How is already June?

So, it seems that nearly an entire school year has gone by since I last blogged.  (Insert same old underachiever comment here.)  Somehow I am now the mother of a Jr Higher, and TWO Highschoolers.  I really cannot believe we have graduated from having any elementary students.  I long for days when my children loved me unconditionally and they were happy to play in the sprinkler or jump on the trampoline for hours on end.  Now they just want to play games on the computer, iPod or just generally ignore me.  I am also working during the week now, not just on the weekends, so I find it hard to monitor the endless use of technology.  I would like to think that I could develop a schedule of chores that might be accomplished while I sleep during the days after I work all night.  I am not so naive as to think that might actually happen though.  I have not done well teaching my children to be completely independent with activities of daily living.  This may be THAT summer, when they will become independent.  I hear weeping and gnashing of teeth at the mere thought of bringing that idea up.

Sam is officially a SENIOR in highschool.  It seems like just yesterday he was crying at being left at kindergarten with Mrs. Rice.  He is growing up so much.  The fact that we have a year before he will be jettisoned from the nest at Castle Beattie makes my heart ache.  He is bright, friendly and just a little sarcastic (like his mama).  He fell last week skating and broke his collar bone.  Sadly, this will put a damper on his Summer Cross Country work outs for a while.

He is also bummed that as we plan for our Family Mission to Honduras in 9 days, he will not be able to work pouring concrete floors.  He really loved that part last time we went.  He should be out of his sling by the time we leave, though.  I am praying for his chance to really model for his brothers how to share his faith with the kids and translators while we are in Tegucigalpa.

Sam is also working at Adventureland in the Art House where one can purchase super-cheesy t-shirts and fake tattoos as mementos of a day spent at the (maybe) 5th happiest place on earth.  He has really become a very good artist.  Even if he doesn't focus his career in art, he definitely has a gift.

I get a bit nauseous thinking about visiting and choosing a college with Sam.  How can my time of influence in his life be nearly finished.  I know it is like a broken record, but I feel like I have failed miserably in that regard.  I want to raise boys of character, who treat others well and are good friends and have a strong work ethic.  What I feel like I have done is raise children who will require years of therapy to discuss long-standing "mother" issues.  I never expect to be perfect, but I really feel inadequate at being a good mom.

Nick is entering Southeast Polk Highschool in the Fall.  I am amazed how much he has grown.  He is taller than I am already.  He is a sweet boy who has done far better in Jr High than I ever anticipated.  He loves Geography and History and is becoming a very good Mathematician.  I still pray that he will find a nice group of friends.  It is such a hard time in life to be 14.  For the most part, Jr. High Sucks.  I really hope that having an older brother who is senior when Nick is a freshman will make the transition to High School easier.

Sam has encouraged Nick to run Cross Country with him in the Fall.  I think this will be a great thing for both of them.  The Cross Country Team is a fun group and Sam has made some wonderful friends over the years he has run.  I think Nick has potential to be a very good runner.  He needs to train and learn how to race, but he has some speed in those long legs.

Jake will enter seventh grade in the Fall.  That is so hard for me to believe.  This year at Spring Creek was one of transition.  He graduated from the Downtown School and only one of his friends was going to be attending Spring Creek.  Fortunately, he was in Jake's homeroom.  Unfortunately, for the transition part, Jake took Math and English at the Jr High.  He spent each morning at the Jr High then went back to the 6th grade school for the remainder of his day.  It made it hard to get to know new friends.  He did have one buddy who also had his same schedule, so he got to be good friends with him.  It will be interesting to see how Jake does academically.  He took 8th grade math this year and will end up taking Math at the High School in 8th grade.  I am amazed at how his mind works.  He is teaching himself "coding" for computers and loves to figure out how things work.  He reminds me of his cousin who is in a PhD program now in Chicago.  Jake is fearless compared to his brothers.  He loves to try new things and will usually ride any roller coaster at least once.  I am hoping he continues his quest for adventure.

We are leaving as a family on June 15 for a week in Honduras.  I am very excited, but also very worried about how it will all play out.  I know what to expect, but the little boys do not.  Neither Nick nor Jake eat much of a variety of foods.  I want to make sure they have at least snacks and easy mac to survive on in the event that the meals served do not taste appetizing to them.  I am praying that each of us will come back changed.  I know Sam has really been affected by his previous trips to Tegucigalpa.  We see abject poverty and families that truly have nothing.  I want my boys to realize how RICH we are here in the the United States and I want them to show the Love of Jesus to each person they come in contact with.  We meet translators, church members who serve their neighborhood and missionaries who have committed their lives to serve in Honduras.  Each of them has needs that we can provide.  I want to live out our motto.....  Love God, Love People, Do Stuff ~ Bob Goff (Love Does)

I know that I have missed large parts of this year by not blogging more than every six months, I just haven't had the energy nor the thoughts worth sharing until now.  Please pray for us as we go and even as we come back.  It is always hard to "re-enter" the North American lifestyle after living the life of poverty for a week.  We truly appreciate all the prayer and financial support we have received.

Where did the summer go?

I can't believe the summer came and went and I never detailed any of our activities.  Really the broken record reason is that I hate to document my failings or feelings of being an underachiever.  I know I may not be the ONLY one struggling, but the fact that it ALWAYS seems to be me struggling is frustrating.  I don't expect perfection, but marginal would be refreshing.  

Since my last post Jake graduated from the Downtown School, we had our last conference with our beloved teachers Ms. D and Ms. A and we drove away for the last time.  I may not have appreciated their move to Central Campus and it seems that the over arching philosophy that drew us and kept us willing to drive to 5th and Grand daily for 10 years has changed.  Our favorite secretary retired, the "open door" that encouraged parents to visit daily became more of an unlocked door, but not open and the parking is now completely inconvenient.  I am convinced that our boys benefited from the project based learning and we loved so many of our teachers that although graduating our youngest was bittersweet, we would not trade those years. 

July brought a road trip to the Emerald Coast of Florida.  We had been looking forward to a week of beachiness and playing in the Gulf of Mexico.  It was a Beattie Family Vacation.  I had no idea what to expect, but prayed that it would a drama-free week.  The Pineapple Palace was gorgeous and right on the sugar sand beach.  The weather was tropical and aside from some impressive morning showers we LOVED our time on the beach.  Seagrove Beach was delightful and the rest of the villages on 30-A were perfection.  So many shops to explore.  We will certainly return for another Beattie vacation!  

Oh, and on the drama front.....  Tuesday afternoon included a trip to a local (45mins away) ER after Grandpa Bob fell on his way to the beach.  X-rays showed nothing was broken, but he could not bear any weight so he finished the week using a walker.  Oh, the suckiness.  The 3-level Pineapple Palace became an obstacle course and proved to be less perfect when we added the increased degree of difficulty for Bob to get around.  I am glad we decided to find a place right ON the beach so he could see what all the kids were doing and enjoy the amazing view from the deck.

side note: (After we got home Bob had an MRI that showed he had ruptured his Quad tendon and would need surgery to repair it.  He is still recovering, but  continues to get stronger.  He has advanced to crutches/cane for support and weekly PT to improve his strength in his leg.)  

Even after "the fall", we continued with our plans to take Bob sailing.  It ended up working out beautifully and our night was enjoyed by all.  

We took an afternoon to drive to Pensacola to show Grandpa Bob all the things we loved about our first family vacation to the panhandle of Florida.  First was the Naval Museum.  Thankfully, he was willing to be chauffeured around in a wheel chair.  It made the afternoon much more enjoyable for all of us.  

We weren't able to watch a complete practice, but we did show where the hanger is and heard them take off to fly over the beach to practice for their annual show over Pensacola Beach.  Nick really wanted to share Papa's Pizza and the Beachfront with Grandpa, so we headed over to Santa Rosa Island to re-live more of our favorite things.  One (brand) new favorite thing was a ginormous ferris wheel that had just opened.  I have to say that I usually really HATE ferris wheels, but since this was an enclosed capsule and there was no way to make it swing at the top, Nick and I rode it.  It is like "The Eye" in London and Seattle has one now and there is supposed to be a new one in Las Vegas soon.  Nick is fearless and I think he was super glad we rode it.  

The sunrises and sunsets were breath-taking.  Saturday morning Scott and I woke up and went for a walk up the beach at sunrise and it was really like watching a black and white scene turn to color.  God is the ultimate artist.  And, although we didn't see our 'turtle lady' we did find some guarded nests of turtle eggs.  

It may not have been drama-free, but our week at the beach was one of memory-making and valuing family bonds.  I know we will go back to Seaside and enjoy the Emerald Coast again.  It is paradise!

Bonus footage from our excursion to 30-A

This is turning into the eternal post....  I guess that is what I get when I am trying to summarize a quarter year at one time.  (Note to self.....  blog more often)

On our trek back to Iowa we dropped Sam off in Knoxville, TN for an amazing week at C.H.I.C.  The youth conference happens every 3 years and he heard unbelievable speakers and bands, bonded with his friends from Evangelical Covenant Church.  I was seriously jealous that he heard Francis Chan, Louis Giglio, Lecrae, Skillet, Chris Tomlin....  I threatened to chaperone, but he threatened not to go if I did.  Such a teenager.  

As I type and fight with my inability to add photos to this bleepin' blog it seems like a long time ago that all of this happened.  Time has flown my this year.  Maybe it is just me being middle-aged, or just forgetting how much actually transpired since June.  Mostly, it is that I am just tech-savvy enough to be dangerous, but not savvy enough to really know how to fix stuff when I screw it up, so it takes me FOREVER to get anything completed.  And we are full circle back to why I only blog every six months.  Blah, blah, blah.....

I do love Fall and football and cross country and that Scott's dad was inducted into the Southeast Polk Hall of Honor in September.  He was on the school board for years, spent his entire life but for a few years in the Navy right here in East Polk County.  He loves to tell how our boys are the seventh generation Beattie to live here and go to school here.  I, too, love heritage and tradition and family roots.  Going through the Warren Cemetery shows just how many generations of Beatties have raised families in the Altoona/Runnells/Pleasant Hill community.  

There was a tour of the new High School, a dinner and then the award and introduction at the Homecoming football game.  It was really fun to have Scott escort his dad and to have that seventh generation in attendance (albeit with his peeps - Sam).  Marilyn came and so did Scott's sister Amy.  The game was a blow out - showcasing the fact that The Rams are going into the playoffs!  Go Rams!!!

Life is changing before my eyes.  Sam is driving, yes, i typed DRIVING!  He turned 16 in June and while it may have been a weak moment, we bought a Jeep that is really for ALL the boys, but currently, since he is the only one of driving age, it is his.  He has gained confidence and will drive back and forth to school and practice or to a friend's house, but is not too keen about driving into the "big city" or on the highway.  This mama is perfectly fine with that.  He has gained a social group this year, for which he is very pleased.  He has a very active social life.  It is astounding to believe that he will be a senior next year and that we will be sending him off to college.  The where has not been discussed nor decided, but I feel like I have missed out on years of his life if he is truly that age.  I feel, again, like I have failed miserably in preparing him for life outside the Beattie nest.  I will have to play catch up while I still have the time.  He can be a very mature Junior much of the time, but then there are days when I could swear he is a whiney, hormonal teenaged girl.  I am very proud of how well he has done in school and that he is very bright.  I think he is a good friend and I love that he is asked to go out with his friends.  

Sam had another great year running cross country.  He has made so many friends through the team and he has a wonderful coach who is tough, but encouraging just the same.  He ran a PR many of the meets with a 21.33 - 5K as his best.  He plans to run again next year and he has a few team mates who are trying to get him to swim again so he can compete in triathlons with them. He is fairly sure he won't be doing that.  I do want him to have the confidence to live beyond himself and not choose NOT to do something just because it is scary or something he has never tried.  I am certainly not sure how to accomplish that.  I am not a very adventuresome person anymore, so I need to be careful not to call the "kettle black".  

Nick has done wonderfully getting comfortable with his new schedule as an 8th grader.  He is still very much a "gamer" and even though we made an attempt to run a 5K as a family, we fell short in the preparation.  His "prize" was going to be a new game he wanted.  He did run 2 miles without stopping to "win".  He doesn't go out without encouragement to play outdoors.  He will walk the dog, but it is still under duress much of the time.  

Jake is turning 12 tomorrow.  We celebrated early last night because he is going to Minneapolis for the weekend with a friend to the Waterpark of America.  We love it there!  He is excited.  We did find a computer for him since it was really the only thing other than a Facebook account on his list.  It will be nice to have my computer freed up.  He has adjusted to a new school with only one friend from the Downtown School in our district.  He loves math and science.  He, too, is very much a lover of computer games.  He did attend a cross country camp and 1 1/2 mile fun run this fall.  He is much like his brother, in that he is a social runner.  He will have no problem making friends and he would love to win, but is fine as long as he meets new people.  I also think it was harder and farther than he thought. He did finish without stopping. Yay Jake!  

So there, we are now closer to being up to date on the goings on at Chateau Beattie.  We are still getting settled in at our 'new' church.  I guess after a year we should be able to say more than that, but it is always hard to break through the walls to feel "comfortable".  Sam has made some good friends and Nick is getting more friendly.  Jake may be the only kid in his grade, but he is happy for the most part.  He can't wait to be part of the youth group next year.  

For my 3 followers, I am sorry for the protracted delay between posts.  I would say I will do better, but I really can't make promises like that.  

Happy Fall.