The writings are done! I'll happily go back to editing my kids' papers after this. That was tough! I feel S's pain of writing what he thought was a great paper, only to realize you left out one word that makes all your double spacing off and you probably have to rewrite a few sentences. Oof tah!

Funny story- Last weekend I was able to go to Kindle the Flame, a fabulous women's conference. First time in years that I could go. (Thanks Buddy for watching the kids!) I got to see a friend from the big hair ORU days, which was a lot of fun. Anyway, the last night we take communion and pray for the upcoming year. I was thinking as I got my little cup of white grape juice- oh that's right, they use white so if it spills it won't be as noticable. Just then mine slipped from my hand and spilled all over my dress. Good times!

Has it really been that long since I've posted? It's not as if there has not been any activity in our world.

We started our CC group, had some changes in our group, celebrated Labor Day with my parents in MO. I got to see a really cool way to make socks. I must admit that the mechanical side of it all really intrigued me, as well as a much faster way to make a pair of socks, a project I've yet to attempt. She said she'd be there until the end of September, so yesterday when H was in school and S went to work with Buddy, I took the C's and spent some time making my own sock. It is a lot of work! There are so many things to be looking for all at once. I really liked having to switch out the needles when we went from one pattern to another- knit, pearl, knit, pearl to knit 3 pearl 1. That was probably the easiest part. I thought the way they make a heel is really cool, but it turned out to be really stressful, especially when people were coming by asking what I was doing and commenting on my one mistake. THEN, I knocked over a little cup that had 33 needles in it into bark mulch! Maybe I was too optimistic of my abilities. However, when the time was done, I'd completed a sock with only 1 mistake that was easily corrected. Plus I learned about the Kitchner Stitch and how to do a Russian join. Today I go back and pick up the second one she's graciously agreed to finish for me. I'll have to close the toes, but that'll be a great challenge.

We also celebrated Caleb's 4th birthday. It was so much fun to watch him getting so excited and remembering past Christmas and birthday times. He's becoming such a fun boy. I must admit I've had some challenges with the baby adn all the changes go=that have gone on in our family in the last year, but he has a sweet heart. He tells me all the time how much he loves me and how pretty I am. Can't help but love a fellow like that! His little smile and happy attitude make days fun and the energy he has makes me wish I could bottle it up.

A few days later, it was my birthday. My parents came over and watched all 4 so Buddy and I could go out. We had a blast just being able to relax with no time contraints, a rare thing for either of us. Not feeling older, but I am now moving farther into this decade. Life is good, and God is amazingly faithful. I do treasure the friendships that have grown during the past few years and trust those will be with me as I head closer to the next decade.

Let's see, lots of trips back and forth to OK, which we're getting better at those. We're enjoying fall weather will lots of time outside. The changing leaves are some of our favorite things. We're headed to a football game this afternoon and some time with friends. Samuel went camping last 2 weekends ago, Catherine has made a new friend in MO that makes her time there really fun. Hannah is in a new class at school. She was in there only one day and was able to tell me the teacher's name. That is highly unusual for her. Most of the time if I ask her if she knows something she'll say, "yes" and then be unable to provide answers. Even with prompting I'm not always sure she knows the answer. The last thing I saw is what she'll repeat. If I change the order of the words I give her, she'll switch her answer. So, it was a big thing when she could tell her teacher's name. There is an aide in there to help her get from one place to another and to help with the bathroom. She rides the bus and is really tired when she gets home. We usually try to have some time to relax, eat, and then she's ready for bed. Caleb is has been interesting for me at CC. We have only older children in families who've never been in CC before, so all the parents need to be in class with their children. The first few weeks exhausted me as I tried to figure out what to do for him. last week I gave up and brought a movie for him and let him watch Charlotte's web. It worked. This week, Hannah is out of school, so I'll have 2 who will be in there to keep occupied in a good way!

Because I'm teaching Essentials for the first time this year, I have a bunch of papers to write. Oh, my! I think it's easier to write my kids' papers than to come up with my own. They are due this weekend. Speaking of which, I'd better make wise use of my time.

Enjoy your weekend!