Random things

Just a few words for those of you who check in regularly. I have been unacceptably late in posting blogs lately. I am trying to get into a routine with my new schedule, and have not quite gotten there. This semester is going to be a challenge! Unfortunately, I don't see that I'll have a lot of time for posting, but I will do my best...and I'll try to get some pictures of the kids since it's been a while with that.

The kids: Both are well, although Kathryn is going to the doctor today (actually in just a few minutes). She has had a cold, and really started coughing yesterday - almost constantly. And this morning she had a fever, so no school for her. After Aunt Courtney's bout of pneumonia, I'm too scared to not get her checked out! Other than that, she's well :) She has really taken off with reading and is doing great in Awana. She earned another red jewel last night. Unfortunately, I've given over responsibility for Awana preparation to Jason. I hate to give it up, but I just can't seem to remember to make time to do it during the week.

Julian is also doing great. He was grounded for a week for some school issues, but I think it may have had an impact. He has had some great days at school since being un-grounded. It turns out some of the issues he is having have to do with his work being hard. He has always had such an easy time with his schoolwork, and did not have to put much effort into it. Well, not so for 3rd grade! The math especially has become challenging, and we talked about that. It doesn't mean he is less smart than he was; it just means he has to practice more. It made me sad that he apparently thought it meant he was less smart. Poor baby. Anyway, he's doing great, and I have hope that he'll finish out his year well.

Jason and Robert were finally able (after some weather delays) to get rid of the tree that had fallen across our fence. It was an undertaking, and both were sore when they were done. Going up and down our embankment can be a brutal workout! Our next big improvement project is replacing our shower, which is in pretty bad shape. Hopefully within the next couple of weeks we'll be able to pick out our new shower and get all of the supplies for the project. It's gonna be a doozy! Since I have class Wednesday nights, Jason has started taking the kids to Awana alone. He stays with them for opening assembly and then comes home until it's time to pick them up.

I am 3 weeks into the new semester, and so far so good. I have 2 online classes, which has been an adjustment, especially since one of my online professors is not a fan of the internet and seems to be a bit stubborn about certain things. Oh well, I can relate to stubbornness! There is a lot of writing involved in both - Sociology and World Literature, which makes blogging go a little lower on my list of writing priorities :)

I love my Environmental Science class, although at this point we are only talking about the introductory things - biomes, ecosystems, habitats....We started a semester long experiment to see what the affects of motor oil are on growing things (pea plants and marigolds). Should be interesting. I am looking forward to the sections on climate change and global warming. I've done some research on my own, but you can never tell who put what kind of spin on what you're reading, so I'm anxious to see what an ecologist that I know and trust thinks about it. She did say in one of our first classes that 94% of climatologists agree that global warming is real and that man is making it worse....the further out you go from that specific science, the percentage goes down, but climatologists are people who got their masters or doctorate in the specific science of the climate, so I guess they know what they're talking about. I actually watched a documentary this week on Netflix called Heat (it was on PBS originally, and you can find it on their page if you're interested). It was pretty convincing.

And finally, my first education class has been ... interesting. The professor is unique - I really like her. She tells a lot of stories though, which can be a little frustrating. She has been an educator for almost 30 years, has been a principal in elementary, middle and high schools and is now the assistant superintendent. She actually worked in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system, which is where I graduated from. I have already learned a lot about what teaching really is, and some things were not what I expected....I'm thankful for her honesty!

So, that's our life recently in a (quite large and a little rambling) nutshell. I will try to get some good kid pictures this week and post them. I hope no one is going through Julian and Kathryn withdrawal out there!