Any Suggestions Would Be Appreciated

I'm so new to blogging and illiterate about it, that I can't figure out how to place my pictures where I want them or how to keep them from keeping my writing from looking ridiculous. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

Life in the Latest Stage

Robert and I bottled 13 quarts of pears today. His mom gave them to us last week, and Robert volunteered to help bottle them before he starts work tomorrow. It was really nice working with him while everyone was gone. He told me about the article he's working on, and we listened to the sound tracks of The King and I and Phantom of the Opera. We watched Mark and his friends have kicking fights with each other until the Recess Duty came over and gave them a warning. (Our backyard opens into the school yard.) I was carefully watching because some of the time it looked like he was in his mean mode, but nothing seemed to come of it.

I'm wondering how Jacqui's first day of class went, but I'm trying to resist hovering, so I'm hoping she'll call me before I call her.

New Stages

Jacqui is in college. How did she get so big? Is she ready for this? Am I ready for this?

I have always been so ready for Jacqui (my oldest) to go through each of the big firsts in life, and move into each new stage. I've loved watching her go to Kindergarten, middle school, jr. high, high school, into Young Women's, on her first date, even through applying for college and getting accepted. I've figured it was because I really enjoyed most of those stages myself, and wanted to help her enjoy these stages. But on Monday I left her 300 miles away where she will be working hard, dating, learning, stressing, crying, and living without me there to wipe her tears, cheer her on, and let her know how much we love her. I know she's capable of doing all this for herself. She's a strong, intelligent, beautiful woman now. But my greatest fear in the world has always been that something would happen to my children, and I wouldn't be the first to know and comfort them. Now, it's highly likely that she's have some tough experiences without me. I'm sure she'll do great, but I don't get to be as directly part of her life. She'll have to decide what to tell me, how much to include me, and how much she needs. I already miss the day to day involvement in what she does.