Consider the lilies

The owners of the retail center in which our tax office is located are really great at keeping flowers out front of the businesses and such.  At Easter time, they gave each business in the center a potted Easter lily.

As tax season grew to a close, the lily in our office began to look as we were feeling. :)  Our office manager asked if I'd like to take it home and plant it for next year, so I did.

Honestly, I don't know anything about planting things.  Everything I've ever planted, truly, has ended up dead.  Robert enjoys gardening and has had some success, especially with his raised vegetable garden (anyone need a zucchini?), but our grass never looks great; the peach tree that we planted with Pop and for Pop has died; the plum tree has died; the tree that came with the house in the front yard is just about dead; and pretty much every plant ever given me has not survived.

Still I brought it home, and with no expectations whatsoever, gave it to Robert to take care of.

Truthfully I didn't even know that he had planted it in the ground.

We have had a beautiful summer this year, with a little (or a lot, depending on who you ask) less rain than we usually get over the summer.  It hasn't been California-style hot, but has generally been pleasant and uneventful.

So this lily... this EASTER lily, mind you... well... see for yourself:

I carpooled with a couple of girlfriends to Bible study this week, and in the car, I said, "So, I know nothing about gardening, but I would think since an Easter lily is called an Easter lily, it should only bloom around Easter time.  Do they ever bloom in late September?"  Both my friends said together, "No!"

When we returned, I saw the lilies blooming and pointed them out to my friends.  They were both astonished by it.  The original lily is dead, really, at the base of the plant, but there are six or so heavy new blooms.  They are absolutely beautiful. 

My friends seemed to think it could be some kind of sign or something from God, certainly a blessing at least, as this is most unusual.  I'm not sure what to think about it.  This week marked the change of seasons into fall, where (what I do know about plants!) flowers and trees pretty much wrap it up for the winter.  Certainly our little family has been in a season of life that has felt more like fall than springtime.  So what do you make of this spring flower blooming here at the beginning of fall?

This is my Father's world

The birds, their carols raise,

The morning light, the lily white

Declare their Maker's praise

- M Babcock / P Mickelson

Humbled, buoyed, and blessed

It is crazy to think that it has been nearly two weeks since we've heard that Chris is being sent home, and nearly four weeks since she's been gone in all.  This military machine is bigger than I can understand, composed of millions of parts, and movement, therefore, is small and slow.  Did that make sense to you?  It did to me.  It means we are still waiting, still trying to be patient.

I have been ~ nay, WE have been ~ comforted in many ways in the past two weeks.  We still have our moments of full-on emotional brokenness, much of which I think will be healed when we can finally wrap our arms around our daughter and remind her face to face (perhaps reminding ourselves, too) that it really is going to be okay.

Two different friends recently reminded me that

... the God of all comfort,

Who comforts us in all our affliction,

so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction,

with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God...

2 Corinthians 1:3b-4 esv

... that God comforts us.  We have found comfort in a myriad of Scripture verses shared with us; we have been comforted by so many friends who have reached out to us; we find comfort in knowing that many more people across several states have lifted our family up in prayer.  I have been ministered to by music (most recently Mandisa's "Stronger" and Steven Curtis Chapman's "Glorious Unfolding" ~ you should definitely check them out if unfamiliar, especially if you are in a time of difficulty) on the radio and music that lifted my heart in worship.  I have been encouraged by messages both preached from the pulpit and taught among a few hundred other people.

When you stop to think about it, it's actually quite amazing, really.

I will share that, based on the few letters we have received, I am not sure that Chris is feeling the same level of comfort.  I will humbly ask that you will "turn up" your prayers for her especially.  She is very alone, despite being in a barracks with over 100 other girls.  She has been attending chapel and praying... but I am praying that God will send a supernatural peace to envelop her so that she can not doubt His presence with her.

Recently I shared how worshiping God in a time of broken heartedness really drew me close to Him.  I was reminded that this week when I read some thoughts of Charles Spurgeon.  He calls it contemplation of the Godhead; I call it worship.  Regardless, check it out:

No subject of contemplation will tend

to more humble the mind, than thoughts of God...

But while the subject humbles the mind, it also expands it...

Oh, there is, in contemplating Christ, a balm for every wound;

in musing on the Father, there is a quietus for every grief;

and in the influence of the Holy Ghost, there is a balsam for every sore.

Would you lose your sorrow?  Would you drown your cares?

Then go, plunge yourself in the Godhead's deepest sea;

be lost in His immensity;

and you shall come forth as from a couch of rest,

refreshed and invigorated.

I know nothing which can so comfort the soul;

so calm the swelling billows of sorrow and grief;

so speak peace to the winds of trial,

as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead.

(Charles Spurgeon via Knowing God/JI Packer, p.18)

 

My friend lost a child once, a few years ago.  I didn't know her then; in fact, it happened almost a year to the day before I met her.  She gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, who then went home to Jesus just days after her birth due to a heart condition.  She came through that heartbreaking event feeling, as she puts it often, "humbled, buoyed, and blessed."

 

That phrase has stuck with me over the years that I've known her.  And certainly, separation from the Navy is nothing compared to the death of a child.  But that feeling, I can recognize it now.  It's a feeling of knowing that you're being carried in the arms of Jesus, supported by other believers who, flawed though they may be, hold you up in love and comfort.  What an amazing blessing that is, and people who don't know the Lord don't have it nor will they understand it.  I'm praying that Chris will feel it, too.

 

This friend ... I should tell you more about her some day because she made an amazing impact on my life in such a short time.  But today I'm just going to embrace that phrase of hers, because it's exactly how I am feeling right now as well:

 

Humbled.  Buoyed.  And blessed.

Have you met my brother?

Today marks the third anniversary of when he was taken to prison, an American citizen, on foreign soil.

He has been beaten, tasered, and known far more physical abuse than I could even begin to claim. 

His health is not good.  He has been denied treatment on numerous occasions.

His crime?  Confessing Christ.

The Iranian government has recently threatened that if he does not deny Christ and return to Islam, more charges will be added to his current 8-year sentence. 

Today, on this 3-year anniversary, people around the world are coming together in prayer for the release of Pastor Saeed Abedini.  Will you join us?

For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ

you should not only believe in Him

but also suffer for His sake.

Philippians 1:29 esv

 

For I know that through your prayers

and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ

this will turn out for my deliverance.

Philippians 1:19 esv

Good article - http://aclj.org/persecuted-church/three-years-later-pastor-saeed-remains-in-chains-for-Christ

Please pray for our brother, Pastor Saeed ~ for his release, his health, his ministry, his family.

Please pray for the persecuted church as a whole today.  We are very insulated in our comfortable (even though it may be changing) U.S. of A.

Please pray for revival, for boldness among Christians.

Please pray for a focus on God, on His plan and His work in this, His, world.  Pray that we will not be so egocentric that we miss the bigger picture. 

However God leads, please pray.

Mom didn't get the joke

Over the summer a family joke was begun by Joshua and is heard at our house just about every day.  "Good news, everyone.  Grace got the joke!" or, "Bad news, everyone. Mom didn't get the joke."

Unfortunately, this week we had some bad news, and even more unfortunate than that, there was no joke to get.

Christianne is being processed out of the Navy due to medical issues. 

It has been a heartbreaking few days since we got the news on Wednesday afternoon.  There is a lot of pain, disappointment, discouragement, and confusion ~ even some anger.  I am mostly confused because I just really believed God was in this plan for her.  Why take her so far to send her home now?

Funny enough, Robert sent me a devotional on Tuesday based on this verse.

He is not afraid of bad news.

Psalm 112:7 esv

And when I woke up on Wednesday, I had a knot in my belly all day that felt like anxiousness, even though I didn't think I felt particularly anxious.  Bad news, everyone.  Mom didn't get the joke. 

It was Christianne who called that afternoon. Imagine it.  Such excitement to see a Chicago number show up on my caller ID...  such excitement to hear her sweet voice say, "Hi, Mom."  And then a feeling like being punched in the gut as she told us the news.

It was a crazy 24 hours.  We have been trying to process all of it, as I am sure she is.  Many tears were shed ~ are still being shed.

On Thursday, I headed to Bible study.  A familiar song came on the radio ~ "After All" ~ and I felt compelled to just turn the volume all the way up (I'm an old fogey and I rarely like my music loud) and worship Him.  A second song came on and I did the same.  By the time I got there, although I was still very emotional, I felt a peace come over me.

Someone (it might have been Angie Smith) once said (after hearing news that her child wasn't going to live) something to the effect of, "The God I worshipped before I heard this news is the same God right now after knowing this."

God is still God.

On Thursday, she called again while I was at Bible study.  Ro spoke to her this time, and said she sounded better.  That said, she might remain in Great Lakes up to 20 business days!  Wow.  Hoo-stinking-yah.

But during the study, God brought another verse to my mind.

Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.

Job 13:15a esv

This morning, as I thought about that initial devotional Robert sent me, I looked up the actual verse.  In its entirety, it says:

He is not afraid of bad news;

His heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

Psalm 112:7 esv

So there you have it.  I am confused and hurt and about a hundred other emotions, but... BUT... God is still God, and I will still hope in Him.  I will still trust in Him with all my heart, and lean not on my own understanding.

God is still God.  He is still the same God. 

Navy boot camp fun facts

(Yes, yes I did:  I put the words fun and boot camp into the same phrase.)

To get from Camp Moffett to Camp Porter at RTC, recruits march under the main road through a tunnel singing verse one of "Anchors Aweigh."  They sing the second verse when they go from Camp Porter to Camp Moffett.

Each division generally contains 88 Seaman Recruits.  Each division trains with a brother division, so by the end of boot camp, our SR should know very well nearly 200 new people.  In Christianne's training group, there are 9 divisions, so her graduation will have up to 792 sailors.

Barracks at RTC are named after ships.  Christianne is housed in Ship 11, also known as USS Kearsarge, which is actually named after four ships (which are in turn named after Mount Kearsage in New Hampshire).  The first was a sloop of war from the Civil War era.  The second was a battleship (BB-5) that served in both the first and second world wars.  Two aircraft carriers also shared the name, though the first (CV-12) was renamed USS Hornet; the other (CV-33) served in the Korean and Vietnam wars.  A Wasp-class amphibious assault ship (LHD-3) currently bears the name.

American hero Danny Dietz (Lone Survivor) was sworn in to the United States Navy from the same MEPS center in Denver in which Christianne was sworn.  His parents donated his medals to the MEPS and the ceremony room where recruits take their oaths is now dedicated to him.  Pat Tillman was also sworn in at the same MEPS.

(I'm not sure why that picture won't come out any larger.  Sorry.  I will work on editing it so if you'd like to see it better, be sure to check back.)

This video is a little long (24 minutes or so) but is a wonderful overview of what boot camp is like:  Faces of Boot Camp.  Definitely worth the time.

Hooyah! 

DOT 1-3

I found out that today Chris is on DOT 1-3, which means Day of Training Week 1, Day 3.  I was a little surprised that she isn't a little farther along than that, but she is still in week 1 of her training.

It's only been 11 days?

It feels like it has been several weeks, at least!

Christianne ordered each of us a gift to be received after she arrived at boot camp.  Each gift was perfect for each one of us.  The Wigglets were first.  Joshua got a Lego minifigure of a Sailor.  Grace got a Navy camo uniform for her American Girl doll, complete with boots and hat.

A few days later, Robert got a t-shirt.  It says, "The only thing tougher than a Sailor is her dad."  I think he wore it four days before he finally took it off.  (And now he is wearing his other Navy t-shirt.)

Grace said, "Let me get this straight.  I got a gift, Josh got a gift, and Dad got a gift.  Everyone got a gift but you."  Typical DiMeglio comment. 

But mine came Thursday, and it means so much to me it almost hurts.  It is a beautiful silver necklace with an anchor, her birthstone, and her name.  This isn't the best pic because of the lighting, but you should see how beautiful it is.

Yesterday I spent the day going through all the things Christianne had decided she no longer wanted when she cleaned out her room.  It was bittersweet.  Lots of memories among these things.  It just made me miss her that much more, I think, but I am so proud of this kid and what she will do. 

I just sit here, though, and think about her.  I try to imagine what she is doing at this moment.  It's cooler there than it is here right now (it has been very similar every time I've checked).  Is she at lunch?  Is she wearing her PT clothes?  Have they issued her cammies yet?  Have they issued her a jacket?  (It's only 55 degrees there right now, and rainy.)  Did they give her several pairs of chonies?

I wish they had webcams at RTC.  But then I would probably NEVER get a thing done.  But wouldn't it be cool? 

We are already beginning to make travel plans for her graduation.  After all, we only have 7 more Fridays!  At least football has begun to help pass the time.  Go Broncos!

... and He will make straight your paths.

Many of you have received this update by text; sorry then if much of this is duplicate information.

You know, by end of day Tuesday, I was beginning to feel a little hopeful that the Lord had worked out the medical issue, since we had not heard back from RTC.  As every hour passed, I had this strange dichotomy of emotions ~ that A) no news was good news, but B) the military can be very slow and waiting is part of the process.  So, as I would begin to feel hope, I would also get a nauseous knot in my gut every time Robert's phone would ring.

But, after two full business days now, we have heard nothing more from the RTC.

I hesitated to write this post yesterday, because of {B}, above.  I asked the Lord if He had answered my prayer.  I didn't want to announce that God had answered, only to be disappointed if a call did come.  Again, He simply brought to mind Proverbs 3:5-6, and I was reminded that in those moments of doubt and hesitation, I was not fully trusting Him.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

and He will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 esv

So, today, I am trusting that He HAS made her path straight.  I am believing that when the Navy says, "No news is good news," that the waiting game of the past six days has resulted in exactly that ~ good news.  I am trusting in Him and believing that He has answered our prayer.

To God be the glory, great things He has done!

Week 1 at RTC

Yesterday was an eventful day in the life of the parents of our Seaman Recruit.

 

It was the first business day following the long Labor Day weekend.  Christi's neurologist from that incident a couple of years ago returned our call and let us know he was in the process of faxing his medical statement and records to the RTC.  We have not been called again by the RTC since their initial call on Friday, so we are trusting that everything is okay.  Over and over we are told that no news is good news. 

 

Shortly after his call, we received The Box.  If you read the article about what happens in the first 24 hours at RTC, you know about this.  We had expected it and prepared for it, but it still made me a little emotional.  It contained her clothes, including the cute little "Navy seal" t-shirt she had just bought at the Aquarium (it says "Nautical but Nice"), her shoes, her Navy backpack and toiletries, and sadly, her wallet.  It had been emptied, and I was disappointed to find out that the one we were sure met their criteria was rejected.  The little note of encouragement I had slipped in her wallet was in The Box as well.  :(

 

BUT we were greatly encouraged later that evening to receive The Form Letter!  I knew it would come soon, but not knowing if the medical issue had delayed her processing, I wasn't expecting it quite this soon.  The Letter contains her expected PIR (Pass in Review, ie, graduation) date ~ 10/30 ~ and her mailing address, and it was addressed in her newly-learned block printing.  :)  This morning Robert and I went to the post office together to mail her our first letters.

 

Since I haven't heard from her directly yet, I do not know where exactly she is in her training, but I kind of suspect that her actual training week began this week.  (The first several days are called P-days, or processing days, and the number of them can vary depending on the number of incoming recruits and divisions formed.)  She also did not get holiday routine for Labor Day. :(

 

These are some of the things I've found she will be encountering during Week 1 of her training.  It would be awesome for you to pray specifically for her as she masters these new challenges.

~  Learning how to fold and make bunks the Navy way.  Bunk and locker drills.  Inspections.

~  Physical training begins.  Physical fitness pre-test will be taken at the end of the week.  (Pray specifically for strength and no blisters!)

~  DEP advancement test.  This is an optional test that she can take if she chooses (we have encouraged her to, but she was not confident she would pass) which would immediately bump up her pay grade.  It covers everything from ranks, types of ships and aircraft, and more; all of this information was given to her in a folder she has been studying from since she signed up.

~  Further medical tests, including vision, dental, blood work, urinalysis, vaccinations, etc.

~  Further stamping of all personal belongings and clothing with her name and last four digits of her SSN

~  Studying and lectures from the Training Guide.

~  Sunday will be holiday routine from 0700 to 1300.  She can attend chapel, write letters, practice or study what she needs to, and rest.  Following that time, they must clean their compartments, have dinner, and attend more lectures.


Eight more Fridays ~ 50 days until we see our girl again.

Source:  navydep.com

In all your ways, acknowledge Him...

On Monday the 31st, we drove Chris to the recruiter's.  They took her to Denver and checked her into a hotel.  We ended up meeting up with her down there and got to spend the afternoon and evening with her.  It was really nice and relaxing ~ we went to the nearly empty Downtown Aquarium, had dinner at the Hard Rock Café, walked around the 16th Street Mall a bit, and finished up with desert at Yard House which is inside her hotel lobby.


But let me back up a minute, because just minutes after she checked into the hotel, God blessed her.  Or us.  Or both.  As she was checking in, another young lady was checking in as well.  Turns out this girl would be her roommate for the night.  She, too, was shipping out the next day, and she, too, would be doing CTI.  That's pretty amazing, frankly.  In northern Colorado, Chris didn't know anyone else shipping the same day, and she had yet to meet another CTI.  This girl was from Alamosa, and, assuming everything goes normally over the next two months, they will go through boot camp and then on to Monterey together.


Tuesday was a tough day.  It was a lot of waiting at the MEPS, and waiting, especially for something like this, tends to cause anxiousness.  We arrived around 9 as we were told her swearing in would be around 10, yet it actually didn't happen until noon.  Still, those hours next to our clearly nervous little girl who didn't get much sleep the night before were precious to us.


Obviously it was hard to tell her good-bye.  I am told that she will be a different person when we next see her at graduation from boot camp, all for the better.  I am looking forward to seeing her mature and, I pray, gain confidence in herself.  I have a general idea of what happens each week in boot camp, and I will share as it comes up.  Right now she is still in "processing" as far as I know, and her actual training has not yet begun.  Although it may have.  I really don't know!


{Here's a creepy thing I wish was available.  I wish the military would let the recruits sign up on some sort of website that would allow us parents to check in and just see their status - where they are at in processing or training, etc.  Just knowing that simple piece of information would set my mind to much greater ease.}


This is an excellent article on what happens the first day at Recruit Training Command.  It also adds to the significance of the following details, I think, because if you read it, you will find that recruits do not to get to sleep until their second night there.


Okay, here's where the story gets good again.  :)  Are you ready for this?


On Wednesday morning, I woke up, and Robert asked me how I slept.  I said, "All right, although I woke up a lot.  Must've been 6 or 7 times.  Each time, I just rolled over, said a prayer for Christianne, and fell right back to sleep.  How about you?"


He said he experienced the exact same thing.


Came downstairs to find Mom sitting on the porch.  I asked her how she slept.  She said she kept waking up all night, but each time, she would just pray for Chris and go back to sleep.


Isn't that amazing?  I felt like our baby girl was covered in prayer all night long.  She wasn't allowed to sleep, and we were able to support her throughout the night by lifting her up.  On the way to the airport, Mom and I were talking about it again, and Mom said that it was like when the two guys had to hold up Moses's arms while the Israelites were in battle:

So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek,

while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed,

and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.

But Moses's hands grew weary,

so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it,

while Aaron and Hur held up his hands,

one on one side, and the other on the other side.

So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people

with the sword.

Exodus 17:10-13

Even better ~ when I shared this story with my friend the next day, she too, told me that she was up at 4:30 in the morning with Chris on her heart, and was praying for her at that time as well.  I figure that was about the time I finally settled into some good sleep, and it encouraged my heart to know that others were also praying for her as she worked her way through the processing system at RTC.


Many, many people are praying for her, even today.  I dare say maybe even a hundred!  It is humbling and amazing and fills my heart with joy all at the same time.  God has her.  She is His, and I can trust Him.

His

I am writing this on Saturday, September 4.  I am not sure when I will post it.

It has been an insane week, folks.

You know, you become a mom for the first time... you figure things out.  You eventually settle into a groove, where, although you don't know everything, you are confident in your ability to figure it all out.  You add a second child, a third... there are challenges here and there of course, but after 19 years go by you think you've got this parenting thing figured out.

As Chris began her journey into the Navy just last June, there was so much to process.  I spent many hours on a wonderful website called Navy for Moms, where I gleaned a ton of information and found a great deal of support.  I was about as ready as I could be for her to go into the military.  I knew what would happen for our final good-byes; I knew about The Box that would be sent home a few days later; I knew things that even Chris didn't know.  I am very grateful.  As you know, I like to know things.

But do you know what never occurred to me?  What 19 years of motherhood had NOT prepared me for?  My first little bird leaving the nest.

I mean, if things go the way we plan, except for visits, she's not coming back.

I don't know why this failed to occur to me.  It didn't occur to me when she cleaned out her room a couple of weeks before, loading bags of items to be donated or passed down into my room to deal with.

I mean, I knew it.  I just didn't get it.

After 19 years of parenting, after potty training and school-beginnings and adolescence and proms, after drama and busy-ness and teaching, after scrapes and bruises and a couple of broken bones, after camping trips and non-camping trips and new houses and new friends and new church families, after some tears and even more laughter... I was not prepared for this.

On the day that Christianne was born, my water had broken early that morning and we got ready to go to the hospital.  As Robert worked with getting the car seat installed in our Geo Metro (why didn't we figure that out beforehand?), I gathered my things up and I had this realization that I have never forgotten:  We were leaving there as a family of two, and when we returned, we would be a family of three.

That's how it was this week letting her go, only in reverse.  August 31 began with five of us.  It ended with only four.

The past couple of months have been a bit surreal - we had our last camping trip together, our last day of church, our last dinner as a family.  It seems kind of somber, and it was, but it was a good thing, too, in that it made us intentional about knowing that our time was short.  What a blessing to know that - to be able to mark memories as they happen. 

I heard this week about a man who lost his young son in a drowning accident.  I have a friend who lost her young adult son in a motorcycle accident, and another whose son was killed in a train wreck.  How thankful I have been to at least know that our time together was coming to an end... for now at least.

I have to acknowledge that we are in a time of uncertainty.  You probably know that Christianne's processing is on hold until they can resolve a medical issue from a couple of years ago.  As much as I wish she were still here, I don't want her to be here!  :)  I believe that God has been in this plan from the beginning, but even if I was wrong and this isn't for her, I believe that He holds her, and He has her best interests at heart.  He has plans for her ~ a plan for her welfare and not for evil, a plan to give her a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11)!

I am praying.  I am choosing to trust.  Every time I have a moment of panic I am claiming Proverbs 3:5-6 as my own:  I *will* trust in the Lord with all my heart.  I will *not* lean on my own understanding.  In all my ways I *will* continue to acknowledge Him, and HE WILL make straight our paths.

I want to be like Miss Clara.  (Go see War Room.)  I want to cover my daughter in prayer and trust God. 

I have another vivid recollection from the day I brought Christianne home from the hospital.  We were renting a little tiny guest house on the back of a farmer's property at the time.  It was so quiet out there, but very small.  I rocked Christianne in my new rocker in this back bedroom that was mostly used for storage, and I prayed.  I thanked God for this child, and for the love that filled my heart for her that was more intense than anything I'd ever known.  I was thinking about how God gave up His only Son for us ~ and I couldn't comprehend it.  I asked Him, "Please, don't ever ask me to give up my daughter."

Selfish.  Understandable, perhaps.  As a parent, what on earth could hurt us more than losing a child?  I can't imagine anything.  But I have had a peace over the past week that has helped me to let her go a bit ~ an unshakeable knowledge that she is not mine, but His.  As much as I love her, He loves her more.  As much as I want to fix things, He CAN fix things.  As much as I want this for her, He wants what's best for her, which is something I may not even know.

So, during this long holiday weekend, we wait.  It would be very unlikely that we hear anything this weekend anyway, and we are praying that we hear nothing on Tuesday, or Wednesday, or Thursday as well.  No news is good news, they tell us.  I will be like Dory from Finding Nemo and I will just keep swimming.  The emotions that we have dealt with over the past seven days have been nothing short of overwhelming ~ fear, sadness, pure joy, delight, pride ~ but I am thankful that I have the King of Peace to hold us as we wait and see what happens next.

That boy...

Fast forward 16 years.  (How can THAT be?) 

I will tell you up front that this post will sound like I am bragging.  Maybe I am, but I am an incredibly proud mama and I mostly tell these wonderful things because it is not by MY parenting - At. All.  This is by the grace of God.  I had no idea how to raise a boy.  I still don't!

There are so many things I love about my Josh.  He is handsome and intelligent.  He is brave.  (Once he tried to protect us from an intruder with a giant spoon.)  He is good, like that kind of deep goodness that is true and sincere and comes from within.  He has a heart for others, a servant's heart.  He doesn't like the limelight.  He would probably hate that I am posting this.  And He. Is.  Funny.  Oh my word, that boy brings so much joy to my heart and so many smiles to my face.  I love him so much.

(In fact, Robert told me yesterday that he had told Josh that he (Josh) was the funniest person he (Ro) knew.  I will admit that made me a little jealous. Ha!)

I have been blessed to have three children with character, so incredibly blessed.  But since this post is about "that boy," I do want to share with you two recent and, I think, amazing accomplishments.

Joshua took two AP classes last year as a sophomore.  (This year I believe he has three.)  He also took two AP exams for those classes last spring.  If you don't know, that means that if he scores well enough on those tests, he does not have to take those classes in college, earning college credit with the passing of the test.  There are definitely sophomores (and probably even some freshmen) who take these AP classes and tests, but the majority of students taking them are juniors and seniors.  The books aren't the traditional textbooks that the public school offers for free, but college texts - meaning:  $$.  And the tests cost about $100 a pop as well, so this was definitely a small investment into his future as well.

But, as I'm sure you are expecting, it paid off.  Joshua scored a 5 on each of his AP exams for AP Psychology and AP US Government.  That's the highest score you can get.  And yes, college credit earned.

Even more than that I am proud of what he has accomplished this summer.  Josh decided at the end of the last school year that he would like to take an educational tour next spring break (March 2016) with a handful of his classmates and a teacher or two to Florence, Rome, and Greece.  Can you even imagine what kind of an opportunity this will be?  Greece and Rome alone have had such an impact on our history and culture!

However, opportunities like that don't come free.  We were concerned because at the same time he brought this information home, we learned that our beloved State of Colorado was going to aggressively seek the back taxes that we have owed them. 

So he got a job.

As soon as school was out, he began applying for jobs.  He applied for several before he got a call from Good Times.  Here's the thing about Good Times.  Although they are a fast food restaurant, they pay above minimum wage.  In fact, he is making more than a dollar above minimum wage!  His base pay is minimum, but he earns an incentive by being on time and having good attendance that brought him to more than a dollar above what Chris made after a year working for Panera.

The other funny thing I've learned is that the manager in his store doesn't hire teenagers as a general rule.  He said he tends to find them flaky and they don't have their stuff together.  He had a good feeling about Josh and took a risk and has been very, very happy with him.

So that trip... the cost for that trip is about $3613.  (I may be off a little bit because I don't have my numbers in front of me.)  Joshua got paid today... and taking into account that money and what I expect him to get back on his income taxes ~ Josh has just about $300 left to earn to pay for the trip entirely himself.

Isn't that amazing?  He worked a lot of hours this summer!  He has a good work ethic and is willing to pick up shifts and I am just so incredibly proud of him.  He is still working about 27 hours a week although school has started because the store has been in a bind, but he will cut back to 10 or 15 soon - probably right after the trip is paid off.  Then he can start earning the spending money to boot.

Sigh. 

I am so blessed.