Another summer quickly slides past. Already the kids are starting school (next Tues.). I can hardly believe another year is upon us. I am determined that this year will be different. Better grades, better study habits, more attention, and I am even going to attempt doing breakfasts every day with the kids! That is a stretch! I don't like getting up when I have to as it is, and now I am talking about getting up earlier just to have time to eat! That will be a major feat for me. Let alone, breakfast...cooking it....fixing it....eating it. I am just not a big breakfast eater...early in the morning that is...give it to me for supper and we are on!

Doesn't look as though the boys are going to do cross country again this year. Cory does, however, plan to do track and field again in the spring though. I hate that. I so enjoyed taking them to the meets and watching them run to the finish line. I loved photographing the whole team individually as they each ran and I know the parents loved the pix! The thing about track and field.....the meets were always during the week. They left straight from school while I was still at work.....not one picture taken....not one race did I even see. I hate that too!

Zach will be in the 8th grade this year and Cory will be in the 11th! OMG! They are growing up so fast! Zach actually turns 14 this month! My baby is getting so grown up! They all are and I just can't believe it either!

Seth is working on the end of his training in Nashville now too! He has the rest of his current class and a Psych class left before he takes 2 months in an unpaid externship. Looks like he may have to come home for that since it requires 40 hours a week....no pay....and his bills will not stop for it. The bright side...he may be able to get a local place to do his training in and maybe he will even get to live with my mom! She will love that so much!

Justin begins his next school year....he graduated with his Associates this past spring and now moves on to the local university to complete his degree in Criminal Justice. He seeks to become an officer of the law!

OH...guess I never mentioned here that I have a girl now! Char's niece has moved in with us (March). She is 14 and will also be in the 8th grade this year. Two 8th graders in the same house! She is an incredible child who has overcome so many adversities in her short life! She was taken away from her mom @ 3yrs old..in foster care until she was 6. Moved in with her daddy (Char's half brother), who was living with a gal who had about 6 kids. Her dad was put in jail for misdemeanors...leaving her living with this gal whose kids couldn't stand Jen. At 9, my father-in-law took her to live with him....this year (2006) he turned 81...like, what was he thinking? She ended up having a kidney removed 2 years ago due to a birth defect that went undetected but discovered when she had a required physical for going into the 6th grade. Only detected when they took her bloodpressure and her bottom number was over 200! Then this year, Char decided it was time to take her when she came over for a very rare visit and we found she had the worst case of headlice, had worn the same clothes for days, smelled like body odor and we found out she was only allowed to shower 2 times per week. Her daddy, who at this time had been out of jail for sometime and had tried to get custody of her away from my fil...to no avail, finally landed back in jail. Char saw the need to act. He went to see his brother about the situation. He literally jumped at the idea that we would want her! He couldn't believe it, I don't think. He had wanted a better life for her but his hands had been tied....long story. Needless to say, my husband now has an 'estranged' father, a daughter (of sorts) and more love than any one man could ever have! She is such a bright spot in our lives. The boys don't necessarily feel the same...but she does grow on them occaisionally!

Jen, well, we shorten her name...its' a thing with us in this home! Like I said, 8th grade. Due to her school history, she has been tossed around and is in a very low level of academia. But, the end of the year we saw strides she was taking to improve. We were open with her about our expectations and about helping her to achieve her goals. This year we are optimistic. We even pulled her out of 'Read 180', basically a class to help them with reading and comprehension---I call it a 'dummy' class...not intending to call the kids it it dummies, rather that it is a dumb class in my opinion. She sat in front of a computer...working on games to help improve her skills...made passing grades....yet her math and science scores were below 60 on her report card....her other classes were basically failing as well. We had her in tutoring after school 3 days a week....another joke...all they did was work on homework. How is that 'tutoring'? I call that study hall. Anyway, we pulled her out of that class to put her in Choir. They were going to let me think that she couldn't take Choir because it interfered with Read 180.....but I did let them know right quick that she didn't need that class. She will have a private tutor (me and possibly one of the youth leaders in church) and we felt she needed to take a class that she wanted to take that would give her self-esteem and one that would help her develop a skill she is interested in doing. She wants to sing in church. She wants to get on stage and sing. Who would we be not to encourage her to step out in faith? We stepped out in faith to get her. Now we have a responsibility to God to allow her to blossom.

I am hungry.....strange, but when I finally do sit down to blog, I get carried away. Here it is nearly 7 p.m. and I am starved!