facebook round-up

In reverse chronological order:

• Second- (and third- and fourth- and fifth-) guessing my decision to enroll in spring classes.
• Me: "Do you know the most important thing about Christmas? Celebrating Jesus." C: "Do you know the most fun thing about Christmas? Opening presents!" Hard to dispute that.
• Just saw that I can buy a "peanut butter and jelly spreader" for $9.00. Because it's too difficult to use a knife?
• Reading historical fiction makes me very, very thankful that I live now.
• would like to call a do-over on this day, and it's only 8:30.
• Listening to an interview with John Dominic Crossan this morning. Sometimes I love being alone in the office!
• I forgot to bring coffee to work. Now I have to drink the office stuff. Blech!
• I love how J catches his breath every time there's a crash on CARS, even though he's seen it a gazillion times.
• Just had someone tell me that I'm intimidating. In all seriousness. I'm rolling with laughter on the inside.
• When I was about 11, I remember lying awake at night terrified that I hadn't said "the sinner's prayer" the right way when I was 8. So I said it again, trembling with fear, just to be sure I wouldn't be sent to hell. What sad burdens we can place on our children, and ourselves.
• I have now registered for classes for the first time in years. Wondering if I've lost my mind.
• We had a fun weekend full of family and CARS celebrating our 3-year-old!
• Remembering 3 years ago today. Happy Birthday, My Beautiful Boy!
• Nana is coming! Nana is coming! Nana is coming TODAY!
• J is turning into an adamant backstreet driver: "Go, Mom, the light is green!" "Yes, but there's a car in front of me. I can't run over it." "Go, Mom!" I'm sure he's wishing we'd do a Lightning McQueen maneuver. Sometimes I wish we could, too.
• I am ready for Brian to be home, though I'm thankful for his rejuvenating time away. We're doing fine, but our home just runs more smoothly and feels more homey with him in it.
• finished making a birthday gift for Jeffrey with 4 days to spare! Now on to the Christmas presents...
• J: "Strawberry Shortcake and Lemon Meringue just went splash." Me: "Oh, are they swimming?" J: "No, they're dead."
• Made in our house today: waffles, muffins, soft pretzels, grilled cheese sandwiches, pasta. Lots of carbs today - lots of yummy, yummy carbs. It has, indeed, been a good day (and not just because of the food!).
• I woke up to waffles already-made and pumpkin muffins being made. And the dishwasher loaded and running. Today is gonna be a good, good day!
• Look at the curls! I thought we'd never see them again, but they came back!



• The recycling is threatening to take over the laundry room. But now it will be a big ordeal to get it into the car. *sigh* Procrastination rears its ugly head.
• loves the way J hugs my neck when he wants me to stay with him.

And a couple of article posts:

• God Loves Jay Bakker from NY Magazine
• Did Anne Frank Go to Hell? by Rachel Held Evans
• Going Dutch: Women in the Netherlands work less, have lesser titles and a big gender pay gap, and they love it from Slate.com

advent preparations

The Season of Advent has begun.  We're trying to do some intentional Advent-y things in our home.  Attempts to help us remember the "reason for the season" (I've always hated that silly saying, but it does fit) in the midst of the hustle and bustle that threatens to take over.  Most of our Christmas shopping is done, though we do have a few handmade items we're still working on.  So maybe, just maybe, this holiday season can be one of joyful anticipation.  One of hope rather than dismay.  Peace rather than frenzy.  And love...most of all, love.

Much of our Advent Prep began with a Get Ready for Advent Party last weekend at church, organized by My Hubby, who put together some wonderful ideas for celebrating Advent in the home.  Here are some of our continued preparations from this weekend:

The Girl and I worked on ornaments for our Jesse Tree (an Advent tree that helps us tell the biblical story of faith, one character at a time, day by day through Advent).  We'll tell our daily Jesse Tree story and hang an ornament each evening.

Here's the Tree:

Can you tell which kid colored which part :)?

And here's our Advent chain (pink and purple - The Girl loves it!).  We pull off a link each morning and try to do what it says sometime during the day.  For instance, today's link said, "Write your family love notes and put them under their pillows."

These are our advent candles.  Yes, we have two sets.  One is a felt set given to The Girl last year.  The other is just a set of votives (four purple, one pink) on a piece of felt.  Maybe next year we'll have an actual wreath!  We light the week's Advent candle(s) during each meal we eat at home.

And here's what The Boy was doing during our Advent prep - playing with cars, of course!

Notice the jail on the desk in the background.  That's The Girl's handiwork, and the sign on it says "Sherriff's Jaille."  The cars are always getting sent to jail for something.  It's a crazy crew they have there in Radiator Springs!

Finally, some Christmas decorations.  We thought about progressively decorating the tree throughout Advent but decided that was too complicated, and really, we have enough Advent activities with a tree, a chain, candles, and an Advent calendar (which I haven't pictured) - sheesh!  Maybe we went a little overboard?

Our over-stuffed tree:

And some wall-art The Girl and I made.  We had some big pictures of daisy-like flowers hanging here, but it seemed out of place with the holiday decor, so we made this simple art with paper, tinfoil, and glue.  The proportions aren't quite right for the wall (and the picture is bad - sorry!), but I was working with what we already had on hand.  It still makes me happy.

See that train?  The Boy's eyes just lit up when we brought that out.  He loves to ring its bell, but wishes we could play with it on the floor!

Those are some of our Advent Preparations.  Simple, but helpful for us as a family.  Helpful for me.  I need to be reminded that Christ is Coming, Christ is Coming!  And that He brings hope, peace, joy and love, progressively diminishing the darkness with His light.  Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus, Come.

thankfulness in pictures

We completed the Drumstick Dash!  Well, sort of.  We took a shortcut that cut off less than 1K, but if you count the distance we walked from the parking garage to the race (which I do!), we walked at least 5K.  About a mile in, The Girl started whining about how her legs hurt, but we made it, we made it!

If you look very closely, you'll see the finish line in the top left corner.  It was a bottleneck to get through it.  11,500 people were there!

We had a quiet, yummy, lovely Thanksgiving with my in-laws.  The kids watched more TV in that one day than they sometimes watch in a week, so they were happy!

Can't you see their happiness ;) ?!  They were doing their best to avoid the camera.

Here they are pulling the wishbone.  The Boy won, and oh, the drama!  Who'd've thunk that losing the wishbone would cause such lamenting?  I should've thunk.  All of life is dramatic with The Girl!

But The Boy is proud!

And I am proud of each member of my family.  Wonderful people, all of them.  They are my greatest thankfulness.

a not-so-martha thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is tomorrow!  And we don't have to travel!  This is an added bonus of moving to the town where my in-laws live.  No mad crowds to fight at the airport or on the road.  Just the crowd at the Drumstick Dash (5K in downtown Roanoke to benefit the Rescue Mission).  This is our first attempt at the Dash, though I think it'll be more of an amble than a dash.  We're walking, of course, with stroller.  But only one stroller, which means The Girl must walk the whole way by herself.  How likely is it we'll make it?  I think the odds are pretty even. 

Normally, my Thanksgiving preparations involve packing and little else.  This year there's a dish to prepare, but just one.  I don't typically decorate for the season.  Heck, I don't do much decorating for any season.  My Man does most of that.  I look at blogs full of all kinds of beautiful ideas for transforming one's home into this magical wonderland of seasonal beauty, and I love it.  I really do.  I would love to have my house look like that.  But when it comes down to it, I don't have the time/money/patience to deal with it.  Not for something that will be packed in a box or thrown in the trash in a few weeks and will just get in the way when it's up.  Bah humbug, I know. 

Still, I like the idea of seasonal touches.  My mother-in-law gave us a set of fall tablecloths and napkins this year.  They're really lovely, but I must admit they spend more time on a shelf or the floor or a chair than actually on the table.  Our dining table is used for everything, so they're always being moved out of the way.  I am not one who is constantly putting stuff back in its place.  I wish I were, sort of, but the thought of it just makes me tired.  So the lovely decor sits on the floor.  *sigh* 

But for some reason, I got it into my head the other day to make some turkeys for our table.  I made placecards - placecards!!  That is so not me.  But I had this empty wrapping paper tube and it was begging to be used, I guess.  We also had this pumpkin left over from Halloween that we never got around to carving.  My kids had no jack-o-lantern this year.  See - not very Martha Stewart-y of me.  We thought maybe we'd carve a turkey into it for November.  But November is almost gone and still no carving.  Really, what's wrong with us?!  So yesterday, The Girl and I transformed our pumpkin into a much easier turkey.  And she's just as happy with our thrown-together-with-tape version.  So for a brief moment, our dining room looks a little festive!  I had to take a picture, but don't be fooled - this is not what our table usually looks like!

Can you tell in my dark, grainy picture that The Girl decorated the turkey's body?  It says, "I love turkey," with a few stars and a heart.  She decorates EVERYTHING!  I've had to threaten to take away the markers.  Seriously.  Her last decoration was on the panel by the toilet.  In pen.  At least it's a heart and not a peace sign.  She's started coloring in the peace signs for me (hence the colored-in-heart above) because I hate them.  Truly, I hate them.  And it's ridiculous.  I remember being taught as a young teen that they were a sign of the devil (upside down cross with arms broken), and though I recognize the craziness of this now, I've still been imprinted with a hatred of the peace sign.  *sigh*

But I digress.  The one month-long Thanksgiving decoration we've had is a Thanksgiving chain.  We each add one link to the chain every day (or thereabouts), writing one thing we're thankful for on it.  The kids have loved seeing it grow and grow.  It started out on a wall (in our dining room of course - the center of our home), but now drapes over to the doorway. 

So that's the Thanksgiving spirit in our home.  What about yours?  I hope you have a wonderful day with loved ones tomorrow.  As my daughter has taken to saying, "Peace!"

sweet singing

There's been some serious singing in our home recently.  The Boy has been making up his own songs (mostly about Cars) and performing them animatedly.  The songs are typically along the lines of "Mater drives backwards; Mater drives backwards; Mater is the best backwards-DRIVERRRRRR!" with lots of loud, long emphasis on the last word.  Then he'll tell us, "Sing the one about Mack."  And there is no "one" about Mack, so we just make it up, too.  It's good medicine for a weary or too-serious soul!

And here's The Girl singing along with The Bieber's "Somebody to Love:"

Here's wishing you a heart full of song in this week when we count our blessings.



a first step (in a complicated process)

photo © 2006 Till Krech | more info (via: Wylio)I registered for 2 classes this week.  I'm not sure how I feel about this.  Excited?  Relieved?  Overwhelmed?  Worried?  Hopeful?  All of the above?

Surprisingly, I don't feel any particular strong emotion about this.  I'm relieved, I guess, that the first step toward another degree is taken.  But I'm so ambivalent about it.  I'm a little worried about balancing the classes with work and family, but not too worried (yet).  I'm a little worried that this will end up being a waste of time and money (because the long-term process of getting a degree still seems so overwhelming and beyond us), but I'm pretty convinced it's worth the one-semester risk for now.  I'm not worried about being able to hack the student thing again, but I am worried that I'll be bored out of my scull in a 3-hour-class anatomy class. 

I wish there were a master plan clearly laid out for me.  I wish it were obvious.  Not easy, necessarily, but obvious.  It's the doubt and wondering that bug me.  Is this step right?  Is this step wrong?  Or is it somewhere in between?   I'm not typically a black-or-white kinda person.  I'm more comfortable allowing for greyness in life, but sometimes I wish I were more black-and-white. 

A few weeks ago on Grey's Anatomy (which I've stopped watching, but I caught this one episode), the Christina character is looking at a bride's magazine and telling the therapist character that she wishes she could be simple like the brides in the pictures.  She wishes she could be less complicated.  I get that.  I wish I could be less complicated, sometimes.  Less wishy-washy.  More sure.

But I'm not.  And on balance, maybe that's best.  After all, the grand master plan of my teenage years has been all shot to heck.  I'm not exactly where I thought I would be.  And that's OK; good even.  We just can't know exactly what's in store for us, so it's good to hold plans loosely.  But it's also good to have plans and work toward them.  So I'm looking for that balance in the middle where I can be excited about possibilities and work toward good goals without grasping them so tightly that I am overwhelmed by disappointment when those possibilities don't work out exactly like I'd expect.  And I don't want to worry so much about the future that I miss out on present blessings.

It's a balancing act, as is much of life.  Right now, I'm not very excited.  But maybe the excitement will come later.  In the meantime, I believe it is right to take this step.  I don't think I'd call it a step of faith.  A step of hope, maybe.  I don't know where it will lead.  And that's OK.  Remind me of that in a few months when I'm in classroom purgatory!

little man with a plan...

the birthday boy!

My Beautiful Boy turned 3 this weekend!  We decided not to do a big bash for his birthday.  After all, he doesn't care at this point, and The Girl's bash a few months ago wore me out!  My tentative plan is to alternate birthday parties - one year for The Girl, the next year for The Boy, and so on.  The Girl is not a fan of this plan. 

But despite a lack of bashiness, The Boy's birthday was still a whole lotta fun.  The biggest blessing of the weekend - Nana was able to travel from Oklahoma to join us!   And Grams and Paw-paw, of course (they're local - also a blessing).  So there was much love and excitement for the new 3-year-old.

Some pictures:

The Birthday Boy is his new Birthday Crown (similar to the one I made for The Girl, minus the flowers and girly colors)



Sissy with her shiny fingernails in honor of the day:

The Cars cake (made by Daddy):

A High-Five after a successful blow-out!

The Girl waiting not-so-patiently but oh-so-cutely:

Yummy chocolate cake (which Daddy had to make the morning of the birthday because The Boy changed his mind about the kind of cake he wanted!  Luckily, he told Nana.  Otherwise, he would have been disappointed by a strawberry cake.):



He was pretty subdued for the present-opening.  He's not a wrapping-ripper, so The Girl happily helped: 

When he opened Sissy's present, she said, "Now your dreams will come true!"  Because he'd been asking for a Mater for weeks, and that's what she got him.  I think she was almost more excited than he was!

It was a very Cars-oriented birthday.

The one hand-made gift - a car carrier:

And the one decoration (next year there will be more - promise!):



It may have been a low-key birthday, but it was a good one.  And the Cars (plus some legos) hilarity continues.  "Play cars with me; play cars with me" is the refrain we here constantly right now.  Such joy over such small things.

son of a preacher man*

A couple days ago I read this article in NY Magazine: "God Loves Jay Bakker: and Jay Bakker wants you to know that he loves you too."  It's basically a synopsis of Jay Bakker's (son of Jim and Tammy Faye) life and faith journey to this point.  And it's fascinating.  And heart-breaking.  And hopeful.  And haunting.

Haunting - that's the word.  I have been haunted by this article.  The story of Jay's upbringing in the midst of the heyday and then crash of his parent's empire, The PTL Club and Heritage USA, is tragic in many ways.  But that's not what haunts me.  Instead, I am haunted by his boldness and determination to keep on keepin' on.  By his willingness to try something new, even when he's persecuted for it.  By his honesty in declaring what he thinks without claiming answers.  Even when such declaration means losing financial support (and health insurance - I have a great fear of living without health insurance).

I am not so bold.  Not even close.  I struggle with words, constantly questioning myself.  What should I say?  How should I say it?  Is it going to make someone mad?  Is it going to get me and my loved ones in trouble?  Does it really matter if I, insignificant as I am, speak up?  While I believe it is important to consider what words we use, I lean towards the Not Saying Anything At All camp.  And that's just a cop-out. 

And even more importantly - what about my actions?  What have I ever really risked?  Sometimes it feels like a big risk that we moved to Roanoke, taking a big pay cut in order to move to a place we felt called to.  Sometimes it feels like too much of a risk, when I feel a sense of panic every time I look at our checking account.  When I get the news that health insurance is going up yet again while benefits are going down and salaries remain stagnant.  When I buy into the conventional wisdom that we need to build savings, but there's nothing to save.  When I gave up staying at home with my kids in order to pay the bills.  Sometimes it feels like too much.

But really, what have I risked?  We still have jobs.  We still have health insurance.  We still pay the bills.  We still have time together as a family.  We still have every last thing that we need.  And if the financial worst were to happen - if we were to lose our jobs and were unable to pay the bills - it wouldn't be the end of the world.  We could always move in with our families - I think they would let us.  It would be awful, yes, but totally survivable.  More than survivable.  It would never take away the love we have in our lives.

So really, I have risked practically nothing.  And that seems wrong, doesn't it?  Shouldn't there be some risk in a life-affirming faith?  Faith in a God-Man who himself risked everything.  Maybe I don't need to risk my life (thankfully, my timid soul) or even my livelihood.  But I think I do need to risk more of my Self.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."  But I'm not even sure what that is.  Ooh, that sounds kind of arrogant, doesn't it, like "I think I can do anything!"  That's not what I mean, of course :).  I mean, I'm not sure what it is I should be doing that I think I can't do.  I'm not even sure that I should be thinking of it that way.  I'm just not sure about much right now, huh? 

A quote from the article: (from the author, not Jay Bakker) "Maybe the opposite of faith isn’t doubt. Maybe the opposite of faith is certainty, a comforting belief in your own rightness."  I guess in that case I've got plenty of faith because I've got almost no certainty.  Lots and lots of questions, but very little certainty.  Live with it, grasshopper, live with it.

I found this on Jay Bakker's Twitter feed:  "The courage to be is the courage to accept oneself, in spite of being unacceptable." ~ Paul Tillich.  Hmmm, maybe I should give myself a break.  Or maybe I should believe enough in my own God-given value that I take some sort of step of faith.  Or maybe I should just wait.  Maybe, Maybe, Maybe.  *sigh* 

Maybe I'll have more responses to my questions next time.  Maybe ;).

*Son of a Preacher Man is the title of Jay Bakker's memoir.

thursday thankfulness

Some bits of thankfulness for today:

• Nana (my mom) is flying in tonight!!!  My parents live in Oklahoma, so any chance to see them is cause for a big celebration.
• My Boy is turning 3 on Saturday!  He's such a beautiful, fun-loving and funny kid.  Definitely a bright blessing I am thankful for every day.
• Pandora Radio.  I know I'm late on the bandwagon here, but I've recently started listening to pandora at work, and I love it!  My stations for today: Indigo Girls and Jason Mraz.  Pandora lifts my spirits when I threaten to descend into head-banging boredom.
• Blogs.  Not my own (though I guess I am thankful for that, too), but others' creative, thoughtful, challenging, funny posts.  They are a lifeline for me sometimes.  They connect me to a wider world, challenge me to create beauty, give me hope, educate.  And sometimes they intimidate me.  But on the whole, I am thankful for the words and ideas that are shared on the blogosphere.
• My sewing machine, which was a gift from Mom a few years ago, but only started using regularly this year.  For the first time, I have a place to keep it out on a table (in the laundry room), and it's been fun to discover the joy (and $#%@ frustration!) of creating simple things with it.
• Time away for my husband.  Rejuvenating time that will hopefully carry through into the regular rhythm of life and work.  But now I'm also thankful he's home!

the perfect gift

Christmas is stressing me out already.  And we've still got J's birthday and Thanksgiving in November!  The irony is I'm trying to approach Christmas in the Advent Conspiracy way - Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, Love All.  It's supposed to decrease the stress of overly busy schedules and consumeristic buying tendencies.  We're supposed to enter into Advent with a calmer, more centered, focused spirit, letting go of crazy cultural norms.  Waiting for the birth of Christ.  That is, after all, what Christmas is supposed to be about. 

I think we do pretty well at some of this.  We don't spend lots and lots of money on gifts.  We try to give meaningful (rather than expensive) gifts.  We try to spend time together as a family.  But even with our best intentions, it's a stressful season for me.  It's a wonderful season that I love.  But it would almost be easier to give in to the pressure to buy, buy, buy.  It's easier to buy a sweater or a tablecloth or a tie or a bright and shiny plastic play set than it is to come up with a truly individual gift for each person on our list (even though our list isn't that big - our family is small compared to some).  And it's a whole lot easier than spending the time and effort to hand-make gifts. 

But I believe in the idea of the Advent Conspiracy.  I believe that rampant, thoughtless giving is counter to the spirit of the season.  I believe that handmade gifts are special - and that thoughtfully bought gifts are, too.  I believe it's important for our kids to have the fun of asking for something they choose on their own (even when what they choose makes me cringe - Squinkies?!), but I also believe overwhelming them with stuff (even if they've asked for all of it) is unnecessary and sometimes even harmful.  I believe, most of all, that it's important to remember and celebrate the gift of God With Us. 

So even though the idea of finding/making a special gift for each person stresses me out, I'm willing to make the effort.  Yesterday, I was in a Sunday School class that was discussing this, and one of the women said, "Well, not everyone gets the special gift every year."  And I thought - well, duh, why didn't I think of that?  That takes some of the needless pressure off.  It doesn't have to be amazing for each person each year.  Hopefully as the years pass it will even out. 

In the meantime, it is fun to troll the internet looking for handmade gift ideas that I might be able to pull off.  And it's fun to have that handmade item in my hand (one for the kids was finished last night - woohoo!).  And when handmade isn't a good option, and let's face it, there's no way I'm going to handmake for everyone (what do you handmake for a grandfather, anyway?), then it's fun to look at sites like Etsy or online fair trade retailers - sites where spending money supports small crafters rather than nameless corporations.  Now, I'm sure I will buy gifts and materials from places like Wal-mart, but it's good to know that some of our money is going to support individuals more directly. 

So maybe, just maybe, I can let go of some of that stress and remember that giving the perfect gift isn't that important.  Giving love, enjoying our time together, leaning a little more toward God - that's what's important.  So breathe, Susan.  Just breathe.  And say a little prayer.

dance party fabulousness!

We're a big fan of dance parties at our house.  At least a couple times a week.  The new twist on the fabulousness - DARK dance parties!  With strobe flashlight, of course.  If you know me at all, you know I'm not a dancer.  I have no coordination, no sense of rhythm, no musicality.  I feel like a dork when I dance, and we all know inhibited dancers are no fun.  But with just my little family, I can be a dork to my heart's content, and they still love me!  And I can sit on the floor and laugh and laugh at the kiddoes antics.  Oh my, they're funny ones!  Such a simple thing brings such joy.  Some photos of last night's fabulousness:

 Notice our flashlight is a pig!  At least it no longer says, "Oink, oink, oioioink" every time we turn it on.

These are pictures of the fabulousness before it all went south.  The boy came up behind the girl and got hit in the eye by her flailing antics.  For a moment, we were concerned there was something truly wrong with his eye.  He was so sad and pitiful, and ended up just sitting in my lap with a washcloth on his eye for a good 15 minutes.  Though I would never ever wish any kind of pain on my kids, I must admit that it was really nice to have him just sit with me for so long.  That never happens anymore.  But he's still my baby!

facebook round-up

I got this idea from another blog - post facebook statuses in reverse chronological order.  I know this won't be interesting to any of you who are my facebook friends, but sometimes snippets of life get posted there than don't make it to the blog, and I'm thinking it might be nice to have a record of those snippets, too.  So here's my first facebook round-up:

• C decided to act out her homework story - every single word. Hilarious! I love that girl. Good thing it was a story on frogs and not, say, tornadoes.
• C's new hidey hole. She wants to sleep there!

• J and C went to visit Paw-Paw at work today. Paw-paw's boss gave them more stuff (CAT swag) than we're planning to give J for his upcoming birhtday! And Christmas. Oh my goodness.
• Bread is rising, granola bars are cooking, kids are sleeping, dishes are washed (mostly); and all done while B is at a meeting and in time for HIMYM - score! I am wonder woman tonight (it's a rare occurrence so I must celebrate).
• I need more granola, granola bars, yogurt and bread. And eventually dinner. Methinks this afternoon will be a kitchen-y afternoon.
• For a brief moment while playing with J this evening, I wished we could have another child. Then I came to my senses :).
• My Girl ready for her "Day Long Ago" at school.
  
  
  

• I got to go to the Preservation Hall/Del McCrory concert last night, thanks to the wonderful generosity of friends. It was amazing! I'm so grateful for a fun night out with my hubby.
• I am eating another bowl of homemade yogurt and granola with frozen blueberries. My fifth bowl in 2 days. Seriously. I think I may have a problem.
• Overheard as C was talking to some dolls: "Today we have just bread and wine to eat because it's Pentecost Saturday. Tomorrow is Pentecost Sunday, and we'll wear our fancy shoes."
• I am missing the Dragon's fall party today :(, but gets to go to Laura Ingalls's tomorrow :).
• I learned of a family who lost their twin boys yesterday (at around 20 weeks). I don't know this family (have only read some of the father's writings), but I can't shake a great sense of sadness today.
• I got out of bed at 5:30 this morning to do yoga. Ignoring the fact that the boy was already awake (!) so I rushed through the poses, that makes this day a success, right?
• I love that one of C's go-to outfits (which she must wear twice a week!) is one that I made for her. Super-simple (seamstress, I am not), but still fun to see.

• I need to get the heck out of Dodge, even if only for a day. Good thing W & M homecoming is this weekend!

fostering creativity

I want my children to be creative.  More creative than me.  Isn't that always the case - we want more for our children?  Which may be a problem.  After all, I have enough.  More than enough of all that I need.  My kids don't need more.  But that's a post for another day.

Back to creativity:  I want to encourage my kids to be creative.  In their play, in their art, in their writing, in their dress (sometimes - I admit I cringe a little inside at my girl's creative side in regards to clothing!).  I want them to know the joy of making something with their own hands, or of creating an experience all their own.  I want them to be problem solvers and critical thinkers.  I want them to have a vibrant imagination that grows out of their faith in a creative God.  I want them to enter in to the world around them with joy and excitement at all of the possibility!

I don't want much, do I? ;)

But I worry that I don't do enough to encourage this creativity, and that school does its best to discourage it.  For the first time ever, I worry about sending my kids to public school.  Not because the school is bad (it's quite good, in fact).  Not because of any perceived-to-be dangerous influences.  Definitely not because they don't pray communally in school (we do that at home, and they're welcome to do it any time they want).  No, I worry about public school because there's a lot of emphasis on testing (Standards of Learning - SOLs - in Virginia), so there's a lot of time behind a desk.  More time than I expected for first grade.

And My Girl had a hard time adjusting.  My Girl who is constantly moving, constantly talking, constantly planning.  She had a rough time sitting in a seat and staying focused for so long.  And for a brief moment, I considered homeschooling.  Me - homeschooling!!  Oh my goodness, where did that come from?  It turns out (much to my surprise) that I have a bit of an affinity for the Montessori and/or Waldorf modeled homeschool.  But I couldn't do it.  Aside from the financial ramifications, it would not be healthy for our mother-daughter relationship!

So we've weathered the adjustment period, and she's doing much better.  But still I feel a responsibility to give her (and the boy) opportunities for creativity.  It's not my responsibility alone, however.  It turns out I really like some of the art-related things they're doing at school!  And I'm sure that her trained art teacher has an even better understanding of developing imagination than I do.  Here are a couple things from school that I've enjoyed:

Mutant animals!  They're a combo of 2 or 3 animals. 

My favorite is the teranodon/rabbit/unicorn! (bottom picture, top left)



And here's a halloween/fall picture.  It's hard to tell in this picture,

but those are leaves floating around in the air. 

I love the feeling of freedom here:

And our own halloween project at home - painting with Q-tips!

Even the boy got in on the action! (and yes, I let him stand in his chair)

His finished project (I love the multi-dimensional quality!):

I've been working on my own creativity, too.  Though my creativity mostly involves just modifying someone else's idea.  But that's a skill, too, right?  I've been working on the sewing machine a bunch (for me) lately.  Still only simple projects, but I love creating something simple that is also lovely and useful.  What a joy!