A New Year

Hey everybody!

It has been a trying month, attempting to get through the holidays and birthdays, and to find time to do my school work. We have decided I should take a leave of Absence next semester, and try and focus on the stay-at-home Momma child care and farm thing. I can bring in a decent salary with just 3 kids. And if downstairs ever becomes available, I can set up a real home center that would bring in a decent amount, and allow me to hire someone to work with me.

We've given up on recovering much from the computer, although I have gotten back most of the music. Wish it had been our documents and pictures instead!! Oh well!! We bought an external hard drive to save stuff on from now on, so even if we lose a computer, we don't lose everything else!

The snow is beautiful, and Nadia and the little girl I have been watching and I have been taking long walks in the woods. We wander up the trail the downstairs neighbors made with their snow machines, and walk for a good hour usually. Sometimes, if the snow is packed down enough, I can even push the stroller on the path in the snow. Or we wander up with a sled. The girls have enjoyed doing a lot of the walking themselves, which is new for Nadia... up until the middle of last week she wasn't interested in walking in snow. But with a new snowsuit, mittens, and wool socks, she is ready and rearing to go! Too bad it will be too cold ALL WEEK to go out! Up in the woods we find deer roads, and last week I even watched a deer bound off the trail in front of us into the woods. The hemlock stands behind our house are a state designated deer yard, and you can tell! (Especially when I found hoof marks in the snow in the chicken yard... we'll have to be extra careful that they aren't eating the feed!). We have also followed mouse trails, rabbit trails, and squirrel trails. There is great tracking out here, and we expect to see fox and coyote trails as the winter goes on.

Nadia, Aidan, and Sage have been picking up little phrases in German, and really enjoy the company of another child. For Aidan, it has been nice practice to go along with his babysitter's training course. He LOVES the course. Both he and Sage are doing basketball, and Sage is skiing during the same time as Aidan's after school course. It has been fun for her to be one of the kids that knows how to ski. In Craftsbury, my kids were always the ones who weren't born with skis attached to their feet! Her friend from London has never been on skis before, and Sage has been enjoying helping her. Sage is also kicking butt in basketball, despite being 7 and in 2nd grade on a team with 3rd and 4th graders. She's a tough cookie!

Well, I really need to get on with writing my papers... The little girl has been sick this week, and I kinda think they are looking for someone closer to them... they didn't realize the ride between Montpelier and here might take awhile. So I am interviewing another family tomorrow, with a set of fraternal twins, age 20 months... one boy, one girl. And I posted another ad, and will put up posters this week. As long as I can keep 2-3 in here, everyday, we will be doing well enough, and it will keep Nadia and I busy!