I haven't done a very good job of keeping the blog updated this summer. I have been even less frequent than usual!
Here's what's going on here in the Allinson household (in no particular order of importance):
1. Josh got baptized! Okay, that's the most important to me but I don't have any great photos from my camera! He's been asking for a few years and finally took the plunge in the Pilchuck River Sunday, July 13th. It was very cool to have tons of family and friends join us on his special day.
2. Kenzie started U8 soccer (official practices and games with goalies, etc after 2 years of Rockets). Kaleb is coaching again and we have a great group of girls and families, which will be a lot of fun!
3. Josh went to Football camp and then, more recently, tried out for a U10/U11 football league in Lake Stevens. We just found out today that he made the Huskies team and will be practicing FIVE DAYS A WEEK! This is going to tire me out. Kaleb will be helping several days a week since the coach got word of his football coaching experience (4 years coaching 7th grade football when he was teaching at Northlake Middle School). Josh and Kaleb are both rather excited for it all, practices begin first week of August.
4. We sold our tent trailer and PAID OFF all credit card debt. This makes me happy even though I was sad to see "Hank" go.
5. Levi had an excellent follow-up appt with his allergy specialist, in which we found out that they are 99% sure he does not have celiac disease and that he gained 1 pound in 2 months (which is really good for him). He is now all of 27 pounds, after weighing just 23 in February. Also, he has been able to eat cheese and yogurt, and wheat which has been wonderful for making his meals! He has not vomited in many months. The doctor said we can now starting phasing him of of his supplements and see how he does. We are very thankful for his health.
6. I applied for financial aid from the hospital where we owed on 6 accounts. We had been steadily making payments of about $200/month on the combined balance on Gabe's birth and Levi's ER visit in January. We were concerned about how much we would owe after Josh had to go to the ER in June with asthma. I prayed while I filled out the monstrous paperwork stack they sent me and I also wrote them a letter, asking God to help me know what to say. I kept it brief but explained our situation with the mounting hospital bills. I was hoping they would take even a few hundred dollars off. Also, I expected to wait awhile to hear back from the hospital since my sister is still waiting to hear back from the hospital regarding help paying for her husband's back surgery bills. So I just figured they must move slowly there. I just sent the paperwork last week. So you can imagine my complete surprise when yesterday I am on the phone with my friend Sam when Kaleb starts flashing a HUGE smile and showing me the mail he had just brought in. We had received word back from the hospital that they will forgive 90% of our debt on all the accounts! It will be over $2,000. God is sooooo good! We had been faithful with our giving the past several months after not doing so well before that (this is an area we really struggle with). It is always neat to see how God works to provide when we are faithful with the little we are given to manage.
7. We are preparing for VBS at our church. It will be in the evening all next week. Kaleb will be helping at the games station and I will be working with the toddlers and babies. Today we walked in a parade here in Lake Stevens and the kids got to be part of the float advertising for the VBS. The kids loved it (see the photos above)! Josh is sporting the rainbow wig and Kenzie is rocking the " guitar" with a lab coat. The theme for VBS is Power lab which should be fun.
8. We are looking forward to going to Lake Chelan with Kaleb's family next weekend for a family reunion. It should be a very nice time visiting with everyone and enjoying the sunshine.
9. Gabe has started cruising around the furniture and is very proud of himself. He is also quite fast at crawling, even up the stairs.
10. Josh is doing his standardized testing (we are required to do it once a year). We need to finish it up next week. I have been spending some time getting our curriculum organized for next year. I am excited about it as we will be studying Native Americans/Colonial America/Pioneers and also learning about the 50 states one state per week. Kenzie has really taken off with her reading and we try to read together each day.
11. Kaleb and I are reading "Sacred Marriage" by Gary Thomas in the evenings together. It is a slow read but we are finding lots to talk about from the chapters. I borrowed it from Sara so I am hoping to finish it at some point in the near future!
12. I am really enjoying going to a Thursday morning book study with some ladies from my church. It has been so fun and something I always look forward to each week. We are reading "Who got peanut butter on my daily planner?"
I hope everyone has been having a great summer. I would love to hear what you have going on at your house! Sorry this is so long but we have been busy as usual.
