Let's Catch Up!

If you are reading this, I'm so glad you stopped by. 

I haven't blogged in awhile because I've been waiting to upload all the photos we took from our adventures out West. My friend, Kat, from Chili Pepper mentioned how she hasn't "seen" me around which prompted this writing. It's been bugging me that I haven't taken or found the time to write a post for over a month. The problem is that my new camera was set on "raw" which is the way all of our photos were taken. I didn't realize it and our Mac wasn't able to read any of the photos. Still I wait to be able to access the pictures so I can journal about all of the wonderful places we were able to see during our vacation. Our friends, Matt & Pam, came over to work on the computer and helped to figure out what the issue was. Thanks so much MattPam.  

Moving on... :-)

Didn't summer just fly by? It is my absolute favorite season and I hate to see it go. We had so many fun times at our pool with friends and family. Every week I have a day I like to call "Pool Dayz" where our friends come over for several hours to hang out and swim. We did that every Tuesday and the weather was always just about perfect. I love how that happens. We had our last one just about a week ago.

It seems as though ever since I moved back to Michigan from England that I am not a very good blogger. It's frustrating. It makes me think that I must not have had many friends or that I had a whole lot of time on my hands to be able to blog almost daily. These days I just don't ha ve the time. I'm hoping that once we establish our new routines and schedule that I can take the time to do it again. Homeschooling 4 children and running my practice may not make that easy, but I am sure going to try.

Here's an update on the kids...

Austin is going into the 10th grade at Marshall High School. He has really enjoyed his summer vacation and is not exactly excited about heading back. The kid has the life! He does work hard once he is back in school, but he has relished in taking it easy. He just started mowing the lawn for our friends and has done ours all summer. He has his fair share of chores around here, too, like changing the water for the chickens and helping to take care of our home. He started driver training this summer and is doing really well so far. He plans on trying out for basketball in November to play for the Redhawks once again. Go Austin!

Braaten is going into the 8th grade here at home. She is growing into such a lovely young lady. She is taller than me by at least a half inch and is only 13! I am going to be the shortest one in this place before too long. My hubby is 6'2'' and they all take after him. Ha! Bray started back at volleyball in early August and she had her first game last week. She played for the first time last year, got a lot of experience, and is now starting for the Battle Creek Homeschool Hawks. She took the summer off taking piano lessons and will start back up this week. She has been hard at work with various babysitting jobs and is saving her money to be able to pay for a plane ticket to visit her friends in England. I admire her dedication and commitment to seeing her plan come to fruition in the next year or two.  

Melanie is going into the 6th grade. She is excited about the new curriculum we are starting. It meant getting her very own laptop which has generated much excitement. Our first day of school is this Tuesday and we'll see how we like "Switched on Schoolhouse". We've done Abeka for years and needed to change it up a bit. In addition to that, the kids will be working on creative writing, spellling, and cursive writing. One of my favoite things to do is to grab a great book, snuggle on the couch with all the kids, and read together. Last year we didn't to that nearly enough. Back to Mel... she is also playing volleyball for the Hawks and has improved greatly. Last year it was difficult when serving to get the ball over the net. This year, not a problem! Go Mel!! Piano lessons will be starting back up for her and then a recital is right around the corner. 

Grant is my silly, funny 9 year old and a twin to Cooper. He helps in taking care of the chickens and kittens. The twins take turns week to week on who does what. Our hens must be getting old; they're not producing as many eggs. We did hatch chicks this summer and so production should begin in a couple of months. More eggs are good. Oh, we have 3 Polish chickens. They are the funniest looking chickens you've ever seen. I'll take pictures and post them soon for sure! I digress once again. 

Grant will be taking golf lessons soon which he is extremely happy to be doing.

Cooper, the hard working other silly twin, will be taking golf lessons right alongside his brother. He loves sports of any kind and Austin has increased his excitement about golf because it is a sport that he loves. Austin took golf lessons when we lived in Lymm, England, and is quite good at it. I think he should play for his high school team, but he assures me that he not good enough. I have to disagree but I am a little partial. Cooper is such a sweetheart. He takes the time every morning to say, "Good morning, Mom"  with a huge smile on his face and gives me a kiss on the lips. He melts my heart. It's not that the other children don't say "Good morning", it's just that he goes out of his way to make that connection with me. The others melt my heart in other ways.

If you read up to this point, yay you! I'm tired and have to go to bed now.