Next...

Well, here we are about to begin another new school year. Fingers crossed we can keep it "normal" as long as possible.

Emma started 2nd grade today. I'm very excited about how this year will go and I know she is too! Her teacher is new to the school and she seemed to be really excited about her first year at Longview. I really love new teachers because they are so refreshing for the kids and the parents. We've really been spoiled by great teachers for Emma's first two years so my bar is pretty high ;) I'm sure Ms. Youngblood will rise to the challenge though.

 

Penny Rae starts her last year in pre-k on the 16th. Her schedule will look a little different because she'll be going in the afternoons instead of the mornings like last year. She has a different teacher but we already know her from a few interactions last year so I'm not at all nervous :) Penny will have an IEP this year and probably for the next couple of years to help her with some attention issues, but I'm optimistic that this will help her apply herself the way I know she can. She's SUPER smart but has a little trouble staying on task. Ironically when her teachers started expressing their concerns about it last year, Rory just laughed and said he was exactly the same way and is still like that. Thanks for the heads up babe. Just further confirmation that she's his mini-me ;)

Since it's been a little while since my last update, I'll give a quick update on the goings-on in casa de Guthrie:

Rory got the all-clear from his orthopedic surgeon in June that he could resume normal life. He still takes it a little easier on his wrist just trying not to do too much and reinjure it, but he's played golf once so far and said it felt pretty good. He has morphed into this old man anytime the weather changes and says his wrist can tell him when the pressure's changing lol. And in other true old man fashion, he injured his back a week ago playing volleyball, so we've officially ended all sports that involve more than him standing still and swinging things or shooting.

He has done several more shooting competitions and is working on getting his USPSA letter...if I can just get him to keep the same pistol for more than a month. I've done one competition myself but I have a LONG way to go before I'm even decent. 

Emma marked off another surgery, so her medical record's folder is well on it's way to be a multi-volume novel. As part of a long list of risks that Turner's Syndrome has, hearing loss is among those that has to be continuously monitored. In her short little life, Emma has exceeded all expectations for girls that have the syndrome and has passed every test thrown at her, through the grace of our good God! When we began having regular check ups with Audiologists, they felt that there was a tiny chance that she had some conductive hearing loss in her left year. It wasn't enough to be seriously concerned with but they still recommended that we visit an ENT. We were blessed to meet an amazing ENT in Dr. Crook who took great care in giving us plenty of time to try other methods to correct it rather than jumping right into surgery. After a few months of being on a daily sinus med, the small amount of fluid hadn't gone away so Dr. Crook recommended that if we really wanted to correct it, a tube in just that ear would fix it. We scheduled her procedure for this past Monday and, in all honesty, it was probably one of the quickest and easiest ones she's had! I literally sat in the waiting room after they took her back for five minutes before they were bringing me into the post-op room to talk to Dr. Crook. She was back to her normal self (minus getting sick just once from the anesthesia wearing off) by the evening and she hasn't slowed down one bit since! She's definitely a little trooper and I'm so proud of how she just rolls with everything.

Penny Rae continues to be her hilarious, adventurous, spunky self. She's really starting to come into her own lately and loves to help people around her feel good, whether it's through being silly and making them laugh or by showing compassion when someone's sad. She has such a good heart and I pray that God uses her in great ways! She's so stinkin smart too but I can already see a sass in her that rivals her sister's. I know God gave me two girls for a reason, but He's definitely going to need to have extra strength and patience on standby for me as they get older! 

As for me, work has been...well, it's been. The girl that I share HR duties with at work has been working part time since March so work has been a little on the crazy side. Add in two kids being home for the summer, and you have a hot mess on your hands. There are other changes going on right now that I know God has in His hands to work for His glory, but I'm getting a little impatient to see what He has in mind ;) I'm just taking everything as it comes and we'll see where we end up!

I hope everyone has a great start to a new school year and stays safe! I know COVID is starting it's third wave with a whole new variant and we're staring down what may be another version of last fall/winter. My prayer is that everyone stays safe but don't live in fear. This virus is very real, but don't be fooled - the media/government is doing a VERY good job at keeping control via fear. There's so much we still don't know about this virus, the vaccines, and long-term effects of both. The unknown of it all is enough to debilitate an entire country - we've been living it the last year and a half! There is one thing we can KNOW though. We can KNOW that no matter what happens, God has this. It may not look like a worldwide healing immediately. It may not look like saving everyone that you know and love from suffering from this virus. Conversely, it may look a lot like suffering and loss. But here's something else we KNOW. It's temporary. The suffering and loss won't last forever because this life doesn't last forever. Having the KNOWING in God and His mercy and grace is how we can live a life not of fear, but of strength. Be strong and courageous. 

God bless!