Busy Days

 Long absence....but we're back!

It has been several years since I've posted on here....so what's happened in all that time? 

Well, life has been busy. To begin with, I took a step back when we decided to move. AGAIN! I didn't think it would be quite this long of a break, but there we were, renting a 900 sq. ft. three-bedroom cabin with six children, two cats, and no washer or dryer. With the FLU! Yes, we moved at the height of flu season, and we had that wretched stomach bug for almost a month. It was miserable to say the least. Also, it was a true realization that I'd been spoiled our entire marriage, because I never needed to go to a laundromat before that time. Weekly visits to a laundromat with six children were not easy, but we took our school work with us and made the best of the long tables. I didn't have time to blog.

Fast-forward about six months, and we were moving again, this time into a house. Some things are absolutely picturesque: A river runs at the edge of our backyard, and we have an enormous yard, trees, chickens, and a pool. But, there were some drawbacks with the house (the previous owners were heavy smokers, which meant a LOT of cleaning), some mold, and old carpet to deal with. It's been a slow process. We've been here for around six years, and in that time, I accepted a position teaching English online at a community college and ESL online in virtual classes. We also welcomed a foreign exchange student from Brazil for one school year. That was an amazing experience! He went home to Brazil, and a couple of months later, just as we were getting used to taking one vehicle as a family again, we learned we were expecting our 7th child! I told you life has been busy!!

We welcomed our seventh child in the beginning of 2024. He is amazing. Are you keeping track? We now have three sons and four daughters! That's growth for you. But, we have the "exchange bug" and last school year, we welcomed another foreign exchange student, this time a young lady from Finland. So we have two host children (who we are blessed to still talk with regularly) and seven biological children. Crazy, right?

As of May we have officially graduated our oldest child. That feels a bit surreal when we think about it. We are sending him off to college at the end of this month, and I am going back to college to start on my doctoral degree as he begins his first semester. Someone asked me why I wanted to go back to school again, and all I could say is that, for me, college courses are refreshing. Are they work? YES! But they also really push me to do something for myself and keep me motivated. 

So many other things have happened in the last six years, but I'll try to get to some of those later. Will I keep up with the blog now? Boy, I don't know, but I sure hope so!