Yesterday, I noticed a large bird circling the water tower next to our house. Soon afterward my husband yelled to come out back and look. There were lots of those birds flying around and swooping down close to the house. Then I turned and saw them swoop to the barn. The chickens!!! So I put on my boots and ran out to check on them. They were all huddled in the back of the barn and were fine, even the goats were hiding. Then I noticed where those birds were actually going--roadkill on the road in front of us. They were vultures. I went out to get rid of it, and it was a cat. The neighbor in front of us moved their house a few weeks ago, and evidently left their cats. Two have adopted us and seem to be sweet cats, hopefully fixed. Leaving animals is a mean, cruel, irresponsible thing to do. --------- Warning! There is a GI Virus going around. If you are tired, stay home and rest. #1 has something and stayed in his jammies all day yesterday. Somehow #2 took that to mean that he could also stay in his jammies. Today we are just staying home and resting again. Hopefully that will blow it out of here. --------- It has started to sink in to me that we are starting Middle School next year. I am trying to figure out how we are going to work it. I have some ideas, but planning is still going on in this weary brain. I am feeling a bit stretched and thin lately.

Yesterday the word optimist came up and I asked #2 if he knew what it means. He was close and I told him an optimist looks at the bright side of things, expecting the best; a pessimist looks at the down side and expects the worst. #2 said, "It's better to be an optimist. Then you like what is going to happen." #1 had been listening and gave this reply, "It is better to be a pessimist, then you don't get disappointed. If you always expect the worst, then it is good if something happy happens." Truly that is their personalities; I had just never seen a good reason to be a pessimist. ------------ I needed some alone time with God yesterday, so while the guys had their night out I stayed at the house and worshippped. Psalm 116 in the CEV struck me: I love you, Lord! You answered my prayers. You paid attention to me, and so I will pray to you as long as I live. Death attacked from all sides, and I was captured by its painful chains. But when I was really hurting, I prayed and said, "Lord, please don't let me die!" You are kind Lord, so good and merciful. You protect ordinary people, and when I was helpless you saved me and treated me so kindly that I don't need to worry anymore. You Lord have saved my life from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. Now I will walk at your side in this land of the living. I was faithful to you when I was suffering, though in my confusion I said, "I can't trust anyone!" What must I give you Lord for being so good to me? I will pour out an offering of wine to you, and I will pray in your name because you have saved me. I will keep my promise to you when your people meet. You are deeply concerned when one of your people faces death. I worship you, Lord, just as my mother did, and you have rescued me from the chains of death. I will offer you a sacrifice to show you how grateful I am, and I will pray. I will keep my promise to you when your people gather at your temple in Jerusalem. Shout praises to the Lord! I like especially that God protects ordinary people, and that he is so kind, good, and merciful. It was a good evening.

Yesterday we were writing 4-H goals for the year. You have to do that every January and then at the end of the year, you see how much you accomplished. So I started with #1 and he had several good ones: Help at the Animal Shelter, Learn to ride a bike safely, Participate in the State Project, Visit new places... Then I asked #2 his goals: "You know those rides you get in and it seems like you are really on a rollercoaster, but aren't, and it shakes you around?" (virtual rollercoaster) "Yes." "I want to ride one of those." "What does that have to do with 4-H?" "Oh. Nothing, I just thought it would be fun." Can anyone spell FOCUS!!?

A man went forward yesterday at church to confess that he has a different face on Sunday than the rest of the week. He isn't as committed a Christian as he has lead some to believe, and thought perhaps his brother who has stopped going to church is more honest than he is because he still goes. Perhaps more honest is correct, but not more committed. Even if what you are doing is a farce, it is still showing a desire, even if it is subconscious, to please God. There are dry times in any relationship, friendly or romantic, and our relationship with God is no different. But you don't leave your spouse during a dry spell or it will be harder to go back and harder to ever have that close relationship again. Not impossible, but harder. The same seems to hold true with our spiritual relationship with God. He never leaves us, but if we leave him it seems hard to get back to him, too many other things get in the way. Just like your Lover, you keep reminding yourself why you love him/her. You keep doing the "expected" things. You stay put, and after a while you have that feeling back again. And then you seem to drink more deeply to quench the thirst.

I was thinking about my husband's cell phone recently. He uses it as a pocketwatch. He doesn't wear a wristwatch, hasn't for years; it pulls the arm hair. But he used to keep a watchface in his pocket to know the time. Now he just looks at his phone. I have seen a lot of people do that. My Papaw had a real pocketwatch. He wore overalls most places he went. He walked slowly, with his hands clasped behind his back. Then he would pull out his pocketwatch, on a chain, to check the time. It just seemed less rushed that way; somehow a cell phone time checker seems in a hurry to get somewhere. --------- I spoke with a young lady today who is doing her student teaching. They call it "Senior Internship" now, but it is the same thing; a stamina race to see who can survive the kids, parents, staff requirements, and low pay. She is teaching first grade just like I did, though I had to do two placements and also had 5th graders. It occurred to me later that the kids I had in that first grade class are at least as old as this young lady!!! The kids I student taught could now be student teaching!! Yikes. That means the fifth graders are...I don't want to think about it. --------- Today's sermon was about the Bible. Part of it was about how strange it can seem to us---Hittites, Girgashites, Perizzites, Edomites, etc. #2 looked at me and said "hippo-crites" (long i on crites). I couldn't help myself and laughed out loud. I told Hubby what he had said and everyone laughed. Pooor little guy was embarrassed. I told him it was a funny joke. He said, "Yes, but I didn't want everyone to laugh." Better not grow up to be a comedian.

#1 is 11 years old today. He wanted a sleepover with friends and to watch the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. He got the dvds for his birthday, along with some books and gift cards, and everyone came about 3 yesterday afternoon. They played outside for a long time, had pizza for dinner, played outside some more, and every now and then watched a bit of the movies. At 11:30 I told them to get inside and the doors would be locked. I guess that is when they started watching seriously, and I went in at 3:30 a.m. to check on them and they were still watching!!! The two youngest had fallen asleep earlier than the others, so they were up at 7:30. It's going to be a long day. #1 has really been showing us how he is growing lately. Yes, he is tall, but he has been maturing in other ways too. He is doing things without my asking, helping out around the house, asking what he can do to help, etc. It is a welcome change. Part of his sleepover caused a little concern because he wanted to ask some of his female friends. Some parents were concerned about that, so we had the boys and girls "sleep" in separate rooms. At first, #1 had said he would invite one girl, but she isn't allowed to go to sleepovers. Then he asked if I knew why "because she seems very mature and responsible. She helps a lot with her brothers and I think she's a good girl." The poor thing is still unaware that the girl friends are actually girls! He couldn't figure out why they had to sleep in separate rooms, and I pulled a "because I said so," so that I wouldn't have to enlighten him on the fact that all of his friends aren't guys.

We went on a double date last week with some friends from church. The boys stayed with the friends' older kids while we went to dinner and a movie. We saw Juno. We all enjoyed it, but I don't know that I can recommend it to anyone. It could be taken different ways by different people. It is about a 16 year old who ends up pregnant and decides to give the baby up for adoption. When we got the kids back and were headed home the boys asked if we had a nice time. "Yes." What did you see? "Juno." What's it about? --At this point I am wishing we didn't have such polite, interested children! "A girl that misbehaved." What did she do? "Just misbehaved." Did she steal or tell a lie? Ok...I guess I have to deal with this. "She misbehaved and had a baby." #2 responds with "I thought having babies is a good thing." "Yes, but not when you are in high school and 16." That is when the fun began! #2: "It's good that we are homeschooled. When you go to public high school they make girls take birth control pills and don't let them tell their parents." #1: "What's a birth control pill?" #2: "It helps control birthing, because you know with all of those boys and girls standing so close in schools, they get pregnant." #1: "Mom, I think you need to have that talk with #2 that you had with me." I nearly busted a gut trying not to laugh during all of this!

We went to Jamestown/ Yorktown/ Williamsburg for a few days. We learned a lot and were able to put history into a better perspective, but what a trip it turned out to be! I don't normally complain, but listen to just a FEW of the things that happened...#2 started it out by not being able to find his gift card to KB Toys (we were going to the outlet there), we decided he has to learn to be more responsible so he had to suffer through his brother spending his card, #2 also forgot to pack a swimsuit for the hotel and any toiletries--toothbrush, comb, etc.--#1 has lost his coat and it was freezing or below freezing a lot of the time. I told him to take layers to wear, but he didn't. It was very, very cold, and it rained the second day. We blew out a tire and had to replace 3 of them. On the way home we picked up a rock in our windshield. I had to laugh or else I would have cried. We ended up not spending any time in historical Williamsburg. We didn't have tickets for it and it was much too cold to just walk around. We did eat at a tavern there and it was very nice. The costumed staff came around and entertained us. That was my birthday dinner. A trip for the memory books.

What a week. I hadn't even realized that I didn't blog all week. I have been gone every day this week to somewhere, and I really don't like weeks like that. Monday night was a 4-H Leaders' meeting that left me feeling overwhelmed. 4-H really has a lot to offer, and you just have to tell yourself that there is no way you could possibly do all of it. Tuesday was an all day 4-H meeting since we didn't have the business meeting the first of the month. We went ice skating, had pizza, and then the business meeting. The highlight there was the induction of #1 as President for the year. Then in the evening, against my better judgment, I met a friend and then spent a couple of hours at the library. I should have stayed home and gotten caught up. Wednesday was spent catching up and running to church. Thursday was spent running ALL day, most of it with 3-5 children in tow. I had hoped for a peaceful evening, but #1 had broken his glasses on Sunday and they were finally done, so out we headed again to get that taken care of. He is happy to see again. So here it is Friday with only one blog. Whew! So much for that Resolution. ------------ Last weekend we had some little friends over to play. They were here at dinner and so I fed them. While they were eating in the dining room I was eating in the kitchen. I could hear the unkind conversation in the other room, so I started singing, "Love one another, for love is of God." The other kids laughed and asked, "Why is your mother singing?" I heard #1 sigh, "Here we go again. This is what she does when we aren't behaving." I thought it was funny, like he was sighing over a lecture or something. ------------ Darkie is in heat again. I will try borrowing Clyde again, but I am afraid he may be too short for her. At least it will make her stop crying all night! I really was hoping for some sleep last night.

I cleaned out my van yesterday. I only took out the garbage and vacuumed; it still needs to have the vinyl washed and the whole outside washed, of course. I bought the van a little less than two years ago. I test drove a Yukon. The boys and I really liked the Yukon---leather seats, drove like a breeze, nice and roomy. Except for the trunk. There was hardly any space in the "trunk" and to get to the third seat was going to be a big hassle. So for the ease of life I said "no" to the Yukon and took the much more practical Honda mini-van. It was a good decision. In the last two weeks the van has hauled a dog, LOTS of children, animal feeds, groceries, food for dinners, packages, luggage, and goats. Yes, goats. I bought two goats yesterday and hauled them home in a dog carrier cage. The Beverly Hillbillies never rode in such style. I doubt that is what Honda intended with their mini-van, but it would have been good advertising to me. ------------ The goats are Nigerian Dwarf goats. They are about the size of small sheep. They are both supposed to be pregnant, due at the end of April. Nigerians are supposed to be pretty good milkers for their size, soI am hoping for some fresh milk this spring. For now we are all trying to get used to each other. The goats are trying to decide who is the boss of the field. The biggest and oldest goat, Darkie, doesn't really care. She hasn't taken over in any way; she just wants peace and quiet with a little gentle petting. Sounds good to me.

I took the boys to a play last night about the White House. It was really good. We all laughed so hard and still learned quite a bit about the White House. Afterward, a couple families went to Krispie Kreme to enjoy a treat together. #1 made a comment about not drinking after a girl because that is how babies are made. The kids laughed and he didn't know why. That hurt his feelings and he had a hard time with the rest of the evening. When I found out what happened, I had a talk with him privately. He told us last year he didn't want to know how it occurs. I asked if he was ready yet. He told me yes, no, maybe. So I gave him enough info to move him along, but not the full details. I told him it would be better for the sake of his embarrassment, not to say anything about how babies are made. Then I wished I could have left him thinking that drinking out of the same cup as a girl would make a baby. It would eliminate a lot of problems, colds being the least. ------------------- I am going goat shopping this afternoon. I hope to come back with 2 pregnant does, Nigerian Dwarfs. They are about the size of a medium to large dog. I went out this morning to check on the chickens and heard two robins calling to each other. Last year it was February before we saw robins. The winter has been so mild I guess they decided to come back early.

Ten days into the New Year's Resolution and it has been shot at by the enemy. Of course, with this being the third year that I have made this resolution, I feel like I have battled it a little better. Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: I signed the boys up for art yesterday, and when I got home I found out about the music class the university offers. Then I had a dilemma. I would like the boys to have both opportunities, but quiet evenings at home are a must for me to have a quiet life. I tried to come up with several different ways to accomodate the class, but I am just going to have to say no. Now that it is in cyberspace perhaps I will have to say no or eat crow. To work with your hands: Not doing too badly with this part. I am wanting to get out into the garden soon so I can actually plant this year when I am supposed to. And to mind your own business: The house across the street disappeared this week. I didn't even notice until Hubby pointed it out, so maybe I am minding my own business. But now I am wondering what is going to go in there. A couple of houses went in down the road on a lot that I thought couldn't hold more than one house, so now I am wondering...None of my business!

Yesterday #1 was working on some research for a paper. He is writing a story about pirates. The book he was using had a recipe for pirate biscuits and he wanted to make them. I told him I thought that would be good for lunch and to go for it. He made the biscuits with a little help from me, and then #1,2, and 5 had them for lunch. #2 told me he didn't care for it and it tasted sour. #5 took a bite and shuddered from head to toe. "That's tewwible," he said. The recipe called for 5 tsp of soda! I refused to even try it.

I was leaving to get the oil changed when my neighbor stopped me. "We have a problem. Again." So nice to see you too. The problem for him is that he believes the development next to us is building so that all of the rainshed will come onto our property and the road in front of our home. He was ready to go to City Council about it; he was very irate. I told him I thought the first thing to do would be to go to the developers. I talked to him quite a while and he never saw why that would be the right thing to do. It was almost as if the "right thing to do" was another language to him. Finally, he ended by saying, "I guess you're ever the optimist." I ended by restating, "It's just the right thing to do." He shook his head and walked away.

I started yesterday by singing to my children of how they needed to get out of bed, making an early start, help their heart, work out long so they will be strong, etc. #1 asked me to please not wake them that way today. I thought it was a pretty good song. We went to the gym early and had a good work out. I had a "mother tiger" moment. I took the boys to the pool for our cardio workout, and an old woman there started yelling at #2 for splashing her and getting her hair wet. Now, I was trying to tell him to move over to the rope to swim, but her tirade just kept going, so I let her finish and then asked him to move. Then she jumped on me for letting him do that. I understand old women not wanting to wet their hair. They go get it done once a week and then leave it alone. BUT, if you are going to go to the pool you should expect to get a little splash or else wear a shower cap. I thought I would take that woman out back and knock some sense into her-- mother tiger. ---------- I went to the funeral yesterday. It was a long day, but good to be there for my friend. The widow seemed to be holding up well. I imagine it will hit her later today.

Today the routine is supposed to start. The holidays are officially over for us and we head back to school. To change it up a bit though, we will be going to the gym in the mornings BEFORE school. Homeschoolers are not known for very early mornings so we are talking a major routine change here. The boys are upset that it means no tv in the mornings before school. -------- Although today is back to routine, there will be very little of it. The father of a friend passed away and I am going to the funeral, 3 1/2 hours away. So the kids will go to a friend's house for a while, and I will watch my "extra" kids later this week. My friend who suffered the loss was not raised in the area, so another friend and I are hoping we can be her support today. -------- #2 came in the other day and told me Jesus sure was late. "What do you mean?" "Well he was supposed to be born around April, but he didn't come until Christmas. That's what I call late!"

I spent a whole day writing our Christmas/New Year's Letter this week. All of that writing and editing put me on hold to write any more. It was fun to read back through my year of all that had been said. The kids are so funny, and they get it from their dad! --------- The year seems to be having a rough start for some people close to me. A friend left last night to go be with her dad. He was starting to have respiratory failure. He has been doing some experimental procedures and it didn't go well a couple weeks ago, I guess. He has cancer. Another friend found out her aunt, who has no other family, has masses through her body. The friend will likely move herself and her kids down to be with the aunt and help care for her. We will miss them terribly. I am still fighting some type of infection in my toe. It started before Christmas, and is seeming to get worse. I can't wear regular shoes. I was in the grocery yesterday with all my sweatsuit and cold weather attire, and sandals on my sock feet. I got several weird looks. ---------- #2 had his birthday party on New Year's Eve. The kids stayed up and had a great time. I think I wrote that already. But then, they went outside and played all day together. At 1:00 I asked if they wanted to go to a movie with us, and they did, but wanted to go home first. So their mom picked them up and we picked them up after that an hour later. We went to see The Water Horse. What a great movie! People even clapped at the end. My mom asked if it has a great moral. No not really, it is just a nice story. --------- I did borrow a man (billy goat) for Darkie. He seems to have done the job, although we won't really know for a few more months. The fellow seems happy here, a big field to roam and a girl at his beck and call. What more could a man want? ----------- Did you hear the Mountaineers won the Fiesta Bowl? What a wonderful thing for them. Morgantown was all astir about Rodriguez leaving like he did. I am glad they won and could put that in his ear and blow! The way he left was so selfish and irresponsible. ----------- I tried triple coupons at the store yesterday. I got up at 6 a.m. so I wouldn't have to deal with a bunch of people on my first try. It went great, except that I forgot the 20 coupon rule and so didn't get as many triples as I had hoped. I went back later and tried again with some other things. Did great again and DID remember the rule. I got things for 14 and 19 cents, and a few things free! ------------- One last thing and I think you will be caught up on our lives. It is COLD here! It was to go down to 15 last night. Today is 47 and all week to get higher, until next week is back in the 70s, but for now we are COLD! Hubby says if you are going to be this cold at least have the decency to snow! I think we all agree.

Happy New Year. Last year Hubby and I went to bed and let the kids stay up to midnight. This year #2 was having his birthday party that night and wanted a sleepover. So we had movies, cake and ice cream, pop-its and sparklers, AND managed to stay up until midnight. The kids and I went out and set off sparklers and pop-its at midnight. Then I ran back in- it was COLD- and they stayed out a little longer to play cowboys and indians. It is nearly 8 a.m. and the kids are all sacked out in the livingroom in various positions; one little guy is going to have a stiff neck. So what about a Resolution? This will be the third year that I make the same one. It comes from Thessalonians; Make it your ambition (insert resolution) to lead a quiet life, work with your hands, and mind your own business. It is the "lead a quiet life" that I have mostly focused on, and yes after three years I am still working on it. I have a tendency to try and do too much. I enjoy life so much I want to do as much as possible. The problem is that I end up not enjoying the life when I do so much. This year I will be trying to watch my commitments- to kids' activities, teaching classes, animals, garden, etc. Each year I have gotten better, so I hope to do well with this resolution. ---------------- I did not write the family Christmas letter this year. I am hoping to write it in the next few days. It is the first year in about 15 that I haven't written one.