Empty Bowls

The local middle school has a special 7th grade project they do every year to teach about and raise awareness of poverty and hunger. We attended the dinner this evening (a fundraiser for the local food shelf basically) where we ate soup, got a couple clay bowls (hence the title "empty bowls") and learned a little about hunger. The event involved all of the arts classes since the start of the year; the seventh graders made the clay bowls, they wrote, performed and recorded songs about hunger (which were played over the speaker for "background" music throughout the evening), and they cooked the food (ahead of time, obviously, not all today). The soups were wonderful (I love soup) and ranged incredibly in variety, from apple onion soup, to chili, to corn and sweet potato chowder, to black eye pea and andouille sausage (or some such thing - this is the one I had a whole bowl of - delicious), to squapple (squash and apple), and many more. The bread was good, the cookies fine, and chatting with my neighbors who I hadn't seen since summer very nice.

I loved the evening and the "message" and the purpose in action. I remember almost a lifetime ago being in charge of "missions week" at the school where I was working (elementary). One day during that week, we had rice for lunch. Just rice. That's what most of the world eats every day. Rice. I remember the parents' skepticism (granted I was a naive just married young lady w/o kids of her own), but I'd do it all over again. Much as we need nutrition (and yes, it was white rice), and our kids need fiber and greens, and plenty of it to give them lots of strength etc.... my point was much like "Empty Bowls" night; we are RICH and we lack for nothing, comparatively speaking. We can eat just rice - as much as we want mind you - for one meal. Really, we can, and it's more than many children get every day. Something to think about.

Visual helps like these events give us - and our children - an idea of what other people eat, what hunger is or may be like, how poverty "hurts" and isn't just an idea but a reality, and that we are blessed beyond our understanding. I think this is a good thing, and I am glad we went. I think my kids (who generally don't particularly care for soup) will be hungry tomorrow. And their needs will be met. They were given the option of cheerios and milk upon our return home if they were hungry enough to get it for themselves. I don't think any of them did. They all tried new things, and several of them hardly ate. You know, you'll eat anything if you're hungry enough. I know, and it's a lesson I hope none of them learn "The hard way." So thank you to the 7th grade for our lesson that makes us think. Thank you to the teachers who made it "fun" and practical and taught them good skills (making soup, bread, cookies, bowls and music! - real life!). And thank you to my kids for allowing me to "impose" this upon them. May God give us a heart of compassion for others and thankfulness for what we have. Really.

Dental month

2012 is off to a quick start. The first few days of the year were spent in the glorious company of our extended family and then school began again . . . . . we got a bit of a reprieve from doctor's appts in December so we had to make up for it (it's called "putting them off" and "buying time" during the holidays). So last week, this week, and next week are all full of appointments, from diabetes checks to orthodontist observations, to annual dental check-ups and on and on. By the time the month is over, five of us will have clean teeth, one of us (at least) will have a filling, and the topic of othodontia will have been raised for three of the four kids. That said, we also will have dropped a good chunk of change as an investment in the local orthodontic association and one of the four will be paid for in perpetuity.... in other words our oldest is beginning an 18-month stint of metal in her mouth to fix her bite etc and we're broke. Stay in the moment and be thankful for clean teeth, mom.

One of our favorite things

One of my father's Christmas gifts to the family each year is a special dinner at the Trapp Lodge. The kids all look forward to it - it is indeed one of their favorite things (cue Julie Andrews...). Andante (my pickiest eater) actually anticipates it perhaps the most, having planned his outfit for this evening out even while shopping for what to wear for his uncle's wedding in October. He asked about it multiple times while packing and planning for the week, with hope in his eyes and voice, even though he does get exciting things like macaroni and cheese.... things they didn't have when I was a child eating here! But they like "getting dressed up" and the fancy table, the ambiance, trying new foods - this year it was cheddar ale soup - delicious! and the ice cream served in fancy cookie bowls - and the company of course. Thank you Dad for giving them this special experience every year to look forward to!

The Twelve Days - and so on and so forth

We love to play, to rest, to be outside, and to simply be together.



That's what our time in Stowe is usually spent doing, and we had a wonderful time with the parents/grandparents doing these things.

The weather was great for skiing and sledding.

The pool was amazing and everyone is swimming now to some degree.

We rock-climbed, played air hockey, did puzzles, made cookies, watched movies, and played games. It was really really fun.

And we spent time together, eating, playing, and so much more.

Christmas Day

Oh Christmas is so special. There are the gifts, there is all the "hoo-haa", there are the pajamas, the books on the bed when then wake up (to keep them upstairs and give me time to shower - that's our deal - no one goes downstairs 'til mommy's dressed, and NO ONE wakes us up before 6am - later is better..... tho' that's a dream).




There are the stockings, the gifts to give, the special foods, and this year church (it was Sunday), Grandpa's plane to meet (noon), and Stowe to go to for the week (leaving mid-afternoon w/snow flying and making the travel interesting, bumping up our schedule by at least a 1/2 an hour to avoid issues...)



They loved their gifts as always, and we do our best in the midst of the excitement to keep "Jesus as the reason for the season." We love to read the Christmas story, to play with nativity sets, to do "advent traditions" that run through the Christmas story and/or scriptures that point us to our need for a savior, God promising to send a savior, and his fulfilling his promise by sending Jesus to be our savior. Ever the coolest of gifts he is. And we love to sing the songs that help us focus on the gift that he is to us. Yes, Christmas is fun, as are the people and the foods, and the memories. Merry Christmas - and thank you for Jesus.

Leading up to the big day

The rest of December - that is the part leading up to Christmas - was full of many fun activities.



Thursday home school group ice skating with Vivace (he and I bought ourselves some hockey sticks and a puck for just $16! Cool!)....







Decorating the tree....















Attaining teenage status . . . .


(Happy 13th Patience! Sorry you had a headache.)










Music, music, and more music: Patience had her evening winter concert where she played the viola with the orchestra, sang with the chorus, and played handbells to boot.



She also played in the youth orchestra for special Christmas music at church, she performed during school with all three of the afore-mentioned groups plus piano with the jazz band, and went on an all-day field trip to perform with the handbells at several area nursing homes.




That last one was not something we'd planned ahead of time and it was a full day of activity, but was very enjoyable for both her and I, especially because it was actually her birthday and I got to spend it with her! We had fun and they sounded lovely.





Grandma arrived the 17th and stayed for almost a week right near us before heading up to Stowe. She treated us all (Merry Christmas!) to a delightful performance of the Nutcracker, and she was able to hear Patience's beautiful music as well. This was wonderful, and I don't know how I could have balanced all our regular or extra holiday activities with school etc without her help. Thanks mom!

We enjoyed ice skating all together with Emily's class the last day of school before vacation and then helped Grandma grocery shop and move up to Stowe.

The younger kids and I stayed there for two days before heading home on Christmas Eve, and it was wonderful to relax together there after the busyness of the week. Naturally, she brought snow with her and it was lovely to play in it together. Andante and I even got in a great ski together in the fresh snow (cross-country) before heading back down to the all but snowless valley floor for Christmas.

Gingerbread!

You would think from the lack of posting that December never happened. I guess what really happened is it flew by! It began with a bang - that would be Vivace's 6th birthday - and continued with a party with friends building gingerbread houses. We all had a very fun time. A full month later, we still have one house left of the four we created. Papa Bear has forbidden us to eat it for fear of damage to teeth. Somehow I think we'll find a way.... without damaging the teeth of course.

A thousand gifts - a lot of fun and messy too!

Well, my little kindergartner, Vivace, was the creative maestro around here this Christmas. In addition to making many other items, whether at school, Awana, or just around the house, he painted 12 homemade handprint calendars as gifts for everyone in the extended family.

He invited one friend over and they each did one for their Dads, and then he invited another friend over who did one for his mom while Vivace did one for one of his grandparents, and then over the course of several afternoons, he cranked out 10 more for everyone else, from the other set of grandparents to his teacher to the aunts and uncles to our 94-year old neighbor who loves this stuff. It was fun.

It was amazing pulling all this off without Papa Bear figuring it out, nor Grandma who came to visit before we'd finished. We were like madmen he and I painting drying and hiding and washing and hiding.... Papa Bear did smell the paint one evening, and he reprimanded Vivace for writing on his hands (the paint stained) another time.... What a huge project, but what fun we had! And we are glad to have been able to give away our thousand gifts (ok, more like 150 if you count up all the pages of the calendars and then everything else).