The kids finished up their school year over a week ago, so we are in the midst of a six-week break before starting our next school year. How is it possible that our "break" has been in some ways even more busy than our school year? Nevertheless, we are enjoying a bit of a change of routine. Meanwhile, I am busy planning and scheduling the upcoming school year, which we will start the first week of June.

I will leave you with a few thoughts from Psalm 119:

1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way,
Who walk in the law of the Lord!
2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,
Who seek Him with the whole heart!
3 They also do no iniquity;
They walk in His ways.
4 You have commanded us
To keep Your precepts diligently.
5 Oh, that my ways were directed
To keep Your statutes!
6 Then I would not be ashamed,
When I look into all Your commandments.
7 I will praise You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep Your statutes;
Oh, do not forsake me utterly!

Timothy's days of spelling competition are past, but Ariel decided she would like to participate in our homeschool group's spelling bee this year. I am pleased with how well she did against some tough competition. She correctly spelled flute, she, report, hare, running, control, product, caption, undertow, cucumber, pineapple, amass, condone, radical, contrary, formula, and complexity before misspelling proposition and reign, which resulted in her being eliminated in third place. Though spelling is neither her greatest talent nor her favorite pastime, Ariel put forth a great deal of effort in studying her word list to do so well!

Last fall we took Ariel to a recording studio where she recorded four of her original compositions. (She played a keyboard on all four pieces and sang for two of them.) She continues to amaze me with her talents! She really is an amazing pianist, singer, and composer!

Although I get on and read posts periodically, I continue to find myself rarely posting, so I'll have to do some "summing up" to cover the past several months.

This school year is going fairly well for us so far. It's hard to believe we are nearly halfway done with the year! The kids are doing well with their schoolwork and extracurricular activities. Timothy loves to learn and usually eagerly accepts all of his tasks except writing assignments, which most often still result in some form of tears, resistance, etc. Ariel enjoys some of her schoolwork but is much more interested in her musical pursuits (piano and voice lessons, composing her own music, etc.), so I am trying to find a happy balance for her.

I have continued to deal with health problems this year. About a month ago I went in for a basic physical (including bloodwork). According to those initial tests, my thyroid is not functioning properly. I will be going in for further testing soon to help determine the exact nature of the problem and best course of treatment. Unless it has resolved itself, it will likely mean me being on some sort of medication the rest of my life. This is, of course, not ideal, but I will welcome a solution that will help me have the strength and energy to be able to better manage my home, family, and other duties. (Please be praying for me!)

Work for Richie has been slower than usual this year, but God has continued to provide. Praise Him! In addition to doing fishing trips and computer consulting, Richie has also been doing a variety of odd jobs lately.

The week before Thanksgiving we attended a wonderful camp for homeschoolers in Oklahoma. My mom joined us at the camp, too. She and I co-taught a class for the kids ages 9-13, and I taught a class for the ladies. We all had a terrific time!

This has been a rather stressful week -- 1) There was a fire in our office trash can, which dropped on the floor a little, too, but fortunately didn't permanently damage anything but the trash can and doormat, I think. (It could have been so much worse! We, like the residents of a local apartment complex did lately, could have lost everything to a fire.) 2) Ariel is sick - congestion, cough, nausea, vomiting, etc. I haven't felt great either. We are hoping that we will all be well soon. -- And yet, I have so much to be thankful for! A safe, comfortable home, a loving and hard-working husband, two precious children, and so much more!

In better news, Timothy got the results of the EXPLORE test (a precursor to the ACT) that he took in October. He did very well! I'm incredibly pleased with his efforts and the results. Now, we are still waiting for the results of the PSAT, which he took the week before the EXPLORE. I hope he did as well on it!

Though I don't post often, I do read what you post, and you are each in my thoughts often. May God bless each one of you!

It may seem early to some of you, but in order to finish as early in the spring as I like to and have time to take a few breaks while still accomplishing what I have planned for the year, we must start now. So far our first day is going fairly well. There are still a few kinks to work out, but that is to be expected. Timothy is starting high school this year and will be earning seven credits - world history (including Bible), world geography, fine arts (primarily music appreciation - Discovering Music), advanced algebra (Life of Fred), physical science (Apologia), literature & composition, and Koine Greek II. It's hard to believe he is growing up so quickly! Ariel is studying Spanish (La Clase Divertida - Level 1), music (piano and voice - private lessons), Bible (Picture Smart Bible), math (Life of Fred - Ice Cream, Jellybeans, and Fractions), spelling (Spelling Power), and many other subjects combined in a unit study (Portraits of American Girlhood) based on several of the American Girl book series. It has taken a lot of planning to get everything lined out in a way that I hope will work, but I have done most of the lesson planning for the year, so now it will just be a matter of perhaps tweaking as we go and putting it into play each day. Having the kids completely separate in all of their subjects and having several that will require my involvement will be an adjustment for all of us, but I am hopeful that all will run smoothly and this will be a good year for us.

Performance dates and times have been set and are drawing near quite rapidly. Version 1 will be Friday, July 20 and Saturday, July 21 at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, July 22 at 2:30 p.m. Version 2 will be Saturday, July 22 at 2:30 p.m. There is also a special event available for boys and girls Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. Show tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the door. Special event tickets are $25. Please contact me if you'd like to come!