Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - May 21, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Happy 13^th Birthday, Kendra Byrd!

Our top news of the day wasn’t Kendra’s birthday – though her family and friends might disagree with that!  The rest of the teens and kids in town, however, spent our school day working around town or at the park or cemetery because the forecast was calling for rain all day tomorrow; so the decision was made to move the work day ahead so that we could do everything without getting rained on all day.  Ethan got to work with Naomi and her class at the cemetery helping the Grade One class; Aiden and I were assigned to the park with the rest of our class and we helped younger kids too; and we all had fun with the work through until we were set free a bit early once the work was done.

We weren’t done with work after being set free – Mom put us to work on some early outdoor chores for the same reason; we also helped with getting Cassie and Michael’s house ready for their return – including getting Mandy home again; and we had a dinner snack fit in around the work and kept going until it was time to head to the Inn for game night.  Cassie and Michael got home while we were at the Inn; came over to see all of us there after unloading their car; and we went home with them for a visit after the gaming.  They took Sierra and Stuart home with them too and kept them for the night, so we kept them entertained too and then helped out with getting them off to sleep before we came home for the night.  Let’s add that Mom helped Miranda with winning the senior title for the games; and Ethan and Naomi won the junior title.

We didn’t do any work in the office tonight, but bath or Jacuzzi time was needed after all of the work and chores.  It is really late now; so we are going to keep the world news update short.  Nothing has changed for the major problems of the world; the daily distractions roll on or get recycled; and the rich and narcissistic try their very best to gain more riches and power.

On that note, we’ve had enough for tonight and really need to get started on our nap time now; so we’re out of here and off to dreamland as soon as we can get there.

Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - May 20, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Naomi and I decided to meet up with Ethan and Aiden for Tai Chi by the river this morning; we loved that workout; and then we split up for breakfast and to get ready for our school day.  The boys met up with us again for the walk to school; we had a quiet, uneventful day that was mostly about wrapping up some projects and the final learning modules of the school year.  Memorial Day is early this year, so we have a bit more time to get ready for final exams, but we will be starting that prep work next week after the holiday; so we are going to be busier through to the end of those exams.  Ethan and I were thinking about that when we opted for work-play at the lab or archives after school; we had a quiet dinner with Mom after that and caught up on the parts of her visit with Dad that were teen-friendly; and then we all went to the park for the co-ed ball practices.  Naomi, Aiden, Sophia, and Aaron were all there too; we took care of all of the next-gen kids that were at the park with their parents – including Bassett, Palmer, Stone, and Jacobs’ kids; and then we eventually came home again with Mom for the night.

We didn’t do any work in the office tonight or even a Magi lesson, but bath or Jacuzzi time was needed and wanted; and now Ethan and I are winding down with the usual twin chat and computing.  Cassie and Michael checked in with Mom a few times; and they had a very busy, long day.  They got up very early this morning; drove from Indianapolis to Columbia, Missouri; and then they’ve worked there for the rest of the day.  They are staying there tonight and will be working in the area again in the morning; and then they are going to drive the rest of the way home.  We’re not sure yet when they will get back, but we are happy that they will be here soon; and maybe we’ll even get to spend some time with them while also needing to share them with everyone else!

That brings us up to the world news update; and the pendulum continues to swing violently with words more than actions.  Imminent peace was again the story of the day for the Iran war without any actual diplomatic progress.  The markets responded as usual; those pricing swings are just noise and really only affect the winners and losers of those financial bets; and nothing changes for the real issues in the region.  On the Ukrainian war front, Russia is warning Baltic countries over allowing Ukrainian drones to use their airspace to attack into Russia; that is a fiction for both sides; and everyone knows that those countries are doing a lot more than just allowing the use of their airspace while pretending they aren’t directly involved in the war.  There is an obvious escalation in the war from both sides, and while Ukrainian leaders are claiming victories because of their drone strikes successes; the consequences from the Russian retaliations are devastating their country and people while ‘western’ leaders watch on and cheer for those ‘sacrifices’ for freedom.

As always, there are other stories happening around the world that don’t get the same attention as the wars and politics, but we keep track; and know that the stresses we’ve mentioned regularly continue to spread and grow; and we can only continue to hope for better for everyone while keeping our expectations low.

That’s enough for tonight.  We only have one school day left for actual studies before the annual Memorial Day weekend work day around town, but we are going to be busier as we get ready for the weekend; and need to get the sleep while we can.  Stay tuned; since we are looking forward to the first holiday weekend of the summer and hope that it will be amazing for all of our favorite people!

Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - May 19, 2026

 

Ehlana and Aiden + Naomi and Ethan:

Happy 4^th Birthday, Luke Norton!

Happy 8^th Anniversary, Mitch and Lynn Bassett!

We can report that the top local celebrations of the day have been happy for everyone involved, but we didn’t join in on any of that fun while busy with school and our usual Tuesday music practices.  Ethan and I heard some of the details from Cassie and Michael via messages; since they were in Indianapolis today and missed out on the fun for their cousins and nephew too – along with a report from Sophia and Aaron because they were briefly at the anniversary dinner between practices.  That was a bit of a repeat for them after doing that last Tuesday too for Jacob and Miranda’s anniversary dinner, but they had fun again and had better food than we did for our dinner break.

Mom headed to Crystal Springs this morning, so we opted for ordering Pizzeria pizza for our dinner with Naomi and Aiden; and ate that meal by the river behind the pizzeria; and watched some of the baseball and play fun at the park from a distance that many of our cousins and aunts and uncles were at – including their own Pizzeria pizza picnic dinner that went along with the baseball.  Our academic play time was good – though not all of our classmates would agree; since we had a serious science test along with the rest of our studies and project work.  The school band practice was all about getting ready for the Memorial Day parade, and then after that pizza food break; we switched to the final practice for the teen praise team program we’ll be sharing with the congregation on Sunday.  All of the teens involved in that program attending the practice; and we took the extra time for a full rehearsal including the skits and readings along with the music.

That doesn’t quite bring us up to now, but I was messing around a bit with the grouping of the names at the start of this update.  Naomi and I decided that we were way overdue for some girls-only time; so I’m with her tonight while Ethan is staying with Aiden tonight while Mom is with Dad in the city.  The boys did walk us home from the church and there were good night hugs and kisses, but then Naomi and I had fun with her Mom with mini-makeovers and girl chat time before moving on to hanging out in Naomi’s room and listening to music while doing a vid-chat with the boys while we all caught up on the world news and entertainment stories of the day.

Before we get to that news; we want to mention that Cassie and Michael have had a busy day in Indianapolis, and while they had a charity event too; most of their work was transportation and logistics-related thanks to the city being an important regional hub that is particularly-important for some of our agricultural interests that are expanding through BMR labs products.  Their personal highlights of the day were the time they spent with Darryl and Wendy Watts.  Their college friends are thriving in the big city; they went out to dinner and checked out a favorite club that features a variety of music ranging from jazz and blues to pop and country cover bands.  They are still doing that as we’re writing this report; so we’ve only had a few messages exchanged while they’re busy.

That brings us to the world news of the day.  That won’t take long tonight because nothing important has changed.  We are keeping eyes and ears on the Russian president’s visit to China – especially when first looks suggest that President Putin is being treated much-better than President Trump was last week.  Nobody should be surprised by that, since our leaders treat China like enemies while Russia and China are building best-ever relations.  We always remember that politics can be fleeting, and the current partnerships can flip easily, but we also don’t see that happening in the near-future; since everyone understands that lines are being drawn between western neo-colonial countries and powers against, well, the rest of the world.

Let’s stop there.  Ethan and Aiden aren’t in a hurry to wrap up and resume their guy talk, but Naomi and I still want to hang out together for a while before we get around to the nap time; so that’s all for this report.

Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - May 18, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

This has been a rainy, wet day, but we’ve also been busy – even though our ball practices were rained out this evening.  We were up early to see Dad off on his way to the city for his work week there; Tai Chi was indoors when we got around to it because of the rain; we stayed indoors most of the time while at school; and we work-played at the lab between the academic adventures and dinnertime with Mom.  Ethan and I took care of the dinner clean-up; we worked with Mom in the office for a couple of hours including a Magi lesson and with added time-phased work; and now we’re winding down fast toward nap time.

While we’ve had a damp day, Cassie and Michael were up early for the drive from Columbus to Dayton; they worked most of the day; and then had dinner with the Fletchers where they got to meet Roberta in-person for the first time since she was born in January.  Jeremy, Kasey, and their kids stayed in Dayton for the extra day after visiting his family for the weekend so that they could see Cassie and Michael; they had fun together for a few hours; and then the Fletchers headed home to Lexington while Cassie and Michael hit the road for Indianapolis – the next stop on their work trip.  We’re all counting down the days until they’ll be home again; and we are really glad to be one day closer to having them here with us and in-time for the holiday weekend.

Ethan and I are winding down fast now with the usual computer checks and twin chat; so let’s wrap this up with the world news report.  Actually, there really isn’t any news that we want to write about tonight because nothing has changed beyond the daily rotation of political rhetoric.  Claims are reported and then denied; President Trump offers his daily threats and lies; and the world struggles along without getting any of the big problems solved.  We are keeping informed, but can do that and stay happy even with all of the bad news; and we are going to focus on the good in our lives tonight as we head off to dreamland.  Mom is going to be in Crystal Springs tomorrow night, so we also want to be ready for our own adventures tomorrow night while she’s away; so that’s all for tonight and we’re off to our beds and nap time starting right now.

Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - May 17, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Let’s start this report with the news of the day from Cassie and Michael.  They were in Columbus, Ohio today, and while it is Sunday, they are going to be home for the holiday weekend; so they worked today with two meetings, a Site visit, and two working meals – along with attending a church service that they went to with one of the families leading one of our charity partners.  They’ve had one of those site visits this evening; and they are staying in Columbus tonight before heading out to Dayton tomorrow.

Here at home, we had a lot of fun last night with Mom, Dad, and our best friends; our adventures included a pasta and sides dinner; there was some ‘live’ music play time; and we watched two movies – including one that Mom and Dad watched with us in the lounge before they went to bed.  We stayed up too-late; enjoyed the co-ed nap time; and then started our Sunday with Tai Chi by the river.  We could do that because the rain moved on by then; followed that up with a hot breakfast that the teens in the house cooked and cleaned up after; and then we had a good morning at church and Sunday school with our family, friends, and neighbors.

The weather was awesome today with lots of sun and a high near ninety.  That’s why we were part of a group of cousins and friends that biked to Quarry Lake after lunch.  The campground fully-opens next weekend, but they have a full crew of college students working there already to get ready for the summer season; and they let us help out with ‘testing’ some of the equipment – including the rock walls, zip lines, and Aqua Bikes.  We had fun with all of that; went for a cool-down swim in the still-chilly water; and biked home in time for the teens or kids that needed to be back for one of the buffets at the Inn.  We were not among those lucky diners tonight – we went home for a quiet dinner with Mom and Dad; cleaned up from that meal too; and then we all worked in the office for a couple of hours before Dad was ready for his week in the city.  Mom did a Magi lesson with us too; and then we moved on to bath or Jacuzzi time to get cleaned up from our play afternoon.

That brings us up to now, and we’re getting tired fast; so let’s get right to the world news report.  After the non-news from President Trump’s visit to China; he’s moved on to another round of demands for peace with Iran.  No, nothing changed with those demands beyond the number of items on the list.  This time, there are five main points; Iran will still not agree to any of them; and they came with the same threats of re-starting the bombing and worse if Iran does not basically surrender.  We are glad that the fighting and bombing hasn’t resumed yet, but the economic damage continues to build; and going back to war would just make that worse while still not solving anything.

In Ukraine, Russia is hitting Ukraine hard and the front lines continue to move west very slowly.  The Ukrainian armed forces are putting most of their offensive efforts into drone attacks that are primarily on civilian targets in Russia as they adapt to Russia’s air and anti-drone systems.  Yes, they have some ‘successes’ that cause some damage and kill handfuls of civilians, but the impact mostly angers Russian citizens; and that just hardens positions in support of the Russian leaders and troops.  There has been another round of scandals in Ukraine too, but those details are tough to verify; since half of those scandals eventually prove to be fabricated as politicians and business leaders move from the ‘right’ to the ‘wrong’ side of power and get taken down by the leaders currently in-charge.  Finally for tonight, unrest continues to be on the rise around the world with protests, fighting, and more being reported every day in a lot of countries; and we expect that to continue as the weather in the north improves and economic and social stresses grow.  Nobody can predict how that will evolve, but we can be sure that there will be significant costs; and we need to hope that there won’t be new or expanded wars breaking out – especially as resources become scarce and expensive.

We want to stay happy tonight as we wrap this up, so that’s all for tonight; and we are going to think happy thoughts as we head off toward dreamland starting right now.

Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!