In other news, Jonathon is doing extremely well with his online class. The course is called "Oral Decision Making", and so far, he has completed two of the assignments and received grades of 98 and 100--not too shabby, right? We are so proud of him. He has been taking his time with each assignment and asking me to proof his work upon completion. I remember after the first grade came in, David asked me how much of the grade I felt I helped him receive. Without hesitation, I told him that MAYBE two of the points were from errors I found, and those errors were typographical, not content. Jonathon has a great capacity to learn and amazing writing skills; the biggest issues he struggles with are reading (due to his visual limitations)and procrastination. He has always been somewhat inclined to put things off (I can't say much--look at how long I wait to post!), thinking he has plenty of time to do whatever it is he knows he needs to do. That propensity worked fairly well before his aneurysm, but since then, I think he's still realizing that tasks that were fairly easy to complete quickly pre-aneurysm take him longer now. He just doesn't have the stamina he once had and trying to "cram" doesn't work. This has been a learning process for all of us, but having him home and realizing these things together has deepened both his and our understanding of his learning style and needs. I do ask that you continue to join us in prayer for his success with this course and any he may choose to take after this one. I think that the time in Athens was valuable for many reasons, but I also think that Jonathon now has to figure out whether academia is the right course (no pun intended) or whether he needs to focus on a job/career path that doesn't require a college degree. Seeing his success in this course as well as many he took in Athens indicates (to me, at least) that he is capable of doing the work; he just needs to to figure out if he WANTS to continue taking college courses AND if he is willing to do all that is required to be successful in every one he takes. I am confident that the Lord will guide him through these next months in reaching a decision. After all, He hasn't forsaken Jonathon thus far; I have no reason to think he would now! Jonathon and I had a discussion today that as he approaches his 27th birthday (June 18), he needs to be sensitive to hearing God's plan for his life is and that hopefully, by the time his next birthday comes around, he will be confident in that plan. If we've learned anything at all through this journey, it is that God is faithful and that He can be trusted. He truly DOES know the plans He has for each of us--we just need to willing to LISTEN and heed those plans!!!
Finally, David and I had the opportunity to visit Blair in NYC for a long weekend over Easter. We flew up on Thursday and returned on Tuesday, one of David's longest visits to date. The "plan" was for us to try to help her rearrange the furniture in her teeny apartment and come up wih some storage solutions for her. Unfortunately, after moving things around, we quickly realized that "it is what it is" and that the furniture was already arranged in the best possible way it could be for the living space she has. We WERE able, at least, to add new bedding and window treatment to her bedroom, a new rug to her living room, and make some minor repairs (a lamp that needed a new plug, a new smoke alarm--a daddy "must", batteries replaced in the carbon monoxide detector, and a wall hanging moved from the bedroom to the living area). As you can see, the apartment is tiny but charming...at least in her mama and daddy's opinion! :)
She plans to add some sort of wall decor above the bed; we moved the wrought iron piece that was hanging above it to the area above the table in the pic below.
Ah, the joys of paying the price of an Atlanta mortgage to live in a shoe box in Manhattan! And yes, the wine on the counter is compliments of Mom and Dad....a must-have in the city! Haha!And I would be terribly remiss without adding the exciting news that another of our "babies" is engaged! That's right! In early March, Jeff asked his girlfriend, Sarah, to join our family by becoming his wife. We are so happy for the two of them and look forward to making more family memories with them. The wedding date is set for June 9, 2012, and already plans are in motion. The reception hall has been booked, the dress has been ordered, the photographer has been hired, and the Best Man has been selected and asked to do the honor. (I think the other attendants have been chosen, although I don't think they've been asked yet.) We are so touched that Jeff asked Jon to be his Best Man! When Jeff told us that he planned to ask Jon, he said, "I was born with a best man; of course, I want it to be Jon!" Jon is truly honored to have been asked and is already making plans for Jeff's bachelor party...whoa! Now THAT should be interesting! Gotta admit, I'm pretty proud of our Jeff! Sarah, you're a very lucky girl!
Can't promise anything, but INTEND to be better at posting....that's about as good as it gets! Love, love, love mi familia........ :D
