Goings On

My sister has so politely pointed out that we have not updated in a while and when I looked last night, I have to agree that it has been forever.

Our biggest news is that Ryan got confirmed and received his first Eucharist yesterday (Saturday the 18th). It was a nice ceremony and we are glad that he has reached this milestone in life. It used to be that we would go through Confirmation when we were in 8th grade and then it moved to high school. Now it is in the 3rd grade. The important thing is to consider this not an end but a stepping stone. Ryan did pick St. Francis of Assissi as his saint, which is appropriate since Ryan loves animals. Of course the one thing that I have never heard of for a Confirmation gift is a Ruger 22 Rifle. Nothing says "I love animals and I want St. Francis to help guide me in life" than getting a rifle. We don't plan to shoot animals with it and we definitely are not storing it in the house (it is down at Grandpa's in the gun cabinet) but it is kind of a rite of passage thing.

And just a tangent - I firmly believe that gun control means using both hands and that the gun laws we currently have should be enforced before bringing on more laws, but can anyone explain to me why we don't need a ban on assault rifles? Assault rifles are "fun" to take out to the range and shoot up (at least it was when I was in the Army) but other than that, I don't see a reason that they should be legal. And, most everyone that I talk to about it (mostly gun owners) agree with me that they should not be legal - so, can someone explain it to me?

We have taken on a foster beagle. Her name is Ginger Lynn (all beagles have to have 2 names - it is the law) and she is very sweet. She is a 7 year old red and white beagle and you can check her out on the az beagle rescue site for her bio. She is very sweet. Kyra Sue has has a little bit of adjustment period but at the present time, when we leave, everyone is in "general population" together and so it is going well.

Isabelle is doing better at school since she got her glasses. We do have her enrolled in summer school for math and reading (at the same time, cousin Madyson is going to a pre-kindergarten class). She isn't real keen on it but she is getting better. She will be there with "her Matthew" so she will know at least one person in class.

I have finally figured out that I will graduate in May, 2010. I am finishing up 4 classes this semester, 3 this summer (I am glad that I have Kellie here to tutor me on Chemistry if I need it and the lab is done here at the house and so I believe that all of the kids will be participating in the lab), 2 classes in the fall and then my last 2 next spring. I will be glad to be done and graduate.

It is amazing to me all that is going on in the world and how clueless people are. In fact, at times, I am starting to believe that I must be the one missing something. Okay, so we are in a recession, record unemployment and those that are employed are making less money. So, what do we do? We raise the cost of things. Typically, this is related to the prices of utilities, taxes and another government entity, school. ASU is wanting to institute a $1,200 "economic recovery fee" for next year. Of course, first of all, I don't want to pay it. I don't think that the university has become as lean as they can be (the OMT department appears to be doing a good job of it but I know that there are more changes that can be made). Second of all, they say that this "economic recovery fee" is only temporary. Since when has something like that been temporary? Aren't we still paying taxes that when we voted for it was only supposed to be 10 years or so?

Okay, off of my soapbox. I hope that this post finds everyone in good health and that those that are looking for jobs, I hope you find one soon.

Tracy