentally and physically exhausted of course. His attitude is typical Kevin...positive. He assures me that "God has a plan" and that he knows this will be temporary. In fact, it could VERY temporary...Soon after word got out about the base reassingments, Kevin was approached by his boss regarding another government contract with his company. This contract is a permanent contract. I am going to hold off on giving any details other than that for now, I will only say that he will be interviewing for the position on Friday. I will also reveal that if he gets the position he will work in one of two offices for this branch of the government. One of the offices is 30 miles away which will allow us to stay here in our new town of only 6 months. The other office is  2 hours away in another HIGHLY desirable area in our state. We hate the thought of yet another move, but with Kyle not plugging in here yet socially and having to start a new high school in the fall regardless of whether we stay here or move... and the fact that this is a PERMANENT contract that will allow us to finally put down some roots again...are all highly desirable points. The good news is that regardless, Kevin still has a job and will continue on with the same company regardless of which government contract he goes forward on. I will post any news we get on this, when we find out more.

DEBI: Since Christmas I have been very busy scrap booking. I've scrap booked more in the past month that I think I've every scrap booked. I am on a mission to finally get "caught up" with the yearly books I do so I can start working on a memorial scrap book for my Mom and baby books for the kids. I started scrap booking right after my back surgery in 2002 and have not stopped since. I plan on posting several of the pages I have done on the blog in the near future. In addition to my regular scrap booking, I've been taking classes at a local Scrap book store. I've been learning about vintage scrap booking and love the pages I've done in these classes. Once I get pics on the pages I will share!  I've also continued to love my once a month stamp club and the fun cards and projects I make there once a month. Outside of my creative hobbies, home schooling Kyle and my home making responsibilities...my main focus has been our new church. I absolutely LOVE our church! We have met some amazing people and are making friends. We've been studying the book of Revelation at our Growth Group one night a week. This study is being taught by the head Pastor of our church and it is amazing. We are learning so much about end time prophesies and about how to understand this complex book in the bible. I also attend a women's bible study one morning each week called Women in the Word. Here, I am studying the book of Nehemiah. This study has been awesome as well. I've really loved getting to know many of the women in our church a lot better and am beginning to form friendships. In 2 weeks I'll be going on a Women's Retreat with the church which is at a local mineral hotspring's resort. I'm so looking forward to this time away with my new friends. It's been great being a part of a smaller church and although it is growing quickly, we enjoy getting to know our congregation more intimately and having more direct access to our Pastors. I've been giving a lot of thought to returning to my career in Pharmaceutical Sales that I left back in 2002 due to my back surgery and related disability. I've made huge strides in reducing my pain levels and ability to do more.Fiinancially with Kate in college and another child due to start in 4 years, a second income would be very beneficial. For the time being however I will continue to stay at home in the roll of home maker until we know more about Kevin's job and until Kyle get's through the 8th grade.