Catching up – My Domestic Church

The last 7-Quick Takes Blog link-up held on the This Ain’t the Lyceum blog, was about 10 months ago. I half-heartedly tried to keep it going, but without the host properly giving it a send-off and passing the baton to another blogger, that was difficult.

But I really have missed it. I find that without that weekly prompt to do something, I just don’t take the time to write much about what’s going on around here. And actually saving moments of family life was one of the original reasons that I started this blog.

So with that, I’m relaunching, and I’m call it, “Catching Up.” I don’t want to be tied down to 7 items. Sometimes it will be more, sometimes maybe less.

So here goes.

• My oldest child, Calvin, and his wife are living and thriving in North Carolina. He works as a paramedic and she has a new job working for a college. They are growing an amazing garden and I watch my Daughter-in-law’s wonderful kitchen creations whenever she posts them.
• My second son Sam (I love that alliteration) got married last fall. They sold their business and then started to travel. They went to Greece last Christmas. They lived in Bali for a month last spring. Right now they are living in New Orleans and he is working in a very prestigious restaurant, learning new skills and gaining more kitchen experience. But he has just been accepted to culinary school in Italy for six months! Who knows what will happen after that?

• Gabe worked in his brother’s business. He stayed on after the business sold, but it just wasn’t the same. The original concept of the restaurant was soups and salads from seasonal, local foods with a bar attached. The new owners saw it as a bar with, “Oh yeah, and we have food.” So he left and found an amazing job at a local college in the maintenance department where he is being paid to learn on-the-job. This is a great opportunity for him with lots of promise.

I want to point out that all three of my sons were homeschooled, and none of them went on to university. This is the new normal for many.

• Noah did go to college. He graduated with honors in 2020 and met the love of his life. They are getting married in a few weeks – the second wedding for our family in less than a year.
• Izzy continued to work through the pandemic and was promoted to manager at her job. She is now a part-time manager and will be starting art school this fall. I love the fact that she’s an older student, with a nice financial nest egg for stability. She’s a commuter student and like her brother before her, will live at home while going to school. I was sharing this with an acquaintance of mine and she told me that she didn’t start college until she was 27. In her opinion, that was the best thing she ever did because the maturity she gained in those 9 years out of high school helped her focus on school and not lose her focus or her faith.
• Rosie is finishing high school this year. She is finishing up her studies and continues to run for the local high school team – but that’s a post for a different time.
• My granddaughter, Miss C. is getting ready to start 4th grade. She tested above grade level on her California Achievement Tests in every subject, except vocabulary – where she was at grade level. I try to send her home with a word a day. Last month she was supposed to tell her father that dinner was delectable, but it came out detestable – so I guess we have a little more work to do!

And now you’re mostly, kinda, caught up!

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