Well, I suppose Katrina is here. It is awful outside. Makes me really appreciate dryer days. Our garden is really doing great. Every time we think we are going to have to water it, a big rain comes. I love years like that. We have a friend in New Orleans we still have not heard from, his name is Gary Wahl, if you all will please keep him in your prayers. He and his family decided to stay in their home and ride it out. Hopefully those folks will be able to really pitch in and help one another. Tough times really do bring out the best in most people.

We are having a tough school day today and I am sure it is mostly me. I feel a little trapped today because of the yucky weather. I also think I may be getting bronchitis which is working on me too. The girls are happily plodding through their work, so maybe my bad attitude is not contagious. I will have to make sure we play a fun game or do a cool experiment this afternoon-mostly to get me over the blahs. God has really blessed me with children who have very happy dispositions. They are content in doing almost anything. I hope the puberty years don't change all that, but I won't borrow trouble.

We had a fun weekend. The locals of Erik's mom's family all went to Los Amigos Sunday after church to celebrate his Grandma's 91st birthday. There were 19 of us I think. The kids had a ball. (FYI- The sunday buffet, while very tasty, is not nearly as good as ordering fresh hot food off the menu!! Much cheaper to order off the menu to. I highly recommend a half order of Nachos Amigos which is very filling and has beef, chicken and refried beans-YUM.) Then we went back to Grandma's for a wide variety of cakes. I really love family get-togethers. Grandma's house is very small and it is fun to see how many people we can squeeze in there-very akin to the clowns in a car routine!! There are 8 kiddos ranging from 9 yrs down to around 12 months. Never a dull moment.

I started Girl Scouts last night. It went well. The girls were very excited to be back together as evidenced by their constant chatter. I think I will have 13 this time. Should be a fun year. Tonight we are collecting food at Food Giant for the Christmas in August food drive on Wednesday. Come out and make a donation if you can! We will be there from 5PM-7PM. I guess I had better plug back into life. I feel much better now...except for the elephant on my chest that won't let me breathe! Have a blessed day.