On stage!

March 31, 2014 | Stacy

Not us… This time anyway. 😉

We’ve been blessed with TWO opportunities to see musicals this month.

First one was Les Miserables in Bath, NY.

It was just SO beautiful. The orchestra was splendid and the chorus was excellent. Jean Valjean’s story of redemption was so moving. We’d never seen it before & it did not disappoint.

The set was static, though, and the kids did not care for that. There was a lot of imagery though. I thought it was heavenly.

The actors & their singing abilities were amazing. I’m so delighted to see people using their gifts to honor God.

Our second opportunity came on the stage of the Charles Finney school. We loved Annie. The kids were enthusiastic & MY kids enjoyed every second.

We ordered the 1982 movie from Amazon during the intermission.

I’ll do another post from the computer highlighting the kids’ CBS play from last Wednesday.

If I don’t take a photo, I cry…

March 24, 2014 | Stacy

It seemed innocent enough. Breakfast was over. Johanna was still hungry, she said. She brought over the box of BRAND NAME CHEERIOS a friend had given us and asked for some. I dipped my hand in and scooped her out some. Her little three-year-old hand only holds about 13 O’s so she was back a few minutes later. I was doing school with Tabitha at the time. I gave her a second handful as she informed me she was SHARING with Katriel, and wasn’t that nice? Um, yes, VERY nice. Good girl, Hanny. Then she was back for ANOTHER handful. And that is where I made my mistake. I just kept the clip off and handed her the bag. After all, she was just sitting there on the floor next to me with Katriel SHARING her Cheerios.

I heard one get crunched behind me and just started to turn around to advise her to pick up any strays off the floor JUST as IT was occurring. It was like a bad slow-motion movie edit as I started to say, “NooooOoOOoooooo,” as Katriel picked the bag up off the floor in from the bottom end.

See how she didn’t want to put the bag down? She knew she’d found something good. Mama never had jumped that fast before!

Oh yes… I did let them eat as many as they could off the floor. I just mopped Friday. I even invited the older kids and asked if they were hungry. (Did you read the part about them being BRAND NAME CHEERIOS?)

*sigh*

Thankfully, it was only about 1/3 of a bag. The other box is firmly sealed as yet. Winking smile

Does that make this a fruit bowl?

March 23, 2014 | Stacy

I told Stewart a week or so ago that I wanted to take him out for a Stew and Mama date. “Why?” he asked.

”Stewart,” I replied, “I told Dad the other night that if I saw more any more good fruit coming from you I’d be inclined to open a farm market.”

While I may be employing a bit of hyperbole, I in no way want to minimize the J*O*Y we have known in this house the last 6?-8? weeks or so as far as this young man is concerned. To be sure, he isn’t perfect; his parents bring far too many flaws to the table to even get close to perfect. But he’s been so stinking GOOD lately it deserved to be acknowledged. And I’m a big fan of positive reinforcement (I ♥ Michelle Duggar for making me not feel guilty about that, too.)

So, what kind of fruit am I talking about? Little things. But little CONSISTENT things. Like after a meal is done hanging in the kitchen and asking, “Do you need anything, Mom, before I go?” before he returns to his school work. Or speaking up and saying, “Here, I got her,” as he offers to hold his sister so I can get my coat off. Or speaking kindly to Tabitha when just a few short weeks ago he’d be plowing over her. I know, I know… when you type it out, it doesn’t sound like much. But did you catch the part about the consistency?

How about him accepting his school assignments without complaining? Or voluntarily taking notes as I have suggested for the last two years. And just generally manning-up about responsibilities. And modeling it for the others. Did I mention the help in the kitchen?

The miserable excuse for a spring we have had barred us from any outdoor fun. So he asked if we could do Pizza Hut and bowling.

He and I agreed no one needs to know which S is which.

I will tell you that bowling is EXPENSIVE! Yowsers. Two games and shoes came to $32!

Oh, and I drove him to Marketplace to the costume shop so he could buy a wig for his next project.

And it was so nice to have some time with my dear son.

This is where I’d love to insert a photo from when he was a baby or toddler, but we just got our computer back last week and haven’t hooked it back up to the external hard drives with the old pictures.

Picnic

March 23, 2014 | Stacy

You and I see people eating on the floor.

They see a picnic.

I like their vision.

Urgent care

March 21, 2014 | Stacy

The knife won.

Actually – so much to praise God for.

It was my left hand.

I did not need stitches.

I did not cut it off.

It was not Nigel who got hurt; he had been the one helping me in the kitchen.

My mother was already here.

Dinner was already made.

John walked in the door just was happening.

Urgent care rocks.

a (picture-heavy) birthday fit for a DUCK-Y

March 4, 2014 | Stacy

The house was full.

FULL-full.

FULL of people we love who love us and have blessed us with their support and prayers.

How many people were here? 39 people including our family of 8.

We were in the kitchen…

We were in the living room…

We were in the dining room…

We were in the basement…

We were in the family room…

We were in the laundry room… ?

Yup… we had to move the piano to the laundry room to make room. And some three year old second cousins hit it off especially well.

There was a lot of eating. A lot of visiting.
And I was SO blessed. BLESSED, BLESSED, BLESSED.

Oh – there were presents… not that there needed to be. But she enjoyed them and it hasn’t been lost on our family or friends just what our baby girl’s nickname was before she was born.