Merry Christmas!
Wait, it's not Christmas anymore! But a couple years ago, I realized my life was a lot saner if I wrote my yearly letter at New Year's instead of Christmas.
So, here's the annual doings of the Wagner family. I tried to think of something creative this year, but nothing came to mind. So, it was either just be straightforward and write it, or forego a letter this year. So, here it is.
2007 was a year of many changes for us. At the end of October 2006, the worker's compensation insurance company decided that Bob should no longer receive worker's comp benefits. So we were without income for a time. The Lord was faithful to us and provided all our needs during this uncertain time. We are now involved in a lawsuit with the insurance company and Bob's former boss, as well as a Social Security disability appeal.
Lisa sought full time employment and sent out many resumes and went on interviews. She also did substitute teaching for a brief time, before being hired in March as a part time teaching assistant at a local Christian school to finish out the school year. Bob took over the majority of the home educating duties at this point.
We decided that a second shift job would fit our family's needs better, so that Lisa could remain involved in the education of our children. In May, Lisa was offered a full time job in a factory on the second shift. She now works Monday-Friday from 3:45pm to 12:15 am. Bob has taken a more active role in the children's lessons, teaching them math and spelling, as well as whatever else is needed.
So, as you can see, many adjustments have have been made in the lives of the Wagner family. Lisa is now a full time working mom and Bob is now a part time homeschool teacher and full time caregiver. The kids have adjusted well to the differences, although they do miss Mom being at home on weeknights, James especially.
David turned 13 at the end of 2007 and is in the 7th grade. He's now a TEENAGER! He still plays AYSO soccer and enjoys making goals. David broke his hand in August doing a bike trick and enjoyed a brief moment of fame as his embarrassing mother posted the video on the internet. David is still a Lego maniac and has progressed to using computer design programs for his Lego creations. Something special was that David wrote a short book about time traveling to the Middle Ages and he wants to write a sequel.
Emily is 10 and in the 5th grade. She also plays AYSO soccer and has improved a lot this season so far. Emily started art classes this year with Don West (christianartforkids.com) and has learned a lot. Singing is one of Emily's favorite pasttimes and she loves her homeschool choir class. Emily is always making sweet gifts and drawing pictures for her loved ones; her thoughtfulness is one of the very special things about her.
James, age 8, is either in second or third grade. Only a homeschooled child could be described that way. It doesn't really make any difference though as we just keep working at his instructional level. James loves playing soccer and he plays hard! He especially enjoys making goals. He loves other sports too – baseball, football, kickball. His homeschool PE class is one of his favorites. He likes playing outside too. James is a hard worker and often asks to rake the grass or shovel snow. He loves to cuddle and be read to.
At age five, Suzy is now in kindergarten, making all of our children officially “school aged”. Suzy started her second year of AYSO soccer and had a complete attitude change. She adores her team and loves making goals! Suzy likes reading books and enjoys all of her co-op classes, especially Beethoven's Wig. She is very confident and independent and she thinks she could be a princess along with her favorites, Jasmine, Aurora, and Cinderella.
Lisa still enjoys reading many kinds of books - a total of 86 in 2007. She was able to attend a women's retreat in March which was an awesome time of renewal and connection. She was able to see her favorite musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, performed twice this year – once winning free tickets! She continues to coordinate a homeschool support group, although she is now delegating many responsibilities to other homeschool moms. She also tried something new and participated in the National Novel Writing Month challenge in November, completing 50,126 words. Editing is now in progress, with the hope of publication on the horizon.
Bob is participating in a program at Michigan Works that will hopefully pay for him to be retrained in a new career. He also volunteered at the local homeless shelter when it was hosted by our church. He continues to pursue medical treatments for chronic pain and other medical conditions. David and Bob were both filmed in a movie – Pendragon: Sword of His Father. Hopefully they will make it into the final cut, but that won't be seen for many months yet.
Our family went camping with our homeschool group in August for the 3rd annual campout. Camping for six days with a crowd of our favorite people is an awesome experience and we look forward to the 4th annual campout next summer!
I'm sure there's lots more I could say, but I'm out of space and I'm sure you're bored silly already! If you like keeping up with the Wagners, check out these links on the internet.
May God bless you richly in this coming year with all His richest blessings!
Bob, Lisa, David, Emily, James, and Suzanne Wagner
Our Homeschool Blog: homeschoolblogger.com/LisaQuing
link to David's Bike Trick Video: http://homeschoolblogger.com/LisaQuing/410191/
Family Pictures: http://s225.photobucket.com/albums/dd212/lisaquing/
Pendragon Movie Info: burnsfamilystudios.com/movies/pendragon
lisaquing@gmail.com
Posts
