New Ornaments

We are slowly decorating, and thanks to a family night at a local "paint your own pottery shop," new ornaments adorn our tree this year.

artist -Savannah

artist -Wyatt

artist -Julia

Zach refused to join us as he has outgrown such things.  Andy and I were too busy handing Wyatt dry brushes to try and paint, but I think these will do nicely.


So many of our ornaments were collected by Mom from various trips she took.  Decorating here is very nostalgic as we face our first Christmas without her.  

Our Virtual World

A week or so ago, I was driving home from my Dad's house when I received a phone call from Julia.  Our conversation went something like this:

Julia: I've been online for a long time.

Me: Really, what have you been doing online?

Julia: I have been comparing prices for the Fijit Friend, and I have found that Walmart has the cheapest price.

Julia proceeded to tell me which store had the "uncheapest" price, and that one word was the only indication in this conversation that I was speaking with a seven-year-old rather than an adult.

You may be wondering what a Fijit Friend is, and I wondered until I asked Julia how she ever heard of such a thing.  Her answer was that she learned of this toy through commercials. I shared a picture above so that you can see this virtual friend that talks, dances, and "interacts" with girls.  When I arrived at home, Julia had a chart and everything and made sure we knew Walmart had the best price though they only beat Target by three cents. 

Julia first brought up Fijit Friends in August.  I read the reviews on Amazon as I do with any product and found them to be less than stellar. I hoped her longing for this toy would just go away.  Honestly, Julia loves toys that do things for about two days then they end up in a pile of junk that I rarely have time to address.  Three months later, this clearly isn't going away.  sigh

On Friday Julia had a friend sleepover, and this friend also longs for a Fijit Friend.  When Julia's friends visit, I am just stunned by the way they play.  Typically, Julia gets on a laptop while her friend uses the desktop, and they play on their Webkinz accounts. They interact verbally and virtually, but where is the box of Barbies or the dress up clothes or really anything besides a computer?  Don't get me wrong.  I love Facebook and blogging and all that jazz, but when I was Julia's age, I was all about Barbies and dolls and even board games with my friends. 

Even Savannah played with lots of imagination. I remember when she and her friends loved Little House on the Prairie and played for hours.  In fact, I believe there was a birthday or two that included a bonnet just for such times. Zach never really got into gaming because he had such limited access to it when he was little, but I am convinced that Wyatt is adicted. 

While I know that Wyatt and Julia love hanging with their friends, I am not so sure about this whole virtual world.  Anybody else out there wishing for more real play?

Endings

Zach's team wrapped up the football season on Friday night. We had such fun watching these boys play and break new ground this year.  They beat two teams that they have never beaten before.  They were district champs in both season and tournament play.  That last district game for the tournament was a nail biter with a win for us in overtime.  I told Zach to get ahead early and stay ahead because these parents are too old for such craziness like evening a score in the last 28 seconds.  They became regional runners-up on Friday when they were beaten and thus removed from the playoffs.  The boys left in silence and disappointment, but we are so proud of this team and their accomplishments.  


Zach immediately went out for a job application after the season ended.  We will see how that plays out, but I am so grateful that he is seeking employment.  He needs a job because he wants to participate in a mission trip, and he may want to attend Bible and Beach, and these things are not cheap.  Zach also manages his time better and gets better grades when he is involved with something demanding outside of school, so I think a job is very appropriate for him.


Savannah also wants to attend Bible and Beach, and both Zach and Savannah want to bring their cousins along.  Therefore, Savannah has started fundraising.  She sold her artwork at a Christmas bazaar a few weeks ago.  Our biggest challenge in preparing for that bazaar was pricing her work.  She spends hours on each piece.  In fact, in order to participate, she started producing more work in July so that she would have enough.  Savannah worked every spare minute and managed 20 pieces.  We were very pleased with the result.  She chose to sell originals rather than to make copies and sell those, and we have prayed for blessings on those who helped her out.  


My big kids are really growing up!

Most Improved

We attended Savannah's field hockey banquet last night.  I had my doubts about attending when I saw the price. We spent more time than I anticipated on this event with pouring rain and two trips across town for childcare, but the cheesecake alone may have made it all worth it if not for the damage done to my stomach and hips.  

The senior parents did an outstanding job and while I thought the 8th graders might be overlooked, I was wrong.  Savannah left with her hands full of goodies including a championship t-shirt for a tournament she played with the JV team and a plaque for most improved player.  I noticed it too...her drive for success in this sport greatly increased this year.

Her coach clued us in when she said that the player receiving the most improved award for the freshman team was quiet and shy.  At first Coach Sarah expected that to translate to a player who would not be aggressive.  She said that, instead, she learned that Savannah's quiet nature was a way for her to absorb the training and pursue success.  Way to go Savannah!

Now she wants to stay put for high school. Who knows what next week will bring on our decision roller coaster? (lol)

The ironies of raising Savannah

Parenting is such an interesting adventure as we see the personalities and talents of our children develop.  We often see ourselves reflected in our children, and sometimes that's not such a good thing.  As I ponder my girls, I find the ironies of who they are becoming contrasted with whom I thought they would become.  This seems especially true of late regarding Savannah.


As a preschooler, Savannah was quite the red-headed girl.  She threw tantrums.  My way of dealing with tantrums was isolation.  I figured they lost the steam if no one got to observe the undoing. Off to her room she would go and then proceed to throw her things out into the hallway because she would not be ignored.  I would have to go in her room and restrain her so that my new hardwood floors would not be ruined.  You would think that after all that drama, I would now have a dramatic teenager on my hands.  Not so.  Savannah is probably the most helpful of our kids.  Wyatt holds a close second on that one.  She is perfectly content.  Instead of focusing on what she wants, she worries about what it costs us and is reluctant to ask for much.


As a preschooler Savannah was also a chatterbox.  She talked so much that my visions of school conferences to come always involved a teacher telling me that Savannah is sweet, but she could not be quiet.  As it turned out, Savannah is quiet - maybe too quiet. She is soft-spoken, and a couple of her teachers have told me that when she raises her hand, they always call on her because they know that whatever she has to say has been well-thought out.  The quiet Savannah reminds me of me.  I still find myself pulling away from people because I just struggle to speak up.


I remember thinking that Zach was on his way to becoming a talented visual artist, but Savannah would probably pursue performing arts of some kind.  While she loves the band, her true passion lies in visual art, and I like her work.  I can't draw a decent stick person, so she did not get this from me.  


Savannah spent the night with her friend Emily when she was in first grade and never had a problem.  Until a bad experience at camp in the third or fourth grade, Savannah spent the night away from home without so much as a phone call.  After that camp experience, she became much more of a homebody and would not stay the night with friends.  Just recently, she returned to sleepovers and is ironically on a four day trip out of town with a friend as I type this.


The biggest irony has come in deciding on high school.  I admit that we have raised Savannah in a bubble.  She attends a Christian school and knows very few non-Christians.  I really felt when we were deciding on school for Zach and thus for all who would follow him that God impressed upon me the need for Christian schooling.  I felt like He said to me that if I wanted my kids to follow Him that their training ground for life should include Him.  Nothing has changed in that regard.  However, I question continuously whether my children should have more exposure to the world while they are under our roof and we can address the things they encounter.  I question whether the money is well spent.  Without the expense of tuition, we might be able to afford another adoption.  Surely, we could manage family mission trips, a long time dream of ours that has never been realized.  Yet, we keep pursuing this Christian education because we want no stone unturned in the training of our children in righteousness, and we know that as iron sharpens iron, so does one man sharpen another.  We trust the school to hire teachers whose faith and doctrine are sound, and we have found that for the most part the school does just that.  


Of all of our kids, we have always felt that adapting to another school would be fine except in Savannah's case.  This Christian school builds her confidence in a safe environment, and we love her friends.  We have probably gotten closer to the families of her friends than those of any of our other kids.  Now we face the high school decision, and Savannah has surprised us yet again.  She has shadowed at a local school (actually the school where I work), and she feels like she should attend high school there.  I want her to stay put, but I admit that I want it for all the wrong reasons.


When Zach went through this, the public school he almost attended had something to offer that our Christian school did not.  Zach had placed 5th in the state wrestling tournament and wanted to continue wrestling.  Our school did not have a team.  I worked at the school he wanted to attend and found the faculty to be very cohesive, much like a family.  I could trust my son with them even if I did not agree with them on moral issues.  In Savannah's situation, I do not see where she has anything to gain by leaving her school.  If I had been in this school for more than a few months, I might see it differently.  However, there is no sport or program that interests her that she can't pursue at her Christian school.  It has crossed my mind that if she leaves, Wyatt can return, and in this continuously shaky economy, we could maybe catch our breath, but I am leaning toward keeping her put.  


While I wrestle with this decision, I am also aware that I want Savannah to stay for all of the wrong reasons.  Zach stayed, and I was glad because I wanted him to have missions opportunities, but the truth is Zach is more interested in mission work offered by our church, and if he had not stayed we would be in a better position to afford that.  Don't get me wrong, I feel very strongly that Zach's decision to stay was the right one. For Savannah, I think of the relationships that she has built over the last nine years and think she won't even be included in the school reunions.  Really?  Can I justify a decision based on something like that?  She can choose to stay in touch with whomever she wants.  I think of having two kids in one high school as opposed to two...so much easier on the family.  I think that if she leaves she may have regrets that she won't have if she stays as she may miss her school and the people there.  


In the end I will pray about this a lot and Andy, Savannah and I will work on this decision.  If we struggle, Andy gets the final say.  I really can't say that I like making decisions, but here we go again.

Wyatt's Rocky Adventure

Due to the elections today, Wyatt and I had the day off.  After some thought, I decided to treat Wyatt to an adventure.  Wyatt does not currently participate in a sport nor an activity.  Because he is in the public school system, invitations to parties are more rare than those his siblings receive.  His own birthday party is not well attended for the same reason and because it happens to fall at a challenging time of year for yet another party.  He did not care for our summer adventure to the amusement park, so I felt it was time to tailor an adventure to Wyatt's taste. Therefore, I splurged on our little guy today.

Our quest - gem mining

Back in January Wyatt wrote us a persuasive letter about just the sort of adventure he would like.  His idea was actually not too far from home, but we never made it over the summer, and fall is crazy busy here.  By the time we reach November, Wyatt's choice closes for the winter.  He wanted more than anything to "mine" for gems.  I called some places yesterday to see if they were still allowing kids to mine.  All would require quite a trip from home, meaning more time traveling than enjoying being outside of the van.  It would have been nice if the place where I got confirmation that he could mine for gems had told me they were sold out of the gems.  They had arrowheads and fossils, but Wyatt is all about gems.  We were just about to give up when we found a small place where Wyatt could do his mining and visit a small cave.

the nativity

Wyatt and I were the only people on the tour, and our guide was very enthusiastic but not in an annoying way.  She just clearly loves what she does.  

 During our adventure I learned about labradorite.  A mom cannot complain about fun that is also educational, can she?  We visited a huge rock shop (with claims of being the biggest rock shop which Wyatt just ate up) and Wyatt asked for labradorite.  This stone is really cool and iridescent. Go ahead and Google it, I'll wait right here.

Are you back? Who knew? Of course, we brought one home.  Have I ever mentioned how much Wyatt loves the description of the throne in Revelation.  All those gems surrounding the throne beg for Wyatt's attention.  He is becoming quite the little gem expert.

We finished our day with lunch at a Chinese restaurant (Wyatt's typical choice when eating out). The day that began to look like a bust turned out pretty good, and Wyatt is now exploring and studying his new gems.

the letter that launched our journey...transcript below

Wyatt January 6, 2011

Persuasive Writing

Dear Mom and, Dad

Can we go to Caverns on a sunny day because it aimmzing and I will be good and I like their rocks and crystals and gems and I will be happpie and have I like the marblos (marbles) and it has a cave and what I love the bat eggs and the stones and the candy store and the shark toofs.  You might say too much money but I have a solution I will save my moneyI ben there one time.

Really, did we have any choice but to take him?  He had a persuasive letter with a solution and everything.  

Did I mention that we had a beautiful day?  I don't think I have ever enjoyed fall as much as this year.

Zach's turn

What have I done?

A few years ago, I cut school pictures out of our annual purchases.  I decided that few kids really ever want to see middle school pictures again.  I mean, really, do you like your middle school pictures?  I also found that some of my kids do better with school pictures than others.  I have a great camera that I saved and saved for over the course of about three years, and I figured I should put it to good use.  I really want to get nice fall pictures with beautiful golden, orange, and red leaves serving as a backdrop.  Unfortunately, by November the trees in our area are mostly bare, and October is, well, just so busy.  Today I raced Savannah, Wyatt and Julia to a park before Zach's football game to try and get some good pictures.  I must say that I am more than happy with the result.  In fact, I think picking out a few will be a bit of a problem.  So, I am now going to bore you with an abundance of pictures of my kids.  In the digital age, do I really have to choose?

Obviously, I have had some fun with www.picnik.com.  I have learned some things about taking pictures.  As much as possible, avoid patterns on the clothing of the people.  Solid colors bring the focus to the face of the person.  Make sure the sun is at your side.  If it is behind the photographer, the subject squints.  Watch for shadows.  They can be distracting.  Looking through a lens as opposed to looking at a screen helps tremendously with this.  Of course, sometimes a kiss of sun on part of the face makes for a nice effect.  I have pictures of Savannah and Julia both in this batch with that effect, and they are two of my favorites.   I like outdoor shots of my kids.  The flash on indoor shots often washes out Savannah's face with her pale complexion.  The time of day for outdoor shots makes a difference.  I took these about 1.5 to 2 hours before the sun started setting, and I think these are the richest photos I've ever gotten.

 Try and let the personality of the subject shine.  Those are going to be the pictures you love best.  So, if you are used to seeing a smirk, photograph the smirk.  If you have a child who smiles constantly (Savannah), a serious look will rarely work.  If you are used to goofy, photograph it.

Have fun with it.  Try different perspectives.  Get up above your child and shoot with them looking up at you.   Try not to put too much into the background because, while it should be nice, it should not become the focus.  

Try and get a few black and white pictures a year.  They are just classy, and play with your pictures for fun effects, but always keep the originals with the original color.  When I finally got to play with these pictures tonight, I was thrilled with the rich color that just pops in so many of them.  I don't want to change a thing.

I have not forgotten my first born in the picture taking business.  Getting his pictures will require twisting his arm or bribery or something. I will probably have to photograph my grandkids if I want pictures because my mamaparazzi ways has really turned off my kids.   I did get a picture of Zach with his friend Trevor after their playoff game tonight.  They were having a good time.  Both boys had some great plays, and our team won.  We will again have the home field advantage (a number one seed does that) for our game next week.  Our opponent will be tough, and we really hope to see these boys excel in this tournament.  I played with my picture of Zach and Trevor by making it black and white and then fading the black and white to allow for some color.  I really like the old-timey effect.  I think it fits our school which is small enough to feel like a good ole small town school, but big enough to support a football team and many other sports and activities.