Happy Spring!

My semester is almost over--I just need to write my final essays for one class--then I get three weeks off before my summer semester (with 3 classes) begins. It's been a great spring--the kids are healthy and happy--we are down to just our four now--waiting (not so) patiently for "official" word on the 7 kids from Omaha so we can start visits. I've been working on the house and yard--seems like every day flies by. Looking forward to 3 family reunions this summer--the first one in a month HERE!

Happy New Year!

2010. Taj turns ten next week--and Aria will be 9 in Feb.

The semester ended badly--2 "C's". But it also helped me focus--change my degree. I will graduate this summer with a degree in "Interdisciplinary Social Sciences"--and hopefully start my Master's in Youth Development in the fall. (Need to get all that paperwork turned in.)
I LOVE my classes this spring! Philosophy; Wealth, Power and Privilege; Social Psychology; and Social Inequalities. 3 online--one at night, and all reading and writing and discussion of IDEAS! No cadavers or math!

Life is busy, but in a good way. We usually have 2 or 5 extra kids around--noisy (generally happy) chaos. The kids are growing and are all great. I'm so happy to be home again with them--we had a great daycare provider, but I really missed being with them all day.

Winter blessings!
Lisa

Has it really been that long?

I started logging into facebook--and started back to college. Haven't had time for long newsy posts--just a sentence here or there....

My summer courses went well. Trig and Nutrition--2 A's. I think maybe it made me a little *too* cocky. I'm taking two very challenging courses this fall (an 8 credit Anatomy / Phisiology class, and my very first Chemistry class) and not doing nearly as well as I'd hoped. I think if I work very hard, I can pull a "B" out of each course--but it's humbled me quite a bit.

Taj and Aria are both in public school now. Aria is thriving--Taj is more reticent, but I think he's found some good points. They are both making friends and, I think, learning.

Jeff didn't deploy this fall. His days have been filled with all the preliminaries to (hopefully) getting surgery on his neck. They (finally) diagnosed degenerative discs in his neck and I think surgery is the only way to end his constant pain and headaches. After that, he will re-classify and serve the army in some other capacity. Having him here has been good.

My three little ones go to daycare every day. I found a wonderful provider close to campus and they have a great time there.

BC has called a few times, but I think the independent life is more important to her than security, so we talk, but I don't think she'll come back.

NB is doing well. Her little one is a daily joy--and NB is getting close to sitting for her GED--and plans to start college this next semester. She wants us to adopt her, so we are making plans to formalize that after she turns 18 in Dec. I think she plans on staying here for her first semester--then getting her own place in the spring.

Our eldest son got home from Iraq Sept 21. He spends lots of time with his son and should have full custody back before Christmas.

So, if you've been doing the math, you will see that we will be down to just our birth family under the roof in the next 6 months or so. (grin) Not if I have anything to do with it. There is a sibling group of 7 in Omaha that we may be able to adopt. Three of them were in our home from March 2006-Aug 2006. Ages: 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 13. We loved them and when they left I wrote a letter saying that if they were ever available for adoption to call me.

We've had an interview and they are checking with Kansas right now to see if the state will support the placement. We've been getting the house ready--making two bedrooms up in the loft so we officially have 7 bedrooms. I really really really hope we get them--they are great kids and I think we would be a perfect match for them--and Taj would have three new brothers!

Well, the family is starting to stir--think I'll go make some banana muffins....

Semester is over!

I feel pretty good about both classes--and very glad this leg of my journey is complete. Just taking two classes this fall--a Chemistry class (4 credits) and an Anatomy / Physiology class (8 credits).

Had a sobering thought today--all four of our bio kids will be teenagers at the same time--Sascha will hit 13 while Taj is still 19.... And that's only 10 years away....
Life's been challenging lately. The runaway called me a week before her birthday to let me know she was okay. The other teen has a major attitude going on--I guess the honeymoon is over....

Jeff and I (and the kids) have all been talking about Florida--that's our plan of action--when I graduate, we are moving to the Ormond Beach area (just north of Daytona.) Thoughts of yearlong sun and surf keep us all going.....

Wow. Trig sucks!

It's been so long since I've taken algebra. I get most of the Trig stuff, 'cus I can draw pictures and SEE the problem, but I've forgotten a lot of the basics--like complex fractions and logs, and factoring complex elements.... Any way, I studied a LOT before the first test--I felt I was well-prepared. The test was SO HARD!!!! Everyone complained and the prof threw out the first question entirely. (It was about figuring out the ratios of the two gears on a bicycle chain and then figuring out how many times one of them went around in a kilometer!) I ended up with a 78%, which with my homework garde, puts me at a low "B". If I can keep that up, I'll be happy. The next test is the Monday after the 4th of July. I guess I'll take a short break from studying that weekend to see some fireworks....

My professor is a cutie, though. He's French--here from NYC finishing his Math PhD. He cares so intensely about math, it's hard not to go along for the ride.

My other class is easy--and interesting. I'm taking it online, which I really enjoy. It's my first Nutrition class and I'm learning all kinds of fun things--and my poor family is reaping the benefits of my new knowledge with all kinds of healthy food.

The summer is zipping by. It finally got HOT here last week--our poor air condition can't keep up. It's running non-stop and the main floor never gets below 84 degrees--plus we have to turn it off periodically to let it de-ice.

The kids are all doing well. Keeping busy--Taj is creating all kinds of things from legos right now--I"m so tempted to get out my little legos, but have horror-visions of stepping on sharp little square pieces of plastic when I get out of bed at night. The big legos are bad enough. Aria loves having her own room--except she's been letting the little girls bunk in with her lately--the basement is about 30 degrees cooler than the loft. Both 2 year olds are day-potty trined. Sascha did it about 6 months ago--and LB just caught on that he gets a jellybean if he pees in the toilet--and a piece of chocolate if he poops. He is VERY candy-motivated, so he's doing great!!

Nina is kind of stuck in the middle--I rally wish she had someone near her age to play with on a regular basis--she is either the torturer or the victim, depending on whether she is playing with the "big kids" or the "little kids". But putting her in to sleep with Sascha has seemd to cement their relationship....

"NB" is doing well. She's still figuring out what she wants to do with her life--but she does want us to adopt her. She's really become part of this family in the last year, and we are working on the paperwork. He little one is a doll--getting into everythng and following (and copying) the 2 year olds.

Well, back to homework. 5 more weeks of summer school--then I get about three weeks off and fall semester starts about Aug 18th (?)

Lisa

Recital is over!

And it went well. The girls knew their dances and looked absolutely beautiful! We went out to the new I-Hop here in JC to celebrate.

Tonight is the last night of GS--and there are 3 more BS meetings and Scouts will be over for the summer, too.

Today we head to Manhattan for the last homeschool meeting before we disband for summer....

Mid May...

We finally have an "official" garden. We rented a tiller last weekend and Jeff's Mother's Day present to me was tilling up a sizable portion of the yard for our garden. Zadina and I went and picked up lots of seeds and seedlings today and we're hoping for a clear day to plant. I may even be motivated to learn how to can homemade spaghetti sauce this year.... (If nothing else, we'll have LOTS of fresh tomatoes all summer!)

The girls have their recital on Sunday. Jeff will be home for the dress rehearsal Friday, but he leaves for CA a few hours before the "real" performance. I got a sneak preview yesterday when they gave a performance for a retirement home. They have both learned so much this year! We are already looking at the schedule for next fall--I think Sascha is going to start.

Sascha can make her "L" sounds now, but it's with effort, so we love getting her to say "Pill--low" and "Ball--llet". She also told me "I love you, Mama" for the first time today. Jeff is jealous and has been trying to get her to say it to him, but she's pretty stubborn and will say so on her own terms.

Taj has almost finished doing all of his thngs to earn his Bear cub patch--he'll be an official "Webelo" (Boy Scout) in June. And Aria's last Girl Scout meeting of the year is next Monday. I'd like to say we have a long lazy summer ahead of us, but we have three family reunions to go to--and I start two classes June 8th: Trigonometry and my first Nutrition class. I'm going ahead and getting my Bachelors of Science in Human Nutrition from K-State--I'll earn that in three years. And I can still start Creighton in two years. It'll be a rough 6 years, but then I'll finally get paid for what I know rather than how much I can carry, or how many miles I can drive, or how nice I can be to nasty customers. And then I can support Jeff for awhile while he goes to school.

Sending out more healing thoughts to a baby in Chicago who's been in the hospital--and sympathy to a friend of the family who lost a husband in a fatal motorcycle accident....