Life Update

Hello people! We are full swing back into the routine of school around here! The boys have been doing really great with completing their work and getting done before or around lunch every day. I have had a few difficult days with Jackson but that was due to some behavioral/perseverance issues and not academically related. You don't get to be a slacker or lazy in our house. It will cause conflict every day! Both boys have their plan for the year and can work ahead all they want, but they do have minimal requirements for the week to meet to ensure they are making adequate progress.

Of course, just because we didn't learn new academic skills over the summer, doesn't mean we didn't learn other things. Some kind of brush things inside of Jackson's 4-wheeler starter went bad. Johnny decided he could buy a new starter and not have to fool with a more invasive repair for just a few dollars more. When it came in, Jackson got the news he gets to put it on! He got the job done and it only needed a little tightening from dad to finish it up!

In this next picture, John was learning from Jackson how to pose as a  VIP (at the miniature golf place in Blue Ridge mind you.) 

John has a job. I am not sure that I have mentioned that on here or not, but he was hired by the guy who coordinates all the photography and sales to sell the pictures of people rafting at the rafting company. He has loved watching that money get direct-deposited into his account each week. And he has learned some great technology skills along the way. In addition, I have seen such strong work ethic from the kid. No more worries from me if he will ever be able to take care of himself and be responsible. In addition, he has been implementing a plan with his money and requested a meeting with a financial advisor again. He had that meeting in August and started a monthly contribution in his investment account. His adult plan: to live in a van while he works hard for several years. (No clue where the kid got this idea, lol!) His current career interests include: swift water rescue, trucking and diesel mechanics, sales, federal park ranger, and house flipping/rentals. If his interests continue I plan to let him complete high school as early as possible and start exploring/learning the trades/skills he wants. I think that would be more valuable than spending 4 years learning mess that he will just have to repeat another 2 years if he decides to go to college. If he stays on track we should be able to get everything in for high school over the next 3-3 1/2 years. This would put him finishing up around 16-16 1/2. I had much rather him get experience doing things before he just jumps straight to college and flounders 50-100 grand and decides he doesn't really want to do what he invested all that time and money in pursuing. He has plenty of time to make all of those decisions.

In addition, the owners of the rafting company Johnny works for were so kind to let Jackson and John have their own business inside the company this season. They purchased a freezer and ice cream and have sold it inside the store. This has helped Jackson with math and both have learned a lot about a business. They keep up with their monthly sales, pay the owners 20% of the total, and decide how to allocate the rest (what to use for inventory/reinvestment in the business and how much to pay themselves). They even learned a hard lesson. One evening Jackson went up and got something out of the freezer and did not shut the door all the way. The next day, he found that most of the ice cream had melted. They had just restocked two days prior. Both were devastated and after a business mtg. they were able to come up with a new plan to try to recover some of their loss. I am so thankful for this. These are lessons that could never be taught inside of a room or a camper :)

As for the rafting venture, Johnny has been wearing many hats over the past few weeks and has been extremely busy. This week everything has finally slowed down a good bit. And yes, he liked all the work this season. He learned a good bit this season as well. We are actually starting to mull over our winter plans. As of right now, it looks like we will be roaming out west with some targets in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. In the Spring, we plan to return back here to TN. 

We have been looking for a place to buy in the area (in TN), but I am a little picky. I don't want it unless it has a mountain view or on the river or is just an incredibly good deal. And most plots of land that I like have restrictions and require 1500sq ft+ houses or if they already have houses they are huge. I am so over normal size living/houses. I just want a quaint, small space with lots of area for entertaining or that I can remodel with an open floor plan. Where are the small cabins on the river? Or plots of land that we can move our camper to and build a large outdoor pavilion and entertaining area? We really need to become official TN residents for insurance purposes, voting, drivers licenses, etc. Trips to MS for dr appts, dental work, eye drs, continuing education, voting...all that gets a little old. But, we are patient people and know that if we are to make that move, something will arise one day. Oh...and I can transfer my counseling license to TN and can actually volunteer as a counselor in this state! 

One adjustment to living here (at the rafting co.) instead of at Thunder Rock (the campground) has been our access to outdoor activities. We had 40 miles of trails, a river, an a constant stream of people to visit with in our backyard there. Here, we are alone most of the time and have to drive to the trails and water. We joined the YMCA in Cleveland and have been working out, swimming, and playing racquet ball 4 or 5 days a week for a few hours at a time. This helps us have access to equipment to help strengthen John's calf muscle as he continues to recover from his injury. He still can't walk in uncontrolled environments without his boot (for precaution). He has been cleared to swim but only in in pools because there is no risk of him slipping on rocks, etc. His next appointment is Oct. 9th and we will see where we are in the healing process. Jackson has started playing on a flag football team at the Y and has games on Saturdays as well.

 There are lots of small towns within an hour of Benton that have neat things to explore. We learned all about the railroad at a museum in Etowah a few weeks ago.

 Jackson and I paddled the lower river one day (there is no whitewater on that section and is just a slow float). We enjoyed our time together but I do feel a little guilt that John couldn't go. He has missed out on so much this season.

I just realized I don't have many pictures. I blame Johnny. He keeps my camera in his pfd and fills my computer with picture of people on the river in rafts! As a matter of fact, I had him clear a bunch of them and videos off my computer recently. I don't want its brain getting clogged because I need it to work well for my own work. I forget that I have a good camera on my phone now. 

Well, there we go. That's our life right now. For me, God has been working and teaching me lots of things the past few months, really the past year. I have avoided writing about them because of the range of emotions and thoughts I have processed during this time. Well, actually I have written about some things, I just keep the posts private. One thing I really miss is having a group of people in which you can process these things with. We have found a great church to be a part of but they don't really have small groups that explore things on a deeper theological level. They don't discuss or encourage theological discussions in the groups I attend, it actually seems to be avoided. I assume this is because most people can't engage in those discussions without getting angry, attacking others, or it leading to division/conflict. And to be honest, the main thing is the stance on Christ and that is always clearly communicated. I can deduct a lot of their theology based on responses to questions. I really love those types of discussions and studies-it helps challenge me to think more critically about the Bible and what I read and believe. They typically stick to organized studies at the church we attend. As a matter of fact, I am a part of three small groups (Sunday mornings, Wednesday night and Sunday nights) and all three have been doing published studies. I have enjoyed them but really miss having a close community/connection with people in which it is safe to study, explore and discuss more theologically based things. On another note, I have plenty of time to study and complete all of them every week. In our formal life I was doing good to complete all the activities in one-much less 3. I often wonder how people who work keep up with it all. I have enjoyed them and as a matter of fact, really had an epiphany about something recently due to something that was addressed in one of he the studies during SS one morning. I just badgered my bff with the thoughts and shared with her what God had taught me. I am sure I wear Johnny's ear off sometimes processing it all as well!

In the meantime, Live a Meaningful Life. Our life is just a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow. Invest in things that have real value, things that rust and moths can't destroy!