The Seven of Us

The following is a facebook post from one of my high school friends:  "I wish my moderate Republican friends would simply be honest. They all say they're voting for Romney because of his economic policies (tenuous and ill-formed as they are), and that they disagree with him on gay rights. Fine. Then look me in the eye, speak with a level clear voice, and say, "My taxes and take-home pay mean more than your fundamental civil rights, the sanctity of your marriage, your right to visit an ailing spouse in the hospital, your dignity as a citizen of this country, your healthcare, your right to inherit, the mental welfare and emotional well-being of your youth, and your very personhood." It's like voting for George Wallace during the Civil Rights movements, and apologizing for his racism. You're still complicit. You're still perpetuating anti-gay legislation and cultural homophobia. You don't get to walk away clean, because you say you "disagree"...

It's been so long since I've blogged that I  forgot about this post. These photos were taken toward the end of summer and are representative of a couple of things Ike and Kenna did often. Kenna really loved playing "Ghost in the Graveyard" (a type of hide-and-seek) with her friends.  It was normal for a group of about 10-12 kids to play as often as 3 times a week this summer! (She wasn't happy that she only got to play about once a week.)  The last time everyone played, her friends Riley & Dawson joined the group.  (They live out of town, so that was kind of special.) Playing around with the Kurtzer kids.  This was in early August--notice Isaac's baseball-bat wound.

1.  Since my last post, we've celebrated a birthday (Caleb's), hit a deer on the highway (Havilah-while visiting teaching. She was the passenger.), survived another football season uninjured, stayed up too late too often (homework, church night, game nights), vacuumed the area rug in the living room more than 125 times, used about 170 lbs. of dog food, attended 2 homecoming dances (Taylor, with Quincy), watched more than 12 high school volleyball games and several jr. high games. 2.  Inorganic chemistry isn't much more interesting than it was 21 years ago.  I thought Haxtun might hold some magic that Hadley-Luzerne didn't, but so far I am truly disappointed.  And while my teacher is a nice guy, he doesn't hold a candle to Mrs. Kathy LaBombard, who finally figured out how to quiet a class of sixteen year-olds by breaking down in tears after trying--and failing--to explain a concept three times in a row.  Poor lady.   I hold out ho...