The joy of children!

As most know, I have 2 natural children, but also have 6 step-children. :) I love them all, and we would love to add to that number, God willing. All are doing relatively well here. The eldest is in TX with the army, God Bless her! :) The next one in line, is doing what she has always done, and we pray that she finds the right way soon. Next in line is turning 18 soon and dad is hoping to be able to have a good discussion with her soon. After that is the 14yo who is turning 15 next month. He just had a heart procedure done, so now bio mom finally said ok to him doing sports, when he has already been doing TKD for years, doesn't make sense. He is doing track this spring, and keeping up pretty good in school, for what he deals with. then comes the 13yo. She lives with mom and we only see her everyother weekend, which is a bummer as we would love to have her more. She is homeschooled there, and also if very few extra curr. activities. Next is the 12yo. He is in band, but right now is struggling so much in almost all his classes that he hasn't been able to go to his ex. curricular's because of our policy of c's or better. He says he wants to do them, but yet he doesn't think of speaking up about extra credit at school, still expecting the parents to talk to the teacher, so he is learning the hard way. He is 12 and is more than old enough to remember to do this on his own. Almost done, two to go. :) After that is the 11yo. He recently transfered to another school outside our district, which we all know is exactly what he needs. It is still a public school, but it allows the students to work ahead and be placed ahead when needed, not keeping them with their age grade, which is stupid. :( Anyway, He is taking violin, and next year wants to add percussion too, in which this summer he will need to learn drum rolls and work on Bass drum as well to be able to be in band 1 instead of beginning band. Because of his ability to read music and play piano, he doesn't need to start at the very beginning! He is also coming to the end of his third year with the Green Bay Boy's Choir. Lately, he hasn't been too sure as to wether or not he was going to continue next year, but when he was told that if he continues for a while, he could beat the family record for years set by his uncle. :) He liked that idea, so decided to stay with it. He has a tour coming in June, of WI. He is also in the Heart of Wisconsin Gem and Mineral Society, in the Stevens Point area, in which he is goign to Point this weekend with Nana, and going to make some Cabachons, which he loves doing. A cab is a slab of rock that you put into the shape you want, then you grind it away so it is flat on the bottom, but convex? on the top but can be circle, tear, square, pretty much anything, and that is usually a main design for most basic jewelery. He also has a Gem show there in Two weeks, in which he will be having two display cases there. One with special specimens from his collection, and the other will be fossils! Lastly, is the 7yo. :) He is homeschooled and skipped 1st grade! He to is in the Boys' Choir. He has been doing great lately and really pulled his music grade up because of it! He has a mini tour this weekend, in which yours truly gets to go with! They are singing at the capitol, then staying at a hotel with a water park! He is dreadfully excited! He is really hoping he can convince the director that he deserves the highest grade, and that he caan handle more songs at the concert on May 11. We will see. For school today, we have friends coming over, and for sure the youngest and I will be glueing petrified Dino poo onto info cards for the gem show in 2 weeks. :) Joy! If you keep it simple and make sure you keep the mindset of that, everything can be peaceful and yet exciting at the same time. Only when you get into a rut of routine, then there gets to be problems. Sure, routines can be fue and good, but you set in them and then they get to be like religion, not faith. Religion is just doing it out of habit or because you feel you have to do it, where if you live by faith, you are living for the understanding that you believe something will happen and it does! EX. Next week friday our house church is doing a guys night to the Green Bay Blizzards, which is also a buck night. Well Jeff is taking 3 boys. I am looking at finances, and it is like, we can't do this, but boys will be really dissapointed if they all can't go. Anyway, I commited it to prayer. Jeff really needs special guy time with his boys. Last night, out of the blue, Nana said she would pay for 2 of the ticket just so that the boys could go! God is awesome! Do things because of your heart, not your mind! Life is always an adventure if you have God!