Well, we've had a busy two weeks. Lots of performances, College stuff, friends visiting, etc. Just the "normal" routine for us. School has been sporadic, but the kids have made good progress in some areas. Our plan is to school hard next week and take Christmas week off, at least unless MOM's patience runs adrift, which is always a definite possibility.

Anders: I just helped Levi clean out the pig pen and put fresh sand and peanut hulls in. I may have some chicks hatch next week. I bought 2 white hamsters, named Belgium and Pickett.

Branch: I bought 5 pigeons and I built a shed with Daddy to keep my stuff out of the rain. I finished Hey Andrew Book #3, and I'm going to start #4 next week. I planted rye in my garden as a cover crop. This is the first year that we have had a little Christmas tree.

The Girl: I finished Book #3, too, and I'm begging MOM to start #4 now, but she won't let us till next week. I was Mary in our Christmas performances, and I had to wear a curtain valance for my veil because Teresa & MOM are so silly. I'm doing lots of planning with MOM for next year's school. I hope to cook more and do more handiwork. I have lots of projects that I would like to do, such as: finish my cross-stitch piece and finish a small doll blanket with Teresa.

Stennes: I have made peace with Algebra. MOM let me use a calculator, which sped up the lesson quite a bit, and I still learned a lot. I'm working on my small greenhouse and I'm almost finished, but it looks like a mess. I'm going to make a "run" on my chicken pen to enlarge the buff Orpington flock. Daddy and I ordered a needle bearing for the transmission in the tiller, and we re-designed the throttle. Now it works very well.

ChubChub: I do my bit of school every day.

Josiah: I have been reading MOM's Henty books and not reading the books in my Reader Box like I'm supposed to. I helped Caleb and Levi put up a fence for Caleb's goats. My little roosters eat about 30 pounds a day. I play cello now in Port City Strings, and we had our first concert last week. I jumped from Saxon back into Algebra, and I'm learning a lot. I get the cast off my arm next Thursday, which will be nice.

MOM: We miss you all sooo much. I want to sit alone with Becky in a quiet, cozy room with rich hot chocolate and luscious snacks. We could put the kids upstairs with some games (educational, of course!) while we stayed downstairs and perused tons of free books sent to us from some fabulous homeschool publisher (Galore Park, anyone?). While getting a pedicure, of course. We could even invite Teresa to come down and share the spoils. Then...out of the cozy room to eat lunch prepared for us by a hitch-hiking-Third-World-type cook who just happened to drop in. The house has been thoroughly cleaned and totally re-organized while the lunch meal was being prepared. Oh, and don't forget! Next year's planning has all been done for us, the kids are biting at the bit (begging to begin, really), and everything is structured and prepared. We just show up and smile sweetly at the beginning of each school day. Okay, SLAP ME!!!!! This is getting too dreamy....WAKE UP, TONYA!!!