It's been a good week. Seems like the holiday was a two-edged sword: making things pretty busy this week because I had lost a workday, but also making the week get over quicker for the same reason! It felt good to be driving home this afternoon knowing the weekend was at hand. Of course it helped that I was cruising down the highway listening to the new Switchfoot album set to come out next week (just got it in the mail today)!

We had a great Labor Day weekend. Spent last Saturday cleaning out the garage, Sunday relaxing & Monday going to the Zoo with the Craig family. The rest of the week was good - had a HBO free preview weekend last weekend so our TiVo is stocked up with good movies to watch. The only downer was yesterday morning on the way to work. There must have been a major car wreck on the Interstate as it was backlogged for miles. All the people who are smarter than I (and have lived here longer and know other ways to get around) got out of it before it hit hard. I, unfortunately, did not. What is normally a 30 minute commute into work turned into a 2 hour commute! It wasn't terrible, as I spent some time praying, some time listening to my iPod, some time listening to NPR coverage of the Hurricane aftermath, and some time talking with Andrea on the phone. It was still a little exhausting, however, sitting in a non-air conditioned standard vehicle which has a tendency to overheat. I survived.

Continue reading "Fast Friday" »

Micah is picking his piano up about as quickly as Josiah did when he first started this time last year. Josiah is already to the point where we go over his lesson together and have him play through his pieces for the week one time so I can point out anything he needs to work especially on. Then I let him go - and he has everything done by the next week's lesson! Both he & Micah enjoy practicing (at least so far) - sometimes I have to help pace them as they would probably work through the lessons much faster if I would let them. There was a few months back last year before the last move that he was teaching himself while we were busy with other things (actually, while his dad dropped the ball for a few months).

Micah was so excited when he finished his first piano piece last week. We captured it on video & wanted to post it here for everyone to share in the moment.

The doorbell rang. Right about that time Emerie had been rummaging in our bread and snack drawer and pulled out a box of Little Debbie brownies. She pulled out a package and wanted one, but I told her 'no' as she had already had a desert. All this while I was still at the door. I went outside to help a neighbor look for something. I got to the backyard and turned to see Emerie following me down the driveway with a brownie package in her hand saying, "Mom! Brownie, Mom." As she approached I said, "Emerie - Mommy said no brownie, honey." As she continued to run down the driveway she shoved the whole brownie package down the front of her dress and kept on running. What women won't do for their chocolate!

The kids and I toured the Parthenon yesterday. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Nashville built a replica of the Greek Parthenon in 1897 for the International Exposition that year. The Athenians originally built it as a tribute to Athena, goddess of wisdom. There is a huge statue of the goddess housed within the structure which stands a few stories tall. The boys and I had been reading and learning about ancient Greece for about 4 weeks now and culminated our study with this fun field trip. After counting the columns across the front and side of the Parthenon (confirming that it was indeed the same as the original), we entered and proceeded to the elevator that would take us up to the huge statue. As we entered the elevator Josiah looked around wide-eyed and exclaimed, "WOW - and this is what their elevators looked like!"

I have to admit that we're pretty upset with everything going on in Louisiana and Mississippi in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. We watched some of the TV coverage last night and it really shook me up. It was almost surreal at points - especially with local coverage - as they would seem to move seamlessly between horrible, gut-wrenching images and footage of people clinging to little hope and dire conditions to then talking about how nice our weather was going to be for the Labor Day weekend! My brain couldn't make that shift! I honestly can't get my brain wrapped around the despair that those people are facing and dealing with at this very moment - as I sit here comfortably in my easy chair, with my slippers on and a glass of ice-cold lemonade by my side while listening to classical music!

Continue reading "Feeling Guilty for Being Fine" »

Josiah begins soccer at the YMCA again tonight with his first practice of the season. We were supposed to practice last week, but it was cancelled due to the wet ground (and this was before the rains from Hurrican Katrina hit). He's really excited about playing again!

I've enjoyed having him hooked up with the YMCA for sports as it is a pretty positive environment. Our coach last year was excellent & really did a good job of teaching/encouraging the kids - realizing that they were there to learn some soccer skills, not to win a championship (too bad other coaches around us didn't realize the same). That coach isn't coaching this season, so we'll have to wait to see how the new coach approaches the kids and the game. I've spoken with him on the phone and he seems really nice, so I feel good going in.

Practices will be once a week on Friday nights with games on most Saturdays. The field is only about 15 minutes from us and it makes for a nice family outing on game days.