"Time-poor" seems to be the catch-all phrase used to describe the way we live our lives in the 21st century. I'm afraid the description may be aptly applied to our family at the moment. Things are speeding up. I'm glad to know that in a couple of short months it will all be over and I can have a little more control over my time than I do now.
The hours at university have been long and are getting longer. I leave just after 7am and this week I don't anticipate arriving home any night before 9pm. There is so much to try and complete before this baby comes along. And once the baby arrives I will still have way too much to do with my thesis workload mounting and deadlines pressing. It's such an exciting time! The only thing I would change is the long, long hours. Because other than that I am thrilled about things. I love the study, I love the learning, I love the research and the experimenting. I really am having a terrific time. But I struggle, and so does the family, when I am not with them in the morning and evening. So I'm sprinting, and trying not to tire. And the finish line is edging closer!
Kylie is such an incredible support. She has worked and toiled tirelessly beside me, supporting me in my work even when it has not been enough to provide for our family. It has all been worth it as we look back, but there have been some big sacrifices. For now though, even Kylie is beginning to tire. She is not tired of supporting me, rather, she is simply tired. Only two weeks to go until the baby is due, and Kylie is looking toward the bed for rest more frequently. This pregnancy has taken a fairly substantial toll on her physically. So we are really counting the days until the baby. Of course, then we'll wish it had just stayed put for a few more weeks so we could get more sleep, and more study done. I am so grateful to her. I have been so blessed to choose a wife so devoted, supportive, sacrificing and simply incredible.
Another key event in the past week has been quite significant. My little brother, after having a terrible time in Japan on his mission, has returned home. He was only gone about 8 months. Unfortunately after a couple of months he had a rough time with a companion who really sounds as though he should not have been allowed to remain out there (he's still there now, ironically). He had a negative effect on Tim which seemed to take hold and drag him down even further. And Tim didn't seem to come out of it. He has come home for a month to sort things out, and has been told he can return to Japan if he desires. I know how great a mission can be, and I know what it can do for a person. From that point of view I would want nothing more than for Tim to have the same opportunities and blessings. However, I also know that Tim is 23 years old. He makes his own decisions. He will do what he thinks is right, and nobody has to live with that but him. Either way, I love him as my little brother and support him. And ultimately, what I want for him really doesn't matter. It is Tim that makes the ultimate decision in that area.
So, back to my little family for a brief moment... we have had some really funny incidents with Ella Rose recently. She has taken to spontaneously screaming songs, rather than singing. We may be in the car, at the table, or anywhere for that matter. Out of nowhere, Ella will begin to scream at the top of her lungs in tune. It is typically some kind of nursery rhyme or kindergarten song that she has heard. It always makes us laugh, and we sometimes try to join in, which only makes her scream louder! Lots of fun.
Abbie has decided that she doesn't want to be called "Abbie-May" anymore. Instead, she has asked that we call her "Abba Dabba" for some reason that we don't yet understand. She is a real cutie, and is growing up way too fast. Although in some other ways, like at dinner time when she wants us to feed her, we wish she would hurry up and grow a little more.
And Chanel is really trying us in so many ways. Sometimes we are simply thrilled to bits, and in other ways she is beginning to genuinely challenge us. Chanel is motivated to save money, and is doing extremely well with her goals. And she loves to do anything that she knows she can do well with or complete easily. But when confronted with a challenging task, Chanel is avoidant. She simply hates to be challenged. Today I spent two hours working with her, teaching her, and helping her to understand that learning is one of the most difficult things we can do, but we feel terrific when we learn. We talked a lot about how, to learn, we must ask questions. Questions like who, what, where, when, why and how. And then we did some learning. Chanel had a task to write a talk for church about a particular topic.
So we talked.
Chanel answered those questions. In so doing she created the material for her talk, and it was written simply and quickly. She felt great at the end. She knew she had accomplished something difficult, and enjoyed reviewing the fruits of her hard work. And she did a terrific job sharing her talk at church.
Nan Coulson had a tough week just gone, spending some time in hospital and having some difficulties which I won't go into here. We're praying for her, and are pleased that she is making a slow but certain recovery.
That's about all. It's late, nearly 9.30pm and I'm due at uni in less than 10 hours. I need sleep.
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