Here is what is happening

Again, in 'shorthand'

-3 guinea keets hatched in an incubator in the living room (28 days). Now residing in a habitat created for them in a refurbished fish tank, again, in the living room. Why? Why Not? Actually, the preferred food for adult birds is wood ticks. Need I say more? It was/is a great biology lesson for all 3 kids. They researched the ideal living conditions/food and put it all together.

-grades in for me - 2 a's, 2 b's. Disappointed, but not discouraged. Summer classes to follow - developmental psychology and comp II. Yippee.

-Son starting driver's education this week. Blessings to those who are willing (and have the control) to teach young men this skill.

-Son joining the civil air patrol cadet program. Great kids involved. We are always watching for good social opportunities because, you know (dripping w sarcasm) those homeschooled kids don't know how to socialize.

-All 3 children signed up for 4-H. Developing.

-Two of my brothers (w families) coming to ND at the beginning of June. Always a great time. Wish all 3 brothers could be here at the same time.

-To do: sign kids up for swimming, find a piano teacher for the girls, develop sophomore curriculum for son, schedule a brief vacation (have you seen the fuel prices?), fence more of the pasture in woven wire - 52 sheep eat a lot of grass - very quickly.

-Wanted: small diesel vehicle for husband to convert to veg oil fuel.

-Sheep are all OK. #19 acting a bit odd - dosed with wormer and penicillin. Improvements seen.

-Reading: consuming anything and everything that doesn't have to do with school. Some 'bubblegum' reading too. Developing a summer reading list for all 3 kids to be distributed at the beginning of June.

-Homeschool: Done for the year. Ahhhhhh.

-Developing: 3 seminars on homeschooling and a 4 day retreat schedule. Frightened.

-Musing: Interpersonal communications class highlighted the need for different levels of relationships. Missing - I/Thou friends. Relocating to an interwoven farm community does not allow relationships to easily develop, especially when you live in the middle of nowhere. Not whining, just musing.

-Sigh: 40 is fast approaching. Now I'm whining.

-Enjoying: beautiful weather. We have horrifying winters, but spring/summer/autumn can't be beat. The clear blue sky makes every day amazing.

-Planning/Equipping: Husband and son taking a canoe trip to Boundary Waters (Canada/MN) with the church youth group in August. Need to equip with backpacks, etc. Due to the lack of sanitary facilities (or any facilities at all) I'm passing on the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery, this time.

-Camping: The weekend prior to the big canoe event, I'm camping with the kids at yet another youth group event (lest you think I'm getting soft!).

-Gardening: Giving it yet another try. The wind and my lack of experience really keeps me challenged in this area, but the thought of garden fresh tomatoes keeps me going.

That's all folks! I'm mulling over more for later.

AHHH

Second semester is over. As promised (predicted, warned, forecast) grades won't be as stellar. Comparative Lit was a bear - more like a book club with not a lot of instruction and papers due with ambiguous requirements. The final day of class consisted of power point presentations. It was apparent that the expectations were not clearly laid out as no two were alike in either content or presentation.

Today has been a bit of lazy day - with moments of intense activity as I attempt to locate the floors of the various rooms in our home. I warned the children and small animals to get out of the way. I have 3 weeks off and then begin summer classes. No rest for the weary/behind schedule (like 20+ years). I also want to exercise more - that gets shoved way, way down on the list when the list is long.

I did meet with my advisor re: transferring out at the end of next year. She laid out a very ambitious and stupid plan that included taking 20 credits a semester including chemistry, microbiology and anatomy and physiology - while dabbling in economics, speech and some other humanities class - oh yes, and college algebra. Since I value my marriage and family, a lesser load will be taken. It will take longer, but I won't be living alone at the end of the year.

The children are all signed up for 4H. It seems to be a great program - I never participated as a child, not sure why - but it will be fun for the kids. Son #1 is looking at the Civil Air Patrol Cadet program. I have had a terrible time reaching the organization to glean information. This doesn't bode well.

The animals are all good. Favorite husband has been collecting fencing from various sources. We need to fence another section of our land in woven wire (the big squares) as 52 sheep consume a lot of grass. Despite the fact that we have 35 acres, it needs to be fenced prior to sheep use (or I put the kids on horseback out there to watch them all day).

#1 son is also planning to take drivers ed class at the end of this month, IF he completes all of his freshman work. Motivation at its finest.

Hopefully I'll be back a little more often.