I Had a Dream

 I had a dream. I had a plan.

Not a full-scale plan that was underway. But I was beginning to plan. I was dreaming about "what life will look like when all the kids are raised." Maybe not even ALL of them raised, but when only two would be left at home and they would be teenagers building busy lives of their own. The dream involved a potential for post graduate education, some travel, serving actively as a team with my husband, and even moving to a fun little town designed for walking and electric biking with lots of music, educational, and cultural opportunities near friends. Helping others, using giftings while serving with my husband, having fun.

But then the call came. I didn't expect it, so felt kind of blindsided. It's not bad, necessarily. It's just not what I want.

"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." Proverbs 16:9.

I wanted to reject it entirely. I am a selfish and entitled person who has to learn lessons of obedience and laying down my life over and over again. But "the sheep hear his voice. . .and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice." John 10

MY plan appeals to my flesh. When I think of my plan, I feel words like "excitement, fun, fulfillment, rewarding, and validation." When I think of the calling I feel words like "impossible, sacrifice, and thankless work." 

And the Spirit within me nods in recognition at those latter words.

Destry's High School Graduation

Well, I've given up on getting my blog caught up, but Destry's graduation was such a wonderful day that I want to make sure it is recorded.  Then my blog will just have a big hole from the summer of 2016. 

One of the wonderful things about homeschooling is that your child's education is personalized, and their graduation ceremony can be personalized as well.  While Briana wanted a simple ceremony at our home with outdoor games and fellowship for her celebration, Destry decided to combine his graduation with a senior recital since his music has been such a large part of his high school years.  His friend, Brandon, is also a musician who plays both acoustic and electric guitar and his mother, Alana, is a dear friend, so we decided to celebrate them together.

We rented the auditorium of a local community college and more than 300 people came to celebrate the conclusion of this season with these two young men.

Destry and Brandon

The young men took turn performing their pieces.  Destry played Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin and Clair De Lune by Debussy on the piano.

Brandon played Amazing Grace, Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, and Acoustic in G on his guitars.  They also performed one piece together, E minor instrumental, with Brandon on the electric guitar and Destry on the piano.

On the violin, Destry played Bach's Partita 2 in D minor, Allemanda, Corrente, Sarabanda, and Giga as well as Beethoven's Romanze Opus 50, Adagio cantabile.

Most of their senior recital can be watched here.

After their senior recital was over, we got to watch the slide shows they had put together, then we parents said a few words, conferred their diplomas, and gave them our blessing.  Alan "called Destry out" as he had done previously at ages 13 and 18 as a man of good character, hard work, and one who thinks, in the presence of all our friends and family and declared him his "beloved son in whom I am well pleased."  He also worded a blessing upon him based on Philippians 1:9-11:

 "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment.  That you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense until the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."

Everyone was invited to stay for a taco bar and the unique desserts chosen by the guests of honor--Brandon chose homemade chocolate chip cookies and milk while Destry chose ice cream sandwiches. No graduation cake for these two, they chose desserts as unique as they are.

Me with my friend Alana--happy after a successful day celebrating our boys.

It was a wonderful, wonderful day.  We've poured our hearts into these guys, and we're looking forward to seeing what the Lord does both in them and through them throughout their lives.

Savor: April

This is such a season for savoring, and April brought many more moments to savor.

Because. . .of course! BOOKS!  Sharing book with family--even better!  I snapped a picture of Alan reading Robinson Crusoe to the kids--I love how engrossed they are.  And Tyrell "reading" to Aryana was too precious to resist.

I got to go to another Beth Moore conference with my sister and my sister-in-law.  This is such a great annual tradition, a time of renewal and great fellowship. . .

and laughter.  Always lots of laughter.  (I totally busted Marcy stealing Andes mints from the bathroom of the fancy restaurant.  giggle)  And Shayla and I introduced Marcy to sushi.  I KNEW she would love it!!!

I so treasure these girls, and our relationships!

A first with our friends, Troy and Caren, we tried out a local movie theater that serves a meal during the movie!  How FUN is that?!

More savoring with Kiana, she read her first chapter book ALL BY HERSELF--a Magic Tree House tale.  She was SO tickled.  She has also been having some fun experimenting with her hair.  She wanted to get it straightened, so I let her get it done (no chemicals, just a flat iron).  It was cute, but I like her curls better.  She did too.  She was soon in tears, "I miss my curls".  I'm glad she decided she loves the curly hair the Lord blessed her with.  treasuring. . .

I'm so thankful for Kidan who occasionally pitches in to help me with a hairstyle.  She is so much faster (and BETTER) than I am, and this style was particularly cute.

And finally, Destry's last concert as concertmaster with the Des Moines Youth Symphony, his last high school performance.  After all these years of running him to lessons and rehearsals. . .

savoring. . .

The Last Lecture

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

I enjoyed this book very much, lots of great tidbits to ponder as Pausch shared his last lecture knowing he had just months left to live. He was a visionary man who focused on his childhood dreams and how he had lived those dreams even in his relatively short life and used this venue to leave behind a piece of himself and some words of wisdom for his three children ages 5 and under. I borrowed this from the library, but am considering picking a copy up to give my son as he ventures off to college and into life on his own.

Some great quotes:

"The instinct in our house was never to sit around like slobs and wonder. We knew a better way: Open the encyclopedia. Open the dictionary. Open your mind" (22).

(It's a good thing to be criticized and corrected) "because when you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they've given up on you" (37).

"Shatner was the ultimate example of a man who knew what he didn't know, was perfectly willing to admit it, and didn't want to leave until he understood. That's heroic to me" (45).

"Brick walls are there for a reason. They're not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something" (52).

"It's such a shame that people perceive you as being so arrogant, because it's going to limit what you're going to be able to accomplish in life" (68).

"The only way any of us can improve is if we develop a real ability to assess ourselves. If we can't accurately do that, how can we tell if we're getting better or worse?" (112).

"I know you're smart. But everyone here is smart. Smart isn't enough. The kind of people I want on my research team (or anywhere) are those who will help everyone else feel happy to be here" (118).

"When it comes to men who are romantically interested in you, it's really simple. Just ignore everything they say and only pay attention to what they do" (146).

"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted" (148).

Aryana Joy Age 2

Two years old. The years can fly by, even as the days seem long, so it seems a little strange to think that she turned two in April.

Aryana is a dainty little thing at barely 20 pounds, but there is a whole lot of person in that little body!  She is very verbal, the most verbal any of my kids have been, knocking big sister Briana out of that status.  Over and over again, people look at me in surprise at her sentences and say she sounds like a three-year-old.

She is definitely a mommy's girl, needing to be near me every moment, even to the point of yes, still having her time in momma's sling.  Perhaps that is part of why she loves playing mommy with dolls and stuffed animals, wearing them in her little sling.

She also loves to be outside and play with all the animals, from baby lambs to baby chicks, cats, dogs. . .she doesn't care. It's so cute to see the lambs following her around.

She is absolutely the most "MORNING PERSON" I have ever met.  She gets up in the 5 o'clock hour every morning and is just the happiest person you have ever seen.  She sleeps great, goes to bed willingly (with her little dog "Rosie"), she is just ready to go in the wee hours of the morning.  Someday I am going to use this to my advantage and she can make breakfast for the family while I sleep until 7 am.  wink

All settled into her "big girl bed", moving from the crib to a toddler bed.

HAPPY, HAPPY second birthday, you precious little cutie.  You are aptly named as joy simply emanates from within you.  May you trust in your Heavenly Father as the source of Joy throughout your life.

Dr. Seuss Party 2016

I realize Dr. Seuss's birthday, and our party celebrating him, was back in March.  But we're playing a quick game of  "catch-up-the-blog." This was the third Dr. Seuss party we've had over the years. I had the first one when Briana and Destry were little, then another one three years ago when Easton and Kiana were 5 and 6. When another homeschooling mom mentioned that she would like to do one but didn't have the house for it, I decided to do it again. Easton, Kiana, and Tyrell were 9, 8, and 5. The perfect ages.

Tabitha, Carrie, and Tami brought their kids over along with fun ideas and snacks. Sara's children, unfortunately, got sick so they weren't able to come.

We made books of their footprints, 

fish crafts (with glitter! My kids NEVER get to do that!),

read books, played games,

And ate a themed lunch: pizza pockets, fish sticks, green deviled eggs, ham, goldfish crackers, and fish swimming in hello water.

 It was lots of fun once again. I'm so thankful for friends who pitch in to make fun memories like these.

Savor: March

Since this post was sitting in my drafts folder, I will go ahead and post this reflection of what I savored in March. Once again, it was mostly about relationships (with a big accomplishment thrown in). 

Friendship.

I am a friendship sort of person.  Some people don't seem to need many friends, but I do.  I thoroughly enjoy my people, and this month I got to savor some special moments with special people.

Dear friends John and Amber and their children spent a weekend with us.

My friend Misti made a pitstop on her way from Delaware to Montana.  We were both so excited to spend the evening together that we couldn't even look like semi-normal people!

"Make new friends, but keep the old.  One is silver and the other gold."

John and Amber and Misti have been friends for many years.  But I am also savoring the development of newer friendships.  Tami, left above, is a new friend and I am treasuring our growing friendship.

I pulled together a few other couples and we did one of those nights where an artist walked us step-by-step through painting a picture.  It was an absolute blast!

 Neither Alan nor I have a gift for painting, but we had a lot of fun and I treasure this memory.  The "lovebirds" hang above the sink in my kitchen.

A night out with the kids to eat sushi.  

A rare Sunday afternoon with just my big kids.  We slipped out to watch London Has Fallen, a one-guy-takes-on-100-and-wins sort of action flick.  These two are busy living their own lives, which is as it should be, but I savor the moments they share with Mom.

And finally, I treasured Kiana's excitement this month as she joyfully announced that she just read this story in a Highlights magazine ALL BY HERSELF!  Learning to read has been challenging for her, but she didn't give up, and this was her first experience with the joy of reading. I had to snap a picture as I savored this moment with tears in my eyes.