Excitement and Sadness

My goodness, have we been busy around here.  It seems as if almost every day there is some kind of appointment or commitment.  Here is an update on the progeny..........and what they are doing.

Courtney is heading off to the University of Alabama at Huntsville next week!  She has a full tuition scholarship and is planning on majoring in business.  We have been shopping, going through lists, and setting aside all of those essentials that any college girl needs.  It doesn't seem that long ago that my best friend, Beth, and I were having fun shopping for our freshman year at Colorado State and the University of Kansas, respectively.  Those were fun times and Courtney is going to experience the same!

Rachel is heading off to Manitou Springs, Colorado, to attend a two week session of Summit Ministries! She will be hearing lots of good teaching from wonderful Christian speakers and participate in some Rachel-stretching outdoor activities!! They show pictures of kids white water rafting, hiking Pike's Peak............but all of those are optional!! We'll see what she does! Here is what the website says:

Summit Ministries is an educational Christian ministry whose very existence is a response to our current post-Christian culture. Today, countless Christian youth have fallen victim to the popular ideas of our modern world. Most have adopted these ideas into their own worldview, while still others go on to renounce their Christian faith altogether.
Summit views its role in God’s kingdom as a catalyst to counteract this alarming trend. However, our ultimate goal supersedes simply training. As Christians are challenged to stand strong in their faith and defend truth, they will also be equipped to have a positive influence on the society in which they live."

Jonathan is heading off to the Navy!  It's been a goal of his for quite some time and he has been working hard for it. We went to the Navy Recruiting Office today and spent quite a bit of time talking about options, time frames, etc.  He took a practice ASVAB test and scored an 82!  That's a percentile ranking, which means he scored higher than 82% of others who take the test.  The recruiter told us that the average score of young men coming in to enlist is a 19..........unbelievable.  So, hurray for homeschooling!  He takes the "real" ASVAB on Thursday, finishes up some paperwork, and then heads to Phoenix in several weeks to make everything official. Then, once he turns 18, he is off!Yikes............my baby boy in the Navy?

David is in the throws of school.  He is a good student, but needs to apply himself more.  He has been taking piano lessons from our pastor and is doing really well.  David is my only "active" homeschool student at this time.............and he doesn't like it one bit!  But it's been nice to hear him play the piano and make significant progress!  We do like him to get his violin out now and again and hear him play with Rachel.

Isaac and Joshua are learning and discovering new things every day.  Their newest question, which I hear about 50 times per day, regarding any animal or insect, is "Is it ferocious?"  I'm not sure where they learned the word ferocious, but if we read a story about a penguin, lamb, deer, bumble bee, etc., we have to discuss if it is ferocious or not.  If we have flies buzzing around the kitchen, we must have reassurance that they are not ferocious.  So I have had to tell the boys that we really don't have ferocious animals around our house - thank goodness!

So that's what is going on at our house.  Joe and me?  Well, we are trying to adjust to all of the changes that come with having adult children.  Did I mention before that I don't like change?  It will be sad to have two of our children so far away, but time moves on. But these are good times and I pray for the Lord's blessings on all of our children.