Goodbye, February!

The month is almost over- YES!! Pretty much everything that had to get done got done and we made it through all the various activities (and some were even fun!) But it is very stressful to have so many end-to-end events and I am very glad the month is over.

We had a good time at the 4-H Volunteer Forum in Lexington. Sometimes conventions aren't so great, but both John and I came back with useful information. I built a birdfeeder ALL BY MYSELF and I used a power drill for the first time in my life! I debated over going to the "Build A Birdhouse" Workshop, since it seemed there were so many more "important" workshops, but John said he couldn't imagine anything more outside my comfort zone. So I went, and it was FUN! John is looking into forming a Lego Robtics team and possibly applying for a GPS/GIS (Global Positiong System/Global Information System) grant for our club. This is cutting edge technology, so it would be really cool for the kids to have access to this new software. It could open lots of doors for them in the future. We also went to see my grandmother, who recently moved to an assisted living apartment near Lexington. She was thrilled to show us off to her friends and show her new home off to us. We also managed to get away for a little "together" time, and it was not at the Nine Inch Nails concert, which was at Rupp Arena (adjacent to our hotel). Very strange crowd there.

4-H meeting today was fun. The kids had auditions for this year's Variety Show, a spoof of the Beverly Hillbillies (which most of them have never seen!) John Mark is Jed Clampett. I am very thankful not to have any sort of supervisory role in the Variety Show.

We had Praise Team rehearsal yesterday, followed by the monthly Praise & Worship. Wayne taught the congregation "Let Us Be You" off the new Zoe CD and a song called "Holiness" (recorded by Hallal) to go with the "Holy" theme the shepherds chose for this year. Afterwards, Greg & Stephanie, Andy & Randi and our family went to Wayne & Kelly's for a potluck supper. Lots of fun.

No more big events this week- YIPPEEE!

Another Birthday!

Yesterday was Philip's birthday... nine years old! We had cake and ice cream at co-op, and Dad came for the party! When Philip was a baby, I called him "Philip Sunshine". He was such a happy baby and he just exuded personality. He is a funny kid now and an entertaining conversationalist. He is glad to be a year older. Remember those days?
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The countdown to the End of February is on! This month keeps going on and on and on... We were supposed to already have piano graduation out of the way, but it got snowed out and it was tonight. We were supposed to have the 4-H meeting out of the way, but it got snowed out and it is next Monday. John and I leave for the 4-H Volunteer Forum in Lexington early tomorrow morning and will be back late, late Saturday night. A friend from church is staying with the kids. It's so rare to get off together overnight that it's a shame the weekend will be a frenzy of 4-H workshops... but still, we're hoping to have some good "together" time. Our whole family is a lot happier when mom and dad manage to stay on the same page, so it's kind of a paradox that when life gets busiest, we have make more time together. The Dating Paradox.

In light of that, we had a date together last night- on a Wednesday night, of all nights! We went to dinner and to see 42nd Street. Lots of fun! Wednesday night is not my preferred date night, and of course, there are still those in our church who are certain that skipping Wednesday night service will get you on the express train to you-know-where. (Clearly, I do not share this opinion.) But John and I decided that it was a shame that these great shows were now coming to the new concert hall in our city and we never made time to go. So we're going to start going when we can. This made TWO big dates within the span of two weeks, which is almost unheard of for us! And it was fun.
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The kids did great with their piano performances at their graduation concert. The snow cancellation gave Philip a chance to refine his solo. Becca knew hers well, but she does not play as well under pressure. They played an ensemble piece with the rest of their class and they each played a solo from their book and an original composition. Becca's composition was called "Jumping Faster, Jumping Higher". And it went faster and faster and faster! Philip named his composition "Skipadoodle"- a very appropriate title. The class also transposed another ensemble piece into several different keys; they are learning things I did not learn until college. Overall, it was really cute and they (and I!) are glad it's over!

George Washington

Tomorrow is George Washington's birthday. George Washington is one of my heroes- not only because he defined our American Presidency, but also because he was a man of enormous integrity and honor. He was a person who understood the calling of duty and the necessity of perseverance. He loved God, his country and his family.

Washington knew the humiliation of failure and the sweet taste of victory. He experienced both praise and scorn from those he led in battle. He felt despair in the face of certain defeat and indecision during times when he desperately needed clear direction. He cared deeply for the men who served under his command and he served his country at great personal sacrifice. He was a reluctant President, in a time when no one one knew what a President should be. In fact, he easily could have become a dictator for the remainder of his life, but he acknowledged the duty God had given him and led this new country to solid ground with the constitutional freedoms we enjoy today.

In God's perfect wisdom, George Washington was the right person in the right place at a very critical time. He was a great man and a God-fearing man, and he is my hero. Happy Birthday, Mr. Washington!

"The man must be bad indeed who can look upon the events of the American Revolution without feeling the warmest gratitude towards the Great Author of the Universe whose divine interposition was so frequently manifested in our behalf. And it is my earnest prayer that we may so conduct ourselves as to merit a continuance of those blessings with which we have hitherto been favored."
George Washington, in a letter to Samuel Langdon, September 28, 1789

(If you want to learn more about George Washington, the book "1776" by David McCullough is excellent!)

Snow Weekend

Well, it's snowing again... just when we thought spring was here (and worse, all the trees did too!) Right now, big, fat flakes are coming down. The little boys are out playing in it. Unfortunately, the big kids have school work to catch up on, since they lost so much time with all the other stuff we had going on last week and this weekend. But the snow sure is pretty! I have a full day tomorrow with 4-H and everything else, but I have to admit, it would be nice to be really snowed in. It's only supposed to snow another inch or so, but ice may do us in... we'll see what happens. Maybe I'll catch up with the laundry for the first time in 2006!

Skating and Snow

Skating Party update: Fun with no injuries. Whew! Unfortunately, the Piano Graduation got SNOWED out today- unbelievable! It is a mixed blessing. We are all worn out, so it was nice not to have to go out, but the grandparents were here to see the concert too. They don't get to see a lot of the kids' events, so we were disappointed. But the grownups are enjoying a day inside and the kids are playing in the snow. Later, birthday presents! How fun is that?!

Here are some photos from last night:

Birthday boy Philip with his friend Andy














Ben and Andrew















Tessa, Cayce, Lauren, Becca, Erin and Jaclyn

Hurray!

Talk Meet is over- for now, anyhow. They move on to Area (regional) competition in March. But the hard part is done! Becca did a great job; she is a natural in front of people. Although he has to work much harder than his sister at being "natural", John Mark has a dynamite memory and the necessary gravitas for credibility with more complex topics. Becca is the hostess on HG-TV and John Mark is the BBC news anchor.

We were all freaking out when the 4-H projector was not compatible with the newer laptop we were trying to use, but somehow John got it to work and John Mark made it through his presentation smoothly. Apparently his topic of "Bridges" is one which people find interesting. At the end of their presentations, the kids are supposed to ask "Are there any questions?" and if they're really lucky, there are no questions. You could see a momentary look of panic cross John Mark's face when he asked for questions and hands all over the room shot up! He handled them well though, even the one from the lady who wanted to know what kind of bridge went from Miami to the Keys. Since John Mark had never seen that bridge, he had no idea! But the night was a success.

Today we finish preparing for company coming in tonight, piano rehearsal this afternoon for Philip and Becca's Graduation concert tomorrow, and a skating birthday party tonight. One day I'll be able to stop and breathe again!

The Celebrations Continue

Today we had the Co-op Valentine Party. The kids were wound up all day long with the excitement of it all, but we had a good time. In history, the Upper Elementary kids read about the California Gold Rush and then panned for gold. The JH/HS kids painted their Chinese vases. (Unfortunately, these don't look very Chinese). It was spring-like weather today, so the little guys played outside as often as they could escape.

At the last Co-op meeting, Miss Kathy helped them make the cutest boxes for their Valentines! Ben made a parrot and Nathanael made a Lion.
Tonight we had Becca's Birthday cake. On Friday, Grand-
parents, Uncle Mike and cousin Hannah are coming to visit from Indiana, and there will be an "official" party at the skating rink!

Happy Birthday, Becca!

Eleven years ago, my daughter was born. Amazingly, it never once had occurred to me that I might have a Valentine's Day baby. Her due date was February 13, and that was that! So she missed it by a few hours and got a really special day for her birthday- a good day for little girls, anyway! And she is a sweetheart. She was the most precious bald baby with great big gray eyes. John Mark named her Becca, since he couldn't manage "Rebecca". Even tempered and easy going, she seemed to take in the whole world with those luminous eyes. She could stare down anyone, then wrap it up with a smile.

Now she is a long-legged 11-year-old, still even-tempered and easy-going. She likes to do strange things with her hair and sometimes wears an unusual mix of clothing. She loves to write stories, draw pictures, and sing. Her brothers all adore her (even though John Mark would never admit it). She takes care of them all, even when they get on her nerves. Just recently she began shutting them out of her room when she finally had enough of them... can't say I blame her! This morning she gloated to her father that she is as tall as John Mark (John Mark is not happy about this.) She makes friends easily and is a champion of the underdog. She is a delight.
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It's been a while since I've been able to stop long enough to blog. We are in full frenzy now- I can't wait until this month is over! Here's a look at the past few days:

Friday

On Friday, we had the Progressive dinner. We ate appetizers at Wayne and Kelly's and then came to our house for dinner. Lynn & Tommy, Erik & Janice, Dallas & Crystal, Glen & Vicki, Steven & Katie and Tina all came over for Tacos. Afterward, we all met at the church building for desert. Imagine my surprise to see George from my yoga class there! He had come as a guest of Lisa and Ian. Wayne and Kelly had invited a new couple that they had met recently, Eric and Denise. They are very post modern thinkers and I was out of my league during the desert conversation- no light chit chat there! But we had a really good time, and we hope to get together with them again after this February madness is over.

Saturday

We spent a good deal of the afternoon on Saturday trying to undo the problems the new Norton Internet Security upgrades caused with our home network. It was very frustrating, and we really needed to finish Becca’s posters. Finally, after an hour or so chatting with a Norton tech in India, John was able to figure out what the problem was.

Saturday night was date night! This was our Valentine’s date, since Feb 14 is reserved for a birthday girl in our family. We dressed up and went downtown to eat and then to the Symphony Pops "Be My Valentine" concert which featured an old-time Jazz band from New Orleans. We saw Glen and Vicki there too! We stopped for Cheesecake on the way home, and the snow, which had begun Friday night, was still making flurries.

Sunday

Glen and Dan told the church about their trip to India and the UAE, and had lots of slides to share. It’s great to be a part of the work over there, and to witness the impact of real Christianity in that area of the world. Philip, the Indian missionary in charge of this work, is a modern day Paul- just incredible!

We stayed after church to help Wayne & Kelly help their kids work with the microphones. Their family is singing together at a school event soon, so I’ve been offering whatever assistance I can in helping them prepare. They’re singing a Weird Al Yankovick parody of a Backstreet Boys song about Ebay, and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”. The whole family is so talented- even little Michael-Ellen harmonizes with them.

After Sunday naps (a must in our home!) we finished Becca’s posters and went to CARE group at Ian and Lisa’s. John Mark went to youth CARE group at the Reynold’s. We came home and crashed.

Monday

Back to schoolwork. Becca put her presentation together and ran through it several times and John Mark began getting his speech together. Speaking with PowerPoint is a totally new experience for him, but he really likes fooling with his slides. Ben and Nathanael worked on their Valentines for the co-op Valentine Party.

Tuesday

Today we got the last schoolwork ready for co-op, I graded papers, and the 4-H club took homemade Valentine cards and baked goods downtown to City Hall. Unfortunately, the Mayor had someone in his office when we got there, but his staff was great with the kids. Our kids had AWANA tonight, so Becca decided we would do her “family” birthday tomorrow night. John bought me a beautiful bouquet of pastel roses for Valentines! I folded laundry tonight while John and I watched “American Idol”, “24” and the Olympics. We are tired.

The Frenzy Continues...

My computer has been giving me fits. Of course this would begin right when we're hot and heavy into doing the kids' 4-H projects. The pages were taking 5 minutes to load, if they loaded at all. After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I called Comcast. They sent out a technician this morning, and I have to admit that I had my doubts. I wasn't completely sure he knew what he was doing. Whatever I told him, his response was, "That's awkward." What does that mean?? Anyway, he did it! After an hour or so, he replaced the modem, the router cable and a connector outside and our computer is humming right along again. Glory, glory!

John Mark has got a pretty snazzy looking PowerPoint presentation put together and knows his way around PP pretty well now... but still not as good as his dad. That's probably not far off though. Now to help Becca with her posters. I have to admit, making posters seems like the dark ages after PP slides.

Tomorrow, house cleaning, Walmart and Progressive Dinner company. And Desert Garden Posters. It's gonna be a full day.

The Cat Who Came to Stay

Pepper recently celebrated her one-year anniversary with us, though I doubt she’s aware of it. Pepper is our cat, a gray mackerel tabby, and she showed up on our doorstep last January during one of the coldest days of the winter. John has always loudly proclaimed his anti-cat position, so I didn’t think too much of this large gray kitten. Surely she would go home soon. She didn’t. She hung around on the front porch, trying to make friends with us during the short intervals when we were on our way to the van out in the driveway. She was always waiting for us when we returned. Once, I shut her tail in the van door, completely unaware until I heard a strange screeching noise and finally discovered what it was. I figured if she was ever going to leave, this would be the time. But she was patiently waiting for us again that evening. We felt sorry for her and gave her milk. John got worried. “NO CATS IN THE HOUSE!” he announced. “WE WILL NOT HAVE A CAT!”

One day he returned home from work and found the cat in the kitchen. My husband is a good person and a loving father, so despite his misgivings, he agreed to give the cat a chance. One week. And do not name the cat! The cat, who soon became known as “Pepper”, was very social and tolerated a great deal of attention from the kids. But she was clueless about the litter box. We shut her in the downstairs bathroom in the hope that she would figure it out before John kicked her out of the house. I gave her a 50/50 chance and made contingency plans for her in case she continued to use the corner of the stairway landing.

After several rough days, she finally got it. John looked at me one morning and sighed. “Do you really want the cat?” he asked. I did. I liked the cat. The kids had recently lost their dog Charlie in a tragic post-Christmas bout of Turkey Carcass vs. Dog (Pancreatitis). They missed their dog and figured God sent them a cat instead. John reluctantly said we could keep her.

Pepper is a loving and tolerant animal. She lets all the kids wag her around. She lets Becca kiss her and John Mark carry her upside down. She visits with company that comes to the house. Wisely, Pepper didn’t take long to befriend John. In fact, she adores him and prefers him over any of the rest of us. She follows him all over the house, and drapes herself over his lap. She sits at his feet and gazes at him in pure feline adoration. She especially loves his feet and spends a great deal of time rubbing against them. She comes when he calls. They are friends.

Pepper runs to our tub every time she hears the water running. She stalks along the edge and dips her paws in the water. (She is intelligent enough to know not to try this when the kids are taking their baths.) I’ve seen her chase her tail. On several occasions, John and I have witnessed her stalking the kids: she will hide and wait for one of them to come through the door so she can pounce. The kids love it. She chases Benjamin, for some unknown reason. He used to be afraid of her because of this, but now they have fun together. I can tell that her feelings towards Nathanael are ambivalent; he is the most likely to capture and lay on her, but he is also a sucker for a mid-day meal. She has to walk a thin line between her desire not to be squashed and her desire to eat. It’s definitely not a Fancy Feast lifestyle.

As far as cats go, we got a pretty good one. We are glad that this cat came to live with us. We are family.

Dinosaurs

We’ve had our cell phone since 1999. It is black, has an antenna and does not vibrate, take pictures or play games. Cingular just discontinued the cheap-o plan we were on, so we called them to negotiate a new cheap-o plan. When we told the twenty-something Cingular Rep what type of phone we had, he laughed at us. Really! But we have no use for games, pictures and music. All I really want is a vibrate feature so the babysitter can reach us when we’re at the movies. We are anomalies in the new Wireless World Order. Sometimes we go for days without using the phone. I do not feel the need to chat with my friends at the grocery store, the dentist's office, or the dressing room. We always come in well under our 50 allotted Anytime Minutes. Our battery often dies because I forget that I have a phone. Our ringtone is… a ring. We are dinosaurs.
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I went shopping last Saturday for groceries. Since we were having chili this week, I needed tomato sauce. I bought tomato paste. Fortunately, I had the sauce that I needed, but now I have a can of tomato paste I will never use. It will still be sitting in the back of my pantry two years from now. Sad.
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I finally did it! I organized my Pots and Pans. Previously, you needed a hardhat and a signed waiver to venture into the depths of the pots and pans cabinet, but a tip from the newspaper saved me. I purchased two dishdrainers and managed to organize everything so that it stays organized. The best part is that my 12-year-old son, the Dishwasher Unloader Man, likes this method and uses it. Pots and Pans are easily accessible again. What joy!

The next problem is the abyss of plasticware in the other cabinet. Deep in its depths lurk bowls that have not seen their lids in a millennia or so. Despite previous attempts to organize, my son just does not see the necessity of finding the lid to the Tupperware salad bowl. I need kitchen magic- the kind that can overcome a 12-year-old's organizational apathy. Where is Mr. Clean when you need him?

Superbowl Weekend

We had a houseful of kids yesterday for the Superbowl; John Mark invited Kevin & Kevin and Becca invited her friend Jordan. They were all wild. We ate chips with Chili-cheese dip; pizza and chicken wings. Unfortunately, I tried a new crock pot recipe and they were not hot wings. But still ok. It was so wild downstairs that I stayed upstairs away from all the madness and read a book.

Jordan's grandmother, Randa, has a new puppy, an Ori-Pei. It's a much smaller version of a Sharpei. Its name is Isabella Ling-Pei. Randa calls her Bella and carries her around in a front pack like a baby. Gives new meaning to "It's a dog's life"!

John didn't get anything accomplished this weekend, since he got sucked into Superbowl TV. He remained in a surprisingly good mood, considering his Colts bombed in the playoffs and then the Seahawks lost. When it rains, it pours.

Apparently, it's skunk mating season. I passed two dead ones this morning on the way back from the 4-H council officer's meeting (and I was not only on time, I was the first one there!) Last spring, a skunk died in the median in front of our neighborhood and stayed there for months until it finally disintegrated. It was rather unpleasant to leave home for a while, and apparently the vultures around here are picky about their dinner.

We got Becca's desert garden demonstration pretty much complete; now we just have to do posters and work on the speaking part. John taught John Mark how to do powerpoint so he can make the slides he'll need for his presentation. He made goofy slides about his friends instead. He's quite pleased with himself.

My hyacinths are starting to poke through the ground. They think it's spring, as do the skunks. This is ok with me as long as it doesn't start snowing in March.

We've all been looking forward to this week, since there's a break from co-op. Hopefully this will differ from my other breaks in that I'll get a lot accomplished!

February Frenzy

Basketball has March Mania. Our family has February Frenzy. February is one of the busiest months in the whole year for us. Apparently, it isn't for everyone else, because they are the ones who keep planning things for February. It definitely isn't me! Piano graduation concert, 4-H Talk Meet, Progressive Dinner, 4-H Volunteer Conference, two birthdays... the list goes on and on. So it begins.
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Well, I missed blogging all week, so I have to catch up with all the week's events...

I put a $5 bounty out on my favorite brown clogs. They had been gone for weeks and I was getting desperate. I even emailed my sister-in-law to see if I left them in Indiana. Nope. Finally I tried the financial incentive. John said it was going to take a lot more than that to get him interested (!) The kids searched diligently, but were unsuccessful in their quest. Eventually the shoes turned up. Where, you ask? Hanging on the shoe rack in my closet. I am definitely losing my mind.

Now if we can only find the lost library book.
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If you haven't noticed, the 75% off sales are in full swing- this is a really good thing! I love a good clearance sale! I stumbled upon two by accident this week. I was headed into Hobby Lobby to buy posterboard for Becca's 4-H demonstration and Lo and Behold! The entire back corner of Hobby Lobby was filled with clearance items reduced to almost nothing. It was too good to pass up. But the best part was that lots of the craft instruction books were marked to $2.99 or less, and the ones that weren't were half off! WOW! I found a Mary Engelbreit painting book (which I had considered paying full price for in December) for $1.50. It just doesn't get better than that! Well, maybe finding it for .25 at a yard sale...

THEN, today I was headed into the mall to get my bangs trimmed and we entered at Dillard's. Dillard's has lots of clearance racks now, and a huge portion of the Dress Department was marked 75% off. I took a detour through the department and found a fabulous black silk cocktail dress to wear to my brother-in-law's wedding in May. AND a beaded wrap for $14. I'm still giddy with excitement!
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Today John Mark and Becca's registrations were due for the 4-H Talk Meet. So last night, we're scrambling to think of titles for their presentations. We tend to go for catchy, but I'll settle for "ok" if catchy doesn't present itself. John Mark will be doing a PowerPoint Presentation about Bridges. We finally settled on "Bridges: Spanning the Globe". Catchy, yet sensible. Becca's title was another story. She will be talking about desert plant life and will demonstrate how to create a Cactus Garden. Try coming up with something catchy about Cacti! It was rough. I thought "Stuck on Cactus" was ok, or even "Crazy About Cacti" (this is a 10-year-old's presentation, after all). John said both were way too boring. His suggestion? "Cactus: The Desert [I deleted his word- it was too tacky for blogging! Guess you had to be there!]. (He was kidding!!) The highly creative end result was "Desert Gardens: How Cactus Attract Us". Cute, but bulky. Personally, I still like "Crazy About Cacti". So what do you think?