After much discussion and prayer Derek and I have decided to have Victoria graduate high school this year. My teaching/curriculum planning method has always been to review what has been mastered and teach the next thing–something that has been getting more and more difficult with her since, except for math, she has already mastered high school level material. As the math should be completed this spring we couldn’t come up with any good reasons not to let her graduate. She’ll still be home next year doing on-line college coursework and will likely go off to college the following year. She’s going to take the SAT in March and will march in the HEAV high school graduation ceremony in June. (She wanted to get out of the whole cap and gown thing, but we wouldn’t let her.)

In other Victoria related news, she finally got her tattoo today. I say finally because this was supposed to be for her 16th birthday last year–couldn’t do it in NY even with parental consent so it got delayed. Which is just as well, really, since it gave her extra time to be sure she wanted it. I’ll post a picture soon–I took one, but don’t have the camera cable handy. It’s a bunch of little birds on the back of her shoulder and turned out very well.

The rest of us are doing well–things are crazy busy of course, especially for Derek with the ramp-up to Christmas concerts, etc. Lizzy’s doing a lot of writing and drawing, and is currently working on a comic book for Merrie. I’m trying to get as much done as I can (including Christmas shopping and roasting the Thanksgiving turkey!) before my next-and-had-better-be-the-last surgery, which is scheduled for the 20th. I’ll be so glad when it’s over and I can start feeling better! I’m getting ready to remove things myself…well, not really, but I talk about it sometimes.

Hope you all are doing well, and we promise to try to post more frequently!

~Amy~