Beautiful October

Life is filled with so many challenges and many of them completely out of our control. Those that we can have an effect on are worked on and hopefully mastered. Those that are out of our control (such as World/National events) we can only pray about and thank our blessings if they are not directly affecting us. The message I want to leave with this post is EMBRACE LIFE. There is so much joy to be had in the world. Grab it whenever you can. That said, we had plenty of challenges this month and moments of sorrow. There were tears, angry voices and moments of sheer frustration and confusion as to what the next step should be. However, at the end of each day we are extremely fortunate to be a family filled with love that strives each day to find joy, peace and common ground. I wanted to write about challenges as a friendly reminder that sometimes social media is a half truth or a total lie. Many people only post the good stuff and honestly, how many of us document the bad stuff in pictures. By the end of the month, the pictures help guide my posts and they are filled with so much happiness. That is the big picture of our family. 

Rebekah's early birthday present was two tickets to the Hozier concert. It was in Georgia, so we had to spend the night. We had a lovely girl's night out. The concert was wonderful. I really didn't know very much about Hozier before attending and ended up googling him some during the show. I was impressed to find out that he had been raised a Quaker just as I was  (there aren't that many of us kicking around) and that he did so much humanitarian work in his country of Ireland. I love it when my children's favorite musicians are really decent people. 

Waiting for Hozier after being drenched in the rain. We bought dry band shirt. How does Rebekah look so put together after being caught in the rain!

I was very excited to discover that the only currently known spotless giraffe in the world had been born in a Tennessee zoo just a little over an hour from our home. We bided our time to let the crowds die down at this small family owned zoo.  Finally the day arrived and we were off. I love giraffes so much and seeing this rare baby was a real treat. We were able to get so close to the giraffes. The zoo was wonderful overall with lots of lovely and happy animals. We spent a long time with the giraffes and I even had the pleasure of feeding one of them. We will definitely go back again. They are closed for the winter. We were enjoying the animals so much that we forgot to take any family pictures. We all attended, but I only got a picture of myself, Elijah and Rebekah and we aren't looking at the camera. 

This sweet giraffe is super rare because she was born without a pattern.

Rebekah turned 20 this month! How the years fly by so fast. She is a lovely person. She is determined, works hard and is well liked by young and old. She is chasing her dreams, but never steps on anyone in the pursuit. She is well liked by other dancers even when she gets the roles they wish to have. That is a special feat in the dance world. Her party theme was "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and we had a fun dice and dart game with prizes. 

Dear husband also celebrated a birthday this month. We went on a beautiful hike together on his birthday. The view at the top of Bearwallow Mountain was stunning. We sat and watched the sky for a long time. David decided to have funnel cake for his birthday.

 

We also made it up on the parkway one early morning with Rebekah. The leaves have been stunning this year. We are way behind in rain, but the lack of rain means the vibrant colors of the leaves are staying on the trees for longer. This is the most beautiful autumn in years. 

The last wonderful event of the month was a absolutely wonderful Halloween. We have struggled to make Halloween fun since the kids grew out of Trick or Treating. It seems like if you don't drink and party, there isn't much to do. We don't even get Trick or Treaters in our neighborhood. This year I landed on the idea of going to an escape room. I booked it a month in advance, told everyone to dress up and to expect to have fun. We did the escape room based on the game Clue. The twist was that we were trying to find the potential killer before he killed Mr. Body. It was an absolute blast. We had a wonderful time and the gamemaster who watched us on camera and advised now and again was great. Everyone thought it was the best Halloween in a long time. This may become a tradition while the kids live at home or nearby. 

Steampunk Husband

Elijah and Tim were Hazmat workers

Rebekah and I were witches. She was a Slytherin.

Elijah really got into the activities.

Elijah still doesn't have a job. He is struggling to find the right fit and he hasn't run out of money yet so his anxiety is winning right now. He has applied at a half a dozen places. Most of them had filled the positions by the time I convinced him to call and check the status of his application. Two of them are still out there and we are doing one to two things everyday that I don't work. It is a slow process that I hope picks up soon. However, he is driving better and better and is almost ready for the driving test (which will be an even bigger anxiety experience than finding a job). He also just is happier and sweeter (as long as you aren't talking about a job). I pray we find a good fit for him soon.

Blessings, Dawn

September Happenings!

We enjoyed a day at the Biltmore Estate. We took Grandma with us to see the Italian Renaissance Alive show at the Biltmore. It was pretty good (although not as good as The Van Gogh Immersion exhibit I saw in Washington, D.C.), but very well done nonetheless. Rebekah and I also toured the house as we often do when we visit the estate. We also toured the greenhouses and some of the gardens with David. We had a fantastic time and miss having season passes. They really went up in price after the pandemic. 

Timothy, David, Rebekah and I went to the state fair one night (Elijah doesn't really enjoy the state fair and  had an event with some friends on the same night). We had a blast and really enjoyed doing multiple rides. Okay, Tim and Rebekah rode multiple rides. David and I are not much braver than bumper cars. We also ate too much fair food. At least, we shared everything. 

Elijah finally put in his two-week notice at Target and resigned his job at the end of September. I am sad that he got pushed out by one difficult person, but am so proud of his success working there for two entire years. I am hopeful that he is moving on to happier horizons. All the cakes at Whole Foods were Halloween-themed on the night I went to purchase one, so I created my own little twist. The skulls are for the hard and painful time these last few months were at Target for Elijah and the New Horizons is for moving onto new life experiences. He loved the cake and the gesture. He slept pretty much his first week home. Now Elijah is doing some adulting things that had fallen by the wayside--dental appointment, passport renewal, perfecting some driving skills so he can take the  driver's test and a bit of soul searching on where to go next with his work life. He is pretty sure that he wants to apply to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. He is leaning toward working in the grocery field. Hopefully, he will be gainfully employed in a new job within a few weeks. 

My job is going really well. I love being a nanny. We have started going out into the world and are enjoy exploring all the libraries in the county, as well as Little Gym classes. I can't believe I have already worked with him for one year. 

Rebekah, David and I went to see the musical, Chicago. Tim and Elijah could not be enticed to attend. I must admit that it isn't one of my favorite musicals and I preferred the movie. However, we got some real bargain tickets. David and Rebekah liked it. Intermission was almost as exciting as the show when two men (one who resisted arrest) were arrested from the audience orchestra section. We don't know why, but it sure made a stir and delayed the second act. 

Much of September was filled with Innovations Waiver meetings and trainings. Rebekah and I are being trained to work with Tim, because he was approved for 40 hours a week (at least until they do more extensive testing on him). That is too many hours for Rebekah to do a week, so I will pick up the hours that she can't fulfill. I must say the training is pretty easy but very, very time consuming. Rebekah has completed the 30ish hours of training, and I have completed everything but renewing my CPR training. 

School is going great for Rebekah. She ended up moving into a refresher math class and is doing well in it. She is still taking five classes this semester. Dance is also going well. She was picked for Arabian (solo) in the Nutcracker this year. This role has been on her dream list for years. She will also be dancing Snow core, Flower core, and party parent. 

October is already upon us. This month holds so many joys and celebrations. We have two birthdays, a concert to attend and so many fun Autumn Bucket List items. 

Blessings, Dawn