Yikes, where have I been?!  Well, actually, busy!  Boys started back to school at the very end of August.  A day after that we went through a trauma here in our house when my youngest son's gerbil died (right in front of him!...).  He's only 4 so this was tough on him.  We fixed her up in a little box and buried her in the back where all our other little pets are resting.  We found a large smooth rock and he put her name on it in permanent marker.  He spent quite a bit of time that day and part of the next just sitting out there by her.  My heart was breaking for him, watching him go through his first real loss to death.  But kids get through these things, sometimes better than adults.  He kept asking for another gerbil, and at first we hesitated due to it being right after the death, but he kept asking so we listened to his little heart and set out for the pet store just down the road.  He picked out a little black cutie with a touch of white on her chin, and named her Sizzy.  Then, since gerbils are extrememly social creatures and prefer not to live alone, we went back the next day and got a 2nd so Sizzy would have a buddy!  He named this one Maisy, in honor of the one he'd lost.  And I'll tell ya this little boy loooves his gerbils!!  He has a very tender heart and sensitive spirit. 

In more recent news we had a Black bear in the yard the other day!  I've noticed they seem more active in the daytime if it's a rainy day.  Every time I've seen one in the afternoon, it's been raining.  Hmm...!  Anyway he/she was a good size bear, for a New England bear!  My neighbor chased him out of her yard (she refuses to take her bird feeders down in the spring so she deals with bears on a fairly regular basis.....) and when he came over here, DS4 and I got a good look at him as he stood right under our tree house.  Every time I see a Black bear I am vividly reminded of the time in Alaska when there was one just down the path from the outhouse that I was emerging from!! And they grow 'em BIG in Alaska!  At least it wasn't a Grizz...

Speaking of Alasak, DH and I have been discussing it quite a bit lately.  More specifically, if we could get a camp job there just for the summer, we would jump on it just for the opportunity to get back there.  Then we could search for something more permanent after that.  We've got a great full-size van for the trip out and a camper to live out of for a few months....It's perfect!  Well, bottom line is that the Lord knows where we're going when we move, and where that next job is for DH.  There are very few places in this country that I would NOT be excited about going to!