Okay, I have to admit that I am entering this "blogging" thing kicking and screaming, well maybe not screaming, but I have been reluctant to blog because I'm not sure that I have anything to say that's really worth reading. If you go visit my website (www.cleverendeavours.net) you will notice that I haven't updated in over a year. What's worse, I haven't updated my husband's site since I don't know when.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself and my family. I am married to my Knight in Shining Armor, Greggory (pronounced greg•GORY), who is a self-proclaim history nut (dark ages to early middle ages). He works from home as an artist, sculptor, craftsman, and homeschool dad. I'm Valerie, and I work away from home as a Technical Specialist/Administrative Assistant/Bookkeeper/Webmaster at a state agency that provides support and resources to area schools. I really love my job, but I do wish I could be a stay at home mom. Unfortunately, that is not an option right now. We have three children, Aric (17), Arianna (14), and Aneira (5).

Aric has some learning disabilities which have slowed him down a bit, but I figure in time he will master what he needs to master in order to be a productive citizen on his own. He enjoys building things with LEGOs. His favorite subject is science. He really has an affinity for Oceanography. We've been studying it quite in-depth for quite a while now. I pull from various resources to work with him on that. The main spine is The Ocean Book by Frank Sherwin, and I pull activities from various places on the internet, and from books I've purchased over the years.

Arianna is our writer. She loves to write, and would rather do that than anything else. There was one time when she wrote so much that she blistered her fingers and thumb on her right hand, and we ended up having to take her to the doctor. This year I decided that I would need more time working with our Kindergartener, so we purchased Switch-On Schoolhouse for 9th grade for her. She has a lot of trouble with the science and mathematics, so I still have to work with her on those. At least I don't have to plan lessons for her. That is a great timesaver. Her favorite subject is the Language Arts and Bible portion of SOS.

Aneira is our little blonde, blue eyed princess. She is catching on to her letters, thanks to Leap Frog DVDs. She knows what sounds each letter makes. I'm quite impressed with it. We practice her letters, counting, colors, shapes, and sizes in the evening while we are cuddled up under the covers. I also read her stories everyday. She loves learning, and I'm so glad.

We also have two cats: Galadrial and Thorin. They are such sweet little cats (well Thorin is 14 pounds, so he isn't little). They are just like members of the family :)

Well that is our life in a nutshell. . .