Bragging on My Kids

No, not the three who live with me...the 25 from church that belong to me. Yes, they belong to me! Wild Worship sang in both services in church this morning. Our first song, "I Am Free" was an upbeat, fun song that we sang along with the band while a video played. Earlier in the semester we had filmed the kids running, jumping, dancing, etc. Our second song, "The Lord Is My Shepherd" was very different from the first, a more structured, choral song. Barb discovered it while in Scotland. I was so proud of the kids for singing such a hard song, with incredible three-part harmony. It was beautiful and the congregation responded to it very well.

In addition, the newly-formed Wild Worship handbell group played "Majesty" for the offertory. I believe it was only a few months ago someone told me that bells weren't for children to play. Well, I guess we proved that wrong this morning. The congregation immediately started applauding when the girls finished.

We ended our semester tonight with a big party: pizza, cupcakes, door prizes, gifts for teachers and kids alike. We said goodbye to our 6th graders, some of whom I've had in choir since they were in first grade.

I count it a privilege and a blessing to work with these kids every week. They are sweet, funny, challenging, hard-working, and a joy to be around. (Better than most adults!) What an amazing task, to teach them about worshipping our Lord and giving Him our best.

I was thinking tonight about the day we labeled our choir WILD Worship, and how that acronym is even more appropriate today than it was two years ago:

W - Wholehearted
I - Intense
L - Lifelong
D - Devoted

I pray our worship will be just that.

Joy in Small Things

Children have a wonderful way of finding joy in small things. But...slugs? Abigail came in this morning with a bright, happy smile and said, "Look, Mom, isn't he cute?" Uh, sure... evil flower destroyer. "Look how he's crawling all over my hand." Uh, yeah...slimy, disgusting creature. "Wow...look at the clock! Time for school. Better take him outside and smash him," I said. The look on her face almost prompted me to turn myself in to the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "We can't kill him!" she cried. "Hey, go throw him in the neighbor's yard," suggested Jeff. "He can kill their flowers." (Aren't you glad Jeff isn't your neighbor?) Well, we compromised. I allowed the slug to live. Abigail put him in the dirt under the rabbit cage where there are no flowers, save dandelions, and he can eat them to his heart's content.

Awards Week (aka I'm Bragging on My Kids)

As the end of the school year rolls around, so do "end of the year" things -- finals, recitals, awards days.  This week we attended two different awards banquets.

On Monday, Jeff, Rebecca and Abigail went to the Lady Lions Basketball Banquet at Spaghetti Warehouse.  (No pics.  I was sick.)  We were very proud when Rebecca received the Leadership Award.  Here's what her coach had to say:

Rebecca was a leader on and off the court.  She made every practice and was always willing to do anything asked of her.  She led the team in a gentle, quiet way by being positive, never fussing and always being willing to do whatever it took to improve or make the plays work. She was always smiling and giving her best!  I appreciate her so much!  She was fun to coach.  She is a real team player.

Way to go, Bec!

On Tuesday, Jeff, Genny and Katherine went to Dallas Baptist University to attend the Grace Prep High School Academic Awards Banquet.  Katherine received the Model Student Award in English.  She also received ribbons for the following art contests:

• TAPPS District - 6th Place for "Elvis and His Cowboy" 
• TAPPS District - 3rd Place for On Site Drawing
• TAPPS State - Honorable Mention for On Site Drawing

Charlotte, Becca, Emily, Katherine

Mrs. Hogan, Katherine's English Teacher

Art Buddies, Katherine and Emily

This Birthday's 'Da Bomb

What an exciting day we had today, celebrating Rebecca's birthday. The birthday girl, in true teenager fashion, slept in until 9:30 a.m.! After finishing a little homework, Katherine and I treated Rebecca to lunch at Chick-Fil-A and a short shopping trip to Target. As soon as Abigail came home from school, Rebecca opened presents and was very pleased by all of them.




Rebecca's choice of birthday dining was Olive Garden -- the breadsticks, you know. Miss Barb and Carrie joined us for dinner and we adjourned home for cake.



Did you know there are 13 letters in the words "Happy Birthday"? Now you do!
We had just started on our cake when the storm picked up. So, we all made a little trip down to the bomb shelter, aka "the interview room." It was a good chance for us to test out Jeff's new additions for keeping water out. (See Katherine's blog for previous discussion of concrete paint.) Rebecca was not very happy adjourning the party underground, but we made the most of it.

Jeff regaled us with stories from high school. Yea...pretty exciting. Ask the girls about "tying knots in the rope of life." Zzzzzz.....

Abigail played Tetris on my cellphone, Rebecca played games on Carrie's phone, and Barb and I discussed what we should do in the event of needing a bathroom. We weren't underground very long, but a good time was had by most.



An interesting birthday, to be sure...

Just think of the stories we can make up for Rebecca's children...Remember the year when you were 13, and the hailstones were baseball-sized, and we ran for the bomb shelter???

Happy Birthday, Rebecca!

On April 17, 1995 a tiny bundle of joy came running (literally) into the world. Her first question was, "OK. Who's in charge here?" And, she hasn't stopped since. It is very hard to wrap my brain around the fact that Rebecca is now a teenager. How did that happen? Yet, here we are -- braces and long, gangly legs. (I think I'm soon to be the shortest in the family.) In honor of Rebecca's special day, I'm posting some of my favorite pictures of her this last year.






















Rebecca, I hope you have a wonderful birthday. You are one terrific kid... I mean, teenager!

Wild Worship on the Road

Wild Worship took their show on the road tonight to Sunrise Assisted Living Center. And, they were awesome! Their sound was beautiful. The residents seemed to really enjoy the music and even let us sing one more song that cut into their dinner hour. A special thanks to the Phalen's who came and supported us!

The best version ever of the William Tell Overture

Sign choir beautifully presents "Blessed Jesus"

Barb and Genny -- twinkies!
(ask one of us about that some time)

Thanks to Paige for taking these great pictures. Kudos to Melissa and her trusty Swiss Army Knife for fixing the CD player. Blessings to Sharon for creating desperately needed signs. (at the last minute) It is a privilege to serve with you. I know I was blessed tonight.

Just so you know...we've been asked to come back at Christmas. Everybody in???

Take Me Out to the Ballgame (And the Concert)

We joined the Davis family to celebrate Michele's 16th birthday with a trip to the Third Day concert and a Rangers game. We were on the North Lawn at The Ballpark and pretty far away (as you can see from the first picture) The second pic is our view during the concert. Yea...I thought they would sit down eventually, but they never did. Who can complain though? Listening to Third Day and a ballgame for $6 bucks. Not too bad.



Katherine wasn't feeling well, so Abigail joined us at the game.


The birthday girl and friends


"The Nacho Kid"


The game was pretty boring. Most fun was the crowd who managed to do "the wave" four times around the stadium without dying out. Thankfully, about 8:15 Michele decided 'enough baseball' and we headed for home to eat cake and open presents.

Took this one as we were leaving. Pretty cool.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MICHELE! THANKS FOR INVITING US TO GO ALONG.

Massage Therapy

Bubbles and Abigail -- too sweet! I'm not sure which of them gets more out of this time together.
Abigail is the only person in our family "allowed" to hold Bubbles in this way -- Bubbles' choice, of course. He won't sit this still for anyone but her. I was getting sleepy just watching her rub him between the ears! Can I be next?

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Abigail and I had a lovely morning planting flowers today. The weather was beautiful, and just a little nip in the air felt refreshing. Abigail picked out the flowers to go in the large flower bed in our backyard. This year we chose purple and white flowers to go along with the many perennials that are returning from last year -- most importantly, hydrangeas.

We still have many areas of our yard that need work, but we are slowly reclaiming it from the mess that winter always leaves behind. I don't know where all the leaves keep coming from. We have probably bagged at least 20 lawn bags just from our backyard alone. No more falling leaves, please...

Discovery

I discovered something about myself tonight and it was not a pleasant thing.  I can't say what it is, I just know that I am uncomfortable.  

And. I. Do. Not. Like. That. At. All.

I'm done now.  I just needed to say that.

Take A Visual Survey

I found this survey while "rabbit chasing" blogs. You know what I mean by that? I start out on a particular blog, and click to another, and then another, and I end up on some random person's blog and find myself reading about them. What's up with that? Anyway, thought this was cute. So, when you have absolutely nothing to do, or just want to put off cleaning the bathroom, give it a go!

FIRST - read the question
SECOND - type in the first answer that comes to mind in Google Image search
THIRD - post the first picture that comes up and write what you typed in (it’s hard sometimes to use the first image, but you must) (Wait...no nudity, please. We want to keep our blogs PG Rated.)

1. Age I will be on my next birthday - 43


2. Favorite food - ribeye steaks

3. Favorite color - purple

4. A place I would like to visit - Greece

5. Where I live - Fort Worth, Texas

6. Name of a past or present pet - Pippi

7. One of my favorite places - beach

8. Favorite holiday - Christmas

9. A bad habit - eating too much

10. Favorite animal - rabbit

11. Favorite cartoon from childhood - Peanuts

12. Name - Genny (OK, this is pretty funny.)

13. Favorite extravagance (when I have extra time and money) - pedicure

14. A phrase I overuse - whatever

Remember: Only do this when you have absolutely nothing else to do, because it's pretty much a huge waste of your time. But fun!