Looking down the block
Our house - brought to you by Josiah, Jamin & Jared
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Second Day of Vacation - 22 December
Mike had to work.
Arielle and I spent some time formatting her Christmas writing assignment.
The morning found a site that I never imagined I’d see in my back yard.
After lunch the kids, Grandma and I headed for Tinseltown. The kids voted to see “Yours, Mine and Ours”. There were parts to this movie that I loved and parts that I thought were lame. All in all, we did enjoy it. Back at home Grandpa rested.
The afternoon provided time for the girls to wrap presents and for me to take Mom to the local stores to buy a few last minute items.
Mike got home in time for us to have a late dinner and head for the Concho River. Our little town puts on an amazing light tour on the banks of the river. The lights are reflected in the water and the radio station plays greetings and well loved Christmas carols.
Much of the light displays are built around “The 12 Days of Christmas”. I’ll upload more pictures of that tomorrow . . . love having the camera back.
The night ended with us discovering that our very own neighborhood is really one of the most lit up in town…and then reading the night’s reading from *Bartholomew’s Passage*.
Arielle and I spent some time formatting her Christmas writing assignment.
The morning found a site that I never imagined I’d see in my back yard.
After lunch the kids, Grandma and I headed for Tinseltown. The kids voted to see “Yours, Mine and Ours”. There were parts to this movie that I loved and parts that I thought were lame. All in all, we did enjoy it. Back at home Grandpa rested.
The afternoon provided time for the girls to wrap presents and for me to take Mom to the local stores to buy a few last minute items.
Mike got home in time for us to have a late dinner and head for the Concho River. Our little town puts on an amazing light tour on the banks of the river. The lights are reflected in the water and the radio station plays greetings and well loved Christmas carols.
Much of the light displays are built around “The 12 Days of Christmas”. I’ll upload more pictures of that tomorrow . . . love having the camera back.The night ended with us discovering that our very own neighborhood is really one of the most lit up in town…and then reading the night’s reading from *Bartholomew’s Passage*.
First Day of Vacation - 21 December
The day began with an early trip to the airport to pick up Grandma, Grandpa, Breanne and Krista. See “Everyone’s Home” below.
Yesterday was Exodus for the students on base. This is the day that the busses arrive, load up students, and roll out to take them to stations across town for their Christmas break. We have a total of 4,000 students on base. The students aren’t allowed to leave base until 22 December so the busses left at 12:01 a.m. Mike stayed on base for that.
The rest of us spent the afternoon unpacking, settling in, getting haircuts and shopping for groceries.
Arielle surprised us by asking for a haircut when Bre and Krista were getting theirs cut. We think she looks darling…she’s a little unsure about the “primping factor” of her new do.
In the evening we enjoyed reading Bartholomew’s Passage, playing games and visiting.
Yesterday was Exodus for the students on base. This is the day that the busses arrive, load up students, and roll out to take them to stations across town for their Christmas break. We have a total of 4,000 students on base. The students aren’t allowed to leave base until 22 December so the busses left at 12:01 a.m. Mike stayed on base for that.
The rest of us spent the afternoon unpacking, settling in, getting haircuts and shopping for groceries.
Arielle surprised us by asking for a haircut when Bre and Krista were getting theirs cut. We think she looks darling…she’s a little unsure about the “primping factor” of her new do.
In the evening we enjoyed reading Bartholomew’s Passage, playing games and visiting.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Everyone is home!
After an extensive countdown that had me counting hours, we left this a.m. to pick the girls up at the airport. Yes, they met their grandparents in the airport in Dallas, the surprise worked!
When we arrived at the airport Zander said, “I think Krista is in that plane” with each plane that landed. Josiah and Jamin cracked us up with hand lettered signs they had made. This was funny to us as Bre is the one who always made the “welcome home” and “birthday” signs…these were two sheets of white computer paper with Breanne on on
e and Krista on the other. LOLWhen the plane landed, of course, we were all straining to see them climb down. Yes, this IS a small airport and you climb out of the plane and walk across the tarmac to the building. We couldn’t quite decipher them until we noted two girls running and passing others on the way to the building…then we saw my parents chasing after them. What a hoot!
We went to IHOP for breakfast after leaving the airport. Bre quickly took over the care of Stacia. Arielle clung to her elbow. Krista had both Nolan and Zander on her lap. The “big boys” all moved down to talk to the girls….fun to see them glad to be together.
Everyone is tired but home and safe. Mom and Dad’s bags did not arrive but hopefully will by tomorrow. The girls have hair appointments for this afternoon. It’s a great feeling to have all the kids back at home. Yippee!
Krista beat Bre (behind) by a foot being greated by Nolan and Zander
Mom & Dad after their sprint after the girls
Mom & Dad after their sprint after the girls
Back to normal
Our Camera is BACK!!!
And Mike hasn't quit taking pictures...here are a few that show Stacia at 4 months....
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
THE GIRLS ARE COMING HOME!!!
The energy around our home is astonishing!!!
Tomorrow a.m. “the girls” Breanne and Krista, arrive home. I knew I was excited. What joy to see how the children are anticipating being together. This is what a mom dreams of. The younger ones are BoUnCiNg off the walls!
Bre called this .a.m. while I was in the shower to tell us that they are flying out tonight. They have a test and then will head to the airport.
We called my folks last night and all looks good for them to be flying out from OR tonight as well.
The big surprise they don’t know of is that I’ve booked the tickets so that they will all meet up in Dallas and fly on the same commuter for the last leg of the journey. Those planes are small but not wanting to leave anything to chance, I booked seats next to each other for them. We are praying here that they all make their connections and arrive in Dallas at the same time.
Tomorrow in the a.m. Stacia will meet her grandmother and grandfather Townsend for the first time. The girls are excited to see her as she was only a month old when they left. She does many new things now…and is even CHUBBY.
I was explaining to Arielle, Nolan and Zander that they are all flying tonight but that we will pick them up in the morning. I told them that it will be early and they will either be here at the house when they get up or I could wake them up and they could go with us to the airport to pick everyone up. Zander grabbed my face and said, “Mom you wake Nolan and me, Alex, up!”
We anticipate the best part of this Christmas being that we will witness the growth and changes in the girls. I think they will be amazed at how well we’ve managed to get on without them…. Having grandma and grandpa here is the icing on our cake!
Of course, I’m already praying that the visit is as good as I’ve hoped. That we find lots of time to communicate in the midst of a busy Chaplain’s home at Christmas. I’m determined that the shadow of saying farewell doesn’t color the excitement of being together. We’ve always said each new phase of parenting was our “favorite” but Mike and I are not much enjoying having chickadees leave the nest.
I told the little ones we need to clean and then the girls will be home. Zander just came in and said, “Welp!, it’s all cleaned up!” Twenty-one and a half hours until the family is all under one roof.
Tomorrow a.m. “the girls” Breanne and Krista, arrive home. I knew I was excited. What joy to see how the children are anticipating being together. This is what a mom dreams of. The younger ones are BoUnCiNg off the walls!
Bre called this .a.m. while I was in the shower to tell us that they are flying out tonight. They have a test and then will head to the airport.
We called my folks last night and all looks good for them to be flying out from OR tonight as well.
The big surprise they don’t know of is that I’ve booked the tickets so that they will all meet up in Dallas and fly on the same commuter for the last leg of the journey. Those planes are small but not wanting to leave anything to chance, I booked seats next to each other for them. We are praying here that they all make their connections and arrive in Dallas at the same time.
Tomorrow in the a.m. Stacia will meet her grandmother and grandfather Townsend for the first time. The girls are excited to see her as she was only a month old when they left. She does many new things now…and is even CHUBBY.
I was explaining to Arielle, Nolan and Zander that they are all flying tonight but that we will pick them up in the morning. I told them that it will be early and they will either be here at the house when they get up or I could wake them up and they could go with us to the airport to pick everyone up. Zander grabbed my face and said, “Mom you wake Nolan and me, Alex, up!”
We anticipate the best part of this Christmas being that we will witness the growth and changes in the girls. I think they will be amazed at how well we’ve managed to get on without them…
Of course, I’m already praying that the visit is as good as I’ve hoped. That we find lots of time to communicate in the midst of a busy Chaplain’s home at Christmas. I’m determined that the shadow of saying farewell doesn’t color the excitement of being together. We’ve always said each new phase of parenting was our “favorite” but Mike and I are not much enjoying having chickadees leave the nest.
I told the little ones we need to clean and then the girls will be home. Zander just came in and said, “Welp!, it’s all cleaned up!” Twenty-one and a half hours until the family is all under one roof.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
School update
This has got to be a first! We have stayed on schedule through the month of December. On second thought we always “stay on schedule” but we usually go to “Christmas School” immediately after November. Christmas school consists of making steady progress in the 3R’s, doing lots of Advent activities and field trips, baking, cleaning, shopping and catching up on any subjects that need extra work. We have traditionally taken a break from the week after Thanksgiving – New Years. We opted not to do that this year. We had a “hard” start to the school year. Stacia was born the very week that school began. I then had 3 weeks of bed-rest with eclampsia that hit post-partum. The girls left the week after that; which involved much adaptation at home. Given all these facts we are thrilled to find that we are only 2 weeks behind our public school counter-parts at this point in the school year. Whew – the kids deserve a round of applause. We continue to love having our entire family using “Tapestry of Grace” (www.tapestryofgrace.com). In addition to being a well-written academic program we’ve benefited from the depth of discussion added to our family through studying the same period “together”. We began using this program last year with our younger children and Josiah and Jamin (our high school students) joined us this year. *I* am learning a great amount as I discipline myself to read the weekly teacher notes. We began our school break yesterday and will resume school on 2 January 2006.
We have an incredible sense of accomplishment when we look back over the past 15 weeks. Sure, we could be further along, but we’ve come a long way. The older boys had to learn a totally new program. The younger ones have been making great strides in the areas of weakness we had pinpointed. We’re on track.
Highlights of our school since I last wrote:
~Nolan, Arielle and Jared have finished their astronomy text! We’ve been working through “Exploring Creation with Astronomy” http://www.highschoolscience.com/ We will begin “Exploring Creation with Zoology” in January.
~Jared is rushing ahead with his math text! This is a major break through for him. He is scoring 90-100% on all tests and assignments. His goal is to finish his current book by the end of January. He hopes to complete a second text by the end of the school year which will get him “caught up”.
~Arielle has finished another Explode the Code (phonics) book. She only has one reader left in the Sing, Spell, Read & Write program http://www.pearsonlearning.com/singspell/index.cfm. Her goal is to finish this program by the time school begins again on 2 January.
~Nolan is on Step 11 of the Sing, Spell, Read & Write program (the program consists of 36 steps). We’ve had a lot of fun noting the changes in the program since we began using it back in 1995.
~Stacia, Zander, Nolan, Arielle, Jared and I visited a local Christmas Tree Farm.
~Jamin has finished the rough draft of a book he’s been writing for several years. He is now revising it…spending hours at it and seeming to enjoy it. Mike and I are anxiously awaiting our turn to read the book.
~Jamin and Josiah are writing their first ever research papers. Yes, we are behind on this one. I’ve tended to let writing slide because I “know” what they know…but we’ve learned that this is not a good plan. Jamin is writing “Davy Crockett – personification of the American Spirit”, and Josiah is writing “The Hindu Belief in Reincarnation: How it affects the Hindu Worldview – contrasted with the Biblical view of the afterlife and how THAT affects the Christian Worldview”. Ok, ok….no catchy title yet for Josiah but that seems to be where he is heading…at a quick pace.
~Nolan, Arielle and Jared are currently working on a unique Advent Season writing assignment. They are taking daily pictures of things that remind say “Christmas” to them and then writing about that item. Yes, we miss our Nikon D 70 which was due back weeks ago from New York City. I’m starting to think we may have to track its journeys….TX, Amityville, NYC, Anchorage, AK, Amityville and we are assured it is winging its way back to TX “now”.
We have an incredible sense of accomplishment when we look back over the past 15 weeks. Sure, we could be further along, but we’ve come a long way. The older boys had to learn a totally new program. The younger ones have been making great strides in the areas of weakness we had pinpointed. We’re on track.
Highlights of our school since I last wrote:
~Nolan, Arielle and Jared have finished their astronomy text! We’ve been working through “Exploring Creation with Astronomy” http://www.highschoolscience.com/ We will begin “Exploring Creation with Zoology” in January.
~Jared is rushing ahead with his math text! This is a major break through for him. He is scoring 90-100% on all tests and assignments. His goal is to finish his current book by the end of January. He hopes to complete a second text by the end of the school year which will get him “caught up”.
~Arielle has finished another Explode the Code (phonics) book. She only has one reader left in the Sing, Spell, Read & Write program http://www.pearsonlearning.com/singspell/index.cfm. Her goal is to finish this program by the time school begins again on 2 January.
~Nolan is on Step 11 of the Sing, Spell, Read & Write program (the program consists of 36 steps). We’ve had a lot of fun noting the changes in the program since we began using it back in 1995.
~Stacia, Zander, Nolan, Arielle, Jared and I visited a local Christmas Tree Farm.
~Jamin has finished the rough draft of a book he’s been writing for several years. He is now revising it…spending hours at it and seeming to enjoy it. Mike and I are anxiously awaiting our turn to read the book.
~Jamin and Josiah are writing their first ever research papers. Yes, we are behind on this one. I’ve tended to let writing slide because I “know” what they know…but we’ve learned that this is not a good plan. Jamin is writing “Davy Crockett – personification of the American Spirit”, and Josiah is writing “The Hindu Belief in Reincarnation: How it affects the Hindu Worldview – contrasted with the Biblical view of the afterlife and how THAT affects the Christian Worldview”. Ok, ok….no catchy title yet for Josiah but that seems to be where he is heading…at a quick pace.
~Nolan, Arielle and Jared are currently working on a unique Advent Season writing assignment. They are taking daily pictures of things that remind say “Christmas” to them and then writing about that item. Yes, we miss our Nikon D 70 which was due back weeks ago from New York City. I’m starting to think we may have to track its journeys….TX, Amityville, NYC, Anchorage, AK, Amityville and we are assured it is winging its way back to TX “now”.
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