MIA

Darren has been harrassing me about this blog. So has Dani, actually. And an assortment of other people. *sigh*. I've been busy, people! And the truth is, I got tired of blogging. Don't know why. Maybe it's because I do a lot of writing at work.

The last 6 weeks in a nutshell:

Dani has been furiously writing essays and applying for scholarships.

She's applied to 5 universities and heard back from one so far. (Accepted, with a scholarship offer of $17,000 per year.) She commited to being a camp counselor this summer at a non-profit camp for inner city kids. I'm proud of that decision, and I know it'll make for an awesome summer, but it also means that she's effectively leaving home 10 weeks earlier than I'd anticipated, and I'm maybe a little bit sad about that. ;)

Aidan's been training with Darren for this month's Cowtown Marathon - the 5k, though, not the actual marathon. He also had a lead role in his school play. Funny this was, we didn't even have a CLUE that he had a rather large part. We knew he had a speaking role, but he flat refused to ever practice his lines at home, saying that he wasn't worried. Dani filmed the play and put it up on YouTube if you want to see it. Aidan plays the lion.

Ian is obsessed with war, specifically World War II. He knows who were allies and who were enemies. He knows how it started. He knows who Hitler was and what he did. He can define the word Nazi. He knows what weapons they used, and what kinds of planes they flew. He can tell you about the first A-bomb. Now he's boning up on the Civil War. He's in first grade. He blows my mind.

Darren's been building a terraced garden in our backyard - for vegetables. It's right next to the herb garden he started a few years ago, but on the other side of the fence. He's also been dancing his buns off every night and is putting me to shame on Dance Dance Revolution. Today, Aidan's teacher stopped Darren at school and said, "What's this I hear about dancing? Something about Karma Chameleon?" Darren laughed and said, "Oh yah. Aidan's really good at that one." Mrs. Bradshaw said, "I hear that YOU'Re the one who's really good." Who knew that Darren could dance? lol!

And me, I've been working. My 30-hour/week job hasn't been fewer than 30 hours since I started! But I love it SO much and can't imagine not being there every day. It's one of those jobs that people wish they had - where you're good at what you do and what you do is making a difference in the world. In the big picture, we're just a blip on the screen. But life by life, kid by kid, family by family, dream by dream, Fortress Youth Development Center IS making a big difference, and I'm both blessed and proud to be a small part of it.

Ashlie the cat is still harrassing visitors and pooping in places she ought not to poop. Tonight, I detected the most noxious odor ever, and went looking for The Cat (which is what I call her when she's in big trouble, mister). I just knew she had taken a dump on the floor somewhere, but I found her in the litter box. Scratching at the box liner. Then she pranced out of there with her nose in the air. I grabbed the scoop and buried her treasure FOR her. I swear, if my life were a cartoon, there'd have been green fumes wafting from it and flies swarming overhead. Stupid cat.

Have you forgotten what we look like?

Here's a photo to jog your memory.

I'll be back tomorrow.

I have to. I PROMISED. :)