And this is a creation he has worked on over the course of a few Sundays in church. He seems to really like making the letter E. And it sure is an interesting piece of art, if nothing else. :)
Such a funny boy.Monday, January 11, 2010
samuel art
And while we're on the subject, here are some of the cute drawings Samuel made in church yesterday. It seems we have waited a long time to see him drawing pictures of people, so I find these portraits of himself and Elisabeth just adorable. :)
And this is a creation he has worked on over the course of a few Sundays in church. He seems to really like making the letter E. And it sure is an interesting piece of art, if nothing else. :)
Such a funny boy.
And this is a creation he has worked on over the course of a few Sundays in church. He seems to really like making the letter E. And it sure is an interesting piece of art, if nothing else. :) Such a funny boy.
Inspirations
I think I mentioned long ago back in December sometime that I was going to post about the kids' school Inspirations contest (this is the charter school version of the Reflections contest).
And she won first place in Literature for this little story she wrote. (sorry that you can't really read it. I didn't want to type it in, so I just scanned it)
SO here it is.
The topic was "The Power of One."
Abigail won an honorable mention in Visual Arts for this drawing she did of The Nativity.
And she won first place in Literature for this little story she wrote. (sorry that you can't really read it. I didn't want to type it in, so I just scanned it)She was so excited to win first place for the first time!!
Isaac submitted this little poem he wrote, but he didn't place. I don't think he could feel too bad, though, because he only did it because it was required as an in-class assignment and I really don't think he put his best effort into it (and he did win before when Abigail didn't). And I'm not quite sure how to feel about the morbid way this toy died by frying in the sun. But I think he was just trying hard to make it rhyme. :)
It was also tough for Isaac because his age group was 3-5th grade, so he was being judged against Abigail's grade as well. It's always harder to be the youngest in the age group.
Isaac submitted this little poem he wrote, but he didn't place. I don't think he could feel too bad, though, because he only did it because it was required as an in-class assignment and I really don't think he put his best effort into it (and he did win before when Abigail didn't). And I'm not quite sure how to feel about the morbid way this toy died by frying in the sun. But I think he was just trying hard to make it rhyme. :)
It was also tough for Isaac because his age group was 3-5th grade, so he was being judged against Abigail's grade as well. It's always harder to be the youngest in the age group.
Anyway - I have some personal issues with these contests (mostly because the rules clearly state that the kids are not supposed to have ANY help AT ALL and it is obvious that some of the kids are getting help, some getting so much help that it is much more the parent's work than the child's. I helped judge some of the other age groups this year and it was so difficult to try to be "fair" for this reason. Do you let the ones win who are clearly "better" even though it is also clear that they didn't do it themselves?!? Or do you reward the ones who clearly show independent work, even though it is sometimes inferior quality? Such a quandry). But I try to put this aside and encourage my kids to participate as much or as little as they would like. I don't push it too much - esp. with my bitterness for feeling like one of the only ones who follows the rules (don't you hate that feeling??).
But. Anyway.
I am proud of both of them for their creativity. And I hope they know that winning - or not winning - this contest is not a measure of either how proud we are, nor how talented they are. :)
Saturday, January 9, 2010
ghosts of birthdays past
(NOTE: I wrote this a couple days ago but was afraid to post it. I've decided to post it anyhow - and hope none of this comes back to bite me. Names omitted to protect everyone involved. And I do hope everyone involved forgives me for being a typical self-absorbed teenage girl. Really, I cringe. But this is all in the name of laughing at flashback reminiscing - right?? Right.)
Well . . . this idea of a flashback party has had me thinking back quite a bit, for better or for worse. And I did some digging through some old boxes of mine, yearbooks, journals, pictures, notes, dried flowers and other such teenage memorabilia (ohhh, brother).
Just for fun, I thought I would share an excerpt from one of my journal entries January 1991. It's rather humorous. And I am disconnecting myself from this poor young girl writing and sharing this from my perspective 20 yrs later and the opinion that I am no longer really this girl at all. Right.
And if you knew me then, try not to read too much into this stuff and try not to remember me from back then. Just enjoy it as some strange character written in a young adult fiction novel. Really. Try it.
Here goes:
"Anyways, I've been sitting here thinking a lot about my birthday (In ONE DAY! I might add). I remember in eighth grade I made up all those neat little fantasies about what I wanted to happen and I ended up crying half the day then spending time and having fun with ____. And then last year, I was with ____ and _____ (mostly ____). But this year is my 16th birthday! Whoa. Something exciting is supposed to happen. I'm supposed to have a party - or do something big - or something, anything.
But I haven't written ____ since our horrid conversation and everytime I think of _____, I feel twisted and uncertain inside. I don't want to have a "party" cuz then it seems that ___ would have to be invited - he truly is a good friend, but, in all honesty, I would not want him there if ____ were going to be there. But would ____ even be there? Would he want to?
. . . . .
Anyways, I suppose my greatest hope has been that someone will throw me a surprise party but what are the chances of that happening? Shall I say, practically non-existent? I think I've wished for that to happen every year but this year I've wanted it the most. Maybe it doesn't happen just because I want it to so much. Maybe you have to make the best things happen for yourself.
Everyone I can think of has had some sort of get-together for their 16th birthday. ____ had her big thing at my house (which I disliked muchly). ____ had a little group of us and we ended up going ____ and seeing _____. _____ had a party at _____. And I am doing NUTTIN'!
--------------------------------------------- THE END
Well, and it did turn out that most of my closest friends forgot my birthday that year, after all. It was sort of awful. Oh well. Yes, woe is me. Pitiful, isn't it.
But - my favorite line from this entry is as follows:
"Maybe you have to make the best things happen for yourself."
And that, my friends, is why I find myself nearly 20 yrs later, throwing myself a party. Better late than never. :)
POSTSCRIPT: The party last night was awesome. I will blog about it later. Although I guess I will have to think about what to censure so no one hates me for revealing anything. Hahaha!!! :)
Good times, good times.
More later, to be sure. . . . Have a Happy Saturday!
Well . . . this idea of a flashback party has had me thinking back quite a bit, for better or for worse. And I did some digging through some old boxes of mine, yearbooks, journals, pictures, notes, dried flowers and other such teenage memorabilia (ohhh, brother).
Just for fun, I thought I would share an excerpt from one of my journal entries January 1991. It's rather humorous. And I am disconnecting myself from this poor young girl writing and sharing this from my perspective 20 yrs later and the opinion that I am no longer really this girl at all. Right.
And if you knew me then, try not to read too much into this stuff and try not to remember me from back then. Just enjoy it as some strange character written in a young adult fiction novel. Really. Try it.
Here goes:
"Anyways, I've been sitting here thinking a lot about my birthday (In ONE DAY! I might add). I remember in eighth grade I made up all those neat little fantasies about what I wanted to happen and I ended up crying half the day then spending time and having fun with ____. And then last year, I was with ____ and _____ (mostly ____). But this year is my 16th birthday! Whoa. Something exciting is supposed to happen. I'm supposed to have a party - or do something big - or something, anything.
But I haven't written ____ since our horrid conversation and everytime I think of _____, I feel twisted and uncertain inside. I don't want to have a "party" cuz then it seems that ___ would have to be invited - he truly is a good friend, but, in all honesty, I would not want him there if ____ were going to be there. But would ____ even be there? Would he want to?
. . . . .
Anyways, I suppose my greatest hope has been that someone will throw me a surprise party but what are the chances of that happening? Shall I say, practically non-existent? I think I've wished for that to happen every year but this year I've wanted it the most. Maybe it doesn't happen just because I want it to so much. Maybe you have to make the best things happen for yourself.
Everyone I can think of has had some sort of get-together for their 16th birthday. ____ had her big thing at my house (which I disliked muchly). ____ had a little group of us and we ended up going ____ and seeing _____. _____ had a party at _____. And I am doing NUTTIN'!
--------------------------------------------- THE END
Well, and it did turn out that most of my closest friends forgot my birthday that year, after all. It was sort of awful. Oh well. Yes, woe is me. Pitiful, isn't it.
But - my favorite line from this entry is as follows:
"Maybe you have to make the best things happen for yourself."
And that, my friends, is why I find myself nearly 20 yrs later, throwing myself a party. Better late than never. :)
POSTSCRIPT: The party last night was awesome. I will blog about it later. Although I guess I will have to think about what to censure so no one hates me for revealing anything. Hahaha!!! :)
Good times, good times.
More later, to be sure. . . . Have a Happy Saturday!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Piano Recital and Violin, too
Around the middle of December, Isaac performed in his Annual Christmas Piano Recital. I really wish I could get a video of his pieces up on here, but I am giving up on blogger video. I've never gotten it to work for me.
So here are some pictures. This would be his 3rd recital (except last year he was running a high fever and couldn't go). He did a really great job and has improved so much. He played an arrangement of "Ode to Joy" and "Joy to the World" and it's so great to hear him playing songs that we recognize!! :)
He even played while we sang along on Christmas Eve.
This is a group shot of the students (Isaac is on the right in the black vest).
Here he is introducing his pieces:
Abigail also learned some Christmas songs on her violin and played in a small party just for the students at her teacher's house. So I didn't get to hear her (and I don't have pictures). She played "Silent Night" and "O Christmas Tree." She is finally taking lessons now from someone other than me and I think that is working out much better for both of us!! I hope she will continue to make good progress now that she is having consistent lessons and practicing.
So here are some pictures. This would be his 3rd recital (except last year he was running a high fever and couldn't go). He did a really great job and has improved so much. He played an arrangement of "Ode to Joy" and "Joy to the World" and it's so great to hear him playing songs that we recognize!! :)
He even played while we sang along on Christmas Eve.
This is a group shot of the students (Isaac is on the right in the black vest).
Here he is introducing his pieces:
Abigail also learned some Christmas songs on her violin and played in a small party just for the students at her teacher's house. So I didn't get to hear her (and I don't have pictures). She played "Silent Night" and "O Christmas Tree." She is finally taking lessons now from someone other than me and I think that is working out much better for both of us!! I hope she will continue to make good progress now that she is having consistent lessons and practicing.Anyway - we are very proud of both of them for all of their hard work and for their musical accomplishments so far! We love it.
One thing we haven't figured out is how to continue to afford all these activities for the kids. I always kind of had this thought in my mind that I would like the kids to be able to participate in one physical activity (dance, sports, or something) and one musical instrument. But - it sure does start to add up. Exponentially, it seems. We'd really like to get Samuel started in some things in the next year or so - but our budget is already stretched pretty tight. grrrrr . . .
Anyway - I'd love to hear your philosophies on what to involve your kids in, and how to manage it all (financially and logistically). And do you try to provide more or less equal experiences and opportunities for all your kids? And how do you narrow down all the infinite choices of activities?
I've always felt it's important for kids to develop their talents and try lots of different things and find hobbies that they truly love. I just don't know how to do it all.
Happy Birthday to ME
Well, it's true. I am turning 35 years old this week. (Yikes!!!)
Something about this has struck a strange chord in me lately and as I read this book to my kids recently, it described exactly how I want to feel about my birthday this year.
Allow me to quote:
"If we didn't have birthdays, you wouldn't be you.
If you'd never been born, well then what would you do?
If you'd never been born, well then what would you be?
You might be a fish! Or a toad in a tree!
You might be a doorknob! Or three baked potatoes!
You might be a bag full of hard green tomatoes.
Or worse than all that . . . Why, you might be a WASN'T!
A Wasn't has no fun at all. No, he doesn't.
A Wasn't just isn't. He just isn't present.
But you . . . You ARE YOU! And now, isn't that pleasant!"
"Today you are you! That is truer than true!
There is no one alive who is you-er than you!
Shout loud, "I am lucky to be what I am!
Thank goodness I'm not just a clam or a ham
Or a dusty old jar of sour gooseberry jam!
I am what I am! That's a great thing to be!
If I say so myself, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!"
I will sadly admit that I haven't always felt this way on my birthdays. But, I figure since I'm very quickly riding the slippery slope down to 40, I may as well embrace what I am today and be happy about it. I am even very slowly learning to accept all of the other "me's" I have been throughout my life (remember my trauma last year over being embarrassed by some of my teenage self?). I think I'm over it. Finally.
Yes, 20 years later, I think I might be able to show you what I looked like, and listened to, and what a goofy crazy hormonal mess of a 15 year old I was, without blushing. Maybe.
And perhaps it is with this goal of embracing my teenage self right alongside my current self that I have decided to throw myself a party (yes indeed! And you are all invited to come - ladies, that is. Friday 7 pm at my house)! I have dubbed it a 1990 flashback party (basically because the music I still enjoy the most comes from the 80's and 90's). As I thought about it, there were a lot of great things about being 15 (I had soo much ENERGY, for one!!). And while I don't necessarily endorse always acting at the maturity level of a 15 yr old (heaven help us!) - I think for this one night at least I am going to try to throw away all these strange (self-imposed) expectations of how an upstanding, grown up, responsible mother of 4 children (who is 35!) should act and behave. And . . . I'm going to have a party to celebrate. Care to join me?!?
More Dr Seuss:
"Now, by Horseback and Bird-back and Hiffer-back, too,
Come Your Friends! All your friends! From all over Katroo!
And the Birthday Pal-alace heats up with hot friends
And your party goes on!
On and on
Till it ends."
Exactly.
Something about this has struck a strange chord in me lately and as I read this book to my kids recently, it described exactly how I want to feel about my birthday this year.
Allow me to quote:"If we didn't have birthdays, you wouldn't be you.
If you'd never been born, well then what would you do?
If you'd never been born, well then what would you be?
You might be a fish! Or a toad in a tree!
You might be a doorknob! Or three baked potatoes!
You might be a bag full of hard green tomatoes.
Or worse than all that . . . Why, you might be a WASN'T!
A Wasn't has no fun at all. No, he doesn't.
A Wasn't just isn't. He just isn't present.
But you . . . You ARE YOU! And now, isn't that pleasant!"
"Today you are you! That is truer than true!
There is no one alive who is you-er than you!
Shout loud, "I am lucky to be what I am!
Thank goodness I'm not just a clam or a ham
Or a dusty old jar of sour gooseberry jam!
I am what I am! That's a great thing to be!
If I say so myself, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!"
I will sadly admit that I haven't always felt this way on my birthdays. But, I figure since I'm very quickly riding the slippery slope down to 40, I may as well embrace what I am today and be happy about it. I am even very slowly learning to accept all of the other "me's" I have been throughout my life (remember my trauma last year over being embarrassed by some of my teenage self?). I think I'm over it. Finally.
Yes, 20 years later, I think I might be able to show you what I looked like, and listened to, and what a goofy crazy hormonal mess of a 15 year old I was, without blushing. Maybe.
And perhaps it is with this goal of embracing my teenage self right alongside my current self that I have decided to throw myself a party (yes indeed! And you are all invited to come - ladies, that is. Friday 7 pm at my house)! I have dubbed it a 1990 flashback party (basically because the music I still enjoy the most comes from the 80's and 90's). As I thought about it, there were a lot of great things about being 15 (I had soo much ENERGY, for one!!). And while I don't necessarily endorse always acting at the maturity level of a 15 yr old (heaven help us!) - I think for this one night at least I am going to try to throw away all these strange (self-imposed) expectations of how an upstanding, grown up, responsible mother of 4 children (who is 35!) should act and behave. And . . . I'm going to have a party to celebrate. Care to join me?!?
More Dr Seuss:
"Now, by Horseback and Bird-back and Hiffer-back, too,
Come Your Friends! All your friends! From all over Katroo!
And the Birthday Pal-alace heats up with hot friends
And your party goes on!
On and on
Till it ends."
Exactly.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
getting big
For those that may not be familiar with Primary, the children's organization in our church, kids start going to Nursery when they turn 18 mos. old, where they play with toys, sing kids songs, and learn short lessons for the 2 hr block when the other classes are being held for the older children and adults. The January after they turn 3, they join the Junior Primary in the Sunbeam class, where they have group singing time and sharing time (more active participation) for an hr. and then individual class time for the next hr.
So, with Elisabeth now being 3, today was her first day in the Sunbeam class. She went to class happily, glancing back to wave to Samuel sitting with the kids his age in his class, and then came home and announced to me that she was a "big kid" now. I suppose she really is. It is hard for me to see sometimes, because she is still the "baby." Sometimes I am really surprised at how big she is getting.
On Friday, when my mom babysat the kids for us, she asked Elisabeth if she was going to go to Primary this Sunday. Elisabeth replied, "yes, I going to be a Sunbeam." And then she paused and asked, "does that mean I not be [Elisabeth] anymore?!"
silly silly. :)
At least we can always know that no matter how big she gets, she will always be our little Elisabeth. At least that never changes.
So, with Elisabeth now being 3, today was her first day in the Sunbeam class. She went to class happily, glancing back to wave to Samuel sitting with the kids his age in his class, and then came home and announced to me that she was a "big kid" now. I suppose she really is. It is hard for me to see sometimes, because she is still the "baby." Sometimes I am really surprised at how big she is getting.
On Friday, when my mom babysat the kids for us, she asked Elisabeth if she was going to go to Primary this Sunday. Elisabeth replied, "yes, I going to be a Sunbeam." And then she paused and asked, "does that mean I not be [Elisabeth] anymore?!"
silly silly. :)
At least we can always know that no matter how big she gets, she will always be our little Elisabeth. At least that never changes.
Friday, January 1, 2010
I just couldn't resist
Happy New Year everyone!
Isaac and Abigail stayed up late playing games with me and Zac last night. We played Mastermind, Parcheesi, Phase 10, Apples to Apples, Jr. and a few rounds of MarioCart (we're such party animals). Isaac went to bed around 11. Abigail lasted until 12 when we ran outside and banged pots and pans. Of course, she was still up by 8 am this morning and is so grumpy I don't know if we'll be able to stand her. Oh well.
Hope 2010 is off to a good start for all of you, as well! :)
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