July

 Whew, time flies when we are having fun!

It also flies when we are working hard!

When we can combine working with fun, that's the best of all!

I finished another book a few days ago (my part of it) and that is a cause for celebration.  Kevin now has to buckle down and do a whole bunch of stuff to get it launched.  We plan to publish end of July.

Last week, Kevin and I went away for a day to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.  That is obviously a tremendous milestone and we are thankful for all those years of marriage together!  We went to a botanical garden and then to a giant weird grocery store called Jungle Jim's.  All in all it was a very pleasant day and my foot held out well.  More about that in a bit.

Regarding Jungle Jim's, it is really huge, and they have weird walls thrown up now (I haven't been there in a while) and I decided I was NOT going to bring the kids there on a field trip.  Someone would get lost.  We nearly got lost. It was very strange geographically. It was also fun, we bought a few things, including some yummy scallops.

Back to my foot. I am certain it is plantar fasciitis because it behaves like it.  I have been wearing shoes most of the time I am awake and with the special soles in them, my foot has improved significantly. It still aches when I walk a lot which is annoying but hey, better than it was.  Last night, I decided to buy a really expensive pair of shoes that are supposed to help with this malady.  They will come in the mail soon.  I am notoriously cheap and spending $160 on a pair of shoes isn't my usual jam, but I will pay that if these shoes can take care of my foot hurting. I don't have time for this nonsense!

This week has been a whirlwind.  Our church is having a giant rummage sale and we helped out with that a couple of days.  They have a lot of furniture they are selling so our children helped haul furniture around.  I carried lighter things until my foot started aching and then I sat.  

We also have had a bunch of orthodontist appointments lately, and eye appointments, and so on and so forth.  So so thankful for a reliable car, and good health insurance, and the freedom for me to stay home so I can leave the house with our kids to take them to doctor appointments.

Joseph passed his temps test so now has his temporary driver's license, which is cool.

I met via Facetime with my assessor which is required for homeschooling; she looked over the kids' work through the year and signed documents that they are making good progress.

So yes, lots going on.  Tomorrow, for now anyway, there is nothing on the calendar and I am glad about that. 

One last thing -- many of my children are enthusiastic Minecraft players.  There is this guy who went by the name Technoblade who was in his early 20's and a really charming guy. He did youtube videos of Minecraft game play with him talking in the background.  He was very humble and mellow and funny.

A few days ago, he died of cancer.  Several of the children were very upset.  Now they obviously never met this guy, but they cared about him and so his death hit them hard.  And I think that is completely reasonable.  He was very young and it is a tragedy, so they cried and mourned.

I think it is really important for people to learn to mourn well.  It is painful to cry and grieve, but we are meant to feel sorrow when someone we care about dies.  Our kids have cried hard over pets too. Also very valid.  It is sad when someone we care about dies.