Adjusting the straps

I had to raise the straps a notch on Micah's car seat this morning. It was getting hard to snap him in, which is not surprising given the fact that he has grown four inches in the last 11 weeks! (He has also gained 6 pounds, to a healthy 14 lbs. 8 oz.)

I remember adjusting straps for the other boys - it feels to me like a marker in the passage of time. As you watch your kids, you don't notice that they are growing so quickly - but then you realize their jeans are stopping well above their shoe line, or their coat is getting short in the arms. It's hard to believe that Seth is 9 and a half, Caleb is about to turn 8 and Joel is already 6. We have adjusted a lot of straps for these guys! Caleb gets to graduate from his booster seat a week from tomorrow...

A big adjustment we have just made involved Seth's schooling. He started the year with five other kids in 4th grade. A couple of weeks in, one of the four boys got sick and dropped out to homeschool (that was, of course, the guy he connected with best). Just before Christmas his other buddy in class shipped out to Germany with his family - Dad is in the Army. That left Seth with just three other kids, and a sizable gap in his pace of learning relative to theirs. So the principal and both of his teachers suggested that we consider moving him up into the 5th grade class - where there are 10 other kids and he would be more challenged academically. We talked and prayed through it and decided it would be the best solution for him this semester. So, starting on Monday, Seth will jump into 5th grade. How is that for a strap adjustment?!?

He has had to work closely with his math teacher this week to make the leap over a year of math concepts - but is making great strides and seems ready to go for it. The other subjects do not build as much concept upon concept, so he shouldn't need additional preparation for them. But we do expect he'll have to work harder to succeed at this new level. When we told him about our decision to move him up, he simply responded, "Cool." Later, after some thought, he agreed that it was the best solution, given the situation. Seth continues to deal with the struggle of having left such good friends in Charlotte and then having his two Louisville buddies leave him. But he is managing everything quite well, and growing into his faith and understanding through it all.