It's been a long time

Wow. When I (Ruth) opened our blog for the first time in forever I saw that our last post was Thanksgiving. Yikes. I get an "F" in blogging. I suppose that shouldn't surprise me...I've never been good at journaling. I take writing more seriously than I need to so rather than just expressing myself I will write and rewrite and re-rewrite and re-re-rewrite...you get the picture. I've thought about this off and on for quite some time so here goes...

A lot has changed since November. We experienced a major holiday and two minor holidays since then. That is significant because Jadon has this fear of being left out of events. The week before Christmas he was a bear at school and lost privileges along the way. He wasn't quite so bad at home but was a lot more edgy than what we had come to accept as normal. He was terrified that everyone in the family would get presents but him. He was also very fearful of sleeping in the basement with his brother. (I guess that doesn't surprise me too much though. Basements aren't my favorite either and Andrew still leaves all the lights in the entire basement on when he's down there alone.) He kept thinking he was seeing ghosts (I think partly because he saw Disney's The Princess and the Frog). We learned the hard way that he doesn't clearly see the difference between fiction and reality as our older two did. Needless to say, Christmas morning was a hoot (even though it started at around 4:30 for Andrew and Jadon--to their credit they didn't wake us up until around 7)! He couldn't hardly believe all the presents he received.

We thought things would settle down after Christmas. Although we celebrated with my family right after New Year's he wasn't told about presents there until it happened. The anticipation wasn't there. What we failed to forget was that Jadon had been invited to a birthday party the day before school started again. He was a nervous wreck having never been to a birthday party before. But he did great. (Of course it was a pool party and he loves the water.)

Shortly after Christmas we decided it was time to separate the two boys and give them their own rooms. Tensions had escalated before Christmas and once Jadon got home with all his new loot he was a possessive bear, making life miserable for Andrew. Andrew especially has been happy with the new arrangement (and his queen size bed!). He's even managed to make his bed almost every day as requested. (I'm quite proud of him for that one.) Jadon has adjusted well and likes his own room for the most part. He has mentioned several times that he'd like to go back to the way things were...not on your life!

Then came Valentine's Day. We didn't mention anything before notice came home from school. Then we had to go to the store and buy the valentines that very night. A few days before his party he again started acting out terribly. When I questioned him he admitted that he was afraid nobody would give him any valentines. I assured him that wouldn't happen but trust levels still aren't where I hope they'll be next year at this time (or even now, for that matter) and the acting out continued. He came home from school the day of his party very pleased with all the valentines and candy he received which begged the question, "Now Mommy was right, wasn't I?" He sheepishly had to agree. Things have actually been a little better in the trust department since that time.

Which brings us to the present day. His winter report card came home yesterday. Academically he's showing some significant progress. He even got a "4" in music for his ability to sing a 3-note song (meaning he is exceeding the end of the year standard for second graders). It only seems right I guess. God put him in the right family. The area that still needs improvement is in his behavior. While he's shown considerable progress in understanding what is appropriate behavior in school he is very inconsistent and frequently needs reminders about what is appropriate. We've decided that his "toddler" mindset of the world revolving around just him and nobody else mattering needs to have some enlightenment. It's a tough balancing act so pray that God gives wisdom in how we go about this. So far, so good. The report today was that he had a great day at school. Yeah!!!

Now, since the Rieck family consists of Alan, Ruth, Kirsten and Andrew as well as Jadon it seems only right to include an update of our lives as well.

Alan is currently taking administrative classes at Hamline University while he is on sabbatical. He is extremely busy with his observations for his sabbatical project as well as taking 12 credits. But Mr. I-love-to-go-to-school seems to be handling everything fairly well. The information he's been gleaning from one of his classes is even helping us on the communication front...always a good thing!

As a junior Kirsten gets at least 10 informational college brochures every week. She's starting to consider her options. She currently works at Fazoli's but is hoping to find a position that will give her more hours. She has an interview next week after turning in an application last night so she is hopeful.

Andrew is taking trombone lessons now along with piano. He seems to be excelling which is fun for two musical parents. He's starting to settle more into the middle school expectations and has had fewer anxiety attacks regarding his schoolwork and tests recently. He's been doing very well, getting A's in most of his classes.

And I am busy two full days a week with voice students. I currently have 12 students which can be a bit draining since many of them are young and require a bit more energy from me. God has also been opening my eyes to sin in my own life in the most unexpected ways. I can't say it's been a lot of fun, but I am grateful that He is showing me where I am in need of continued growth.

Above all, the last few months have started to bring all of us into a new equilibrium which had been way out of whack when Jadon first came home. I'm sure we'll continue to need adjusting, but for now...life is good. Praise the Lord!!