For three weeks, starting today, Kid Venture at church is preparing the children for the death and resurrection of Christ! The children's director at church approached Stephen some months ago and asked if he would be willing to draw some scenes that would be a visual for the children during this preparation time. Since it couldn't be sketched with pencil and didn't incorporate Steve's strength of pencil sketching and shadows, we thought his drawings created with Sharpie pens, turned out superbly! What a joy it is to see the gifts of your children being used in the body of Christ as they grow up in Him.
We have a wonderful gal of 20 staying with us for 5 weeks! Howard's cousin all the way from Montana is here gracing us with her presence and it has quickly felt like we've known her for years... Truth be told, it was the first time the younger kids and I have met her last October when her whole family flew out to NC to visit their mutual Grandma in Asheville. But, when you are in Christ, those years of distance melt away very easily and we are so thankful God planned for her to be able to come out and spend this time with us and of course, other family members in the mountains and at the coast of NC. Thursday night, the cousins from the beach drove up and we spent the whole next day just hanging out and playing games; from the Nertz card game, to BUNCO, to Doodle dice and finally my fave, Super Scrabble! (double the amount of tiles and a several quadruple word score boxes).
Christa has been a very good sport! Not only does she have to live with 7 crazy and YES, very loud family members but she has even had the courage to try all sorts of different foreign foods from the Filipino mango to Japanese sushi and tempura. Amazingly, she has enjoyed them all SO far. We have yet to introduce her to other family favorites on the menu!
Some random photos of our day:
Did you know Paige is NOT nervous in front of crowds? Yes, very unlike me, her mom. She had three very different dramatic performances this past Friday for her Grace Academy drama class. In her first acting debut on stage, she played a OVERLY nervous and anxious first-time driver, Nellie while her friend Amanda behind her played a very chilled-out, no-worries character named Stick. The best part of this skit was when Stick had to literally carry Nellie real-time from the driver's seat to the back seat because Nellie was soooo afraid, she was paralyzed from movement.
She also played a very serious sister in mourning over her brother's death and a kid who has experienced her first zit. Remember those? Well, some of us, like me, still currently experience these blemishes even today!
Taryn had a great behind-the-scenes experience as the middle school drama assistant which inevitably meant she was part of the "stage crew" and had a blast doing it!
To go or not to go? I still don't do great in big groups, at least internally, especially big groups of women and this time there were over 50 of them. Maybe on the outside it doesn't seem that way but that is the truth that rages in me. I am glad though that I went to our church's women's retreat this year. Couldn't quite escape not going two years in a row especially since we were at a new and unfamiliar place and I was the designated contact person. God had a lot to say to me in a way that I just can't seem to explain. I walked away with a heart full of worship and awe of the God who chose me to take part of His story. It takes a lot for me to cry but there were a lot of tears this weekend, especially when the word of God is spoken in a profound way and the music is beautifully played. Even in the midst of serving with the details, I was ministered to with the genuine love of all the women I met, spoke with or observed. It is truly a blessing to be part of a body of people who care to be inclusive, love you where you are at and whose expectations of you are human and gracious. Sad to say with all the details... I didn't get any photos. Does that mean I'm going again next year? Hmmm....... Don't know if I've grown quite that much but if that is what God wants me to do then, He might just have His way with me again.
That is what it feels like... I look at pictures of my friends and family who all have little kids. I look at all my pictures of my kids at that age and it was just yesterday that they were like that. Literally. Well, it feels like that anyway. It is true when they say, "enjoy your kids when they are young because it goes by way too fast." I have heard that statement at least a hundred times from all sorts of people. Of course, when a lot of them are really young and aren't much help, we never believe that, but it is soooo true! And, I'm glad we listened because honestly we have no regrets with how we have spent time with the kids. I can say with confidence that we have made a lot of good choices like holding off on seminary, homeschooling the kids, prioritizing family time and limiting activities (when they were all under 12). When life is this rich, perhaps it speeds by double-time? They are all truly a gift to us from above!
Kid Updates: (more for my sake)
Sammy has improved with his rotary breathing in swimming and is loving it! He hasn't complained once about going to those long hourly swim practices four times a week where he does one lap after another. This is really working on his diligence!
Christopher continues to make, create, build, cut-up anything he can get his hands on. He has a few cuts on himself from doing so but he thrives when he is in the middle of creating! His latest venture was copying a castle from a magazine picture with cardboard, glue and who knows what else?
Paige has encouraged her cousin Maddie to work hard to catch up in gymnastics . She even spent about 15 minutes one night telling her to keep trying to get her walkover perfected. At today's lesson, Maddie just moved up officially so they can be in the same class! Two peas in a pod......
Stephen is working hard on pull-ups now that he has a pull-up bar in his room (thanks Mr. Timberlake for the inspiration)! It will increase his laptime with swimming! He is also working hard on an artistic project for church. It is turning out well!
Taryn is enjoying her drama assistant role very much! Not only is she helping out with the middle school play but also with all the other ones. Lots of hours to put in before this Friday and next Friday's performances for school and she loves it!
COULDN'T WE JUST FREEZE TIME?
We're in a season of life where we are having talks about calling, college, sexuality, and more with the three eldest of the family. I often don't feel ready for it but I know we need to do it. I don't want my kids learning about these things and gaining direction from anybody else but from Howard and I first. I am thankful though to be in a body where I trust many of the leaders and many of the families that God has put in our path especially at this crucial time when I am learning to slowly release my grasp when it comes to the kids and pushing them, one step at a time, out of the nest. The church body is a valuable community to come alongside us as we head this way. We need and want their encouragement.
Small steps at a time. It was really difficult when I allowed Taryn, 12 and Stephen, 10 to fly back on an airplane from Illinois together by themselves. At age 11, Stephen went camping for 5 whole days with another family by himself. Difficult, but not heart-wrenching. Last summer, Steve got a chance to go on a missions trip to a very poverty-stricken area to do construction with our church youth for 6 days and grew leaps and bounds through it. That was still a little hard... another baby step. Now, this summer it's Taryn's turn. She is getting the chance to minister together with the youth from our church on an International Missions trip, to another country, passport and all for 7 whole days. I find myself praying a lot more, for her, for the other kids. Especially as I really cannot control anything about the trip... you know planes, diseases, civil unrest in that country currently, and other scenarios my mind can make up. But, I know it's the right thing for her to do and one of the best things to enlarge her heart towards others and gain a big picture of the world at large and the church universal. The days away keep getting longer and longer though. So, still pretty hard. Just not very easy, you know. I guess it's just preparing me for that ultimate time when they leave for college or trade school for months at a time or permanently away when they are married. Thankfully, it is one step at a time and these gradual intervals are allowing my heart to let them go trusting our GOD, who loves them more than I ever have or will, to take care of them wherever He may call them!
Read below only if interested. About Taryn's upcoming trip.
Some of you have received a missions support letter from Taryn recently as she endeavors to raise the funds needed to go on this trip! It's no small amount but we are trusting God to provide for her. Her brother has already earned her a bit of support by doing a very hard and cold service project on her behalf. What a nice guy! She has two more service projects lined up at church with our youth... lots of yard work coming up when the weather permits. She also contributed her own funds from babysitting the neighbor kids behind us! If you feel led in any way to give towards her trip, she would greatly appreciate your sacrifice! She'll be visiting orphanges and doing children's evangelism, sports ministry and light construction through partnering with FUENTE DE VIDA (Fountain of Life Church), whom our church currently partners with as well. Click on Mission to the World, the organization our youth will be serving under this summer for more information. All donations are tax deductible and can be sent to the following address and on memo line put youth missions trip/Cole:
Church of the Redeemer
P.O. Box 3365
Monroe, NC 28111
Taryn is fast approaching her senior year of highschool and her dad and I are fashioning her year-long gateway. We have a very general idea of how and what we want it to look like but in these next couple of months, we are turning vision and theory into reality. If ya'll know us to some extent, Howard is the VISION dude and I am the PRACTICAL gal. It's been a long-time coming but we finally decided on a name for this adventure-filled, mentor-led and we hope Spirit-filled year. Much like our first gateway, Training for Twelve, our goal for our children's last year of highschool is to purposely focus them on a myriad of targets; spiritually, physically, mentally, figuring out their talents, exposing them to different career options, and more. Naturally, as Taryn is our first, she is by default, our guinea pig so we applaud her courage and flexibility as we create a new chapter in our parenting efforts. One full year of Kingdom Quests.
As a side note to all this... one of the most challenging things as parents is to discern our children's talents, gifts, and abilities which sometimes comes to the surface very early on.... like reading... Taryn has always LOVED to read. But lately, one of her favorite hobbies has been movie-making. She can never watch a movie on screen without analyzing it to death. Not necessarily the story itself but the way it was filmed, how it was filmed and what art form was used. Could she be a future movie producer, director, non-profit video editor, documentary film manager... ??? We don't know what God is calling our oldest child to. We'll be proud of her with whatever endeavor she takes on if she is doing it to the glory of God and following His lead. Her real desire is to marry and have children but until then, she has other abilities that are there and ready to bloom and be used for God's Kingdom in some way...
Here is one of Taryn's first attempts at a music video with some friends!
Tonight we got a taste of all the art projects the
kids at Grace Academy have been doing! We happen to know 5 of the students that are taking art there; our own Stephen and Paige, their cousins Meagan and Maddie and our family friend, Amanda. Here are some of their creations:
Self-portraits, wire figures, paper mache, paintings, poreclain bowls, drawings and so on! Paige, Amanda and Meagan made a great effort at their first ever self-portraits(photos below)!
Since we don't really name houses and I didn't want to use the name of our street, we had to go with the above title... Paige has been working on a replacement dress. She got a prairie dress for her 10th birthday and has since outgrown it. One of her projects this new year was to help make another prairie dress with Dr. Krista Wilson from church who has so selflessly had Paige over to make this goal a "reality." It all started with receiving the pattern in her Christmas stocking. She then had to work for her sister to help babysit some neighbor kids to fund the cost of the materials; buttons, fabric and thread! She spent 3 whole days at the Wilson's house cutting, piecing, and sewing. Here is the fruit of her efforts! She has only to finish off her outfit with a bonnet. Another project for another time. She can't wait. THANKS Miss Krista for everything!
P.S. She has also had the pleasure of finding a 'kindred spirit' in reading as Miss Krista owns all of the Nancy Drew books; EVERY SINGLE ONE! She wants to thank you for lending those books to her too!!!
I think that word sums up the boy's first basketball season on a team! They learned a lot of lessons, some great plays and mostly how to work hard, have fun and keep playing your best even IF you probably wouldn't get the chance to shoot as often as you would like. They had a great last game though. Their coach let Sam and Chris both play point guard and Sam made his second and final shot of the season from mid-court (again) and Chris was pleased with his two awesome lay-ups!
