62 posts tagged “taryn”
After 3 years of his first instrument, Stephen is retiring his flute. He is loving his new instrument, the guitar and is happy to move on! Taryn continues to enjoy playing violin with a group. It gives her the incentive to keep practicing even though she has not taken any private lessons since this new year began. She hopes to take part of Tehillah Chamber Players again next Spring, when, Lord willing, she will be able to drive herself to practice!
Here are two clips of their concert. The first one is shorter with a recognizable melody from Fiddler on the Roof with a brief violin solo by Taryn. The second one is a piece entitled New World Symphony which they both think is the best one out of the half dozen that they played and a little longer for fans of orchestra type music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGXOwxxziFs&feature=channel_page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCA3g1RQGr4
Around these parts, the homeschool community puts on a sort of prom called the Senior High Gala. Kathryn and Taryn went together and met some friends from one of their schools they attend (Geometry class) and had a BLAST! Who says you need a date to spend an evening of laughter, fun dancing and to top it off a gourmet meal. They were certainly glad they didn't let not having a "date" hold them back on making fun memories and having a great time with friends and each other.
What great timing for getting their hair done by cousin Christa who is still in town. They were asked by someone if they got their hair "professionally put up." Here's the result of her efforts:
We just got news that Taryn has raised what she needs to go on her missions trip to Monterrey, Mexico in July! Not just what she needed but more. God does indeed provide and we are thankful for those who generously gave so she could go on this life-changing trip to another country and bless and be blessed through it. Would you join our family this summer and pray for Taryn and her whole mission team of 10 (3 leaders and 7 students from 10th-12th grades) for their impact as a group as they minister alongside Fuente De Vida with sports ministry, Vacation Bible School, orphanage visits and construction work? Pray that God would use them and would provide opportunities where they could share the Good News of Christ's salvation to those He places along their path! Also, that the team would experience God's love in a new and different way as they allow Him to use them through these various works. The rest of the team has to still raise more support so could you also ask that God would provide the rest of the funds so all their expenses could be covered?
On the way to Taryn's first Soar volleyball game, just a mile away from our destination, I hear a
terrible noise on the front right tire. Yep, a flat. My first ever while I was in the driver's seat. Thankfully, our friends were more than willing to come pick up Taryn so she wouldn't be late to her game and my brother-in-law came to the rescue to help me put the spare on! Thank God for community!
Taryn's team, the Sweet Peas, named after the fact that their uniforms happened to be a very flourescent type green, played well today, tying 1-1 and losing by a few points in the 3rd match! But, Taryn was overjoyed to be finally serving OVERHAND and making it over the net. She NEVER thought she'd ever be able to do it and after a few weeks of working hard at it at home and at practice, today she proved that she could indeed get it over!
So cool to see how one thing leads to another...
Taryn made this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH1nCiKLQQk for the God at Work focus for church this past Sunday and now she is being asked to help with slides at church. Something she loves and wouldn't mind doing..
Then, it was really neat when the children's director acknowledged Stephen's drawings in front of all the Kid Venture children and now the assistant pastor says that "he has got to design next year's youth retreat t-shirt!"
Also, here's the final result of Steve's poster he is entering into our town's yearly Labor day weekend festival! If he wins, it will be used on t-shirts and banners and more, not to mention a great money prize, but if he doesn't, it was a great experience for him anyways!
Christa had a great week up in Asheville with her Grandma and Aunt! But, the girls were happy to get their "adopted" older sister back (cousin, for reals) before she leaves us again for the beach to visit the other set of cousins. We celebrated Howard's 39th bday early and separately from Easter since it falls on Easter Sunday this year. He received a Vintage All American Baseball game from his mom which was an instant hit with the girls (even though they know nothing about baseball) and with the little boys who are playing that game even as I type! It has no buzzes and whistles, no noises and no need for batteries. Just a plain old-fashioned game about baseball. Sometimes, less IS more!
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!
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!
For some reason, we all thought this Honda Civic 2000 was supposed to be 'black' and to our delight it is a blu-ish green tint. No buzzes and whistles (meaning you actually have to use your own elbow grease to roll those windows up and down) but it looks and drives like NEW although it is as old as Samuel and has less mileage than our 2005 one. With some TLC, it should last at least another 10 years. Now, she just has to keep driving and practicing until Nov 1st, when she is eligible to take the on-the-road driver's test and move from the driver's permit to Level 1 provisional license (unfortunately that privilege also comes with a higher price tag re: insurance which she isn't all that excited to help pay for). Seems like Tar's been saving forever for her car and paying for that cross-country trek from Cali to NC was a major chunk, but she is one happy young lady.
