Summer

Wow----has it really been over a month since I lasted posted.....where does the time go.

So to catch everyone up----summer is almost over for us---school will start the first week of September and that seems way too close! I have know idea what I am doing for this 22 year of this homeschooling adventure. 5 kids in my teaching care this year ----and not one of them LOVES to read! What am I to do? I have a huge library with some of the most amazing books on the planet, and no takers. Ahhhh to have the time to sit in my library and read all day.....

The dog, Racer, Josiah's companion dog, continues to be a fun companion. He is a little naughty when he is not on his leash and seems to find some pretty disgusting things to eat when he is off running around. But for the most part he has been a welcome addition to the family.

A hail storm of Biblical proportions took out my vegetable garden and herbs about a week ago. I did not have the heart to go down there all week. But yesterday I managed to walk through the ruin and see if anything was left. It pretty much looks like a weed whacker was let loose among the rows.....sigh. But I plan to cut everything back this week and give it all another chance.

With that hail storm, we got a torrential downpour, and with that we got flooding in our basement...the part in the basement that houses my library----all 10,000 books!!! After sucking up 10 gallons of water off of the floor, moving bookshelves and books, renting a carpet cleaner and trying to get the smell out of there---wiping down ALL 10,000 books---I think we are on an upswing. But the rain still may come and we have not fixed the leak where it came in during the first flood! Oh my---I get tired thinking about it all!

I have had a flurry of grand kids visit in the last few weeks. It was great---on the 4th of July, 13 out of the 14 grand babies were here visiting. It was noisy and loud and chaotic, but it was so cute seeing them all and watching them play! We had quite a few of them sleep overnight---"cousins camp" at grandmas. I must admit---I am not as young as I used to be and I have a little trouble keeping up with them all. Bedtime for grandma comes even a little sooner than some of the grand kids! But Jordan and Kate and Hannah and Chris and Daniel and Josiah are all great uncles and aunts and are great helpers to me! I could not have "cousins camp" without them!

So there you have it----a quick update on the past few weeks. The next few months will be busy with play practice starting (The Wizard of Oz) and a new ministry starting at the nursing home that I am running. Focus on the Family asked to air the show they did with me 10 years ago about our big, loud family. That should be on sometime in October, so that will be exciting all over again! Life is good----God loves me---- and the mountains are still there.....What else could I want!