It's time. I've been putting off starting a family blog until that perfect moment, I suppose. But I can't wait any longer, so -- just so you know -- I'm starting this blog at an un-perfect moment; ha ha.

It's 8:28 a.m. Most of the children are in school (hence, it's relatively quiet), a couple others are still sleeping, and High King is watching a Blue's Clues DVD (of course!) with the volume down very low.

This morning as soon as I woke up I started finishing preparing for Rajah's 4th grade home school curriculum. That meant I printed out the Arizona AIMS test from its website. He will take it as a pre-test assessment and then I will make sure that elements that are tested in the AIMS are woven into what he learns this year; and then he will take the AIMS at the end of the year again as a final exam.

I went outside this morning. It has been clear for many days, which is fine with me. But today is one of those deliciously overcast days -- not too much, not too little. It is rather warm. And here is what I wanted to tell you. The rain is one of those soft, slow, almost misty rains. I walked outside, smelled the wet air and soil (correction: Arizona has dirt, not soil, he he), and then felt these angel-y sparkles of rain playing on my skin. It doesn't even seem like they are dropping from the sky, they just come into existence where I am walking through them. Anyway -- God the artist at it again for a miracle rain.

Back to it being a big home school preparation day. I have one counter and set of drawers that has the school materials, so it deserved a huge organization. Rajah and High King helped me sort the pens, pencils, markers, crayons and so forth into their respective containers.

Another project I am in the middle of is arranging music for a children's choir I am going to direct as part of my calling as ward choir director. I am putting a medley together of the primary song I Belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and of We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet. The children's choir is going to sing in Sacrament Meeting in a month or two on a day when the theme is the 7th Article of Faith. Anyway, I am writing the piano accompaniament as well as the medley-ness of the songs. Obviously, it is going to be very simple, but that's all I need anyway for a children's choir. So I started a couple of days ago and am working on and off on it today by writing notes on manuscript paper and working out the notes on the piano.

Normally I have a class today, but the teacher had cancelled it for a medical procedure for himself (he's an 84 year old gentleman) so it is just a great bonus to be home today. Like I've already mentioned -- home school day. Rajah just turned nine a few days ago, so for home school purposes he's officially fourth grade. Plus it's a new year. So it has been nice to sit with him and start geography (learning continents and oceans), and he started keyboarding drills. Rajah is a perfect student, always willing for new things and for old things, too. He gets excited about keyboarding, he really wanted to know about how it is hot at the equator and the seasons switch depending on northern or southern hemisphere, and he always stops in his reading and makes some comprehension comment about the characters or the story line. He's the only kid I know whose comprehension outstrips his mechanical reading skills by miles. He'll read a passage with great difficulty and I think he was lucky to get the sounds much less understand what he read, but he will then surprise me with a brief character sketch or an alternative ending or some comedic comment, all on his own.

I did some of my own homework today, just tons and tons of reading (of textbooks).

I ran to the public library and picked up some Happy Meals for lunch also. Does that make me a good mama or a bad mama? Ha ha. Depends on who you ask.

I ran over to the office (I work part-time as a paralegal), but Shark Boss wasn't there. I talked with A* (my co-worker and best friend). We hadn't talked in a while, so it was major update time, talked for more than an hour. I did write and print out a Notice to the Court and left it for Shark Boss to take a look at.

It is still raining.