Back to School

And so it begins again! August 22 (coincidentily our 26th anniversary) Noelle and Teme went back to school. Noelle is a senior!!!! And Teme is in 7th grade. That day also took Jake back to Iowa State after a year hiatus. The 26th saw Sabrina starting first grade and Jake starting classes.

We covet your prayers, as usual. Noelle's schedule is very heavy for her. She still wakes up with nauseau and a headache almost everyday. We are still seeking more answers health-wise. But in the meantime she has 3 traditional setting classes and 3 PBDA/online classes. Six hours of class is a lot for her weak body. She accomplished so much this summer, I know she can keep up the great work!

She took her first college course, her CNA class. She passed with an A!! She will still need to pass the state liscensing exam in the next couple months. This is the first step in her journey to become a nurse. It is required to be admitted to nursing school. Last night she wrote her essay for her admission to Allen College. She will be pursuing her BSN which will include 2 years at a community college and two years at Allen.

Teme's academic life may look a little different in the future as well. At the urging of his teachers we had Teme tested for learning disabilites at the University of Iowa. Teme was diagnosed with an intellectual disability, so eventually he will transition from ELL services to special education services. We will be meeting with his school next week to go over the official report from the U of I. This is a whole new ballpark for us. Please pray that we can navigate these waters successfully and always be good advocates for Teme. As I watched him leave football practice the other night I was struck again by how well liked he is. His ELL teacher has been able to observe Teme outside the ELL classroom this year. He said, "I wasn't that popular in middle school!" We have a fairly steady stream of boys that come over to our house to play basketball with Teme. I just pray that his learning difficulties never interfere with his friendships or his athletics.

Jake had a successful first week at school!! He has a tiny dorm room in an upper classmen dorm. His roommate is a noncommunicative recent immigrant. Quite a shock, I think, for Mr. Social. He is talking about running for dorm president. He said, "It will look good on my resume." I said, "who are you?" Kidding. He was very successful in his year off working at HGS/Toro. He was promoted to Team Leader and was interviewing and training new employees. When he left his bosses encouraged him to come back as an intern next summer. I pray that God inspires him with a course of action for his life. I pray that God gets a hold of his heart! I pray for a fantastic Christian Mrs. Hoss some day.

Then there is Chatty Kathy, I mean Sabrina. This morning she did not want to go to school because it is boring. It is going to be a long 12+ years. She missed two days last week with a fever and we are struggling to get her make up work done. She just is kind of a complainer right now. I just hope I am not modeling that. I need to project joy. There was some discussion about Sabrina repeating Kindergarten. I pray that we made the right decision. She has just 11 kids in her class, nine girls and two boys. I would certainly think the small class size would be an advantage.

Well, that is the back to school update. Have a great year!