Bloging without Internet. This morning my Internet is up and down so I will type my blog out in openoffice instead of risking loosing the post. I don't always know why our Internet is down. Sometimes I wonder if it is sun spots.

Our normal day yesterday was really normal for us. My birthday boy was looking kind of bored since he did his school the day before so he didn't have to do any yesterday. I am starting to often, (Daily) see the man he is to become. He was kind of walked around lost with no school to do. I ask him if he wanted to do a job for me? He wasn't sure until I told him go patch fence. He loved it! I drew him a map of where the down fence was and told him how to fix it. He came back proud and couldn't wait to show me his job. I looked at it yesterday afternoon as I went for cows. He did a super job! He is hired!

Later in the day I saw the young woman I want to see all time in J. They are crafting on the floor. MJ says, "I'm a failure!" I didn't hear it, but J was so wonderful in, "MJ don't say that! It's not true!" after I found out what was said and agreed with J she offered to help him do what ever craft he is having trouble with. Her tone along with her words spoke volumes. Teaching her to share her heart is a process. She tends to want to not consider the others in the family just what J wants. I know this is so normal and I don't make a big deal out of it other than showing her how it hurts others when we are self centered and how we miss blessings like that. Later I was telling her how proud I was of how she defended MJ from himself. She said, “A month ago I wouldn't have.” Then we talked about how it feels to give of yourself. She likes those feelings.

Other fun stuff we did was work on the miquon math together. It teaches number patters. We aren't doing all of the pages and just doing parts of each page. Then I took the time as they did their other math to relate back what the miquon talked about. What I find funny and interesting is after we “finish” with miquon they sit at the table and go back and do the skipped pages and color the things you can sorta color. Even J is doing it. More of the little girl in her getting to do what little girls should.

After all our school I installed a new Sign Language study for MN. She seems to really enjoy studying sign language. She was thrilled. She passed up bike riding with the other 3 to study.

I did take some time yesterday to go practice shooting at turtles. I used 2 clips worth. I doubt I got any turtles. One at best! I need to do this more. I had 3 kids come out to watch. One got bored and wondered back in. One was still working on school. Since I only found 3 pair of extra ear plugs that worked well.

Just before dark MN was doing her goats and the other three were swimming. J comes running to the house yelling “rattlesnake!” I had left my fanny pack with my gun on so I was ready. I took off to get it. I got out there to find this tiny very angry little snake all coiled up striking at everything that came close. It may be 8 inches long. MN had kicked the board he was hiding under off and really upset his apple cart. I knew from the color way before I got there it wasn't a “normal” rattlesnake. I also knew I wasn't wasting a bullet on it. I looked at it close and even thought it was shaking it's tail in a might fashion there was no button on the end. Rattlesnakes at that size have only a “button” and make little or no noise as they rattle. But, MAD! This little snake was mad. I ask MN to find me a coffee can. She did and I gently managed to get him to crawl/strike his way in it. I brought him to the house, found a gallon glass jar to put him in. Then I decided to take the dumping from the coffee can to the jar outside to do. It was a snap! I sat him here beside the computer as I tried to identify him. We think he is a kingsnake. Which is really cool, since we don't have a lot of them and they are enemies of rattlesnakes. This one is young so it must have hatched near here. I am hoping we have a lot more!

Will we keep it? I don't know. My step MIL has a kingsnake named Princess that she has had 15 years are so. It was just about this size when she got it. Today we will get some books at the library to learn more about them. Hands on learning is so much more fun. Last night as I worked to identify the snake they all gathered around the computer and watched and agreed and disagreed as to what it was. They will look at the books and learn not just about kingsnakes but reptiles in general as they search for kingsnake information.

I'm seeing something interesting. J WANTS to learn! I installed her math and health on the computer and she starts her school without being told. She strives to perfection. I see this as an area that is both a blessing and curse. If she gets to hung up on "perfect" then we will have to deal with that, but for now the perfection mentality is serving well to get her to try hard. She has almost no knowledge of nouns, verbs, adj..... If you hear her speak you hear her lack of education in so many ways. We are doing a very simple 10 minute a day review for Grammar. I am having her do 2 days worth each day. I printed off the answer key for her to check herself. I explained that as long as she is doing it then grading it she will be given the chance to self teach. That if she learns to love learning and self teach the sky is the limit at what she can learn. How can a child that seems to want to learn be so far behind?

I ask this question on my foster/adopt board. Someone had an answer. “For every move a child has in foster care they loose 6 months worth of education.” Wow! To put that in better prospective for J she was moved 2-4 times a year for 3 years. She can spout off more homes she was in than you can imagine. Some were good and tried to help her catch up, most didn't care, or didn't have the time to help one child struggling with school and all the other stressers that come with being a “ward of the state.”

Today is our town day. We have therapy this afternoon. I don't have much of a town list so may find a park to hang out in for a while. At the speed we are going today we may not have time. It is a cool, don't want to get out of bed morning. MN either didn't set her alarm or J turned it off BEFORE it went off. She has been told not to touch it when it goes off. I can't remember if I explained that includes cutting it off after MN goes to sleep but before it goes off or not. She can throw pillows at MN or yell at her but she can't cut it off. T was my first child up today. That is rare. She usually drags down about the same time as J. Since she is still sleeping down stairs she didn't have that option. She still usually doesn't get up until called. She is now upstairs waking everyone else up.

Oh! I tried making granola using blended dates for sweetness. I did have to add just a little more water. The flavor is great! I need to do some research, but I think I have read where dates don't spike blood sugar as much as other sugars. It breaks down slower.

Net is FINLALLY up! So off to post this and off to town!