Graduation went off without a hitch. Dad got better grades then he was expecting and I think is very happy with the outcome. He received his degree in Economics, btw. For now, he’s in the process of finding a permanent job. He still has his job at the university, which is better than nothing, especially in the current economy. But we’d like for him to get a job that would enable us to purchase a home this year, before interest rates go through the roof next year. He’s willing to work anywhere, but has been focusing his search in Rexburg, Utah, and Florida. We'd like to go somewhere that he could pursue a Master's degree in applied economics, but there is also the option of his taking an online Master's program through somewhere like the University of North Dakota or the University of Phoenix. I’ve decided I don’t care where we go; I just want to know so I can plan accordingly. Our current apartment’s lease ends Jun 4th, and we can’t renew because it is student only housing. So being in limbo and not knowing where I need to set up housing is very stressful for me.For now, Dad and I are taking some fun classes from BYU-I through their community ed courses. Dad is taking a beginning beekeepers class on Wednesday nights. His first class was last night and he was really excited to come home and discuss what he’d learned. This is something he’d like to do as a hobby once we have a home with enough room. I’m fine with that as long as he doesn’t expect me to deal with the hive. I’ll bottle the honey and make candles out of the beeswax, but he gets to deal with the bees! Together, we’re taking some digital photography and editing classes that are only for four weeks on Thursday evening. This is a class I really look forward to.
The girls are all doing well. They are glad to have Daddy home again in the evenings. We have re-started having scripture reading each evening and family prayer morning and night (we were slacking the last month or so of the semester). We’ve also made an effort to be more consistent on Family Home Evening (FHE), having had some sort of lesson every Monday evening since graduation. I worry a lot about the girls’ futures, but feel a lot more secure when we are faithfully following the counsel of the Lord when it comes to family scripture study, family prayer and FHE. Now I need to get myself on the ball about individual scripture study and prayer. Not something I have ever been very good or consistent at. But how can I expect my girls to do it if I don’t?
We were/are seriously considering homeschooling the girl(s). We like the schools here in Rexburg, but we don’t know where we’re going to move to but there are many public school systems in the US that we would not want our children enrolled in. And unless Dad miraculously gets a job making serious bank, private school or tutors is not an option. I fear that I am not up to such a task. Rebekah, I believe, would thrive in a homeschooling atmosphere. She is eager to learn, so getting her to work on assignments and read would not be a battle. And it would give her more time to devote to developing her artistic talents, which are completely ignored in the public school system at her current grade level. But I have strong doubts about Rose’s ability to thrive homeschooled. She is very stubborn and I have to battle with her every day to do her chores. She often doesn’t get to go out and play with friends and loses other privileges because she refuses to do them. I do not want learning to be a battle. As she does very well with the teachers at school, I am inclined to leave her in the public schools for the time being. Perhaps with a few more years under her belt, she’d be more prepared to be homeschooled. But this leaves us in a quandary, as Rose wants to be homeschooled if Rebekah is. I fear that if we home school Rebekah, but leave Rose at public school, Rose will feel left out and less loved. So please keep us in your prayers that we will make the correct decision for our children.
Rebekah performed in her 4th grade production of 'Lewis & Clark' last week while Nana was still here. The classes had been studying for over a month and she was very excited to have a singing part in it, outside of the chorus parts. There are not enough parts for all the students; many are simply a part of the chorus line, so her having a part to herself was a fairly big deal. I was a little bit miffed about this performance because there was not enough room for all the families to watch. So, Dad and Nana attended and videotaped while I stayed home with the little ones. I stayed home because Dad didn't get to go to her play last year (for similar reasons). 
Rose turned seven in January but did not get a party because she and Rebekah were in trouble from Christmas. They had been very ungrateful for the gifts they received and were rude and disrespectful that day. So Dad and I told them there would be no gifts this year and we’d do service projects instead for their birthdays and all holidays that they would normally receive gifts at (the no gift rule did not apply to Rachel, Robin or graduation). The girls' behavior has much improved since then, so we have decided to lift the gift ban (within reason), though we are still doing the service projects. Since Rose’s birthday had already passed, we decided to have a surprise belated birthday party for her the weekend of Dad’s graduation, so that her cousin’s would be able to celebrate with her. She was stunned when Dad handed her the cake. 
Rachel had a trip to the ER and a staple put in her scalp last week. She was jumping up the stairs while holding my hand. I tried to lift her up, and accidentally bonked her head on the stair rail. I didn’t even realize she was bleeding at first, was just trying to comfort her, when Rebekah pointed out the blood. So off to the ER we rushed. Yesterday the staple came out, which ended up being another painful process for poor Rachel because she had bumped her head several times during the week with the staple in, twisting and flattening the staple in the process. So the nurses had a heck of a time getting it out. So I’ve decided I’m not a fan of staples in small, hyper children. Is Rachel accident prone? Well, yea, but not really. She usually has bruises and or scrapes somewhere on her body because she is so active and adventurous. But I think we’re doing pretty good for only 3 trips to the ER since she got so active, as she climbs and jumps constantly, can get past most child locks, and loves to bolt into streets (this scares me more than anything else she does) and out of the apartment when I don’t have a hand on her. She is definitely the most rambunctious of our children, and sometimes I wonder if the Lord is preparing me for a boy with her.
Robin is now a hefty 5 mos old and beginning to eat solids. So far, she has had rice cereal, oatmeal, and avocado. She doesn’t like oatmeal, tolerates rice cereal and LOVES avocado. This upcoming week, she gets to try acorn and butternut squash. Something I’ve decided to do with her that I have never done before is to make her baby food myself, instead of gerbering it. This saves a lot of money and gives her a much bigger variety of foods. I had considered doing this before, but didn’t know how to store the food as once you puree it; you’re supposed to use it within 48-72 hours. But I recently found http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/index.htm with recipes and directions on how to store homemade baby food long-term. You pour the puree into ice cube trays, freeze it, pop them out into a Ziploc bag and then can leave them in the freezer for up to three months. When you need some, you just take a cube or two of what you need. So awesome and simple, yet not something I would have ever thought of on my own.
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