Summer days passing by

This summer has been like no other. There has been very little relaxation or fun times. Even though that may sound like I am complaining right off the bat, I am not. A couple of times I have felt discouraged, but for the most part things have been good, just busy. This is the first time in our 14 years of marriage that we have not taken a vacation, and I'm sad to say that it has affected my mood somewhat. I didn't realize how much the little things mattered to me, but I am happy to report that God is doing a deep work in my heart, and as a good friend reminded me, this is going to be one of the tomato stakes in my life that I look back on and see what the Lord has done. I'm spending much more time in the word, because I need it.

The preliminary hearing that we went to in early May did not accomplish what we had hoped for, so now we are preparing for a trial in March 2010. We have the chance to settle this without the trial in a settlement hearing in late July, but I am not anticipating that the other side has anything better to offer than what we can accomplish ourselves with future business.

Amanda and Austin are earning some money in the business, while I am keeping up with the bills and learning some new business skills.

Evan and Luke tag along with the workers some days, and for the first time as a mother, I know what Moms who send their children to school feel like. I have had some fantastic days. I probably would grow tired of it, if all I had was housework to keep me busy, but since I am planning on working part time for Nate next year, so I don't think that I will have too many of those kinds of days in my future, but there is some potential for a freebie now and again. My schedule for next year is a little daunting, for a woman who has not left home in 12 years. (not literally) School for the little boys, GED classes for Amanda, homeschool for Austin, and work for me. Whew!!

I just got a physical update on Dania who turned 7 May 2nd. She weighs 46lbs and is 45 inches tall. That all sounds so small compared to my rather tall, big boys.

The little boys have some good incentive for reading this summer. On Tues and Thurs, they can go to the school library and read books for money. They get $1 a book, unless it is a chapter book, they get $2. They have to read the book and then take a quiz on the book. They can take 6 tests a day, so Luke has the potential to earn $12 a week, and Evan $24. They each made $2 today, since it was our first time going, and they only had 1 hour for reading and testing.

Luke turns 8

We had a house full of boys Sunday afternoon for Luke's birthday. He wanted a party instead of getting the cash. He was so excited that morning when he woke up, he came into the bathroom while I was in the shower and said, "this birthday stuff is making my mind forget all kinds of things." This kid is a huge blessing to our family, he keeps us on our toes and in stitches constantly.

He and Evan still love legos. They are the greatest toy for boys. Although the pieces all over the house can be exasperating.

Thumb sucking is still with us. Maybe going to school next year will fix this problem.

All Done

We finished up with school last week, and boy was that a relief. Even with a part time tutor, this was our most difficult year, and I want to put it behind me. The very day we finished I had all the homeschooled cabinets cleaned out, and now I have 3 boxes in my sunroom of old supplies to get rid of. I'm not sure that I want to mess with selling all our old stuff, or if I should just give it away. Still pondering that one, I don't know how to use ebay, but maybe I should learn, because there is probably $500 worth of stuff in those boxes. On the other hand, since things are tight for so many people, it would be a blessing to give it away.


Amanda is not getting a job this summer, unless Nate has stuff for her to do, so I am wondering how I am going to keep her busy. There is not much for a teenager to do around here, and so far I haven't found anything suitable for her. She will be spending some time with her Dad, but that will only be about 5 days per month. You can't exactly send an almost 16 year old out to play for hours on end, and her computer time is limited to 1hr a day, so we shall see how this works out. The neighbors up the street just put in a pool, and there is a 16 yr old girl that has invited her to swim, which I allowed, but I don't really know the parents at all, so that could be a little dicey.