Been a while...

In response to a few of you e-mailing me to find out how the dramas went...they went very well. I ended up having to try my hand at writing on some of them. Last minute scheduling changes with certain actors caused 2 re-writes, and our writer was in the hospital. So between the Pastor and myself, we tweaked them. Funny...I was only supposed to direct, but ended up having to be in 3 of the 4! Sigh, guess church drama is like any other church ministry...folks just don't seem to be really committed to it. Hopefully that will change.

The performance space is awesome. The church just finished building on a new "sanctuary" that is really a theater. Huge stage with a full catwalk and fly system, theatrical lighting and inclined audience seating. It was designed like that on purpose, so I hope that means there is a bright future for all kinds of theater there! I'd love to stage some community theater and see what happens!

The school year is off with a bang! I have 2 tutees and 1-1/2 homeschool consulting families (I'm sharing one family with another consultant). I'm also still doing stuff at the Science Museum and I am teaching science 2x per month at a homeschool coop. Whew! Already busy and it's just now October! I'm hoping some of these things will translate into clock hours for my license renewal in 2008...

I will have some more pictures of recent events posted later. I've been so busy adjusting to my suddenly busy life, I haven't been on the blog. Now things are starting to gel so I should be able to go back to posting a few times per month.

The fall is beautiful here! It simply doesn't last long enough. The smells, the trees, the cool, crisp air...AHHH. Today we got outside and enjoyed the sunshine by doing some yard work in preparation for winter. Ethan found a spider. We sat and watched it catch a small gnat. Ethan got so excited he suggested we find more bugs for it to eat. So we went on a safari for isopods. After a few attempts, we got one on the web and the spider responded quickly. It was a show well worth our money and time! Funny how it doesn't bother him at all to see a spider devour another creature, but he seems rather disturbed that T-Rex would eat other dinosaurs, or that animals such as owls eat other animals. Guess it's all in your perspective.

Incidently...all you family and friends who've been "promising" me for years to come and visit... Fall is the PERFECT time! So mark your calendars for Sept-Oct. Of course, summer isn't bad but we can get some hot, sticky days in July and Aug. For those of you looking for a true Minnesota adventure - come in January or February. I promise you will not be bored and you will have a story to tell your grandkids ("I remember when I had to walk through 10 foot of snow uphill both ways...)

Real Life Church

For any of you wanting to check out our new church, go to www.reallifechurch.net

I will be making my directorial/acting debut this Sunday, September 10th. I'm gonna love this church...they are multimedia FREAKS!!!!! (in a good way). I think you will see by the website.

So far, people have been very open and welcoming. I didn't expect to be acting/directing by now. I'm very excited!

The Great Minnesota Get Together!

Ah, the end of summer is traditionally marked with the Minnesota State Fair! This year we had beautiful weather...not too hot, nice breeze, slightly cloudy offering off and on shade throughout the day. Perfect. We skipped the corn dogs and cheese curds this year and went for whatever coupons were in the book - but could not pass up the traditional roasted corn! YUM. Here is this year's photo montage...

Ethan and Noah posing next to Big Foot. They both just love monster trucks!

















It's amazing how your kids change in one year. Last year, Ethan was new to rides, so he didn't want to ride anything that went too fast or too high. This year he was all about the thrill!






















Noah was too small for the rides, so he relaxed in his stroller and cuddled his bear. Cute, as always!


...or he enjoyed watching bubby have fun!


I think Machinery Hill is one of Ethan's favorite parts of the fair. He has to sit on every lawn mower, excavator, bobcat, and tractor that he can. Especially if they are BIG. This is an old restored one...he likes the sound of the older tractors. And he gets sooooo excited whenever he sees yellow and green! He breaks into the John Deere theme song from the library videos he's watched about a hundred times!


The animal barns are always fun. We skipped the pigs this year...they are just sooooo stinky. The Miracle of Birth center has been redone - bigger and better. We saw lots of chicks hatching, and a newly born sheep and pig. The kids favorites this year....horses. Especially the tiny ones!


Ethan also tried his hand at carpentry - the Home Depot booth had a kids workshop (which explains the bright orange apron). He hammered together a "really cool racecar that goes super fast". #20 for all you Nascar fans.
*sigh* Summer is officially over on the 4th. It's amazing, but up here, it's like nature knows when the fair is over to start getting colder and changing colors. I love fall, but the older I get, the more I start to dread the long, dark, winter to come. The Farmer's almanac is predicting a rough one. We've had it pretty easy the last several years, so we will see.

Spiritual "re-lessons"

So lately I've been experiencing a lot of anger just under the surface ready to blow at any moment. I've been wrestling with myself, trying to figure out the root. I thought I had that thing licked...and there is the problem. I thought I had that thing licked.

Why, oh, why must we learn and re-learn the same lessons again and again? Why do we fall back into old habits, in my case, the habit of self-reliance. And I don't mean the good kind. I'm talking about the kind that puts us in bondage as we try to work our way to righteousness. The kind that smacks Christ in the face by saying "your sacrifice isn't good enough...I have to EARN my salvation". The kind that says "I can fix myself if I just try harder". Then as you fail miserably, you find yourself falling into the condemnation trap leading to self-absorption through pity parties and a "martyr" mentality. Why do we do the devil's work for him? We willingly put the chains on our own hands and feet. Ugh.

So once again I have to re-commit to cooperate with God in this process of making me into the image of Christ. Once again, I have to surrender my ideas and my will to His. Once again I am reminded that I cannot fix me or anyone/anything else.

Praise be to God for His infinite grace and His mercies that are renewed daily!

"Get it?"

Ethan has entered the "jokester" phase. He tells us jokes all day long. There are a few standards that go like this:
Knock-Knock
Who's there?
Boo.
Boo who?
Well, you don't have to cry about it.

And some that he makes up himself that go like this:
Why did the penguin cross the road?
To hide in the bushes.

But my favorite are the ones that go like this:
Mommy, after I go poopy, will you wipe my butt? Get it? Butt? (hilarious laughter ensues)

What have I learned? 1) That I have an extremely short list of pre-school jokes in my repertoire. Guess I need to get to the library. 2)I think he has my dad's sense of humor (no offense dad...you make me laugh. Usually) :) And 3) if you want to make a 4 year old boy almost wet himself laughing, just say any word having to do with potty functions (plus boogers) or the body parts involved. Ethan's newest favorite: butt crack. I just know that one's gonna bite me in mine one day... :)

Update on homeschooling...

As some of you know, at the moment I plan on homeschooling both boys(I say "at the moment" because I'm pretty sure I will despite my waffling on days when I just need to get away from my kids...). Not sure for how long, but the current state of public education (academics, socialization, world view, etc.) and the innocence and open-ness of my son's minds makes me realize the seriousness of the task ahead...to raise God-fearing, moral children who experience a relationship with Christ and learn to love Him. So, I feel until their character is a bit more "set", I want to lay a strong foundation at home.

This is not going to be easy. There are times that I miss a classroom full of smart-aleck 7th graders (believe it or not), not to mention the financial strain. God has provided some opportunities to fulfill both and I see the opportunities growing steadily. As I have networked with some homeschooling organizations and groups, I'm finding the demand for science teachers to be astounding! I have had 2 offers this year from groups I've never met asking me to be their coop science teacher and one who had already filled their class offering, but wanted to keep my info on hand for next year! Praise the Lord. It's not nearly as much money as I would be making full time in public school, but 1) I don't have to grade papers, 2)I'm around other homeschoolers for support 3) I get to teach lots of kids that are well-behaved, 4) it helps buy the groceries or put gas in the car (or it least it would have helped with the gas when I signed on 2 months ago...$3.00/gallon!!! HIGHWAY ROBBERY!!!!)

I also have come across a homeschooling accreditation organization that is (from what I have seen so far) WONDERFUL and they are giving me an opportunity to become a consultant for their families. I'm excited about this, but a bit nervous. I feel God has presented this to me, but also feel my own shortcomings...how can I "consult" another family when I've never done this myself? Guess that's where my professional training will come in handy.

Please keep us in prayer as we begin this journey. It's one thing to learn to trust in the Lord when it's just you. Another when it involves your spouse. And a completely different monster all together when it involves your offspring who are completely trusting you to make the right decisions for them. Add to that the keen awareness that they technically aren't MY kids...their HIS. Talk about feeling inadequate! I know in whom I believe. If He is leading, and I am following, then the details will take care of themselves.

more pics

During the heat wave, some dear friends of ours discovered their air conditioner on the fritz. So, we all camped out at our house for the week-end. The kids had a blast (the adults had some fun, too!)






Noah likes to sit in his "big boy chair" and look at his books.













It's so funny to me how different Ethan and Noah can be. Ethan is cautious, Noah is fearless. Ethan DOES NOT like to get dirty. Noah finds a pile of black dirt and dives in. He looks a bit like the "Little Rascals" dog, doesn't he?


















I wish I could zoom up on Noah in this photo. This was his first petting zoo. His expression is priceless - he's never seen a goat before!













Noah has invented the "poor man's soccum-boppers"... (I promise this photo has not been staged, doctored, or otherwise encouraged by adults. He did this completely on his own!)













Ethan looks so cute in a tie! He's gonna drive the girls crazy when he's older!












This is one more pic from the Zoo. I thought it was cute... Ethan was trying to hold Noah's hand, but Noah isn't usually keen on that (only mommy or daddy's hand will do). We were riding the monorail 'cuz it was SO DARN HOT!!!