Greetings from Kingsport, Tennessee! This is Bertina Jackson writing; hope this finds y'all well and/or reasonably happy!
This Holy Week finds us all getting ready. Ready for our special Resurrection Sunday/Easter Cantata, which is this weekend (Saturday and Sunday, the big day!), our "Maundy Thursday" Community Communion Celebration, and Friday's special Good Friday services. All are held at our church, Kingsport Christian Fellowship. We are Southern Baptists, but people of all faiths are welcome to attend.
I am in the Cantata (I will be playing the part of Mary, Jesus' Mother), and our oldest two children, 15-year-old Countess Marie and 11-year-old Ciara Lyna'e', have solos they are going to sing. Cyanne Tyree', our six-year-old, is taking part too; she plays a child who is risen from the dead.
Jacob, my husband, meanwhile, will be keeping tabs on our nine-and-a-half year old son, Cordarial Michael, who has an autism spectrum disorder and developmental delays. Hopefully he won't raise a huge ruckus like he did last year; he had to spend most of the service in the lobby because his screams and carrying on disrupted the service, and people got really annoyed at him (and at us). It was very embarrassing!
Cordarial has been trying hard to keep calm, but at times he forgets, and this is when he acts out. He also does it to get attention; he gets bored easily, so we are always having to try to find ways to keep him occupied/focused. It's a real challenge to raise a child like Cordarial at times!
Happily, though, Cordarial has finally mastered the task of toilet-training! He has been wearing "big-boy" underpants without soiling them for the past month, month-and-a-half, but at night, when he goes to bed, we put him in Pull-Ups, so he doesn't mess up his pajamas or the bed, and most nights, he's been dry. A huge answer to prayer! That means he will be able to go on field trips with the homeschool group we belong to and will finally be able to go on overnight trips!
Cordarial has been working to learn self-control and to monitor his behavior. He's also been eating more (meat and potatoes have been added to his diet), and he's finally gaining needed weight: he isn't nearly as scrawny as he used to be.
This summer, we plan on taking the family on vacation to my sister's place; she lives in Estes Park, Colorado, with her husband, Charles, and their seven children (Elizabeth, Tracey, Ricky, Kyle, Kyla, Kierrah, and Desiree', who are fifteen, thirteen, nine, six, three, and two). We haven't seen them since last Christmas, when they came here. We are really looking forward to it; we all could use a change of scenery! I just hope Cordarial can handle it, but I think once he sees his cousins, he will be just fine.
Well, I have to get the kids' lunches ready; then we are going to take them swimming for a few hours and possibly to the park, so they can release some pent-up energy. And Cordarial's hooting like an owl is starting to drive me crazy; he does that when he gets bored; it's getting to be past annoying! LOL I will write in here again soon; until later, this is Bertina Jackson saying so long; may God bless you always! Have a very happy Easter/Resurrection Sunday!
~Love, your friend in Tennessee, Bertina. :)
