Time for school to start but it has been very confusing with COVID. First the kids are remote and then they go back to school and then they are remote again! Ingrid is in her junior year at Desert Edge and Juan is in his sophomore year at Canyon View.
Ingrid was accepted into the hairstyling program at West MEC and is so excited. I think she is more excited about the program than Angie was. They will start out remote but hopefully will go back at some point in person. Although I worry about her safety, it is a difficult program to do remote. I am just sad that Angie is not here to share this with Ingrid. She would be busy at West MEC in her second year had she stayed!
Juan didn't want to have a party this year so we just had Grandma and Grandpa over to open presents. Juan and Ingrid both took a friend on the Pinetop trip.
Juan did not do well at all with the remote environment and didn't turn in a final project to get credit for one of his classes. He finally realized like Ingrid that he needed help, and we were able to get him tested with a psychiatrist and uncovered some challenges we didn't know were there. Daily life can be a challenge, but we have learned a lot and medicine is helping!
Angie has graduated high school, finished her first year of technical school for hairstyling, has a car to drive, a home, a job at Starbucks, and a loving family. However, she wants to be an independent adult and not live by our rules. She does not have the funds to live on her own yet though so rather than working hard towards that goal, she chose to run away. The plan when she came back was to welcome her back if she wanted to live by our family rules. We had cleaned her room while she was gone. Instead of talking, she left again and ended up flying to WI. She lasted 2 weeks there when she met a guy on social media in OH. She left WI in the middle of the night and is now living as an adult in OH.
Angie graduated from Primavera, and I think we are both glad she is done! It was a lot of work and I don't think Angie fully appreciates all of my efforts and realizes what a gift I have given her by helping her graduate. At least she has a high school diploma!
It has been nine years since we first met the kids and we have some of the same traditions for Gotcha Day every year. Red, Yellow, and Blue juice. Red, Yellow, and Blue jello. Cake, presents, and an updated photo book. With COVID, we stayed home this year.
It has been a tough year so far schooling with Angie. Mom does a lot of the work! The end is in sight and the ultimate goal is to finish as soon as we can and get her a high school diploma. If it wasn't for the West MEC program, I would probably have her go get her GED and a job but I am trying to help her stay in the hair styling program as a high school student.
Meanwhile, the COVID Pandemic is getting worse and Ingrid and Juan are now schooling from home. It is quite stressful and emotions are quite high. Ingrid and Juan do not school well in this environment. Juan needs the accountability face to face and Ingrid needs the face to face assistance. The fact that Ingrid is now on medicine for her anxiety and other medical challenges has helped some but she is not interested in pursuing counseling.
I continued the traditional Easter baskets but we are attending church online now. It is a different way of life right now!
