No snow

for two days now, and now that I've pointed that out it will probably snow tonight, ruining my spring yet again. But, some of my crocuses are still blooming- their little purple heads are drooping and yet they haven't given up. The daffodils are budding all over my front flower beds, and I am excited to see them open soon.

Just to keep some economic perspective, here are some stats:

2009
8% unemployment rate
4.5 % interest rate

27 years ago, in 1982:
12% unemployment rate
17% interest rate

So, seriously? I'm thinking that the less TV/Radio "news" I listen to, the more optimistic I feel. Because I can look at the stats and see for myself that it really isn't as bad as CNN claims. I mean honestly, we aren't even CLOSE to 30% unemployment, which was what the stats were in the 1930's, during the Great Depression.

And on to more important [:) at least in my life] things: Hyrum finished his reading workbook [goodbye Little Critter, we will miss your stories about lost kittens and naughty puppies]. He is reading out of the beginning books that my mom gave me, and needs very little help with the words. This is a good thing, as we are reading words like "garden" and "four furry feet" instead of "max sat on a mat." So his reading practice now consists of 3 of these little readers a day. I also ordered cursive writing workbooks for Morgen, which she's added to her school schedule, and math workbooks for Hyrum, also now in his school schedule. Depending on how quickly we finish up Walker's math [currently about 50 lessons/tests left], we should be finished by the end of May. :0

Gratitude List:
* good weather
* treats ;)
* outside walking
* text messaging my husband, just because I can
* knitting projects
* peace in the house
* hope is slowly creeping into my soul
* podcasts to keep me optimistic
* good books, especially Good Books [scriptures]
* my family
* my friends
* we finished school with no complaints and excitement about new workbooks.