Afterall, It's Fall and All....

Happy Fall, everyone! I can't wait to enjoy my first-of-the-season pumpkin-spice "hot cupp" from 7-11. It's my favorite!  I also just realized that today is Matt's and mine engagement anniversary.  September 22, 1992 he asked me to spend the rest of my life with him as his wife. 18 years and 8 kids later, I still don't know how I managed to land such an awesome guy!
I try to post here at least twice a week to keep the readers of this blog from growing bored.  However, I'm finding that school is immensely time-consuming and leaves little room for anything else.  That in mind, please forgive me if my posts become less frequent at times. ~
I love schooling at home (as per the Parent Orientation guide, I do not "home school". It is "public school at home". Picky, picky!).  I think I'm finally getting a hang of it all and I'm very pleased with the curriculum.  The biggest challenge is the fact that each student -- Abby, Ally, and Madi -- is required to be logged in 6 hours a day. Abby works independently and seems to zoom through some of her classes pretty quickly, so meeting the 6-hour minimum is difficult. We were blessed to get a new desktop PC to replace the one that died, so at least the three girls aren't all trying to school on just one.
As well, we host an open house every Sunday from 1-4.  The morning is spent cleaning and preparing, then the kids and I take off for the afternoon while Matt shows our home to prospective buyers. We had several visitors this past Sunday, including - coincidentally - Seth's first-hour teacher (who LOVES our house but still has to sell hers).  Maybe, just maybe, we'll get an offer soon. It's all in the the Lord's timing...
Monday morning I discovered the Suburban was completely, absolutely 100% dead. Being that we are a one-vehicle family, we were in a dilemma. Our neighbor tried to jump the battery but there was still no sign of life in the 'Burban. We've had trouble with that stinkin' battery since we bought the vehicle new in '06, and I guess it just couldn't go on one more day.  Our gracious friend  Shannon drove me 25 miles to Sam's Club so I could buy another battery and Matt installed it when we returned. He insisted I post a picture of him putting it in, since the auto mechanics he spoke with on the phone said it would be too difficult for him and wanted charge $100 to do it for him. Ha!

A man of many talents!

Anyway, with all of these activities that encapsulate our lives, blogging and working-out are lower on the priorities list.  I love keeping up with this blog and I appreciate those of you who read it.  Just please be patient if there's gaps between posts.