Guess we haven't posted much lately...

This fall has really turned out differently than I expected. MerryK was planning to start college, so I thought my greatest challenge would be adjusting to her being gone for a few hours each day and helping her with the shock of being bombarded by the world on a daily basis. Turned out that the college transition has been a lot easier than we thought it would be. She chose great professors (thanks to a couple great websites) and she loves her classes and is doing very well.

The big surprise was an email from a friend, telling us of a company that was looking to hire homeschooled students. We embarked on the road of resumes, reference letters, and interviews. MerryK and Aragorn ended up getting jobs at this company, which sells books on Amazon.com. It is a perfect fit for them both...MerryK is listing books (she can type incredibly fast!) and Aragorn is working in the shipping department. The staff commented after a couple days that they must be "uber" homeschoolers because they worked so hard and so fast! I am very proud of them!

I never expected Aragorn to be gone for hours, too, plus MerryK now works AND goes to school, so we hardly see her except on weekends. :( It has been quite a big adjustment. Also, Adaon has taken over MerryK's old babysitting job, so he is busy 2 days a week watching a toddler. As a result our school schedule has been totally wrecked and I am juggling to fit everything into the hours we have available.

The other unexpected consequence is the trickle down effect that the older children have on the younger children. The whole tone of the family has changed, with people coming and going, teens riding buses, money in the hands of teens, iPods in ears, driver's permits and generally a less than together feeling. It seems to be hardest on me. The children are all happy. I guess I will adjust. I know I need to be praying more.

I knew my children would grow up and begin this transition...but I thought it would be one child at a time, spaced out more and a bit more gradual. Silly me! So, that is why we haven't been blogging much.