My twenty cents keeps moving!

Apr. 3, 2009

7 Quick Take Fridays

I have a sore throat. The only thing worse than having a winter cold is having a spring or summer cold. It just seems wrong.
I am ready for school to be over LOL. I have Spring Fever, I guess. My kids are already done with a few subjects, but we are behind in others. I am hoping to finish by the end of May when the public schools here get done. Spenser has already started on math for next year, because he likes being ahead. He is doing Geometry and seems to enjoy it more than Algebra I.
Our children's ministry at church is still growing. We had 7 new children and youth this Wednesday, which was exciting! I think we had 37 total there this week-- 10 youth and 27 children. What you have to understand about our Wednesday church, is we probably only had 27 adults there Wednesday night, give or take a few. So this is an amazing ministry God has given to us.
The neatest thing about this ministry is that we are in waayyyyy over our heads-- and are therefore completely dependent on God for every aspect of the ministry: the finances, the staff, the discipline.
Our biggest problem has been discipline-- how do you discipline kids at church who are way out of control? I don't want to send them home because they desperately need to be there. This week I had a man ask me what he could do to help, so I put him in charge of work detail. Anyone who was disruptive or disrespectful was sent to him, and he took them to sweep, pick up trash, etc. This was great-- it removed the disruption, sent them the message that disrespect would not be tolerated, and gave Billy (the adult) a chance to talk to them one on one. Score!
In case you haven't heard, there is a basketball tournament going on. And my team is in it. As a matter of fact, they should win the whole thing! I hope!

I am not ready for Easter-- I don't have dresses or shoes for the girls and I haven't bought anything for the baskets. I did buy Spenser a new button-down shirt the other night. It was $9 at Walmart so it was hard to resist.

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Mar. 17, 2009

Heidi pics

Posted in Family Theatre

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Mar. 13, 2009

7 Quick Take Fridays

1. Sydney and Reed had to get glasses. Interestingly, they have the same prescription, but Sydney has an astigmatism so they are not interchangeable. They both look adorable!

2. Spenser opted for contacts this time around, and so far he is doing great with them.

3. Here is Macy in her Heidi costume:

4. Wednesday night we had a Passover Seder at our church-- not the full-blown 4 hour version, but a shorter version. It was fascinating. It was presented by Jews for Jesus, so it they explained all of the Messianic prophecies within the meal.

5. We debated whether or not to try to incorporate the Wednesday night children's program into the Seder. We weren't sure how well unchurched kids could follow the program, and we weren't sure how their behavior would be. We opted to include them and pair them up with adults (divide and conquer.) It went really well. I am not sure how much they learned, but they won't soon forget the horseradish LOL.

6. If you aren't fluent in subtext. let me illuminate the last paragraph for you:

We debated= Jason and I had a HUGE fight over this issue
We weren't sure= Jason and I had a HUGE fight over this issue
unchurched kids= 20-25 kids from the neighborhood who don't know much about the Bible much less the Passover
their behavior= would they completely disrupt the entire program and embarass us in front of our guests?
pair them with adults= beg people to let a couple of rowdy kids sit with them
it went really well= it went really well minus a few passing gas incidents and a horrible sacrilegious comment during communion
they won't soon forget the horseradish= I thought the ones with me were going to hurl

7. My baby turns 6 next week. That's not really a baby anymore, but she has promised to be my baby forever. I cry when I see the little clothes that all 3 of my girls have worn. We are trying to sort and donate and somehow tame the clothes monster that has overtaken our house, but sometimes it grieves me to see little outfits going away.

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Mar. 6, 2009

7 Quick Take Fridays

I was sick with the flu last week. I already had the flu in November. The injustice is overwhelming ;), but I am very thankful that my children and my husband have been healthy. I am taking it a sign from God that I need to slow down and take better care of myself.
While I was sick, my son turned 14. Seems hard to believe. I thought he was just born yesterday! He is a great kid, and I am incredibly proud of him. He just earned his Star rank in Boy Scouts, which is 2 ranks away from Eagle. He bought himself a 12-string guitar last month, and he plays for our worship service every Sunday.
Sydney and Reed are in the play The Hobbit. Reed is the lead dwarf, Thorin, and Sydney is another dwarf, Gloin. I can't wait-- it's going to be a great show.
Meanwhile, Macy is Heidi in the play Heidi. She is adorable, and I can't wait for this one as well.
I am ordering curriculum for next year. No I am not super organized; I just have to buy it now while I have the money. We got a tax refund, and I earmarked some of it for school. I ordered the Notgrass American History for Spenser-- it looks really good. I am trying Noeo science for the girls-- but I bought the books largely from Amazon and eBay cheaper than buying the package. Spenser will do Apologia Biology. We have loved Apologia Physical Science this year. Right now we do labs with another family on Tuesdays, but I am hoping to switch to Fridays so that Jason can do labs with us next year.
Our church children's ministry continues to be a joy and a challenge. We have had some fighting and racial issues, but I see God at work in these young lives and pray that we will be able to continue reaching them.
Sydney and Macy got a TV for Christmas from my mom-- it has a built in DVD player. Her intent was that they could take it to the theater when someone has practice and watch a movie while they wait. The other day, Spenser wanted to take it to the theater to play a video game with his friend while the girls had practice. He offered Macy $3-- she charged him $5 and gave Sydney $2.50. I am not sure how I feel about that, but it makes a funny story.

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Mar. 5, 2009

The Flu

Posted in Church God Faith

I was lying in my bed with third day hair and stinky teeth, alternating between high fever and chills. I had missed my son's 14th birthday and the only snow of the season. I had missed Reed's piano recital as well as church and all that that entails. Driving the bus, singing in the choir, teaching Sunday School with Jason.

I couldn't meet a single obligation I had made. And it it occurred to me, this is the Leslie that God loves.

I need to learn to love her too.

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Feb. 4, 2009

Behold the Emperor's New Clothes

Posted in Family Theatre

My 3 girls are in a play next week at the community theatre. Reed is the fool/narrator, and Sydney and Macy are townspeople.

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Feb. 1, 2009

Cut out the Middle Man

Posted in Church God Faith

Jason is reading Exodus to the kids; God is telling Moses what to say.

Sydney: Why doesn't God just talk to Pharaoh?

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Jan. 29, 2009

25 things

Posted in Memes

Stole this from Emily, Em, Emy, Em-O, Emmy Lou, Emma, Molly, MeMe

1. I am scared of birds. It probably goes back to my childhood when a bird got in my house and flew around my head. And the thought of watching that Hitchcock movie? *Shudder*

2. I am completely obsessed with ice. I eat it all day. Compulsively. I love Sonic ice, but I will settle for any size or shape.

3. I can sing a song about almost any word you say in casual conversation. I don't always mean to, but the songs just come to me when I hear the word. My kids think I am insane. Especially when we are doing history and I burst into song about Vikings or Sinbad the Sailor or Henry VIII. Then I have to look them up on YouTube to prove that I am not making them up.

4. I watch the Golden Girls almost every night when I go to bed. I big pink puffy heart them.

5. I made homemade laundry detergent a couple of weeks ago and feel strangely empowered by that fact. I'm no Ma Ingalls, but it was kinda fun. And it works great and is super cheap.

6. I can't watch people get embarrassed on TV or in a movie. It makes me so uncomfortable I have to close my eyes or leave the room. (You know like when they are about to get caught looking in the boss's desk or something like that.) I hate hate hate it.

7. I used to love to cook until now that I have to do it 3 times a day. The worst part of homeschooling is not having a janitor or a cafeteria lady.

8. Oddly, though, I love cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Love love love it.

9. I hate washing silverware. I don't love washing any dishes, but I really detest spoons and forks.

10. I once won $50 in a photography contest and made Jason refer to me as "the award-winning photographer" after that. :)

11. When I was pregnant with Spenser and had trouble sleeping I watched Star Wars (New Hope), Pretty Woman or Housesitter every single night to fall asleep. I can pretty much quote all 3 of them mostly by heart.

12. I try to keep my email inbox under 50. It's completely arbitrary but it makes me feel better when it is under 50.

13. I can play guitar a little. Spenser is way better than me, though. Punk.

14. I tend to overtip waitresses because I used to be one in college.

15. Sometimes I am overcome by irrational fear. Like when all 4 kids are swimming at the same time. I am terrified that they will drown. I pray and I trust God and I know that I shouldn't be that way, but I am. Same thing when we were climbing mountains in Tennessee. To say I was a nervous wreck is a complete understatement.

16. I don't have a favorite color. All these dumb email and Myspace surveys that you get always ask your favorite color and I say green but I could not care less about the color green or any other color for that matter.

17. I am always nervous that people I know are going to read my blog and find something to be offended about. Yeah, I know, it's dumb, but it's part of the whole preacher's wife thinking.

18. Jason and I teach a Sunday School class, but I participate in another Sunday School discussion-type class via email. The teacher emails me her discussion questions, and I answer them by email. It keeps me sharp.

19. I can tolerate a surprisingly large amount of chaos without being affected. Comes from having 4 kids. I barely even notice noise unless it has a certain urgency. Once (when Spenser was still in public school) I was on a bus with a bunch of 3rd graders going on a field trip. I was reading a book amidst all of the commotion, and a teacher asked me how I could read with all of that. I looked at him and said "I have 4 kids."

20. I am a big Loser when it comes to the library. I always end up owing huge fines and so it is probably cheaper for me to use ebay, amazon and paperbackswap.

21. I once had a horrible gall bladder attack (or something abdominal) that put me in the ER during a church business meeting. At that meeting a deacon trashed my husband and the senior pastor so badly that the pastor told me (in the ER) that God spared me. Apparently horrible abdominal pain was less painful than that meeting.

22. That deacon is no longer at our church. Long story short, God moved in a mighty way. I should write a book.

23. I have an irrational fear of church business meetings. No not really, but they make me nervous even though now they are very pleasant.

24. When I find a new song that I like I will listen to it a bazillion times. In a row.

25. I feel bad that none of my random facts were deep or spiritual or insightful. Oh great, now I have guilt.

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Jan. 28, 2009

Fairy Jumps

Jason was in the play A Midsummer Night's Dream when we were seniors in college. He played Puck, the mischievous sprite who wreaks havoc wherever he goes. In preparation for the play, a choreographer came in to teach Puck and the girl fairies how to move in a fairy-like way. Jason hurt his leg in the process and had to be taken to the hospital.

We had been dating about a year, and his parents were not overly fond of me. (Come to think of it, we have been married now 17 years and they still aren't LOL) So imagine my horror when I had to call his dad to get insurance information for the hospital and tell him that his son got hurt doing a Fairy Jump. It still makes me laugh to think about it.

P.S. He was fine in a few days with some ice and caution, and he was able to perform the play with no problems. He was actually very good. :)

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Jan. 27, 2009

Is My Quiver Full?

Posted in Family

I don't talk about my reproductive views very often, mostly because I know what I believe is right for me, but I am not sure what is right for everyone. They have to find that answer from God. We have basically always left our family size up to God.

People ask me if I'm through having kids, and I don't have an answer. I am content with our family of six, and frankly terrified of having another mouth to feed and body to clothe. But I trust God and His provision, so I am still leaving it up to Him. I feel old at 39 to have any more babies, but I know women-- many women-- who have had kids later than this, My best friend is 4 years older than me and just had a baby last year. My aunt had her 6th baby at this age. So of course it is possible, but I don't really know what will happen.

But last week, I picked up some clothes in my bedroom that needed sorting for giveaway, and the pair of sassy purple corduroy overalls from Baby Gap did me in. I started to cry. The thought of not having another baby to wear those little 3T overalls that my 3 girls had all worn just broke my heart.

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