mua ha ha ha ha ha ha

this is j's blog and d managed to get in and make a total mess of it!!! weeeeee!!! i can write anything here and she won't know it until someone else points it out - she can't take this stuff off can she? the thought that this scribbling of mine is going to be permanent is too exciting for words! asd;lfkjaokrwoirew9ogv bv!@#$$%^&. when she catches me at this i can just blame it on... the kids, definitely the kids... yeah, that's the plan - they spell better than i do anyhow. she keeps such a pretty blogometry that having a schmear of vestigial humanity every now and then won't hurt. i didn't go to work today because i put in too many hours and no overtime for this feller. does this email to everybody who is interested? i sure hope so - you know, spread the love hither and yon. sorry to get your hopes up people - just d. i have nothing neat or interesting to say other than it is nice to type something i don't have to turn in to a professor or a government official. i got to sleep in last night and thus i find myself with lots of energy. i thought i could either do something productive or i could screw up j's blag. i figure we don't stay in touch as well as we should, and by we i mean me because j does most of the envoy work for this house. so this is me making a notional effort to reach out. did you know that by the time it takes you to read this sentence, 20 million nutrinos have passesd through your brain? and by the time you have read this sentence they are half way to the sun? that's a quote from "coming of age in the milky way" - i read it at snow college.

wait a second - how does this work again? that's right, i get on here and i post something about the family. here goes: N is recently going through a growth spurt and by growth spurt i mean east german-esque growth spurt - this girl is only a few pounds lighter than L and a couple inches shorter. she is still as energetic as ever. three and a half with a new haricut to cover the mane mangling she pulled off last month... made j cry. she posted the pix. N is the kind of kid for whom we have used the kid leash on one occasion - in spite of the memories of the spastic kids i recall requiring restraint to keep from getting hurt. N is on the leash to spare the health and wellfare of any poor unsuspecting child she wanders too close to. my sister used one on one of her rambunctious boys and the image made me laugh - i thought we could get a bunch for all the cousins and they could pull a sleigh or a coal mine cart. AE is growing enormously also but she still has the hands of a neonatal but her hair has finally changed into reall person hair and not that whispy spider-monkey hair new borns start out with. she has caught onto the fact that she must weep, wail and gnash to get any attention. she will put on an apocalyptic-proportioned hissy to ask for milk. don't get me wrong, milk is tasty and loverly but a palsied convulsion? really?? i only do that when i want cheez its because they have real cheese AND milk - never just for just milk. rooky. AM is the reluctant prodigy - i have to threaten with a circular saw and branding iron to get her to sit and make a pathetic pantomime of piano practice once a week - she then takes off to her lessons and her teacher says she is doing so well... after having practiced once she aparently can play a whole song all the way through without looking at times. just to keep her on her toes, when she plays a song perfectly i say "yeah, but can you play it backwards? don't be lazy." one of these days she is going to pull that off and i am not sure what i am going to do - maybe demand she play it with broken fingers, her toes or with someone else's hands... it's tough being the lesser mortal in a house full of lovely people - you have to work so much harder to pretend you are worthwhile - sigh. L is a very gentle and tender child who is so enthusiastic and genuinely good - so i am making sure she toughens up, carries weapons to school and knows how to kill a man with a wet noodle and doll hair - kind of the mcgiver and rambo approach to parenting. she is taking swim lessons and she is really developing some great form - all of my kids can out swim their dad but they don't know that. actually, i am more of a breath-holder - don't knock it, when everyone is at the surface getting really tired and stuff i am conserving energy and staring up at them with my little smug blue-lipped grin. they don't know what they are missing out on. E is the moderator of mighty proportions. often we hear him saying "simmer down" or "knock it off". that is the sign of a kid who knows how to take charge. he is very maticulous about his things and works hard to be obedient. he is a really even keeled (sp?) kid. he is just so eexcited about learning new things and has a quuick mind. he must get that from his mom. julie just came in and caught me so i need to get off- until next time when she leaves the computer unlocked and exposed... ta ta ta toodles may your easter be full of bunnies and sugar hallucinations!

you got the news twice...

Well, I'm not too sure how I posted that twice, but it's worthy of being repeated!

WOO-HOO!!!

We just received some great news! It looks like this:

Congratulations! You have been matched to an internship position.

This is the residency required for the doctorate. Derrell is among the 60% of applicants nationwide who got matched on the first go 'round.

We are so happy! We are so blessed! Thank you for your support and prayers. We need them.

The end is coming into view:

1. Finish Classes--April 2009
2. Defend Dissertation--Summer & Fall 2009
3. Complete Residency--Summer 2009 thru Summer 2010
4. Graduate!!--Fall 2010
   

WOO-HOO!!!

We just received some great news.  It looks like this:

Congratulations! You have been matched to an internship position.

This is the residency required for the doctorate.  Derrell is among the 60% of applicants nationwide
that got matched on the first go 'round.

We are so happy!  We are so blessed!

The end is coming into view.

1. Finish Classes (April 2009)
   
2. Defend Dissertation (Summer & Fall 2009)
3. Complete Residency (Summer 2009 thru Summer 2010)
4. Graduate!! (Fall 2010)
   

Thank you for your support and prayers.  We need them.

Our Favorite Four-letter Word

PASS

This is the result of Derrell's comprehensive exam.

PASS


PASS


PASS


This word could also be read as
RELIEF
GRATITUDE
SUCCESS
or HAPPINESS!!

Had he failed, his education would have been put back a year. Comprehensive exams are given only once a year, and you have to pass them before submitting the dissertation and completing the residency.

So...
All is well!
All is going according to plan.
This is somewhat of a surprise. Not that Derrell passed, because he worked too hard to fail, but that life is following a plan we made!

From the Man of the House

Um, hello? Is this thing on? This is Derrell... this is also my maiden voyage as far as bloggerying - and by the end of this you may be able to tell. And some of you more sophisticated types may already have guessed, "Yep, newbie." I felt bloggy and so thus, I blog. Julie tells me she has sent out electronic messages in a bottle to the mysterious internets land. And she insists that this typing will end up on a "page" of blog-like likeness.

Sorry, back to the storying: Julie said she told you about my Neanderthalian habit of killing squirrels that had not got the memo: "This is Derrell's house and if he lived in another country he would be eating us for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He would wear our furry little hides for loin cloths and he would nibble our innards for late night snacks... the man hates us arboreal devil rats!! Beware!" In more common parlance, I done killed me some squirrels and I liked it - a lot.

So now, I have been bringing to bear my considerable wild beast-killing skills regarding all kinds of trespassing fellows. Julie says she will post my pictures of recent trophies I took. Be warned, though! The following images may constitute a crime against humanity! The HORROR!!!! Behold, what awaits those who wander astray of the outer doors, those who dare lurk my passage and those who find themselves under the shadow of my fierce hand!!!!! But really, folks, that spider I done killed EVAPORATED when I smashed his carapace between my twain mighty meathooks. I didn't know I was so... great white huntery. Just look at my face - I mean business. I hope the unwary beast publish this post and its pictures on their internets - it would save me the gory soirée I find myself entangled within occasionally. Tell all your varmint friends, I will not be trifled with. Spread the word - there is a new sheriff in town.

Note from Julie: Derrell wrote this a few days ago, but I haven't published it because it is still picture-less. I can't find the specific USB cable required to download the pictures mentioned. (again) They are great--you really need to see them! I will continue to hunt tirelessly for the magic cord. This situation brings into focus the fact that I'm not very organized. Well, let me amend that: I'm not what the rest of the world would call "organized", BUT I usually know where everything is--until someone decides to organize for me. (The men in my house definitely know how to clean a room!) Things look better, but now I can't find all my stuff. Needless to say, it's a bit frustrating. If I was "properly" organized, little things like this wouldn't happen...

No, really

OK. So, I lied just a little bit. After closer inspection, it has been determined that there is no way that video could have been Derrell. He is a much better dancer! Oh, and he's about ten years younger, and MUCH better looking.

Yesterday, after an especially loud and raucous church experience, I decided we will practice being reverent Monday through Saturday. I'll ease them into it. Tonight we will sit quietly and listen to the lesson in Family Home Evening. Tomorrow we will sit quietly and watch a rather boring video on the Holy Land (I purchased it shortly after returning home from the study-abroad over there 14 years ago because it has to be good, right? I can't get rid of it even though it puts me to sleep, and I recognize the sites!). Wednesday we will sit quietly and listen to part of a talk from conference. You get the idea. Do you think it will work? If not, do you have any better ideas? More than half of the congregation at our church is children. My family isn't the only irreverent family. It makes it difficult.

Dancin' Fool

It is "tax-free" day at Best Buy today. Derrell was so excited that he just couldn't stay still. Look what they caught on their security camera! Don't be fooled by the mustache and receding hairline--this really is Derrell... hee. hee.

Derrell's Crazy Schedule

Prepare to be amazed. My husband is the hardest working person I know. He has had this dream of getting his PhD since he was in the seventh grade, and--by gum--he's going to get it! His schedule has been all over the place these past three years. Some semesters harder than others, of course. But I must say, his present schedule takes the cake.

This semester Derrell only has one class. On the surface that sounds marvelous, but here's the nitty gritty: the class is SEVEN hours long on Wednesdays. 9am-4pm! Now that wouldn't be the worst thing to deal with if he wasn't also preparing for the comprehensive exams, doing an internship, and working full-time--all 1-2 hours away from home! So, Wednesdays tend to look somewhat like this: 2am alarm goes off, work from 3:15-8:45am, school from 9am-4pm, study group from 4-7:30pm, crash into bed around 9pm. A 19-hour day? Who could survive that? Derrell Small, that's who. He still has to go in to his internship on Thursdays, so by the time he gets home Thursday afternoon, the bed is screaming out his name.

This present craziness will let up in a month when the internship ends, then more in July when the class ends. But then he'll just replace some of the class time with study time. Comprehensive exams are in August. Anything from the previous three years is fair game on these tests. They sufficiently terrify all the students by promising to kick you out if you don't pass. Derrell has been getting very good grades this whole time, so I'm not concerned one bit. He'll do well. He doesn't know how to fail. But, of course, he feels the need to study until his eyes bleed. (And, that's probably why he'll do so well!)

Needless to say, we are on a countdown to graduation. My cousin's husband just finished his doctorate. It would be nice to be at that point. But our brother-in-law just started. Glad we're not at that point! There is some fairness in the world...

Squirrels

We have a family of squirrels living in our attic. Well, to be more accurate, I should say that we had a family of squirrels living in our attic. There is only one of the four left (that we know of!). Today we caught two at once! Lovin' this Havahart trap! I called Animal Control to see if they would trap the squirrels. After a lengthy list of all the services they provide, they dropped in the price: $269!! Whereas we might pay out the nose for some services for convenience sake--though off hand I can't think of what--, we opted for the do-it-yourself route in this case. Derrell is getting quite a thrill out of trapping and disposing of them. He's a real mountain man at heart. It's a bit scary initially retrieving the trap because you never know how the squirrel is going to react. Wouldn't want to get bitten! For fear of traumatizing the girls, he does it all behind their backs. But E.D. really wants to be a part of the whole process. There's just something special about a man and his son ridding the cave of unwanted varmints... :-)