Christmas in California

This post was originally published today on my family's blog, The Name Fitz.

Two weeks ago, Mom and Dad and Dr. Thiel (the doctor we're working with in California) decided that Dr. Thiel needed to see Katelyn Grace as soon as possible. One week ago, Mom and Leslie left with the baby for California. They were gone for Mom and Dad's 25th wedding anniversary on the 18th, and will be gone for Christmas as well. Hopefully they will come home around the 28th or so. It will be our first Christmas separated. But we'll just reschedule! :D

Please pray for wisdom for Dr. Thiel. We believe he is a Christian, and he has been absolutely wonderful to work with. His son had both Down syndrome and epilepsy (a type called Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, which is nearly impossible to control), and is now seizure free through his father's treatments.

Pray for Mom and Leslie. The Lord has been good in providing a good, safe, economical hotel, good rental car deals, and so many other things. Leslie has her kitchen set up in the hotel room, which is not an easy situation (and I speak from experience). They've had their hard days ... like the time there was a late-night Christmas party going on that kept them up half the night; then the keys got locked in the car the next day; and once they were finally on their way home, they missed the exit and ended up having to go miles out of their way. : ) But not all the days have been like that, thankfully.

Oh, and we have some good news! Leslie says that Katelyn Grace has maneuvered herself into a sitting position twice!!! All by herself!

We have really come to realize recently how dangerous these seizures can be. Actually, we're thankful in some ways that she's not crawling or walking. Any seizure would make her fall. And she has them all the time. Hopefully we'll figure them out before she becomes extremely mobile! Also, we're just praying that they're not causing brain damage.

Thank you for your prayers for our sweet little baby!

And Merry Christmas!

Our High in the South Here is 65 Degrees Today

Anchorage, AK - My home come May

Currently:

Fair

-3°F
Feels Like
-19°F

Updated: Dec 20 09:53 a.m. Alaska ST

Today	Tonight
PM Snow Showers High 7°F Precip 50% Wind: NNE 6 mph Max. Humidity: 64% UV Index: 0 Low Sunrise: 10:13 AM AT Avg. High: 23°F Record High: 47°F (1969)	Light Snow Overnight Low 7°F Precip 70% Wind: N 6 mph Max. Humidity: 74% Sunset: 3:42 PM AT Avg. Low: 11°F Record Low: -34°F (1917)

Anchorage at 10:40 this morning (Alaska time), as seen on one of my webcams

Tait sent me these pictures fairly recently of their backyard:

Oh, isn't it beautiful?

My Husband-to-be's Goals for the Education of Our Children

After we discussed practical home education on the phone one day, Tait sent me the following points in an e-mail:

1. We will emphasize character education. We will work on character prior to formal education, and emphasize it just as one would academics. We will emphasize our children’s relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ much more highly than we will academics. Our motto must be “No amount of education matters if our child goes to hell.”

2. We will heavily, heavily emphasize reading first out loud, then on their own. This will be the major thrust of our teaching.

3. We will work heavily on phonics and basic mathematics. Once these tools are mastered we will expect our children to do the bulk of their learning on their own. This does not mean that they will be unguided or not have to report in; it means that we will help them to set realistic goals, and work through those goals with accountability. On the flip side, this does not mean that we will use any curriculum type standard for what they work on. For example, if one child is interested in archeology, we will feed rather than discourage that interest, meanwhile helping them to balance that passion with other needful interests.

4. We will emphasize a notebook approach to school. The goal: That our children would not just learn to digest spoon fed mush, but would be able to accurately digest information for themselves through a biblical worldview.

Go to Tait's blog

Photo of my fiance, Tait, holding his two youngest nephews, Liam and Aiden

Katelyn Grace Needs Your Prayers!

I have a post up on my family blog explaining the situation. There are also some cute pictures!

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