Life has been ...

....

busy here.  I am on a New Member Committee so last week I made 18 phone calls to introduce ourselves and interview potential new members to our cooperative. We had a graduation, a graduation rehearsal, and a dinner for Tusculum supporting the memory of Chuck Bowlin. It was just a lot!

While school is mostly done now, little Pomegranate is still finishing up at the Kotynskis. She will be done at the end of the month. Our olders are mostly completely done although all of them will do math throughout the summer. 

Here is a little update on all of the kiddos: 

Isaac: Isaac is now 17 and is working at Yoder's almost 30 hours a week! It's a great job for him, and he seems to really enjoy it. I think it's fantastic that he can practice in an area like customer service as I think his life will involve a lot of "schmoozing" -- especially if he goes into the Arts. He is also still taking piano, voice, and guitar. Theater is mostly finishing up for the summer. He will be attending a theatre camp at Liberty University this summer with Randy Belt's (John's co-director at the ER) daughter Rylee. I am super excited for him. Generally, Isaac has become a pretty easy kid to parent. We had some challenging growing pains when he was 14-15, but mostly, now, he is enjoyable. He also has a girl that he likes :)

Elijah "Sidge": Sidge is 16. He still takes Karate two days a week. I think he will probably get his black belt by the time he graduates high school. He is working on the farm, hunting, and also working for other people (Daniel S., Aunt Betsy, Gabe, Grampa) sometimes. He is now driving as well which really helps here -- even though they share a vehicle. Sidge will be taking full-time college classes this fall which will be a very big change for him. His classes will be on Mondays and Wednesdays so he will have time to work on the farm and get some outdoor, hunting time in. While he does enjoy playing his allotted time of games on his phone each day (30 minutes), he is otherwise listening to hunting or some political podcasts (he likes Charlie Kirk) or reading. He is soon to leave for Columbia on a mission trip which is super exciting!)

Abigail: Abigail will turn 14 in July. She is still very involved in ballet. She probably is my least "liking" of school, and while she is a very good writer, doesn't even enjoy that all that much. She is really gifted with photography and spends time editing those items. She is going to be attending an overnight youth camp in Florida (WITHOUT her brothers as they have theater and mission trip). Abigail LOVES her friends and her social group (including a certain young man :) and is very intentional about her relationships -- something I never saw with the boys. 

Hannah: Hannah is 11 and as spirited, spunky, silly, and sweet as ever. She is just a spit-fire and so full of life. She loves ballet, and Ms. LoriAnn asked her to help at the princess and beginner camps this summer. She is super smart and schoolwork comes very easy to her. (If it doesn't, she can easily get frustrated as it isn't "normal" for something to feel hard.) She is very good on the farm as well, and if Sidge can't help us, Hannah is the next one in line to step in. She is the best cook and seamstress in our house and remains incredibly creative (and a bit messy :)