...Two to go!
And so far no boy swing dancer has dropped his partner during a performance!
Bantam13's shoulder is killin' him, from flipping his partner 4-6 times a day...
Blondechick16 has a raw patch on her cheek from peeling microphone tape off after every show...
Bantam9's face is sore from "beard surgery," as he calls it when I remove his gaucho moustache; I draw it on his face with a black pencil and remove it with a baby wipe...
And we are all exhausted.
Exhausted, but happy. We are having a great time!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Bantam13 Learns a Dance, Part Two
This show has really been a stretch for Bantam13--as you may recall from this post. He's always been cast as one of the younger kids until this show, for one thing--but after his amazing growth spurt of the past year, he's a little kid no longer. And he's never had to learn anything as physically challenging as the swing dancing lifts and tricks! He says it's the hardest show he's ever done, but he knows the challenge is something he'll always look back on as a landmark event: "Like hiking the Grand Canyon with Dad just before I turned thirteen."
Yep--it's been that significant.
So here he is with his partner in a few light-hearted moments in their big number, the grand finale of the first act, "Gravity":
(Please ignore the ghost in the background. This was a dress rehearsal and they didn't quite have the lighting down!)
And here's the trick that he could never quite manage with his partner, so he gets a lighter girl just for this one, the "star":
(The couple in the back are an unsuccessful step behind, so you get an idea of what it takes to get her up that far!)
Then there's the square-dancing number, "Elbow Room."
(Tuck in your shirt, Bantam13! He does now.)
Finally, this shot is a little dark, but he's wearing a cape for this number, "My Hero Zero." Doesn't he look heroic?
Though all our kids have learned so much and had a great time doing this show, Bantam13 is the family hero!
At Wednesday night's dress rehearsal, B13 dropped his partner--twice. Once was bad enough, but twice--ouch. In more ways than one. She was not happy with him.
The next morning, on the way to the first school day performance, he asked if I could pray for him. We do that, out loud, in the car, on the way to auditions and shows and other times when the tension is high. Later on, after a flawless performance, he told me he knew that prayer had made a big difference. "Some random mom came up to me and told me that last night, she had trouble sleeping, and every time she woke up, she was praying for me. Can you believe that?" he asked me.
I met the "random mom" later on; when we were telling each other who our kids were, she said, "Oh, I was praying for your son! I didn't even know his name, but I felt so bad for him at the dress rehearsal."
How cool is that? Thank you, Lord!!
(And after the third show today--with no flubs in their performance--his partner was so happy, she hugged him!)
Yep--it's been that significant.
So here he is with his partner in a few light-hearted moments in their big number, the grand finale of the first act, "Gravity":
(Please ignore the ghost in the background. This was a dress rehearsal and they didn't quite have the lighting down!)
And here's the trick that he could never quite manage with his partner, so he gets a lighter girl just for this one, the "star":
(The couple in the back are an unsuccessful step behind, so you get an idea of what it takes to get her up that far!)
Then there's the square-dancing number, "Elbow Room."(Tuck in your shirt, Bantam13! He does now.)
Finally, this shot is a little dark, but he's wearing a cape for this number, "My Hero Zero." Doesn't he look heroic?Though all our kids have learned so much and had a great time doing this show, Bantam13 is the family hero!
***
At Wednesday night's dress rehearsal, B13 dropped his partner--twice. Once was bad enough, but twice--ouch. In more ways than one. She was not happy with him.
The next morning, on the way to the first school day performance, he asked if I could pray for him. We do that, out loud, in the car, on the way to auditions and shows and other times when the tension is high. Later on, after a flawless performance, he told me he knew that prayer had made a big difference. "Some random mom came up to me and told me that last night, she had trouble sleeping, and every time she woke up, she was praying for me. Can you believe that?" he asked me.
I met the "random mom" later on; when we were telling each other who our kids were, she said, "Oh, I was praying for your son! I didn't even know his name, but I felt so bad for him at the dress rehearsal."
How cool is that? Thank you, Lord!!
(And after the third show today--with no flubs in their performance--his partner was so happy, she hugged him!)
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
It's Show Time!!
Tomorrow we'll have two performances in the morning for school groups, a little break in the middle, and then our first public performance in the evening--we are all so psyched! It's going to be a fabulous show.
Blondechick16 has had such a fun time with this show, making new friends in this new chapter of our theater group. (By the way, this is NOT the new group I was talking about starting in Kenosha; this is an existing group in the northeastern-most county in Illinois. It's the closest existing group to us right now.)
Here she is onstage with some of them!
It's hard to tell which number this was--I'm guessing the opening number, "Verb."
This next one is obviously (from the railroad crossing sign in back), "Conjunction Junction."
And this next one could be from "Mother Necessity," "The Preamble," "Interjections," or maybe it's the all-girl number, "Sufferin' Till Sufferage."
One thing is certain; it's not "Interplanet Janet," because that scene is done in black light! In it, all you can see of her is a star and a streamer. And it's not "Elbow Room," because she wears a plaid shirt and a cowboy hat in it. We must not have any good pics from that one.
But we have several from her big scene:
Who are these cuties? Why, they're the Lolly Girls!!
You know:
Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, get your adverbs here.
Quickly, quickly, quickly, get those adverbs here.
Slowly, surely, really learn your adverbs here.
You're going need 'em if you read 'em,
If you write or talk or think about 'em ... Lolly! (Lolly, Lolly, Lolly)
They sing in close three-part harmony, and they sound great!
We're doing pincurls with their bangs now, for this 40's-flavored scene, but didn't get it done at this dress rehearsal. We learned we need to do their hair during the scene before the scene before this one, because they have about 90 seconds to get out of their "Sufferin' " polos and khakis and into these outfits.
Nothing like a quick change to add a little more stress to your big scene! I've started meeting Blondechick in the wings to have the top ready to slip on as soon she whips off the polo, and hold the skirt open and fasten the back for her while she slips on her pumps. (In another quick change, she wears her black clothes for "Interplanet Janet" over a red dress, cami and leggings, sweats all through that song, and then peels off the outer black layer so she can get onstage in red for "Interjections!")
The whole show is kinda like that, honestly--lots of breathless moments backstage for the kids, changing costumes or stopping by for specialty makeup, with hardly any time between musical numbers. It sure is fun--and it sure goes quickly!
Blondechick16 has had such a fun time with this show, making new friends in this new chapter of our theater group. (By the way, this is NOT the new group I was talking about starting in Kenosha; this is an existing group in the northeastern-most county in Illinois. It's the closest existing group to us right now.)
Here she is onstage with some of them!
It's hard to tell which number this was--I'm guessing the opening number, "Verb."This next one is obviously (from the railroad crossing sign in back), "Conjunction Junction."
And this next one could be from "Mother Necessity," "The Preamble," "Interjections," or maybe it's the all-girl number, "Sufferin' Till Sufferage."
One thing is certain; it's not "Interplanet Janet," because that scene is done in black light! In it, all you can see of her is a star and a streamer. And it's not "Elbow Room," because she wears a plaid shirt and a cowboy hat in it. We must not have any good pics from that one.But we have several from her big scene:
Who are these cuties? Why, they're the Lolly Girls!!
You know:Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, get your adverbs here.
Quickly, quickly, quickly, get those adverbs here.
Slowly, surely, really learn your adverbs here.
You're going need 'em if you read 'em,
If you write or talk or think about 'em ... Lolly! (Lolly, Lolly, Lolly)
They sing in close three-part harmony, and they sound great!We're doing pincurls with their bangs now, for this 40's-flavored scene, but didn't get it done at this dress rehearsal. We learned we need to do their hair during the scene before the scene before this one, because they have about 90 seconds to get out of their "Sufferin' " polos and khakis and into these outfits.
Nothing like a quick change to add a little more stress to your big scene! I've started meeting Blondechick in the wings to have the top ready to slip on as soon she whips off the polo, and hold the skirt open and fasten the back for her while she slips on her pumps. (In another quick change, she wears her black clothes for "Interplanet Janet" over a red dress, cami and leggings, sweats all through that song, and then peels off the outer black layer so she can get onstage in red for "Interjections!")
The whole show is kinda like that, honestly--lots of breathless moments backstage for the kids, changing costumes or stopping by for specialty makeup, with hardly any time between musical numbers. It sure is fun--and it sure goes quickly!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
It's Crazy Week!
While I've been backstage learning special makeup and quick changes, Papa Rooster made it to one of the dress rehearsals to get pictures!
So in this post, we're featuring...Bantam9!
That's him, at the end of "Unpack Your Adjectives." You know the song:
He gets to come downstage to the spotlight and display it (with his best "dumb" expression and posture) during this part of the song:
Days are sunny or they're rainy
Boys are dumb or else they're brainy...
And here he is as an attentive student in "The Tale of Mr. Morton."
You know:
This is the tale of Mister Morton
Mister Morton is who?
He is the subject of our tale
and the predicate tells what Mister
Morton must do
Mister Morton walked down the street
Mister Morton walked
Mister Morton talked to his cat
Mister Morton talked
(Hello, cat. You look good.)
Finally, here's Bantam9 in "The Great American Melting Pot:"
Normally, he wears a sombrero, but it's probably a better picture without it. (And tonight, we gave him a cute little black moustachio too!)
He has one other moment that didn't get documented by photo, but our guests can watch for him as Alexander Graham Bell in "Mother Necessity." He's the boy who kind of dances across stage and hands Mother N.... a telephone.
He's onstage for several other numbers, too, with the rest of the cast or the other Peanut Prodigies: "Verb," "Interjections," and "Three is a Magic Number." In some shows, the little kids don't have much to do, but in this one, they've kept him hopping!...and dancing!...and singing!
So in this post, we're featuring...Bantam9!
That's him, at the end of "Unpack Your Adjectives." You know the song:
We hiked along without care.
Then we ran into a bear.
He was a hairy bear,
He was a scary bear,
We beat a hasty retreat from his lair.
And described him with adjectives...
Whoah! Boy! That was one big, ugly bear!
He gets to come downstage to the spotlight and display it (with his best "dumb" expression and posture) during this part of the song:
Days are sunny or they're rainy
Boys are dumb or else they're brainy...
And here he is as an attentive student in "The Tale of Mr. Morton."
You know:This is the tale of Mister Morton
Mister Morton is who?
He is the subject of our tale
and the predicate tells what Mister
Morton must do
Mister Morton walked down the street
Mister Morton walked
Mister Morton talked to his cat
Mister Morton talked
(Hello, cat. You look good.)
Finally, here's Bantam9 in "The Great American Melting Pot:"
Normally, he wears a sombrero, but it's probably a better picture without it. (And tonight, we gave him a cute little black moustachio too!)
He has one other moment that didn't get documented by photo, but our guests can watch for him as Alexander Graham Bell in "Mother Necessity." He's the boy who kind of dances across stage and hands Mother N.... a telephone.
He's onstage for several other numbers, too, with the rest of the cast or the other Peanut Prodigies: "Verb," "Interjections," and "Three is a Magic Number." In some shows, the little kids don't have much to do, but in this one, they've kept him hopping!...and dancing!...and singing!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Further Conference Highlights
We're back home already! We were gone only 48 hours, but how much was packed into that short time!
Dinesh D'Souza spoke two more times and gave us all a lot more food for thought.
All weekend we had wonderful worship with singer/songwriter/worship leader Billy Sprague.
We had a great time catching up with old friends from Rez.
I met this blogger (Caryn, not Carla) and her husband.
Papa Rooster and I had the privilege of driving Dinesh to the airport and we had such an enjoyable conversation on the way!
At the end, we were asked to give some feedback to the conference organizers (and by the way, if you'd be interested in the next one, next January, email me. It's just a word-of-mouth little thing). We were asked to sum up the conference in one word, and the word I chose was "stimulating." I have so many thoughts percolating right now, if I could get them all down, I'd have blog posts for a month! (Which probably won't happen, since Crazy Week starts tomorrow....)
One of my biggest takeaways was a new vision for how to help prepare my teenagers to deal with secular culture. As Dinesh explained, teens need to understand that there are other religions and worldviews out there, but that Christianity is a rationally defensible position, even apart from the Scripture, and that while atheism poses as the "rational" belief system and paints religion as the realm of faith apart from reason, it can actually require just as much faith to hold the atheistic point of view. For example, neither the atheist or the Christian knows for sure what lies on the other side of death. Both hold their positions on faith that they're right.
(And who has more to lose if they are wrong? --That was Pascal's famous argument for belief. Dinesh pointed out that former president Bush had to look at reports of weapons of mass destruction in Iran with the same question in mind: What if I believe them, and I'm wrong...what if I don't act on them, and I'm wrong?)
See? My whole weekend was like that! One thought stimulating another and another!
Papa Rooster was busy too, digesting everything and simultaneously taking pictures!
Here is me trying to get a little further in Dinesh's book before the conference began. (Traveling further than most, we were the first to arrive!)
Here is Dinesh...
Father Robert Sirico...
(Don't you love the rustic lodge furnishings?)
...And the beautiful Lake Michigan scenery!
Now it's great to be back home with the kids!
Dinesh D'Souza spoke two more times and gave us all a lot more food for thought.
All weekend we had wonderful worship with singer/songwriter/worship leader Billy Sprague.
We had a great time catching up with old friends from Rez.
I met this blogger (Caryn, not Carla) and her husband.
Papa Rooster and I had the privilege of driving Dinesh to the airport and we had such an enjoyable conversation on the way!
At the end, we were asked to give some feedback to the conference organizers (and by the way, if you'd be interested in the next one, next January, email me. It's just a word-of-mouth little thing). We were asked to sum up the conference in one word, and the word I chose was "stimulating." I have so many thoughts percolating right now, if I could get them all down, I'd have blog posts for a month! (Which probably won't happen, since Crazy Week starts tomorrow....)
One of my biggest takeaways was a new vision for how to help prepare my teenagers to deal with secular culture. As Dinesh explained, teens need to understand that there are other religions and worldviews out there, but that Christianity is a rationally defensible position, even apart from the Scripture, and that while atheism poses as the "rational" belief system and paints religion as the realm of faith apart from reason, it can actually require just as much faith to hold the atheistic point of view. For example, neither the atheist or the Christian knows for sure what lies on the other side of death. Both hold their positions on faith that they're right.
(And who has more to lose if they are wrong? --That was Pascal's famous argument for belief. Dinesh pointed out that former president Bush had to look at reports of weapons of mass destruction in Iran with the same question in mind: What if I believe them, and I'm wrong...what if I don't act on them, and I'm wrong?)
See? My whole weekend was like that! One thought stimulating another and another!
Papa Rooster was busy too, digesting everything and simultaneously taking pictures!
Here is me trying to get a little further in Dinesh's book before the conference began. (Traveling further than most, we were the first to arrive!)
Here is Dinesh...
Father Robert Sirico...
(Don't you love the rustic lodge furnishings?)
...And the beautiful Lake Michigan scenery!
Now it's great to be back home with the kids!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Conference Quickie Report
My, we are having fun! I mean that in the most intellectual way. :)
So far, we have heard from Dinesh two times. His lectures were on the new atheism and on the need for Christians to prepare their kids for the atheism they will encounter once they leave their Christian homes. He's defined "the new atheism," its strategies and how it differs from atheism of previous generations, and he's outlined how an updated apologetics can meet these "new" objections to Christianity. He regularly debates leading atheists and it's been fascinating to hear his anecdotes and thought processes; for example, he tried out an us "a line of reasoning I'm still working on."
We also heard from Father Robert Sirico. He's the founder of the Acton Institute, whose mission is "to promote a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles." The topic was on a Christian way of dealing with environmental issues. We watched one of the Acton Institute's excellent DVD's on the subject and then had further discussion on global warming, conservation, stewardship and other issues. Fascinating!
(We own and highly recommend one of the Acton Institute's DVD's, "The Call of the Entrepreneur," which is a thoughtful examination--yea, a defense--of capitalism as a system.)
Most recently, we attended a breakout session with economist Brian Wesbury about the current recession and the government bailout in September. Brian took us on a fascinating trip through the economy's ups and downs of the last century, especially showing the significance of interest rates, as set by the Federal Reserve. (Long story short, based on a number of indicators, he says...things are going to get better this year, sooner than most people think. So, refinance now! ;) On the other hand, for many of us there are no quick fixes: A man with a struggling small business and a son in college may have to fold up and go work for someone else, even if it means moving. His son may have to put off college for another year or two. The bailout was a symptom of a society that wants quick fixes.
A common theme of all the speakers was the primacy of the individual human soul, and the ramifications for society if everyone would respect it as the "crown of creation," as C.S. Lewis refers to humans several times in The Chronicles of Narnia. Animals, the earth, the universe, and finally ourselves.... As Father Sirico quoted Gerard Manley Hopkins:
...Everywhere you look!
So far, we have heard from Dinesh two times. His lectures were on the new atheism and on the need for Christians to prepare their kids for the atheism they will encounter once they leave their Christian homes. He's defined "the new atheism," its strategies and how it differs from atheism of previous generations, and he's outlined how an updated apologetics can meet these "new" objections to Christianity. He regularly debates leading atheists and it's been fascinating to hear his anecdotes and thought processes; for example, he tried out an us "a line of reasoning I'm still working on."
We also heard from Father Robert Sirico. He's the founder of the Acton Institute, whose mission is "to promote a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles." The topic was on a Christian way of dealing with environmental issues. We watched one of the Acton Institute's excellent DVD's on the subject and then had further discussion on global warming, conservation, stewardship and other issues. Fascinating!
(We own and highly recommend one of the Acton Institute's DVD's, "The Call of the Entrepreneur," which is a thoughtful examination--yea, a defense--of capitalism as a system.)
Most recently, we attended a breakout session with economist Brian Wesbury about the current recession and the government bailout in September. Brian took us on a fascinating trip through the economy's ups and downs of the last century, especially showing the significance of interest rates, as set by the Federal Reserve. (Long story short, based on a number of indicators, he says...things are going to get better this year, sooner than most people think. So, refinance now! ;) On the other hand, for many of us there are no quick fixes: A man with a struggling small business and a son in college may have to fold up and go work for someone else, even if it means moving. His son may have to put off college for another year or two. The bailout was a symptom of a society that wants quick fixes.
A common theme of all the speakers was the primacy of the individual human soul, and the ramifications for society if everyone would respect it as the "crown of creation," as C.S. Lewis refers to humans several times in The Chronicles of Narnia. Animals, the earth, the universe, and finally ourselves.... As Father Sirico quoted Gerard Manley Hopkins:
The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil...
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil...
...Everywhere you look!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
And That's All She Wrote!
I haven't had time to advance the Love Story any further than where I left off, and I don't know when I'm going to get back to it, because...
This weekend Papa Rooster and I are heading out sans children to a conference a couple hours away! The featured speaker will be author Dinesh D'Souza. We'll be discussing his most recent book, What's So Great About Christianity? Papa Rooster has been hogging it (roostering it?) so I haven't read more than the first two chapters, but they were engagingly written and fascinating.
I called the place where we will be staying and they have wireless internet connection, so I will at least be able to check email while I'm there. And one can hope that I may have scintillating notes to post!
Can you tell I am looking forward to this?
Grandma and Grandpa Rooster will be here with Bantam18, Chicklet 6 and Bantam3. The other three kids will be at Schoolhouse Rock rehearsal on Friday night, sleeping over with friends in the cast (an example of a sleepover exception we'll make when it suits us:), and back to rehearsal on Saturday...then to a birthday party and then they'll catch their ride home.
Next week, we begin dress rehearsals for Schoolhouse Rock Live! on Monday night! Then on Thursday, three shows, Friday, three shows, Saturday, two shows, and on Sunday, the last two.
So you can see, that may be "all she wrote" (on the love story, at least) for a good long while....
In other news, we had friends from Illinois here on the Martin Luther King holiday--a mom and her six kids--a family we did some homeschool co-op-ing with two years ago. It was their first time to visit us here and it was so great to spend the day with them. We miss them!!
Finally, if you're still reading, a mom in our church just received news that her tumor is probably cancer. Probably curable, she's been told? But still, very disturbing news, and it is a difficult time while they wait for more definitive results.
Thank you for your prayers, if you are so led.
This weekend Papa Rooster and I are heading out sans children to a conference a couple hours away! The featured speaker will be author Dinesh D'Souza. We'll be discussing his most recent book, What's So Great About Christianity? Papa Rooster has been hogging it (roostering it?) so I haven't read more than the first two chapters, but they were engagingly written and fascinating.
I called the place where we will be staying and they have wireless internet connection, so I will at least be able to check email while I'm there. And one can hope that I may have scintillating notes to post!
Can you tell I am looking forward to this?
Grandma and Grandpa Rooster will be here with Bantam18, Chicklet 6 and Bantam3. The other three kids will be at Schoolhouse Rock rehearsal on Friday night, sleeping over with friends in the cast (an example of a sleepover exception we'll make when it suits us:), and back to rehearsal on Saturday...then to a birthday party and then they'll catch their ride home.
Next week, we begin dress rehearsals for Schoolhouse Rock Live! on Monday night! Then on Thursday, three shows, Friday, three shows, Saturday, two shows, and on Sunday, the last two.
So you can see, that may be "all she wrote" (on the love story, at least) for a good long while....
***
In other news, we had friends from Illinois here on the Martin Luther King holiday--a mom and her six kids--a family we did some homeschool co-op-ing with two years ago. It was their first time to visit us here and it was so great to spend the day with them. We miss them!!
***
Finally, if you're still reading, a mom in our church just received news that her tumor is probably cancer. Probably curable, she's been told? But still, very disturbing news, and it is a difficult time while they wait for more definitive results.
Thank you for your prayers, if you are so led.
Birthday Man
Yesterday, my firstborn turned eighteen.
It was such a long crazy day that I wasn't even thinking about a birthday post till late, after the guests were gone and the homework was done and I was about to fall into bed.
(Our guests were another family from church. The dad and the oldest son, who's nine, are Star Wars/Clone Wars/Legos fans and B
It was hard to find a good picture of Bantam18--he's not one to pose. This one, taken on Christmas morning, is so him, though. He loves to read, he loves sci-fi, and he can tune out everything else when he's enjoying a good book!
Although he's 18, he's only a junior in high school. And he hasn't even started driving lessons yet. So I think I can pretend nothing has changed.
Except he has. He is more grown-up every month. More mature, more helpful, less and less likely to complain and argue when asked for assistance. I can almost imagine him living on his own--someday.
I'm glad it's not going to be for awhile.
Thank you, Lord, for the gift of this son. We praise you for the challenges he has overcome, for his uniqueness and his delightful eccentricities, for his trust in You. We lift up to You his future. Go before him; prepare the way for him; direct him by Your still, small voice in his ear. We look forward to all that You have prepared for him to do, in Your kingdom and in this world. Amen.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Love Story, cont'd, or, How Baptist Girl Ended Up Anglican, Part Three
Part One
Part Two
After we'd been visiting Rez for just a few weeks, Papa Rooster invited John Fawcett to come up to our apartment to lead a prayer meeting with us and the R’s, let’s call them—the couple we were praying about starting the church plant with. First, he made our old piano ring like it hadn't in years, as we sang worship choruses together. Then we began to pray. John, who had incredible gifts of healing, asked our friend, Mr. R, if he could pray for him, and then he began to pray, with insight that could only have come from the Lord, into a specific situation in our friend’s life that John could have had no earthly knowledge of. It was powerful.
While he was praying for Mr. R., I began shaking. This had never happened to me in prayer before nor has it happened since. I wasn’t cold, but I couldn’t control the shaking, and then John began to pray for me--again, with insight that only could have come from the Holy Spirit. At the time, I barely understood myself what he was praying, partly because it was in tongues—brand new to me--and partly because he kept using a Greek word that I was unfamiliar with. (Another story for another time....)
All I knew was that I was changed afterward--freed, lightened, unburdened in some way--and the sense of God's working was so powerful that one of my first questions, afterward, was, "Can you pray for nonbelievers like that too?" I thought that no one could encounter God in this way and not believe He was real, living and active in this world! (The answer, by the way, was, "Certainly, but they have to be open to Him to some degree.")
Looking back, this prayer time was such a landmark event for all four of us because none of us, in our evangelical churches, had ever really experienced the Holy Spirit working in such a powerful way. (Well, with the exception of PR, who was saved in a Pentecostal church at age 7.) It was mind-blowing and faith-building all at once, and totally changed our view of the third person of the Trinity: He's not an "it," but a Person with a unique ministry.
Part Two
After we'd been visiting Rez for just a few weeks, Papa Rooster invited John Fawcett to come up to our apartment to lead a prayer meeting with us and the R’s, let’s call them—the couple we were praying about starting the church plant with. First, he made our old piano ring like it hadn't in years, as we sang worship choruses together. Then we began to pray. John, who had incredible gifts of healing, asked our friend, Mr. R, if he could pray for him, and then he began to pray, with insight that could only have come from the Lord, into a specific situation in our friend’s life that John could have had no earthly knowledge of. It was powerful.
While he was praying for Mr. R., I began shaking. This had never happened to me in prayer before nor has it happened since. I wasn’t cold, but I couldn’t control the shaking, and then John began to pray for me--again, with insight that only could have come from the Holy Spirit. At the time, I barely understood myself what he was praying, partly because it was in tongues—brand new to me--and partly because he kept using a Greek word that I was unfamiliar with. (Another story for another time....)
All I knew was that I was changed afterward--freed, lightened, unburdened in some way--and the sense of God's working was so powerful that one of my first questions, afterward, was, "Can you pray for nonbelievers like that too?" I thought that no one could encounter God in this way and not believe He was real, living and active in this world! (The answer, by the way, was, "Certainly, but they have to be open to Him to some degree.")
Looking back, this prayer time was such a landmark event for all four of us because none of us, in our evangelical churches, had ever really experienced the Holy Spirit working in such a powerful way. (Well, with the exception of PR, who was saved in a Pentecostal church at age 7.) It was mind-blowing and faith-building all at once, and totally changed our view of the third person of the Trinity: He's not an "it," but a Person with a unique ministry.
So after this prayer time, I was more eager to keep going to Rez, but worried about the situation with our friends and the L.A. church plant. Our friends were eager to visit Rez with us, but they didn't connect with it like we did. It was a big leap from Willow Creek’s “seeker sensitive” model to a liturgical service!
After a couple months of trying to attend both Willow Creek and Rez, we decided we would start going full-time to Rez, and inevitably, we decided we weren't going to L.A. anymore to plant a seeker-sensitive church. This rocked the rental house, but it led to many conversations about the seeker-sensitive model and its pros and cons, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit and its place in church. Interestingly, the R's ended up leaving Willow Creek as well, on their own journey through a couple of Vineyard churches and ultimately, wishing they lived close enough to attend Rez, or Light of Christ!
As we prayed afterwards about what the
So after 8 months of living in the rental house together—which was a time filled with fun, great worship and prayer times together, as well as tension, as living in community often is—we bought our first home in the summer of '92, a townhome in Warrenville, just minutes from Church of the Resurrection. I was expecting Blondechick in November.
And so began an era in our lives, which would last nearly seventeen years.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Love Story, cont'd, or, How Baptist Girl Ended Up Anglican, Part Two
Part One
So there we were, signing a lease with the other couple to move in together, the better to pray about and plan the church we would plant in Los Angeles. But just before we moved into the rental house, Papa Rooster (who was getting his MBA fromthe University of Chicago
Restless and hoping a change of venue would help him focus, he decided to drive down to theWheaton College
So there we were, signing a lease with the other couple to move in together, the better to pray about and plan the church we would plant in Los Angeles. But just before we moved into the rental house, Papa Rooster (who was getting his MBA from
Restless and hoping a change of venue would help him focus, he decided to drive down to the
John warmly inquired how PR was doing, and PR decided not to hold anything back. He hated business school, he was depressed, and he was struggling spiritually. Then John spoke the words that he spoke to so many in his lifetime: “Let me pray for you.” As PR tells it, he figured John would go home and pray for him sometime when he thought of it; instead, John led him into his office and proceeded to lay hands on him and pray aloud for him with such insight, PR knew he was speaking God’s own words.
Fast forward a couple of hours, when PR returned to our apartment. I was making dinner, I remember, and within moments of his return home, I noticed such a change that I had to ask him, “What happened to you today?” It was as if a dark, brooding cloud had lifted from him. He seemed once again like the happy, thoughtful PR of college days! He told me about John praying for him, and he concluded, “We’ve got to go visit this church that John is going to. It sounds like what we were looking for back in college!”
Ironically, we were moving into a rental house near Willow Creek so we could stop driving 45 minutes to church…and now here we were, checking out a church that was 45 minutes away! For awhile we attended Willow Creek on Sunday mornings and Church of the Resurrection on Wednesday nights, and then PR wanted to start attending Willow Creek on Saturday nights so we could go to Rez on Sunday mornings, too. He did that a few times, but I was torn. That was a huge part of my weekend to spend in church, it seemed, with a ten-month-old, and when I was still working part-time. (I was a life insurance underwriter--another story, for another time!) Plus, we were committed to starting a Willow Creek-style church plant with this other couple, so we weren't really going to switch over to this Episcopal church. Surely not. Especially not one that far away!
But I was attracted in spite of my objections. The Wednesday night services, which were just a simple liturgy with a teaching and then an opportunity to receive prayer, were so real and sweet. There was no pretense, just a “come as you are” invitation. There was an attitude of “I’m broken, you’re broken, let’s pray for each other” that was so refreshing and honest. People praised God openly, wept openly—no one tried to keep up outward appearances at those prayer services.
Plus, as a new parent, the practicality of a small church was dawning on me. I wanted to get to know other moms, meet with them regularly, and meet a few families with teenage daughters who babysat! At the mega-church, with four services, we could be there for two or three hours every weekend and never see anyone that we knew, besides the couple we lived with. And I really liked the people I was meeting at Church of the Resurrection--they were just so honest and real.
Then we held a little prayer meeting, in our home, that we now look back on as a landmark event.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Love Story, cont'd, or, How the Baptist Girl Ended Up Married to an Anglican Priest
Awhile back, a commenter asked if I would ever continue the love story, especially to explain how I went from being Baptist to becoming Anglican! I thought it was a great idea, and I am finally getting back to it.
So! I believe we left off the love story here, with Papa Rooster and I getting married in a December wedding at the Baptist church I grew up in.
It was our final semester at
In his research, he had found references to a “three streams, one river” concept which referred to three worship styles—charismatic, evangelical and liturgical—blending together to create a balanced whole. He recognized that this phrase described a church he and his parents had occasionally attended when he was in high school, though it was an hour away: St. Paul's Episcopal Church in
So we began to try different churches every Sunday, searching for something similar. We tried Episcopal churches, Assembly of God churches, even a Vineyard. But nothing really had that balance.
(Little did we know that just a few years after we graduated, Fr. William Beasley would come to tiny Church of the Resurrection --just barely in existence when we were at Wheaton--and begin to shape it into a wonderful example of a “three streams, one river” church. And it continues to be, to this day!)
We graduated, moved to Des Plaines (another
These new friends immediately asked us to consider being part of the small group that they were forming. The catch? We had to attend their church, giant
Willow Creek was spawning daughter churches left and right at that time (’88-early ’91), and we and the other couple discerned that we were being called by God to start a Willow Creek-style church plant out in Los Angeles. We decided to rent a house together, near the church, so that we could pray and worship and strategize more about this.
And there I shall leave you, holding your sides and laughing at our youthful naivete--please, feel free!--till Part Two.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
The Drudge Work...the Best Work
"It was...the most important thing I had done all month, cut cakes for those babies' baptisms. More important than any history I had studied, or any magazine articles I had written, or any prayer I had prayed. It was the drudge work of the church, and it seemed the best work in the world. Like sweeping the church, or setting out the hymnals, or making sure the sacristy held enough candles for the week's vesper services. The holy work of God's people, somehow. I told my priest, Jo, that I wanted to spend my whole life cutting cakes to celebrate babies' baptisms. I was, Jo said, an Altar Guild member in the making."
~Lauren Winner, Girl Meets God
Friday, January 16, 2009
Swimmin' in the God-Stream
Do you ever find yourself caught up in an inexorable current that you KNOW is the Lord moving and acting?
We feel that way about Light of Christ.
And it's happening again...as I am helping to start up a new chapter of our Christian youth theater group.
(I have been calling it a children's theater group, but I just learned that in the theater world, children's theater is usually put on by adults, for an audience of children; but when children are the actors, it is called youth theater. Isn't it fun to learn something new?)
I first became aware of the current when we were initially thinking about moving to Wisconsin. At a Christmas party two years ago, I asked the executive director if he'd ever thought of expanding north, to Kenosha, and he surprised me by saying, "Yes, many times! And if you guys move there, we'll do it."
Then for over a year, the current was pretty weak. We moved and started taking classes at the nearest outpost of the theater group, and it wasn't too much farther than we had been driving before. My kids were making friends there and were less interested in the idea of starting a new group, and I began to have doubts.
I was just telling the Lord that maybe I had heard wrong, when the very next day, I got an email from the executive director encouraging me to start taking the first steps toward starting a Kenosha County chapter. It was so out of the blue, and so perfectly timed, that I knew it was the Lord thrusting me right into that God-stream.
So I've been making phone calls and writing emails. And on Monday, the executive director came from over an hour away to tour some possible facilities.
And I am so excited to say that we found a theater in which to hold our productions! And we have a wonderful, flexible church facility in which to hold classes, rehearsals, AND a summer camp!
And--exactly as I've been praying--both places seem "not just willing, but welcoming"! What confirmation!
"I can't believe how easily this is all falling into place," the executive director said to me. "I think you have must have something special going on in Kenosha."
(I think so!)
The hardest thing to find, he said, is a theater. The stage has to be big enough for an 80-90 member cast, with nearby dressing rooms for a cast that big, have decent lights and sound, and be available--a sticking point for most of the possibilities I called. Many schools have their own theater productions going on, and in many cases in our district, they use the stage daily as a classroom for the choir or band.
But there is one school in town that rarely uses their stage, and it's the "alternative" high school for unwed mothers, kids on parole and "at risk" students. A few community groups use it occasionally, but that's it.
It's not only available, but also downright beautiful in the old, gilded style (it's the original Kenosha High), and plenty big enough at 1400 seats. The stage is huge, and there are large, little-used girls' and guys' locker rooms nearby which we can use for dressing rooms. Light and sound are adequate, and though the wings are too small for large set pieces, we can deal with that. Especially when the facilities manager there has a fondness for theater and is eager to work with us! (And who knows what "at risk" kids might decide to give theater a try??)
We are thrilled.
I am wondering where else this God-stream is going to take me? I've been encouraged to interview, next summer, for the part-time job of area coordinator for the new chapter.
Two years ago, I'd have said no, I'd be in over my head. (And three years ago, I considered titling this blog "In Over My Head"!)
But today, I wonder if it's where the current is taking me. And there's nothing more exciting than swimmin' in the God-stream!
We feel that way about Light of Christ.
And it's happening again...as I am helping to start up a new chapter of our Christian youth theater group.
(I have been calling it a children's theater group, but I just learned that in the theater world, children's theater is usually put on by adults, for an audience of children; but when children are the actors, it is called youth theater. Isn't it fun to learn something new?)
I first became aware of the current when we were initially thinking about moving to Wisconsin. At a Christmas party two years ago, I asked the executive director if he'd ever thought of expanding north, to Kenosha, and he surprised me by saying, "Yes, many times! And if you guys move there, we'll do it."
Then for over a year, the current was pretty weak. We moved and started taking classes at the nearest outpost of the theater group, and it wasn't too much farther than we had been driving before. My kids were making friends there and were less interested in the idea of starting a new group, and I began to have doubts.
I was just telling the Lord that maybe I had heard wrong, when the very next day, I got an email from the executive director encouraging me to start taking the first steps toward starting a Kenosha County chapter. It was so out of the blue, and so perfectly timed, that I knew it was the Lord thrusting me right into that God-stream.
So I've been making phone calls and writing emails. And on Monday, the executive director came from over an hour away to tour some possible facilities.
And I am so excited to say that we found a theater in which to hold our productions! And we have a wonderful, flexible church facility in which to hold classes, rehearsals, AND a summer camp!
And--exactly as I've been praying--both places seem "not just willing, but welcoming"! What confirmation!
"I can't believe how easily this is all falling into place," the executive director said to me. "I think you have must have something special going on in Kenosha."
(I think so!)
The hardest thing to find, he said, is a theater. The stage has to be big enough for an 80-90 member cast, with nearby dressing rooms for a cast that big, have decent lights and sound, and be available--a sticking point for most of the possibilities I called. Many schools have their own theater productions going on, and in many cases in our district, they use the stage daily as a classroom for the choir or band.
But there is one school in town that rarely uses their stage, and it's the "alternative" high school for unwed mothers, kids on parole and "at risk" students. A few community groups use it occasionally, but that's it.
It's not only available, but also downright beautiful in the old, gilded style (it's the original Kenosha High), and plenty big enough at 1400 seats. The stage is huge, and there are large, little-used girls' and guys' locker rooms nearby which we can use for dressing rooms. Light and sound are adequate, and though the wings are too small for large set pieces, we can deal with that. Especially when the facilities manager there has a fondness for theater and is eager to work with us! (And who knows what "at risk" kids might decide to give theater a try??)
We are thrilled.
I am wondering where else this God-stream is going to take me? I've been encouraged to interview, next summer, for the part-time job of area coordinator for the new chapter.
Two years ago, I'd have said no, I'd be in over my head. (And three years ago, I considered titling this blog "In Over My Head"!)
But today, I wonder if it's where the current is taking me. And there's nothing more exciting than swimmin' in the God-stream!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Master Bedroom Blessing
Well, it's a COLD snowy day here in Wisconsin. The snow arrived a couple days ago, but the cold is the worst it's been since we moved here: The high for today is expected to reach a whoppin' 1 degree. The low last night was -14 degrees! And they cancelled school, without a snowflake in the forecast--simply on account of the cold. I only remember that happening maybe once, in Ohio, when I was a schoolchild, but they say it happens regularly here in WI.
Right now it is -10, with a windchill of -30, but let's warm things up a bit with pictures from last summer, shall we? You have to squint your eyes a bit to see the green leaves, but they're there!
If you happened to read the post on organizing your blogging, you saw my confession that I occasionally wrote posts ahead, only to lose them in my old drafts, and that's what happened to these photos of our master bedroom.
The reason I took them, though, was to show what a "beyond all that I could ask or imagine" kind of answer to prayer our new house is! We had a number of basic requirements we had to focus on, like number of bedrooms and room for an office for Papa Rooster, but we never thought twice about what kind of a master bedroom we would like. It had to have decent closet space for PR--he has a businessman's wardrobe, both casual and formal, plus lots of priestly garb--but other than that, we didn't care, if everything else about a house was right. It was the least of our concerns.
So what a blessing to get what B13 calls "the nicest room in the whole house." Isn't it lovely? In the second picture you can see the tray ceiling which gives it such a spacious air. I knew immediately that we had to get some kind of seating for that area in front of the bay window, but it had to be small and light. I looked everywhere before settling on this indoor wicker set from Pier One.
Then I was delighted to find a reasonably priced, washable comforter set (at JC Penney's online) that included a bunch of extra pillows and shams, so I could put some of them on the furniture and tie everything together. Perfect for non-crafty me!
We have used this extra little sitting area repeatedly since we moved in, since it's the only room on the main level that you can close off behind a door--perfect for private conversations with friends, counsellees, or one of our teens. I also use it for reading aloud time with Chicklet6 and Bantam3, so we don't bother the two Bantams reading silently on the couches in the living room.
I didn't take any pictures of the other side of the room because it's just two doors--to the master bath and to the walk-in closet--with a dresser in between.
And the master bathroom itself is so much more than we could have imagined! First off, it's truly private, unlike in our old house, where the bathroom was shared by all three bedrooms on the second floor.
And there is a large wooden storage cabinet in it, with plenty of extra room after we put away all our toiletries...so we put all of Papa Rooster's t-shirts, underwear and socks in there, since that's where he dresses. (Such a considerate man, not to wake me up!) I put Great-Aunt Dorothy's coat tree in there too (yes, it's that spacious) and gave him an over-the-door hook for items on hangers, and now he has a full-fledged dressing room in the bathroom. Clothes stay in the bathroom or the closet, and rarely do they dis-grace the bed or sitting area.
And there's something else we've never had before...a jacuzzi bathtub! I've only used it once, when we first moved in, just to see if the jets worked after two years of disuse. Mostly, I'm a shower person.
But I tell ya, since we're holing up today to stay warm...
Right now it is -10, with a windchill of -30, but let's warm things up a bit with pictures from last summer, shall we? You have to squint your eyes a bit to see the green leaves, but they're there!
If you happened to read the post on organizing your blogging, you saw my confession that I occasionally wrote posts ahead, only to lose them in my old drafts, and that's what happened to these photos of our master bedroom.
The reason I took them, though, was to show what a "beyond all that I could ask or imagine" kind of answer to prayer our new house is! We had a number of basic requirements we had to focus on, like number of bedrooms and room for an office for Papa Rooster, but we never thought twice about what kind of a master bedroom we would like. It had to have decent closet space for PR--he has a businessman's wardrobe, both casual and formal, plus lots of priestly garb--but other than that, we didn't care, if everything else about a house was right. It was the least of our concerns.
So what a blessing to get what B13 calls "the nicest room in the whole house." Isn't it lovely? In the second picture you can see the tray ceiling which gives it such a spacious air. I knew immediately that we had to get some kind of seating for that area in front of the bay window, but it had to be small and light. I looked everywhere before settling on this indoor wicker set from Pier One.
Then I was delighted to find a reasonably priced, washable comforter set (at JC Penney's online) that included a bunch of extra pillows and shams, so I could put some of them on the furniture and tie everything together. Perfect for non-crafty me!
We have used this extra little sitting area repeatedly since we moved in, since it's the only room on the main level that you can close off behind a door--perfect for private conversations with friends, counsellees, or one of our teens. I also use it for reading aloud time with Chicklet6 and Bantam3, so we don't bother the two Bantams reading silently on the couches in the living room.
I didn't take any pictures of the other side of the room because it's just two doors--to the master bath and to the walk-in closet--with a dresser in between.
And the master bathroom itself is so much more than we could have imagined! First off, it's truly private, unlike in our old house, where the bathroom was shared by all three bedrooms on the second floor.
And there is a large wooden storage cabinet in it, with plenty of extra room after we put away all our toiletries...so we put all of Papa Rooster's t-shirts, underwear and socks in there, since that's where he dresses. (Such a considerate man, not to wake me up!) I put Great-Aunt Dorothy's coat tree in there too (yes, it's that spacious) and gave him an over-the-door hook for items on hangers, and now he has a full-fledged dressing room in the bathroom. Clothes stay in the bathroom or the closet, and rarely do they dis-grace the bed or sitting area.
And there's something else we've never had before...a jacuzzi bathtub! I've only used it once, when we first moved in, just to see if the jets worked after two years of disuse. Mostly, I'm a shower person.
But I tell ya, since we're holing up today to stay warm...
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Victim of Gravity
Since my Works for Me Wednesday tip is for bloggers, here's something for the non-bloggers....
This is the song that Bantam13 swing-dances to!
Now listen 3-4 times a day for a couple weeks--
...and you, too, can be singing about Isaac Newton and Galileo in your dreams!
This is the song that Bantam13 swing-dances to!
Now listen 3-4 times a day for a couple weeks--
...and you, too, can be singing about Isaac Newton and Galileo in your dreams!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Works for Me--Organizing Your Blogging
I'm sure we all have our ways of capturing ideas and drafts...but I thought my simple method might be of use to someone.
I use Blogger, obviously, but I imagine any blogging software allows you to save posts as drafts. I use several of these draft files, with future dates to keep them at the top, to organize the information I collect on the web.
The main one I use is called "Ideas for Posts" and as you can imagine, it's where I write down ideas for posts--or quotes that might inspire me--or the URL of someone else's post that I might link to.
(I have my little notebook in my purse and one on the nightstand, too, but I frequently copy out of those into my online file.)
I have one called "Books Read and Movies Watched 2009," which I update about once a month. That makes my yearly annotated book and movie roundups much easier to write!
One is called "Blogging Tips and To-Dos" in which I capture URL's for blogrolls or webrings I should think about joining or sites I should think about contributing to, or info on HTML coding or how to tag a picture, etc.
I have another draft file called "For Further Reflection" and in it, I copy URL's of posts that I'd like to think about further or which might inspire some of my own thoughts.
I have one called "Recipes to Try," with URL's to same, and one called "Useful Info," with useful info I have run across (when to fertilize my hibiscus bush, for example).
And I have one called "Funnies" which are funny things my kids say. I save them for busy days when I have nothing else to post!
Another organizing tip is to realize that you can be writing a post in one tab, and in another, have Blogger open to your Edit Posts page, where you have all these files, at the same time.
I don't know why that one took me awhile to figure out.
Last but not least, if you write posts ahead of time to save for a busy season, as I sometimes do...future date them, so you don't forget about them! I just came across a draft with pictures of the master bedroom here in our new house that I never posted, because it got "covered up" with more time-driven posts. But it's never too late for pictures, of course...so my regular readers can look for it soon!
For more Works for Me Wednesday tips, see Rocks in My Dryer.
I use Blogger, obviously, but I imagine any blogging software allows you to save posts as drafts. I use several of these draft files, with future dates to keep them at the top, to organize the information I collect on the web.
The main one I use is called "Ideas for Posts" and as you can imagine, it's where I write down ideas for posts--or quotes that might inspire me--or the URL of someone else's post that I might link to.
(I have my little notebook in my purse and one on the nightstand, too, but I frequently copy out of those into my online file.)
I have one called "Books Read and Movies Watched 2009," which I update about once a month. That makes my yearly annotated book and movie roundups much easier to write!
One is called "Blogging Tips and To-Dos" in which I capture URL's for blogrolls or webrings I should think about joining or sites I should think about contributing to, or info on HTML coding or how to tag a picture, etc.
I have another draft file called "For Further Reflection" and in it, I copy URL's of posts that I'd like to think about further or which might inspire some of my own thoughts.
I have one called "Recipes to Try," with URL's to same, and one called "Useful Info," with useful info I have run across (when to fertilize my hibiscus bush, for example).
And I have one called "Funnies" which are funny things my kids say. I save them for busy days when I have nothing else to post!
Another organizing tip is to realize that you can be writing a post in one tab, and in another, have Blogger open to your Edit Posts page, where you have all these files, at the same time.
I don't know why that one took me awhile to figure out.
Last but not least, if you write posts ahead of time to save for a busy season, as I sometimes do...future date them, so you don't forget about them! I just came across a draft with pictures of the master bedroom here in our new house that I never posted, because it got "covered up" with more time-driven posts. But it's never too late for pictures, of course...so my regular readers can look for it soon!
For more Works for Me Wednesday tips, see Rocks in My Dryer.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Bantam13 Learns a Dance
Blogging about one's teenagers can be a little tricky. When I met up with Megan and Summer recently, I confided about difficulties we've had with one of our teenagers, and Megan said, "Oh, from your blog, you'd never guess!" For the record and in the interests of FULL disclosure, let me state that no member of our family is as one-sidedly positive as they may appear in this blog. (Including me!)
Often I wish I could post about the latest challenge we're having with one of our kids, but my policy is to focus on the positive and not say anything about a family member that they wouldn't approve. So--many of those posts go completely unwritten. Some things I hope to share eventually, after we're through this phase or that, and time has lent objectivity.
But I have permission to tell this recent one. It has a happy and victorious resolution, and is a big praise to God as well as Bantam13!
You may remember that he landed a speaking part in his Advanced Drama class's upcoming production of Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker. Then he also got a featured part as a swing dancer in the Schoolhouse Rock musical, besides all the large group numbers he's in.
Well, you'd think he'd be eager to learn his parts and do well. But B13 has been in an ambivalent phase about theater, and when it comes right down to it, he'd rather practice guitar or skateboarding tricks than memorize lines or practice dance moves, especially when he has a LOT of lines and the dance is HARD--for him, anyway. His first reaction is to give up: It's too hard. He can't do it. He doesn't want to do it. They should get somebody else. He wants to quit.
Why did we make him do theater anyway? he complains. We did make him audition for this show; his siblings were doing it, so...in for a penny, in for a pound, as far as our time and money go. And his reasons for not auditioning were all so bad. His voice had changed, and he swore he couldn't sing any more. He was sure he wouldn't make any friends in the new chapter of our theater group. He didn't think it was cool to do theater. ("Are you kidding?" another mom commented on that, "The theater guys are the smartest boys in town. What other activity has so many girls to every guy?") He didn't think he had time, with homeschooling. (Hah.)
Bottom line is, he had only fear-based objections. I told him that as far as homeschooling was concerned, doing a show was signing him up for speech, music, and PE, besides acting and dancing. Oh yeah, and learning all the Schoolhouse Rock lyrics? Totally educational--duh! Plus he says he wants to be in a band someday and maybe sing as well as play guitar? So let's start figuring out how that man-voice works!
Still, he complained every day about practicing for the audition. Then it began to sink in that he could either practice and do a decent job, or not practice and really embarrass himself. His attitude changed overnight, when he decided to just buckle down and do it. And the results of his efforts were apparent even to himself. His audition was great!
So then he got these parts...and after his initial pleasure, he started complaining about the work required for them, especially over the holidays, when he wanted to be totally on vacation. So we fussed about that for a good bit of the break, until he finally started working on his lines for Act One and discovered that actually, he memorizes pretty easily. Soon he had them all nearly down, including his three-page soliloquy in Act Three, and he was feeling a little better.
But that dance. That swing dance. The one he just can't remember. Can't learn. Can't practice without his partner. Why did they ever think he could do it? They should get someone else. There's just no way he can learn it.
Finally, I had started composing an email to his swing dance partner's mother to see if his partner could get together with him outside of rehearsal, when he appeared at my elbow. "All right, Mom, I know what I need to do now. I need to get together with [another boy in the same number] after class tomorrow and take the lyrics with me, double-spaced, so that there's room for me to write my own notes to remember the steps, so I can practice on my own."
I was thrilled! His idea was even better than my plan. He went home with the other boy and took notes on the steps; he came home and really practiced, and at the next rehearsal, he knew the dance. Both his partner and the director were totally delighted.
He is so pleased, himself. "It's really fun, once you know it," he told me. "And now that I know those steps, I can always do them at other places, like weddings." He also said, "I prayed every time the music started, and I really felt God helping me." And more than once: "Now I'm so glad I got that part!"
We are so proud of him! He has faced his fears, and three times, he has overcome his desire to give up when things are hard: practicing for the audition, memorizing all those lines, and learning this dance. The performances should be a piece of cake. For him, the huge character challenge was to make himself do the preliminary hard work.
And that, my friends, is probably the most important thing he's learned all year.
Often I wish I could post about the latest challenge we're having with one of our kids, but my policy is to focus on the positive and not say anything about a family member that they wouldn't approve. So--many of those posts go completely unwritten. Some things I hope to share eventually, after we're through this phase or that, and time has lent objectivity.
But I have permission to tell this recent one. It has a happy and victorious resolution, and is a big praise to God as well as Bantam13!
You may remember that he landed a speaking part in his Advanced Drama class's upcoming production of Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker. Then he also got a featured part as a swing dancer in the Schoolhouse Rock musical, besides all the large group numbers he's in.
Well, you'd think he'd be eager to learn his parts and do well. But B13 has been in an ambivalent phase about theater, and when it comes right down to it, he'd rather practice guitar or skateboarding tricks than memorize lines or practice dance moves, especially when he has a LOT of lines and the dance is HARD--for him, anyway. His first reaction is to give up: It's too hard. He can't do it. He doesn't want to do it. They should get somebody else. He wants to quit.
Why did we make him do theater anyway? he complains. We did make him audition for this show; his siblings were doing it, so...in for a penny, in for a pound, as far as our time and money go. And his reasons for not auditioning were all so bad. His voice had changed, and he swore he couldn't sing any more. He was sure he wouldn't make any friends in the new chapter of our theater group. He didn't think it was cool to do theater. ("Are you kidding?" another mom commented on that, "The theater guys are the smartest boys in town. What other activity has so many girls to every guy?") He didn't think he had time, with homeschooling. (Hah.)
Bottom line is, he had only fear-based objections. I told him that as far as homeschooling was concerned, doing a show was signing him up for speech, music, and PE, besides acting and dancing. Oh yeah, and learning all the Schoolhouse Rock lyrics? Totally educational--duh! Plus he says he wants to be in a band someday and maybe sing as well as play guitar? So let's start figuring out how that man-voice works!
Still, he complained every day about practicing for the audition. Then it began to sink in that he could either practice and do a decent job, or not practice and really embarrass himself. His attitude changed overnight, when he decided to just buckle down and do it. And the results of his efforts were apparent even to himself. His audition was great!
So then he got these parts...and after his initial pleasure, he started complaining about the work required for them, especially over the holidays, when he wanted to be totally on vacation. So we fussed about that for a good bit of the break, until he finally started working on his lines for Act One and discovered that actually, he memorizes pretty easily. Soon he had them all nearly down, including his three-page soliloquy in Act Three, and he was feeling a little better.
But that dance. That swing dance. The one he just can't remember. Can't learn. Can't practice without his partner. Why did they ever think he could do it? They should get someone else. There's just no way he can learn it.
Finally, I had started composing an email to his swing dance partner's mother to see if his partner could get together with him outside of rehearsal, when he appeared at my elbow. "All right, Mom, I know what I need to do now. I need to get together with [another boy in the same number] after class tomorrow and take the lyrics with me, double-spaced, so that there's room for me to write my own notes to remember the steps, so I can practice on my own."
I was thrilled! His idea was even better than my plan. He went home with the other boy and took notes on the steps; he came home and really practiced, and at the next rehearsal, he knew the dance. Both his partner and the director were totally delighted.
He is so pleased, himself. "It's really fun, once you know it," he told me. "And now that I know those steps, I can always do them at other places, like weddings." He also said, "I prayed every time the music started, and I really felt God helping me." And more than once: "Now I'm so glad I got that part!"
We are so proud of him! He has faced his fears, and three times, he has overcome his desire to give up when things are hard: practicing for the audition, memorizing all those lines, and learning this dance. The performances should be a piece of cake. For him, the huge character challenge was to make himself do the preliminary hard work.
And that, my friends, is probably the most important thing he's learned all year.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Epiphany Anniversary
Today at church we celebrated Epiphany and Light of Christ's second birthday!
Two years ago, during Epiphany, Mr. & Mrs. A held the first service in their home with the beginnings of a core team. At that point, Father Rooster was committed only to helping out once a month, as was one other priest. (It didn't take long for us and for the core team to agree that God was calling Father Rooster to a much great task, and by Easter Sunday of that year, we were coming every week and getting our house ready to put on the market.)
Our church is called Light of Christ because it began in Epiphany, when the Light of the World was revealed to the World: The readings for the day are either the Wise Men (representing the Gentile world) following the star (light) in the heavens, or the baptism of Jesus, when the dove and the Father's voice revealed him to be the Son of God.
In honor of our birthday, one member shared what the church had meant to her on her spiritual journey. She said that all her life, she had found the sense of God's presence to be elusive, even when intellectually she knew He was there. But at Light of Christ, she said, every Sunday, she always sensed God's presence, and that is what brought her and her family back week after week.
Praise God! I sat thinking, as she was sharing. How wonderful to hear that it wasn't the sermon or the music or the people that she kept coming back for--though I know she appreciates all those things--but for the presence of God himself! To me, this was such an affirmation that we're on the right track as a church.
We were delighted to have a number of visitors, including a young couple from our "mother church" and their little boy. They spent the afternoon and evening with us, sharing what God is doing in all our lives and exploring possible convergences in the future. We'll see what God may be doing there!
The wife is the daughter of some special friends of ours back in Illinois, and we were touched by a gift that had been sent with them--a large tin of homemade carmel corn, a specialty of her mother's, made for us. (I am munching on some as I type!) A small thing, but it goes a long way to keep a sense of connection with old friends. (Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. B! Can't wait to see you at Mars Hill!)
No birthday would be complete without a cake...so we had some after church.
What a blessed Epiphany Sunday!
Two years ago, during Epiphany, Mr. & Mrs. A held the first service in their home with the beginnings of a core team. At that point, Father Rooster was committed only to helping out once a month, as was one other priest. (It didn't take long for us and for the core team to agree that God was calling Father Rooster to a much great task, and by Easter Sunday of that year, we were coming every week and getting our house ready to put on the market.)
Our church is called Light of Christ because it began in Epiphany, when the Light of the World was revealed to the World: The readings for the day are either the Wise Men (representing the Gentile world) following the star (light) in the heavens, or the baptism of Jesus, when the dove and the Father's voice revealed him to be the Son of God.
In honor of our birthday, one member shared what the church had meant to her on her spiritual journey. She said that all her life, she had found the sense of God's presence to be elusive, even when intellectually she knew He was there. But at Light of Christ, she said, every Sunday, she always sensed God's presence, and that is what brought her and her family back week after week.
Praise God! I sat thinking, as she was sharing. How wonderful to hear that it wasn't the sermon or the music or the people that she kept coming back for--though I know she appreciates all those things--but for the presence of God himself! To me, this was such an affirmation that we're on the right track as a church.
We were delighted to have a number of visitors, including a young couple from our "mother church" and their little boy. They spent the afternoon and evening with us, sharing what God is doing in all our lives and exploring possible convergences in the future. We'll see what God may be doing there!
The wife is the daughter of some special friends of ours back in Illinois, and we were touched by a gift that had been sent with them--a large tin of homemade carmel corn, a specialty of her mother's, made for us. (I am munching on some as I type!) A small thing, but it goes a long way to keep a sense of connection with old friends. (Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. B! Can't wait to see you at Mars Hill!)
No birthday would be complete without a cake...so we had some after church.
What a blessed Epiphany Sunday!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
My 44th Birthday
Well, thanks everyone, for all the birthday good wishes!
It was kinda nice to get a "day off" from posting on my birthday!
It was a nice, low-key day at home. The kids had Schoolhouse Rock rehearsals in the evening, so Papa Rooster came with me to go out to dinner. Because the roads were bad--we got about 9 inches yesterday and another 9 last night!--we decided to just go to Panera and stay there, like I always do, instead of going somewhere else for dinner and then ending up there for decaf coffee by the fireplace until rehearsal ended at 9. He had a sermon to write, and I had a book and my trusty pink laptop, so it was a quiet evening. I loved it.
Not so quiet was my other celebration! But I loved it too:
On Thursday nights, the women of our church try to get together every week at a centrally-located coffee shop. Some weeks we're all there, some weeks just a few meet, but it's been a great way to get to know one another outside of church.
This week, I emailed all the ladies and told them that back in Illinois, it had been a birthday tradition to plan a ladies' night out for dinner in honor of my birthday. I suggested that our Thursday night coffee shop date would be perfect, if they could all make a special effort to come on the same week. And if they could find a few moments to write me an encouraging note, I'd be really blessed.
Well, seven gals were there, with cards, notes, balloons, a cake, and some brought "44's" as well. I got 44 candles on my cake, a 44-chocolate chip muffin, and 88 M&M's! They sang Happy Birthday and then one gal sang it again for me--in Chinese! We talked and laughed till the place closed. A wonderful time indeed.
I got wonderful notes from Papa Rooster and two of my older kids, some perfume, body lotion, a bracelet, a book, AND I have authorization to buy the new blender I've been eying, plus an electric can opener. My 44-year-old knuckles are starting to complain when I use the handheld one, so it's an appropriate gift to myself, I thought!
I'm sure not complaining. Our friend Annie was just about my age. Her memorial service is today, and I wish we could go. Between hating to ask if three kids could leave rehearsal 1.5 hours early, and hating to ask Blondechick's babysitting job if they had any wiggle room in their plans for the evening, and now with all the snow...I guess we're not going to try.
But my thoughts and prayers are with Annie's family and friends...especially her husband, who I know well. We were often on the makeup committee together, since he's an artist and so good at animal faces. He's going to be lost without her. And I can't imagine her kids, losing their mother at 13, 8 and 4.
I think, How would I live my life differently if I knew my time here was coming to an end? I know I would look for extraneous stuff to cut out...I would read more books to my youngest two...I would play more board games with Bantam9...I would have more heart to heart conversations with my teenagers and my husband.
But those are all things I am seriously striving to do, right now. (Okay, maybe not the board games.) But as I think honestly, I'm not sure I really would change very much about the way I do life. Except maybe to hire a cleaning service and a cook, if I could find one!
It's good to know that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing, for now, at least--as God grants me another year.
Onward and upward into it!
It was kinda nice to get a "day off" from posting on my birthday!
It was a nice, low-key day at home. The kids had Schoolhouse Rock rehearsals in the evening, so Papa Rooster came with me to go out to dinner. Because the roads were bad--we got about 9 inches yesterday and another 9 last night!--we decided to just go to Panera and stay there, like I always do, instead of going somewhere else for dinner and then ending up there for decaf coffee by the fireplace until rehearsal ended at 9. He had a sermon to write, and I had a book and my trusty pink laptop, so it was a quiet evening. I loved it.
Not so quiet was my other celebration! But I loved it too:
On Thursday nights, the women of our church try to get together every week at a centrally-located coffee shop. Some weeks we're all there, some weeks just a few meet, but it's been a great way to get to know one another outside of church.
This week, I emailed all the ladies and told them that back in Illinois, it had been a birthday tradition to plan a ladies' night out for dinner in honor of my birthday. I suggested that our Thursday night coffee shop date would be perfect, if they could all make a special effort to come on the same week. And if they could find a few moments to write me an encouraging note, I'd be really blessed.
Well, seven gals were there, with cards, notes, balloons, a cake, and some brought "44's" as well. I got 44 candles on my cake, a 44-chocolate chip muffin, and 88 M&M's! They sang Happy Birthday and then one gal sang it again for me--in Chinese! We talked and laughed till the place closed. A wonderful time indeed.
I got wonderful notes from Papa Rooster and two of my older kids, some perfume, body lotion, a bracelet, a book, AND I have authorization to buy the new blender I've been eying, plus an electric can opener. My 44-year-old knuckles are starting to complain when I use the handheld one, so it's an appropriate gift to myself, I thought!
I'm sure not complaining. Our friend Annie was just about my age. Her memorial service is today, and I wish we could go. Between hating to ask if three kids could leave rehearsal 1.5 hours early, and hating to ask Blondechick's babysitting job if they had any wiggle room in their plans for the evening, and now with all the snow...I guess we're not going to try.
But my thoughts and prayers are with Annie's family and friends...especially her husband, who I know well. We were often on the makeup committee together, since he's an artist and so good at animal faces. He's going to be lost without her. And I can't imagine her kids, losing their mother at 13, 8 and 4.
I think, How would I live my life differently if I knew my time here was coming to an end? I know I would look for extraneous stuff to cut out...I would read more books to my youngest two...I would play more board games with Bantam9...I would have more heart to heart conversations with my teenagers and my husband.
But those are all things I am seriously striving to do, right now. (Okay, maybe not the board games.) But as I think honestly, I'm not sure I really would change very much about the way I do life. Except maybe to hire a cleaning service and a cook, if I could find one!
It's good to know that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing, for now, at least--as God grants me another year.
Onward and upward into it!
Friday, January 09, 2009
Your Blog's Been Hen-Hacked!
Everyone give a jump for joy, Mama Hen is 44!
Chicks are known to jump for their mother's birthday, ya know!
We love you, mom!
-Bantams 17, 13, 10, & 3, Blondechick 16 & Chicklet 6
(Bantam 17 played safety and made sure our "eggs" didn't crack.)
Thursday, January 08, 2009
"Pretend I'm the Hott Girl..."
I have been lecturing my teens on being more careful about the way they talk around their younger siblings and being a good example.
Bantam13 and I were in the kitchen one day making lunch together when we heard Chicklet6 in the living room say to Bantam3, "Pretend the boy is crossing over the bridge to get to the hott girl!"
I made my aghast, "What Did I Tell You?" face at Bantam13, then hissed, "Go talk to her!"
He nodded sheepishly and headed for the living room.
"No, [Chicklet]," he said to her, in the kind, big brother tone that is his specialty, "You mean the pretty girl. You're not a hot girl. 'Hot' means 'sweaty.' You know like I am when I come in from a run? That's hot. You're a pretty girl."
"Oh yeah," she smiled at him, and giggled. "That's what I meant."
Nice recovery, Bantam13. This time....
Bantam13 and I were in the kitchen one day making lunch together when we heard Chicklet6 in the living room say to Bantam3, "Pretend the boy is crossing over the bridge to get to the hott girl!"
I made my aghast, "What Did I Tell You?" face at Bantam13, then hissed, "Go talk to her!"
He nodded sheepishly and headed for the living room.
"No, [Chicklet]," he said to her, in the kind, big brother tone that is his specialty, "You mean the pretty girl. You're not a hot girl. 'Hot' means 'sweaty.' You know like I am when I come in from a run? That's hot. You're a pretty girl."
"Oh yeah," she smiled at him, and giggled. "That's what I meant."
Nice recovery, Bantam13. This time....
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Ladies' Night Out
I mentioned way back on Saturday that something bloggable might be happening on Sunday night, and it did. My sis-in-love, Summer (at Crazy Days of Summer) and I got to meet up with Megan (at Fried Okra) for a little face time! Megan figured out that there was a resort at Lake Geneva that was about halfway for both of us, so we met there for dinner...and I'll have to let her tell the rest of that story.
Summer and I were just happy to leave the kids with the dads and the grandparents (thanks Mom, Dad, Papa Rooster and Pilot Brother!) and enjoy dinner with Megan, our second time to connect with her. Last time, none of us remembered a camera, but this time, we made sure we took a picture--by the Christmas carousel, of course.
A lot happened in all our lives since the last time we got together, and it was neat to share how God has worked--even in ways we had thought impossible at our last meeting! Megan never thought she'd have a second child...Summer hadn't even dreamt of starting the Pilot Wives Club...(oh, I haven't told y'all about the Pilot Wives Club!)...and we didn't know if we'd ever be able to sell our house and move to Wisconsin. But God had all these things in store, and we couldn't have guessed the details of any of them! But now, how wonderful to be able to share them with one another. It was a great time.
Now, let me tell you quick about Pilot Wives' Club! I was excited to hear about it because I used to have a good friend whose husband was a pilot, and she'd try to explain to me the frustrations of his schedule. She was in single parent survival mode while he was gone for days on end, with routines that worked for her and the kids, and then suddenly he'd be home for a week and have ideas and plans that she had to accomodate--and then he'd be gone again. It's a unique set of difficulties that puts a lot of strain on a marriage.
So Summer started the Pilot Wives' Club to be a support to these women. This site is a source of encouragement only--no bashing of husbands (or airlines) allowed. After two weeks of being a member, one woman wrote to thank Summer for starting the club, telling her that just finding out she was not alone, that other pilot wives had the same struggles, had helped normalize things so much for her. In fact, she said her marriage was the happiest it had ever been, just since she had joined!
So if you know of anyone married to a pilot, point them toward this site!
Now, a little advertising for Megan too...;) She has just started a series of posts with writing tips for bloggers, but I can tell they're going to be good for anyone wanting to improve their writing! Megan is SUCH a fun writer to read--I am looking forward to honing my style by thinking through her well-chosen words.
You go, girls!
Me, these days I am all about the new chapter of our children's theater group. Next Monday, the Chicago area executive director is coming to Kenosha and we are going to go to two middle schools, a high school, and maybe a private school to look at theater space for our first two productions next year! I am praying that one of these auditoriums will not only work with us, but welcome us. We'll see what God will do!
Summer and I were just happy to leave the kids with the dads and the grandparents (thanks Mom, Dad, Papa Rooster and Pilot Brother!) and enjoy dinner with Megan, our second time to connect with her. Last time, none of us remembered a camera, but this time, we made sure we took a picture--by the Christmas carousel, of course.
A lot happened in all our lives since the last time we got together, and it was neat to share how God has worked--even in ways we had thought impossible at our last meeting! Megan never thought she'd have a second child...Summer hadn't even dreamt of starting the Pilot Wives Club...(oh, I haven't told y'all about the Pilot Wives Club!)...and we didn't know if we'd ever be able to sell our house and move to Wisconsin. But God had all these things in store, and we couldn't have guessed the details of any of them! But now, how wonderful to be able to share them with one another. It was a great time.
Now, let me tell you quick about Pilot Wives' Club! I was excited to hear about it because I used to have a good friend whose husband was a pilot, and she'd try to explain to me the frustrations of his schedule. She was in single parent survival mode while he was gone for days on end, with routines that worked for her and the kids, and then suddenly he'd be home for a week and have ideas and plans that she had to accomodate--and then he'd be gone again. It's a unique set of difficulties that puts a lot of strain on a marriage.
So Summer started the Pilot Wives' Club to be a support to these women. This site is a source of encouragement only--no bashing of husbands (or airlines) allowed. After two weeks of being a member, one woman wrote to thank Summer for starting the club, telling her that just finding out she was not alone, that other pilot wives had the same struggles, had helped normalize things so much for her. In fact, she said her marriage was the happiest it had ever been, just since she had joined!
So if you know of anyone married to a pilot, point them toward this site!
Now, a little advertising for Megan too...;) She has just started a series of posts with writing tips for bloggers, but I can tell they're going to be good for anyone wanting to improve their writing! Megan is SUCH a fun writer to read--I am looking forward to honing my style by thinking through her well-chosen words.
You go, girls!
Me, these days I am all about the new chapter of our children's theater group. Next Monday, the Chicago area executive director is coming to Kenosha and we are going to go to two middle schools, a high school, and maybe a private school to look at theater space for our first two productions next year! I am praying that one of these auditoriums will not only work with us, but welcome us. We'll see what God will do!
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Sad News on a Day of Light
Does anyone remember a guest post I put up over a year ago, from a mom in our theater group who had cancer? She said when she got the news that she had cancer, she felt like Charlie Brown, looking in his paper sack on Halloween and hoping for a treat like all the other kids, only to find "I got a rock." She continued:
I am, however, somewhat of a hybrid mix of Peppermint Patty, Snoopy and Linus. So the term "I got a rock" for me became a shout of gladness...I GOT A ROCK!!!!!!! I do have a rock-- the best kind of rock, one that will never waver, not a rock of the disappointing sort but one of great joy!
There is no Rock like our God, no other name, worthy of all our praise, The Rock of salvation that cannot be moved, He's proven Himself to be faithful and true!!! (One of my favorite praise song lyrics.)
Today, Annie left this transient world and planted her feet on the solid Rock of heaven.
As her friends, we rejoice for her--but we grieve for ourselves, and for her husband, teenage son, younger son, and 4-year-old daughter. Our tight-knit theater group will be such a support to them, but so many of the kids in it are going to be reeling in the pain of her death. They are in the midst of rehearsals for a show in which her son has a lead part (he is Pharaoh in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), so if you can join me in prayer for her family, please include the kids in the cast and the families in our theater group. Annie was so well-loved by us all.
She once described her crazy, cheerful personality and her mission in life in this way (I'm paraphrasing): "I was born with a can of yellow paint in my hand, and I just knew that my job was to paint everyone around me with cheerful yellow paint!" And that's exactly what she did.
The twelve days of Christmas ended yesterday, and today is the Feast of Epiphany, on which we celebrate the Light of Christ manifested for the first time to the Gentiles (the Wise Men). It seems appropriate that Annie, who was such a light to us all, was swept up into the light of Heaven on this day, to be with the Light of the world.
Just a year ago, when Annie learned that her cancer had spread, she wrote that she would be a light for God in her remaining days:
I have nothing but a clear goal of honoring my Saviour through my suffering--whether I go this year or next, whatever time He chooses--it is HIS will--not mine. ...I am not giving up--I have much Hope and I know that if God wants to heal me and perform miracles, then He shall, but I do not claim to have the power to tell God what to do--HE IS GOD!!!!! and HE IS GOOD!!!!! And as hard as it is--it MUST be that way--HIS WILL. ...So please do not weep for me out of sadness or woe, but be glad that He gave me this time to be a light for Him and have a much more heavenly reward than ever imaginable! I get to go see JESUS! ........How cool is THAT???????
Let us rejoice with Annie...but mourn with her family and friends. Thank you for your prayers, if you are so led.
(And thank you for those who prayed for my friend Taryn--she is home, on anti-seizure medicine, and recovering well! What a joyful answer to our prayers!)
I am, however, somewhat of a hybrid mix of Peppermint Patty, Snoopy and Linus. So the term "I got a rock" for me became a shout of gladness...I GOT A ROCK!!!!!!! I do have a rock-- the best kind of rock, one that will never waver, not a rock of the disappointing sort but one of great joy!
There is no Rock like our God, no other name, worthy of all our praise, The Rock of salvation that cannot be moved, He's proven Himself to be faithful and true!!! (One of my favorite praise song lyrics.)
Today, Annie left this transient world and planted her feet on the solid Rock of heaven.
As her friends, we rejoice for her--but we grieve for ourselves, and for her husband, teenage son, younger son, and 4-year-old daughter. Our tight-knit theater group will be such a support to them, but so many of the kids in it are going to be reeling in the pain of her death. They are in the midst of rehearsals for a show in which her son has a lead part (he is Pharaoh in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), so if you can join me in prayer for her family, please include the kids in the cast and the families in our theater group. Annie was so well-loved by us all.
She once described her crazy, cheerful personality and her mission in life in this way (I'm paraphrasing): "I was born with a can of yellow paint in my hand, and I just knew that my job was to paint everyone around me with cheerful yellow paint!" And that's exactly what she did.
The twelve days of Christmas ended yesterday, and today is the Feast of Epiphany, on which we celebrate the Light of Christ manifested for the first time to the Gentiles (the Wise Men). It seems appropriate that Annie, who was such a light to us all, was swept up into the light of Heaven on this day, to be with the Light of the world.
Just a year ago, when Annie learned that her cancer had spread, she wrote that she would be a light for God in her remaining days:
I have nothing but a clear goal of honoring my Saviour through my suffering--whether I go this year or next, whatever time He chooses--it is HIS will--not mine. ...I am not giving up--I have much Hope and I know that if God wants to heal me and perform miracles, then He shall, but I do not claim to have the power to tell God what to do--HE IS GOD!!!!! and HE IS GOOD!!!!! And as hard as it is--it MUST be that way--HIS WILL. ...So please do not weep for me out of sadness or woe, but be glad that He gave me this time to be a light for Him and have a much more heavenly reward than ever imaginable! I get to go see JESUS! ........How cool is THAT???????
Let us rejoice with Annie...but mourn with her family and friends. Thank you for your prayers, if you are so led.
(And thank you for those who prayed for my friend Taryn--she is home, on anti-seizure medicine, and recovering well! What a joyful answer to our prayers!)
Monday, January 05, 2009
Speaking of Movies...
Look what Papa Rooster did with one of his days of Christmas vacation!
One of our neighbors gave us these seats which he got from an old school. (He had used them in his basement for home theater seating until he upgraded to the really cushy wide ones that recline.) These have the little lift-up table thingies and everything--perfect for mid-movie snacks.
Papa Rooster isn't usually the weekend handyman type, so this was quite a project for him to take on. He did a fabulous job--he even laid the carpeting himself!
And now we have seating for the whole Henhouse family, plus guests! Bring on the movie nights!
(No, that's not an abstract art in the window--just colorful fleece pillows we shoved up there for wintertime insulation.)
***
Now tonight, we are seating my parents, brother, sister-in-law and all our kiddos to watch sports! (--besides the Olympics, not such a common Henhouse activity). My dad is a lifelong Buckeye fan, and my brother has completely converted my Florida-born sis-in-law so that she's more passionate than I am about Ohio State. But let's face it, football just isn't a big interest of mine. Sorry, Dad.
Our Hero and Mrs. A joined us for the first half, but we rode him out of town when he revealed that he was rooting for Texas, the Big Twelve team. (He is such a loyal Cornhusker fan that he has worn red socks every day since I first met him back at Wheaton College.) Sorry, Mrs. A.
And if I'm rambling now, it's because I'm trying to write and watch a football game at the same time, and things don't look so great for Ohio State. Sorry, everyone.
One of our neighbors gave us these seats which he got from an old school. (He had used them in his basement for home theater seating until he upgraded to the really cushy wide ones that recline.) These have the little lift-up table thingies and everything--perfect for mid-movie snacks.
Papa Rooster isn't usually the weekend handyman type, so this was quite a project for him to take on. He did a fabulous job--he even laid the carpeting himself!
And now we have seating for the whole Henhouse family, plus guests! Bring on the movie nights!
(No, that's not an abstract art in the window--just colorful fleece pillows we shoved up there for wintertime insulation.)
***
Now tonight, we are seating my parents, brother, sister-in-law and all our kiddos to watch sports! (--besides the Olympics, not such a common Henhouse activity). My dad is a lifelong Buckeye fan, and my brother has completely converted my Florida-born sis-in-law so that she's more passionate than I am about Ohio State. But let's face it, football just isn't a big interest of mine. Sorry, Dad.
Our Hero and Mrs. A joined us for the first half, but we rode him out of town when he revealed that he was rooting for Texas, the Big Twelve team. (He is such a loyal Cornhusker fan that he has worn red socks every day since I first met him back at Wheaton College.) Sorry, Mrs. A.
And if I'm rambling now, it's because I'm trying to write and watch a football game at the same time, and things don't look so great for Ohio State. Sorry, everyone.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
My Minivan is My Cell
Late last night, it became clear that Bantam9 was really sick. He had been coughing a lot, off and on, for nearly a month, but it had just become nonstop, and now he had a fever of 101. Plus he was coughing up copious amounts of phlegm...and a quick Googling of those symptoms revealed that he could very well be getting pneumonia.
So today, instead of spending the nice domestic day I had planned, cleaning, cooking ahead and preparing the guest room for my parents, sister-in-law and two nieces who were arriving this afternoon...
I spent from 10:30 to 4:00 with Bantam9 at the walk-in clinic (with the exception of a short period when, facing a 2-hour wait, we went home for 45 minutes, only to be called and told that our names were coming up sooner than expected).
Yes, our names, because I had an urgent reason to see the doctor myself, which I had put off because of holiday busyness and doctor's office closures.
Long story short, Bantam9's chest x-ray does indeed look suspicious for early pneumonia, and I was given several new things to schedule further doctor's visits for, including a reminder to get that baseline mammogram that I still haven't had. And you can just guess how excited I must be at the thought of spending more time in a waiting room.
So while I was waiting, I was reading Kathleen Norris' new book, Acedia and Me. Acedia is a very old name for a modern condition--something between depression and restlessness, I would nutshell it.
I was struck by this passage:
My heart leaped at this. Oh, to go and sit alone in my cell! (It's a monk's bedroom, essentially). To embrace its peace and quiet! Sign me up!
Later, on my way to the pharmacy, with a house full of relatives and my planned preparations undone, this thought returned to me. And a second thought flashed just as quickly through my mind: This minivan is your cell.
No doubt I was affected by an article I just read yesterday (HT Jen at Conversion Diary) called "The Domestic Monastary." Here is a relevant portion:
There is a lot more I'd like to say about that, but it's way late and we have church in the morning and then second Christmas tomorrow afternoon. Then another bloggable treat is expected around dinner time, barring illness or the monastic bell of some other emergency! And my brother is joining our party, and sometime tomorrow, I hope to upload pictures so I can write the promised "Speaking of Movies" follow-up I so rashly promised for today.
So I must adieu...but think on it, all: "Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything."
What is your cell?
So today, instead of spending the nice domestic day I had planned, cleaning, cooking ahead and preparing the guest room for my parents, sister-in-law and two nieces who were arriving this afternoon...
I spent from 10:30 to 4:00 with Bantam9 at the walk-in clinic (with the exception of a short period when, facing a 2-hour wait, we went home for 45 minutes, only to be called and told that our names were coming up sooner than expected).
Yes, our names, because I had an urgent reason to see the doctor myself, which I had put off because of holiday busyness and doctor's office closures.
Long story short, Bantam9's chest x-ray does indeed look suspicious for early pneumonia, and I was given several new things to schedule further doctor's visits for, including a reminder to get that baseline mammogram that I still haven't had. And you can just guess how excited I must be at the thought of spending more time in a waiting room.
So while I was waiting, I was reading Kathleen Norris' new book, Acedia and Me. Acedia is a very old name for a modern condition--something between depression and restlessness, I would nutshell it.
I was struck by this passage:
A desert monk troubled by "bad thoughts" knew he was not alone. He was expected to seek an elder and ask for "a word." But the elder consulted was likely to be reluctant, and even suspicious. If he determined that he was being consulted for the wrong reasons, as a diversion from tedium or an excuse to socialize, he would admonish the seeker to stop looking outward for what he needed to look for within. Lengthy confession or conversation was deemed unnecessary, and the elder's good word often consisted of Zen-like instruction: "Go, sit in your cell," said Abba Moses, "and your cell will teach you everything."
My heart leaped at this. Oh, to go and sit alone in my cell! (It's a monk's bedroom, essentially). To embrace its peace and quiet! Sign me up!
Later, on my way to the pharmacy, with a house full of relatives and my planned preparations undone, this thought returned to me. And a second thought flashed just as quickly through my mind: This minivan is your cell.
No doubt I was affected by an article I just read yesterday (HT Jen at Conversion Diary) called "The Domestic Monastary." Here is a relevant portion:
Moreover, the demands of young children also provide her with what St. Bernard, one of the great architects of monasticism, called the "monastic bell". All monasteries have a bell. Bernard, in writing his rules for monasticism, told his monks that whenever the monastic bell rang, they were to drop whatever they were doing and go immediately to the particular activity (prayer, meals, work, study, sleep) to which the bell was summoning them. He was adamant that they respond immediately, stating that if they were writing a letter they were to stop in mid-sentence when the bell rang. The idea in his mind was that when the bell called, it called you to the next task and you were to respond immediately, not because you want to, but because it's time for that task and time isn't your time, it's God's time. For him, the monastic bell was intended as a discipline to stretch the heart by always taking you beyond your own agenda to God's agenda.
Hence, a mother raising children, perhaps in a more privileged way even than a professional contemplative, is forced, almost against her will, to constantly stretch her heart. For years, while raising children, her time is never her own, her own needs have to be kept in second place, and every time she turns around a hand is reaching out and demanding something. She hears the monastic bell many times during the day and she has to drop things in mid-sentence and respond, not because she wants to, but because it's time for that activity and time isn't her time, but God's time.
There is a lot more I'd like to say about that, but it's way late and we have church in the morning and then second Christmas tomorrow afternoon. Then another bloggable treat is expected around dinner time, barring illness or the monastic bell of some other emergency! And my brother is joining our party, and sometime tomorrow, I hope to upload pictures so I can write the promised "Speaking of Movies" follow-up I so rashly promised for today.
So I must adieu...but think on it, all: "Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything."
What is your cell?
Friday, January 02, 2009
Movies Watched--2008
These are the movies that I personally watched, with various combinations of our family members. That means, no, our younger children did not watch all of these with us!
The Trouble With Harry
The trouble with Harry is that he's so inconveniently dead! If you like old movies, this is an Alfred Hitchcock comedy--a rare combination--that you must watch.
Finding Neverland
Well-done, touching.
Three Days of the Condor
Robert Redford caught in the middle of a suspenseful spy story. Has held up well, for a movie shot in the 70's.
Across the Universe (fast-forwarding through a couple scenes)
Because our teens like the Beatles. Not much plot.
Oliver! (the musical, of course)
I was afraid the scene where Bill Sykes kills Nancy was too scary for our little kids, but they loved watched this movie while we were rehearsing for the theater production. Bantam3's first attempts at singing were from this movie. "WHO WILL BUY?" he demanded, over and over.
Digging for the Truth (all seasons, from the library)
Our boys loved Josh, the totally cool historian host in the Indiana Jones hat, and all the cool historical mysteries he delved into. His honest debunking of the Da Vinci Code myth was a fun episode; most of his mysteries were grounded in more facts than this one!
Bleak House (BBC)
At A Hen's Pace review here.
Evita
Not for younger kids, but wow, did this powerful film generate discussion with teens! (Who were Evita, Che Guevara, Madonna? We ended up checking facts on Wikipedia.) A lesser-known Andrew Lloyd Weber musical that illustrates the lust for power and fame, the lengths people will go to to get it, and the sobering fact of mortality. Raw, negative examples and an intense musical score.
Prince Caspian
At A Hen's pace review here.
David Copperfield (BBC)
We enjoyed this 1974 version, which seems to be well-thought-of by reviewers. Not as good as Bleak House or Our Mutual Friend, though.
Be Kind Rewind
Dumb, dumb, dumb.
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Pretty good, but too scary for young kids. I thought the ending, where the old woman becomes a little girl again and disappears with her father into the limbo-land where he's been hanging out all her life, was disturbing.
Love Comes Softly
A delightful movie version of the Janette Oke book.
The Inheritance
Diane at A Circle of Quiet cited this movie as a rare exception: When the movie is better than the book. Since I had read the book--Louisa May Alcott's first novel--and thought it pretty amateurish, I expected to agree, and did. Somewhere I read a reviewer who thought that the screenwriters edited just as a mature Alcott would have done, had she ever gone back and revised her own book. This was a nice Hallmark production.
Speed Racer
We would have enjoyed this more if the action weren't so frenetic! But I loved the casting. It was like seeing the old cartoons come to life.
Leatherheads
Kind of a fun period film about the early days of football, before it went pro. Not for younger kids.
21
A group of students are trained to count cards and win big at blackjack in Vegas. But at what cost? A couple scenes to fast-forward through.
Iron Man
A well-done superhero movie. I really liked Robert Downey Jr. in the title role. (He barely looked older than he did in the 80's!)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The old man still has it. Entertaining.
Twilight
My thoughts here.
Bella
A beautiful story of tragedy and redemption.
Mean Girls
My thoughts here.
Get Smart
We like Steve Carell. We like Anne Hathaway. We still laugh at Dwayne Johnson running into a wall in the first scene.
Scrooge, the Musical
Starring Albert Finney, from the 1970's. This film has it all--British accents, wonderful musical numbers, romance, a crippled boy soprano and a marvelous message. We watch it every year.
A Christmas Story
Laughs all around, of course, but several of us recalled why it's just not our favorite Christmas movie.
Dark Knight
Wo! Intense.
Return of the Pink Panther
The Pink Panther Strikes Again
Starring Peter Sellers. We also watched the new one, The Pink Panther, with Steve Martin, earlier this year, but kept telling our kids, "Oh, he's just not Peter Sellers!" They won't all admit it, but they laughed harder at the old ones.
The Bishop's Wife
The old one. Haven't seen the new one.
Ladyhawke
We watched this with friends and enjoyed the story very much--but we all agreed it needs to be re-released with a new soundtrack! The current one is totally 80's synthesizer music. (And Matthew Broderick looked just like he did in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, which was distracting!) Still, worth watching.
There were more, that I forgot to write down. There were more, that some family members watched, but not me. There were more, that our kids watched without us.
For better or worse, movies are the shared cultural experiences that span generations!
Tomorrow: "Speaking of Movies..."
The Trouble With Harry
The trouble with Harry is that he's so inconveniently dead! If you like old movies, this is an Alfred Hitchcock comedy--a rare combination--that you must watch.
Finding Neverland
Well-done, touching.
Three Days of the Condor
Robert Redford caught in the middle of a suspenseful spy story. Has held up well, for a movie shot in the 70's.
Across the Universe (fast-forwarding through a couple scenes)
Because our teens like the Beatles. Not much plot.
Oliver! (the musical, of course)
I was afraid the scene where Bill Sykes kills Nancy was too scary for our little kids, but they loved watched this movie while we were rehearsing for the theater production. Bantam3's first attempts at singing were from this movie. "WHO WILL BUY?" he demanded, over and over.
Digging for the Truth (all seasons, from the library)
Our boys loved Josh, the totally cool historian host in the Indiana Jones hat, and all the cool historical mysteries he delved into. His honest debunking of the Da Vinci Code myth was a fun episode; most of his mysteries were grounded in more facts than this one!
Jane Eyre (Masterpiece Theater)
Fabulous.Mansfield Park (Masterpiece Theater)
Ditto.
Harry Houdini (A & E Biography)
I figured this was a must-see for two boys learning magic tricks!
Ditto.
Harry Houdini (A & E Biography)
I figured this was a must-see for two boys learning magic tricks!
State Fair
A fun Iowa-flavored musical, with little-known actors and a little-known score, but several Academy Award nominations. I always wondered what musical "It Might As Well Be Spring" was from.
A fun Iowa-flavored musical, with little-known actors and a little-known score, but several Academy Award nominations. I always wondered what musical "It Might As Well Be Spring" was from.
Our Mutual Friend (BBC)
At A Hen's Pace review here.
Evita
Not for younger kids, but wow, did this powerful film generate discussion with teens! (Who were Evita, Che Guevara, Madonna? We ended up checking facts on Wikipedia.) A lesser-known Andrew Lloyd Weber musical that illustrates the lust for power and fame, the lengths people will go to to get it, and the sobering fact of mortality. Raw, negative examples and an intense musical score.
Prince Caspian
At A Hen's pace review here.
David Copperfield (BBC)
We enjoyed this 1974 version, which seems to be well-thought-of by reviewers. Not as good as Bleak House or Our Mutual Friend, though.
Be Kind Rewind
Dumb, dumb, dumb.
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Pretty good, but too scary for young kids. I thought the ending, where the old woman becomes a little girl again and disappears with her father into the limbo-land where he's been hanging out all her life, was disturbing.
Love Comes Softly
A delightful movie version of the Janette Oke book.
The Inheritance
Diane at A Circle of Quiet cited this movie as a rare exception: When the movie is better than the book. Since I had read the book--Louisa May Alcott's first novel--and thought it pretty amateurish, I expected to agree, and did. Somewhere I read a reviewer who thought that the screenwriters edited just as a mature Alcott would have done, had she ever gone back and revised her own book. This was a nice Hallmark production.
Speed Racer
We would have enjoyed this more if the action weren't so frenetic! But I loved the casting. It was like seeing the old cartoons come to life.
Leatherheads
Kind of a fun period film about the early days of football, before it went pro. Not for younger kids.
21
A group of students are trained to count cards and win big at blackjack in Vegas. But at what cost? A couple scenes to fast-forward through.
Iron Man
A well-done superhero movie. I really liked Robert Downey Jr. in the title role. (He barely looked older than he did in the 80's!)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The old man still has it. Entertaining.
Twilight
My thoughts here.
Bella
A beautiful story of tragedy and redemption.
Mean Girls
My thoughts here.
Get Smart
We like Steve Carell. We like Anne Hathaway. We still laugh at Dwayne Johnson running into a wall in the first scene.
Scrooge, the Musical
Starring Albert Finney, from the 1970's. This film has it all--British accents, wonderful musical numbers, romance, a crippled boy soprano and a marvelous message. We watch it every year.
A Christmas Story
Laughs all around, of course, but several of us recalled why it's just not our favorite Christmas movie.
Dark Knight
Wo! Intense.
Return of the Pink Panther
The Pink Panther Strikes Again
Starring Peter Sellers. We also watched the new one, The Pink Panther, with Steve Martin, earlier this year, but kept telling our kids, "Oh, he's just not Peter Sellers!" They won't all admit it, but they laughed harder at the old ones.
The Bishop's Wife
The old one. Haven't seen the new one.
Ladyhawke
We watched this with friends and enjoyed the story very much--but we all agreed it needs to be re-released with a new soundtrack! The current one is totally 80's synthesizer music. (And Matthew Broderick looked just like he did in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, which was distracting!) Still, worth watching.
There were more, that I forgot to write down. There were more, that some family members watched, but not me. There were more, that our kids watched without us.
For better or worse, movies are the shared cultural experiences that span generations!
Tomorrow: "Speaking of Movies..."
If You Are So Led...
...please pray for our friend Taryn today.
She has been in the hospital. At first she was admitted for an abdominal abscess or inflammation; then she had a seizure. They had just ruled out meningitis as a cause, when she had another one today, and they don't know why. She is very weak.
Taryn just gave birth about five weeks ago, and since she is in intensive care, her infant daughter cannot be with her in the hospital. So this is quite a crisis for their family on a number of levels.
Strengthen your servants Taryn & Kurt, O God, to do what they have to do and bear what they have to bear; that, accepting your healing gifts through the skill of surgeons and nurses, Taryn may be restored to wholeness and health with a thankful heart; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(a prayer written by Deacon Matt at Church of the Resurrection)
She has been in the hospital. At first she was admitted for an abdominal abscess or inflammation; then she had a seizure. They had just ruled out meningitis as a cause, when she had another one today, and they don't know why. She is very weak.
Taryn just gave birth about five weeks ago, and since she is in intensive care, her infant daughter cannot be with her in the hospital. So this is quite a crisis for their family on a number of levels.
Strengthen your servants Taryn & Kurt, O God, to do what they have to do and bear what they have to bear; that, accepting your healing gifts through the skill of surgeons and nurses, Taryn may be restored to wholeness and health with a thankful heart; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(a prayer written by Deacon Matt at Church of the Resurrection)
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Books Read--2008
Despite our crazy year, I still managed to get in a good bit of reading. You will notice, though, how many are audiobooks!
At A Hen's Pace review here.
Do You Know What I Like About You?: Jump-Starting Virtues and Values in Your Children, by Cynthia Tobias
At A Hen's Pace review here.
Kentucky Sunrise, by Fern Michaels (audio)
Having read my share of horse stories as a girl, I thought I'd enjoy an adult one. Too bad the author hadn't done much research on horse racing! Still, I enjoyed the characters and figuring out the back story, as this is the finale to a series. A relatively engaging time-passer, but nothing special.
Dead Heat, by Dick Francis and Felix Francis (audio)
I like a good thriller, especially when they tie in to horse racing, which is what all Dick Francis mysteries do. This recent father-son effort is as good as any of the originals.
The Life God Blesses, by Jim Cymbala
A short, but sweet read. Thought-provoking.
She Got Up Off the Couch, by Haven Kimmel (audio)
At A Hen's Pace review here.
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, by Robert C. O'Brien (read aloud to kids)
This book holds a special place in my heart which I can't quite explain. As a child I was so intrigued by the civilization of these intelligent rats and mice who have escaped from a lab (at the National Institute of Mental Health--I never caught that as a 4th grader!). You'd be surprised at the level of suspense that builds throughout the book, and at the larger questions about technology that the story raises. The Bantams 13 & 9 loved it, too. One of my all-time favorite children's books.
The Prize Winner of Defiance, OH, by Terry Ryan (audio)
At A Hen's Pace review here.
Twice Shy, by Dick Francis (audio)
Possibly the weakest Francis mystery I've read, but hilarious to hear the 1981 computer jargon that was so cutting edge at the time, and now sounds so prehistoric!
Prince Caspian, by C.S. Lewis (read aloud to kids)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C.S. Lewis (read aloud to kids)
I'm so glad I am re-reading these. I can't remember how old I was the last time I read the Chronicles--probably high school?--but this time around, as an adult (and possibly as an Anglican, like Lewis), I saw so many wonderful metaphors and allegories of the Christian life. In fact, I would so often choke up as they dawned on me, and then I had to explain to the boys...and I think they benefited, not just from the spiritual images, but in understanding how literature can function on multiple levels.
Juneteenth, by Ralph Ellison (audio)
This author's famous book is Invisible Man, a 1952 novel about a black man traveling through white America. This one was edited and published posthumously as a story about a white, racist Senator who is mortally wounded by an assassin and calls for a black minister to attend him in hospital. The story unfolds as a series of shared memories as we learn that Rev. Hickman raised the Senator from boyhood. Though how he went from junior preacher to racist Senator is not explained, the main appeal of this book is not plot so much as poetry, the eloquence of thought, and the beauty of the black religious attitude and dialect.
I don't think I'd have enjoyed this book nearly as much if I'd read it to myself, but the performance--for it was not just a reading--was marvelous. The black reader, Blair Underwood, brought the poetry and the dialect to life.
Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana, by Anne Rice (audio)
I read Out of Egypt, the first book in this series on the life of Christ, last year and liked it fine, but this one, I thought, was much better. It portrayed Jesus as such a real human being, rooted in his time and place (the author's research added so much here), and experiencing the emotions and temptations common to man. The scene with the Devil and his temptations was wonderfully done, with a restraint you might not expect from the author of The Vampire Chronicles. Her autobiographical account of her conversion is on my shelf for 2009!
And my pick for "book of the year," because it was so powerful:
The Island of the World, by Michael O'Brien
At A Hen's Pace review here.
Tomorrow..."Movies Watched--2008"!
For more year-end book lists...see Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books!
Girls Gone Mild, by Wendy Shalit
While her first book, A Return to Modesty, presented a case for modesty and how it benefits women, this book documents current trends away from and in reaction to an oversexualized view of women. Well-researched and engagingly presented.
The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger (audio)
An intriguing story that I'd love to recommend, if it weren't for all the sex scenes. I can overlook a good bit, but it was too much.
Blessed Are the Cheesemakers, by Sarah-Kate Lynch (audio)
At A Hen's Pace review here.
Holiness for Housewives, by Hubert van Zeller
Some good thoughts, but not really outstanding.
A Long Way from Chicago, by Richard Peck (audio)
A Year Down Yonder, by Richard Peck (audio)
These two children's books were among the best books I read all year! Clever and funny, sometimes poignant--a wonderful combination. Any adult would love them, and either would be be great to read during a unit study on the Depression.
Hannah Coulter, by Wendell Berry
At A Hen's Pace review here.
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, by Alexander McCall Smith (audio)
More in the wonderful The #1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.
A Candle for St. Jude, by Rumer Godden
I really liked the characterization in this novel about an aging ballerina, her dance school, its students and her secretary.
Life of Pi, by Yann Martel (audio)
This is a fantasy adventure about a boy's experience growing up in India and emigrating to Canada. Enroute, his ship sinks and he survives on a lifeboat--with a Bengal tiger for company. (Or is that really what happened?) One of the most intriguing scenes is early in the book, when he investigates and compares Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. Overall, I'm not sure what to think of this book, but I liked it!
Right Ho, Jeeves! by P.G. Wodehouse (audio)
A re-listen of the book which includes my all-time favorite Wodehouse scene, when an enebriated Gussy Finknottle addresses the Market Snodsbury Grammar School at its annual prize-giving. This is perhaps the tightest of Wodehouse's longer Jeeves stories and my favorite! (You must listen to a good British reader perform it, and please don't settle for the video version, which leaves out so many good bits.)
Little Women (audio, Focus on the Family Radio Theater)
An excellent dramatized production.
Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Equivel (audio)
I re-listened to this because I enjoyed it years ago. It is an unusual novel, with a strong Latin American flavor, heightened by a device called magical realism. The subtitle describes its unusual structure: A novel in monthly installments with recipes, romances and home remedies. It's full of passion and some eroticism, but not terribly explicit--like a good tango.
Strong as Desire, by Laura Esquivel (audio)
It had its moments, but wasn't nearly as good as Like Water for Chocolate.
Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens (audio)
This was great! Would make a great read-aloud.
Usborne History of the Twentieth Century (read aloud to kids)
We really enjoyed this illustrated summary of the major events and trends of this era.
The Endless Steppe, by Esther Hautzig (read aloud to kids)
This was an engagingly well-written autobiographical narrative of a girl whose family is deported to Siberia by the Russians during World War 2. A great story of how rich "capitalists" managed to survive in the face of absolutely dire poverty.
Murder on a Bad Hair Day, by Anne George (audio)
I couldn't pass up the title, or the premise--two Southern sisters are the would-be detectives. They're twins but couldn't be more different. I liked the characterization and the Southern charm, but I won't be reading another in this series because it had too much swearing, especially for an audiobook. (Little ears about, plus you can't skim over it!)
My Man Jeeves, by P.G. Wodehouse (BBC Audio)
My new library had this new-to-me collection of Jeeves stories, and since I regularly wore out my last library's Wodehouse tapes, I snapped up this book-on-disc. Great fun!
Scream-Free Parenting, by Hal Runkel (audio)
At A Hen's Pace review here.
When Anger Hurts Your Kids: A Parent's Guide by McKay, Fanning, Paleg & Landis
At A Hen's Pace review here.
Prince of Foxes, by Samuel Shellabarger
This is a wonderful novel of historical fiction, set in Italy in the time of Cesare Borgia. It has intrigue, romance, art, sword-fighting, a virgin saint, a religious conversion, and a hidden true identity: What more could one want? I shall be looking for more Shellabarger.
No: Why Kids--Of All Ages--Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It, by David WalshWhile her first book, A Return to Modesty, presented a case for modesty and how it benefits women, this book documents current trends away from and in reaction to an oversexualized view of women. Well-researched and engagingly presented.
The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger (audio)
An intriguing story that I'd love to recommend, if it weren't for all the sex scenes. I can overlook a good bit, but it was too much.
Blessed Are the Cheesemakers, by Sarah-Kate Lynch (audio)
At A Hen's Pace review here.
Holiness for Housewives, by Hubert van Zeller
Some good thoughts, but not really outstanding.
A Long Way from Chicago, by Richard Peck (audio)
A Year Down Yonder, by Richard Peck (audio)
These two children's books were among the best books I read all year! Clever and funny, sometimes poignant--a wonderful combination. Any adult would love them, and either would be be great to read during a unit study on the Depression.
Hannah Coulter, by Wendell Berry
At A Hen's Pace review here.
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, by Alexander McCall Smith (audio)
More in the wonderful The #1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.
A Candle for St. Jude, by Rumer Godden
I really liked the characterization in this novel about an aging ballerina, her dance school, its students and her secretary.
Life of Pi, by Yann Martel (audio)
This is a fantasy adventure about a boy's experience growing up in India and emigrating to Canada. Enroute, his ship sinks and he survives on a lifeboat--with a Bengal tiger for company. (Or is that really what happened?) One of the most intriguing scenes is early in the book, when he investigates and compares Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. Overall, I'm not sure what to think of this book, but I liked it!
Right Ho, Jeeves! by P.G. Wodehouse (audio)
A re-listen of the book which includes my all-time favorite Wodehouse scene, when an enebriated Gussy Finknottle addresses the Market Snodsbury Grammar School at its annual prize-giving. This is perhaps the tightest of Wodehouse's longer Jeeves stories and my favorite! (You must listen to a good British reader perform it, and please don't settle for the video version, which leaves out so many good bits.)
Little Women (audio, Focus on the Family Radio Theater)
An excellent dramatized production.
Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Equivel (audio)
I re-listened to this because I enjoyed it years ago. It is an unusual novel, with a strong Latin American flavor, heightened by a device called magical realism. The subtitle describes its unusual structure: A novel in monthly installments with recipes, romances and home remedies. It's full of passion and some eroticism, but not terribly explicit--like a good tango.
Strong as Desire, by Laura Esquivel (audio)
It had its moments, but wasn't nearly as good as Like Water for Chocolate.
Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens (audio)
This was great! Would make a great read-aloud.
Usborne History of the Twentieth Century (read aloud to kids)
We really enjoyed this illustrated summary of the major events and trends of this era.
The Endless Steppe, by Esther Hautzig (read aloud to kids)
This was an engagingly well-written autobiographical narrative of a girl whose family is deported to Siberia by the Russians during World War 2. A great story of how rich "capitalists" managed to survive in the face of absolutely dire poverty.
Murder on a Bad Hair Day, by Anne George (audio)
I couldn't pass up the title, or the premise--two Southern sisters are the would-be detectives. They're twins but couldn't be more different. I liked the characterization and the Southern charm, but I won't be reading another in this series because it had too much swearing, especially for an audiobook. (Little ears about, plus you can't skim over it!)
My Man Jeeves, by P.G. Wodehouse (BBC Audio)
My new library had this new-to-me collection of Jeeves stories, and since I regularly wore out my last library's Wodehouse tapes, I snapped up this book-on-disc. Great fun!
Scream-Free Parenting, by Hal Runkel (audio)
At A Hen's Pace review here.
When Anger Hurts Your Kids: A Parent's Guide by McKay, Fanning, Paleg & Landis
At A Hen's Pace review here.
Prince of Foxes, by Samuel Shellabarger
This is a wonderful novel of historical fiction, set in Italy in the time of Cesare Borgia. It has intrigue, romance, art, sword-fighting, a virgin saint, a religious conversion, and a hidden true identity: What more could one want? I shall be looking for more Shellabarger.
At A Hen's Pace review here.
Do You Know What I Like About You?: Jump-Starting Virtues and Values in Your Children, by Cynthia Tobias
At A Hen's Pace review here.
Kentucky Sunrise, by Fern Michaels (audio)
Having read my share of horse stories as a girl, I thought I'd enjoy an adult one. Too bad the author hadn't done much research on horse racing! Still, I enjoyed the characters and figuring out the back story, as this is the finale to a series. A relatively engaging time-passer, but nothing special.
Dead Heat, by Dick Francis and Felix Francis (audio)
I like a good thriller, especially when they tie in to horse racing, which is what all Dick Francis mysteries do. This recent father-son effort is as good as any of the originals.
The Life God Blesses, by Jim Cymbala
A short, but sweet read. Thought-provoking.
She Got Up Off the Couch, by Haven Kimmel (audio)
At A Hen's Pace review here.
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, by Robert C. O'Brien (read aloud to kids)
This book holds a special place in my heart which I can't quite explain. As a child I was so intrigued by the civilization of these intelligent rats and mice who have escaped from a lab (at the National Institute of Mental Health--I never caught that as a 4th grader!). You'd be surprised at the level of suspense that builds throughout the book, and at the larger questions about technology that the story raises. The Bantams 13 & 9 loved it, too. One of my all-time favorite children's books.
The Prize Winner of Defiance, OH, by Terry Ryan (audio)
At A Hen's Pace review here.
Twice Shy, by Dick Francis (audio)
Possibly the weakest Francis mystery I've read, but hilarious to hear the 1981 computer jargon that was so cutting edge at the time, and now sounds so prehistoric!
Prince Caspian, by C.S. Lewis (read aloud to kids)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C.S. Lewis (read aloud to kids)
I'm so glad I am re-reading these. I can't remember how old I was the last time I read the Chronicles--probably high school?--but this time around, as an adult (and possibly as an Anglican, like Lewis), I saw so many wonderful metaphors and allegories of the Christian life. In fact, I would so often choke up as they dawned on me, and then I had to explain to the boys...and I think they benefited, not just from the spiritual images, but in understanding how literature can function on multiple levels.
Juneteenth, by Ralph Ellison (audio)
This author's famous book is Invisible Man, a 1952 novel about a black man traveling through white America. This one was edited and published posthumously as a story about a white, racist Senator who is mortally wounded by an assassin and calls for a black minister to attend him in hospital. The story unfolds as a series of shared memories as we learn that Rev. Hickman raised the Senator from boyhood. Though how he went from junior preacher to racist Senator is not explained, the main appeal of this book is not plot so much as poetry, the eloquence of thought, and the beauty of the black religious attitude and dialect.
I don't think I'd have enjoyed this book nearly as much if I'd read it to myself, but the performance--for it was not just a reading--was marvelous. The black reader, Blair Underwood, brought the poetry and the dialect to life.
Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana, by Anne Rice (audio)
I read Out of Egypt, the first book in this series on the life of Christ, last year and liked it fine, but this one, I thought, was much better. It portrayed Jesus as such a real human being, rooted in his time and place (the author's research added so much here), and experiencing the emotions and temptations common to man. The scene with the Devil and his temptations was wonderfully done, with a restraint you might not expect from the author of The Vampire Chronicles. Her autobiographical account of her conversion is on my shelf for 2009!
And my pick for "book of the year," because it was so powerful:
The Island of the World, by Michael O'Brien
At A Hen's Pace review here.
Tomorrow..."Movies Watched--2008"!
For more year-end book lists...see Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books!
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