What a wonderful life!  We have a great family, a great church family and great friends.  We are truly blessed.  We never  have a need that isn't met.  The Lord is good to us and I thank Him who made it all.  We are back to our normal school schedule.  All the lessons are back on, if the weather cooperates, and so is co-op.  I'm looking forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for us this year.  Ds2 has just started a new job.  DH is still working at his job.  He's been there almost a year now.  Now I just have to figure out how the insurance works, because he seems to be falling apart.  His shoulder  and thumb both need work done on them.  He and dd1 both need new glasses this year.   We're going to go for it and just shoot the deductible.  Last year we just avoided going to the doctor.  God got us through that, but this year, He will provide the doctors.   Getting old isn't so bad if you don't mind the pain, the lack of eyesight and hearing, and youngsters looking at you like you don't know anything because you can't figure out how to add music to your blog. 

If anybody knows of a way to make a model of  how a grist mill operates, could you please let me know.  I need it to be cheap.  I know I could do it if I spent the money, but that's not a option. 

Have a great day, especially you older folks like me out there.

Okay, so it has been months since I posted anything.  Life is very busy.  We are doing very well keeping up with our school work this year.  We even took time to study calligraphy tonight.  It was a lot of fun.  I have started to teach ds3 to read.  He has learned to read bat so he can read "Batman."  He used to only care about farming.  I wish dh wouldn't show him Batman videos.  We have endured a week of the flu.  Everyone of us ended up getting it sooner or later.  I think the flu last year was worse.  It seemed to drag on for weeks.  This one was over in a couple of days. 

Co-op has been going well.  Dd1 said this P.E. thing might just be a little good.  She's finding herself being more flexible.  They are doing the Presidential Fitness Challenge.  The first week, she thought it was going to kill her, she was so sore.  But things have gotten easier for her.  They are all enjoying the study of Land Creatures.  We have spent the last few weeks getting ready to sing in a nursing home.  About half the kids play a musical instrument.  It might actually be more than half.  They will be playing for the residents and singing for them.   I've been thinking of making cupcakes to take in and give away when we go.  I found a red velvet cupcake I think the older people might enjoy.  I think a lot of the older folks enjoy carrot cake.  I wonder if I could make it in cupcake form?

Dd1 has been reading the biography about Jeremiah Stokely, an archeologist.  She thinks it's really funny.  Dd2 has been fascinated with paleontology lately.  We have once again gotten into the study of dinosaurs.  But we are also studying the Earth.  She read a book about everything a paleontologist needs to know and she's set to learn it all.  Time to go.

Another good day at co-op Friday.  The kids are loving their science classes.  I moved dd2 back to the K-2nd grade class because there was only 1 other girl in the class and she wouldn't have made the cut off for 3rd grade if she had been in public school anyway.  She is loving being in that class. The teacher is a good friend of mine and is so good with the kids.  Dd1 is getting used to her new teacher and the new teacher is getting used to her.  They  are starting to enjoy being around each other.  At first the teacher didn't know the way she always answered the questions.  She does them as a narrative but chooses 2 different characters to talk to each other to answer the questions.  Last week it was Lassie and another famous dog talking to each other.  I forget which one.  The week before that it was Mr. Ed and Francis the talking mule.  I think the teacher is looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next.  The kids seem to have a competition to see who can come up with the most imaginative one.  Ds3 is loving his class with Miss Patty again.  Five boys in that class this year.  No girls.   Where are all the girls?  There had to be some others born in the last 8 years other than mine and that other girl in the K-2nd class.  We have lots of boys though.

For gym, the kids ran for the Presidential Challenge.  Dd1 is going to have to work up to a mile.  And sit ups really aren't her thing. 

For history, we went to the gorge to look for the foundation of the first covered bridge in Indiana.  Then we went fossil hunting along the river.  Dd1 went knee deep into the water.  We had a picnic after the class and let the kids play.

Then we went to Civic Theater and found out there was still space available on the homeschool troupe so I paid out my $70 and got the girls into that.  The theater is going to be doing The Boxcar Children in the spring.  I think that will be fun for them.

The piano teacher said both girls did very well in their lessons last week.  She said it was probably dd1's best lesson ever.  Dd1 was ready to quit a few weeks ago when it seemed to be getting too hard, but she stuck with it and conquered the difficulty she was having with the new things she was learning.  Her music sounds so beautiful now.  Dd2 is doing well but had taken some time off from lessons.  She wants to learn now and is doing well. 

Horse back riding lessons also went well, with ds3 finishing our lessons with one trip around the ring.  He wears his helmet (backwards because there is a piece of velcor that scratches him on the forehead when he wears it right)  the whole time the girls are taking their lessons.  They all love horses. 

We took a field trip to the Levi Coffin house yesterday to learn about the Underground Railroad.  We had a good trip.  It was Levi Coffin Days so the house was full with a different interpreter in each room.  Harriet Beecher Stowe had come by there to interview Levi Coffin while she was writing Uncle Tom's Cabin.  I think that will be the next book we'll read after the Diary of Anne Frank.   Frederick Douglas had also stayed there.  Over 2000 slaves were supposed to have gone through that house in the 20 years Levi lived there.  They said they had to make it all the way to Canada to be truly safe travelling about 15 miles a day.  We had some very honorable people that lived in this area.  The city of Richmond was founded by Quakers from North Carolina that were so disgusted by slavery that they left there to come to Indiana where slavery wasn't allowed.  I am proud to have that heritage, knowing my ancestors were some of those people.

The girls were in the moonlight parade tonight, with the model railroader's club.  It was a lot of fun.  They have a wonderful float with the trains running on it.  The trains all had lights, so it looked really great at night.

I've been studying local history for our co-op class.  I really love it.

'Ds2 just called.  He's forgotten the keys he needs for work and wants Hubby to bring them to him.  I hope we can hold out filling the gas tank until the hurricane is past, but it looks like we might just get taken and have to buy it soon, before the price drops.  We need to learn to make manure into fuel.  Hopefully, we can get some homeschool kid working on that.

We had a good day at co-op yesterday.  We studied careers you can have dealing with animals.  The families are starting a family fitness challenge.  The kids took their initial test in that.  We went on a field trip to the Joseph Moore Museum at Earlham College where we had a wonderful class on the Adena/Hopewell Indians.  The also got some snakes and snapping turtles out for us.  Then, it was on to the McDonanld's playland where I had a meeting with what seems to be the leaders of our co-op to work out the problems we had had.  Alls well now.We had good fellowship and good fun. 

The other day, ds3 was going out to work with Grandpa, moving manure.  I told him if he had to potty to take down his pants and do it and not pot in them.  He said ok.  I said,  "that's my good boy."  He's responded,  " That's my good momma."  I love that kid!

Dd1 is very sore from the gym class and doesn't want to do it anymore.  Dd2 didn't think a thing of it.  Not sore at all.  Dd1 definitely takes after me more.

I have decided to do a unit study of Anne Frank after the Freebie Friday newsletter.  Last year, we studied Corrie Ten Boom and I think this will be a nice follow-up.  What's amazing is one human being could treat another like they did during WWII.  I'm so glad the U.S. got involved in that war.  How shameful it would have been to continue to let Hitler take over and destroy.  I think we will find many of the same kinds of attrocities in Iraq when all is said and done.  I do believe we wouldn't be there if God didn't intend on us being there.  We don't know all the reasons, but He does.

We had a rough day yesterday, working out the problems with co-op.  I'm afraid relationships have been permanantly damaged.  But just like the Germans, if I stood by and watched a fellow human being mistreated, I would be just as guilty.  He that knows right and does not do it, to him that is sin.  That is my recollection of that verse.  One of the ladies making the decision that I believed to be in error wrote me and said she was doing it because homeschooling was under  attack and we had to stay accountable to one another.  She is the same age as I am, but her oldest is only 6.  I think back to 15 years ago, when like many of us, I had to defend my right to homeschool.  For years I fought for the right to homeschool my son.  The school system has proven they cannot teach children well, let the mothers do it.     They would like nothing better than to have our children back in the public school, not for the education, but for the money they get per child.  And it is additional money if the can give them some sort of label, such as ADD.   And then I think,, what can this woman know about homeschooling being under attack?  What has she gone through that would make her think she had to explain that to me?  Go figure!

Well, the problem I thought had been resolved has come back up.  I have sent my apologies for any trouble I caused.  Hopefully, this will end it and we can just get on with the school year. 

We had piano lessons again today, but dd2 started lessons after taking off since last Christmas.  She did very well.  DD1 is wanting to quit because it's getting too hard.  She's moving her hands farther and farther around the keyboard.  It's taking real effort now.  I forced her to practice tonight before bed.  She wasn't happy about it.  She's dead set on quitting.  We did our reading while the other was in her lesson.

DS2 started his new job today.  He has to be at work by 6:30 in the morning, but his girlfriend won't let him sleep.  She slept till almost noon today, so she just isn't tired yet.  They had to move in with us when they got kicked out of their apartment.  He couldn't find work, so he couldn't pay rent.  Hopefully, they'll get on their feet soon.