MrPages is still working at his job. He missed two large rounds of layoffs just before Christmas. Both were in sectors that his company had recently acquired and therefore didn’t need the extra staff. His partner of almost ten years, who is also a telecommuter, recently told their supervisor that if someone had to go, she would volunteer. She works because she loves it, but doesn’t “need” the income the way MrPages and their other coworker do. They both have younger families to support. Who said their aren’t any heroes anymore!
Work on the house is a more steady job, with no layoffs in sight. It is looking good though and I do expect that we will be moved into the basement for winter next year, if not earlier. 
After the basement the main floor walls and flooring need attention. Ten years of finger prints and toys, mini-cars, and tubs roving across the hardwoods are beginning to show. Significantly. And then the kitchen desperately needs to be attended to. It is in a sorry, sorry state. For all the renos we’ve already done, the kitchen is the most daunting. While we were willing to be without a functional basement for four years, I really can’t imagine washing the dishes in the bathtub until NotSoLittlePage1 graduates.
Decluttering is also going slow but progress is being made. It took me four sick pregnancies in five years to get to the point we were at in December of 2005. So I am trying to remain upbeat about it taking three years to get back. (I thought about posting pictures. I have some from 2005, but I’m not yet ready to admit that it was that bad, and that it’s still not as good as I would like. Perhaps next year.)
School is going extremely well this year. I spent most of the spring and early summer praying over our school direction and what it should look like. The results are that we decided to use Ambleside Online. Again. I had used it in the very beginning of our home school journey, but was uncomfortable with some of the book choices. I’m older and wiser now and realize that it’s okay to just not do a part of the curriculum that I don’t like! So we’re are happily back at Ambleside. The children are each doing their own year, which makes for a busy day for me, but more ownership for them. SO we are currently working on a combined Year 1 and 2, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 7. I’ve made quite a few substitutions (since we focus on secular education), but any replacements would be similar in scope, so you can get a real feel for what the Pages are doing. As an aside, I recently asked them if they liked the “new way” of doing school. They generally agreed that things are harder and they have less free time, but they all love it and wouldn’t go back to a more informal way. Someday I may find to time to tell you all about how I plan and execute four different plans simultaneously.
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Just wanted to say… I love Ambleside, I still throw my own bits in but I always find myself coming back. I hope you are all doing well. Hello to the whole bunch.