Saturday, December 6, 2008
Christmas stories are the best!! One of our favorites is 'The Tale of Three Trees.' Here is a modified version of it.
Don't forget to mute the Christmas music so you can hear.
Enjoy... and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
'A Tale of Three Trees,' Told By Kaden & Mom
Christmas stories are the best!! One of our favorites is 'The Tale of Three Trees.' Here is a modified version of it.
Don't forget to mute the Christmas music so you can hear.
Enjoy... and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
The Meaning Of The Holidays
What The Holidays Mean to Me |
 For you, the holidays are about emotional connections and bonds. You are happiest being around those you love. You celebrate the holidays in a minimalist style. You are likely to only give one great present and decorate your house with a few special items. During the holidays, you feel magical. You love all of the decorations and how happy people are. You like to sit back and take it all in. You think the holidays should be decadent and indulgent. You never mind gaining a few holiday pounds... it's worth it! Your favorite holiday memories strongly evoke your senses. You are vividly aware of all the tastes, smells, and sounds of the holidays. |
What Do the Holidays Mean to YOU?
I love homemade Christmases... every year, the boys and I make popcorn garland and decorate our tree with candy canes and homemade ornaments. Of course the tree HAS to be real... I LOVE the way it makes the house smell (& it's better for the environment too)! I love to wrap everyone's presents with velvet ribbons, pretty wrapping paper and candy canes clipped to these cute felt mitten clip gift tags (one of Martha Stewart's 'good things' I made =). And EVERY gift HAS to be PERFECT... something really special, not necessarily expensive. I love making Christmas cookies with my boys... and even more, I love to eat them!! I love drinking homemade hot chocolate with marshmallows & peppermint sticks on a cold night... and snuggling together to read 'Polar Express' and 'The Tale of Three Trees.' I love our tradition, that started with my family when I was young, of driving around on Christmas Eve to look at Christmas lights, and coming home to drink eggnog before bed. I still get excited when I see a completely decked out house! =) I LOVE Christmas!!!!!!! I love it's meaning, and I love it's magic.
Don't you???
Driving around last Christmas Eve looking at lights with my parents... poor little Kaleb fell asleep.
I love homemade Christmases... every year, the boys and I make popcorn garland and decorate our tree with candy canes and homemade ornaments. Of course the tree HAS to be real... I LOVE the way it makes the house smell (& it's better for the environment too)! I love to wrap everyone's presents with velvet ribbons, pretty wrapping paper and candy canes clipped to these cute felt mitten clip gift tags (one of Martha Stewart's 'good things' I made =). And EVERY gift HAS to be PERFECT... something really special, not necessarily expensive. I love making Christmas cookies with my boys... and even more, I love to eat them!! I love drinking homemade hot chocolate with marshmallows & peppermint sticks on a cold night... and snuggling together to read 'Polar Express' and 'The Tale of Three Trees.' I love our tradition, that started with my family when I was young, of driving around on Christmas Eve to look at Christmas lights, and coming home to drink eggnog before bed. I still get excited when I see a completely decked out house! =) I LOVE Christmas!!!!!!! I love it's meaning, and I love it's magic.
Don't you???
Driving around last Christmas Eve looking at lights with my parents... poor little Kaleb fell asleep.
Just Where IS Education Going Wrong?
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
My preschool class last year during circle time
(I had four students absent that day... yikes, almost half my class! Our class changed several times throughout the year, as a few students moved away and new ones registered. )
Our day typically consisted of structured free play, centers, crafts, circle time, lunch and recess.
Just how is a child expected to adjust going from that to a full-day Kindergarten class without recess?
Do you think this is a problem???
This is my last week of this semester's classes at Auburn, next week is finals. As I had mentioned before, I had to do some volunteer work for my Developmental Psychology class, and chose to cheat a little and do it in Kaleb's Pre-K class. =) After turning in my three hours a week, I also had to submit a paper. I thought it was an interesting subject for all of you parents out there... so I thought I would share some of my thoughts...
'The opportunity I had to volunteer in a Pre-K classroom has been one I will not forget. I still feel as though I cheated just a bit, considering it was my youngest son’s classroom. Of course, I truly enjoyed spending that time observing him in a classroom. I was also very careful not to show any kind of favoritism towards him, making a conscience effort to get to know all of the other students. It is amazing how quickly young children accept you and develop a fond bond. I love the doe-eyed way they look at you, hanging on to your every word, waiting for you to teach them something magnificent. I have to admit, I fell in love with this class. I will be teaching students who are a little older, but these young children have truly stolen my heart. Even more so, I have been able to confirm to myself my excitement about my future career as an elementary teacher.
I made the class these little 'D is for Dinosaur' bags... and we went on a dinosaur egg hunt. =)
Holidays are my favorite in the classroom. I loved decorating our door with cute art projects my class made. For Halloween, we painted their feet white and hung them upside-down to make ghosts. They thought it was so funny!
I found it quite interesting to read the section in the textbook relating to how preschools, here in the United States, lag behind ones in other countries. Many countries provide preschool at no expense, whereas, the US doesn’t offer such amenities even though statistics prove the benefits. Children exposed to an early educational program are shown to be less likely to repeat grades and more likely to finish high school. Statistics also prove that preschool programs funded by a government would pay off in the long run with astounding results. These results span from gains in emotional and cognitive development to better educational outcomes to an increase in societal economic self-sufficiency to a reduced level of criminal activities, to even an improvement in health-related behaviors. So, why would the United States choose not to provide a government-funded preschool program for all of its citizens? The Pre-K program, where my son attends, is a program that has been in place for only five years now. As it is in many other school districts, our elementary school’s Pre-K program is a lottery. That is, in an area of possibly 100 preschool aged children, only nine boys and nine girls are chosen to be a part of the program. There is a deadline when paperwork needs to be turned in, and unfortunately most families in the area aren’t even aware of the program unless they have older children who attend the elementary school. I, myself, was not aware of the program until I registered one of my boys in first grade last school year and an employee asked me if I was registering my then three-year-old for Pre-K. What a glorious day that was to discover he could go to Pre-K for free! That is, until I heard it was a lottery. I truly feel we were somehow blessed to have had his name pulled! But how unfortunate for all of those other families, whose children were not chosen for the program! Is causes me to question the reasoning for it. Is it because there isn’t enough government funding? Or is it because of a lack of certified early education teachers? Something tells me it is the previous.
Hannah was the little classroom ring leader, everything she did everyone else followed... it was a good thing she liked her Miss Kristin! =) She's such a doll!!! I still talk to her mom and a few other parents. =)
There were some graphs in the textbook that also caught my attention. These graphs indicated parental values of the purpose of preschool in three different countries, China, the United States and Japan. Since my oldest son was born, I have had a subscription to one parenting magazine or another. As I read these magazines, I couldn’t help but think that most parents must share my thoughts and values on education, teaching good citizenship, and learning how to properly social their children, after all, here were the articles supporting these beliefs. I overlooked the fact that these magazines were written to appeal to a very specific middle-class, educated group of parents, and not all parents in the United States fall into this subculture. The thought as to whether these magazines spanned the side tables in doctors’ offices located in inner cities, unfortunately, never once crossed my mind. So it turns out, my value of raising a good citizen isn’t thought to be the main purpose for preschool. Only five percent of parents in the United States agree the purpose of preschool is to start children on the road to being good citizens, whereas over 20 percent agree the purpose of preschool is to teach young children to be more independent. Do children not learn enough independence at home? Isn’t school a place where children learn how to function in a society? Wouldn’t teaching them good citizenship skills at this young age pay off for our nation in the long run, just as providing them an early education does? Surprisingly, China outnumbers the United States by almost 20 percent in the agreement that the purpose of preschool is to give children a good start academically. Considering that we are a world power, wouldn’t you think our percentage would be quite higher than China’s?
Jenesys came to our class late in the school year. She's severely autistic, but her parents were still in denial so it took a lot of care and sensitivity to gently tell them. I'll never forget this little girl, I learned so much from her.
My little Indians, getting ready for our Thanksgiving play. I found a really cute children's book and read to them the story of Plymouth Rock. They were so excited to put their new knowledge to use! =)
I was talking to one of the Kindergarten teachers at my sons’ elementary school while I was there volunteering today. She informed me the school currently has three Kindergarten classes, each with 25 students. A classroom of 20 students is average, however, I have noted the average class in the school is around only 17. The school is in dire need of hiring another Kindergarten teacher to reduce the number of students in these Kindergarten classrooms, however, it just may not be in the school’s budget. Not only are these classrooms crowded, but these five-year-old children have a full day of school and are only allowed a 30-minute physical education class with no recess. So, as the textbook asks, are we pushing children too hard and too fast? My thought is yes, we are. However, our mistake is that we aren’t starting soon enough, and when we do it is completely overwhelming for these young children. Not only are they not accustomed for it, but they aren’t even allowed an adequate number of ‘brain breaks’ throughout the day. As I listened to this Kindergarten teacher explain a typical Kindergartners day, all I could think about was how are these children I’m standing here with, as they wait to use the restroom, going to adjust. They had just woken up from their 30-minute nap and were getting ready to go back into the classroom to wash their hands and have a snack. After their snack, they were going to listen to a storybook and dance to some fun songs before they got their coats and backpacks to line up for wait to be picked up. How can these children go from a day of structured free play, outside recess, naptime, snack time and story time go to a full day of learning? Shouldn’t there be a transitional process? It’s no wonder so many Kindergartners are being diagnosed with ADHD and LD, I think I would be too! With statistics proving the benefits of an early preschool education, would it make more sense to have this typical Pre-K day be for three-year-olds and to develop an intermediate curriculum for four-year-olds to transition them for Kindergarten? I remember when my second grader was in Kindergarten, he came home crying everyday because Kindergarten was ‘too hard.’ It wasn’t that it was too hard, it was just too long of a day, especially considering the Pre-K class he had come from was only four hours a day, not all day. Are we doing these children a disservice? Are we truly setting them up for success with our current educational curriculum? And most importantly, is this where we are going wrong, and why other countries are passing us up? Or is just contributing to a much bigger problem?'
Our preschool was a very small nondenominational Christian school... we were fortunate to have very involved parents. There's my Kaleb in the third row up, in the middle. =)
So, where do you stand on this? Do you agree or disagree??
I made the class these little 'D is for Dinosaur' bags... and we went on a dinosaur egg hunt. =)
Holidays are my favorite in the classroom. I loved decorating our door with cute art projects my class made. For Halloween, we painted their feet white and hung them upside-down to make ghosts. They thought it was so funny!I found it quite interesting to read the section in the textbook relating to how preschools, here in the United States, lag behind ones in other countries. Many countries provide preschool at no expense, whereas, the US doesn’t offer such amenities even though statistics prove the benefits. Children exposed to an early educational program are shown to be less likely to repeat grades and more likely to finish high school. Statistics also prove that preschool programs funded by a government would pay off in the long run with astounding results. These results span from gains in emotional and cognitive development to better educational outcomes to an increase in societal economic self-sufficiency to a reduced level of criminal activities, to even an improvement in health-related behaviors. So, why would the United States choose not to provide a government-funded preschool program for all of its citizens? The Pre-K program, where my son attends, is a program that has been in place for only five years now. As it is in many other school districts, our elementary school’s Pre-K program is a lottery. That is, in an area of possibly 100 preschool aged children, only nine boys and nine girls are chosen to be a part of the program. There is a deadline when paperwork needs to be turned in, and unfortunately most families in the area aren’t even aware of the program unless they have older children who attend the elementary school. I, myself, was not aware of the program until I registered one of my boys in first grade last school year and an employee asked me if I was registering my then three-year-old for Pre-K. What a glorious day that was to discover he could go to Pre-K for free! That is, until I heard it was a lottery. I truly feel we were somehow blessed to have had his name pulled! But how unfortunate for all of those other families, whose children were not chosen for the program! Is causes me to question the reasoning for it. Is it because there isn’t enough government funding? Or is it because of a lack of certified early education teachers? Something tells me it is the previous.
Hannah was the little classroom ring leader, everything she did everyone else followed... it was a good thing she liked her Miss Kristin! =) She's such a doll!!! I still talk to her mom and a few other parents. =)There were some graphs in the textbook that also caught my attention. These graphs indicated parental values of the purpose of preschool in three different countries, China, the United States and Japan. Since my oldest son was born, I have had a subscription to one parenting magazine or another. As I read these magazines, I couldn’t help but think that most parents must share my thoughts and values on education, teaching good citizenship, and learning how to properly social their children, after all, here were the articles supporting these beliefs. I overlooked the fact that these magazines were written to appeal to a very specific middle-class, educated group of parents, and not all parents in the United States fall into this subculture. The thought as to whether these magazines spanned the side tables in doctors’ offices located in inner cities, unfortunately, never once crossed my mind. So it turns out, my value of raising a good citizen isn’t thought to be the main purpose for preschool. Only five percent of parents in the United States agree the purpose of preschool is to start children on the road to being good citizens, whereas over 20 percent agree the purpose of preschool is to teach young children to be more independent. Do children not learn enough independence at home? Isn’t school a place where children learn how to function in a society? Wouldn’t teaching them good citizenship skills at this young age pay off for our nation in the long run, just as providing them an early education does? Surprisingly, China outnumbers the United States by almost 20 percent in the agreement that the purpose of preschool is to give children a good start academically. Considering that we are a world power, wouldn’t you think our percentage would be quite higher than China’s?
Jenesys came to our class late in the school year. She's severely autistic, but her parents were still in denial so it took a lot of care and sensitivity to gently tell them. I'll never forget this little girl, I learned so much from her.
My little Indians, getting ready for our Thanksgiving play. I found a really cute children's book and read to them the story of Plymouth Rock. They were so excited to put their new knowledge to use! =)I was talking to one of the Kindergarten teachers at my sons’ elementary school while I was there volunteering today. She informed me the school currently has three Kindergarten classes, each with 25 students. A classroom of 20 students is average, however, I have noted the average class in the school is around only 17. The school is in dire need of hiring another Kindergarten teacher to reduce the number of students in these Kindergarten classrooms, however, it just may not be in the school’s budget. Not only are these classrooms crowded, but these five-year-old children have a full day of school and are only allowed a 30-minute physical education class with no recess. So, as the textbook asks, are we pushing children too hard and too fast? My thought is yes, we are. However, our mistake is that we aren’t starting soon enough, and when we do it is completely overwhelming for these young children. Not only are they not accustomed for it, but they aren’t even allowed an adequate number of ‘brain breaks’ throughout the day. As I listened to this Kindergarten teacher explain a typical Kindergartners day, all I could think about was how are these children I’m standing here with, as they wait to use the restroom, going to adjust. They had just woken up from their 30-minute nap and were getting ready to go back into the classroom to wash their hands and have a snack. After their snack, they were going to listen to a storybook and dance to some fun songs before they got their coats and backpacks to line up for wait to be picked up. How can these children go from a day of structured free play, outside recess, naptime, snack time and story time go to a full day of learning? Shouldn’t there be a transitional process? It’s no wonder so many Kindergartners are being diagnosed with ADHD and LD, I think I would be too! With statistics proving the benefits of an early preschool education, would it make more sense to have this typical Pre-K day be for three-year-olds and to develop an intermediate curriculum for four-year-olds to transition them for Kindergarten? I remember when my second grader was in Kindergarten, he came home crying everyday because Kindergarten was ‘too hard.’ It wasn’t that it was too hard, it was just too long of a day, especially considering the Pre-K class he had come from was only four hours a day, not all day. Are we doing these children a disservice? Are we truly setting them up for success with our current educational curriculum? And most importantly, is this where we are going wrong, and why other countries are passing us up? Or is just contributing to a much bigger problem?'
Our preschool was a very small nondenominational Christian school... we were fortunate to have very involved parents. There's my Kaleb in the third row up, in the middle. =)So, where do you stand on this? Do you agree or disagree??
WHAT Did You Say???
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Donnie does this really funny thing with the boys, where he has them get on their backs, curl up like a ball and hold their feet on the sofa. Then he puts his hands on their shins, and bounces them up and down. The boys think it's SOOOOO funny! But it's not nearly as funny as the way they sound!!! =)
Oh... to be an Ellis!!! =)
Last Year's Christmas Memories...
Monday, December, 1, 2008
One of our Christmas traditions, is sharing stories from our favorite Christmases. So here's my favorite memories from last year...
The boys had SO much fun decorating the house, to surprise Donnie when he got home in January, before we left to spend Christmas in Chicago.
Our little tree hugger!! =)
If you look closely, you'll see Sky's wearing reindeer ears!! =)
I taught a preschool class at Kaleb's school last year. For one of our field trips, we went to a tree farm and cut down a tree to put in our lobby.
If you look closely, you'll see Sky's wearing reindeer ears!! =)
I taught a preschool class at Kaleb's school last year. For one of our field trips, we went to a tree farm and cut down a tree to put in our lobby.
Here are Kaden and Kaleb from their school Christmas programs. Kaden's class had a cute skit with naughty elves trying to trick Santa.
Our preschool did a 'Christmas From Around The World' play.
It was a fun 16 hours to Chicago!
Donnie & I went up to the top of the Sears Tower on our very first date in 1993. Our funny story about this, is that we were both teenagers at the time... and didn't know exactly where it was. So we were walking around, looking for one of the tallest buildings in the world! There are so many skyscrapers in Chicago, just looking up doesn't help!! Needless to say, we did find it... eventually!!!
The tall black building is the John Hancock. In 2000, Donnie & I had a Christmas dinner on the 97th floor, while Donnie was working for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in the city. The view at night was SO gorgeous!
The younger two boys had SO much fun playing in the snow!!! Sky wouldn't go outside... our California boy said it was too cold! =)
Kaden making a snow angel.
It was Kaleb's first time ever playing in the snow... he just couldn't get enough of it!!!
One of my favorite memories, growing up as a little girl, was listening to my dad play his guitar and sing. My favorites were 'Puff The Magic Dragon' and 'The Rainbow Connection' from the Muppets. So of course, it brought tears to my eyes to watch my dad play for my boys. Good times!
It's so fun to watch my parents play with my boys. They were never much of the playful & lenient type while I was growing up... but being a grandparent has a different set of rules, so they tell me. =)
My older brother, Rob, took a short break from arguing cases and flew out from Vegas...
... Greg, my younger brother, took a break from rehabilitating troubled boys and stayed in town =) (hahaha, it was a bit early, so we were both a little sleepy in this picture) ...
... and my baby brother, Mark, came home from college... so it really couldn't have been a better Christmas, that is... without sending Donnie home! It was nice having all of the Hernquist clan together!!
We left all of our Christmas decorations up until Donnie got home mid January... and of course he brought the boys home some goodies. But we were most thankful that he just made it home safely!!
We Are SO Very Thankful...
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Our Thanksgiving started a little early this year with a dinner for all of the families in Donnie's unit, served by his commanding officers... it doesn't get much better than that! =) Donnie's unit actually has professional chefs, who teach cooking classes while they are away, so the dinner was quite yummy!!
Sky tends to draw in a crowd everywhere we go with his Rubik's Cube skills, he had just about the entire hall watching him solve it in under a minute. When he was finished they all started cheering and shaking his hand. The look on Sky's face made me wish I had brought our camera!! =)
Thursday, November 27, 2008
'Families are where our nation finds hope, where dreams grow wings.'
We have SO many things to be thankful for... a warm home, a secure job, education opportunities, our health, amazing friends, our church, our extended families. But most importantly, we are thankful for each other.
We spent Thanksgiving with some of our best friends, the Potocki's. For the last five years, we have been together for every holiday when we are both in town... and we have yet to miss a Thanksgiving!
Koreen and I always come up with the menu, and split who makes each entree. Whoever hosts, bakes the turkey... this year it was Koreen's turn. Considering we had to feed three grown men (Koreen's oldest son will be 19 in January), two teenage boys and two growing little boys... we managed to make quite a bit of food, there were even some leftovers. =)
This is Sky and his best friend for many years, Ty. (Yes, we have a Skyler & Tyler and a Kaden & Braydon to keep straight!! =) Joe & Koreen were being just a LITTLE silly in the background... as ALWAYS!! =)
We spent Thanksgiving with some of our best friends, the Potocki's. For the last five years, we have been together for every holiday when we are both in town... and we have yet to miss a Thanksgiving!
Koreen and I always come up with the menu, and split who makes each entree. Whoever hosts, bakes the turkey... this year it was Koreen's turn. Considering we had to feed three grown men (Koreen's oldest son will be 19 in January), two teenage boys and two growing little boys... we managed to make quite a bit of food, there were even some leftovers. =)
This is Sky and his best friend for many years, Ty. (Yes, we have a Skyler & Tyler and a Kaden & Braydon to keep straight!! =) Joe & Koreen were being just a LITTLE silly in the background... as ALWAYS!! =)
Koreen & I made four different desserts, and they were SO good we had to sample them all!!
We couldn't believe how gorgeous it was outside today... in the mid 70's and sunny!!! PERFECT weather! If it would just stay like that year 'round!! So, we were some of the lucky ones who were able to eat their Thanksgiving dinner outside on the patio!! =)Friday, November 28, 2008
We had plans to leave for Chattanooga, TN, this morning, to celebrate another Thanksgiving dinner and stay overnight at my cousin's with him, his wife, their children and my aunt & uncle. Unfortunately, we couldn't make it because Kaleb still isn't feeling 100% better. We didn't think it was fair to put him in the car for six hours over just two days, and take the chance of getting my cousin's children sick. Michael, Chrissy, Abby, Nathan, Sarah, Aunt Janice & Uncle Don, we hope you all had a great Thanksgiving dinner together... thank you SO much for inviting us, we wish we could've been there!!
It was really dreary and rainy outside today, one of those days you want to snuggle up and drink hot cocoa in bed while reading a good book. So we thought it would be a great day to get comfy on the sectional and have a Christmas movie marathon while eating Thanksgiving leftovers. Yummy! =)
Saturday, November 29, 2008
It rained again today, so we took the boys to the on-post recreation center's indoor pool. It wasn't crowded when we got there, but everyone else had the same idea... so it got pretty crowded by the time we left. The indoor pool has a nice family area with a gradual pool and a large mushroom fountain. It also has all kinds of fun water toys and kickboards for anyone to use. On the other side, there are swimming lanes and a high dive.
Sky has been scared of the water since he was two and fell in the deep end, without any floaties on. Swimming is the only badge he needs to complete his 'second class' in boy scouts. So we were pretty shocked to see him jump off the high dive! And we didn't even ask him to!!! =) Way to go, Sky!!!!
The younger two boys had so much fun kicking all over the pool using the kickboards. At first, Kaleb couldn't go anywhere... so I had to pull him around after Kaden. But after a little practicing, he was swimming all over... even to the deeper end. And he even forgot about the little cotton balls I had to put in his ears to keep them dry. =)
After about three hours of swimming, we got pretty hungry. So we went out for yummy steaks and went to go see 'Bolt.' Doesn't Donnie look cute in those GIGANTIC 3D glasses??
We hope you all had a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING weekend!!!!!
We had plans to leave for Chattanooga, TN, this morning, to celebrate another Thanksgiving dinner and stay overnight at my cousin's with him, his wife, their children and my aunt & uncle. Unfortunately, we couldn't make it because Kaleb still isn't feeling 100% better. We didn't think it was fair to put him in the car for six hours over just two days, and take the chance of getting my cousin's children sick. Michael, Chrissy, Abby, Nathan, Sarah, Aunt Janice & Uncle Don, we hope you all had a great Thanksgiving dinner together... thank you SO much for inviting us, we wish we could've been there!!
It was really dreary and rainy outside today, one of those days you want to snuggle up and drink hot cocoa in bed while reading a good book. So we thought it would be a great day to get comfy on the sectional and have a Christmas movie marathon while eating Thanksgiving leftovers. Yummy! =)Saturday, November 29, 2008
It rained again today, so we took the boys to the on-post recreation center's indoor pool. It wasn't crowded when we got there, but everyone else had the same idea... so it got pretty crowded by the time we left. The indoor pool has a nice family area with a gradual pool and a large mushroom fountain. It also has all kinds of fun water toys and kickboards for anyone to use. On the other side, there are swimming lanes and a high dive.
Sky has been scared of the water since he was two and fell in the deep end, without any floaties on. Swimming is the only badge he needs to complete his 'second class' in boy scouts. So we were pretty shocked to see him jump off the high dive! And we didn't even ask him to!!! =) Way to go, Sky!!!!
The younger two boys had so much fun kicking all over the pool using the kickboards. At first, Kaleb couldn't go anywhere... so I had to pull him around after Kaden. But after a little practicing, he was swimming all over... even to the deeper end. And he even forgot about the little cotton balls I had to put in his ears to keep them dry. =)
After about three hours of swimming, we got pretty hungry. So we went out for yummy steaks and went to go see 'Bolt.' Doesn't Donnie look cute in those GIGANTIC 3D glasses??We hope you all had a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING weekend!!!!!
Banner Day
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
What do you get when you take about 350 men from a military unit, who are crazy strong and athletically competitive?? You get... Banner Day. It is a full day of sporting events that follow the yearly Change of Command, where the companies compete in a series of competitions, such as football, basketball, soccer, a shooting event, a 5 mile run, tug of war and a mystery challenge. At the end of all the events, the winning company is awarded with an enormous trophy to proudly display until next year. If you are looking to observe some pure male testosterone... you are guaranteed to find it here!
Donnie participated by playing on the soccer team, even with a torn calf muscle. Of course, he was the captain =) ... here he is, on the far left, talking to the team. It was REALLY fun to watch them play!!
Here's my baby... in the goal, wearing the red shirt. If his mom saw the way he dove after those shots, she would've been proud!! =)
And here's me, playing a VERY important role... part of the cheering section. =) Haha, Donnie insisted on taking this pic of me all bundled up (the wind was CHILLY out there).It was a pretty exciting day, I'm glad I went to go watch part of it. These men are SO passionate about what they do... even when it comes to their sports!
Give ME This Mountain...
I have had the opportunity to meet Anne Bradshaw through blogspot. She is an LDS author that recently published 'Please, No Zits!', a book of inspiring fictional short stories for youth, and she gave me permission to post this story. I plan to buy this book for Sky, possibly for Christmas. This really moved me, so I wanted to share it... I, too, hope someday I will be on Luke's 'level'. Enjoy...
Mountain Nearing
Mountain Nearing
(Manchester, England)
We all did it—all except for Jordan
Jordan
“Aaron Veasey, you’re such a hypocrite,” she said to me this morning at school. “How can you sit in church on Sunday, giving all the right answers, then act like a sarcastic creep today?”
Most of the time I likedJordan
I flicked her ponytail around with my ruler. “I don’t see the connection. Church stuff and school stuff? They’re different.”
She had a way of wrinkling her nose when she disagreed, and she wrinkled it right then. She looked kind of pretty when she did that. But she wasn’t telling me what to do.
“I’ll tell you the connection,” she said. “It hurts. That’s what.”
“Making people laugh hurts?”
“What about the one being laughed at? Just because you don’t see hurt, doesn’t mean it’s not there.” She sniffed.
Now whenJordan
“What about that little kid on the bus this morning?” I said. “He was laughing with the rest of us.”
“At first.” She shook her head. “You didn’t see his eyes tear up when he realized you made him look stupid.”
“Well he was stupid—saying his name was Walk.”
“It was logical. He said people call a fly a Fly because it flies. Therefore today he wants to be called Walk because he walks. Makes sense to a five year old.” She sniffed again, nose in the air. “You didn’t need to add, ‘You should be called Dumbo because you’re dumb.’”
Before I could have the last word, in came our geography teacher. But it was a waste of time hopingJordan
“I suppose you’re sitting there dreaming up more sarcasm,” she threw at me next day, first lesson.
I jumped. I couldn’t admit I’d been gazing out at the misty morning, looking at a spider’s web strung between two posts. The rain and wind played with the strands, ballooning and sucking them in all directions. But the spider had worked hard, and the wind couldn’t undo that work.
“Of course.” I grinned, straightening in my chair. “And if you weren’t so tough, I’d throw some your way.”
She laughed. “Wouldn’t do you much good.” She set her backpack on the floor. “I’m getting expert at forgiving.”
“Wahoo for you, Miss Perfect. Want a halo?” I was about to add, “Let me know if it slips, and I’ll send for mountain rescue,” but Registration began, so I just poked her in the back instead.
During the announcements, Miss Gale, our class teacher, produced a letter. “We’ve been given a different assignment for our winter service project this year.” She smiled. “There’s a special school close toManchester
I groaned, switching off while she read more details. I was scared of handicapped people. I liked to feel comfortable, on the same wavelength as those around me. That wasn’t difficult when you were on the same level—but what level were they on? Besides, it meant missing my favorite TV show.
Jordan
“Oh sure! I’ve booked for each day of the week.” I glared down at her. “Not!”
She shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
“Those people are on a different planet,” I said. “You won’t catch me pushing wheelchairs and wiping noses.”
“How about you do the pushing, and me the wiping?” Her smile grew wider. With her eyebrows raised like that, she could charm the plaque off your teeth.
But she wouldn’t get me this time. I firmed up my voice. “By the time we’ve traveled there and back, and spent an hour at the school, Lost will have ended on TV. Besides, I’ll be starving. Then homework on top of all that? You’ve got to be joking.”
“You know what?” She glanced quickly at me, then down at the toe of her shoe tracing circles in the mud. “I was going to suggest my mum tapes Lost, and I make some of those thick chocolate brownies to eat on the bus.” She moved away. “Don’t worry. I’ll find someone else . . . chocolate cake, too, would be—”
“Wait!” I grasped her arm. “I didn’t exactly say no, did I?” Jordan Grundy’s mum makes the most mouth-watering brownies. “I’ll . . . think about it. Maybe it won’t be so bad. A week’s trial might work.”
I spent seven bad days wishing I’d never agreed to tackle this particularmountain of Jordan
Friday crawled nearer.
It finally came, and we walked to the main bus stop.Jordan
An older looking nurse with crinkled gray hair and a fixed smile introduced Jordan and me to a blond-haired boy. “This is Luke. He’s fourteen.” She handed us a pack of paper towels.
“He’s a permanent resident and loves to draw.” The nurse marched on, matching more patients with students.
I gulped. Draw?
Luke’s arms and legs were thrashing all over. How could he keep still long enough to draw? And it wasn’t his nose that needed wiping—it was his mouth. Dribbles dropped down his chin and neck.
I looked away.
“Here.”Jordan
“Take it easy, Luke. We won’t disappear.” She smiled at him, making eye contact, leaning close. “I’mJordan
Luke—one of his big blue eyes drooping and twitching—spoke awkwardly. “Thanks. I’m not embarrassed, if you’re not.” His smile was lopsided. “Come on. Let’s draw.”
My jaw dropped.
Luke wheeled his chair at high speed toward the table in the middle of the room . . . and missed. He shot past, laughing and waving. I ran, grabbed the handles, and spun him around so fast he nearly toppled out.
He shouted, slurring the words with excitement. “That was great. Let’s do it again!”
By then I was laughing, too. “Um . . . let’s not. Here, get this pencil between your fingers.”
With me holding one of his arms, andJordan
He was almost on our level in an odd sort of way.
Now, next to being the Master of Sarcasm—and therefore brilliant with words—art was my favorite subject. Words and art went together. Some of those old poets—like Wordsworth—knew what they were doing when they lived in wild and scenic places. I watched Luke outline trees, flowers, mountains, and meadows with sweeping strokes, and knew I was seeing something unreal.
Jordan
He gave another shaky grin—and more dribbles. The words came slowly. “Books. TV. Videos. One day, I’ll find all this . . . this p . . . paradise.” He tugged the pencil upward. “Know what? Trees and flowers are like me. Solid inside. No control outside. I know how it feels.” He aimed the pencil at his chest. “They hurt in here when someone’s mean.”
With each passing week I knew I couldn’t stop visiting Luke. I got used to the dribbles, though I always letJordan
And pretty soon when others at school told spastic jokes, it made me clench my fists. I wanted to strike out and protect someone, even though there was no one around who needed protecting.
Then one visit, I forgot I wasn’t with school friends. Luke had been ill. He was on tablets for almost everything. Chest infections hit him worse than most of us.
Cicely, the gray-haired nurse, showed us to his room with her usual wide smile, then hurried away.
“Old Sickly looked pleased to see us,” I joked, bouncing onto Luke’s bed. “Doesn’t she ever switch off that ridiculous grin? Maybe her false teeth are too big for her mouth.” I roared with laughter, rolling over to clutch Luke’s legs, which were thrashing in all directions under the cover.
One glance at Luke’s face stopped me, mid-roll.
Jordan
Luke spoke, dribbling like mad. “I . . . I’m okay.” His head swung from side to side. “You . . . you never made me cry inside before . . . and it . . . hurts.”
I felt like he’d hit me right in the stomach. I reached for a tissue and dabbed at his froth. “I’m sorry. I . . . didn’t think.”
Jordan
Luke’s limbs slowed. “I’d be dead by now, if Cicely hadn’t helped me through all the bad stuff.” He gasped, struggling to get the words out. “The only way I know about love is through her . . . and . . .” His voice went quiet. “And you two.”
Jordan and I traveled home in silence. I couldn’t even eat the brownies. I had this squirming going on inside—like I wanted to start the past hour all over again.
By our next visit, Luke had forgotten my mistake. He was like that—never dwelling on things. But as the winter months dragged on, we watched his health get worse until I could hardly bear to visit. I guessed what was coming.
When he died in December, a week before Christmas, the miserable feeling deep inside me wouldn’t let go.
Jordan
“He found his paradise, Aaron.”
“With mountains?”
“Oh yes, I hope so. He was climbing mountains all his life. Tougher ones than we’ll ever face.”
I sighed. “Yeah. I guess he really lived on a higher level than the rest of us.”
Jordan
I swiped at her, and she dodged, laughing.
Perhaps she was right. Maybe wave lengths didn’t have to be the same to be comfortable.Jordan
“Do you think Luke’s watching out for us? You know—keeping an eye on us to see what we make of our lives?”
I didn’t answer, but I made up my mind about something as we walked down the road that day. I was going to find a better way to be cool. When I met Luke again, I wanted to be on his level.
Jordan
“Aaron Veasey, you’re such a hypocrite,” she said to me this morning at school. “How can you sit in church on Sunday, giving all the right answers, then act like a sarcastic creep today?”
Most of the time I liked
I flicked her ponytail around with my ruler. “I don’t see the connection. Church stuff and school stuff? They’re different.”
She had a way of wrinkling her nose when she disagreed, and she wrinkled it right then. She looked kind of pretty when she did that. But she wasn’t telling me what to do.
“I’ll tell you the connection,” she said. “It hurts. That’s what.”
“Making people laugh hurts?”
“What about the one being laughed at? Just because you don’t see hurt, doesn’t mean it’s not there.” She sniffed.
Now when
“What about that little kid on the bus this morning?” I said. “He was laughing with the rest of us.”
“At first.” She shook her head. “You didn’t see his eyes tear up when he realized you made him look stupid.”
“Well he was stupid—saying his name was Walk.”
“It was logical. He said people call a fly a Fly because it flies. Therefore today he wants to be called Walk because he walks. Makes sense to a five year old.” She sniffed again, nose in the air. “You didn’t need to add, ‘You should be called Dumbo because you’re dumb.’”
Before I could have the last word, in came our geography teacher. But it was a waste of time hoping
“I suppose you’re sitting there dreaming up more sarcasm,” she threw at me next day, first lesson.
I jumped. I couldn’t admit I’d been gazing out at the misty morning, looking at a spider’s web strung between two posts. The rain and wind played with the strands, ballooning and sucking them in all directions. But the spider had worked hard, and the wind couldn’t undo that work.
“Of course.” I grinned, straightening in my chair. “And if you weren’t so tough, I’d throw some your way.”
She laughed. “Wouldn’t do you much good.” She set her backpack on the floor. “I’m getting expert at forgiving.”
“Wahoo for you, Miss Perfect. Want a halo?” I was about to add, “Let me know if it slips, and I’ll send for mountain rescue,” but Registration began, so I just poked her in the back instead.
During the announcements, Miss Gale, our class teacher, produced a letter. “We’ve been given a different assignment for our winter service project this year.” She smiled. “There’s a special school close to
I groaned, switching off while she read more details. I was scared of handicapped people. I liked to feel comfortable, on the same wavelength as those around me. That wasn’t difficult when you were on the same level—but what level were they on? Besides, it meant missing my favorite TV show.
Jordan
“Oh sure! I’ve booked for each day of the week.” I glared down at her. “Not!”
She shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
“Those people are on a different planet,” I said. “You won’t catch me pushing wheelchairs and wiping noses.”
“How about you do the pushing, and me the wiping?” Her smile grew wider. With her eyebrows raised like that, she could charm the plaque off your teeth.
But she wouldn’t get me this time. I firmed up my voice. “By the time we’ve traveled there and back, and spent an hour at the school, Lost will have ended on TV. Besides, I’ll be starving. Then homework on top of all that? You’ve got to be joking.”
“You know what?” She glanced quickly at me, then down at the toe of her shoe tracing circles in the mud. “I was going to suggest my mum tapes Lost, and I make some of those thick chocolate brownies to eat on the bus.” She moved away. “Don’t worry. I’ll find someone else . . . chocolate cake, too, would be—”
“Wait!” I grasped her arm. “I didn’t exactly say no, did I?” Jordan Grundy’s mum makes the most mouth-watering brownies. “I’ll . . . think about it. Maybe it won’t be so bad. A week’s trial might work.”
* * *
I spent seven bad days wishing I’d never agreed to tackle this particular
Friday crawled nearer.
It finally came, and we walked to the main bus stop.
An older looking nurse with crinkled gray hair and a fixed smile introduced Jordan and me to a blond-haired boy. “This is Luke. He’s fourteen.” She handed us a pack of paper towels.
“He’s a permanent resident and loves to draw.” The nurse marched on, matching more patients with students.
I gulped. Draw?
Luke’s arms and legs were thrashing all over. How could he keep still long enough to draw? And it wasn’t his nose that needed wiping—it was his mouth. Dribbles dropped down his chin and neck.
I looked away.
“Here.”
“Take it easy, Luke. We won’t disappear.” She smiled at him, making eye contact, leaning close. “I’m
Luke—one of his big blue eyes drooping and twitching—spoke awkwardly. “Thanks. I’m not embarrassed, if you’re not.” His smile was lopsided. “Come on. Let’s draw.”
My jaw dropped.
Luke wheeled his chair at high speed toward the table in the middle of the room . . . and missed. He shot past, laughing and waving. I ran, grabbed the handles, and spun him around so fast he nearly toppled out.
He shouted, slurring the words with excitement. “That was great. Let’s do it again!”
By then I was laughing, too. “Um . . . let’s not. Here, get this pencil between your fingers.”
With me holding one of his arms, and
He was almost on our level in an odd sort of way.
Now, next to being the Master of Sarcasm—and therefore brilliant with words—art was my favorite subject. Words and art went together. Some of those old poets—like Wordsworth—knew what they were doing when they lived in wild and scenic places. I watched Luke outline trees, flowers, mountains, and meadows with sweeping strokes, and knew I was seeing something unreal.
Jordan
He gave another shaky grin—and more dribbles. The words came slowly. “Books. TV. Videos. One day, I’ll find all this . . . this p . . . paradise.” He tugged the pencil upward. “Know what? Trees and flowers are like me. Solid inside. No control outside. I know how it feels.” He aimed the pencil at his chest. “They hurt in here when someone’s mean.”
With each passing week I knew I couldn’t stop visiting Luke. I got used to the dribbles, though I always let
And pretty soon when others at school told spastic jokes, it made me clench my fists. I wanted to strike out and protect someone, even though there was no one around who needed protecting.
Then one visit, I forgot I wasn’t with school friends. Luke had been ill. He was on tablets for almost everything. Chest infections hit him worse than most of us.
Cicely, the gray-haired nurse, showed us to his room with her usual wide smile, then hurried away.
“Old Sickly looked pleased to see us,” I joked, bouncing onto Luke’s bed. “Doesn’t she ever switch off that ridiculous grin? Maybe her false teeth are too big for her mouth.” I roared with laughter, rolling over to clutch Luke’s legs, which were thrashing in all directions under the cover.
One glance at Luke’s face stopped me, mid-roll.
Jordan
Luke spoke, dribbling like mad. “I . . . I’m okay.” His head swung from side to side. “You . . . you never made me cry inside before . . . and it . . . hurts.”
I felt like he’d hit me right in the stomach. I reached for a tissue and dabbed at his froth. “I’m sorry. I . . . didn’t think.”
Jordan
Luke’s limbs slowed. “I’d be dead by now, if Cicely hadn’t helped me through all the bad stuff.” He gasped, struggling to get the words out. “The only way I know about love is through her . . . and . . .” His voice went quiet. “And you two.”
Jordan and I traveled home in silence. I couldn’t even eat the brownies. I had this squirming going on inside—like I wanted to start the past hour all over again.
By our next visit, Luke had forgotten my mistake. He was like that—never dwelling on things. But as the winter months dragged on, we watched his health get worse until I could hardly bear to visit. I guessed what was coming.
When he died in December, a week before Christmas, the miserable feeling deep inside me wouldn’t let go.
Jordan
“He found his paradise, Aaron.”
“With mountains?”
“Oh yes, I hope so. He was climbing mountains all his life. Tougher ones than we’ll ever face.”
I sighed. “Yeah. I guess he really lived on a higher level than the rest of us.”
Jordan
I swiped at her, and she dodged, laughing.
Perhaps she was right. Maybe wave lengths didn’t have to be the same to be comfortable.
“Do you think Luke’s watching out for us? You know—keeping an eye on us to see what we make of our lives?”
I didn’t answer, but I made up my mind about something as we walked down the road that day. I was going to find a better way to be cool. When I met Luke again, I wanted to be on his level.
For information on this book, visit Anne's page by clicking here and visiting... Not Entirely British
God Bless Fort Benning 5k
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Today was the God Bless Fort Benning festival. It started with a 5k and 10k run. The last one I did was in April and I haven't been running much, but thought it'd be fun to do it with Donnie... even though it was only 19 degrees this morning!
Unfortunately, Kaleb had a fever yesterday. I took him to the doctor and found out he has ear infections in both ears. When he woke up this morning, his fever was back up and he threw up all over the kitchen floor. So Donnie had to bare the cold this morning without me.
And it turns out... he didn't do too shabby, getting 1st place in his age group with a time of 18:45!!!! Not too bad with all of the weight lifting he has been doing lately! Wahoo... way to go, babe!!
Unfortunately, Kaleb had a fever yesterday. I took him to the doctor and found out he has ear infections in both ears. When he woke up this morning, his fever was back up and he threw up all over the kitchen floor. So Donnie had to bare the cold this morning without me.
And it turns out... he didn't do too shabby, getting 1st place in his age group with a time of 18:45!!!! Not too bad with all of the weight lifting he has been doing lately! Wahoo... way to go, babe!!
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