Great kids!

Jan. 18, 2009 Yes, these are great kids and privileged as well. They are the students in the first grade that I tutor in. (that is not why they are privileged, they have access to a good Christian education) Well I probably do more teacher aide tasks then tutoring but all of it is fun because I feel I am helping in a small way to make their education all it can be. The school is the Florida Bible Christian School. The kids are not problem kids as were those at the Ranch in Orlando. Mostly they are from homes that are fairly well off financially but they also come carrying the blight of society in a large city. (I am generalizing, it is not always true) By this I mean that the home may be able to buy them most anything but it is short of time for the kids. It is evident in that they respond to attention with a passion when they know you make time for them. Many of the students, older ones especially, find it hard to believe that people our age would come and live on the parking lot just to help them. Probably the lesson of giving for another's sake is the most important lesson we can teach them.

This school believes in a tremendous amount of paper work. The stack of papers to correct each day is huge. The teacher finds it hard to fit everything in each day and often feels frazzled. I would suspect that it is not surprising to any teacher to feel that way at the end of the day. And, as always, just a few of the students take an abundance of time and that takes away from the others. Parental help is poor and I can see that when parents work outside the home, commute a distance and come home to their parental and household tasks that it is hard to spend enough time with homework but I know some of you reading this do just that and do a good job with it. I guess I have such super models in this family that it is sad to think some kids do not have that privilege.

Dad continues to work on various projects. I think it would be nicer if they had some bigger project to work on since we are here for 2 months but this year it is maintenance, painting, repairing and improving the baseball diamond dugout and bleachers, etc. Since he is a jack-of-all trades having been a farmer for so long they can put him on most jobs and he will figure it out.

Down here they think it is really cool (I have heard the word cold mentioned) weather since the evenings get into down to 50 and the days only to 70. We just tell them they don't know what cold is. We start the day with 2 layers and a sweater but throughout the morning we are down to just one layer on and then late afternoon we reverse the process. For Iowans it is a wonderful place to be.

We had a three day celebration of our anniversary. Tuesday night the RVICS couples had a pecan pie social for us. We then had to tell about some things that we appreciated in our spouse and some family history. Of course, we could have gone on forever if we had to go over 55 years but we did abbreviate it. Then on Wednesday night we entertained the couples after work at our RV for strawberry pie and ice cream. They couldn't believe that we would entertain when it was our anniversary, we shouldn't have to work when we are celebrating. That is how it goes, right? Then on Wednesday night and Thursday we enjoyed all the phone calls from you. Dad thought I had used enough words Thursday on the phone to last for several days. We thoroughly loved it and cherish the sentiments that were shared. We are so blessed to have such a great, caring, loving family and we thank you all for your concerns and support thru all our various periods in our life.

Then Thursday evening we tried to go to a steak restaurant but it was closed. We found, instead, a Melting Pot restaurant which is a fondue place. We had been to one in Omaha so knew we would love it. This time we didn't go as crazy with ordering everything and having to eat it all and then not sleep much. That place is so terrifically good from the cheese course to the chocolate finale.

This week is a historical week no matter how much we question the direction the country will go in the next years. It is not a "piece of cake" no matter who leads us so we will have to do our duty to pray for all those involved in the government but also not shirk our duty to uphold our country. Heavy stuff!

Take a look at the picture here. Talk about being brought up in a humble home and this was after a major remodeling project because the fire had destroyed a lot of the interior. After the fire the porch, bathroom (first in-door bathroom we had) and upstairs room was added. The fire was in 1945 go this would have been just a few years after that. What a dapper couple! Even now, at times I would just like to talk to them about something or even more to ask them about something. Those days are gone but they left a godly heritage for which I am grateful.

So, enough rambling for this week. Until next week we pray for you all that the sunshine of God's love will warm your hearts and souls.

Love,

Dad and Mom