Just Enjoying...

Being a Princess:

And Building a Castle with Daddy:

L.

Happy 4th Birthday, Miah!

It's hard to wrap my mind around the fact that we have now celebrated half of all of the birthdays we will have with our children before they all reach adulthood.  I'm not sure exactly what that means, but it feels significant!

Our "baby princess" isn't much of a baby anymore at age 4, but I guess she will always be the baby, to us.

We got some amazing birthday pictures, today:

Miah wanted to go to Chuck-E-Cheese, and we didn't want to deprive her or anything, since our bigger kids have always been allowed to choose this on their birthdays, but we did decide to just pkay there and eat later:

Miah chose a very eclectic mix of birthday foods:

And her cake turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself:

She made out like a bandit at present time...  It pays to have older siblings who think you are the queen of the world:

 
I love this little girl with my whole heart!  Happy birthday, Miah!  Mama loves you much... much... much...  and "that's a lot of muches!"

Unless I Make A Real Effort...

... I rarely end up in a picture that isn't either posed or a "selfie", lately!

Well, I forgot I handed my camera off to my friend, Rita, at District Finals, and I was pleasantly surprised to find this rare coaching moment from top 16, captured on film:

Ah...  District Finals.  It's always an adventure...

I can hardly believe that we have come to the end of Seth and Grace's second district quiz season already.  Time flies...

The end result is that both of them will be quizzing on the Michigan District A Team at Celebrate Life and Q, which makes me happy.  It never ceases to amaze me how stressful district finals is, regardless of who you are or where you quiz.  There were some mishaps in getting there, but they are there nevertheless... 

I am really looking forward to the years to come...

L.

Junior Festival, 2014...

What kid enters 11 events for Junior Festival?  Oh...  that would be my kid...

I always enjoy the times when we return to Indiana and get to interact with our "music family".

Grace had a ridiculously successful weekend, including Superior ratings in solo, composition, concerto, and theory and Super Superior ratings in accompaniment, patriotic & folk, improvisation, LFO solo, hymns, sightreading, and duet.

Here she is with Anna, after the accompaniment event:

And with Jonah after the duets:

Grace had her first experience playing in the district play-offs and will be playing her solo and composition at the honors recital in May!

This was Caleb's first Junior Festival.  He earned a Very Good in theory, Superior in patriotic & folk and hymns, and Super Superior in solo!  He worked really hard, and it payed off!

Here he is after his events,

waiting for Grace to finish up:

Excellent weekend...

L.

Indy Westside Tournament, 2014...

Maybe a picture really is worth 1,000 words.

This is what quizzing should look like:

 

And This:

And This:

And if there's anybody out there who thinks

I only care about winning, 

Even this, if the quizzing is good:

This stuff doesn't hurt:

 "Our Cup is Full"

2nd Place with their $250.00 scholarships:

Top 10 Individual Quizzers

Grace, 4th place with her $500.00 scholarship:

But the stuff that really matters is all wrapped up in loving God and loving people!  Thank you, so much, to those who made this a good weekend, particularly for Grace who needed a purely fun quiz to reset for the rest of this season.  Thank you, especially, to Lydia, who is graciously passing the torch.

I do not think there is a better program out there for spiritual formation, for teenagers, than Bible Quizzing. 

Carry on...

L.

February...

Here's what went on in month #2, this year...

Smallest Super Bowl "Party" we've had in years:

In other televised events news, the kids and I watched pretty much all of the Winter Olympics.  It was the first time, in years, that we have had access to them at our own house!  I never thought I would love the DVR option, but I do!

 Kelsay and Kyle spent the night before the district quiz.

It's fun being at the stage of life

where I don't have to entertain the kids' overnight guests.

Just providing pizza... and lots of it... works out pretty well:

I think I must have forgotten to take pictures at the quiz, and, in fact, I can't even find the results on my FB page.  It must have been a good one...  Really, this is strange, though.  I am pretty sure Grace was 1st and Seth was 3rd individually.  The team was 4th.  

We went bowling after the quiz...

Which you wouldn't know from this picture,

but I liked it anyway: 

In case you're wondering,

We are pretty lousy bowlers,

but we do have fun:

Even though I was apparently incapable of capturing Seth and Grace's achievements at the district quiz, with a photo, I did manage to take a shot of this deep fried, thick cut bacon I made.  I'm not sure what that says about my parenting skills, but I can cook.  Actually, I make this particular food once every decade or so.  It reminds me of Mammaw and Paw.  Theirs tasted better...

Sterling was a real challenge.  I actually struggled an awful lot over that weekend, and I am pretty displeased about some of the things I have seen going on in the Bible Quizzing world.  It's the first time I've cried (a lot) at a quiz, since I was a quizzer, myself.  Not to say there haven't been some proud teary eyed moments, but these were the kinds of tears that come from being sorely disappointed with people, not numbers.  At the end of the day, I had one very distraught daughter, and I spent the better part of the next month putting pieces back together.  Sometimes, that's just life.

Competitively speaking, Grace was 5th individually:

"Sheep in Wolves Clothing" took 10th place:

Sterling fell on Phil's 38th b-day, this year.  We had to wait to celebrate until we got home.  We took him out to Texas Roadhouse and saw The Lego Movie, as a family.  Everything is Awesome!

Although I took quite a few pictures

of Phil's birthday celebration,

I liked this one best:

We rounded out the month with a children's quiz that I actually was able to attend!

Here's Caleb answering a question:

And Ian's sweet, little, energy filled team:

That's a wrap...

L.

January...

I never meant to neglect to post, at all!

Here are some highlights from January...

We rang in the new year with friends...

and fireworks... and sparkling grape juice...

Ian has been instructed that he must not continue

to create games that result in his sister having

a shiner:

There has been lots and lots of snow... for months:

And, of course, lots of quizzing:

And, for Grace, lots of 5 question quiz offs...

This is quiz off #4 of the season:

Individual awards at Lela Close...

Seth was 11th, after winning his first quiz off...

Grace was 1st, after winning her 5th quiz off:

And the Team, 3rd Place...

Hannah, Josh, Grace, Seth:

And even some children's quizzing

Caleb's first for the season

(10th place individual, 5th place blue level team)

Ian's first ever

(5th place red level team)

 

 

That's January in a nutshell...  And since the kids are homeschooled we have neither observed snow days nor complained about all the time we have to spend together...

L.

District Celebrate Life, 2014...

Mostly this post is going to be embedded FB post videos.  DCL was really fun and definitely a success as far as all of the entries our youth group brought!

One picture...  This is Seth's sculpture which received mixed scores from the judges (not exactly the most orthodox display of creation I've ever seen, but extremely theologically loaded and helpful, nonetheless), and it will be moving on to RCL in May:

The trio that Grace did with Kelsay and Kyle received an excellent:

Post by Phil Michaels.

The worship band, which practiced together for 2 1/2 weeks, managed to pull off an excellent, and I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am of their effort:

Post by Phil Michaels.

Grace's keyboard solo unfortunately came apart at the seems a little bit because of a memory lapse, but the judge gave her a superior anyway:

Post by Durand NYI.

Grace's vocal solo with accompaniment, which is a song she wrote, herself, received a superior:

Post by Durand NYI.

In addition to all of the above events, Grace's still photography is moving on to RCL, as well.

The only really questionable event of the weekend was bathing suit snow angels...  This event will not take place in May...  Oh, wait...  I don't think this was part of the competition...

Post by Chad Hadfield.

What a weekend!

L.

And So, It's A New Year...

I spent much of last year counting my blessings and trying to make each day a memorable one.  If you have been following my blog for very long, you know that the preceding year (2012) was a rough one and that I entered into 2013 determined to live life and love life, regardless of the circumstances in which I found myself. 

I didn't photoblog every single day, but I did have a record breaking year at 157 posts, and I am so glad that I have a tangible reminder of God's grace in my everyday, ordinary life.  I have learned a little something about being content, and I am happy.  Sometimes I cannot believe that this life, blessed beyond my wildest expectations, is mine.

That's not to say that there aren't struggles... some of them pretty enormous...  But there is something powerful about living a life of love and gratitude.

And so it begins again...

The truth is, last year at this time about all I could really hope for was to check my attitude, worldview, and outlook and to somehow crawl to a place where I trusted God more fully and recognized the great ways in which I have been blessed.  I wouldn't change one step of that journey.

Looking forward, I have a few more concrete goals, but mostly I hope that in 2014 I can do less... and be more...

Carrying on...

L.

Christmas Letter, 2013...

***This letter is what we would ordinarily send out to everyone at Christmas time.  This year was a little unusual, as the letters were printing when an ice storm hit and we lost power for the next 7 days!  Needless to say, they did not get sent out in time.  I am still sending a few to relatives, friends who don't have FB accounts, and those who have specifically requested a hard copy of the infamous Christmas letter, but for the vast majority of people we know, here it is... in electronic form!  If you need new contact information for us, please feel free to make a comment with an e-mail address at which to reach you!  Love you all...  L.***

Dear Friends and Family,

As we come to the close of another year, we are feeling amazingly blessed and maybe even a little bit surprised at where God has brought us.  After twelve years, we have essentially returned "home" and are adjusting to life a little closer to grandparents and with a new church family at Durand Church of the Nazarene, where Phil accepted a call as Associate Pastor in September! 

      

Seth turned 13 in September, thrusting us into a new era of life!  It's really hard to wrap my mind around the fact that we now have a teenager.  Seth is very busy, these days, programming video games on his laptop, creating pieces of art, and working hard at Bible Quizzing.  Seth is enjoying making new friends in the neighborhood and in Durand, and he really likes living closer to his grandparents!

 

   

Grace turned 12 in October, so the countdown to the teenage years is on for her, too!  This past year, Grace's world has revolved around music and Bible Quizzing.  She has won numerous awards and scholarships and continues to amaze us with her dedication and hard work.  Grace loves being a part of a bigger youth group, and she is making friends quickly.  Grace continues to be a huge help, at home, especially with Miah.

    

Caleb turned 9 in May.  This year he participated in Upward Basketball and has continued to play piano.  It was a huge highlight for him when he and Grace did a duet, together, for Fall Festival and were declared "winners".  Caleb has also been tagging along in the quiz world and likes to keep track of statistics!  He works hard at everything he does and never gives up!  

     

Ian turned 7 the day after Christmas!  He is enjoying learning to read, and he likes to make messes in his free time!  We're thankful for a nice playground, because now at least some of those messes have moved outdoors!  Ian loves playing with dinosaurs and Lego and snuggling down to watch movies.

     

Miah is 3 1/2, going on 13... at least...  She continues to be "the queen" around here, and we all love playing with her!  Miah enjoys singing, dancing, reading, and having adventures with her My Little Ponies and Strawberry Shortcake dolls.  As of late, she is also having a lot of fun watching Disney Junior (this is the first time in years we have had any television channels, and Miah can't get over how easy it is to "push the red button" when she wants to watch something)!

Phil and I (Lisa) celebrated 16 years of marriage in August!  It's a really fun time of life for us, since the kids are getting older and more independent, and we have more options for spending time together, just the two of us! 

As we head toward another new year, may you be blessed beyond what you could ever imagine!  You are in our thoughts and prayers often.

  

Love,

Phil, Lisa, Seth, Grace, Caleb, Ian, and Miah
"The Lord said... 'Go back the way you came...'" (I Kings 19:15)