We wrapped up our summer of transformation and headed into the late summer/early fall of medical testing. I’ve been poked, prodded, examined, questioned, monitored, scoped, tested, injected, and drawn. I had a clean scope for my EoE which was a reason to celebrate. Now to figure out if it is the medication that is helping me scope clean or the foods I’ve given up. The other tests were for various health-related reasons. I’m glad to be done.

I’ve started playing with creating videos. I learned how to take video with our smartphone, edit it, and add music in Adobe Premiere Pro. (One of the perks of having a graphic designer/web designer husband is access to all the best programs!) My videos are still obviously beginner-level stuff, but I’m proud of myself for venturing out and trying something new!

In Our Homeschool This Month

So. I mentioned last month that we were going to get our testing results back. We did.

Interesting.

I’m going to do a follow-up post to the one I originally wrote about Should I Have My Gifted Child Tested? because I’ve now seen two sides of the same coin. So watch for that. I’m hoping to write it next week. I’m still processing the whole thing. (Updated: No One Understands Your Child Like You – The Downside of Gifted Child Testing)

That said, we formally started our homeschooling lessons this week since I had wanted to wait until after we had testing results. We started off slow and are adding a new thing each day. I’ve put together our plan. I’ve already missed the annual iHomeschool Network curriculum week, but may still put together a curriculum post for this year at some point and share it here.

Caroline loves her fish, but decided she really missed her space for doing her art so we purchased a stand for her aquarium in order to get it off her desk. (You can see her huge desk in this post if you don’t know what I’m talking about. The fish tank is currently in the middle of it.) Bonus is that the fish stand comes with two bookshelves!

Imagitarium Newport 20 Gallon Wooden Tank Stand

Places We’re Going and People We’re Seeing

Caroline and David were absolutely committed to finally getting to ArtPrize this year, but we’re currently in a stretch of record-breaking heat. We are in the midst of a full week of 90+ degree weather with heat indices approaching 100 degrees. There is no way they want to walk around downtown Grand Rapids in that kind of heat. They are hoping to still go after it cools down in another week or so.

My Favorite Thing This Month

Normally my favorite thing this month is everything autumn! This year it hasn’t quite been like that with the crazy heat!

But my other favorite thing in September IS going to happen. Caroline will have a birthday at the end of the month. I cannot believe that my baby is going to be eleven! ELEVEN, people! I’m not going to lie. It makes me feel a bit panicky that it’s all going way too fast. But she’s a delightful person who brings much joy and depth to our lives. We’re so thankful for the blessing that she is.

What’s Working for Us

Right now, staying home is working for us. I wrote a few years ago about our Hibernation Homeschooling and I was starting to feel the same way again. Not so much because of sickness, but simply because life has been hectic and we don’t do hectic very well. We aren’t dropping everything like we did that year, but we are making a point of staying home more.

Homeschool Questions and Thoughts I Have

I’ve been thinking about how my views regarding learning have become much more holistic in terms of encompassing all of life. It’s easy to forget how many people equate learning with public school educational expectations when you no longer live and breathe and have your meaning in that world.

A Link to Share

I found the post Five Things That Are Worse Than Being in Debt several weeks ago when it was linked in the “Like Mother, Like Daughter” email. I’ve thought about it a lot since then, especially because we’ve wrestled with some of those same questions. Job loss, chronic illness, homeschooling, working from home, child with educational needs… They can all be a real drain on your financial goals and expectations. Add into that the borderline idolatry that some people have made out of being debt-free and I thought this post was good food for thought.

Related to this is another post I happened across – If We Have to Foreclose, Is God Still Good?

On My Website In Case You Missed It

I”m always tinkering with my website. It’s the part of me that is always looking for a better way to do everything. So if it feels like I’m always trying different things, changing things, etc. that’s why.

Here are a recent post:

• • When You Begin To See Your Child As A Problem To Be Solved

Happy (what’s left of) September!