After a fairly long, but successful trip to the D.M.V we have another new driver!
Emma is about the 15th person I have taught to drive.
James decided many kids ago that he was not going to participate in driving instruction. He obviously has a stronger sense of self preservation than I do.
It really is the absolute scariest part of parenthood. Harder than labor, tougher than the terrible twos and the closest I have ever come to looking death in the face.
Some of the kids have been harder to teach than others. I will mention no names but they know who they are and why I have grey hair.
Three more left to learn and then I'm done. I might actually survive this.
In our house, you can't get a cell phone until you drive, and driving is a privilege given to those who are trustworthy and mature. At the moment, only one of our six kids at home has the much coveted phone. Two are working on getting their license.
And yes...just like they think, they are the only kids in America who don't have any devices that go online.
Which means that when Emma got her much needed graphing calculator yesterday she was very excited. She said it was almost as good as a phone.
That makes her a science/math nerd and she still can't text. I'm okay with that.
Emma being our very last daughter at home makes her stand out in the crowd of maleness here. Although much lovelier than the boys she is not at all the neatest. Her room often resembles the remains of a plane crash with luggage and belongings scattered about. She is hands down the "kid in charge" of fun, plans and moods.
She is presently working for the FDA at a fruit research lab and she LOVES it! She came home yesterday talking excitedly about the genetics involved with peach trees and best of all - her own lab book. I was so so impressed!
As proud of her as I am, my best moment yesterday was when we discovered we had accidentally had a "twin day", and not only was she not disturbed by that fact, but loved it and wanted our picture taken.
With 17 year old girls you savor the little things too.
In every crowd you find one. The one that sets the pace, leads the way, finds the fun. In this, my tail end family, it's Emma.
Not because she's the only girl in the bunch or because she was taller than everyone for so long. (finally Isaiah!)
Rather, it's her reckless ability to give her heart to whatever she does. Give her a cause - she's in. Inspire her with a book - she soars. Show her a hero - she worships.
Thankfully for her adoring brothers, that hero is Jesus.
Lead on Emma!
Just as Ezra got the cast off his arm, we made yet another trip to the E.R. This time Emma turned her ankle while playing basketball. The x-ray said sprained and I'm wondering why she came home with a cast up to her knee.
Ezra waltzed through his 6 week ordeal with ne'r a complaint. We are on day 4 with Emma and she's not being really pleasant at all. Actually she's testy.
Anyone have a cast saw I can borrow?
Yesterday afternoon we visited Roanoke Island, famous as the birthplace of the first English child born in America - little Miss Virginia Dare. The history was almost as interesting as the window shopping where Grace, AnnaClaire and Emma found some big hats to try on. I bought a new book for beach reading and the boys were excited to find some "real shark fossils inside a mud egg and the teeth glow in the dark!" History at it's finest.
These are three of my favorite teens - Eleanor my granddaughter and Emma and Isaiah my twins by other mothers. They are a delight to homeschool - always wanting to know more about whatever we study and they are kindly enthusiastic about every dumb thing I think of to do.
But the thing I love best of all, is their their innocence. They are thirteen and they don't have phones, dates or attitudes. A perfect day for them is to learn about the Vikings in school, write a play about them and act it out for the family that night.
Being homeschooled means you can be your own kind of cool. And they are!
Last year Emma, our 12 year old, decided she wanted to be a veterinarian. She lives and breathes animals. Her room is full of books about animals, she teaches animal classes to the kids in the neighborhood complete with slide shows and handouts. She grooms our new dog Maddie every day and when our Miniature Pincher escapes, Emma is the one to call to run down the street and capture him before a car tire turns him into a pancake.
Today she was practicing giving the dog a check up. All she needed was our Fisher Price stethoscope and a dog that would sit still. Apparently Maddie got a clean bill of health.
