February family update

We are plugging away at daily routines: 
*Homeschooling with extra work for Lamb 1 to prepare him for high school and Lamb 2 and 3 concentrating on learning to read and spell.
*Our whole family is attending a weekly Bible study on Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the book of Mark, and the Small Catechism. We do the readings together to prepare for weekly quizzes.
*Lamb 2 and 3 are working on memorizing the meanings for the 6 chief parts of the catechism with the goal of confirmation in May.
*All 3 Lambs are practicing for a piano contest in March.
Update on my dad:
He became so weak at the beginning of February that he fell a few times. The paramedics recommended he go to the hospital and get checked out. The hospital was overcrowded and he waited several hours to get a room. He did have the flu and was much better after a few days in the hospital. We thought maybe he would go to a place for rehab, but not counting the hours he was in the hospital hallway that he wasn't officially a patient, he wasn't in the hospital long enough for insurance to pay for rehab. He went directly home and has been doing great since he has been home. We even took him to a high school basketball game last Friday. It is not easy as your parents get older and prayers are appreciated.
Vision Therapy Again:
Lamb 2 competed a long evaluation with a doctor here. We don't regret doing vision therapy in Idaho because it was helpful for several areas for him, but it wasn't enough. He is beginning vision therapy here at the end of the month. This doctor does things differently than our ID doctor and we are hoping these different ways of doing things are going to be helpful for Lamb 2. This doctor does 1 time a week therapy with 20 minutes of daily homework. Lamb 2 will get bifocals. He has 20/20 vision and can see fine in the distance. He doesn't truly need glasses for close up work, but the hope is that this will ease the stress on his eyes as they try to focus to see near work. We are expecting at least a year of therapy here. One nice thing is you pay one price and it covers everything (therapy, doctor exams, computer software for homework, etc.) no matter how long therapy takes. This is different than Idaho and is much better to know exactly how much it costs. Lamb 2 was very excited to go pick out his glasses and is impatiently waiting for them to come in.
After Lamb 2 begins, then we would like this doctor to also evaluate Lamb 3. For a long time he had no motivation to learn to read. Now he does and reading is very difficult for him. I am curious if he also has a vision difficulty and would also benefit from Vision Therapy.
Library volunteer:
A classical school started at our church this year. Our boys are too old as they began with lower grades and are working their way up, but Lamb 2 and 3 take art class there. I volunteered to help with the school library. It has been so much fun to get the books ready for the school children. Most are donated or library discards. The headmaster and his wife are choosing quality literature for the school. It is so fun to see what she finds on the 20 cent library discard shelves.
Lilla Rose:
I just signed up to be a Lilla Rose consultant. I'll blog more about this as I learn more, but if you don't currently have a consultant, contact me for more info if you are interested. I have been wearing Lilla Rose hair clips for about 10 years and I figured it was about time that I had a business card to hand to people when I get a compliment!
Dentist:
Our whole family went at once for dental cleanings and checkups. We all did well except one Lamb needs a tiny filling. Lamb 2 needs an orthodontist consultation because his teeth are so close together plus there is a problem with his canines. After dental checkups we are all extra good about brushing AND flossing AND using mouthwash for awhile...
Cooking:
While Ram is in school I have had to do more cooking than while he was a pastor. I was getting tired of the same old recipes and often 1 or 2 Lambs don't like what I make. I did a little research in my cookbooks and on the Internet to get some new recipes to try. Last night I made beef stew and it went fast even though only one Lamb had more than one helping. Today I made beef vegetable soup and we'll see how that goes tomorrow. I have some more recipes to try this week. The Lambs were shocked that I cooked something new two days in a row!