June, 2024

Hi everyone, hope you are all doing well. Its been a busy month, but a productive month i think. Abby is growing quickly, crawling all around the house, screaming frequently, and she even sings and dances when we sing. She is also very good at throwing tantrums, but we have a few methods for handling that, and usually that puts her to sleep. Calvin has decided he loves rock climbing, and has mastered the use of chalk, which is what i really hoped for, I'm kind of surprised how he just all of the sudden decided he was a professional climber. He manages to put his entire body weight on a small 2 or 3 finger hold, which looks very difficult, but i guess he is little. I have been encouraging him big time with that. Recently i started shredding and drying old bread to blend in the blender and reuse as recycled flour, Fang has found several things that this works really well with, including a certain pancake recipe she is not sharing with me. She has been doing ok this month, better than last, so that's good. I have been testing whether i have a b12 deficiency, and i think i do, so I've been taking vitamins, and they seem to help me a lot, coffee has a much bigger kick, and last night I even had a hard time getting to sleep, which is rare for me if there is nothing particularly troubling on my mind. So I can reduce my coffee now, and I will try to shift to natural b12 if i can afford it, by increasing red meat consumption... Starting with beef jerky, say no to chips, say yes to jerky. I have been working on applying for Fangs green card this month, which has taken quite a bit of money and time so far, getting everything "officially translated" is both expensive and annoying, because i have to correct every single document translated myself, then have the "translator" put their official stamp on it, and pay them way too much money for that. Oh well, its done, and i have saved them for future use, if ever the need may rise again. Calvin and Abby now have their Thai passports, and as soon as we get an appointment for fang, we will make an appointment for them too, to get their american passports, then they will be like spys, with multiple passports they switch on the plane before landing. 

Needs
After accounting for generous donations last month, we now need 2100 dollars. We are thankful for all who are praying about giving. We trust God will provide. Thanks again for your support. 

Writing
This month I have written quite a bit, and have also went back and rewritten started reworking some books as well, I have decided to try to make the books rhyme, which is something I quite enjoy doing, and my son enjoys it as well. I think the number of children's books covering historical events is shockingly low too, so i have started that direction as well. I'm trying to stay focused, but I also want to cover all the bases. Golden rule of teaching: Treat other peoples kids as you would treat your own kids, minus the spankens. I didn't do much in the way of illustration, but did come up with a new illustration technique that will likely save me time, so maybe ill have time to work on that next month. 

Teaching
I have divided my classes into groups by level now, I have done this before, but the lines get blurred, so i have reworked them, and now things work smoothly, and I can teach at a consistent speed in each class without hopping around too much. I had a few very successful conversations using a book I am calling Jesus is my Hero, where we talk about what happens after death, and how Jesus rolls in to save the day, all for the Glory of God who created this world. It seemed to click, which means I think i got the balance right without taking too much time on each part. 

Making
I build a wall mounted log vise which allows me to slice one end off a log making one end straight, before I take it to the bandsaw to resaw. There are jigs all over the internet, but i've never seen one like this, and I'm convinced it is the best because of the time saved. I also made some more lights for fangs room, they are 90% done, but i don't have to cord yet, so they will probably sit for now. I refinished the old wooden doors on the house and made some improvements so they don't get dirty next time i mix my papercrete. 

Conclusion
We've made progress, and will continue to work hard. Thank you for praying for us, and supporting us. 

Calvin's Guitar he made

Reading a book to Daddy

Bagging Beef Jerky for customers

Trip to Dairy Queen