Summer .... Finally.

It's always surprising to me how little of a desire I have to blog in the summer time. Life is usually less routine for me and any extra time I find usually involves me having my hands in the dirt, spending time with my family and friends, or seeking ways to be a blessing to others. Sitting in front of the computer is something I save only for the most urgent of email communications or research ... nothing more I'm afraid, so you may only see me a spare time or two until our school year resumes again this coming August.

Life has been full this past month. It was a month of "finishings" as we completed another year of violin and piano studies. Isaac and Isabelle performed beautifully in their spring recital. Our sweet friend of 11 years has been their teacher and does a tremendous job to inspire and encourage musical excellence while still maintaining joy and balance. This is what I am always striving to achieve with our music studies. I am so thankful for teachers who can help us with this along the way.

Isaac performed both a solo piece and duet with his best buddy. It was a tricky duet with a lot of rhythm challenges, but they rose to the occasion and performed beautifully. Isaac has recently taken off with his piano playing and has composed a few beautiful pieces. He enjoys regular time on "Garage Band", combining his keyboard and computer skills in neat ways.

Isabelle was sooooooo nervous to play in this recital, but did a great job with her two page piano piece. With her natural talent, all music comes easily to her by ear; but she continues with lessons in order to gain a stronger framework for theory and technique. She is a natural performer and seems to pull out her best in front of an audience. Because we have been between teachers and yet continuing to learn at home, she was also privileged to play her violin for the audience which has given us motivation for our at-home practice. She resumed lessons with our original teacher this past week and has already gained a lot of new-found confidence as she enters a more joy-filled environment for playing and learning.

Josiah officially completed his formal violin training with a final lesson and studio recital last week. This, as you can imagine, is bittersweet as he says goodbye to his teacher and moves beyond what has been a daily part of his life for 9 1/2 years. We are praying that the Lord opens doors for him to have informal opportunities for performance and fellowship with other players. In the meantime, he and "Edward" (his violin) have remained close and he has plans to continue playing for his own enjoyment and learning new songs without the pressure and time constraint of daily practice. He has a few odd jobs this summer and is currently putting in 20+ hours learning the fine art of painting trim in our latest rental. He is growing in character and in life skills this summer when not sitting at the computer working on his 400 level political science courses.

We are all trying our wings at having wide open days ahead of us. Isabelle has grand plans of herbal pursuits, dog training, and making a wide assortment of tools and toys from willow branches -- all made in the nook of our giant weeping willow where she spends many spare moments.

The boys have been busy continuing karate -- having recently tested and achieving their third degree brown belts!! This has been an awesome choice in terms of time usage as they have gained physical prowess along with an amazing amount of head knowledge and visual spatial skills. Isaac's ability to memorize has skyrocketed since starting karate. They will spend the next year working toward earning their black belts.

Last weekend they spent 2 eight hour days studying about judicial process through attending Generation Joshua's iObject program. Josiah was able to stand strong in a leadership position and Isaac did great hanging out with the teens! Isaac is a popular young fellow and, in spite of his short stature, is always a favorite with his many friends. He has a busy summer ahead as his pursuits are starting to take a lot of his time. He continues learning computer programming with a local homeschooling Dad whom we have hired to come and facilitate his learning weekly. In addition, he will begin a more serious study of robotics which he hopes to continue through the school year. He is wanting to get a head start on his Algebra this summer and is already nearly through the summer book list of advanced literature I had set out for him! This combined with a little part time neighborhood job, opportunities to serve others, weekly rec nights with our church, and helping out around here will keep him busier than I would like!

Josiah was also privileged during our statewide homeschool convention to stand at the College Plus booth as a student ambassador for the program which he is excelling at. He had several opportunities to share with interested teens and parents. The boys will return to Alaska with Dad, Grandpa, and Uncle Jeff this July while we girls look forward to quiet moments of eating whatever we want, whenever we want!

Isabelle resumed her riding lessons as well last week. We have a talented student teacher who gets Isabelle in the saddle and riding throughout her lesson. She adores this time and is longing for her own horse. In the meantime, she is getting plenty of practice with animal care as we daily manage our dog, Kale - 3 barn cats - 20 or so laying hens - 25 fryer chicks being raised to butcher - 7 turkey pullets - 3 goats - 1 rabbit - and 1 fish! I'm personally hoping the horse can wait .... but tell that to her Daddy!?!

The rest of the summer holds with it plenty of gardening, camping, swimming, reading, walking, and learning alongside each other. We have friendships to foster and new ones to make. Our weekly family nights have resumed where we enjoy an informal meal with my parents and brother's family, allowing all of us to share more time with my 4 precious nieces. Although we have yet to reach 80 degrees here and have had more rain in a month than we've had in half of a year, still ... we're counting our blessings and looking forward to more! Give me a call, send me an email, or better yet -- come and visit and we can talk face to face (a novel thing these days!). The welcome mat is out and the back porch is lit :-)

Happy summer y'all!