Playing Catch-up Once Again...

 No matter how often I think I'm going to keep up on this blogging thing, I always seem to be falling behind. So here I am once again, apologizing for not writing more posts lately. It seems like our lives have been full of just....LIVING, and finding extra time to do other things is not as easy as it used to be. ; )

We are well into our second year of homeschooling now. Marc is doing well...he continues to learn more English words and phrases every day, and is reading beginner level books on his own now. It's pretty amazing to look back at where he was when we brought him home (17 months ago) and where he is now. 

So much has happened over the past several months, I'm afraid I'll forget something in this "catch-up" post. But I'll do my best to fill you in. Here we go!

• After many prayers and waiting, we received a phone call from the hospital to let us know that our bill for Marc's surgery & hearing aids had been reduced from $64,000 to $7,200 (the amount we'd been told originally we'd have to pay). Praise God, we had the money to pay the bill right away, and we do not have that hanging over us as we look ahead to next year!
• We've visited Stone Mountain, and JaeMor Farms for their pumpkin festivals, as well as local parks and other outdoor arenas. We love getting outside and doing things together.
  
• Bruce and I were able to get away for a long weekend a few weeks ago. We sent Marc off to three different homes for the 72 hours we were away. He had a wonderful time with each family, and we are grateful to have had the relaxing time away. We went up to Gatlinburg, TN and surrounding areas. It was great fun, and much-needed, for the two of us.
  
• My parents left for 4 1/2 months of ministry in Invercargill, New Zealand this week. Marc is adjusting to not being able to see his Grandmom and Grandpop (other than via Skype) for awhile. I'm praying it won't be too hard on him. He really loves his Grandpop!
  
• Marc is looking forward to us changing his bedroom soon. He's going to be moving in to what is now our main floor guest room (we have one in the basement as well). It's bigger than his current room, and it will give him more space to play in. We have to paint the walls and move furniture before it can happen, so he's doing his best to wait patiently. (Not always an easy thing for a 9-year-old boy!)
  
  

Marc continues to remind me that he is "all boy". This afternoon he went outside and played in the mud in our backyard. He dug a hole and floated his little boat in it. Then he jumped in the mud and threw mud around and came back totally covered! But he had a great time, and it was nothing a bath didn't correct. So I figured it was an easy thing to say yes to. But I cannot even imagine having done that when I was his age. Boys are just so different than girls...and I'm still learning that...every day. : )