the out of state college visit

We took Carter to a preview weekend at at college 2 states up from here.  It was a long 7 hour drive, but so much fun to be together with the eldest manchild.  The college is just precious.  The town like a Normal Rockwell painting...tiny, but darling and immaculate.  The kids on campus was like no college students we've seen before. As in, where were the "real" students?  Maybe locked up?  Kidding!  Really, this college is so amazing. Their focus is developing servant leadership and community. Sunday afternoon we took a tour. At then end of the tour, they whisked off the visiting students for their dinner and to meet their dorm room host for the night.  The door closed quickly and the parents were ushered to the parent dinner.  There was no goodbye, no time for the parents to meet the dorm room mate, just closed door and see ya tomorrow kid.  Another mom and I stood at the door looking lost.  She said "Well, that was abrupt".  It was hilarious!  Here we were visiting a college 7 hours away and the minute our kid is out of our safe keeping and watchful eye, I begin to lose it.  The other mom and I slowly walked away, chuckling how we weren't ready...and the lump formed...oh dear...I'm not ready for this reality....tears forming.  Mike looked at me like "Are you okay? It isn't that big of a deal".  I gathered my wits about me and was fine...really. So what if I checked my phone every 5 minutes to see if Carter had called or texted?!  

Mike and I went to the delicious parent dinner.  Then we headed over to watch chapel.  A tornado hit in my stomach all of a sudden.  I told Mike "I think I'm sick."  Barely made it through chapel and that was it.  Violently ill!!!  All...night...long...sick sick.  I even told Mike I made need an ER visit for iv fluids if it didn't abate soon.  So, the college preview weekend wasn't much of a preview for me.  I missed everything.  Mike went to the meetings and watched Carter audition for arts and ministry team scholarships.  

We made the long trek home(I slept in the back of the minivan).  Huge thanks to Nana for keeping the kids for 2.5 days for us.  The school was great!  If we could have dreamed up a school that suits him perfectly, this place was it. Carter has since decided that maybe that college is just too far.  He wasn't too keen on the idea of us leaving him there in August.  We keep praying over what he should do next fall.  I've already finished college...this isn't my gig, this is his life and he should live it the way God has set for him.

Go Red For Women ™ presents: 'Just a Little Heart Attack'

  I found this gem of a video today while working on a class I'm teaching to new grads.  Women, we have unusual heart attack signs and this video is hilarious and educational!
February is Go Red for Heart Health Month

Parents who are pushing too hard...brilliant post

http://www.jasonlsanders.com/2014/01/23/would-that-be-okay/

looking at home school options

Anyone out there homeschool children with delays/special needs?  Amanda, if you are reading,  I'd like to chat with you a bit.  We are pondering this for Dillon next year (5th grade).  Several reasons why. Just not sure how the logistics work and what is best for Dillon because he is so social. Praying for clarity and vision, or as Francis Chan says we are "prinking"...praying and thinking. The main goals for him are:  learn to read, learn to do basic math, read God's word, improve his articulation to speak clearly, learn to go to a store and purchase food, figure out the cost and be able to pay correctly, learn to cook, learn to be independent and safe alone at the house(he lacks any problem solving skills and would have no clue how to act in an emergency), provide music and sports fun, lots of fun for him, him be happy!  Of course, I'll still be working 2 shifts a week plus going to grad school 1 afternoon a week.  We will be creative with this and enlist support from friends and family members.  We have a possible avenue that we are praying over. If an experienced home school/working momma has some suggestions, leave a comment or email me at beepa27@gmail.com

the college choice; harder than I thought

Super fun and exciting times when your oldest is a senior(and just turned 18 a few days ago...waaahhh, tears!)  Applying to colleges, looking to the future, dreaming...all super fun.


and yet, oh so stressful and confusing at the same time.  Who knew how confusing and stressful this would be for the parents?  For the last 2 years or so, Mike and I had said Carter would have to attend his first year at community college, gain maturity and college experience, prove to us that he would actually go to class and turn in assignments, and then he could go on to greener pastures.  Um, yeah, well that is not exactly a fun nor impressive plan.  One of the difficult aspects of living in suburbia and your kids attending a college prep school is the expectations that come with that. "Where is Carter going to college next year?" is the question I've been getting for many months.  His classmates are posting acceptances to Baylor, Tech, OSU, etc on Instagram and Facebook and telling each other about moving off to school in August.  Suddenly, our very wise plan seems so lame.  Then, this came.....

DBU accepted him.  THE school.  He is thrilled and would love to go there!
DBU has a great reputation, is the leader for contemporary worship artists (which is all he wants to do), is only about 1.15 hour from us, has a lovely campus, and we have lots of personal connections there.  We really didn't think he'd get in.  I'll be completely honest here, and Carter is okay with me sharing this....His scholastic career has been anything bu fantastic.  School is a chore and leaves him uninspired.  He has always struggled with Attention Deficit and literally forgets to take his homework to class every week.  Now, if school was all lively discussions, music, and acting....he'd be a rock star student.  Take notes during Literature and then a test....well...what notes??  Huh?  Did you see that bird fly by the window??  :)  You get the picture.
Back to the college dilemma.  Another small, private school in Kansas is hotly pursuing him.  We are taking him up there next week to visit and audition for scholarships in the arts dept.  It looks like a really fun and cool, although very small, liberal arts college.  Of course, both the above schools are to the cost of 30 thousand dollars a year!!!  Excuse me, but aint no way. We have a 529 college fund, but it would be depleted super duper fast.  We have chosen to store up treasures in people's lives(3 int'l adoptions of precious children) and in following God in awesome mission trips overseas, not in huge savings accounts where nobody benefits and thieves and moths destroy (Matthew chapter 6). We refuse to put our family in a financial strain of debt for a cool college experience and Carter agrees with that.  So, we have 3 choices:   1.stick with the community college plan for a year or two, see how he does, then move on to a four year university 2. go to a four year public university that is about an hour away and is a very good school for 1/2 of what the private schools are...but they don't have degrees in what he desires    3.  pray, fast, seek the Lord, work really hard, Carter work really hard, beg every applicable scholarship fund for money, step out in faith, and send him on to school praying he doesn't get caught up in all his freedoms and forget to attend class. He is a remarkable young man, but not sure he is ready for such freedoms.
As a mother, I'd love nothing better to load him up in August, drive to DBU and move him into the dorm.  However, as parents, we must do what is right and best for our children.  I'm just not sure that is a wise decision.  My parents let me move to a school 4 hours away as a freshman and I HATED it!!!  I was miserable.  But, if they hadn't let me try, I know I'd have resented them for a long time.  At least I got the chance to do what my friends were doing.
Arrrgh, this is hard stuff!!