And, last, but not least, life update for the week ...

It has been so incredibly HOT here in Tennessee these past few weeks. We almost broke the all time high (107) yesterday when it was 106*. We are in the midst of a drought and everything is a funky shade of pale yellow (envision, dry, dead and crunchy). Kevin, poor man, has had no air on his truck for several months due to some problem that I'm not smart enough to understand. Truth is, I probably wasn't listening well when he told me -- that darn ADHD stuff. :-) Anyway, he finally found time that we could take his truck and get it fixed so he is sporting A/C again. I just couldn't STAND the thoughts of him with no air. How miserable. We are so spoiled.

Tonight was the PREMIERE of High School Musical II on Disney and as our neighbor, Carson said when he came over to watch it with Joshua, "I'll bet all of Tennessee is watching this tonight." I, personally, didn't find it very exciting. I really liked the first HSM (well, the first 45 times I saw it, that is). This one seemed to lack a real plot. There was no REAL problem to be solved and I found myself wishing it would SOON be over.

One of the nice things I have found about Josh going back to public school is the abundance of children back in our house again. *big smile* Josh never invited anyone over from PVCS. There is always a child coming over or him asking if someone can come by these days. After some of the stories I've heard from these children this week, however, I'd MUCH rather have them here than to have Josh riding his bike to their homes. At least, if they are hear, I can monitor what is coming out of all their collective mouths, what stories they are telling, what their interests are and how they are behaving. I can also use these opportunities to share godly messages to them and provide (hopefully) some help to guide them along the right path, instead of just allowing them to choose whatever path they want to take. I'm amazed, daily, at the lack of supervision and interaction children this young have.

My mom had her stint removed today. She said it did hurt, but it wasn't as bad as she had imagined it would be. That's a blessing, right there!! We met back up with Daddy who took her home. I called a bit ago and she was asleep.

Mr. Scatty Ratty "P" Ratty, aka, Scat, our cat had to go back to the vet this week. His, ummm... constipation issue flared up again. I don't know how much longer we will have Mr. P around. He has been our miracle cat. He was run over as a kitten at the babysitters', which is how I managed to end up with him (after taking him to the vet); he was attacked by a neighbor's cat and lost the feeling in two of his legs and subsequently became diabetic; he "spontaneously" cured himself of that and now has this serious constipation issue where his colon doesn't always push things along like they should -- yuk!! I don't want him to suffer any more. He is such a sweet, sweet boy.

Josh's football team scrimmaged St. Joseph's last night. Imagine my surprise when one of the coaches was Sidney Jarreau, "first boyfriend" from a hundred years ago. :-) One of his sons is in 5th grade there. I didn't get a chance to say hello as he was on the field, but it would be nice to say hi to him next week when we are supposed to scrimmage him again.

The outside of our house has been overtaken by garden spiders. I say HAS because Kevin and Joshua got out there tonight and killed them with some spider spray. Even though I LOATHE spiders, I felt kind of bad for them. I had gotten used to the two on the porch. They were always there when I came home and when I left in the morning -- hanging upside down. I kept waiting for the message in the web, "AWESOME WOMAN" but I guess I'm certain to not get that now. My understanding is there were SEVEN garden spiders around the front of the house and 3 "regular" spiders. What are they???? Now, there are none.

Joshua brought home a PILE of papers and grades today. I'm just AMAZED at the level and quantity of work they are doing in school. No wonder he's not getting in trouble -- he's too busy. And, of course, I still see the same grade patterns -- lots of 100's and then the lone F. Lots of regular A's and B's and then a C or D thrown in. There is no rhyme or reason to it; it is not just one subject. It's the times when his mind just chooses to go somewhere else. Overall, he is doing really well. This is likely the "norm" for him, and it is fine. He will manage to pull out A's and B's all year long, I think. I am proud of how well he has done with subjects that the other kids worked on last year and he didn't -- thinks like adjectives and adverbs, "real" science -- and he's doing pretty well. I think, over time, he will do really well.