Random photos of the kids

I know all my children aren't in these pictures. That's because it's 10:38 pm and my patience with uploading is all but gone. But here are a few. More soon.

Gardening

I try to garden. It seems so virtuous. When someone says they "garden" (verb), no one sighs in disgust: "What a sissy thing to do." "How can you STAND to eat fresh produce?" "What a waste." etc. If someone tells me they garden, I get a twinge of envy and then think about all the potential that is passing me by.

Well, all the potential did NOT pass me by today. Joel and I were standing, waiting to cross the street, by the bridge in Stillwater. Wisconsinites were gunning their vehicles to make it before the dinging started, the bar came down, the bridge was going up and whatever plans you had were now going to happen at least 15 minutes later.

A minivan was one such Wisconsin vehicle. It was also loaded with garden potential. It also had its big back door open. As it roared past me, out dropped a flat full of....garden. I stared at it for a moment. Then Joel and I began to pick it all up, perhaps thinking that the van would somehow notice a box fell out the back as it was speeding over the still unlifted Lift Bridge. Joel peered into Wisconsin. Maybe they would come back? Five minutes, 50 cars must have gone past before Joel turned to me, the Accidental Gardener, and said, "Well? Do you want these?"

My garden is now sitting on my front porch. Being dropped from a van at 30 mph does not give plants the greatest of beginnings. I just checked on them, gave them some water and wondered who will be lying flat on the porch tomorrow.

However, for now, welcome to: Wee Willie Dianthus, Fresh Look Gold Celosia, Obsession Blue with Eye Verbena and Scarlet Runner Beans. May you prosper. Unless you're an annual. Then you've got about three good months.

Updates and observations

1.Sadie's walking.

2.I'm not supposed to worry about Lizzie's speech (speech pathologist; Stillwater Schools).

3. I'm pretty sure Lizzie wore flip flops when she was in Ethiopia. She walked and ran in them the very first time she put them on. Zeke, in contrast, is not only incapable of putting them on the right feet but also incapable of getting the little plastic thing between the right toes. Nevermind trying to walk in them.

4. We're almost done with school. Our last official class day is May 25. May 26th we clean and go to the Mongolian Barbeque for all we can eat, which is a lot.

5. I planted lettuce.

6. Emma and I did a junior visit day at the University of St. Thomas. As we drove in the parking garage, I noticed several moms who had clearly allotted more than 15 minutes that morning to get ready. "Oh, Emma," I said. "I don't want to be an over eager mom..."
"Mom," she replied very matter of factly, "That is probably the one of the last things you need to worry about."

7. That made me think I should have tried just a little bit harder.

8. Ikea has good hotdogs.

Hi Again

I was waiting for just the right thing to bring me back to blogging. It happened about two weeks ago, give or take a week.

I was listening to news and then more news and then more news about Osama Bin Laden: the wife, the helicopter, the landing, the secret military unit, the confrontation, the compound... but then came the blog-worthy news.

They think he homeschooled his kids.

Oh, the joy I have when I find out that not only did I have something in common with Michael Jackson, but with Osama Bin Laden as well.

I can't wait until the next person asks me why I decided to homeschool.