Our Journey in Homeschooling

Our homeschooling journey started when I felt very strongly that I needed to homeschool Spencer for 8th grade.   We did it just that year and then he went off to high school the next year, refreshed and ready to work hard.  I didn't necessarily have the same strong impression to do it for Cami as I had for Spence, but she really, really wanted to do it and over the course of that year, we decided that 8th grade was a perfect year to pull all the kids out.  Thus our homeschooling for just 8th grade tradition officially began.   It's been a beautiful way to reconnect with each child before they head off to high school and I like that the only thing on the high school transcript that we have to worry about that year is math, and other than that they can each have some freedom to explore and learn about things that interest them.   

When Ellie started having seizures when she was in kindergarten, I wondered many times if I should just pull her out and homeschool her.  She was so tired from the medications and the seizures were so frequent that they interrupted her learning time at school.   I was frankly rather surprised when I prayed about it that it wasn't the right thing.    The reason for that answer became very clear the next school year, though,  when Spence was diagnosed with leukemia and our lives were 100% turned upside down.   I've often been grateful for the loving and steady support we had from the kids' elementary school during that crazy time and, in hindsight, I can see that having them in school was absolutely the best place for them to be at that time.   

Sometime during Ellie's 2nd grade year, though, I had the impression that I needed to consider homeschooling again.   Her medication side effects were less than they had been, but her seizures were as frequent as ever and they were starting to affect her socially too.   We met at length with the school staff that year to find solutions, but ultimately we realized that there was no amount of "special education" she could receive in a school environment that would ever suit the needs of our intelligent, well-behaved child who had frequent, but quiet seizures.  Basically, because of her intelligence,  she'd find strategies to fill the gaps in instruction that she'd missed during her seizures, but still it wasn't enough to keep her from struggling.   But because she didn't struggle enough to make her work fall below grade level expectations, she didn't qualify for anything in the way of special education. 

Everyone at the school was actually great to work with and tried very hard to be accommodating, but  because a school is a school with hundreds of students and our one student had a rather unusual set of circumstances that caused her to struggle, they couldn't offer what she needed.   It was quickly becoming clear that Ellie was being set up to fall through the cracks of the educational system.  What she needed was  someone who could tailor her education to her individually, who could pause when she had a seizure, and help when she needed extra help.    She needed mom to be her teacher.  

We prayed and this time felt very strongly that we needed to pull out both Ellie and Adam.   Adam was a kid who was doing great at school and that answer frankly surprised us a bit, but looking back I can see that it was absolutely the best thing we could have done.    Homeschooling them  has changed the daily dynamics of our family in a big way, but it has been a blessing far beyond what we ever could have imagined.  

When I started homeschooling, we just approached it as a take-it-one-year-at-a-time mentality.  After four years though,  I think we're in it for the long haul.  It's changed us all for the better and the fact that Ellie still has seizures is only one tiny factor in our reasons to continue to homeschool. 

It's definitely been a windy journey to figure out the type of homeschooling that works for us, but after four years, we're getting there.    We've got a great network of homeschooling friends around us, the kids are working hard (without having meltdowns), and the rigor for all the subjects seems just right.  And I feel like we're finally really starting to reap the benefits that homeschooling offers--benefits like having the freedom to be able to travel and  the kids actually loving to learn (and not just checking boxes to get a grade).   

It really is a beautiful thing!  

What better way to study culture and architecture than to walk the streets of Venice and visit Basilica San Marco in person?

One of the best parts about living near DC is the opportunity for really cool field trips.
This was Adam at a class on the Constitution at the National Archives. They dove into documents,
learned about the different parts of the Constitution and what they mean in today's world, and
then went to see the actual Constitution.  How cool is that?   

Here is Ellie at the same class at the National Archives.

We also recently attended a class all about birds of prey.  

We have a co-op for Biology this year and it's been the perfect blend of academic rigor and hands-on experimentation. 

We extracted DNA from peas and examined it under a microscope.

We've also examined cell structures under a microscope (Adam was very proud of this picture)

We also have a AP US Government co-op class where they dive into the history and workings of the US Government.
I don't have many pictures of it, but this day Adam, his friend, Abby, and his class went downtown to a
National Lawyer's Convention where they got to hear national politicians (Ted Cruz, Nikki Haley, etc) sit on panels and discuss controversial topics that America  is facing right now. Again, how cool is that?!

The EEG

June 14:  After 6+ years of having dozens and dozens of absence seizures per day, the last few months Ellie's seizures have dropped to almost zero.   Even in Europe when our routines were off and she was often very sleep deprived, we hardly noticed any.   The neurologist was hopeful that she was finally outgrowing them (the normal course of her type of epilepsy).  This thought got us very excited and we started having grand visions of her having a normal EEG today and us starting to wean her down from her anti-seizure medication.  

Alas, it was not meant to be.   She still had at least two seizures during the procedure, which means that, yes, her medication is more effective than it's been in the past, but she still has childhood absence epilepsy and it's not time to wean her from the medication yet.  

<sigh>

After that it was time to go home and deal with the car.   Glen actually stayed home from work to help the process.    It was a looooooooooooooong day of ongoing car issues and other worries.   

In the meantime one of our favorite missionaries was in town visiting with his mom and asked to come visit.  We felt very honored that he would choose to come visit us and I was disappointed that I could not be home when he came.   

We love Elder Perkins!   

The evening  was one of extreme unpleasantness that I shall  refrain from recounting in this public forum.   Let's just say that it was rather hellacious and it, combined with my extreme lack of sleep from the night before, meant that I was not in my best form for dealing with it all.  

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First Day!!

Summer has ended and school started last week (the day after Labor Day).    I have no kids in public school this year, which feels a little weird, but also very freeing.   If they were in public school they'd be in all different schools, so in that one aspect it's a little easier to have them all in one place.    This picture was of them as they walked into their first math class on Wednesday.  The math class is something new that we're trying this year and I'm actually quite excited to spend less of my day wading through algebraic equations.  Emma's taking geometry, Adam is taking algebra, and Ellie is still doing math at home with mommy. 

Here's a little glimpse of what each of the kids is up to right now:  

Ellie:  5th Grade

Biggest excitement: starting piano lessons again!

Something interesting:  Ellie's seizures seem to be getting a little less frequent.   She still has a lot of them each day, but we are heartened that there is any improvement at all.
Extracurricular activities:  soccer, piano lessons, lego league  

Wants to be a school teacher.

Adam:  7th Grade 

Biggest excitement:  Playing soccer this season after a few years off!

Something interesting: He completed 7 boy scout merit badges this summer--some of them at scout camp and some with friends!
Extracurricular activities:  soccer, piano lessons, lego league

Wants to be a scientist.  

Emma:  9th Grade

Biggest excitement: Starting early morning seminary! 

Something interesting:  She cooks 100% of her own food.   She is not only trying to eat healthier, but she's following some kind of food combining diet, which means that no matter how healthy I cook food for the family she will rarely, if ever, eat it.   I get a little frustrated with it sometimes, especially when we are away from home and options are limited, but I am inspired by her healthy choices and her quickly improving cooking skills.   She's actually quite the chef now!
Extracurricular activities:   seminary, voice lessons
Wants to be a clinical nutritionist or a singer. 

Cami:   College Freshman

Biggest excitement:  living on her own

Something interesting: She spent hours with Katy (her roommate and best friend) planning the decorating scheme of their dorm room before they moved in.    She did NOT get her decorating interest or skills from me!
Extracurricular activities:  skydiving, getting to know lots of new people

Wants to be a nurse. 

Spencer:  Taking year off of school

Biggest excitement:  when mom doesn't blog about him 

Something interesting:  He's working full-time in construction, which means he comes home sweaty, exhausted, and dirty each day!
Extracurricular activities:  sleeping, camping, visiting Harrisonburg

Wants to be  ???   (the main reason why he's taking the year off)

A Specialist for Ellie

Ellie is one of this blog's biggest fans.   She loves reading through the old blog books and thinks that a blogpost all about her is about as exciting as it gets.  She also loves to tell stories and  is begging me to start her own blog soon.  I'm not quite ready for that kind of commitment yet, but I am happy to shine the spotlight  on her for the day!

After having been through four different medications without success in the treatment of Ellie's  absence seizures, the neurologist just recommended that we take her to an epileptologist.   Apparently an epileptologist is a neurologist who went through years of  extra training to become an expert in epilepsy and seizures.   Since she's had negative reactions to two of her previous medications, I am hesitant to mess around much more with medications, but I am still quite interested to hear what an epileptologist has to say about her case.

In the meantime, Ellie is thriving being at home with me during the day.   Homeschooling is a great fit for her personality and I delight watching her learn at a pace that's perfect for her, then stretch herself in developing her interests and talents!

For instance, while we are learning about the Civil War in history, she has been carefully crafting an entire Civil War era community out of paper.   There are Union families, Confederate families, slaves, dishes, animals, food, buckets, houses, etc.  She has spent several afternoons (after her school work is done) coloring, cutting, and arranging them.  I feel like it's something she would  never have time for if she was at school all day, and it plays an important role in how she processes and learns these types of things.

 She has an incredibly long attention span for these kinds of activities and I am in awe at the sheets and sheets (at least 20 in full color) of people, furniture, and other objects she has designed and colored.  

She painstakingly cuts every item out and finds places for them in her community.  

Some of the details of what she's working on are minutely tiny. 

She talks about being a teacher when she grows up and it's clear that that is something that she would excel at, but I think she would also make a great author.   She loves stories--reading them and telling them!      Each one of the characters she has created  have a story of their own--stories of love, of war, of slavery.    It's a beautiful thing!  

Some other random tidbits about Ellie:  

She recently let Cami cut her hair.   She's not a huge fan of brushing her hair, so the shorter length makes it much easier for her to avoid mom's ever-annoying daily reminders for her to go do something with her hair.   

For Christmas she got Elsa and Ana clothes for her dolls, and  an Olaf toy.   She loves having her own Frozen characters now to play pretend with!    The blond doll was one I played with when I was a little girl.    

Here is a glimpse at the Christmas book she created and gave to the whole family: 

I don't have any pictures of it, but she also recently created her own endangered species horse museum, where you took a tour through the house and visited rare horse species.  She created the horses out of household objects and once again had a story for each one.   Her imagination and creativity are amazing! 

We sure love our Ellie girl!   

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Unstoppable

Sometimes I just start thinking about everything.

I think about when Ellie first started having seizures and how scared and overwhelmed we were.
Our hearts were broken as we worried about how the frequent seizures would affect her life and even more so as she reacted so poorly to the medications.   Now she at least is on a medication that isn't causing horrible side effects,  but we still struggle with the fact that she still has many, many seizures a day.

Then I think of how just a little over a year after Ellie's diagnosis we were blindsided with Spencer's  leukemia and Glen's subsequent job loss.   Our lives were turned upside down for half-a-year and we worried every moment of every day what the future would hold for our son.  While Spence has remained in remission and Glen does have a job now, we still worry about potential relapse.
  There's no two ways around the fact that it's been a hard few years.

And sometimes the weight of it all seems overwhelming.

I still worry if I did things to cause their ailments.  I wonder if we dealt with everything the "right" way.   And I wonder if I'll ever get my groove back again.  Some days I feel like I'm 20-years older than I was three years ago.

Thank goodness for little boosts like discovering this quote written  in Ellie's general conference notebook:  

"As individuals we are strong.  Together, with God, we are unstoppable."

It's a quote by Rosemary Wixom from Women's Conference and I was impressed that she picked it out from all the talks as meaningful enough to  write down.   It's something I needed to remember right now.

While I can never deny the comfort and strength that we felt so acutely when we were in the midst of those trials, I often let my day-to-day busyness get in the way of allowing myself to feel that same comfort now.

How grateful I am for the perspective that my faith in God gives me and  for this Easter season to reflect on what Christ's atonement truly means to me.  

Heartbreak--Eight-year-old style

Yesterday was our church Christmas program  and it was amazing.  Our choir director is one part  passionate, one part hard-working, and the other part pure talent.  It's a great combination and it's been astounding to see how she has brought the ward choir to a whole new level in such a short period of time.  My favorite was the final performance of "Peace, Peace."  The choir and primary children had parts, then the congregation joined in with, "Silent Night."  It was pure loveliness.

The only hiccup of the day was during the Primary performance of "The Nativity Song," when Ellie had a seizure at the exact moment she was supposed to hold her sign of Baby Jesus up.  Her friends were all nudging her, but because of her seizure she didn't hold up her sign until the very end of her part.  She immediately realized what had happened and was completely heartbroken.  She held it together for the rest of the performance, but collapsed in a sobbing heap into my arms the second it was over.  The poor girl sobbed for 20-minutes straight, during which I shed more than a few sympathy tears as well.  She was completely convinced that her ill-timed seizure ruined the whole performance.  We tried to reassure her by letting her know that other kids held up their signs equally as late as her just due to inattentiveness, but she was still devastated.   In true Ellie form though, before long she washed her face, found some treats in my bag to share with her friends, and went back to class and hasn't said another word about it.

 practicing her part                                         after church

Man, I sure love this girl!

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Better Late Than Never

What happens when two forgetful parents  drop the ball on teaching their fourth child how to ride a bike?  Then the fifth child comes along and has a health condition that makes riding a bike a potentially dangerous activity? 

In our case, you get an eight- and an almost eleven-year-old who have never learned to ride a bike.

We never meant for them to go so long without learning, but when Ellie started having seizures when she was five, we just figured it was easier to not make biking a very important part of our lives rather than us holding her back from participating.  

All the bikes but Glen's have been put away for three years now.

Recently, though, they both started showing a lot of interest in learning and we figured it was time to put things right.  We brought them to the place where we'd taught the rest of the kids to ride their bikes--a gentle grassy slope at our local park--and let them give it a try.  

This is how they started out....

and there was a fair bit of falling at first (thankfully only on the grass)...

but it wasn't long before they were both zipping along the trails and having a great time! 

Adam is excited to practice a little more and start going on Saturday bike rides with Dad...

 and while we'll still need to be very cautious with Ellie and not let her ride near streets or busy trails, it was so fun to see her delight as she gained momentum!

The only problem with all this new biking fervor in the family....

is that I'm feeling like it might be time to get me a bike too

and I'm not sure our garage is ready for that! 

Ellie

When we first noticed Ellie's seizures nearly three years ago, we were reassured when most of the information we read about her type of epilepsy (Childhood Absence Epilepsy) stated that it was usually easily treatable with medication and that most kids eventually outgrew their seizures sometime in adolescence.  Three years and a couple different medications later though, we are discouraged that she is still having dozens of seizures per day.  They interrupt her day at school and there are many common physical activities which are too dangerous for her (biking, independent swimming, gymnastics, and even walking near busy streets, etc).

Despite all that, the hardest part for her is that the older she gets, the more her peers notice the seizures.

For the most part, her friends have been very kind and understanding of her frequent lapses of unresponsiveness, but by the end of last school year people well beyond her circle of friends were starting to notice the seizures and draw attention to them.  I had the school counselor and teacher call me several times this past year to explain situations when fellow students started yelling at her or getting upset during a seizure wondering why she wasn't responding to them.  Towards the end of the year, her teacher recommended that we just tell the whole class about them, so that, like her friends,  they would know to just be patient and wait for the seizure to pass before expecting a response.   Ellie takes it better than expected, but it still grew to be an embarrassment to her.

With the intractability of her seizures with medication and the fact that they seem to be affecting her life more lately, we recently decided that it would be best to take Ellie to a new neurologist.  We were very happy with the new doctor and I appreciated that she the fresh take on her treatments.  As part of the work-up at the new doctor, she got an EEG.  One had been performed as a part of her initial diagnosis almost three years ago, but she hasn't had one since.

I was shocked at the number of seizures she had during the 45 minute EEG.  Not only did she have several normal-length (10-15 second) seizures, but she also had numerous 1-2 second seizures.  Ones that we probably would never even notice in the course of a day.

It was discouraging to say the least.

One thing it did do for me though, was that it gave me a resolve that it's time to do something new with her.  We had already been considering homeschooling her this upcoming year, but that EEG gave me the surefire knowledge that it's absolutely the right thing to do.

Up to this point her teachers have been very attentive to her and her needs, but still we feel that she is not thriving at school and the long days completely wear her out.  She comes home exhausted and we very much worry about her getting lost in these upper grades as expectations for student independence increase. I figure that even a distracted mommy with two kids at home can do far more to teach and be in tune to her students than a public school teacher with a class full of 20+ students, several of which also have special needs.  I am a tad nervous about the lifestyle change it will entail, but it's comforting to know that I have two enthusiastic students who couldn't be more excited about it.  (Adam was insistent that he not be left out of the fun and I figured that having a buddy at home would probably be good for Ellie, so he is staying home as well.)

Now the books are bought and the school district notified....stay tuned for awesome adventures ahead!


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What's on my mind...

In case you ever wondered why I am so scatterbrained...

Key to Lara's brain:
Roadshows:  I am assisting in trying to rally 50 teenagers in our church congregation to put on a  roadshow this weekend. I am also creating the paper program for the night.  The whole thing has been a fun, but challenging task to say the least.  Let me know if you're interested in joining us for some quality free family entertainment on Saturday night. 

New Beginnings:  Right after roadshows are done, it's time to buckle down and finish planning for New Beginnings (a once-a-year program for the Young Women in our ward).  I've been creating invitations, planning, and researching ideas like crazy.

Food:  Cami, Emma, and I are trying to cut out refined sugar out of our diets.  It's been a mostly good adjustment, but we keep trying to find ways to make sugar-free treats.  So far we've tried using honey, coconut sugar, and dates.  Let me know if you have any good recipes. 

Glen and the rest of the kids:  Life is busy, hectic, and good.   Spence and Cami are getting ready for lacrosse try-outs this week.  I love seeing Spencer healthy and strong!   For the most part Glen is enjoying his new job and the more positive work environment.  Emma gave her first talk in sacrament meeting today.  The topic was temples and she did a fabulous job!  I was especially impressed with how she wrote it completely herself several days ago and presented it confidently and with even a bit of humor.  Adam is Adam and is constantly finding ways to work his hobbies (like building Legos) into his school projects. 

Ellie:  Between Ellie's upcoming 8th birthday (for which she has grand visions for) and an increase in the frequency of her seizures, she is on my brain a lot lately.   I am especially sad that the seizures are beginning to affect her schoolwork and her interactions with her classmates.  We're in process of trying to get her some accommodations for her educational needs, but in the meantime I find myself worrying about her an awful lot (even more than Spencer lately). 

Everything else:  Email, blogging, laundry, etc. are getting only a tiny sliver of my brainpower right now.   

Seizure First-Aid

Tonight I've put aside the light-hearted Christmasy post that I was working on, so that I can share with you some important information that is very near and dear to my heart.

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On my way into the courthouse this afternoon for Spencer to attend his official driver's licensing ceremony, Spencer and I noticed a woman on the sidewalk in the throes of a "grand mal" seizure.  I could see from a distance that the people near her did not seem to know what to do, so I ran to see if I could help.  

Although Ellie has never had a convulsive seizure, because of her epilepsy she is significantly more likely than the average person to have one someday and we have all had seizure training just in case.    This experience was my first time ever witnessing a grand mal seizure, but I was glad I was there, because it was very clear that I was the only one in the group that had gathered around her that had a clue what to do.   Someone was protecting her head, which is hugely important, but she was still on her back and struggling to breathe as a result.    As soon as we flipped her to her side and took out the object that someone had placed between her teeth, her breathing immediately evened out.  

In a couple of minutes she was fine and the ambulance arrived just as Spencer and I had to rush to the courtroom, where I was shaking and on the verge of a melt-down...partly from the adrenaline and partly with worry for Ellie and the seizure we pray she never has.   After gathering my wits,  I got to "enjoy" sad videos and scare tactic presentations geared for the room of new drivers.  Afterward they presented us with his license and we had a much calmer trip home. 

Later, after processing all that had happened, I knew that I had to write this post tonight.....for Ellie and for all the people out there who also have epilepsy or even for those children who have febrile seizures.  

Please take a few minutes and read through these steps about what to do if someone has a seizure.  If you have a bit more time, watch the video as well.   In just a few minutes, you can go from being the helpless bystander to the person who knows what to do in a potentially frightening situation.  

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SEIZURE FIRST AID

1.  Clear the area around them and protect their head by holding it slightly upward or putting an item of clothing underneath it to prevent them from banging their head on the ground.

2.  Roll them onto their side. 

3.  DO NOT place anything in their mouth (no food, no drink, no objects)

4.  Call 911 (unless you know that they have a history of seizures or in a person with a history of seizures if the seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes.)

5.  Stay and help them to remain on their side with their head protected.

6.  Note the approximate length of the seizure for emergency personnel. 

7.  Calm the person when they awaken, as they will likely be very tired and very confused.



This is the video we watched as a family to learn what to do.  Skip to the 5:00 minute mark to get to the important part.  Watching the video took a lot of the fear out of the whole experience for me, because I could visualize what to do and be less frightened by the actual seizure. 

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Ellie has "petit mal" seizures (officially called "absence" seizures) and they do not require any other first aid than making sure that she stays safe while she is non-responsive. 

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Ellie's improving!!!

More than a year after her diagnosis with Childhood Absence Epilepsy, I am pleased that to be able to tell you that Ellie is finally seeing some improvements!

After the unpleasant side effects she experienced during the first few months of taking the medications, the neurologist had been approaching her care with caution.   Finally in November she was having so many seizures per day (every couple of minutes),  that we felt like we just had to be more aggressive with her treatment and hope for the best.  

With our negative report and her teacher's worry that her seizures were starting to interrupt the class (because she had started clicking her tongue during the seizures),  the neurologist made a plan to double her dosage over a period of a few weeks.  We were a little tentative about the big increase, but knew that we had to give it a try...for Ellie's sake. 

Much to our surprise, not only have the numbers of seizures reduced significantly, but she has also retained her energy and sprouted a creative/focused streak that we've never seen before.

It seems as though her brain is so thrilled to be interrupted so many fewer times a day, that she literally cannot contain her enthusiasm for expressing herself in creative ways.  For hours each evening she writes books...

makes her own dolls...

 transforms paper plates, boxes, and toilet paper rolls into beautiful creations... 

and even bakes her own pies...

All completely of her own accord.    

We know she still has a long path in front of her, but we're excited to see a side of her that's been hidden away for a while!    Yay!

Ellie: Fall 2011 Update

1.  A year past her diagnosis, Ellie still has numerous seizures per day.  The seizures are not as long or quite as frequent as before, but they are still there and still interruptive to her days. 

2.  Ellie's 1st grade teacher is wonderful, attentive, and very supportive of helping Ellie, but her class size is larger this year and I worry that she will be lost in the shuffle. 

3.    Her reading is right on par with where it should be, but she is struggling with numbers and math.  I think that her short, frequent seizures are enough to interrupt the flow which is so important to understanding numbers. 

4.  The neurologist is very cautiously raising the dosage of her Zarontin again.  Zarontin is historically the most effective medication for treating her type of seizure, but it's also the one she reacted so poorly to last year.  We're hoping that a year of growth and taking the medication in small doses will help her to tolerate it better this time around. 

5.  She still visits the school nurse on an almost daily basis, but thus far she has been content with a quick rest or ice pack, rather than having me come pick her up.    I think that having a good friend (Madilyn) to sit with on the bus may be a contributing factor for her desire to stay at school.   I'm not complaining. 

6.  Ellie is starting to show strong interest in learning to ride a bike, but because it is not a safe activity with her frequent seizures, we are trying to discourage her interest, as well as minimizing her exposure to it.  It feels wrong to discourage a normal step toward independence, but since all it would take is a five-second seizure and a swerve into the street to cause disaster, we are hoping that she will just sort of "forget" about wanting to ride for now.    Sadly, I think Adam is also going to be caught in this anti-biking mentality and will likely not have biking be a very important part of his life either. 

7.   Ellie is still talkative and open about her seizures and will tell anyone who cares to listen that she has "caesars".  Of course her friends don't really understand what it means, but I think she's surprised a few adults with her openness. 

8.  Ellie wants me to reassure you that she's read all of your perplexing fashion questions and is happily in process of preparing to share her sage fashion advice with all of you.  Stay tuned. 

Kindergarten Spring Sing

On Thursday I got to attend the  Kindergarten Spring Sing with a bunch of very cute little 6-year-olds singing as exuberantly as they could.  It was cuteness at its best and I loved the joy and innocence their little faces radiated as they sang their hearts out to their parents. 

A few minutes into the show I watched while right in the middle of one of the songs, Ellie had a seizure.  It's still not unusual for Ellie to have several seizures per day and I'm sure that most people assumed she was daydreaming or something, but it made me teary-eyed thinking of the challenges ahead for her.  Besides her safety, I especially worry for the day when her peers will start noticing the frequent lapses. 

Oh yeah, and then there's the whole bit about my BABY finishing kindergarten that kind of got me misty-eyed too. I guess, that with two kids that are going to be in high school this fall and no more preschoolers or kindergarteners, I may have to reluctantly admit that we're getting to the middle-aged stage of life now.  Speaking of middle-aged, I would like to point out that when Glen hits the big 4-0 this Saturday, that it will be an entire year and 10 months before me! 


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