We Built A Robot Today...

This is secretly why I love homeschooling!

That is all.

L.

First Stage Show...

... of the year!

I love that we have a local theater that offers great kids stage shows for cheap!  Since we moved here 5+ years ago, we have been snagging tickets to pretty much everything, because you can't beat $4.00/seat!

We used to get all dressed up, because I had these grandiose plans to teach proper theater etiquette.  Then we realized that most everyone else came in jeans and T-shirts, so we've been slacking a little bit!

Here are the kids waiting for, "How I Became a Pirate"!

It was a good show.  I expect Ian will find some buried treasure any day now...  Well, if it ever warms up!

L.

Grandparents...

… are great!

We really couldn’t have had the weekend we had without grandparents!  THANK YOU!  We love you all!

 Mmmm...  Big Boy!  We met up with Grandma and Grandpa H. for dinner on the 20th!

 Getting ready to leave Grandma and Grandpa M's.  Ian is crying, because he wants to stay.

L.

This Post...

… has been in the making for a very long time.

I Kings 19:9-15

“And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”  The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”  Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.  Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”  The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came…” (NIV, 1984).

Sometimes I feel like Elijah.  For the past several years, “Go back the way you came” has been rolling around in my head.  Not that I felt that God was necessarily instructing me to literally “go back” (and stay there, wherever “back” is), but the “way you came” part has been quite tangible.  And so, there has been this process of walking back through many, many scenes of my life.  I recently came across a quote in Donald Miller’s book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years .  It said, “She knows who she is. She just forgot for a little while.”  Yes.  Yes, this is me.

After a really long searching process, I finally threw up my (figurative) hands and said, “OK…  What am I missing?”  And then, something really unexpected happened.  You see, like Elijah, I had re-visited the wind… and the earthquake… and the fire.  Surely those were the events that made me who I am, right?  It’s always the crisis moments that form and shape us, isn’t it?  Maybe not so much…

As many of you know, I quizmastered on Saturday at the Lela Close Memorial Tournament and had a wonderful day.  One of the highlights for me was to talk with the team from Brighton Naz, which was the first Nazarene church I ever attended and where I spent my early teen years.  Through a series of events and conversations, the Brighton coach asked us to come to their practice on Sunday afternoon, and so we did.

There are maybe 3-5 people on the entire face of the Earth to whom this picture of the day will have significance.  I am one of them:

I can remember waiting for this box to arrive... new!

My understanding is that it was almost thrown out but then someone recognized what it is...

This resulted in the Brighton team *not* getting a new computerized set...

How bad is it that I'm selfishly glad it happened that way?

Taking a seat on “White 2”, it occurred to me that this was the last piece.  I had walked my spiritual journey all the way back to the gentle whisper. 
 

In addition to new friends and a great opportunity to help them; they helped me, too.  I actually got a complete tour of the many new additions to the building and programs, and I enjoyed sharing a little bit of history as I explained what “used to be here” and how “that used to look like this”.  I am sure I must have seemed a little bit crazy when tears sprung to my eyes in the youth offices, which used to be the teen room.  But it was all good.

Little stuff…  It matters…  Now what?

L.      

Welcome Home…

Today has been a really fantastic day.  My emotions are running exceptionally high, which is sometimes resulting in tears, but it’s all good.

Ready to Start Our Day:

I’m not sure what I expected to feel like, returning to my home district, EMD, after so many years.  I was pregnant with Grace when I last quizmastered on EMD, and of course it was quite a number of years before that when I last quizzed.  I felt exceptionally old when asked, today, how many years I had been involved in teen quizzing.  Nineteen.  That’s a big number, especially considering even the oldest kids on the seats today were not yet born when I started quizzing!

On our drive to the quiz, we passed my High School, and the town is just unrecognizable.  I have driven by a few times in recent years, but it’s always a little bit of a shock.  Things change.  Life changes.  But today, although many things were new and different, I got a glimpse into a few rare moments of feeling as if things stay the same, too…

I love old friends.  I know I mentioned this a couple of weeks back, but today I got to see quite a few old friends, and there is just something special about a hug that comes with the understanding that even though years have separated us, and even though we don’t look young… or thin… and even though our hair is turning gray now, there are still common bonds that can’t be broken… things that keep us together and that span decades…  decades…

So… today I was in my element.  I was home.  And I even figured out the new software in about 2 ½ minutes, with a little help.  Having an amazing day is always good, but avoiding embarrassment doesn’t hurt, either!

How did the quiz go?

Seth and Grace did really well, as has become their M.O.  Grace found herself in a tie for 1^st/2^nd place with an 86.67 average and had to participate in a 5 question quiz off, which also ended in a tie.  This resulted in sudden death, and although she took a great jump and came from the right passage on question 6, she couldn’t quite pull it out.  So, she finished in second place and brought home a $750.00 scholarship to Olivet Nazarene University!  Let’s not forget she is 11!  No shame in that!  Seth had a 61.67 average, also very good.  He also received recognition for his willingness to jump (see below)!  The team entered the tournament seeded 10^th and finished in 6^th.  Now, if we could just pick up another quizzer… or two… or three!

Seth being rewarded for his 13 (out of 18 possible) errors

Hey…  You can’t get the right answer if you don’t get the jump!

Top 15 Individual Quizzers:

After the quiz we met up with Phil’s childhood friend, Chuck, and his wife, Allie.  Had a great time just hanging out and catching up at McDs, and then I admit we picked up some Gus’ breadsticks on the way back to Phil’s Mom and Dad’s house.

This is a phone pic. of us at McDs...

Uh... and my eyes are closed!

At present, three little people are sleeping and I am assuming that Seth and Grace are still debriefing.  I don’t really know, because I’m hiding away in a bedroom to type this!

Favorite quote of the day, after our friend Steve watched the kids quiz, in reference to Grace, “She is just like you!”  For better or for worse… in top finishes and meltdowns… that’s my girl!

L.

I Saw A Quote...

... the other day.  It came from the Musikgarten Facebook page.  This is what it said:

"The fact that children

can make beautiful music

is less significant

than the fact that music

can make beautiful children"

-Cheryl Lavender

I don't know who Cheryl Lavender is, but wow... she nailed it!

As many of you know, Grace is becoming quite the pianist.  Honestly, music is sort of her life (or at least a significantly large chunk of it).  She has big plans, and those plans include becoming a piano teacher someday.  She practices for more than an hour on most days, without being asked.  She composes music.  Everyone loves to hear her play when they visit.  People like to hear her play at church.  Grandmas and Grandpas come for her concerts and recitals.  She wins stuff.  I am over the moon proud of her.  Undoubtedly, Grace makes beautiful music.  This post is in no way intended to diminish that fact. 

But then there's Caleb...

Caleb loves life.  He is in his second year of piano classes, and he is at least a full book behind his class.  He doesn't really care, because he is hanging out with his friends (most of them have been in music class, together, since age four), and he is learning a little bit of something about music.  Most people don't ask to hear him play when they come over.    He practices when he thinks about it, which is roughly twice a week... for around 30 minutes.  But today was "Mini Musicale", so he put in about an hour.  I can't begin to tell you how many times I listened to "Oranges and Lemons" today.

At any rate, I joined him for Mini Musicale, but I knew we would have to leave early, as our basketball schedule is right on top of music class for the next nine weeks.  I love to participate with Caleb in class... and what I mean by participate is watch.  Caleb always... always... thinks I need to dance (even if the other parents are not).  So, of course, I do (if you can call it that...  I am seriously challenged in this area).  After the longest dance of all time (well, except for "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy", to which I was subjected at the Christmas party, and may I say that Phil does a mean sugar plum fairy... much better than me), I paused to grab my camera, and the class was already dancing the new dance before Caleb realized I was conspicuously missing.  I was so glad to capture this shot.  Music does, indeed, make beautiful children"!

 

Shortly after the dancing, we had to go.  The actual Mini Musicale, where the kids get to play several selections for the parents who are present, hadn't happened yet.  As we walked through the doorway, Caleb exclaimed, "Mom!  All my practice will be wasted!"  We walked back in and I asked if Caleb could go first.  Of course, he played "Oranges and Lemons"... and you know what?  He played it just perfectly and got a star!

I wonder what we'll be listening to next week? 

L. 

Some Things Are Just Priceless...

... like watching your former race car driving dad as he learns to play Mario Kart Wii from his grandkids!

 L.

P.S.  Maybe the most embarrassing part of this day was when I forgot my dad was coming!  We have only had it planned for weeks...

Fail...

I really didn't do anything photo worthy today.  I really didn't do much of anything at all today...  I suppose lazy days are alright once in awhile...

Maybe it's a self-fulfilling prophecy.  After all, I did say these things tend to fizzle out around day 12...

L.

I Think Maybe…

… The best part of this day was when Grace and I decided to eat ice cream…

in the van… 

for dinner…

L.

“Putting Down” The Christmas Tree…

I guess Ian figured if you put the Christmas tree up, you must also “put” it down… silly kid…

At any rate, that’s exactly what Phil and I did this afternoon.

We had the strangest configuration ever for our tree this past Christmas.  I have an ongoing fear that someone will knock the tree down and get hurt.  Although there are probably a lot of things you could say are neurotic fears that I should just get over, let me put it out there that when Seth and Grace were toddlers they actually did knock the tree down, so there is really nothing you could say to assure me this never happens…  I have lived it!  Anyway… as wild as Caleb was when he was little, he was not so wild that we worried too much about the tree, and Ian was the easiest baby of all time.  For years we have roped the tree to a plant hook in the ceiling, and I just recently realized that the kids thought that was the sole purpose for those hooks… too funny…  It’s been a good solution, but then there was Miah…  We actually considered not putting the tree up at all this time around!

Then we had a brilliant idea!  We would put the tree up in the play room and block it off with an extra tall baby gate that we screwed into the wall, because the truth is Miah is capable of climbing regular sized baby gates, and she can knock down anything that is not at least semi-permanently attached… no kidding…

This plan worked perfectly except for the fact that our kids have been banned from the play room for the past month!  I mean, what kind of parents do that?  Uh… that was rhetorical!

And so… the tree is down!  And the playroom has never looked better.  I’m even considering opening the gate…  Maybe, tomorrow… 

This is one of my favorite rooms in our house...

Sometimes we refer to it as "The Gallery"

L.