A Week in Review

Monday started with Chris still in Jordan. Of course he did not get to leave the next morning as originally scheduled as his luggage did not arrive in Jordan with him. For those of you unfamiliar with the way military flights in and out of Iraq run, lets just say -- they don't run every day. So, if you miss one you will be where you are for a couple days - if you are lucky and the next one is not already booked solid. Luckily Chris only had to stay in Jordan a couple extra days and was able to get out on the very next thing going to IRAQ. I was also very happy to find out that he was stuck there with a friend whose luggage also didn't arrive with him -- HMM -- coincidence?? I always like it when he is not alone. In some of these countries it just pays to have a friend with you. He did finally call me and let me know that he was safe and in IRAQ. YEAH !!! LOL. The next time I heard from him I was not so happy. Apparently the guy in the room on the other side of the plywood wall from him decided to have what they call a "negligent discharge" of his firearm. The bullet went approx 3 feet above Chris' bed and ricocheted around the room. We are all thanking God Chris was not in the room at the time. And yes, that guy (an army Major if you can believe it) was sent home. Since then things have been somewhat uneventful -- thankfully -- if not busy over there and Chris is getting into his typical deployed workout routine.

For those of us back here in the states things were very exciting all day on Monday. The boys woke up at 0700 and instantly began asking FREQUENTLY when Claire and the kids were going to be here. They got here at about 1045 and after meeting the dogs -- ANNA was terrified of them -- the boys went straight to the play room and started building Legos. They played with the legos for quite some time and then we all sat down to lunch. Ok, I guess we didn't really all sit down to lunch. I'll just say we all had lunch. It was kinda like eating at a school cafeteria with 6 boys, 1 infant and 2 toddlers to feed. Our table and chairs weren't quite enough, but everyone managed and I think they all got enough. After lunch they went out and played football and checked out the tree house and Caden and Grace took naps. Then, the 6 bigger boys went swimming. Everyone had a good time and the boys are already asking when Nathan and Luke are coming back.

Tuesday we hung out at the house and tried to get a little cleaning done, but I really was't feeling well. Finally, Wednesday Grandma and Grandpa and Great grandma and Great grandpa all came over. The boys were really excited. Great grandpa gave each of the boys a half dollar piece which they have put in their Keepsake boxes and even gave Rusty an arrowhead that he actually found on his farm in Kentucky. Rusty was so excited. On Thursday we got to go to dinner with all of the grandparents. We went to a "fine dinning" restaurant. The older boys really behaved well, and Caden did exceptional for having to sit through a two and a half hour dinner. I -- ate too much -- but boy was it good. We celebrated my moms birthday and both sets of grandparents anniversaries ( 37 yrs and 59 years ). The boys enjoyed every minute of it. When we got home Rusty was so excited. He said he really enjoyed spending time with his great-grandparents for the first time without everyone else around like at Thanksgiving and Christmas. The boys are anxious to go visit them again. Maybe now that we live closer it will be easier for us to do that. The boys were also very excited that the grandparents all got to come watch some of their football practice. It was a very enjoyable time.

Grandma brought us lots of Squash (for casserole) and zucchini (for bread) and tomatoes which we have just been eating plain ( and they are almost gone ). It is nice to live close enough to grandma to enjoy the benefits of her overflowing garden. YEAH!!! They all left Friday morning and Caden got sick. At first I thought he was just teething again but I believe we have our first case of actually sickness. Well, he made it almost all the way to 2 years old before getting really sick. He is really not having a good time of it and therefore -- neither am I. I was just getting over not feeling so well myself for the past week and with lots of sleep interruption over the past few days I'm not feeling much better very fast. Oh well, it will all pass.

I was not intending on starting up the "next year" of homeschooling until Monday but Ezekiel begged and begged and begged to be allowed to do some of his 2nd grade stuff. So, this morning we sat down and did a few things. We had a lot of fun and Zeke is excited about doing more. Hopefully the excitement lasts. We found out that their is a Discovery science center in Baltimore that offers classes for homeschoolers almost everyday in the month of September. It is a bit far to go everyday, but the classes were inexpensive enough that we chose a few classes and will be making the drive over 2 times. The boys are excited, and so am I. They also offer free homeschool swimming classes in October at the local college. I believe it is the Physical Education Teachers and they get school credit for it. The swim lessons are 2 times a week for the month of October. I just found out about it so I am looking to see if there are any more openings.