Hunter Educated :)

OK, so I learned from my mother, that my grandmother thinks we're nuts:). So, I know at least 1 person is reading this. Hi Grandma. And, I must say it does go against the way we were raised. But, we are all quite excited about developing hunting skills. Mike, K and I all passed our class with style. During the shooting portion, K was the only one to hit the bullseye, but Mike had an excellent grouping. He says that is the important part. Me, I was glad to hit the target.

J wasn't allowed to take the tests. It turned out he was a year too young. So, if we're still around here next year he'll get to take the class again. But, it was well worth him going. Gun safety was covered thoroughly and he now has a little more appreciation for the danger that BB and Pellet guns present. BB guns are common on post, J even got one for christmas. He is only allowed to use it when Mike is around to supervise. Unfortunately, that's not how all parents feel, and he's encountered several situations where friends bring their's out to "play". He now understands that anything with the name "gun" needs to be taken seriously.

K and I are more interested in archery. However, it will be a while before we begin that hobby. It's an expensive hobby. The arrows alone run abou $5.00 each and that's not with the $200+ bow. We will probably look at joining a local 4-H program.

We'll all learn how to shoot as well, there is a shooting range on post , so that will be interesting when the time comes. Don't expect me to start decorating with animal heads anytime soon though :).

Mike and S have been doing a lot of fishing. They caught enough bluegill and catfish for me to fry them up for dinner. S really loves fishing, K enjoys it too. J doesn't have any patience for it, but he enjoys the cooking side. A is to little, he's more interested in trying to hook himself.

OK, well, that's a brief update. I'm off to clean the house some more. We actually got the boys rooms swept and mopped :). S even scrubbed his bathroom. I'd even consider going in there now, if I had to.

change in tactics

Well, we've been approved since March and no bites on the old adoption line, so we are making a few changes. We are having our case transfered onto Fort Knox. This will allow us to become Foster parents on Fort Knox while we are waiting for our kids. While fostering for the sake of fostering was never our intent, it seems to be the appropriate direction for us at this time. For the last week we've had a delightful baby staying with us, as his fostermom is in Mexico for her husband's R&R. We will all be sad to see him go (surprising since this week has meant diapers and bottles, I thought that was behind me). We may not have another child stay with us, or we may have several. With Fort Knox only having one foster family at this time, it just seemed to be an appropriate move.

We are still praying for our children and searching. God knows when the right time will be.

Mike and I and the older two children are going to take a hunter education class this week. It should be a real learning experience as we move into our "homesteading" frame of mind.

S is proving to be my real outdoorsman. He has been fishing everynight for the last week and a half with Mike and even has caught some fish for our freezer. He's amazing, he'll bait his own hook, pick up the fish. And when they ran out of bait today, he'd just grab a cicada off the tree and hook it! K enjoys fishing but hasn't been out as often as she's either been grounded or wanted to help with the baby. J can leave it all together. He can't sit still long enough and doesn't care for touching bait or fish. He'll be the first to volunteer to help me cook them though. He was talking today about being a chef when he grows up and will always join me when I have a the Food Network on. (his favorite is Rachel Ray) A just isn't big enough, much to his dismay. He hasn't quite figured out the whole casting thing yet and isn't allowed to move beyond his kiddie pole yet.

On another thought, any family reading this, I need Photographs. I was finally hanging up the pictures on the wall in our stairwell (we've only been in this house for a year and a half) and I realized there are lots of folks missing. So, if you've got a family pic I'd really appreciate you sending it my way, I'll even take responsibility for having it printed at my local Wal-mart.