Precious Moments

This week has been as busy as ever.  It started well with a trip to the beach:

We make it a priority once a month to go and it occurred to me this time just how important this monthly trip is.  Our children are growing into adults quicker than I can keep up.  One day soon they may not want to take our outing to Worthing.  Time is slipping through our fingers and every minute needs to be redeemed.  I took this photo of L12 and she looks so willowy and gorgeous and young lady like:

She is no longer a child.  Every minute counts now, as we help her become the woman I know she is capable of being.

School is happy and busy too.  I feel that after a rocky patch at the beginning of the year we are now back on track.  Everyone is enjoying themselves and are kept very busy:

B4 is absolutely thriving doing school each day.  She can not wait to start and never wants to finish.  She is learning her letters and is a very enthusiastic student.

T13 is happily plodding along.  He is finding maths easy and enjoyable, is working hard towards his Physics IGCSE completing past papers whenever he has a moment, as well as joining in with us whenever we are doing something I think might interest him.  He has been enjoying long bike rides with Gary and is generally in a very happy place right now.

L12, to my ongoing disbelief, enjoys maths more than I can say and is often asking for just a few more minutes to complete her lesson.  I am so very pleased we found Conquer Maths because it really does seem to work for everyone.  Her writing, which was always good, has completely blown me away recently.  I can see her maturing in almost every aspect of her life and this is reflected in the way she writes.

C12 is becoming quirkier by the moment.  She is such a bright and colourful character to have around and keeps us all amused with her self-deprecating jokes.  It seems she has not only accepted her quirkiness but embraced it.  It is always lovely to see someone comfortable in their own skin and I really think she is heading towards that.

But this week has really been all about A6.

A is, in general, a happy-go-lucky, placid child; very easy to be around and in general always has a smile on her face.  Just recently I had noticed this smile wavering.  She seemed to be getting more frustrated with things and just plain unsettled.  When gently questioned she burst into tears saying she didn’t know what was wrong but she didn’t feel happy.

A is, in many ways, like I was as a child.  Happy when occupied, not so much when bored.  Like I did, she has concentration issues which makes it very hard for her to focus.  This means any activity lasts about five minutes.  I could tell this was beginning to bother her.  She is a bright child but specific skills such as reading and writing she really found hard to master because of the concentration required.  And so as a family we began ‘Project A6’.

I will be sharing all we have done but it seems we have a happier, smilier A6, who now understands that her struggles are not hers alone.  And that as a family we can do immeasurably more than even she thought we could.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their word: If one falls down, the other can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though, one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12