Fascinated with lizard "innards"

I thought the title might catch your attention. You definitely know you're a "home-schooler" when, in the church parking lot, you find a poor deceased lizard with it's innards cascading onto the pavement and you (and your brother) stop to examine it. After careful scrutiny, we determined that the amphibian had suffered from a heat stroke and had burst open, thus the intestines coming out of it's mouth -- though, it may have well been smashed by an unsuspecting car. I will spare you any more gruesome details, for those of you who are "tree/animal huggers". It's just too bad that I didn't catch that candid moment in science on camera. :o)

As for an update...let's see how my memory serves me:

Today is of course eighty degrees outside (c'mon this is January!) and the sun is pleasantly shining here in Florida. It just seemed like yesterday that I was numbly fiddling with my hockey skates so I could join my friends on a frozen pond in Connecticut. Everyone had rosy cheeks and pink noses from the fifteen degree weather. I'm so glad that I've had a chance to experience different climates...

During this last week Cale's baseball picked up. He made the local high school team and began team practices. He also had a chance to continue a dialogue about the Lord with a lady he met a while back. It seems like this particular lady has begun to steadily read His word and attend a church. On a side note: for all of you who enjoy sports, Cale got the chance to "catch" Tommy John when he worked at the Yankee's Fantasy Camp. :o)

Delaney has been busy with school and various other activities (washing cars, polyurethaning a rather large cabinet, organizing stuff around the house, and continuing to enlarge her baking expertise). And yes, her room is orange. :o) She did a wonderful job "framing" that picture you see behind her. She found a neat poster that accented her room well, located several bamboo poles, cut them to size and fitted it all together -- what a clever girl!

Merritt's week was a normal one: playing, listening to books on tape, pretending, exploring, attending ballet class, and entertaining the elderly folks at a local nursing home. Merritt's new addition to her vocabulary is "furtherwise" -- meaning: in addition differently (combination of furthermore & otherwise). And yes, I certainly think it should be added to the dictionary. :o) I love sharing pictures so here is one of Merritt in her ballet outfit, ready to go to class...

The rest of us are either busy with work or household stuff. During his spare time, Daddy has been steadily pecking away at the various "home" projects, like more painting and fixing things. Mom has been dealing with a very annoying clogged tear duct. She went to an optometrist then saw an ophthamologist to get it flushed, but we're not totally sure that cured it. That could be a matter of prayer (this issue has been going on for a good two months and the alternative to that procedure is surgery, something Mother would like to avoid). Thank you!

Mom, Delaney, Merritt and I had the rare privilege of visiting a nursing home last Thursday. We don't get to go as often as we'd like because of our schedules. The following is a picture of Delaney and a lady we met there, named Sydney. Doesn't Sydney have a wonderful smile?

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Mr. Mills, no pictures of Dad this time but here's one of Cowboy (taken today). :o)

We had to visit the vet yesterday and, at the risk of sounding boastful, he was highly admired (the ladies just gushed over him with comments such as: what a handsome dog, etc. He practically beamed!). I was rather surprised to find out that he weighs 109 lbs. -- I guess I've been over super-sizing his meals.

It's time for me to go. Thanks for visiting!:o)

~Chelsea

P.S. Merritt's effort at picture taking (it's of me, by the way):