Will got to live his lifelong dream of playing for the Trojans. Okay, so it's not the USC Trojans, it's the St. Helen's Trojans here in Dayton, OH. So, I guess his dream has not been fully realized yet, but it was tackle. The year was a mixed bag of fun and frustration, but overall a good experience. We had so much fun watching him play and look forward to more games in the future. (PS- I was never allowed to say it on the field, but this is my blog and so I am gunna say it! "Isn't he SO cute!!" Wait until he is 16. AND, he is the sweetest boy on the planet! He. Has. My. Heart. :)Saturday, January 26, 2013
Trojan Football 2012
Will got to live his lifelong dream of playing for the Trojans. Okay, so it's not the USC Trojans, it's the St. Helen's Trojans here in Dayton, OH. So, I guess his dream has not been fully realized yet, but it was tackle. The year was a mixed bag of fun and frustration, but overall a good experience. We had so much fun watching him play and look forward to more games in the future. (PS- I was never allowed to say it on the field, but this is my blog and so I am gunna say it! "Isn't he SO cute!!" Wait until he is 16. AND, he is the sweetest boy on the planet! He. Has. My. Heart. :)
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
November
Although you can't tell by this Mohave weather, it is finally November. My favorite month of the year!! Why is it my favorite month? Like others, I too love the smells, the colors and the tastes of fall. I love (love, love) coats and jackets of all styles; throw on a trendy scarf and you are fallified. But more than anything, I love the traditions our family has come to embrace during this time of the year.
Traditions are important for all families, but they are espeacially important for the military family. Traditions are a thread of consistency for the military family. They are not bound by locations, they are not hindered by a move, they go where you go and set down roots where you set down roots (and if you are creative enough, some traditions can be packed up in a box and mailed to an APO address on the other side of the world). They tie together generations and continue on through to the next generations. Traditions paint a picture of your family, and they are a gift to your children to take and hold close in their hearts or to share one day with their own families. Sometimes, old traditions inspire new traditions.
Last night I had Iain dig my last fall box out of the garage. I think I gasped like a little girl when I opened it and saw my few, but much loved Thanksgiving treasures. Almost like opening a present for the first time. I thought I would share with you some of our treasures, in case your family is looking for a new tradition this fall. Or, better yet, share with me some of your favorite fall traditions.
I like for our whole month to center around and lead up to Thanksgiving day, so we start right at the beginning of November. For years we have used a little resource from FamilyLife called "ThanksLiving Treasures." It is a little box full of all sorts of things to look at while reading through the Thanksgiving story. The box goes very well with FamilyLife's book Thanksgiving: A Time to Remeber, by Barbara Rainey. It is a keepsake book that also has a wonderful Thanksgiving CD with hymns for the season. We also read through a newer book by Barbara Rainey called, "Growing Together in Gratitude; Stories of Faith for Families" This is good for older children as it touches on some difficult circumstances people have gone through and still managed to give thanks to God in all things. Every year we re-memorize Ps. 100. This is the Psalm the pilgrims recited when they first saw land. This year we are adding a new memory vs. Ps. 77:11-14.
On Thanksgiving day, we also go around the table and say what we are thankful for, but we place 5 kernels of corn on each persons plate. The kernels represent a particularly hard winter for the pilgrims when each person's food ration was only 5 kernels of corn, and yet no one died of starvation that winter. We say one thing we are thankful for per each kernel of corn. I think this year I will grow that tradition by writing down each persons response. We do the traditional meal at that day, but for breakfast we always have french toast casserole!!
What I love best about traditions, is you can't really get them wrong. They can be simple and silly or deep and meaningful; sometimes they show up spontaneously and sometimes great planning goes into them. However they present themselves, I always love having them around!
Traditions are important for all families, but they are espeacially important for the military family. Traditions are a thread of consistency for the military family. They are not bound by locations, they are not hindered by a move, they go where you go and set down roots where you set down roots (and if you are creative enough, some traditions can be packed up in a box and mailed to an APO address on the other side of the world). They tie together generations and continue on through to the next generations. Traditions paint a picture of your family, and they are a gift to your children to take and hold close in their hearts or to share one day with their own families. Sometimes, old traditions inspire new traditions.
Last night I had Iain dig my last fall box out of the garage. I think I gasped like a little girl when I opened it and saw my few, but much loved Thanksgiving treasures. Almost like opening a present for the first time. I thought I would share with you some of our treasures, in case your family is looking for a new tradition this fall. Or, better yet, share with me some of your favorite fall traditions.
I like for our whole month to center around and lead up to Thanksgiving day, so we start right at the beginning of November. For years we have used a little resource from FamilyLife called "ThanksLiving Treasures." It is a little box full of all sorts of things to look at while reading through the Thanksgiving story. The box goes very well with FamilyLife's book Thanksgiving: A Time to Remeber, by Barbara Rainey. It is a keepsake book that also has a wonderful Thanksgiving CD with hymns for the season. We also read through a newer book by Barbara Rainey called, "Growing Together in Gratitude; Stories of Faith for Families" This is good for older children as it touches on some difficult circumstances people have gone through and still managed to give thanks to God in all things. Every year we re-memorize Ps. 100. This is the Psalm the pilgrims recited when they first saw land. This year we are adding a new memory vs. Ps. 77:11-14.
On Thanksgiving day, we also go around the table and say what we are thankful for, but we place 5 kernels of corn on each persons plate. The kernels represent a particularly hard winter for the pilgrims when each person's food ration was only 5 kernels of corn, and yet no one died of starvation that winter. We say one thing we are thankful for per each kernel of corn. I think this year I will grow that tradition by writing down each persons response. We do the traditional meal at that day, but for breakfast we always have french toast casserole!!
What I love best about traditions, is you can't really get them wrong. They can be simple and silly or deep and meaningful; sometimes they show up spontaneously and sometimes great planning goes into them. However they present themselves, I always love having them around!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Vasquez Rocks
We are in a very fun phase of our lives right now, a very flexible age of our kids. No one is in diapers and no one is in high school....and we are really enjoying it!! We have started a new tradition, now that the kids are ready for it. We take at least one Sunday a month and go on a fun hike in the area. The kids are all set up with camelbacks, compasses, first aide kits etc... Today we headed to Vasquez Rocks which is in the Canyon Country not far from our house. We had a great time, no one whines, everyone walks on their own....fun, fun, fun!! Oh, and we like to stop at McDonalds for ice cream afterwards!
Fall Festival and Reformation Day
As October is drawing to a close we have been enjoying some of our Ferguson Fall traditions. The first one is the AWANA Fall Festival. This event is put on at the chapel by our amazing AWANA directors, volunteers and parents. It is a fun night with all the trimings of a fall festival. The big kids aren't much in to dressing up, but Emmie didn't miss her chance and went as a LOVELY Queen Ester. (A side note on our AWANA program; we are currently the largest AWANA in the Dept. of Defense AND our Fall Festival brought in 465 attenders!!)
Our other recently added tradition is to formally celebrtate Reformation Day (Oct 31, 1514). We have some great friends here at Edwards that throw a super Reformation party complete with games to throw the "Papal bull" in the fire and "pin the 95 thesis on the door". They even had a Wertburg castle box maze in the backyard. Luther (aka Iain) as well as Calvin and Bucer were there to teach us more about how the Reformation came to be. I went dressed as Katharina, Luther's wife who came out of the convent. Abbie was also a nun who left the convent to follow Luther's teaching. Will was Fredrick the Wise and Mollie and EmmaLee represented the "mouse that roared" (aka, small Wittenburg raoring across Europe) I promise I didn't make that up, a professor I listened to through Covenant Seminary said it, so I figured it was a valid Reformation costume. :)
Our other recently added tradition is to formally celebrtate Reformation Day (Oct 31, 1514). We have some great friends here at Edwards that throw a super Reformation party complete with games to throw the "Papal bull" in the fire and "pin the 95 thesis on the door". They even had a Wertburg castle box maze in the backyard. Luther (aka Iain) as well as Calvin and Bucer were there to teach us more about how the Reformation came to be. I went dressed as Katharina, Luther's wife who came out of the convent. Abbie was also a nun who left the convent to follow Luther's teaching. Will was Fredrick the Wise and Mollie and EmmaLee represented the "mouse that roared" (aka, small Wittenburg raoring across Europe) I promise I didn't make that up, a professor I listened to through Covenant Seminary said it, so I figured it was a valid Reformation costume. :)
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Lots of "co-op"eration going on
As I think about the time that has passed since I last seriously blogged, I feel a little guilty. Then, I stop and think about ALL that we have going on with our little growing family....well, different seasons, I guess. :)
Can I just say, that I am in the "having big kids is awesome" phase of life. This is how our afternoon went with these little guys. They all came in and played with puzzles, which Will and Mollie ran for me. Then Abbie brought them to the table and did the sugar cookie craft for them......by herself. Mollie read the Bible lesson from Genesis for me! It was a beautiful thing :)
One of our adventures here at Edwards has been starting up the Edwards Christian Homeschool Co-op (ECHO). We are in our second year of ECHO and it has been a wonderful experience for us all. We meet every other Friday for the whole year and all the classes are taught by moms and dads here on base!! The day starts at 1000 and goes until 330.
Here is a sample of the classes that we have been able to offer: sewing (Abbie has made a purse and a quilt. This year she is making a shirt and skirt, for her sister, because Mom doesn't know how to measure); robotics (Will is one of four on his team); biology w/a lab; choir; art; excellence in writing (the teacher is FAB-U-LOUS); survival skills; lego challenge (Mollie's favorite!!); poetry; mock trial; geography; all sorts of pre-school fun for Miss EmmaLee.
Not only has it been a great experience for the kids, but for me as well. Last year I taught Geography and really loved working with all the kids. I don't know how much geography they actually learned....but they always left my class with candy (gotta be the fav). This year I have stretched myself a little farther and I am teaching a program called Excellence In Writing to 4th-6th graders. I spent some time this summer becoming a Registered Instructor with this program. It is my hope that at the end of this year I will become a Certified Instructor. AND, if that falls through, there is always my psych degree to fall back on. Homeschoolers have a lot worth analyzing (not to mention their moms) :)
What's in an owl pellet??!!
OH!! But that's not all!! We added another little co-op to the mix this year JUST for pre-k!! This one meets in our homes once a week. We rotate between homes and it is just as fun, but on a much smaller scale. We hosted our first co-op the other week and we learned about the letter C.
Can I just say, that I am in the "having big kids is awesome" phase of life. This is how our afternoon went with these little guys. They all came in and played with puzzles, which Will and Mollie ran for me. Then Abbie brought them to the table and did the sugar cookie craft for them......by herself. Mollie read the Bible lesson from Genesis for me! It was a beautiful thing :)
Where did the time go?
I don't know what compelled me. But I was compelled. I haven't been to this sight in well over a year, and now here I am again. I was quickly reminded of the preciousness of memories and I felt joy and saddness all at once. Joyful to have captured some wonderful moments and so sad that I have let so many slip away since the last entry.
the kids are bigger. Life is busier. So many changes. It is hard to know where to start. Iain and I just celebrated our 14th anniversary yesterday. That is a good place to start. The kids showered me with happy anniversary wishes all day long. Mollie gave us a card, which she dictated to Will, who wrote in his most ornate writing. It said " Dear Mommy and Daddy, Happy fourtenth anaversery, fourteen years being married, and just as long loving one another, love mollie." While much has changed, the one thing that is still the same is the incredible blessing of our family.
I hope I will be back soon.
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