The Good News...

The good news is Kevin will probably keep his finger...bad news is he got his hand caught between our van and the trailer yesterday. Surgery will be Monday or Tuesday.

The good news is they called it a break and not a severed finger...bad news is he is hurt and will be laid up for awhile recuperating.

The good news is he is a very hard working responsible-minded man...bad news is he wanted me to pick up sheet rock on the way home from the emergency room so he could finish the boys' room ceiling (so do you think he will be able to NOT use his hand during recuperation???!!??) I don't think so!

The good news is we met our family deductible already so any other doctor visits won't cost us a thing...bad news is we have a pretty high family deductible and it will take quite awhile to pay off along with our other financial responsibilities. :)

The good news is we are all in the house tonight...bad news is we all had to walk 1/2 mile because our van got stuck up to the running boards at the end of our driveway in mud on the way home from symphony. (Another good note is that Emily put all the kids' water boots in the van this morning.) Kevin and I were the only ones walking in our dress shoes.

The good news is my dad came with his tractor and got us out...bad news is the van is left at the end of the driveway.

The good news is we will all be getting some exercise as we walk 1/2 mile to and from the van each time we go somewhere...bad news is there is more rain forecasted and this could be for awhile.

The good news is we have a really good pastor and he gave a great sermon that I needed to hear (Kevin claims he wrote the sermon just for him but it's not true, it was for me:)...bad news is I'm a sinner and I'm not doing a great job of changing that. I need the Lord to help me with that. Great news is he doesn't mind!

I pray you can find the good news in life. Believe me, I have some challenges in that department of my life but right now I am thankful for many things and am thankful Kevin is doing so well. Please pray for good healing and God's peace upon us in all the twists and turns this life has given us.

100%=$1...

My two boys, Isaac and Caleb get a dollar for any 100% they get on a math lesson. I correct their lesson in anticipation as I sometimes get up to number 12, 13 or 16 even without one wrong (total of 25 problems usually) and then bam, 1, 2, 3 or more wrong in the last half and I'm a little deflated waiting and hoping for it to happen. Today, it happened. I corrected Caleb's lesson from yesterday and he got 100%! He was yelling down the hallway letting everyone know he gets a dollar. He only has 32 lessons left of the year, only 32 more chances to get another dollar. We'll see how many more he can get!?!

A really good book...

Trouble at Timpetill by Henry Winterfield.. This is our new read aloud because we really like the two history books he wrote on Roman times called Detectives in Togas and Mystery of the Roman Ransom. I found this in the library and I don't want to stop reading. It is good. Mr. Winterfield wrote it in 1933 for his son who was sick with scarlet fever. The children of Timpetill are so ill-behaved that the grown-ups just up and leave. Most of the children think this is the greatest and really live it up eating candy and looting the town. It loses its fun and soon the kids are wishing they had their parents and trying to figure out how to get the water and electricity turned on and how to thwart the gang that causes most of the trouble. We started it yesterday and are on chapter 10. It is set in an older time period since it was written back in 1933 and is charming.

We are being rained on here and our driveway is very challenging! It is supposed to rain for two more days! I do not want to go anywhere until it is dry. Next week is just too busy for this kind of driveway so I sure hope it "dries" up some. Home school convention is coming and it's always a welcome reprieve for those mothers who are counting the days until the kids can be outside more. It can be quite rejuvenating to be around others who live your life on a slightly different plane. There is a purity conference this year for the girls to attend, they are looking forward to that! Buddy Davis of the AiG Creation Museum will be giving a concert and sharing in his workshops on how he has sculpted and built more than 60 dinosaur models (life-size). We've had the privilege of seeing him before and look forward to it again. Blessings to all!

Again and again...

She is so adorable and brings so much joy! Unfortunately, Lena is aware of our "Lena" centeredness and can really ham it up during devotions and other "quiet" family times and we all stop and laugh and encourage the distraction! :)

Snowdays...

That's funny....

Riah and Bekah and I were drying dishes. Bekah and I had a bit of a contest; her against me to see if she could dry the bottom rack of the dishwasher before I got the dish drain done and all put away. She actually won! I just thought I'd beat her for sure. I helped them empty the top; the dreaded top, full of glasses, cups, bowls and things that really hold the water in places, plus it holds a lot more dishes than the bottom, right? Well, I commented that I wasn't supposed to be helping them and that I should be taking a nap so I could get my strength up to come back out and tell them what to do next. I said mom's aren't supposed to any work, just tell people what to do. Rebekah laughs and says "I think that would be criminal." :)

Jordan has a good post right now here.