Depart, O Christian soul, out of this world;
In the Name of God the Father Almighty who created you;
In the Name of Jesus Christ who redeemed you;
In the Name of the Holy Spirit who sanctifies you.
May your rest be this day in peace,
  and your dwelling place in the Paradise of God.

Our dear Papa Duke passed away around 9:40 this morning. Thankfully, Mike and the two youngest boys were with him the last few hours. Please pray for them as they travel to Mike's grandmother today to break the news to her.

America is so weird
Our goats need a steady supply of hay which we're not yet set up to raise ourselves, so we have to buy it. Our neighbor two doors down raises hay. This might seem like the perfect solution for us - local hay, local economy, all that good stuff. But there's a hitch. Our neighbor has a monster machine to harvest and bail it for him. Those round bales are more than six feet in diameter, so huge that they are useless to the small farmer.

So we drive 25 miles to a Mennonite farmer who still makes human-sized square bales.

But what did she mean?
Three year old daughter: Mama, am I an angel or a lady?
Me: You're a lady.
3yod: You're an angel that's broken.

Public service announcement
Due to some problem with plagiarism, eBay has quit allowing listings of "teachers editions" of materials on their site. In response to this, a kind soul has opened a new auction place especially for homeschoolers called This Little Piggy Stayed Home. Check it out - lots of good stuff there.

(HT: a commenter at Degenhart)

Update on father in law
About one in the morning, Papa Duke suffered another stroke and the doctors don't expect him to recover this time. My husband and oldest son have left to go to Florida to be with him, if this is the end. And if so, they will next travel to Georgia to break the news as gently as possible to Mike's grandmother. Please remember Nanny Jewell in your prayers. This dear ninty-seven year old saint has already nursed her only other child as she passed away three years ago.